Later that week, a strange stack of books appeared in front of her apartment door. She had no idea how they got there, she hadn't heard a thing. When she picked up the leather-bound volumes, she realized why they had appeared so silently. Aunt Minerva, she thought, as she brought the books into her apartment and browsed through the titles.
"Muggle Studies for First Years" was the book on top. Must be the curriculum, she thought. The leather cover was cracked and worn and the pages were yellowing. I wonder how out of date this is, it looks a hundred years old, she thought. There were books for different student years, and another stack of seven thicker books. The thick books looked new, the leather covers were smooth and glossy and brightly colored. The pages were thick and white. She picked up the top book from the second stack. There was a note attached to it –
"Dear Anna,
If you have time, you may want to start reading these books. They will give you a very good idea of what you can expect at Hogwarts, as well as some lessons on recent wizarding history. They have not been released to the Muggle world, so please do not discuss them with anyone.
I will arrive at your apartment on Tuesday at 1 o'clock pm. You need only pack your clothes, everything else you need will be provided for you at the school.
Until then,
Minerva"
Anna placed the note on her coffee table and went to her sofa with the first book in hand. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" she read the title of the volume as she sat on her couch. "What is this all about?" she said to herself, as she opened the leather-bound book.
Anna busied herself the rest of the week with packing and reviewing the curriculum. She told her friends that she had accepted a job at another private school, but that it was in the country. She wanted to keep her apartment, so she asked her landlady to pick up her mail and keep an eye on the place. Anna planned to come back once a month to make sure everything was still ok.
By the time her aunt arrived on Tuesday, between packing and reviewing her new curriculum, Anna had only managed to get through about half the "Philosopher's Stone" book, but she was intrigued. She had never really believed the magic tales her aunt told or the stories whispered behind hands at Jacobs family gatherings. Her aunt's mysterious arrival and departure at her apartment the prior week, however, defied explanation. If even half the things described in the book were true... She was excited, nervous and scared all at the same time.
She was packed and ready for her aunt's arrival, eager to see the castle so brilliantly described in the book.
Aunt Minerva arrived at 1 pm sharp. Anna greeted her aunt and let her into the apartment. Anna's suitcases were sitting in the living room all packed and ready.
"Ready to go?" Aunt Minerva asked her, after she arrived in Anna's apartment.
"As I'll ever be" Anna said. "One question first, though. Are these books for real?" she asked waving her copy of the "Philosopher's Stone".
"Why of course they are!" Aunt Minerva sounded indignant. "The Ministry commissioned the finest writing witch in England to write them. She took years, tracking down people, researching every detail. These are very important works!"
"Sorry!" said Anna, "I didn't mean to offend! It just seems, well, pretty fantastic is all."
"Yes, Anna, to a Muggle, it would seem that way, but I can assure you, Madame Rowling's historical accuracy has never been questioned. You can take those books as fact."
"Oh," said Anna, considering that if even the little bit that she had read so far was true; she was in for a wild ride.
"Let's go then" Aunt Minerva said. She waved her wand and muttered some words; Anna's suitcases disappeared.
"Whoa! Where did they go?" she exclaimed, like an amazed child at a magic show. Even though she knew Aunt Minerva was 'special', and her reading the past week showed her what that meant, it was still shocking to see her aunt performing real, actual magic.
"They are waiting for you in your chambers at Hogwarts" her aunt informed her. "Now we must be going, we need to stop at the Ministry before we go to the castle."
"The Ministry?" Anna asked, and then remembered the book, "The Ministry of MAGIC! It's a real place? We're actually going there?"
"Why, yes, my dear. You need to complete some forms before the Ministry will grant you access to the school. Here, put this on" she handed Anna a gold necklace with a small charm suspended from it. "This will allow you to have access to the magical places Muggles aren't allowed to see. Ready?" she asked as she extended her hand. "Hold tight to my hand and do not let go until I do. This is very important, do you understand?"
