Disclaimer: I own nothing from Harry Potter or His Dark Materials.
Chapter 4: Minerva
Minerva McGonagall was unusual as far as Hogwarts students go. For one, outside of a select few people, she didn't interact with her peers other than superficial passing conversations and study groups. Minerva was in the top of her class and was known to be extremely magically talented, especially in her favorite subject, transfiguration. Her daemon, Castiel, had taken the form of a tabby cat since the moment she arrived at hogwarts. But the most unusual thing about Minerva was that although she was seventeen and Castiel always took the form of a tabby cat, he was still unsettled. When researching in the library Minerva realized that she was the oldest person recorded to have an unsettled daemon. Turning to Castiel she asked, "Will you remain a cat forever Cass? Are we destined to remain unsettled forever?"
And always he would answer, "No Minnie, our time will come."
But Minerva was impatient. She could hear the whispers, see the glances other students gave her. What type of person didn't have a settled daemon at age seventeen. She could feel the despair from her daemon and found solace in the fact that her small group of friends didn't care. One day as she absently made her way through the back hallways of the castle she paused at a window. Looking out over the lake she whispered, "Why is it that you still aren't settled? Is it me?" But Cass didn't answer, instead drooping his tail he rubbed his head lightly against her hand and settled down to watch the students down below.
"That, my dear, is a hard question to answer." ,a voice answered jovially.
Minerva spun around surprise, "Headmaster, I didn't see you there!" she exclaimed.
Dumbledore only smiled and said, "Have you entertained any thoughts as to why Castiel hasn't settled?" he asked absently stroking his daemon.
Minerva frowned and recited, "A daemon only settles if a person has a good sense of themselves and who they are. But I know who I am, and I know what I like. So why is Castiel still unsettled?"
Dumbledore turned to continue his trek across the hallway, "Perhaps, my dear, he is unsettled because although you know who you are, you don't know who you want to be."
Watching until the midnight blue robes faded around the corner, Minverva frowned, "Who I am is who I'm going to be Cass. Why is it he always answers a question with another question?" Castiel purred and jumped lightly onto his human's shoulders.
"I don't know Minnie, but we'll settle when it's time to settle. There's no use in pushing something that takes time."
It wasn't until Minerva was eighteen and on the road to gaining her Transfiguration Mastery that Castiel finally shifted for the first time in 9 years. As Minerva watched him gracefully glide through the air she felt content, she was going to become a teacher and guide her pupils towards successful futures. She would have never imagined that Castiel would choose the form of a Goshawk but surprisingly it felt right. She finally knew who she wanted to be and that person wasn't unusual in the least.