Hogwarts prepares for a new year.

McGONAGALL III

"Cornelius, Amelia, I appreciate your concerns, but it is out of the question that I allow Dementors to roam freely on the school grounds," Albus Dumbledore stated, making it clear there would be no place to discuss about it.

They were in the Headmaster's office, and Minerva, as Deputy Headmistress, stood next to Albus, supporting him in his position. Facing them were also a man and a woman, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, and Amelia Bones, Head of his Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"It would only be at night, Dumbledore," the Minister explained. "I don't like them anymore than you do, but Dementors are a necessary precaution. They will be here to protect your students."

"Dementors don't care about protecting my students, Cornelius. The only thing that interests them is to feed on people, whoever they are. They don't care whether they feed on Peter Pettigrew or an innocent girl of eleven or a baby."

"But they can stop Pettigrew from attacking your students."

"They could barely hold him at Azkaban for two weeks. By the way, do we have any idea how he might have escaped the prison?"

"Our investigation is still ongoing," Amelia Bones informed them. She stepped forward. "Look, Professor Dumbledore, I think we can all agree that no one in this room likes the idea of Dementors at Hogwarts." Indeed, McGonagall agreed with it. "My niece is one of your students, and I don't like the idea of her facing Dementors anymore than any other parent. But I don't want her or any other student to be in danger because of Peter Pettigrew."

"Pettigrew spent two years in Hogwarts under the appearance of a rat," McGonagall stated. "He never did anything to harm any student, not even Harry Potter, and his master hates him more than anybody. What is the likelihood that Pettigrew would come back to Hogwarts to kill him or any other student?"

"It is likely. He just went through a trial and was sent to Azkaban for the rest of his life. Everyone knows that he is alive and that he is an Animagus now. His photo is circulating everywhere. He is tracked, and it may make him desperate."

"Desperate enough to try to kill Harry," Dumbledore stated. McGonagall looked at him with round eyes. "And desperate enough to target anyone who testified against him at his trial, anyone he might consider responsible for his downfall."

"Albus," McGonagall said, looking at him. "You're not seriously considering to let Dementors on the school grounds."

"No, I will never allow that." The Headmaster stood up. "Cornelius, Amelia, I understand your point of view, but as long as I am Hogwarts' Headmaster, I will not allow these vicious creatures anywhere near my students. Dementors are as much a threat, if not more than Peter Pettigrew if we were to grant them access to Hogwarts."

"But Dumbledore, be reasonable!" the Minister burst. "We've got to catch this man! And we cannot let Hogwarts defenseless."

"I am very confident in our own ability to ensure the safety of our students, Cornelius. I thank you."

"Professor Dumbledore, please forgive me," Amelia Bones started, "but last year, four students were Petrified, and another one was locked in a secret cave under the castle where a basilisk was being hidden. And the year before, You-Know-Who somehow managed to get inside this castle using one of your teachers as host. No one here questions your competence as Headmaster, but I'm afraid Hogwarts is not equipped to face such threats. Let the Ministry of Magic help you this time."

Dumbledore and Madam Bones stared at each other for a very long time. Finally, Albus seemed to give in. "I appreciate your offer, Amelia, and I know you have good intentions, but my position is clear, and I will not flinch on it. Dementors will not be allowed anywhere near my students." Fudge looked discouraged. "But I'm willing to consider other kinds of help from the Ministry. For example, if you want to position Aurors inside or outside the castle."

"Aurors?" the Minister said, as if Dumbledore said something stupid. "You believe Aurors can stop Pettigrew? We are talking about a man who literally has the capacity to turn into a rat. No Auror will ever see him. Only the Dementors can do that."

"Then in this case, I'm afraid we are deadlocked."

"Let me make a suggestion. A compromise," Amelia then said. "We could position Dementors at the entrances to the castle. They will guard the perimeter and stop anyone from entering the school grounds. They will receive specific orders to not go anywhere inside the perimeter, and this way, our children will be protected, but will not have to spend time near them. Their deployment could be managed jointly by the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts' authorities."

