Dusting off the Ashes
There was a cloaked silhouette in front of the wreckage standing almost inhumanly still. The woman's hair was black and it matched her robes, and the charred places of the remains in front of her. A closer look would find her features sharp, blank, and undeniably in control. Those few who knew her well enough would know this was a person in mourning.
Minerva McGonagall stared at the destruction in front of her. This was what was left of the Potter's house in Godric's Hollow. Her throat started to burn and her eyes watered a bit more than they should. She took in a shaky breath. She couldn't let it go.
It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair for one evil wizard to destroy the lives of so many. It wasn't fair for the families of the Longbottoms, the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts, the Potters... Little Harry Potter, who had to live with his horrid relatives because some awful wizard decided he needed to die. Minerva McGonagall was glad that wizard was gone, but she wished the price wasn't nearly as high.
A small, sympathetic meow broke through Minerva's haze and she looked down. Staring back up at her was Lia, the Potter's cat. Harry's cat. Lia leaped into Minerva's arms, purring as she reveled in the comfort of familiar arms.
Minerva decided an actual conversation would be the best approach. Plus, if it went as planned, she would learn a bit more about Harry's new guardians and maybe place a few protective spells on the house. This led her to knock on the door of the fourth house on Privet Drive.
She needn't wait long for the door to open and there Mrs. Dursley was, standing there, with a confused look rapidly turning into a calculating one. It missed the contempt Minerva expected, but it had only been thirty seconds.
"Yes?" Petunia asked. She gazed upon the dark robes of the supposed witch and figured she was sent by Dumbledore, possibly about the child support. Though the cat cradled in her arms threw her off a bit. She guessed it was the style or something in their world.
"My name is Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts."
"Hello, Minerva, please come in." Petunia stepped aside to let the woman in. "Erm, Harry is upstairs, taking a nap. If you'd like to see him, please be quiet, I'd rather not wake him."
"Of course." Minerva nodded.
Petunia led her to the living room and they sat facing each other on the couch.
"I was a friend of your sister's, and her husband. I actually taught them when they attended Hogwarts, and they were some of my best students."
Petunia wondered where this was going but kept silent.
"I visited their house today and..." Minerva took a deep breath and continued, "I found this little one." She gestured to the cat in her arms. "I thought she ran away, knowing that—well, knowing that no one would be there to care for her. But, there she was, as if waiting for someone to come back and take care of her."
Petunia stared at the woman.
"Her name is Lia. Harry is rather fond of her and she him. I brought her here to ask you to keep her and care for her as you do Harry, because they are all that's left of the Potter family."
The woman's voice went soft towards the end of her sentence. Her eyes got suspiciously brighter and red. Petunia knew this cat meant a lot to her. The Potters meant a lot to her. Lily and Harry meant a lot to her.
Petunia hated cats.
There was a time in her life she hated magic just as much. She hated Lily just as much.
In another life, Petunia would have hated Harry just as much.
Petunia started to think whether or not she truly knew how to hate something, or even what hate was.
A thought of an evil, Dark wizard murdering a mother to kill her child flashed in her mind; and Petunia instantly knew that she was capable of hatred. And it wasn't hatred that was directed against Lily. It wasn't hatred that was directed against magic. It wasn't hatred that she would have ever felt for Harry. She didn't know what it was exactly; but she knew it may have begun with envy, pride, and the lack of will to let anything go.
She still never liked cats.
But something in the woman's eyes made Petunia reach out and let the cat crawl into her arms to be cradled.
It was a beautiful cat. Dark gray with the bluest eyes she had ever seen.
She searched for a comfortable position and then fell asleep there. Petunia wondered why the cat could trust her enough to let her guard down this way. Then Petunia wondered if the cat wasn't necessarily trusting, just extremely tired. She noted the ash and bits of debris in the lovely fur and held the furry creature a little closer.
"We'll take care of her." Petunia ran her hand over Lia's head, brushing the dirt off and not caring where it landed.
Minerva smiled in surprise. She didn't expect this woman to be so kind. Something must have changed in the few days between her first examination of this family and now. She glanced up in the direction she assumed the children rested in and had a clue. The witch's shoulders relaxed and she let herself smile some more, knowing that after all the grief that consumed her recently, she owed it to herself to begin to heal.