Mothering Secretly

[mercifulheavens]

Thank you very much for your kind comments! The next chapter will be posted soon...

[mercifulheavens]

Chapter 12
Dreams Part 1

8 years prior to the rest of the story

Albus Dumbledore sighed as he sat down behind his desk. He laid the newspaper he had been reading down on the cluttered area and leaned back. Unconsciously his hand stroked his long white beard as it was a habit he had formed over the years. A tap on the door interrupted his thoughts and he looked up.

“Come in.” His voice was not as cheerful as it usually was, but that couldn’t be helped.
The door opened and a raven-haired witch stormed into his office. Her long black hair hung in wide waves down her back and chest and her breathing was hurried. Albus leaped to his feet at the sight of his deputy looking so disheveled yet beautiful and hurriedly offered her a seat.

“Albus. Did you see the paper?” Her usual Scottish accent was deeper than usual and her eyes flamed with a fury that made the Headmaster cringe slightly.
“Yes. I did.” Minerva nodded at his statement and sat down in the offered chair.
“Oh, Albus…I though it was over. Now this.” Her last sentence came out as a gasp and she rubbed her temples trying to alleviate the headache that was forming.
“Yes. I had hoped it would end when Voldemort was killed. But apparently, there are still death eaters out there.”

Minerva nodded silently and pointed at the paper on his desk.
“It was beyond cruelty to attach that hospital. Brews is only a children’s hospital; not a government building! They were only children.” Albus said nothing. Brews was a children’s hospital; that had been the reason for the attack.
“Minerva, I know this is difficult to grasp. But…that’s why they attacked the hospital. They knew no one would be able to fight back.”
“The bloody cowards.” She hissed, fingering her wand. “The paper said that there were only three survivors, a nurse and two of the younger children. Albus, what if it happens again?” Her green eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

Albus sighed.
“My dear, the ministry is doing everything in its power to hunt down the remaining death eaters and additional precautions have been taken to protect other hospitals and likely targets. We will be ready for them if they attack again.” He smiled slightly, to give her some hope and leaned forward to look her in the eye.
“I hope you’re right, Albus.” Minerva offered. Albus nodded.
“So do I, my dear.” The two sat silently for a moment before Minerva rose to her feet.

“It’s the middle of summer, Albus. The children are all with their parents and guardians and all of the teachers but us are gone till break is over.” Albus raised an eyebrow at her statement of the obvious but decided not to comment.
“I have already finished my lesson plans for the new year and you have nothing to do at the moment but sulk and read. Why don’t we do something?” She smiled softly as he cocked his head to one side.
“What would we do? Chess. I am always fond of you beating me. We could go and walk in the summer heat. Or, I know, a trip to Diagon Alley for sweets.” Dumbledore had to bit his lip to keep from laughing at the expression that crossed his deputy’s face.

“You old coot! I am not going to let you drag me to Diagon Alley and watch you buy more of your blasted sweets! It is not that hot outside and I always win fair and square.” She folded her arms over her chest and turned to leave the office.
“My dear, I was only teasing.” Albus laughed, rising to his feet and going after her. Minerva said nothing as she exited the room and went down the stairway.
“Minerva!” He called, running after her.
“You made it quite clear that you didn’t want to do anything with me, so I might as well leave.” Came her sharp retort, causing Albus to freeze halfway down the hallway.

“I meant nothing offensive, Minerva. I am sorry. I would love to walk with you.” From his position in the hallway all he could see of her was her back but it did not look at stiff as it had before.
Minerva turned around and walked slowly back to him. Then with a flicker of a smile she reached out and snatched his hat from his head. At first Albus was so shocked at her doing something so out of character, that all he could do was stand there. But then Minerva tore off down the hallway and he knew that he was expected to chase after her.

“You are getting slow in your old age, Albus.” She called over her shoulder as they exited the castle. Portraits had almost fallen off their walls at the sight of the usually strict professor laughing with her hair down and running through the castle. But most of them had just shaken their heads when the Headmaster had followed her. They were used to him behaving in a childish manner.

Albus could hardly remember a time when he had run for the pleasure of it. Of course he couldn’t really think of a time he had even imagined himself chasing his deputy. She was very fast; especially for someone who he had never even seen run in her human form, of course she had run in her animgus form.
“Tabby, slow down!” He called suddenly as they were nearly the lake and he was certain that he had strained something. She ignored him and seemed to run faster. Finally Albus halted, gasping for air and for the pain that was shooting up his left leg.

The sun reflected off of the lake perfectly and although it could have been hot, outside was simply too beautiful to be miserable. Albus sat down hardly more than a few feet from the lake edge and sighed. He couldn’t see Minerva anywhere, but something told him that she would return as soon as she realized he was no longer chasing her.

“Is something wrong?” Minerva asked, gently taking a seat in the grass by his side. Without a word, she placed his hat back on his head and smiled. His hand reached out and took her hand in his.
“Its so beautiful, Minerva. But when I think about it or see it, all I can compare it to is you. And you always win the contest.” Minerva blushed red.
“Flatterer.” She teased. But she knew he was being serious.
“Minerva, I mean it. You are lovely.” He raised a hand to touch her cheek and she closed her eyes.
“I know you meant it.” And she suddenly rose up from the grass and ran back toward the castle.

Albus awoke slowly as he felt two things happen at once. First of which was that someone tapped his nose and the other being that his leg fell asleep. He opened his eyes to see Charles looking straight at him, looking happy and alert.

“You are a deep sleeper. I couldn’t wake you up.” Albus chuckled and yawned. The boy offered him a plate and he took it without question.
“Ah, lunch!” He said gratefully digging into the chicken and rice. Charles shook his head.
“No, Uncle Albus. It’s supper. We slept way too long. Mama will be back soon.”
Albus nodded and soon finished the meal. He noticed quickly that Charles’ empty plate had already been set on the coffee table and that the television was blaring something about someone named Dr. Phil.

The TV clicked off from Charles pushing a red button on a little box and Albus raised an eyebrow. As much as he loved muggle things, Charles seemed to have a bigger grasp on them than he did. He smiled and set his plate down. Between the lemon drops and muggle entertainment, he figured that Charles was just about as close to him as any child had ever got.

[minervammcg]

Woo Hooo!! Update! This was great. All of it was. Update soon and keep up the excellant work.

[phantomgirl]

Keep it up, that eas awesome...I can't wait to find our what happens next.

[mercifulheavens]

Chapter 13
Dreams Part 2

Author’s warning- there is brief violence in this chapter

Charles spent the rest of his day with his godfather playing chess. Amazingly he won and he couldn’t help but wonder if the man had let him. Still it had been exciting to win the game that seemed impossible to win. It was getting dark when Dumbledore announced that he had to go and Charles was glad that he had been able to spend the day with the man.

“Now, it would probably be best not to tell your mother about the breakfast or the abundance of candy I and you ate. She might punish us by forcing us to eat more healthily.” Charles nodded vigorously and Dumbledore smiled. “I greatly enjoyed spending the day with you young man. Perhaps we can do it again some day?”
“I would like that very much.” Charles said hugging the man. His hug was returned briefly and after patting his head, Dumbledore exited the room and made his way down the hall.

Charles sighed as he closed the door and leaned against the wall. There was something about his godfather that he just couldn’t put his finger on. His twinkling happy eyes always seemed to dim slightly when he thought the boy wasn’t looking; as though great sadness lurked beneath the blue of his eyes.
“Did you enjoy your time with your godfather?” His mother asked, suddenly entering the room and closing it behind her. Her cheeks were flushed from the long walk and her breathing was hurried; still she was smiling.

“Yes, I had a great time. He is a lot of fun. We had waffles for breakfast and played. I even took a nap.” He finished looking very proud of himself and his mother laughed and ruffled his hair.
“You tired him out, didn’t you?” He shrugged not really sure if he had fallen asleep first or if his godfather had.
“Well, I am glad that you enjoyed yourself.” His mother motioned for him to sit on the couch and she sighed as she sat by him. “Because I need to tell you something that is very important.” Charles nodded and listened intently as she continued.

“There is something very dangerous going on right now. An evil man is attacking people in Hogwarts and outside. He hates muggles and anyone who has anything to do with them. There are children here in the school that are muggleborn or have muggle blood in them.” Charles swallowed hard and scooted closer to his mother. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close as she continued.
“You are a pureblood, but since I am on the side of those fighting against the evil man, you are not safe. No one is really, you are only safe for me to keep you here and never let you out until you are older. By then maybe there will be no evil lord and you will go to school here at Hogwarts and have friends and a normal life.”

She finished suddenly and froze and though she had forgotten what she could tell him and what she couldn’t tell him. Tears dripped down her face and she pulled her son close to her.
“I am so very sorry. I should have given you up. You deserve more than what I have given you.” Sobs turned the words she muttered after into nonsense and Charles began to cry at seeing his mother so disturbed.

“Mama, I don’t want to live normal. I want to be with you.” The heart felt plea from son to mother caused her sobs to soften and soon she was quiet.
“You are so much like your father.” She whispered kissing his forehead. “I must attend a meeting tomorrow, so Uncle Albus shall look in on you from time to time. Go to bed and do not worry about anything. I exaggerated.” She got up from the couch and pulled him up after her. “I love you.” Charles nodded.
“I love you too.”

