A/N: Thanks go to Mermaidmom, Honeyfern1026, Calenithlon, bizbuzz5, Soulless Huntress, ThunderClaw03, The Shadow Author, ruth hammond, Lollypops101, catrinabass, TsumeNagata, snitchseeker31, carriemarie78, AnnieLM, eva-lily, Lilian123, Daughter of Ares 74 77, Tsukiko Kurosu, DylantheRabbit, Rodrigo Guinea, aveemcb, Lavender Queen, LiveColorfully, Someoneofnovaluer, and RowenaGryffindor for favoriting, reviewing, or following this story.
I have been having a little bit of trouble finding inspiration for this story lately, but I reread all of your reviews today, and it sparked something. Also, my fiancé recently made a purchase for me that may have helped with the inspiration for this chapter.
Disclaimer: I am not J. K. Rowling. I don't own any recognizable characters.
As soon as the Wytes were escorted out of the courtroom, Annabelle turned back to Minerva and embraced her. Whispering, more to herself than to anyone else, she spoke, "You're my mum. You're actually my mum." She held tightly to Minerva for another moment before looking at all the women beaming at her.
Rolanda and Poppy looked ready to cry, but they both wore gargantuan smiles across their faces. Molly Weasley still looked moderately angry, but was also grinning from ear to ear. Ginny clung to her mother's hand. She was still reeling from Mr. Bozum's insensitive comments, even though she was elated for Annabelle.
Minerva could not believe how easily the court hearing finished. Sure, her testimony was difficult, and she knew that Annabelle had a very rough time with it, but it was over. Annabelle was officially her daughter. They needed to celebrate. "So, Miss McGonagall, would you like to go get some ice cream?"
Grinning at her new adoptive mother, Annabelle nodded before looking at the women standing around them. "Can everyone come with us?"
Minerva took the girl's hand in her own, smiling, and replied, "Of course. That's up to them if they have time to join us, but everyone is welcome."
There was a collective murmuring of agreement, so Minerva pulled out her wand, speaking, "Expecto Patronum." Once the silver tabby cat appeared, Minerva directed it to locate Albus and inform them of their plans. She was still angry at Fudge for stealing him away on a day like today. He had no right to do that, but she would handle that matter later. In the meantime, she had more important things to attend to.
She smiled at her daughter before directing the witches to the fireplaces in the entrance hall. After flooing to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, the six women sat and talked for a few hours. It was decided that Minerva and Annabelle would floo to the Burrow the following evening so that the girls could spend time together before the Weasleys left for Egypt the following week.
The day had been exhausting for both McGonagalls, so the pair flooed home in the late afternoon with plans to spend time reading in the study before Albus got home.
After flooing to her now-permanent residence, Annabelle stood shocked at the scene before her. Strung around the room were balloons, multi-colored streamers, and a banner saying, "Welcome home, Annabelle McGonagall."
The blonde witch was still staring at the decorations around her when the darker haired witch appeared behind her in a flare of green light. Minerva grinned and placed a hand on Annabelle's shoulder. "Welcome home, mo chroí. I'm so glad I can finally say that you're my daughter." The last part was but a whisper as she gently squeezed the young girl's shoulder.
Annabelle squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself not to cry. She was not sad. It would be silly to cry when she was so happy. Turning around, she embraced the older witch.
Minerva was stunned for barely a moment before she returned the child's gesture and wrapped her arms around the girl's frail figure. "I told you that you would never go back."
Annabelle nodded against her mentor's stomach. "Thank you for not leaving me." She felt like she had a thousand more words to say, but those were the only ones that came to mind in that moment.
Before she could try to conjure any more thoughts to her brain, an older white gentleman strolled into the room. "Welcome home, Annabelle. I'm so sorry I couldn't be there today, sweetheart. Fudge and I had a few things to sort out."
"Which can be discussed later." The elder witch gave her husband a pointed look before smiling back at Annabelle. She doubted that whatever Fudge needed Albus for would be wise to discuss in front of their young child. "For now, it looks like we have some more celebrating to get done."
After that declaration, a small pop was heard. The trio looked up to see Lindy grinning from the doorway to the kitchen. "Lindy hears Mistress correctly? There is a celebration?"
Minerva squeezed Annabelle's shoulders gently before nodding. "Yes, Lindy. We need to have a celebration. All of the house elves are to be invited to join us. Annabelle will be staying with us from now on. She is officially a Dumbledore-McGonagall."
Lindy's little body shot into the air as she let out a loud holler. The moment her feet hit the ground, she bolted over to the young blonde and wrapped her arms around her. "Little miss, little miss, you get to stay. You are staying with us." Pulling back, she looked up into Annabelle's face. "Little miss, what is your favorite food? Can Lindy make Little miss something special? Oh! Desserts. We must have desserts." Lindy backpedaled without giving Annabelle a chance to respond, obviously wrapped up in her own excitement. "Lindy must go tell the other elves. Lindy is so happy to have Little Miss here. Lindy will call for Mistress, Master, and Little miss when all is ready." With that, Lindy disappeared as quickly as she had come.
