I greatly apologize for not updating before this. I'll try to be quicker. Though on the plus side I got a second job for the summer! Hopefully that will help with the college costs. I have nothing else so here's the chapter and thanks for all the reviews and updates. Keep em coming please they really help. I lied I'm watching the first Harry Potter movie as I write this. I should also point out that for this story Minerva isn't as old as she's portrayed in the books I imagine her in her 50's during this story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter but I hope to go to the theme park this summer.
"Stop it you two or next year you'll be having the opening feast in detention with Mr. Filch!" Minerva shouted after the Weasley twins as they ran down the hall. She stopped at the end of the hall and caught her breath. She prayed Albus never cancelled exams again, the students just had to much free time until school ended in 3 days. Deciding she would deal with them later she walked back to her rooms. When she arrived there she was very surprised to see Hermione curled up on the couch in the living room.
"Hi baby. What are you doing in here?" Minerva asked coming to sit next to her on the couch. She noticed Hermione was reading Minerva's very worn copy of Pride and Prejudice.
"I can't be in here?" Hermione asked looking up.
"No you can be in here. I just thought you would be with your friends." Minerva paused and looked at the book closer. "Do you like it better now that you are older?"
"Oh yes!" Hermione told her with a grin. "I don't really remember what happened from the first time I read it but I love it now." She explained.
"Where are you at?" Minerva asked drawing Hermione into a one armed hug.
"I'm at where Elizabeth has just arrived at Hunsford. Is Mr. Darcy so rude the entire book? I don't think he is but I don't remember."
"You have to finish the book." Minerva sung with a smile. "So why are you in here? I thought you would be spending all your time with Harry and Ron now that school is almost over." Minerva asked her.
"Well their flying, Harry's letting Ron go on his Nimbus. And besides I wanted to ask you something." Hermione put her book to the side and turned to her mother. Hermione frowned and bit her lip trying to tell her mother.
"What sweetie?" Minerva asked looking concerned.
"Can I tell Harry and Ron?" She said quickly as if she was afraid of what Minerva would say. Minerva smiled, she had been momentary worried that Hermione was hurt or something.
"Yes you can tell them sweetie." She saw Hermione let out a breath. "However I think it would be best if you only told them at this time and make sure they know to keep it a secret." Minerva warned. She did not want the information falling into the wrong hands. Such as young Mr. Malfoy. Hermione beamed at Minerva and gave her a hug.
"Yeah! Thank you so much. I'm starting to run out of reasons as to why I'm not in the common room some nights. They don't really believe the library card now that classes are over." She rambled on. Minerva chuckled and gave Hermione a light kiss on the forehead.
"And I was wondering about one more thing?" Hermione asked. Minerva raised an eyebrow in question.
"Could Harry and Ron come over at all this summer? I know Harry doesn't like staying with his relatives." She asked. Minerva pondered this. She did like the two boys and she knew probably more then Hermione did about what Mr. Potter has to deal with at his home. She didn't think Albus would mind she knew he was fond of Harry and would probably enjoy playing chess with Mr. Weasley.
"I don't see a problem with it. As long as you friends don't mind being in the company of two professors for part of the summer." She said with a smile. "Maybe they can come towards the end of the summer in August."
"Maybe Harry could come at his birthday and we could give him a party!" She said eagerly.
"I'll leave you to discuss it with Mr. Potter." Hermione stood up and placed her book onto the table.
"Can I go tell them now?"
"I won't stop you." Minerva smiled. "However I do request a hug to let you leave." Minerva opened her arms and Hermione jumped in and gave her a big hug.
"Thanks Mum." Hermione told her and ran out of the room. With a sigh Minerva leaned back in her chair and summoned some tea. Picking up the book she marked where Hermione was and flipped back to the beginning. Time for some rest and relaxation.
Hermione practically sprinted all the way out to the Quidditch pitch she was so eager to tell her friends. It was only when she arrived did she start to think about what telling them meant. She would have to tell them the truth about her real parents and hope they wouldn't get angry when they found out. She considered leaving and not telling them at all when they spotted her.
"Hey Hermione I thought you didn't want to watch." Ron remarked as she slowly walked onto the field.
"Yeah you said something along the lines of 'flying is stupid it's better to be studying'" Harry said with a small smirk.
"Yes, yes, yes make fun of me but there's something I need to tell the two of you. Are we alone out here?" She asked looking around.
"Yes there were a couple older kids out here earlier but they left about 15 minutes ago." Harry told her taking a seat in the middle of the pitch. Ron and Hermione both sat down to.
"Good, now I'm going to answer the question you guys asked me earlier." She started.
"What question?" Ron asked.
"The one about where I've been going." She told him. "Anyway I don't know any other way to say this so I'm just going to come out and say it. I've been with my mum." She told them. She hadn't meant to say mum, she had meant to say Professor McGonagall, because the woman wasn't legally her mother, just her guardian.
"How your mum's a muggle?" Ron mumbled confused. Harry nodded in agreement.
"Well yes my birth mother is, but she not my mum. Well she is but she not, you see over Christmas break I was involved in a custody battle and got a new guardian, she's my mum." Hermione was rambling now, she was so nervous at how they would take it.
"Wait so is your guardian a teacher?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded meekly.
"What?" Ron asked. "Who?"
"Professor McGonagall." Hermione whispered. Ron stared at her wide eyed.