The boy said nothing as his mother made her way into her bedroom. She did not smile when she turned to close the door. Charles walked nearer to the bedroom door and listened to his mother’s soft crying. His young mind understood why his mother was sad and afraid, but it still grieved him greatly to see her that way.

Minerva closed the door behind her. She had told her son one of her most closely guarded secrets. Not only had she told him of the war but she had gone beyond it and told him too much for his own good. A lone tear trickled down her cheek and she did not wipe it away; more would follow.

Silently she made her way to her vanity and sat down. The reflection did nothing to encourage her bleeding heart and sadness consumed her as rain envelopes the earth. With shaking fingers, Minerva pulled her hairpins from her hair and began to undress. Soon her black outer robe lay out on the floor and she sat in her light green robes. They followed the former and she plucked her glasses off and laid them on the vanity.

She looked so different without her heavy robes and glasses. Her hair tumbled down past her waist, framing her pale body. The white under robe that she wore beneath the robes she had discarded made her look tiny and frail. Her eyes without their glass shields were far more vulnerable and less intimidating. The Minerva that only one person ever saw.

Her son saw her differently than her students did; but she tried to make sure he never saw just how weak she truly was and felt. To her students she was made of stone and they looked to her as someone who could stand up to anyone or anything. Through the years she had made a reputation for her “Scottish temper” something that scared her almost more than it scared others. Three people sat in front of that vanity and only one of them was the truth; the others were all facades.

Minerva rose up from the vanity and walked over to her bed. The cover was still pulled back from that morning and she slipped under it, ignoring the fact that she had yet to put her nightgown on. She closed her eyes and slipped off into her own dreamless reality that was made up of her memories.

6 years prior to the story

A soft cry awoke Minerva McGonagall from her light slumber. She had always been a light sleeper and since becoming a mother she had become even more attentive. Rising up from her bed and slipping her bathrobe over her nightgown, she approached the crib. The one year old smiled up at his mother with large blue eyes, gurgling through his two front teeth.

Scooping up the large baby, the woman smiled. She would happily never sleep again for the chance to see her son smile. Gently carrying him over to her rocking chair, she sat down. She held him tightly as she rocked.

“Sleep while the moon is tucked away,
Under his pillow of cloud-
Do not worry about anything,
As stars twinkle their song,
Bright little moonbeams dance
And play as you dream of them
Close your eyes and sleep,
And Papa will keep you safe.”

The large bedroom hid the woman’s soft singing from the world around it. The young child sighed as his mother’s voice and gentle rocking caused him to fall asleep. A smile lit the mother’s face as she felt the baby go limp in her arms. Humming, she rose carefully to her feet and carried him back to his little bed. Her gaze lingered on her son as he softly snored. Love, unwavering, shone in her dark green eyes and she kissed the baby’s forehead

Morning shone through the thin curtains that surrounded the canopy bed and awoke the sleepy woman. Minerva yawned and blinked. Sunrise had only begun telling her it was around 6.
“Mama!” squealed a happy baby. Minerva looked over at her son’s crib to see him standing against the side, smiling at her. She returned his heartfelt smile and climbed out of the large bed to rescue him from his prison.
“You were such a good lad!” She exclaimed, picking him up and out of the high-sided crib. Albus had had to add on to its height as the baby had easily climbed out of its former size. “You wouldn’t be hungry, would you?” She playfully tapped the baby’s nose and he gurgled happily.

Minerva quickly called for a house elf and sat down in the rocking chair. A pop proclaimed the elf’s arrival and the baby clapped for joy at the sight of the little creature.
“Whatn be Mistress Minerva be wanting?” Yinny asked excited that his arrival had entertained the young child.
“Breakfast for Charles if you please, Yinny.” Minerva requested, bouncing her son causally on her knees. The house elf disappeared to go fetch her request and Charles clapped.
“Mama!” he gurgled, ecstatic about all the attention he was receiving that morning. Minerva stopped bouncing him on her knee and carried him over to his high chair. With a wave of her wand, she quickly had her son all fastened into the chair and he cooed in delight.

After feeding him his breakfast of milk and boiled carrots, which he enjoyed immensely, Minerva carried the alert child into his nursery. Upon her arrival to Hogwarts with the baby, the castle had graciously added a room to the Deputy headmistress’ bedchamber. She had easily turned the large room into a nursery, where her son spent his days. However insecurity forced her to have him sleep in her room as she could not sleep with his being in a different room.

Minerva placed her content infant on the thick-carpeted floor and handed him several charmed toys. Charles laughed, beating the charmed duck and squid together. He found entertainment in anything that moved and the more the better. Kissing the top of his head, his mother cast a contentment charm on the baby and silently closed the door.

A soft pop indicated that a house elf had already arrived to watch Charles and Minerva smiled as the happy elf disappeared into the nursery. Soon she was dressed and ready for the day, although she had no classes as it was summer. Humming softly to herself, she strolled out into the hallway and closed the door behind her. Usually she would take Charles with her on a morning walk, but several of the teachers had already returned from their vacations and her son was meant to be a closely guarded secret. Only three people even knew that he was alive; herself, Albus Dumbledore and the mediwitch that had helped with his birth. Still the nurse had died three months prior so the secret had been made officially between two people.

Minerva soon reached the Headmaster’s office and was about to whisper the password when she heard a noise further down the hallway. Pulling her wand out of her pocket, she approached the sound. Suddenly a hand clamped down on her mouth, silencing her before she could scream. The attacker shoved her up against the wall and wrenched her wand from her hand. The masked man then whispered a silence spell and opened the door behind her.

Tripping as she was thrust back into the dark room, Minerva grabbed a chair to help regain her balance. The man hit her hard with the back of his hand and she fell to the floor. He said a silencing ward over the room and pointed his wand at her.
“Crucio.” He muttered.

Minerva sat up in her bed, panting and shaking from reliving her memory. Her hands went to her chest were the scars beneath the thin fabric were throbbing. She took a deep breath to stabilize her breathing and began to cry. Suddenly someone seated himself on her bedside and pulled her into his embrace. Minerva clung to him as he whispered comforting statements to her.

“You dreamed about the past didn’t you, my dear?” She nodded silently and he pulled her onto his lap, holding her tightly. “He’s dead, Minerva. Remember, I killed him. He can’t hurt you again.” She nodded again and buried her face deeper into his robe front.
“I told Charles about the war and Him.” Albus nodded and began to stroke her hair.
“He is a very bright boy, Minerva. He will understand.”
“I mentioned he was like his father.”
“Was that a good thing or a bad thing?” He asked, gently.
“A good thing.”
“Then I’m glad you told him.” He smiled and kissed her forehead.
“I didn’t tell him who his father was.”
“Maybe we should.” She nodded and sighed.
“He took a nap. What did you do to make that happen?” Albus chuckled softly and pulled her upright.

“I read to him. It did wonders to my ego to have him fall asleep as I read.” He frowned as she smiled and ran his thumb over her cheek. “Are you going to be alright?”
“Yes.” He nodded at her statement and kissed her lips.
“Good night, my dear.” And without another word he left.

[phantomgirl]

Awesome!

[minervammcg]

Yay!! That was great. update soon.

[mercifulheavens]

-Chapter 14-
Charles’ Father

Charles lay that night in his bed, silently thinking over everything that had happened that day and the day before. In his short life he had never had so much happen to him than had happened just in two days. With a sigh, he rose up from his bed and wished the sweet lullaby that his covers were playing would be quiet; the cheerful sleepy tune was enough to drive him insane. He didn’t want to fall asleep; he wanted answers.

“You are so much like your father.” His mother had said. Charles sat on the edge of his bed and folded his arms. He had often wondered about his father or lack thereof. But usually he had tucked it away as one of those things his mother didn’t talk about. Now he knew why she never talked about certain things; she was trying to protect him. It was acutely unfair in his opinion.

“Why couldn’t this bad man have come later?” He whispered to himself. “Why didn’t Mama leave this place and go someplace else with me. Why doesn’t anyone tell me who my dad is?” questions that would go on forever without answers echoed through the bedroom.

“We all wish he had.” Came a soft answer from the doorway. Charles turned to find his mother standing there. She had pulled her night robe tightly around her and looked as though she had been crying extensively. “I thought about taking you away, Charles. But everything changed so very quickly and I was needed here.” She paused as she sat on his bed. “I still am.”

“Yeah. I know.” Charles admitted, laying his head in his mother’s lap and sighing. She stroked his hair absently for a moment.
“I never told you who your father was. I should have, love. But I thought you would be safer without that knowledge. I made enough mistakes without making another.” Charles looked up into her eyes. His mother loved him so much that it was hard for him to ask what he was about too.

