Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

If there was one thing Minerva McGonagall hated more than messy bedrooms and the idea that she would sit in a box if it was presented to her (She could take a cat form, but she was most certainly not a cat!) it was midnight rounds. Still, there were only so many Prefects and almost all of them were either in O.W.L. or N.E.W.T. years, with the exception of the Sixth Years, who still had absolutely exhausting workloads. So Minerva took on a shift or two, prowling the halls in her cat form. Occasionally, she’d find a student or two looking for midnight snacks, perhaps an overly passionate couple hidden in a broom cupboard, but this was just ridiculous.

Over the course of the last two, rather frustrating, hours, Minerva had stumbled open not one, not two, but five of these sorts of couples. And they always seemed to argue back against punishment, which was barely ever more than a five point deduction from whatever house(s) the students were in. It was almost one o’clock in the morning and that meant Minerva could start heading back to her quarters. She started making her way back, still listening for any wayward students that might still be out this late.

Walking by an unused broom cupboard, her ears perked up and she could hear voices. Two male ones, quiet. Quiet enough that Minerva probably picked it up due to the excellent hearing her Animagus form lent her. Transforming back to her human self, Minerva pulled open the door to the classroom to find Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, Potter pressing Malfoy against the back wall, snogging so loudly they hadn’t noticed the door opening or Minerva’s tall, spindly figure looming over them.

“Potter! Malfoy! Cease this at once!” Minerva exclaimed, both surprised at the audacity of the two boys and pleased at having won a bet with a certain meddling Headmaster. Harry and Draco jumped apart at the sound of her voice and scrambled to fix their appearances, straightening their ties and rebuttoning their collars.

“P-Professor McGonagall! Um… i-is there anything we can do for you?” said Draco, straightening up and almost being able to meet Minerva’s eye. His lips were bruised, as were Harry’s, and both their cheeks were flushed from exertion.

“What you can do for me, Mr Malfoy, is go back to your dormitory. And without Mr Potter, who will go back to his own dormitory. I may be old, but I’m not blind, and I can certainly see your Invisibility Cloak.” Minerva stated, her lips thinning to nonexistence and her nostrils flaring. Both hallmark signs of her anger. The boys paled (In Draco’s case, it was rather comical, considering how pale he was already) and scrambled in opposite directions, towards their respective dorms.

“And that's five points from each of you!” Minerva called after them, almost an afterthought to the shock of seeing the two rivals going at it in the broom cupboard.

Minerva continued on her way back to her own quarters, turning the night over in her head. She was exhausted and it was starting to become hard to think. She wanted nothing more than her warm sheets and to talk over the night with Poppy before falling asleep. Coming before a portrait of a maiden in a chemise, brushing her hair, Minerva stopped.

“Password?” cooed the portrait absentmindedly.

“Rose hip syrup.” Minerva said crisply, despite the exhaustion seeping into her very bones, only adding to the overflowing reserves.

The portrait swung open, revealing a darkened, but welcoming living room, that on one side led into a small kitchen and on the other side led into a bedroom with a rather fine ensuite. One of the smaller lights in the bedroom was on and shining into the living room. Sitting up in bed was Poppy Pomfrey, Minerva’s dear wife and the Matron (read: Dragon) of the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts. Reading glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, slumped gently over a book Minerva knew she’d read a dozen times before.

“Poppy, mo ghràdh, I’m back. It’s late, you may want to actually lie down when you sleep.” Minerva whispered, gently kissing Poppy awake. Removing the glasses from the bridge of Poppy’s nose and the book from her hands, Minerva set them on the bedside table, then turned off Poppy’s lamp.

As Minerva went around the room, getting ready for bed, Poppy watched her (she seemed rather appreciative at the unintentional show she was getting as Minerva changed into her nightie). “How were the rounds tonight?” Poppy asked in that gentle sort of gravelly whisper that only came out when she was tired.

“Ridiculous,” Minerva huffed, sliding into bed beside Poppy, turning off her lamp, and curling (rather like a cat) into Poppy’s waiting arms. “I swear, every year those children lose more and more inhibitions. I caught six pairs snogging in the broom cupboards tonight. Including Potter and Malfoy! Why can’t students be sensible and sneak out for midnight snacks or something like that?”

Poppy raised an eyebrow. “Potter and Malfoy? My, my, who could have seen that coming?” she said, nudging Minerva.

Minerva huffed once again. “I did! Albus owes me over a hundred galleons at this point, he should know better than to gamble with me. And on the subject of Albus, why, oh why did I ever let him talk me into becoming a teacher? I was perfectly happy as an Auror!”

Poppy snickered. “That is a lie and you know it. And he talked you into it because I was already working in the Hospital Wing and you can’t resist me!” She sounded genuinely smug saying that, as if it pleased her that Minerva had followed her like a lost kitten (It did. Minerva had been hopelessly in love with Poppy and Poppy with Minerva since their school days and it took Minerva getting too sick to properly function for any feelings to be confessed).

“I’m never signing up for midnight rounds again.” Minerva grumbled, her face now squished against Poppy’s chest. Poppy was gently rubbing her back, which was causing Minerva to involuntarily purr.

“Of course, darling.” Poppy said, sleep beginning to claim her once again. She yawned loudly and settled against the mattress. Minerva followed suit, rolling slightly away from Poppy so that she didn’t drool on Poppy’s nightie in the night (not that Minerva drooled. No, sir).

“Mmh, goodnight, mo ghràdh.” Minerva mumbled.

“Night, love.” Poppy barely muttered back.