Minerva looked at both Albus and Amelia. Their gazes were interlocked. It was as if Minerva and Cornelius didn't exist. But after a moment, Albus turned to Fudge.

"You realize the danger Dementors will pose to the students, Fudge, don't you?"

The Minister grimaced. "I don't really like the idea of Dementors spreading despair on them, Dumbledore, I admit it. But I would rather see them despaired from time to time, than taking the risk of Pettigrew killing one of them. What if he attacks Harry Potter? Or Amelia's niece? Or any other student who might be in his way? I don't like them, but they are a necessary evil, like I said."

Cornelius Fudge sighed. "Anyway. Dumbledore." The Minister took a very official tone. "I have a lot of respect for you, but Peter Pettigrew is a greater danger than the Dementors will ever be. We will position Dementors around Hogwarts, no matter what you say. Your authority is limited to the school grounds, and it doesn't go any further. So you can either work with us, or leave us to tell Dementors wherever it pleases us around the school's perimeter."

As unflinching as Fudge might have sounded, Minerva could tell that he was uncertain as he talked to Dumbledore. His facial expression didn't lie. Amelia Bones stepped in again.

"I'm sure we can find a solution to position the Dementors around Hogwarts in a way that limits their contact with the students to the minimum, while limiting to minimum odds for Pettigrew to get inside the castle."

Dumbledore laid his back against his chair. "Very well. I see I have no choice." He looked at Fudge, then to Madam Bones. "Dementors can stay at the entrances of the school, but I want to know at every moment the position of each of them."

"We can arrange that."

"And I will not tolerate any presence from their part in the castle or on the school grounds. If a single one of them trespasses the property, we will not hesitate to use all the magic at our disposal to send them far away back to Azkaban."

"Albus, I think you are worrying too much. The Dementors are doing everything we ask them to," Cornelius said. Minerva had to hold a scoff. "We will give them strict orders to remain at the entrances of the school and to do no harm to the students or anyone from your staff. Though I wish you would let them patrol the yards, if only at night."

"Out of the question, Cornelius. I will tolerate their presence at the entrances, but nothing more. And I want their disposition to be approved by me."

"Alright. Alright. If this is what you want, Dumbledore, we will arrange that," Fudge said. "It is only a few days before the first term begins, so the Dementors will arrive here shortly. In fact, they are already on their way."

"You made them come here without asking our permission first?" Minerva almost shouted.

"We didn't think you would be so reluctant to have their help. Considering the events from previous years and the current situation, we thought you would appreciate the assistance that the Minister is ready to provide."

"I would gladly accept any help you would offer, Cornelius," Dumbledore said. "But this is not the help of the Ministry of Magic we will get. It is from the Dementors. And accepting help from them, to me, would be the same as to accept help from Voldemort himself."

Fudge flinched at the mention of this name. McGonagall herself felt a shiver go down her back. But the Minister quickly got back his countenance. "I think you are exaggerating, Albus. The Dementors are keeping the most dangerous criminals of our world. They keep us safe, even if we would rather not have to deal with them. And they never worked for You-Know-Who. But now, we should decide how we will handle their deployment. I suppose I can leave you with this task, Amelia."

"Yes, Mr Fudge," she said.

"Well, I wish you a good night then."

And on those last words, the Minister left. The three of them looked at him leaving. Then Amelia Bones turned to the Headmaster.

"I'm sorry about that, Albus," she said. "I don't enjoy this situation anymore than you do."

Dumbledore seemed to have calmed down just like the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement did.

"Amelia," McGonagall asked, "was this your idea to bring Dementors to Hogwarts?" She sincerely hoped not. Amelia Bones had been one of Minerva's best students in the past.

"This is the decision of the Ministry." Minerva could see that Amelia would remain loyal to the organization she served. "But I must admit that the Minister is very adamant to having Dementors here. And I do understand why he is. After all, my Aurors needed twelve years to find Pettigrew, even though we knew he could turn into a rat. No men or women in the Ministry would be skillful enough to prevent such a man from entering Hogwarts. But Dementors could."