“Can’t you tell me now? Mama, please.” He sat up and stared straight at her, hoping with every fiber in his body that she would give in. She sighed and looked away from him.
“Albus Dumbledore and I got married when I started teaching at Hogwarts. We couldn’t have children because our marriage was a secret. There was an evil man then as well. Albus defeated him and we thought that we could have a normal life together but another dark lord had already risen to take the last one’s place. When you were born, your father and I were so happy and proud that we couldn’t give you up. So we decided that I would raise you at Hogwarts by myself until you were older and then you would go to live with your uncle as his wife’s nephew. You would be able to go to Hogwarts then without worrying about being hurt because of us and would be able to have a normal life afterwards.”

Charles sat speechless for a long while before finally opening his mouth.

“Uncle Albus isn’t my godfather. He is my father.” The statement caused his mother to nod in agreement.
“Are you upset, Charles?” His mother asked attentively watching his face. He shook his head.
“No.” His mother nodded and stood up.
“You had better get some sleep.” Without another word she kissed him on the forehead and exited the bedroom; closing the door behind her.

As the darkness filled the room once more, Charles lay with his mouth open, thinking. His mother had told him who his father was. His father was Albus Dumbledore; the Headmaster of Hogwarts. The glowing stars above his bed reminded him of the trademark twinkle that his recently discovered father had. It caused him to smile as he remembered how much fun that day had been. He had thought about having the man as a father or at least a father like person; now he was his father.

Restless with too much on his mind, Charles climbed out of his bed and walked over to his window. Beneath, the long lawn lay dark before him; outlined by the reflection of the half moon in the placid lake. Charles sighed wishing he could go for a walk, just to walk and think. He rested his head up against the window and leaned forward to see the side of the wall better. Surprisingly the window creaked open and the cool night air rushed through the crack.

Looking over his shoulder to be sure that his mother had closed the door, Charles began to think of the possibilities. The room was high up from the ground; yet Charles could already see himself making his way down the creviced wall. Fear pumped through his body as he stared down at the ground; exciting him yet holding him back. How would he get back up? What if he fell? What if he got lost? Too many vital questions danced around in his head.

“You’ll definitely be a Gryffindor if you are even thinking about climbing down the wall.” Charles froze as he heard the voice. It sounded as though it was coming from outside, yet he saw no one out there.
“Who are you?” He asked, pulling back slightly from the window. A laugh filtered through the window crack and a head appeared from under the window. A girl seated on a broomstick rose up to face him and smiled.
“Hi, I’m Beth.” She stated, lifting the window all the way up and holding out a hand for him to shake. He did so; though a bit stiffly. “I try to get away every once and a while. Saw you contemplating a daring climb and thought I’d have a talk with you.” Her smile grew and Charles couldn’t help but find her pleasant.

The girl was tall with curly brown hair that came to rest on her shoulders and large green eyes. Her nose was turned up slightly making her look bit like a Whoo from Dr. Seuss. She was wearing normal grey robes with pants underneath, as she was riding a broom and had a pointed hat perched on her head. Charles couldn’t find anything particularly wrong with her so he smiled.
“Do all students of Hogwarts get to hang out of windows and wear cool PJs?” Beth asked, pointing at his nightwear. Little red and gold lions were dancing around to the tune that still played from his bed.
“No, they’d stop moving if that music would stop.” Beth looked past the boy and chuckled.
“You have a lullaby blanket, that’s very special. Mothers make those you know enchanting every thread in the fabric to protect and entertain their children.” Charles stared at the coverlet with this new knowledge in mind. He had not known that. “Though I am surprised that the other students don’t mind it playing all night long.” Charles blushed red.
“There are no other students in here. I have my own room.” Beth nodded.

“You are either on special little boy or you snore.” Charles shook his head and smiled. He liked this girl; she was funny.
“I don’t snore.” Beth shrugged.
“Oh, well. Some of us are just lucky. So you want out huh?” She came closer to the window and patted the broom handle. “Climb aboard and I’ll take you down.” Charles moved to accept the offer but stopped.
“I can’t.” he muttered. Beth frowned slightly, and then shook her head.

“What an idiot I am!” she exclaimed, slapping herself in the head. “Here I am, a complete stranger offering you a ride. There should be a law against that. Sorry, boy. Shouldn’t have tempted you. You obey your mother and father’s advice and don’t ever take things from strangers. Now go get into your bed and go to sleep. It’s late.” Beth winked at him as her closed the window and waved good-bye as she speed off into the distance.

Charles stood dumbstruck for a moment, as he had never had so much told to him in so little amount of time. Then a yawn betrayed how sleepily he really was, and he went over to his bed and slipped into the happily humming covers. Tomorrow would be a new day and he had a fixed plan to find out who Beth was.

[phantomgirl]

Awesome! I can't wait to read more.
I wonder who Beth is?

[mercifulheavens]

-Chapter 15-
A Normal Family

Charles awoke the next morning full of energy and his mind wrapped tightly around an idea. It was a Saturday and he had decided that morning that he wanted to get to know his newly discovered father. In his mind there was no better way to get to know someone than to spend time with them. Crawling out of his bed and hoping his mother had not already made plans for that day, Charles exited his room.

His bare feet pattered across the carpeted floor. The sun was already rising up into the sky and he was fairly certain his mother would be awake. She rarely slept in on any day. As he peered into his mother’s bedroom, Charles caught sight of his mother standing by the window.

She was dressed in pale blue robes that made her look nice rather than stern. Charles smiled as he noticed her hair was still down in soft waves and her wand had not been placed in her pocket. There was hope.
Making his way silently behind her, Charles hugged her. She laughed softly and turned around to return the hug. Seeing this, Charles giggled and wiggled away from her; running over to the open door he called back to her.
“Catch me, Mama.” And without another word he ran out into the sitting room and dove behind the large couch.

His mother appeared suddenly in the doorway and Charles realized he had her playing with him. The fact made him feel warm and content.
“I wonder where my son is. Is he in his room?” she made her way over to his bedroom and opened the partially opened door. “No, how about under the cupboard?” Getting down on her hands and knees, his mother glanced under the cupboard. Her sharp green eyes danced with joy as she glanced back toward the couch.
“I’ve got you my little bairn.” Charles laughed out loud as she pounced on him. It was going to be a fun day.

)))))))))))))(((((((((((((

Bethany Wellson blinked back tears as she made her way through the darkened sky. She was torn inside by several feelings all battling for her attention and none of them were feelings she was suppose to be feeling. Pull yourself together, Beth. She told herself, You’re a death eater for crying out loud. But the truth of the matter still weighed heavily on her.

She had been watching Minerva McGonagall for several months; it had been her assignment. Never had the idea even crossed her mind that she would find the woman’s weakness. From her tough, stern exterior to her totally lack of any social life, Professor McGonagall had seemed to be one of the few who had no weakness that Lord Voldemort could use to his advantage. Sure even Dumbledore had a weakness; but then again, an obsession with candy was not something that could bring the formidable man to his knees.

Beth sighed. It had been a mere coincidence that she had even passed by the window that night. It had been one of those rarely used windows that every castle had and she had ignored it altogether when it opened slightly. However when a young boy had thrust his head out into the night, she had come closer to investigate.

At first she had figured that the boy was a young student, but upon closer inspection had found him to be much to young to be even a first year. She had heard of children beginning Hogwarts at an earlier age than 11 before, but knew it was rare. The boy had been adorable with large blue eyes that had seemed to twinkle from the moonlight’s reflection and black hair the shade of ebony. Beth had found it strange when the boy had responded to her handshake, even though he had acted a bit dazed.

Then he had smiled and her heart had melted into a puddle. He was so cute and so very friendly that she hadn’t even really given it much thought as to why he had been at Hogwarts; that was not until she had left. Then she had done extensive thinking and had come up with something that her entire being knew was impossible yet felt was the only logical ending. The boy was a child of one of the staff members. And whose could he possible be other than Minerva McGonagall? After all, the boy had her hair and his room was inside of hers.

A tear dripped unbidden down her cheek. She had never been at conflict with herself like this before. Then again, she had never held the scale of life or death for someone before. When her mother and father had been killed by the ministry for helping a friend of theirs, Beth had sworn to avenge them. Lord Voldemort had offered her everything she had ever wanted and had asked for so little. She wasn’t really a death eater; as she had no dark mark. She was just a spy. Every month or so she received an owl telling her to watch this person or that person and report if she uncovered anything. She would be graduating soon as she was a 7th year and then she would officially join He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

But now she found that the first time she had ever gained information worth passing on, she didn’t want to.


Charles counted to ten cheerfully peeking out from behind interlaced fingers. His mother was hiding from him but he had already figured out where she was.
“Ten.” The boy chirped already rushing toward where he thought his mother was. Cupboard doors swung open as he pulled them and he groaned as he realized that his mother had hid better than he had expected.
“You ain’t allowed to using magic!” Charles called out hoping that his mother would take the bait of the improper grammar. Silence answered him and he began to search the old-fashioned way; physically.
Once or twice he could have sworn seeing her robe poking out from behind something or other; but further investigation always proved him wrong. After searching for her for quite a while, Charles gave up and threw himself onto his mother’s unmade bed. He landed on something soft and immediately cried.
“Got you!” Pulling back the covers revealed his beaming mother who had transfigured herself into her cat form and he smiled. “I already checked here!” Charles exclaimed as his mother changed back with a pop into her normal form. He then helped his mother climb out from underneath the mass of sheets and blankets.
“Ah, my little one, but you didn’t check the whole bed. And I did not use magic until you told me not too. Besides you are much smaller than me, which gives you and unfair advantage.” Charles shrugged as his disheveled mother began to straighten herself.

