A Cat's Tail: Minerva McGonagall Fan Fiction

Chapter 11

A/N: I can't update that often for the next few weeks because I have exams to revise for, sorry!

"MINNIE! IT'S CHRISTMAS!!" Minerva was awoken by her two screaming younger brothers bouncing on her.

"Geroff!" She mumbled, then pulled them into a hug. They screamed and squirmed to get out of her arms. "Merry Christmas Rob and Malcolm!" She grinned as they ran to wake their parents up. Minerva followed them into her parent's bedroom.  They shared a bed, but they were facing away from each other which always her sad because it was her fault they weren't all that close anymore.

She'd heard the arguments, generally about her until her brothers were born. Minerva had been about five when her mother had told her father. A toy had been floating above her head when her father walked in. He screamed, and her mother walked in. Her father had started panicking yelling things about her being possessed. Her mother's had contorted into an expression of discomfort. 

"I'm a witch, Robert," Her father had stared in disbelief. Isobel ran upstairs and got her wand. When she came down, she muttered wingardium leviosa and Minerva had begun to float, much to her excitement.  Her mum gently let her down, before her father exploded.

"Why didn't you ever tell me this?" Isobel went on to explain how she had been disowned by her family because he was a muggle, not just because they had eloped. Minerva curled up in a ball, tears watering in her eyes, listening to her parents argue. That wasn't a Christmas she wanted to remember. Her parents didn't hate each other, but the rift that a secret that big caused really left them with trust issues. Minerva hadn't ever cried in the presence of other people since, and she could still remember the isolation she had felt. 

Minerva passed presents round to all her family and opened the present from Dumbledore. It was a book, and a very interesting one at that. It was about advanced transfiguration. She grinned at the note on it that read: "For a very talented student, just don't practice this at home!". She'd received lots of books from her friends, a Quidditch one from Ria so she could finally understand the game, a book on the history of animagi from Ivy, a cat hair slide from Iris, a charms book from Pomona and a book on beginner French from Affrodille. Hagrid had sent a homemade wooden cat charm on a thin silver thread. She was touched, and sent him a thank you note first, before writing them to all her other friends. 

The Christmas dinner was one that definitely rivalled Hogwarts feasts, and Minerva couldn't help but suspect that he mum had used magic to aid her. The rest of Christmas day was fun, but by New Years Day, she really just wanted to be at Hogwarts. Her brothers were driving her nuts, and she desperately wanted to use magic. Her mother's sudden aptitude for magic wasn't helping Minerva either, and she desperately wanted to be able to practice charms and transfiguration. 

Her trunk was packed days before the end of the holidays. It wasn't that she didn't like her family, it's just that she was so trapped. It was odd. It was a bit awkward between her and her Dad because they couldn't talk about school or hobbies. It would end up being hour-long discussions over what the point of using cauldrons are ("They are too big and not practical!" "Yeah but it's traditional and it doesn't interfere with the ingredients of the potions!"). 

She'd definitely got closer to her mum, but she'd never had that much in common with her mum, Minerva being bookish like her father. The only thing Minerva really wasn't looking forward to was apparating to Kings Cross because oh my gosh did it feel awful! 

However, Minerva loved winter. Yes. Winter. She loved being wrapped up in cute jumpers and thick woolly scarfs that she'd knitted herself, tucked on a bench under a tree with hot chocolate in hand. The tip of her nose would go numb, but it was so therapeutic. Reading in the snow. Isobel and Robert would sometimes just look out the window at their flushed daughter, snow in her eyelashes, and think how pure and beautiful she was. 

"Minnie!" Her mum softly whispered, shaking her awake. "It's the first day of term!" Minerva blinked up at the women above her with soft blue eyes and cropped back hair framing her pale face. Minerva blinked. Her vision was so blurry without her glasses.

"Ok," She mumbled, getting up and getting her clothes that she'd left out the night before. Minerva tied her up in her usual bun, and cleaned her glasses, smiling at the clearness of the world around her. She smoothed her dress, grabbed her trunk and owl, and raced down the stairs to her waiting mother. 

"Bye Dad, Rob, Malcolm!" She kissed them all - to the disgust of her brothers - and took her mum's arm, preparing for the world to suddenly spin like a hurricane around her. She squeezed her eyes shut, and with a loud crack, they were gone.