"Even though they let him escape Azkaban?" Minerva asked.

"It's still better than nothing." The woman stared at Dumbledore. "We want the same thing, Albus. We want to catch Pettigrew, and we want to protect the students as well. So let's find a way to deploy the Dementors so that they have the fewest contacts with our children."

They set up to work. It proved to be easier than Minerva expected. Amelia Bones indeed did her best to suggest spots where Dementors could stay that would limit the risks of students chancing upon them, while maximizing the chances to catch Pettigrew if he ever tried to get into Hogwarts. Their plan was ready within fifteen minutes.

"Dementors will also patrol in Hogsmeade," Amelia added after they finished. "And you must expect them to search the Hogwarts Express before it reaches Hogwarts."

Neither Minerva nor Albus were happy with this.

"All our students are going to be there. Do you realize this?" Minerva asked.

"They will be vulnerable, without defense," Albus added.

"I understand," Amelia said. Minerva noticed she didn't look pleased at all with the idea either. "But Pettigrew could easily hide inside the train. I'm sorry, but there's no way around it. Anyway, this is not for you to decide about this."

"Because since the Hogwarts Express will not be on the school grounds..." Dumbledore began.

"... it will be on territory that is inside the jurisdiction of the Ministry," Amelia completed. "I'm sorry again. We will make it very clear to the Dementors that they are to look for Pettigrew and no one else."

If only that would be enough, Minerva thought.

"Now, there is another matter I wanted to discuss with you, Albus," Amelia resumed. "And this time, I'm not talking as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I'm talking as an aunt whose niece happens to be one of your students."

"Very well. I'm all ears, Amelia," Dumbledore said, back to a calm and understanding tone.

"It has come to my attention that you hired a certain Remus Lupin to be the professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts this year."

"Yes, indeed. I see you are very well informed, Amelia."

"I am," she replied dryly. "I also happen to know about his condition."

A silence as heavy as in a cemetery fell upon Albus' office. Minerva held her respiration. She hoped against all odds that the condition was not the one Minerva thought it was. Albus, on his side, remained quite unresponsive, and didn't betray any surprise.

"I didn't know that the Ministry of Magic conducted investigations on my teachers," he innocently said.

"We don't," Amelia abruptly stated. "As I said, I'm only here as an aunt whose niece is studying here." She looked at Minerva, then back to Albus. "Does she know?"

"If this is what I believe it is, then yes, Amelia, she is aware. But let's go straight to the point. What do you know about Remus Lupin and his condition?"

"I know he is a werewolf." Amelia Bones was indeed, like always, straight to the point. She stared right into Albus' eyes. "I hope that you understand my concerns, not only for my niece, but also for the other students."

Dumbledore nodded, seeming unperturbed. "I understand it completely, Amelia. However, I can reassure you. Remus Lupin is not a danger for students. And I'm quite sure there is a file about him at the Werewolf Registry, since he went to register at the age of eighteen. You surely consulted his file."

"I did. And I must admit he seems like a peaceful werewolf. He was bitten at the age of five by Fenrir Greyback, his father worked for the Ministry of Magic. But aside from this, there is nothing written in his file. He has had no known employment ever since he left Hogwarts in 1978, nor any known source of revenues. Both his parents are dead. He has no known relatives alive."

"Indeed," Dumbledore confirmed, a point of sadness in his eyes.

"However, I remember that he was spotted more than once with another man, Sirius Black, in various places in England, but also across the world, as far as in Australia, between the end of the war and today. And since both were previously members of the Order of the Phoenix, I guess we can assume that he's been working for you this whole time."

"This would be a reasonable assumption."

Amelia Bones leaned forward. "Albus, I trust you. But can you assure me that having a werewolf as a teacher represents in no way a danger for the students?"

Dumbledore leaned forward as well. "I would never hire a teacher who poses a threat to my students."