Deciding that he had his mother in the perfect mood, Charles launched his plan into action.
“Mama, could we go on a picnic with Daddy?” He bit his lip as she turned to face him. At first he was certain that she was about to say no; but then she smiled and nodded her head.
“If your father is willing, then we shall go for a picnic together.” Overjoyed, Charles embraced his mother tightly before jumping around the room for joy.
“Yippee! We will just be a normal family on a picnic!” it was the best thing he had ever heard himself say.



Albus Dumbledore sat behind his large desk and glanced down at the letter he had just finished writing. A ministry owl sat on the corner of his desk preening her grey feathers a reminder that the letter had yet to be sent. Sighing deeply, the man folded the parchment and sealed it with melted max and his seal.

The owl had only just flown away with the letter when the door of his office opened quietly and his wife, Minerva entered looking flushed but happy. Rising to his feet, Albus drew the curtains shut before hurrying over to her side and pulling her into a loving embrace. She laid her head contently against his chest and smiled as he ran a hand over her loose hair.

“What brings my Deputy into my office this fine morning?” he asked jokingly. Minerva looked up from his robe front and lifted her hand to touch his face.
“I wanted to know if you would eat lunch with me, Albus. I’ll be having crepes and I thought I would add some pigeon pie if you would come.” To anyone that might have listened into their conversation; it was an invitation to eat lunch from a deputy to a headmaster. But to the speakers themselves it was much more. Crepes was the codeword long established to be for the Fortsfield Park that sat on the outskirts of a small town that was barely a town.

When Charles had been born and Albus and Minerva had come to the painful decision of having him grow up with only one of his parents; Albus had insisted on giving their son a name so they could talk about him without rising suspicion. In the end both of the parents had been far too careful to even speak of their son when they were together. The name had been “Pigeon” as Albus had found it fitting. Thus as Minerva told him that they would be having crepes and pigeon pie he inferred that he was to meet her at the deserted park to eat with her and their son.

“I would love to eat lunch with you, Minerva. But work must be done.” Both feigned disappointment and stepped away from each other, eyes looked on the window.
“Well, then. Sorry to bother you, Headmaster.” And without another word, Minerva exited the room.



Bethany sat on her broomstick beneath the Headmaster’s office window listening to him converse with his deputy. So far nothing had slipped as to McGonagall’s son, but Beth was certain that Dumbledore knew. Why wouldn’t he? He and Professor McGonagall were best friends and seemed to not have a single thing hidden from one another. Beth had at first thought that the two might have been more than friends. But careful scrutiny had revealed that neither had any romantic intentions to the other. Beth was never quite certain of anything though and she still kept a watch out for hints as to the truth behind the friend’s relationship.

She gasped as she heard McGonagall’s curt response to Dumbledore’s refusal and whispered a concealing charm as the curtain was pulled back. Beth had heard nothing helpful during the conversation; except learning that a certain Headmaster was probably going to be ignored by a certain Transfiguration Mistress.


Charles was having a hard time sitting still as he waited for his mother to return. Finally when she entered the chamber, he jumped up.
“Did he say yes?” he asked. His mother nodded and he began to dance around the room celebrating. His actions caused him to miss the glimmer of tears in his mother’s eyes. It could have been tears of joy for seeing her family together again but then again it could have been the pain of keeping so much from her son and keeping up a façade that the world saw her through.

Without a word or reprimand to behave himself, his mother made her way over to the couch and sat down. Without thinking she called Yinny and began to organize a picnic basket. Out of the corner of her eye though, she watched the most precious thing she had rush toward his bedroom to dress. Perhaps, she thought, we can be a family after all.

[minervammcg]

How cute and sad! These two updates were wonderful and I can't wait for more.

[mercifulheavens]

-Chapter 16-
Notes from Unknown Sources

The day was a rainy muggy day with large grey clouds in the sky and even darker shadows scattered about the world beneath it. The falling raindrops fell in fleets of tiny wet ships each one with a destination that was charted and set. Of course the boy leaning against the large window with an unread book clutched in his hands did not view the rain as anything but a painful occurrence. It meant nothing to him that the rain provided water for animals, crops and people; it only interfered with another planned picnic. In his young mind the falling rain and the weeping sky seemed to mock him.

“Charles you have been sitting there for an hour. Can’t you find something else to do?” His mother called from her position on the sitting room couch. Her thick black hair was pulled back into a long braid and she was going over essays that she had assigned to one of her classes.
“It might stop raining, Mama and I want to be the first to see it stop!” His nose made a smudge on the foggy glass, as he pressed against the windowpane. Shaking her head, his mother smiled. Her son sitting at the window waiting for it to stop raining so he could go play was something she could picture her husband doing and the thought of her son being so much like his father was heartwarming.

“It’s too late for a picnic any way, my dear. Tomorrow is a school day and I want you to go to bed at a reasonable time tonight.” Charles finally turned to face his mother.
“Why?” he questioned, his eyes widening for the effect of charming his mother into giving him another answer than the one she would doubtless give him.
“Because you stayed up much to late last night and I don’t need a grumpy boy on top of exhausted students.” Her tone of voice left no room for arguments and Charles turned back to his window.

“Have you been working on your alphabet?” She suddenly asked, setting the graded essays aside and folding her glasses. Charles shrugged a wordless no. “Well, how do you ever hope to learn how to read if you refuse to learn anything?” The boy shrugged again and continued to stare out into the dreary world.
His mother sighed and glanced over at the essays that needed to be returned to her office. She could slip out for a few minutes but the idea of leaving her son in his dazed frame of mind did not appeal to her.

Finally Minerva knew what to do. Rising up from the couch with the essays tucked under her arm, she approached her son. Leaning over him so that her mouth was right by his ear she whispered to him.
“How would you like to come with me to my office?” The reaction that literally burst from her son was enough to make the mother know she had made the right decision.
“Really! Yippee!” The book was dropped, forgotten on the floor and he threw his arms around his mother’s waist. “Thank you, Mama!” he exclaimed, squeezing her tightly. Minerva laughed softly at her son’s antics but said nothing.

After giving her son a short talk about what he was to say and not say, Minerva exited her rooms with her son in tow. Truthfully her heartbeat was a rhythm that could outdo a flashing siren; she could almost see the trepidation beading on her forehead in the form of sweat. Charles on the other hand seemed to be completely oblivious to anything other than his own thoughts and senses. Every once and a while he pointed at something and asked what it was; but for the most part he was silent.

Minerva had just begun to think that she would reach her office without bumping into anyone when a seventh year walked around the corner and spied them. She instantly placed the girl as an average Ravenclaw named Bethany Wellson, who was quite shy and did poorly in transfiguration. Fixing the girl with her perfect glare, Minerva passed her without more than a second glance. Charles on the other hand gasped and shouted, “Hey your that girl named Beth!”, forgetting both his manners and the fact that he should have said anything.

The now flustered girl froze and turned around to face the happy boy. She managed a small smile; but Minerva could tell that it was forced. Years of forcing her own smile to fade or appear had taught her to spy facades. Charles hadn’t missed a beat though as he continued.
“You’re a student here? Wow! I thought you something else.” His eyebrows rose expectantly, as he waited for the girl’s reply.
“Um…hi.” The girl stammered. Inside she was torn between acting normally with him or acting the shy girl. With Professor McGonagall boring holes into her skull; she quickly surmised that shy girl would be more appropriate. Then another things rammed into her mind full force. What was Professor McGonagall thinking? If someone saw the boy then one of the other spies would report it to Lord Voldemort. Unless of course…she trailed off, he wasn’t really her son. With a bit of research Beth had found that the woman had a nephew. Could this be him?

“Ms. Wellson this is my nephew, Mattie McGonagall.” Charles offered her his hand and her numbly shook it. Her fears had all dissolved with that simple statement.
“A pleasure to meet you, Mattie. Have a nice day, Professor.” And without another word the girl slinked off down the hallway. Charles stared after her but said nothing. He found it strange that she hadn’t recognized him, but then again, he reasoned, it had been dark.

“You’ve met Ms. Wellson before.” His mother asked, grabbing his hand to lead him along the hallway. He hung his head hoping she would drop the subject and was relieved to see someone walking toward them. His savior, ironically, was one of the scariest men Charles had ever seen and it clicked in his memory that it was the man he had seen with his father the day he had “escaped” from the room. Snape, he remembered, that’s what his name is and Ron said he taught potions. His mother can to a halt as her colleague stopped to stare at Charles. I wonder if he ever heard of a shower? Charles wondered looking up at the tall greasy haired man.

