Authors Note: Hello Everyone, I'm back again! I know it has been such a long time since I last posted anything but I've been really busy with school work. Hopefully now that my first semester of college is winding down I should have more time to write/edit/post. Here is Chapter two, I hope you like it, this one is from Minerva's point of view. Remember to leave a review if you like it!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and any of the characters you recognize from the books belong to JK Rowling and not me, I just borrow them occasionally and make my own changes to their world.

Minerva McGonagall stood at the entrance to the castle she had called home for a little more than a third of her life. She had been a student here not so long ago, and had recently returned to teach. This year she would be taking on the position of Transfiguration Professor. Although she had first gotten a job here the year before, she was working as an assistant to the professor and spent her spare time working in the library alongside Madame Pince.

The Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, had been able to lure her away from her job in the Ministry with very little persuasion. She jumped at the chance to return to Hogwarts and help educate the future of the wizarding world. Now here she was ready to begin a new school year, ready to take on her new responsibilities as a full fledged professor! She could hardly wait to see what this new school year had in store.

That was why she had come back to school early, she told herself over and over again. She was not trying to escape from what had happened at home, not trying to run away from her problems, she was here to prepare for the new school year, to become better acquainted with her new position and to begin planning lessons and putting her classroom together. Perhaps if she kept telling herself this it would validate her argument more.

Firmly sticking to this resolve she pushed open one of the large doors that led to the entrance hall and with her belongings made her way to her new living quarters. When she arrived she was very happy with what she found. The rooms were very much to her liking, and she thought they would suit her quite well. There was much more space than she had expected, yet it was all very cozy and comfortable.

Her living quarters consisted of four rooms; a sitting room with a small kitchenette, a small room which she hoped to turn into a library or reading room, a bedroom, and a bathroom. Looking around she found that the arrangement was very similar to that of a muggle flat.

These new surroundings were able to temporarily distract her from the events of the summer, but only for a short while. Now that she was here standing in these rooms she realized that she could not deny her reasons for coming here so soon any longer. She was a coward, she had come here to escape, to run away from her problems. She could have been married, she could have been Mrs. Dougal Macgregor.

Instead she had given that up in order to be herself and to be able to freely use her magic. Although she truly loved Dougal she could not give up something that was so much a part of her as her magic was. It would have been very difficult for her to change her lifestyle so much, she knew that she was not cut out to be an ordinary muggle housewife, not when there was a war going on, not when she had been given this position at Hogwarts.

As she stood there trying to keep her emotions in check she heard a knock on the door. Making sure everything was in order and that her momentary lapse in control would not be visible she made her way over to the door and opened was very surprised to see Albus Dumbledore at the other side of it; a smile on his face and his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles.

"Minerva, I am so glad to see you." said the Headmaster beaming "Although I must confess I did not expect you for a few more days."

"I thought I might get an early start on things Headmaster, there is plenty of work for me to do in preparing for the new school term and it seems to me that it is better to get started sooner rather than later." Minerva said. She wasn't telling him a lie, she fully intended to get a jump start, it just wasn't the whole truth.

"I see." Dumbledore said still smiling. " I trust your journey here was a pleasant one?"

"It went as well as one could hope for." said Minerva as pleasantly as she could. She had the strangest sensation that Dumbledore knew more about what was going on then he led her to believe, but she shrugged it off.

"Very Good Minerva." Dumbledore said "I hope these new rooms are to your liking Minerva."

"I believe they shall suit me quite well." Minerva said smiling.

"I'm glad you like them Minerva. You are free to decorate them in whatever manner you choose. The rooms and their furnishings are meant to adapt to your preferences . If you want to change something in your rooms you simply take out your wand, and tap the object twice while picturing how you would like it to look. Another alternative is to allow the room to decide for you based on your preferences. To do this you simply place your palm on the wall, close your eyes and clear your mind. It should only take a few moments for the process to be complete. I find that this method will save a good deal of trouble and that sometimes you even learn a little more about yourself in the process." Dumbledore explained with a smile his blue eyes twinkling brightly.

"Thank you Headmaster, I know this will be helpful." Minerva said gratefully she had been wondering what she was going to do about her new rooms, the ones she had stayed in before were much simpler and were already decorated.

"In regards to the entrance to your rooms I have taken the liberty of choosing a portrait to guard it." Albus said still smiling. "If you will please follow me."

Upon leaving her chambers and making her way into the hallway Minerva found that there was now a full sized portrait in place of the door that was there mere moments ago. A tall man in 18th century garb stood there in front of her, a horse behind him.

"Minerva, this is Sir Stephen I believe you will find him to be trustworthy, kind, honest and loyal. He shall serve you well." Albus said gesturing towards the painting.

Sir Steven removed his tricornered hat and bowed low. "It will be a pleasure to serve you professor." he said kindly. "I hope we shall become great friends!"

"Thank you Sir Stephen." Minerva said nodding to the man. " I am sure we will become very good friends, I look forward to getting to know you."

"Minerva, I have some last minute business to do, so I really must be going. I wanted to let you know that this evening since there are so few people in the school, and since I am so busy your house elf will bring dinner to your rooms for you ." Dumbledore said. " Welcome back Minerva, I hope we may talk some more when I have some more time."

"So do I Headmaster." Minerva said happy to have a friend. The two colleagues made their goodbyes and Albus made his departure. He really was like a second father to her, and Minerva was very glad to be on his staff. As she was thinking about all of this she was interrupted by Sir Stephen.

"Professor, what would you like to use as your password?" he asked politely.

Minerva gave it a few moments thought, then leaned in and whispered her new password to the portrait. Sir Stephen smiled and said "Yes I think that shall do quite nicely." Then the portrait swung open and Minerva walked back in to her rooms, on the wall by the entrance a new empty frame hung. Minerva supposed that this one was also for good Sir Stephen.

After looking around her rooms for a few moments and giving it some thought Minerva walked towards the wall. She was not normally a woman to leave things completely up to chance, but something compelled her to try this and see what would happen, if she did not like it she could always change it into something more suitable. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes, began to clear her mind and placed her palm against the cool stone.