"Not knowingly. I'll give you that. But you hired a teacher who shared his body with You-Know-Who."

"Professor Quirrell was already a teacher at Hogwarts when he met You-Know-Who," McGonagall said. "There is no way Albus or any of us could have thought that he shared his body with him."

"I know. And I'm accusing no one. What I want to know is why Hogwarts' Headmaster believes that Remus Lupin does not pose a threat to any student."

Dumbledore paused and looked very long at Amelia. Then he spoke. "Remus was bitten by a werewolf when he was only five, like you said, Amelia. His father worked in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Despite this, he never registered his son because of the stigma surrounding werewolves. They tried to cure him, to no avail."

Amelia Bones interrupted him at this moment. "I'm not saying that what happened to him is not tragic, and I'm not saying that he's responsible for what he is, but I'm worried that he might do to other children what was done to him."

"Let me finish, Amelia. When Remus came at an age when he could come to Hogwarts, I made special arrangements to make sure he could be a student here while not endangering the other children. And during the seven years he spent here as a student, he never harmed anyone, nor did he harm anyone after he left the school. He even registered himself as a werewolf on a voluntary basis after he left Hogwarts, and he's always been very careful to not put anyone in danger when he changed. He was a member of the Order of the Phoenix during the war, you are right. Edgar knew him. And if he was still alive, he would tell you that he can be trusted."

"Edgar is dead," she said sharply. "I want to know how you plan to avoid any accident. Even with the most powerful will, no werewolf can control himself when he transforms."

"Our Potions Master, Severus Snape, will prepare Wolfsbane Potions in large quantities. Professor Lupin will take them assiduously. In fact, he didn't want to accept the position when I offered him. It was only after I could ensure him that the potion would be made available in sufficient quantities that he accepted the job. He will be locked into his office, with spells locking it from the inside and the outside, at each full moon. We will not let any student be in contact with him while he is under his wolf form."

Amelia kept staring at Dumbledore. She was one of the few people Minerva knew who could sustain Dumbledore's gaze and even defy him. She leaned back into her chair.

"I'm still not comfortable with all that, Albus. Even with the best precautions, a risk will remain."

"The entire staff has already been made aware of Mr Lupin's condition," Minerva informed her. "We will not tell the students, for obvious reasons. We don't want to start a panic movement, and they wouldn't trust their new professor otherwise, but the whole staff will be aware of the situation. We can handle this."

"Furthermore, having Remus Lupin here at Hogwarts might be a good thing for the safety of our students in the current circumstances," Dumbledore added. "He knows Peter Pettigrew, maybe better than anyone else in the world. If someone can protect students from him, it's Lupin. He was among the people who caught Pettigrew, and unlike the Dementors, he didn't let him escape from a prison on an uncharted island."

The woman sitting in front of Dumbledore seemed to ponder the situation. In the end, she looked again straight into Dumbledore's eyes. "I'm going to trust you on this, Albus, but I hear about any incident, anything that might put my niece or any of her classmates in danger..."

"If it ever happens, Amelia, Remus Lupin will leave the school by his own free will. Believe me. If there's werewolf we can trust, that's him."

The Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement nodded in the end. She looked satisfied by Albus' reassurances. Not happy but satisfied at least.

"Very well. I think everything was said that needed to be said." Amelia stood up as she said the words.

"Amelia, please don't divulge that information to other people," Dumbledore asked her. "Eventually, we may have to reveal Remus' condition, but I would rather give the chance to students and parents to know him without the prejudice that comes with the condition of werewolf."

"I wasn't going to tell anyone, anyway. I wish to you two a good night," Amelia Bones said, and on this she left.

Minerva looked at Albus. "We may not have chosen the right time to welcome Remus as a teacher. With Pettigrew and the Dementors, it will make things much harder for him, and for us," Minerva said.

"Remus deserves a chance, Minerva. You made him prefect when he studied here, remember?"