“And what do we have here?” Professor Snape asked, pointing a pale finger accusingly at Charles as thought he was a wet dog the transfiguration professor had had pity for. Charles glanced up at his mother to catch her reaction. It was surprisingly not what he had expected. Immediately his mother seemed to bristle with a wraith he had no idea his mother was even capable of possessing.
“He happens to be my nephew and I would appreciate if you used less demeaning tactics of referring to him!” her dark green eyes pierced into Snape’s like daggers into soft butter; however the stone man just snorted and continued his walk down the hallway.

Charles turned to watch him round the corner then glanced up at his mother who had completely calmed and was already pulling him toward her office door.
Adults were strange people was the thought filling his mind as he followed his mother into her office.


Albus Dumbledore paced back and forth in his office with a fury that could have burned a ten-meter hole in the floor. His arms were clasped behind his back and his mouth set in a puzzled line. All together with his pacing and worried expression, the man was a picture of puzzlement. And with doubtless good reason. Sitting on his desk was a small slip of paper that had been delivered by an unknown source and contained something that had sent the esteemed headmaster pacing.

Finally Albus returned to his desk, as his feet were becoming sore, and picked up the thin paper. Soft flowing script that he knew had to belong to a woman marked the parchment. The message was written flamboyantly with many long unnecessary words that made it look important. Albus sighed deeply before tossing it back down and reaching for his wand. He had had every intention of incinerating the paper, but was interrupted by a splat made by an owl flying into the closed window.

Jumping up from his desk and hurrying over to the window, Albus picked the dizzy bird up from the window ledge and held it close to comfort it.
“You should be more careful, my little friend.” He soothed, stroking the owl’s soft feathers. With his free hand he pulled the parchment from the bird’s leg and retrieved an owl treat for the dedicated carrier. “Now no more flying into windows.” He said setting the bird back on the window ledge. The owl chirped slightly as though agreeing with the man and flew off. Albus watched the bird until it was a dot against the cloud streaked sky and then turned to see what the letter contained.

It struck him as odd that someone would send an owl out in the cruel weather, but he figured that it was important enough to warrant a few wet feathers. The letter was damp but a quick drying charm took care of that. Opening it with his muggle letter opener, Albus began to read the typed words. His heart almost came to a stop as the words sunk into his brain. Someone had found out a dangerous secret.


Charles was already bored. His mother’s office was far from enthralling in the aspect of things to do. His gaze wandered over his mother’s immaculate desk and he sighed. His mother was busy going over some other assignments that she had left behind and seemed to have forgotten all about him. Suddenly a rebellious thought kicked Charles in the side of the cerebellum and his frown turned upside down. Keeping an eye on his mother, Charles made his way over to the door and slipped out. The door clicked shut behind him and for the time being he was free to wander to halls of Hogwarts.

Running on down the hallway, Charles felt wonderful. No need for secrecy as everyone thought he was Professor McGonagall’s nephew, who delightfully happened to have no magical training. He smiled at any student who passed him and cheerfully answered all questions asked of him, remembering the part he had sworn to play and enjoying it immensely.

Then he felt his joy bleed from his body and his heart dropped down into his sneakers. Right down the hallway, chatting away with several students was the trio. He swallowed as they hurried over to see him and tried to smile.

“Hey, Mattie!” Ron exclaimed, smiling a large toothy grin. Hermione and Harry were smiling as well.
“So, your aunt is letting you out now? Great.” Harry said patting the boy on the back. “If you want to you can come to the Gryffindor Common room. We’re playing games and stuff since its still raining.” Charles felt instantly revived as the invitation hit home. These kids had asked if he wanted to play with them!
“Yeah, that would be fun.” He pushed aside the idea that his mother would be worried about where he was and began to follow the trio down the hallway, chattering with them about different muggle and wizard games.


Minerva McGonagall rubbed her forehead as she finished checking a young Slytherin’s paper. The student had a good grasp on the basics of transfiguration and she was thrilled to see that; however the terrible lack of punctuation in the paper had turned reading it into a nightmare.
“At least he knows to put periods at the end of sentences.” She muttered finishing the last run on sentence that had gone on for a whole three paragraphs. “Paragraphs need to be indented.”

Suddenly she remembered that she had brought her son with her and he was being unnaturally quiet. Glancing up from the paper, she noted the empty chair and immediately rose to seek him out. Her efforts were thwarted, however, when her office door flew open and her husband, Albus Dumbledore entered looking quite upset.

“Minerva!” he breathed after casting a silencing charm on the walls and door. “There is a spy in the school!” Minerva’s eyes widened and the couple sat down in the chairs behind and in front of the desk to regain their speech.
“Are you certain?” she murmured, softly. He nodded and handed her the note he had brought with him.
She read it quickly and paled.
“You and our son will have to leave Hogwarts immediately.”

[KristaMarie]

I have been reading this on ff.net and i love it! Please update soon- I am just dying to know what happens next!

[phantomgirl]

Awesome, I can't wait to find out what will happen next.
Poor them though...

[mercifulheavens]

Chapter 17
Mercy in Anger’s Form

Minerva rose from her desk and walked around to face Albus. He looked positively stricken with the idea that he would have to send his wife and son away. Laying a hand on his broad shoulder, Minerva sighed. A large warm hand soon covered hers and for a silent moment the couple simply comforted each other through the innocent clasp of hands.
“We could stay…but then.” she trailed off as though she dread the words that she had almost muttered. “We could send him away.” the sentence came out as a whisper, even so the words seemed to ring in Albus’ ears as some of the worst he had ever heard.

“What?” He said, rising from the chair and gathering his wife into his arms. They had forgotten all about the door and the fact it was yet unlocked.
Minerva buried her face in his robe front and continued.
“His memory would have…to be.” She stopped and began to cry, overcome by the thought of their painstakingly secured secret no longer being a secret. Albus tightened his embrace and bit his lip to keep from saying anything. It would be better if he waited.
“He would be safer and it would look like he had disappeared.” Minerva said, softly but nonetheless more coherently than before.

“The letter said that he knew you had a son, my dear. How would sending him away and changing his memory help?” Albus asked, wiping the tears from his wife’s face.
“I would no longer have a son.” Strangely it was that simple. Albus closed his eyes and only a thread of self-control stopped the building tears from running down his face. He had to be strong for Minerva.
“If he went away and the spy no longer saw him…it would appear as though he had really been your nephew.” Albus paused as the full meaning for all the words they had spoken became defined. If they sent their son away; they might never see him again.

The silence that filled the room was thick enough to see as a mist enveloping the desk, chairs and embracing couple. And it was all Minerva and Albus needed. Soon Minerva’s tears were not alone in their falling and comfort had been tossed aside and replaced with a need to cry as the despair of the situation was deeper than the pits of Tartarus.


Charles laughed as he won yet another game of chess against yet another student. There was a general clapping to celebrate his victory and Hermione handed him a chocolate frog.
“Wow! You are really good at that game.” A student announced, causing the assembled Gryffindors to laugh. Charles smiled and thanked him. He had played around with several different games and had too much candy as the students kept handing him more. It had been about an hour since he had “escaped” from his mother and guilt was beginning to seep into his conscious.

“I have to go.” He exclaimed, suddenly. Jumping up from the floor, Charles dashed from the room and ran down the hallway. He could already picture his mother searching frantically for him. Suddenly just as he flew around a corner, he slammed into something. Rubbing his nose, which had received most of the pain of hitting into the man, Charles glanced up. It was the scary man who had made his mother angry. Charles’ mouth fell open as the man seized his arm and all words drained from his mind.

The man marched him down the hallway, his long legs keeping the boy running to keep up with him. Charles had no idea where the man was taking him, but he only hoped his mother would be there. Although the man had a firm grip on his forearm and was literally dragging him, it was obvious he didn’t want to hurt him as the grip neither dug into his skin nor hurt his arm joint.
“You, young man are in deep trouble.” the man hissed. Surprisingly the man’s yellowish teeth did not smell and Charles sighed as the man paused to look him over.
“I am Professor Snape and your resemblance to your aunt is astounding.” He stated, his voice losing some of the bitter sarcasm, making it sound legitimate.

“Severus!” Someone shouted. Both Professor Snape and Charles turned to see Albus Dumbledore hurrying toward them. He looked quite worried and Charles instantly hung his head in shame at having worried both his father and mother.
“Minerva has been looking everywhere for him. Got herself into quite a state thinking he ran off somewhere.” The Headmaster was breathing heavily and Charles felt the Potions Professor tighten his hold on his arm.

“I doubt Minerva would get very upset over her nephew going missing for an hour.” Severus stated simply. Charles glanced up to find the man’s eyebrows sky-high.
“Well I suppose she’s just worried what her brother might say if she lost his son.” Albus chuckled, holding out a hand for Charles to take. Professor Snape let the boy go and folded his arms over his chest.
“If she’s so worried about him, tell her to keep a better eye on him.” The man sneered, turning to billow down the hallway. Albus sighed deeply and looked down at his son.

“Charles, you should have said something.” He whispered. Charles hung his head and said nothing. He already knew that.

The short walk back to his mother’s rooms was just long enough to make Charles nervous about his punishment. His mother’s punishments were usually something he could brush aside but, he had a feeling his father’s discipline might hurt his bottom.