Chapter Text

The morning came too early. Minerva groaned and buried her head into her pillow. She felt a weight sink into the bed beside her, and could smell the coffee Poppy had set down on her bedside table.

“Time to get up, Min. The sooner you start the day, the sooner you can end it.” Poppy said, raking her hands through Minerva’s hair. Minerva growled under her breath, but pulled herself up and took a sip of the coffee Poppy had made for her.

“That is a lie, Poppy, and you know it.” Minerva grumbled and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Setting the coffee back down, she pulled herself out of bed.

“Perhaps. But just think, you’ll be able to hold being correct over Albus’s head again.” Poppy chuckled, watching Minerva brighten up at the thought of teasing her dear friend. Minerva shooed Poppy out, knowing all too well that some disaster regarding students was already beginning and Poppy would be needed in the Hospital Wing soon enough.

Minerva dressed herself and rushed down to the Great Hall to find the majority of the students eating at their tables. Draco Malfoy was surrounded by his clique, every visible part of his skin flushed with embarrassment, and was that a hickey!? Meanwhile, Harry Potter was huddled with Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley. The three of them huddled as such was a sure sign of something to go wrong. Minerva made a note to keep a closer eye over the day, particularly on that trio.

Minerva made her way to her seat at the Headmaster’s right-hand side, sat down, and turned to Albus, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “Albus, you owe me ten more Galleons.” she practically purred.

Albus frowned and set down his goblet (filled with chocolate milk, of course), and turned to Minerva. “Which bet have you won now?” he said, disappointment colouring his voice. He really should learn to stop betting against Minerva. As much as she protested that Divination was a cheap hoax, she really did have a sixth sense.

“Potter and Malfoy. Of course, you could simply exempt me from midnight rounds for the next four weeks instead of paying me the monetary value.” Minerva said, smirking. She took a bite of her breakfast and waited patiently for Albus’s response.

“Any particular reason for that, Minerva?” Albus questioned, his blue eyes twinkling. “Or perhaps a particular person?”

Minerva sighed. “Albus, I am verging on 65. I would like to have evenings to myself and my wife, rather than prowling the halls searching for wayward students. I’m exhausted.”

Albus nodded sagely and held out his hand. “Agreed. And thank you. I really must stop betting with the staff.” he said. Minerva shook his hand and then wolfed down the rest of her breakfast, noting that she had only a few minutes to make her way from the Great Hall to her classroom, where she had the Sixth Year Gryffindors and Slytherins for the first period. Oh, this was going to be unbearably awkward.

“Thank you, Albus. And if you’ll excuse me, I seem to have lost track of time.” Minerva said and walked sedately out of the Great Hall, only to enter a narrow passage, one rarely travelled, and break into a half sprint to make it to her classroom before her students. Her joints would be making a complaint tomorrow.

Minerva made it to her classroom with just two minutes to spare before her students entered and managed to tidy her appearance up and begin to set up the day’s lesson before students began to file in. She noticed that both Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had made the effort to sit as far away from both her and each other as possible.

Minerva taught the lesson as per usual (today’s lesson being on colour changing aspects of Human Transfiguration, such as hair or eye colour, though eye colour was the most advanced of this skill) and handed out the mirrors so that students could attempt the spells she’d shown them. Draco Malfoy walked over to her desk as she finished handing them out.

“Mr Malfoy, what can I do for you?” Minerva said, sitting down at her desk.

Draco cleared his throat and shuffled from one foot to another. “I was wondering why you reacted so strongly to seeing Harry and I last night. It felt…out of character for you. You’re usually so poised.” he said, as if he’d rehearsed it mentally.

Minerva blushed. She’d been turning her reaction over in her head and had deemed it a poor one. She sighed and said “In all honesty, Mr Malfoy, I was tired and upset and took it out on you and Mr Potter and for that I am sorry. If you could pass the sentiment along to Mr Potter, that would be greatly appreciated.” Draco nodded, and began to turn away, only for Minerva to add “And ask Ms Parkinson to help you cover up that love bite. Your collar is doing nothing to hide it.”

Draco nodded once again and said “Thank you, Professor. I will. But you should probably talk to Harry yourself, he prefers to hear apologies from the people to make them, not messengers.”

Minerva nodded in kind and Draco made his way back to his desk. The rest of the class passed peacefully and as students were filing out again, Minerva called out “Mr Potter, would you be so kind as to help me put away the mirrors.”

Harry set his bag back down and began helping silently. Minerva could see Hermione and Ron waiting for Harry at the door, so she decided to make the interaction as brief and painless as possible.

“Mr Potter, my reaction last night to you and Mr Malfoy was completely unprofessional and for that I must apologize. My only excuse is that I was tired and impatient. I hope that it does not change your view of me.” Minerva stated, awkward in her apology.

“It’s no worry, Professor. I understand. You should see Hermione after an all nighter, Ron and I have to coax her back into humanity.” Harry said, shrugging.

“Thank you, Mr Potter. And may I recommend you tell Ms Granger that she need not stay up all night to study, or indulge in recreational activities. It is detrimental to her health and Madame Pomphrey would hate to see her end up in the Hospital Wing.” Minerva said, a rare smile gracing her face. She placed the last of the mirrors in the box and went to quickly write a note excusing Harry from any lateness the conversation might have caused.

“Again, it’s no problem, ma’am. And I’ll definitely let Hermione know. Bye!” Harry said, taking the note gratefully and running out of the classroom.

Minerva sat down at her desk and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Maybe she did like being a teacher. Maybe she just needed more sleep. Maybe everything would be alright.