Of course, she remembered. Of the four inseparable friends, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, Remus was by far the most serious, and the one who got himself the less into trouble. She had hoped that by naming him Prefect, Remus might exercise a positive influence on his friends. This had not really been the case, sadly enough. She didn't blame him, not entirely. Being a werewolf was already difficult, so being a werewolf and a model student at the same time was much harder. And Remus was clearly not the leader of the little group back then. James Potter was a little like his son was with Mr Weasley and Miss Granger today. It was only in their sixth year that the group really started to behave more responsibly, when James Potter himself stopped to hex everybody he crossed in the corridors. Strangely enough, it coincided with the time he and Lily Evans started to get closer.

But still, Minerva always felt pity for Remus. She was as hard on him as on the other students in class, but of course, knowing about his condition like all the other professors of the time, she never punished him because of any failure that was the cause of this condition. She kept an eye on him during his whole passage at Hogwarts, and even afterwards. She was glad that he was coming to join Hogwarts' staff. No matter what they could say, he couldn't be worse than his two predecessors at his position.

"Do you think other parents could be aware?" Minerva asked.

"I doubt it. Even the Board of Governors ignores what Lupin's condition is," Dumbledore said.

"Are you sure this is wise to keep the Governors in the dark about this?"

"They trust me, Minerva. Especially after what happened last year, and Ginny Weasley miraculously reappeared the moment they called me back to my office. And considering many of them have children who study here, it is better we don't tell them. At least, not right away. Let's first prove to them that Remus is harmless and competent. Then, when the time is right, we will be able to tell them."

Minerva wasn't sure. Dumbledore was taking a huge risk by not telling the Board. Lucius Malfoy might have been thrown out of it, but the Board was not into Albus' pocket. He might be in trouble if the Board found out of its own about Remus' condition.

"Let's hope that nothing betrays Remus," she said. And no one, she mentally added for herself.

Minerva went back to her own small apartment inside Hogwarts, which included her study. It was filled with the lessons plans for all her classes. There were still a few last minute adjustments to make, especially for the seventh years. Transfiguration, like every other branch of magic, was in constant evolution. No professor could keep giving the same class over and over again, every year. Even Professor Binns updated his courses, to the contrary of what most students thought.

Minerva revised the steps of human transfiguration for her seventh year class. She thought about Peter, the small fat boy who followed James, Sirius and Remus everywhere. Minerva had been very demanding of him while he was a student here, like she was with every one of her students. She wondered how she could never realize that he was actually an Animagus. Minerva was one herself. How come she never saw it? How come she never realized that James and Sirius were Animagus as well? It was true that James and Sirius, although they had excellent grades, were always getting themselves into trouble. Perhaps Minerva focused so much on their breaking of the rules that she didn't notice the signs.

It still seemed surreal, even after all these years, that three of her students, in her own House, managed to become Animagus while studying here, at Hogwarts. Despite Remus' explanations, it still looked unconceivable to Minerva. It was especially unlikely for Peter. He barely managed to get in her N.E.W.T. class after his O.W.L.. His first attempts at human transfiguration in class were just disastrous.

Perhaps this was all part of an act. Pettigrew may have fooled them from the very beginning. The Sorting Hat required over five minutes to decide where to send Pettigrew. The boy had been a Hatstall, just like Minerva. For a very long time, Minerva had thought that the Hat likely hesitated between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff in his case, but today she had another theory. Did the Hat hesitate between Gryffindor and Slytherin? Minerva wasn't happy to admit it, but the Houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin had much more in common than most people would concede. Despite the animosity between the two houses, which went as far as their founders, Minerva could not deny how students from both houses could be alike. There wasn't much difference between the bullying James Potter and Sirius Black committed for most of their time at Hogwarts, and those committed by Severus Snape, and the likes of Avery and Mulciber. The jokes made by Fred and George Weasley were no worse than those of other Slytherins through Hogwarts' history. Minerva couldn't claim that her own house's students got less detentions than those from Slytherin. And although Slytherin produced most dark wizards of their time, they also produced very decent people, whose ambition and cunning were not directed at ruining others. Andromeda Black married a Muggle-born wizard, and their daughter was now studying to become an Auror. Leta Lestrange sacrificed herself fighting Grindelwald during the Global Wizarding War. Minerva remembered the girl fondly, despite her bad habit to play bad tricks to other students, especially those who bullied her, and to find herself in detention along with her best friend Newt Scamander, which gave Minerva many headaches at the time. Who could have thought that two friends, one from Hufflepuff and the other from Slytherin, could cause so many problems?