The door opened before Albus could even reach for the knob and a worried looking Minerva ushered them in. The door had no sooner clicked shut behind them than Charles felt his mother embrace him.
“Are you all right, love?” His mother asked, even though she had already felt for any broken bones. With the back on her hand, she checked his temperature and sighed when she found it normal.

“Minerva. He’s fine.” Albus stated, pulling his wife gently to her feet. “He needs to be disciplined now not cuddled.” Charles felt his stomach knot at his father’s words and he swallowed.
“Now.” Albus said, rising to his full imposing height. “Horatio Charles McGonagall Dumbledore, if you ever do that again you will be severely punished. Now off to bed with you.” Charles stood frozen to the carpet for a second, as he was certain he had missed something. Then he felt his head nod and his feet hurry him to his bedroom. Once there he shook his head at how strange his father and mother were sometimes and began to get ready for bed.

Albus sat down on the sofa and sighed. Minerva had gone into her bedroom and since she had closed the door, he had taken it that she hadn’t wanted him to join her. Jumbled thoughts raced around inside his head; each longing to be untangled and woven into a logical order. Albus sighed again and glanced over at the clock to see what time it was. It was a bit early to go to bed, but then again he supposed his son deserved to go to bed early.

“Albus.” He turned to see his lovely wife standing in the doorway of her bedroom. She smiled slightly and motioned for him to come over to her. Albus rose from the couch and easily made his way over to her. She clasped his hand in her’s and led him through the doorway, closing the door behind him with a wave of her wand.

She was dressed in a decent white nightgown and her hair was loose down her back. The black curls against the white of the nightgown gave her a frail, delicate appearance and Albus gently wrapped an arm around her.
Kissing the top of her head, he smiled. “I love you, Minerva.”

He left her then to close the drapes and she climbed into the bed. Albus smiled as she pulled the covers over her head, it was rare for her to act childishly. Climbing into the bed, he slid under the covers and pulled her over to his side. They lay in the dark for a silent moment, in each other’s arms. Suddenly Minerva gasped.

“We could never see him again,” she whispered, as though the thought had suddenly dawned on her. Albus tightened his hold on her and nodded.
“It would probably be best if we didn’t.” he muttered. A dreadful silence tiptoed into the bedroom and hovered over the room, its dark tongue licking at the drapes and floor while its breath caused a feeling of helplessness to creep into the room.

“What would I do without him?” Minerva breathed, clutching Albus’ robe front. It was a question that no mother and no father should ever need to ask themselves…yet they all did. “If we send him away…he won’t come to Hogwarts.”
“Probably not, my dear.” Albus said, his body stiff from trying to keep his tears at bay. It was dark enough to hide them, but he knew Minerva would cry if he did.

[minervammcg]

OMG!!! Sad, sad, sad. Good chapters again! Update soon and keep up the amazing work.

[phantomgirl]

Oh no poor them......

Awesome update

[mercifulheavens]

-Chapter 18-
Breaking Hearts

Charles awoke to find his parents sitting on the couch waiting for him. Both his father and mother looked as though they had not slept last night and he immediately began to wonder what was wrong.

“Charles, my son.” His mother began, beckoning for him to come closer to the couch. He complied and snuggled into her loving embrace. “Charles, there is something we need to tell you.” She whispered.

A strange silence followed her statement as though she dared not say what she was about to.

“Perhaps we should read first.” Albus suggested, holding out the poetry book. Minerva took it gratefully and the little family of three all looked down at the faded cover of the much-loved poetry book.

“Which one, love?” Minerva asked, her voice still no more than a whisper. Charles glanced down at his slippered feet. He could almost feel the sadness emanating from his mother and father and quite frankly it was making him nervous.

“The Heart one.” He murmured finally. Soon his mother’s unnaturally quiet voice sighed over the tense scene in the sitting room and Charles couldn’t remember hearing a poem read so sadly.

“My Heart’s in the Highlands
By Robert Burns,

My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here,
My heart's in the Highlands a-chasing the deer -
A-chasing the wild deer, and following the roe;
My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go.

Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North
The birth place of Valour, the country of Worth;
Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.

Farewell to the mountains high cover'd with snow;
Farewell to the straths and green valleys below;
Farewell to the forrests and wild-hanging woods;
Farwell to the torrents and loud-pouring floods.

My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here,
My heart's in the Highlands a-chasing the deer
Chasing the wild deer, and following the roe;
My heart's in the Highlands, whereever I go.”

When she finished, tears were dribbling down her pale cheeks and Charles was close to crying himself.

“What’s wrong, Mama?” He asked, handing her the handkerchief she had set on the coffee table.

“Charles.” His father intervened, drawing his attention away from Minerva. “Your mother and I have reached a decision. You remember when you were told about the war and the terrible person out there.” The boy nodded. “It isn’t safe for you to stay at Hogwarts anymore.”

“So we’re going to leave?” Charles stated. If they were going to leave Hogwarts, he could have his mother and father all to himself, and truthfully, it was a delightful idea. But his happiness died as he glanced back and saw how sad his parents were. They would be sad to leave the school, he thought sadly. Swallowing his own feelings, Charles wrapped his arms around his mother.

“But wont you be sad?” His mother began to cry harder and Charles could have sworn his father flinched.

“Love, we won’t be going with you.” His mother whispered. The air around Charles seemed to turn into cement and crush against him as the words rang through his ears.

“What!” He shouted, throwing all self-control and manner out the window. “You can’t do that, Mama. You need me. I need you. You could come with me, no one would know. It would be okay. Don’t send me away without you.” Panic surged up and out of the boy as he clung to his mother, ranting on and on about why they shouldn’t, couldn’t send him away.

Soon his words were replaced with sobs and he hung in his mother’s tight embrace and wept.

A sad ten minutes passed before Charles began to stop crying, his tears beginning to return to a verbal state. Only he felt angry now that his parents wanted to send him away.

“This is all your fault!” Charles said suddenly, turning to face his father. “You want Mama all to yourself! So that you can help her and do things with her. I get in the way!” He yanked his body out of his mother’s arms and stomped into his bedroom, propelled by the anger that had fueled his unfair accusal of his father.

Minerva and Albus both sat, frozen on the couch. Neither parent had expected such a burst of rage to come from their son and it had shocked them to their cores. Slowly Minerva turned to Albus and gently hugged him, hoping to help heal the wounds Charles had inflicted with his words.

“He is only a child, Minerva.” Albus stated, ironically trying to comfort her while she did the same for him. “I will speak to him once he has calmed a bit. It’s just the shock.” Minerva nodded in agreement. Both professors had a great deal of experience with children and knew fairly well how to deal with them.

“Still it is partially our fault, Tabby.” Albus confessed. “We’ve spoiled him, greatly, by giving him your every moment of attention, and then again deprived him, by only giving him you. In a way, you’re the only person he’s ever really known. I have only been apart of his life for the past week or so. And the other people he has met or seen, do not even know his real name.”

Minerva nodded sadly.
“Not our fault, Albus. My fault. I shouldn’t have been so selfish.”

“Selfish?” Albus repeated, alarmed. His arm wrapped tighter around his wife and he closed his eyes. “Don’t say that.” was all he managed to whisper before grief overwhelmed him.

It had been difficult for him, knowing his son was within walking distance from him at all times but unable to so much as briefly see him. And then there had been the frustration and blame he had piled on himself, for having fathered the boy at all. He told himself many times, when there had been nothing but the wind and his lonely heart to comfort him, that had he not married Minerva and had he allowed her to marry someone else, she and their son would be safe.

“Don’t think it.” Minerva stated suddenly as if reading his mind. “Even had we not had a son…we would still be in danger of losing each other.”

“I was actually thinking what it would be like had I not bewitched you into marrying me.” The wizard replied bitterly. His woman in his arms stiffened.

“You didn’t bewitch me, Albus. I wouldn’t have married anyone anyway. And in the end it would have been the same. We wouldn’t know we loved each other, but we wouldn’t want anything to happen to each other either.”

“But…” Minerva silenced him by covering his mouth with her hand.

“No, Albus. I don’t want to imagine my life without Charles or without you.” And with that simple statement she unconsciously told Albus something that warmed and froze his heart all in the same instant. She was just like Charles; all she had in the world was her son, just as all he had was his mother. Albus finally realized that the distance he had kept from his wife and son had forced him to pay a terrible price-a place in their family.

“You will go with Charles.” He said firmly, amazed at the fact he felt no jealously or sadness at the thought; only a fierce desire to make sure they both lived happily, even if it meant without him.

“What?” Minerva straightened to look into his eyes. “What about you?” she asked, sending a bubble of hope to surround the man’s heart. “How will you be able to manage the school without me?” she continued, bursting the bubble almost as soon as it had formed.

“I will manage just fine, Minerva. What is important now is our son’s safety and that requires you to be with him.” He smiled then as he could almost see his wife trying to figure out another solution. “It can’t be both ways, my dear. Charles was right. We both can’t have you and he needs you more than I do.” The last statement was a lie, but he ignored that.
“Is this best, Albus?” She asked, placing the entire decision on her husband. He nodded, gently stroking her hair.