Anna had not yet read about Apperating, but Aunt Minerva sounded very serious, so she nodded her head and gripped her aunt's hand very tightly. Almost instantaneously, she felt a weird pulling sensation in her stomach, and her whole body felt squeezed, like she was in a giant's toothpaste tube. She couldn't breathe, and was just about to panic when her feet hit solid ground and she stumbled forward.
Her aunt steadied her on her feet and dropped her hand. They had appeared on a street in front of a telephone booth. Aunt Minerva opened the door to the booth and stepped in, telling Anna to follow. When they were both squished into the booth, and the door shut, Aunt Minerva picked up the phone, dialed some numbers and the floor dropped out from beneath them. Anna screamed.
"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic" Aunt Minerva said when their fall stopped.
Anna tried not to gawk at the room, but failed miserably. She had never seen anything like it in her lifetime. It was a long hall at least three football pitches in length, and four stories high. The floor was gleaming, polished wood.
The deep blue ceiling was filled with strange golden symbols in constant motion. There were ornate fireplaces lining each side of the lobby.
On one side, occasionally a green flame would appear in one of the grates and a human being would pop out from the flames.
On the other side, people were jumping into the green flames, like it was completely normal to jump into a fire.
In the middle of this hall, was the largest fountain Anna had ever seen. It appeared to be made of gold and there were large figures towering from the center of the fountain. Two of them looked human to Anna, one male and one female, the others she didn't recognize.
Her aunt led her back to the security desk where she was checked in. Aunt Minerva then took her into an elevator. "Hold on" she said and pointed at the straps hanging from the ceiling. Anna did, just as the elevator took off.
It was no normal elevator. It seemed to be speeding along, first up, then it abruptly changed directions and they moved sideways, then back up again. Anna was glad she had been hanging on. The elevator switched directions so quickly she surely would have been thrown to the floor.
The contraption finally stopped and Aunt Minerva and a very green looking Anna emerged in to an office almost rivaling the lobby. The polished marble floor was shining, and the ceiling had the same blue hue. There was a large, ornate desk sitting opposite the elevator doors, where an important looking wizard sat, piles of files and papers surrounding him.
"Minister Shacklebolt!" Aunt Minerva said as she moved forward toward the desk. He rose from his desk, walked around it and greeted her, taking her hands and kissing both her cheeks.
"Professor McGonagall, how wonderful to see you again!" he said in a deep, sonorous voice.
"This is my niece, Anna Jacobs. Anna, this is Kingsely Shacklebolt, the Minister for Magic" Aunt Minerva introduced her to the minister.
"Professor Jacobs," he said, shaking her hand. Anna felt a surge of pride being addressed as 'Professor' for the first time. "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic! How are you today?"
"Confused, confounded, and a little motion sick" she said and the Minister laughed.
"I imagine it is a lot for anyone to take in all at once, but you have just begun!" he told her. "It's going to be a great journey for our first Muggle Professor!"
"Thank you minister," Anna said, blushing with pride.
"For now, there is the paperwork, right? Always the paperwork! Please, have a seat." and he led her to his desk. He waved his wand and a smaller, but just as ornate, desk appeared accompanied by a leather office chair.
She sat in the chair as form after form passed before her eyes. Forms for non-disclosure, threatening some very nasty sounding punishments should she ever reveal where she worked or what she saw from this day forward. Forms releasing the Ministry from any liability should she be hurt or killed on the job, either by a student, teacher, magical creature or just plain accident, forms regarding her pay and contract at Hogwarts. It seemed to go on and on, and her hand was cramping from signing them all. Finally Minister Shacklebolt said, "I believe that's it!" He rose and extended his hand to Anna, and she shook it. "Good luck to you Professor Jacobs!"
"Thank you Minister!" she returned.
"Ready to go?" asked Aunt Minerva.
"Ready as I'll ever be" she said, turning green again at the thought of the elevator ride and whatever that was Aunt Minerva had done in her apartment. They went back the way they had come and once they were back outside, Aunt Minerva offered her hand again, repeating the warning about holding tight, and they Apperated to Hogwarts.