Before she was Professor McGonagall, she was Minerva Macnair. After an arranged marriage forces her into an impossible situation, Minerva does what she must to survive. When she makes a new life for herself, her secrets follow and threaten everythin...
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"Sometimes, for a genius, you are remarkably stupid."
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1 December 1956
Albus Dumbledore knocked on the door of his old quarters, a bouquet of white cabbage roses in his hand.
When the door opened, Minerva invited him in, saying, "Such lovely flowers, Albus! That's very kind of you."
"I thought you might need something to liven up these old rooms until you have the chance to do a bit of decorating."
"I don't have much of an eye for décor, I'm afraid."
"Well, whatever you do, I'm sure it will be an improvement over how these rooms looked when I was in residence here."
She gave him a thin-lipped smile. "Please, sit down. I'll have to order some tea from the house-elves, as I haven't had a chance to get any tea things yet."
"Oh? Did you not bring your things from France?"
"No," she replied quietly, and he knew that he had put his foot in it. There had been, Albus surmised from the subtle enquiries he had made after he had heard of Macnair's disappearance, very little for Minerva to bring home. Gerald Macnair, wherever he was, had left his wife and son nearly destitute. Albus suddenly realised that he knew few details of Minerva's life in France, other than what he had been able to piece together from second-hand reports of acquaintances who knew people who knew Minerva. Or, to be more accurate, knew of Minerva. He had the feeling that there were few people on either side of the Channel who really knew her.
He said, "With your permission, my dear, I shall have Bilby bring up some tea and biscuits."
Minerva nodded agreement, and Albus summoned his personal elf to place the order. Five minutes later, when the elf had returned with the tea service and popped away again, Albus said, "Actually, Minerva, that's one of the things we need to discuss: the selection of a house-elf to serve you."
"A house-elf? For me?"
"Yes. It isn't part of the contract, but each of the live-in staff gets an elf to tend to their needs while they are in residence. They do have other, general duties around the castle, but they are assigned to be at your service specifically. Usually, when a staff member leaves his position, the elf previously assigned to him is passed to his replacement, barring any objections from either party, but Bilby has been with me since I began teaching at Hogwarts, and he would like to continue with me. Professor Dippet's old elf, Trasker, is getting on in years, and I'm guessing you would do better with a younger elf."