But Minerva let Peter's appearance and behavior, his belonging to the House of Gryffindor, blind her. Even Dumbledore was fooled by him. She should have suspected something when she surprised him listening to the conversation between Marlene and Albus. Perhaps if she had realized who he was back then, the McKinnon family would still be alive, and James Potter too, and many other people. Who knew how many people, members of the Order or not, Pettigrew sold to his master?

Well, Albus had to be right. Having Remus here this year could be useful to stop Pettigrew. And, if the adult was anything like the student she had, their students for this year might finally have a good professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Minerva went to bed quite late, but she woke up early in the morning all the same, like always. She spent this morning helping to position the Dementors with other professors, a task obviously none of them enjoyed, with the help of representatives from the Ministry. Minerva was shivering when she finally got back into the castle. Severus Snape, who walked next to her, tried to remain impassive, but she could see he was failing admirably.

"I hate those creatures," he muttered. Minerva thought, with a mix of relief and fear, that if Severus had not turned against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, he might have had to deal with those creatures on a daily basis, feeding them at Azkaban.

"Let's hope they will not trouble our classes," she commented.

"If they do, they will have to deal with me," the Potions Master said between his teeth.

Something came up on Minerva's mind at this moment, which prompted her to make a request to Severus. "May I have a private conversation with you, Severus?"

"If you wish," he flatly replied.

He continued on his way to the dungeons. Minerva followed him. Severus didn't say a word as they went down, and he didn't say a word when he walked into his office, leaving the door barely open for his colleague. Severus Snape was definitely not a very pleasant colleague to have. Minerva closed the door behind her. And as always, Snape didn't ask her what she wanted. He just waited for her to speak, behaving as if she wasn't there.

"What is your personal opinion on Peter Pettigrew?" she asked.

His head snapped in her direction. "I don't think this person is worth having an opinion about," he replied, disgust plain in his voice.

"Severus, you know what I mean. Do you think he is a threat to our students?"

"The only threat Peter ever represented was as a source of information for the Dark Lord. He cannot do that anymore now. He is a pitiful, useless, helpless coward who will never face anybody in battle, and who will always hide behind someone's skirts. You should know it. He was your student, after all."

Minerva did her best to keep her calm. "He was. But you were a student at the same time that he was. And I don't want to hear about him being pathetic, Severus. What I want to know is the harm he can cause to our students. He managed to murder twelve people with a single curse twelve years ago, and he managed to escape Azkaban. You've known things about him that no professor could have known at the time. So tell me what threat he might pose."

Severus looked straight into her eyes. "No threat at all. "

"Really? You're sure about that?"

"Peter was always following his friends everywhere, but he always remained behind. The real troublemakers, those who always put this school in danger, were James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin."

Minerva held back an exasperated sigh. "Severus, I know you weren't friends back then, and I know you had more than you share of squabbles..."

"I don't think this can be only called squabbles."

She had a good suspicion of what he was talking about. "James Potter saved your life once. Perhaps you shouldn't forget about that."

"Only because it would have gotten him expel, and probably to protect his friend."

"If he had only wanted to protect Remus, the Professor Dumbledore and I wouldn't have forced you to remain silent about his condition as a werewolf. Because in this case, he would have let you get into Shrieking Shack, and you wouldn't have been alive for me to scold you."

Her former student now turned colleague was obviously displeased by the reminder. "Always thinking the best about your students, Minerva. As always."

She tried to return to the matter she came for. "Is there anything you would advise me to do to protect the students from Pettigrew?"