“Yes. You and Charles will go to America. I’ll have a friend prepare everything you’ll need. I don’t want you to work or travel. Just stay home and teach and play with Charles. That will keep you both safe.”

“And you’ll visit?” Minerva asked hopefully, staring now at her hands. Albus paused. His whole heart yearned to say yes, but his mouth instead said what his brain said was correct.
“No.” And thus the once possible family plans that both Minerva and Albus had so long dreamed of were crushed into impossibilities.

[minervammcg]

AAAAHHH! This was sad chapter. Albus can be so stupid sometimes. Keep up the great work and update soon.

[Katheryn Mae]

OMG - sad but good - I love the way this is turning out.

[mercifulheavens]

Chapter 19
Unplanned Problems

Charles stared out of the window of his new home. It had been two months since his mother and he had left Hogwarts to live in America, and he was bored. It wasn’t that there was nothing for him to do, but rather the fact that he had no one to do it with. Charles turned away from the window and sighed. His mother was napping in her room and the TV was playing a re-run of some American show that Charles had been watching.

“Nothing ever happens.” He muttered, although he knew that there was as much truth in his statement as there was humour in Severous Snape. Making his way over to the couch, Charles sat down and picked up the remote. Pushing the button, he returned to trying to find something he wanted to watch.

An hour later, Charles turned around to glance down the hallway that led to the rest of the house. His mother’s door was still closed.
“Why couldn’t she nap later?” He muttered, once again speaking without thinking. His mother had been sleeping a lot more than normal and Charles was beginning to find it annoying.

Finally he heard the door click open and his mother emerged from her bedroom. She was dressed in her nightgown and a dressing robe and looked tired.
“Are you okay, Mama?” Charles asked, jumping up from the couch and tossing the remote on the chair nearby.
She nodded a yes and slowly made her way to the chair. As she approached, Charles noticed that her eyes had heavy dark rings under them and her face was paler than usual.
“Are you sick?” He asked. His mother shook her head as if to say no and then nodded a yes.

“But with some rest, I’ll be fine, Charles.” He looked at her sceptically and she smiled to encourage him. “Don’t worry, love. Everything will be fine.” And so Charles sat back down on the couch.
“Do you want to watch TV?” he asked her, although he figured she would say no. As usual she shook her head and got up to make her way into the kitchen.
“What do you want for lunch?” She asked. Charles sighed. Since house elfs were for magical people, they didn’t have one now and he was quickly finding out that his mother had limited experience with muggle cooking. So far the extent of her culinary prowess was a sandwich and boxed macaroni and cheese. Other than that, Charles lived on toaster waffles and chicken nuggets that he could heat up in a muggle device called a microwave.

His mother refused to eat the packaged food, though and he shivered at the idea of eating another of her sardine sandwiches. Being a cat animagus had helped his mother establish certain a fondness for anything of the fish variety.
“Can I have a waffle?” But then he jumped up as he remembered that the last time his mother had made him a waffle, she had incinerated it by toasting it too long.
“Never mind, Mama. I can get it.” He said pulling the frozen waffles from the freezer and plugging in the toaster.
She smiled.
“Don’t want it burnt, Charles?” he hung his head slightly and she laughed. Then a still silence fell over them and they made their lunches without a word.

“Charles.” His mother said softly as he placed his waffles on a plate. “ I need to tell you something.” Charles looked up and shrugged.
“What?” He dribbled some syrup on his plate.
“Do you want someone to play with, dear?” Charles gave his mother his complete attention.
“I can go to school!” He said, guessing at what she could say. She shook her head.
“No, that is too dangerous. No, I was thinking of something else.” His mother paused. “How would you like a little brother?” Charles dropped the bottle of syrup.


Albus paced back and forth in his office. He had just finished reading a letter his friend in America had sent him. His son and wife were both happily settled in their house and so far there was no indication that anyone knew that they had gone there. He had had a difficult time trying to find a new Transfiguration professor and Hagrid was temporarily the head of Gryffindor. Already, the headmaster was missing his wife more than he could bear.

“At least she is safe.” He whispered. But deep down he knew that he would never feel content with her safety as long as she was not with him. Taking a seat at his desk, Albus reached out to pick up a trinket. It had been charmed to appear as the other odd and ends that littered his desk, but he knew it was really a picture of Minerva. Even if someone figured out that it was charmed, no one would have found it too strange that the headmaster had a picture of himself and his deputy after all they had been good friend’s for many years.

His finger traced the picture’s smooth surface and watched as Minerva smiled. And that was all he needed. Albus sat up straighter and picked up the letters he needed to read.

-Eight months later-

Charles sat by a blue bassinette that sat on his mother’s bed. His perfect baby brother was fast asleep in amidst the blankets. Charles reached out and touched the tiny baby’s clenched fist. The baby yawned causing Charles to smile.

His mother was asleep on the bed not far from the bassinette. Giving birth to the baby had been very difficult for her and she had not even gotten out of bed since the day the baby had been born. It had been about three weeks since Charles had been made a big brother and a kind woman who was a Healer friend of his mother’s had been taking care of them.
“Don’t wake him up.” He heard the Healer admonish softly. Charles climbed out of the bed and allowed the older woman to steer him out of the bedroom.
As usual, the woman prepared Charles a nice little lunch and he picked at it as she fed the baby a formula as his mother was too weak to nurse.

“Go on and eat your food, little one.” Donea demanded, giving Charles a disapproving look. “You’ll waste away.”
“I’m not hungry.” He murmured.
“That’s not true. But I’ll not force you.” She sat back to continue feeding the baby.

When his mother had gone in labour, Charles had been instructed to call Healer Donea with their muggle phone. She had then apparated into the house and had only left to buy groceries since then. Charles had never asked the woman how his mother knew her or how she knew he was Horatio Charles McGonagall, but he figured it didn’t matter.

The baby cooed softly as he finished his bottle and Donea laughed.
“He’s a big boy.” She said to no one in particular. Charles smiled.
“Yeah, he is.” And Charles meant it. He loved the idea of having a baby brother. He had already made plans to teach the baby everything he knew and to be the best brother he could be to him. They were going to be the best of friends.

Charles had sat motionless for the hours that had passed once Donea had vanished into the bedroom and his mother had begun to give birth. Then he had heard a steady wail and Donea had let him into the room to see his brother. His mother had named the baby Luthando Michelin. Charles had already decided to call his brother Luthy by the time his mother had finished whispering his middle name.

There were only two things that made having a little brother sad for Charles. First of which, was that his father did not even know Luthy had been born and secondly, his mother was bedridden. All Charles could do was hope that time would make everything better. For the time being, he had more than enough to worry about as Donea was helping him learn to read and he wanted to surprise his mother by being able to read her favourite poem.

Just then, Donea placing Luthy back in his bassinette, which she had carried out to the kitchen, and hurrying to the bedroom interrupted Charles ponderings. Charles leaned over to make sure Luthy was comfortable in his bed. His mother had called for Donea while he was thinking and since he had become used to hearing her barely audible calls, Charles was fine just staying in the kitchen.

“Don’t worry, Luthy.” He assured the innocent baby. “Mama will be okay. She’s just tired.” The baby flailed his fist up over his head. Already Luthy had a head of fine black hair that looked delicate enough to blow away. Charles sat watching the baby for several minutes until Donea returned.

“What’s wrong?” He asked. Surprisingly Donea did not reply. She sat down at the table and ran a gnarled finger over the baby’s soft cheek.
“Poor little thing.” She cooed. “Soon to be all alone.” Charles was young and he did not fully understand everything that Donea meant by her statement but what he did understand frightened him. His eyes widened and he ran to his mother’s bedroom door.

He pushed the door open and peered in half afraid that Donea had already pulled the blanket up over her head like in shows. Charles sighed with relief as the blanket moved slightly as his mother breathed.
“Charles.” His mother said, her voice barely audible. Charles hurried over to the bedside and hugged her, ignoring how thin and cold she was.

“Mama, why did Donea say Luthy would be alone.” He asked, tears forming in his eyes. His mother smiled a feeble but nonetheless true smile.
“Charles, I need you to listen.” He nodded his head in a vigorous yes and waited.
“If I die, you will need to take care of your brother.” A shaking hand stroked Charles head and he nodded again.
“I’ll always take care of him, Mama.” And his mother smiled, because she believed him.


Far away in England, Albus Dumbledore was having lunch in his office with a good friend. The man’s name was Richard Coffer and it was he that Albus had entrusted the care of his family to.

Albus thought Richard looked guilty about something when he flooed into the office from his home in America, but said nothing as they both began to eat the wonderful lunch that the house elves had set up. Finally after five minutes of silence, Albus looked his friend in the eye.
“What is it?” He asked simply, his eyes losing their cheerful quality and holding a powerful glare. Richard folded his napkin and sighed as if pulling himself together.

“It’s about Minerva. She didn’t want me to tell you. In fact, she wanted to tell you herself, but…it just wouldn’t work at the time.” He paused and Albus wanted to strangle him for it. “You have another son, Albus. He was born about a month ago. Healthy and strong. She named him Luthando Michelin.”

