Minerva strolled the empty corridors of Hogwarts. It was Christmas Eve and the grounds of the school were covered with a thick layer of glistening snow. Almost all of the students had left to spend Christmas at home, but, different from every other year Minerva could recall, all of the staff members remained at Hogwarts. Some of their families were in the silent castle for Christmas and there was a comfortable, peaceful atmosphere throughout the whole school.

“Headmistress! Headmistress McGonagall, Madame!”

A squeak echoed through the dimly lit corridor and Minerva saw a house-elf bounce in her direction. Distracted by the elf, she sensed the movement behind her too late and a collar closed suddenly around her neck, forcing her to stay in her current form, a cat. Before she could get away, a hand grasped her by the neck and lifted her off the ground. She tried to scratch and bite her attacker but found that she couldn’t while being held up like that. She heard a chuckle and craned her neck to see who was doing this to her. The grinning face of Harry Potter, current teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts, came into her range of vision.

“Now Minerva, don’t do that! Be a nice kitty and trust me, all right?”

She gave him her best cat-glare, which was obviously not very effective, if the young man’s grin was anything to go by. After a moment she nodded her furry head and Harry cradled her against his chest, walking to the nearest staircase. After a long way up, Harry paced in front of the wall that Minerva knew, hid the door to the Room of Requirement. The door materialised in front of them and Harry carefully set her down, not letting go completely.

“Don’t run! I am going to take the collar off if you promise me that you will not run away.”

Minerva nodded again and her colleague smiled down at her, unclasping the collar. She changed back to her human form, looking a bit ruffled. Instantly she glared at Harry who raised a hand to stop her as she opened her mouth to speak.

“I am sorry Minerva, don’t be mad at me, please. It was the easiest way to get you up here.”

Minerva smoothed her hands down the front of her robes. “You could have asked me to come with you!”

Harry grinned at her. “Yes, but where’s the fun in that? Listen, you trust me, right?” At her nod he continued. “Great, then please close your eyes, I promise it won’t be long.”

She did as he asked and Harry gently grasped her arm, just above the elbow. She heard that the young man opened the door and a wave of warm air hit her face, smelling like cinnamon, baked apples and tea. It smelled like Christmas. Harry led her inside the room and closed the door, letting go off her arm.

“Merry Christmas Minerva!” said familiar voices and her eyes flew open as a gasp left her lips. She looked around the room, seeing the complete staff in front of her, along with their families. The Room of Requirement was decorated in warm colours; reds, browns and creamy shades. The torches on the wall, the candles in the air and the crackling fire gave the room a soft glow. There were countless soft, big cushions on the floor and several tables, all set richly with food. Violins and flutes hovered over their heads, playing traditional Christmas songs while a choir of fairies chanted softly. A large Christmas tree sat in the corner of the room, stacks of boxes lying under its branches.

She looked around the room, still speechless while her colleagues, her friends, smiled at her. “This is- what is this?” She looked back at Harry.

“We wanted you to have a proper Christmas this year, Minerva. We know there was hardly any time to celebrate it these past three years, due to some, now vanished trouble-makers.” Some teachers smiled at Harry’s reference to the powerful dark wizard who had tried nothing less than to take over their world. “You have done so much for me and for everybody in here and everybody outside Hogwarts, without thinking about what that might mean for you and we wanted to thank you for that and everything else. Only one Christmas party is not nearly enough but it is a start.”

Harry leaned in to give the woman he had come to see as a guardian and a close friend, a peck on the cheek. Seeing the tears in her eyes, he slipped a handkerchief into her hand.

One by one, her colleagues came and wished her a merry Christmas but Minerva was still too touched to say more than ‘thank you’. Even Severus smiled at her as he greeted her and gave her his good wishes. After that, he silently glided over to Harry and kissed his beaming husband, who in turn slipped his arms around Severus’ neck. Minerva smiled at the men who had once been sworn enemies.

Soon the tables and cushions were occupied, the people in the room chatted happily, drank and ate, enjoyed the night. Every now and then, someone would rise up and take one of the boxes from underneath the tree, handing it to another person.

In a quiet moment Minerva gazed around the room once more, here eyes catching what looked like a reflection in the window and a sad smile spread over her face.

“I wish you were here tonight.”

She heard the familiar chuckle. “I am here Minerva, I am always here with you.” Albus’ voice sounded in her head and she nodded at the twinkling reflection with a smile. After a sip of her wine, she turned to Poppy Pomfrey who held a wrapped box with a big red bow in her hands.

“Thank you, Poppy.”

The Medi-witch put an arm around Minerva’s shoulder and smiled. “Always Minerva, for you, always.”

Minerva’s eyes filled with tears of joy once more and she began to unwrap the parcel.


~Fin~