"Fire Lupin." Maybe she shouldn't, but she was taken aback by the suggestion.

"Dumbledore just hired him."

"And it was a mistake. Having a werewolf as a professor is anything but safe."

"Remus never caused any harm to any student while he was here, and that for seven years," she defended the former prefect.

"He almost did."

"Because a student got too curious," she pointed out.

"Furthermore," Severus continued, ignoring her last remark, "I wouldn't put it past Remus to help Pettigrew getting inside Hogwarts."

She shook her head in disbelief. "Severus, Remus was among the people who helped capture Peter Pettigrew. He testified against him at his trial. Pettigrew killed one of his best friends. Thinking Remus would help such a man is ludicrous."

"Not when you know him as well as I do," he retorted.

"Do you really think he would take the risk of putting the son of Lily Evans in danger?" She had hit the mark there, and it was obvious from Severus' expression. "Even you cannot do it, despite your hate for his father."

He looked at her as if he wanted to remove her head. "Our discussion is over."

Indeed, it was going nowhere. She would be better to ask Remus what to do to protect the children from his former friend once he arrived. Whenever it came to James Potter, anything or anyone related to him, it was impossible to have a serious conversation with Severus Snape. McGonagall left her colleague behind her and went back to her study.

And yet, less than an hour later, she was striding through the corridors of the second floor in the Ministry of Magic, heading towards the Auror Headquarters. The Department had not changed that much since she worked there, but of course most of her colleagues at the time were gone. They were replaced by younger people, many of which she taught to. Some Aurors waved a hand towards their former teacher, and Minerva acknowledged their greeting with a nod, but she was looking for one former student in particular.

She reached the training area, where prospective Aurors studied and trained in the hope to obtain that position one day. Many wouldn't succeed, and would end up in another related service or office of the Ministry, maybe the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol. There were even some who turned to the private sector, working as bodyguards or private investigators for rich families of wizards. Minerva seldom had a good opinion on these people, since they often ended up working for pure-blood supremacists like the Malfoys or the Lestranges.

Quite strangely, the study area was almost empty. However, among the few apprentices who happened to be there, one immediately caught Minerva's eye. Despite the young woman turning her back on Minerva, her bubblegum-pink hair could not be missed or mistaken for somebody else's hair. Minerva slowly approached from behind and whispered as the young woman was reading.

"Miss Tonks."

She turned immediately to look at Minerva, and after the initial surprise, she smiled. "Wotcher, Professor McGonagall. What are you doing here?" the Metamorphmagus said.

"I'm looking for Lily Evans. Would you happen to know where she is?"

"Of course. She is in the training area, with all the others." She pointed towards the door on the other side of the vast study area.

"Thank you, Miss Tonks. I hope your training is going well."

"Concealment and Disguise are the easy parts," she answered, for reasons she did not need to explain to McGonagall. "It was good to see you, Professor."

"You too, Miss Tonks," she replied as she headed towards the training area.

Nymphadora Tonks. Minerva couldn't believe that two years had already gone since the young Hufflepuff left Hogwarts. Both she and Pomona had been quite surprised when she took the Auror's path. Nymphadora had a bad habit to make bad jokes to both students and professors, though she didn't put them in danger since the jokes often turned against her because of her clumsiness. But she got excellent marks in both her O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. Even Severus was surprised by her final results. Pomona was quite proud of her student, and Minerva could understand her. Who knew? Perhaps the twins, Fred and George Weasley, would surprise her as well one day. Unlike Severus, she didn't put stickers on students on the day they arrived at Hogwarts, considering them right away like future ministers or failures.