The room spun for a moment and then Albus smiled. He had another son. Sure he was another child that Albus could not see and play with, but someday he would probably come to Hogwarts and then, he would be able to teach him. Luthando Michelin. Just like Horatio Charles, the boy would be the son of a man who could do nothing with him but put him in danger by so much as seeing him.

“How is Minerva?” He asked. Richard sighed.
“She had a difficult labour. Albus, she has been bedridden since the boy was born. Donea is not very hopeful. Maybe you should go see her. She wants to see you. And its only right that you see your sons.” But Albus never heard the last part, because he was already planning a trip. He had not been to America in a long time.

[minervammcg]

Sad again. But it's great. Update soon.

[phantomgirl]

Awesome...Sad though...
Hopefully Min survives...

[goldencat]

I like it. It's really sad but a great story.

But I also hope she survives it.

[mercifulheavens]

Chapter 20
-Charles’ Birthday-

"Blow out the candles! And don't forget the wish." Donea said rocking the baby bassinet with her foot. Luthy was fast asleep, unaware of anything save his own inner eyelids.

Taking a deep breath, Charles blew out the eight candles that adorned the top of the chocolate cake and smiled as the smoke curled up into the air to write "Happy Birthday Charles" amid the wispy curls. But his happiness was short lived as he heard gentle weeping from the usually silent bedroom. Donea patted him on the back as she passed by him to close the door.

"Don't you worry about it, love." she comforted, lifting Luthy's bed up into her chubby arms. "Your father and mama both wished you a Happy Birthday." He nodded sadly and then began to pull the candles from the cake. Normally he and his mother would lick the frosting off the bottom of the candles, but he didn't want to since she wasn't there to do it with him.

Tossing the candles into the sink, Charles made his way toward his mother's bedroom door and opened it slowly hoping Donea would be too busy with Luthy to notice. He slipped into the room and shut the door behind him.

The room was dark as the windows were closed and the electric light that would have illuminated the entire room hung dim above the bed. Two figures were in the bed; one of them laying down, a mere bump in the thick covers against the other who sat, leaning against the head of the bed.

"Come here, son." Charles heard his father say. Needing no extra prompting, he hurried to the bed and climbed onto it, being careful not to jostle his sleeping mother.

"Did you like the candles?" Albus Dumbledore asked. Charles nodded despite the lack of light.

"Thank you." He murmured. Everything had changed so quickly; he thought sadly. And it was all his fault. If he had stayed inside of the room and had stayed away from the windows, maybe none of this would have happened. Of course, good things had happened. But the bad seemed to out weigh them.

Learning how is father was... Finally leaving that boring room... His baby brother... He had learned to read under Donea's heavy glare... But then all the good things vanished from his mind and he began to cry as the bad events seemed so much bigger.

Leaving his home... His mama was bedridden... He had been forgotten... Of course the last one was not true, but being only eight years old, Charles could not see that. He felt his father place a warm hand on his head to try and comfort him. But instead of it helping, it helped Charles shift the blame.

"This is your fault." the boy muttered. He knew as soon as the words left his mouth that they were not true, but a flickering fire of anger that had been threatening to consume him over the past several months finally burst into flames and he glared up at his father.

"If you had stayed away from us, this never would have happened."
His father's face was hidden by the darkness of the room, but Charles knew that he was probably shocked and hurt.

A tangible silence hung like moldy curtains about the father and son until a groan from amid the covers forced them to turn their attention away from each other.

Minerva had heard her young son's accusation, but she was partly delirious and easily believed that it was just a fantasy her weak mind had created. Two pairs of hands patted the covered gently about her thin body and two voices so very much alike despite the age difference tried to soothe her. She smiled a small but nonetheless sincere smile.

"My darling boys." she whispered.



Beth ran as fast as her legs could carry her over the hard packed earth. She was breathing heavily as she had been running for two hours already. Finally she dropped to a crouch behind a large bush and panted heavily, trying to catch her breath.

She had not joined Lord Voldemort, despite the fact that she had graduated some time ago. One little boy had not allowed her to sell herself away. And now she was attempting to save that same child.

It was funny, she thought. She didn't even know what the child's real name was and here she was risking her life to deliver a message. Figuring that she had rested long enough, the woman dashed back out into the gathering darkness.

Author's Note... This story will be continued. This is as far as I've gotten so far though on both FF.net and the board here. The next chapter should be completed sometime this week.

[Katheryn Mae]

Looking forwards to the update! I love this one and where this is all going. BTW, I also added a blue scheme to the mix on my boards. xD

[phantomgirl]

I can't wait for the next update, you are brilliant!

[mercifulheavens]

Many thanks to my reviewers and my wonderful beta Grey-EyedGirl

Note- this chapter has detailed violence, and torture

+13

Chapter 21
Memories

Pain had flashed through her body; causing her to tremble and thrash on the hard stone floor. A foot was placed on her stomach to still her movements and she gasped as she looked up at the masked face. Fear flashed in her emerald eyes as she thought over what the man might want with attacking her. The mask only covered his eyes and nose; leaving two holes for him to see from and his mouth uncovered. He was smirking at her, his eyes glittering in the dim light afforded by his wand.
"I know about your son." he hissed, lowering his wand to point at her throat and cancelling the crucio spell that had been, up until that point, coursing through her body. In an attempt to intimidate her, the assailant gently removed her glasses and trailed a hot finger down her pale cheek. She flinched as he licked his lips and lowered his body to hover mere centimeters over her own body.

"I know about your husband." Another finger began to touch her neck; caressing the flesh. Her breath began to catch in her throat; fear forcing her to remain still. The fingers stroking her neck tightened into a stranglehold and Minerva finally began to fight back as the man began to choke her.

Suddenly he stopped, standing up at almost the same time as he released her. She gasped trying to fill her lungs with air. She struggled to rise up from the floor but the man hit her across the face and she returned to her floor.

"What do you want?" she asked, not sounding nearly as frightened as she was. The man chuckled roughly and knelt down to face her.
"What do I want? I want to see Albus Dumbledore suffer." And her world faded into black as he aimed a curse at her chest.

______________________

Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk awaiting his wife's arrival. Usually she would have already arrived by now, but he was willing to assume that Charles may have been a bit of trouble this morning. He hummed softly to himself as he leaned back in his chair. He wanted to go down to her chambers and help her with their son; but he couldn't.

After several dull moments of tapping his nails against the desk top, Albus finally gave up waiting and rose to exit the office. He muttered under his breath as he picked up his bag of sherbet lemons. His son loved the candy almost more than he did.

He made his way down the hallway until he reached Minerva's chambers and knocked on the door. No answer was forthcoming. He knew that Minerva had instructed Yinny to not answer the door if she wasn't present and became worried. Not in all the years that they had been married, had Minerva not stopped by his office before they went to breakfast together. Then again, sometimes she liked to play with Charles a bit before coming.

Worried, Albus banged on the door and then said the password, "Pigeon". The door opened and he rushed into the room in search of his wife.
"Minerva!" he shouted, entering the bedroom and heading for the nursery which was guarded by several wards that were charmed to allow only him, Minerva, Charles and Yinny entrance.

Yinny was seated in the rocker, his legs dangling over the edge of the chair as he rocked Charles, who was almost larger than him. It would have been a * comical sight, had Albus not been worried about where Minerva was.
"Yinny! Where is Professor McGonagall?" he asked, as calmly as he could under the circumstances.
"Mistress Minerva is agoing to Mr. Headmasters, always same." Yinny responded, continuing to pat Charles on the back. "Sleeping baby." he murmured.
"Thank you, Yinny." Albus stated, hurrying to the door. Minerva was missing.

He ran down the hallway retracing his previous steps. She had to be in his office awaiting his arrival; she had to be. Albus was almost to his office when he tripped over something lying in the hallway and sprawled across the hard stone floor. Rubbing his poor nose, he rose into a sitting position and reached under his legs to grab whatever he had tripped over. It was a smooth object that he immediately knew was a wand; Minerva's wand.

A shield shimmered momentarily as Albus rose to his feet and he heard a soft scream emit from the door not far down the hall. In an instant, Albus countered the shields and rushed into the room.

The very blood in his veins froze before beginning to boil. In front of him on the floor, was his wife. She was bleeding from various injuries on her face and head and a pool of blood was spreading across the ground from unseen wounds else where on her body.

Albus grabbed the masked man who was too busy enjoying casting curse after curse to see him and banged him against the nearest wall. All thoughts left his mind and were replaced by the image of his Minerva, lying on the stone floor helpless and bleeding.

"Avada Kedavra." He shouted, forgetting that it was an Unforgivable and that it would kill the man. The man fell to the floor, no longer important and Albus rushed to Minerva's side.
"It's alright, my dear." He comforted, not sure whether or not to move her, but afraid to leave her there. Her pain-filled teary eyes were glazed over and he gathered her into his arms.
"No one will ever hurt you again, Minerva." Albus swore, hurrying toward the infirmary. And although he was certain she couldn't hear him; she did.

[Katheryn Mae]

Just wow - wonderful update! ;D

[minervammcg]

This was great!!!!!!! Keep up the excellant work and update soon.