Albus let out a low chuckle before wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders. "Well, come on ladies. We may as well settle into the study for a short while. I'm sure you both have reading to catch up on while I eat lemon drops at my desk."
All smiles, the trio made their way to the study. Annabelle immediately sat down with a book beside Minerva, but the elder witch rose after only a few moments of looking at her book. She removed her wand from her sleeve and began muttering incantations as she waved the wand, pointing it at every corner of the room.
Her mentor's movements drew her attention, and Annabelle stared in awe as the room began to expand.
When Minerva finally turned around, she was met with an open-mouthed stare from her pupil. "Yes, Miss Wy- I mean, Miss McGonagall?"
"Wha...? How did you do that so easily? Why did you make the room larger? Can you teach me to do that?"
The rapid-fire questions took Minerva by surprise, and she laughed as she gazed around the room, admiring her own work. "Well, Annabelle, after my father passed away and left the manor to me, I realized that I needed more space in the study. While it was most certainly a beautiful and expansive room, I just did not have enough space for all of my tomes and school books if they shared the same space with the family collection. At that time, I placed an expansion charm on the room, one that can be modified if you know the right spell." Minerva's grin doubled as she noticed the intensity in Annabelle's eyes as she took in all of the information. This child really was her daughter. "Now that I know you are staying with me for good, I believe you need your own section of the McGonagall library. As you saw before, there was no empty space for you to have your own section before. Now..." The elder witch trailed off as she turned away from her pupil for a moment. She magically rearranged the books on the wall so that there were three full-length columns of bookshelves empty. She turned back to Annabelle, noting that the young girl was still staring in awe. "You have your own shelves. For now, I believe that should be enough. When you fill those shelves, we will see about teaching you the enchantment that will enlarge the room further."
Annabelle's eyes scanned over the newly empty shelves again before she grinned and embraced Minerva. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."
Minerva wrapped both arms around the younger witch and gently squeezed. "You're welcome, mo chroí. This is your home. Your things belong here. You belong here. I want you to always have a space for whatever you have here."
Annabelle tried to hold back her tears as her mother spoke. "Thank you," was all she could choke out. She finally had a place where she belonged. She had parents that loved her.
Pop. The pair broke apart and smiled at the elf standing nearby. "Dinner is ready in the dining hall. Dessert is also set. All the elves are ready to join for the celebration as Mistress requested. The elf's eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" was the call from Albus' desk. "Let's go eat." With that, they all went to the dining room, stopping in the doorway to marvel at the beauty before them. The table was set with maroon linens, and all of the white plates shimmered with gold etching. The bronze goblets were filled to the brim with a pink drink. The table was set with assorted dishes ranging from appetizers to desserts.
All of the elves were present, leaving only four chairs at the head of the table. Lindy led the trio to their seats before taking the last seat and turning to Albus. "The elves were wondering if you might say a few words before the meal like you do Hogwarts, Master Albus."
The old man looked at all of the grinning faces and immediately agreed. Standing up, he spoke, "First, thank you to all of you for doing this. Lindy, I am especially thankful that you coordinated such a beautiful dinner in such a short time. I know all of us appreciate your hard work." He turned to his small family and again smiled, nearly glowing with pride. "I am so glad that our family of two has officially grown to be a family of three. You completed our family, Annabelle. I know that you needed us, but let me assure that we also needed you." With the sappy thanks out of the way, he addressed the entire table. "Now, I think we have all waited long enough. The food looks too good to wait any longer. Let's eat!"
They all dug into their food, and dinner went off without a hitch. Annabelle took the time to speak with each of the elves, making it a point to learn all of their names. She had met a few in passing, but she never had the opportunity to sit down and speak with any of them except Lindy before that night.
She found out that Lindy's sister, Delma, was in charge of the kitchen. Delma was one of the head cooks at Hogwarts during the year, but she had recently had a son with Squinton, who specialized in taking care of the manor's expansive grounds. After input from Minerva, the pair decided not to return to Hogwarts this coming year. This would provide more time to take care of their newborn son, Delton, and Squinton would have the opportunity to keep up with the work at the manor.
All of the discussion with the elves led Annabelle to ask about where the elves stayed when they were not working. Minerva was happy to show off the wing of the manor that was just for the elves. Each elf family had their own private quarters with multiple rooms. They all used the main kitchen and had a common area where they could all sit and enjoy one another's company.
Annabelle was unsure if she approved of the segregation, but when she asked the elves about it, they informed her that they loved their rooms. They seemed to enjoy the degree of separation, as it meant they did not feel the need to work when they were not in the wizards' presence.
This answer satisfied Annabelle enough to drop the subject, so she let it go for the night. She would discuss it further with Minerva at another time.
It was not long before the trio decided it was time to go to bed. Unlike most nights, Minerva decided to walk Annabelle to her bedroom. She stopped in the doorway, and leaned against the door. "Annabelle, we are so happy to have you here. I am so glad to get to call you my daughter." Before she could turn into a complete mess, she changed topics. "Now, get some sleep. You need to pack to go to the Burrow in the morning, and I'm sure tomorrow will be a fun, but exhausting, day. Sleep well, love." She then kissed the top of her daughter's head and retired to her room to sleep.