Minerva opened the door to the training area, to find herself confronted with a view she would never have tolerated in her classrooms. Everywhere, wizards and witches, young and old, fought in duels. In some cases, a single person was fighting two or even three others. Minerva walked along the walls of the large room, avoiding battles thanks to invisible protection barricades that stopped wandering spells. She found Lily at the back of the area, duelling three other wizards, all much younger than she was. Minerva watched in fascination as she witnessed one of her most talented former student use protection spells to deviate spells from one opponent against another, resulting in her opponents disarming each other. She then unleashed a barrage of Stunning, Impediment and Disarming spells, while conjuring stones that she threw towards one of her opponents, who tumbled under the rain of projectiles as his Shield Charm was too weak to block physical objects. She then threw another spell at the opponent still standing , while moving the remaining stones so that they hit him from behind, and finished him with a Stunning Spell. Lily Evans stood tall, victorious, while her three opponents were motionless or lying on the floor.

It was at this moment that her eyes met Minerva's. Lily cast the necessary spells to revive her opponents and to help them recover, then she dryly told them to wait for her. She joined Minerva in the neutral zone of the area.

"They're making us learn to work as a team," she told Minerva, pointing her three opponents. "Most of them don't seem to understand what it means."

She didn't smile a single moment as she spoke. Minerva supposed that it was normal, considering recent events. "I'm glad to see that your training is progressing, Lily," her former teacher told her.

"It's coming. So, why are you here?"

"For a few things. First, I was wondering how you felt?"

Lily Evans looked and scoffed, obviously in derision. "The man responsible for my husband's death is captured, sentenced to life in prison, and in barely a single week, he escapes. How do you think I feel?"

Minerva didn't think that Lily expected an answer, so she didn't provide one.

"How is Harry taking it?"

"Not much better." Her features softened. "I wanted to stay at home with him today, but he told me I should continue my training, that I lost too much time recently, with the trial and everything. The worst is that he's right."

Children could indeed prove wiser than adults by moments. "There are some things I think you should know, Lily. The Ministry decided to send Dementors at Hogwarts..."

"I know. You would be surprised how news travel fast here. People know what the Minister is going to do before he announces it."

Truth be told, she wasn't surprised at all. She worked here, after all, a long time ago. "I suppose that Remus already told you he was going to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts this year."

"Yes, he did."

"Is your son aware of his condition?"

Lily had been looking at the other duels going on. She turned her head quickly towards Minerva. "Of course not! It's already difficult for Remus. I'm not going to tell my son about it."

Minerva sighed in relief. "Good. We already received the visit of a parent... Well, an aunt whose niece goes to Hogwarts. We would rather have no student know about Remus' situation."

"Amelia Bones?" Minerva was surprised that Lily knew it was her. "She already talked to me about that. She had a lot of questions. I assured her that Remus was no danger for the students."

"Thank you," Minerva said, truly grateful.

"Anyway, it will be a good thing that Remus is there this year. He knows Harry. He won't let any harm come to him."

"We are all going to watch over him, more than usual."

"I hope so," Lily said, not without a point of rebuke in her voice. Minerva didn't talk again immediately.

"Lily, how much did you know Pettigrew?"

Her former student took her time to answer. "Not as much as my husband, or Sirius, or Remus. I wasn't a friend of him back then. But it seems even his closest friends didn't know him at all."

"Lily... You are almost an Auror, and you know your son better than anybody. So if we want to keep Harry safe, what would you suggest we do?"

Again, Lily took her time to answer. "Peter remained under his rat's form for twelve years. He never made a move on Harry. I'm not even sure if he's really a threat. I got the impression that he's going to hide again, like the coward he is. But... If you really want to protect my son, Minerva..." She looked straight into her former teacher's eyes. "Make sure nothing happens at Hogwarts this year. Make sure he doesn't end up in the middle of troubles."

Minerva nodded. "We will," she said, though she wondered how they would do it.

There was no Philosopher's Stone kept inside the castle's walls this time, and the Chamber of Secrets was no longer a danger. The only potential looming danger they could see ahead was Peter Pettigrew, if he tried anything on Harry. So they had to keep him as far from Harry as possible. As if Lily read into her mind, she spoke again.

"Peter is a coward. If he's ever going to attack Harry, it will be at the moment we expect it the less, when our guard is down. So never stop watching my son."

As you can see, times are busy for Hogwarts' teachers.

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Next chapter: Ginny