"What! McGonagall's your mum?" He halfway shouted.
"Shh! Be quiet no one else can know!" She whispered furiously. Harry was nodding to himself.
"That actually makes a lot of sense." He stated causing Ron to now stare at him. "Well look at the facts, Hermione has always been leaving, Professor McGonagall would visit her in the hospital wing." At this Hermione nodded. "And she did us permission to come see you, Hermione in the hospital wing that one time when we found the paper." He concluded. Hermione smiled gratefully at him for understanding.
"Still McGonagall!" Ron stared. Hermione hung her head.
"I expected this." She said sadly. "I guess you're mad I didn't tell you." She said softly.
"I don't care about that; I just can't picture McGonagall as your mum. Was she the one at the station in January?" Hermione was shocked that Ron wasn't mad, but maybe what Harry had said had taken root and Ron understood it.
"Yes she was the one who was with me at the station." At Ron's look she continued. "She was trying really hard not to be recognized." Harry who had been quiet during this whole exchange decided to speak up.
"But Hermione why were you in a custody battle and how did McGonagall get custody of you." Ron sat up and looked eager at this. Hermione took at deep breath.
"Okay I'll tell you but you need to promise not to tell anyone and not to interrupt much. I think if you stop me to much I won't be able to finish." Both the boys nodded in consent. She took a big breath.
"Well the short version is this. When I came home for the holidays my house was empty. My parents had gone to France for holiday and since I wasn't supposed to come home for holidays they just left me there."
"What!" both boys cried. Hermione held up her hands to get them to be quiet, unknowingly copying what her mother did in situations like that.
"Anyway Professor McGonagall had to visit all the muggleborns like me and talk to their parents about the chamber of secrets. When she showed up and my parents weren't there, I lied and said they were at work. So she left and said she would come back later. She never said what time so I was eating and the lights were off and the heat off and she came back in and demanded to know where my parents were. I told her they were still at work and called my mother. I gave it to Professor McGonagall and my mother blabbed about how they left me and they were in France. The next thing I knew Professor McGonagall had sent me to pack my things and she took me to her house. I stayed with her and her husband for a week . . ."
"Wait now McGonagall has a husband?" Ron exclaimed in shock.
"Off topic," Hermione stated, "So I stayed with them over Christmas. Then as I was getting settled my birth parents found out I wasn't home. They contacted child services and tried to get me back. They took me back from Minerva's house to my parent's house and I had to stay there for two days. And Minerva fought for custody of me and won so now she's my mum." She finished. Harry and Ron both stared at her making her blush and look down.
"Why do I feel as if that was a very watered down version of what happened?" Harry asked.
"Because it was." She admitted. "I'm just not ready to talk about everything right now." The boys nodded and for once Ron keep his mouth shut. Harry got up and gave Hermione a hug and Ron followed suit. Hermione wiped a few tears from her eyes and hugged them back.
"Thanks for understanding guys."
"No problem Hermione." They said grinning.
"And I was wondering if you guys wanted to come over this summer, like near the end of the summer. Mum's got a big yard and you guys can fly and we can swim in the lake." Hermione looked up at them hopefully.
"Yeah sure any excuse to leave the Dursley's early." Harry said.
"Same the burrow gets so congested during the summer, with all my siblings at home. As well as relatives stopping in. I'll be glad to leave all that." Hermione beamed at both of them.
"Great! So it's all planned." She announced and they spent the rest of the day outside.
Later that night. .
"Mum their both okay with everything." The beaming girl told Minerva, sitting on her parent's bed.
"Do they know about me yet?" Albus asked eating a cookie. Minerva glared at him.
"You're going to get crumbs in the bed."
"No I won't"
"No they don't know about you yet daddy; I figured that was too much info. Ron looked like he was going to pee his pants in shock." Minerva got a small smirk on her face.
"His face would have been funny." Minerva agreed pulling the girl down so she fell on the bed laughing.
"Can I have a cookie?" Hermione asked Albus who handed her the plate. Minerva frowned.
"She shouldn't eat sweets so late, it's not healthy." Hermione just smiled at her.
"I eat sweets at night and I am perfectly healthy." Albus declared. Minerva ignored him.
"So it all worked out well Honey?" Minerva asked Hermione who had leaned again her.
"Yeah, Harry had already expected something and I think Ron was more shocked then anything else." Then Hermione yawned loudly.
"Time for bed." Minerva stated.
"Minnie let her stay up it's not like she as anything to get up early for." Albus remarked.
"She should get use to a normal schedule after being asleep for so long."
"She's just going to get use to sleeping in over summer break."
"Still even during the summer you should listen to your internal clock. You body doesn't lead you wrong."
"I'm right and you're wrong." Albus said firmly.
"That's mature Albus." She said. Albus opened his mouth to say one more thing and stopped. "What?" his wife asked.
"Look down." He said and she looked and saw that Hermione had fallen asleep during their bicker.
"Aw she's adorable." Minerva said stroking Hermione hair. "I guess she's sleeping here tonight."
"What no cuddling tonight?" Albus frowned; Minerva smiled and gave him a kiss.
"Good night Albus."
"Good night Minnie." He said kissing her back.
"You know this means I'm right."
"Good night Minnie."
Hope everyone liked that chapter. Again I apologize for not updating earlier. I'll try to update sooner next time. Once school ends I can update more. Please review.