Hi everyone,

This story is set during the first wizarding war and follows Minerva McGonagall through it. Timeline has been adjusted a bit and this war now takes place in the late nineties instead the eighties. I hope you like it. Thank you for reading.

Friday, December 19th 1997

The train had pulled out of the Hogsmeade station about an hour ago with only about six children inside. Most of the students were staying at school over the Christmas break this year. With the war raging on Hogwarts was the safest place for them. The school had also begun housing families of students who were at the most risk. Many Muggleborns and their children stayed at the castle, along with families of higher ups in the Ministry, families of Order of the Phoenix members and families of many of the professors. A strange wartime routine had formed at the school. Many of the adults who were staying at the castle had started pulling their own weight. Some had come together to form a sort of day care for the smaller children so that they wouldn't disrupt classes or cause trouble. Others had developed tutoring sessions to help students with their homework. Adult only Quidditch teams and adult only Defense classes had also formed to keep the people who had nothing better to do occupied. These games and classes helped keep morale up a bit. People were beginning to forget how things used to be. They were beginning to forget how Christmas used to be. The festive season seemed to be getting less and less festive as the years of war passed. They were at a point where even though the trees and the decoration were up, Christmas still hadn't arrived. Christmas break which once left Hogwarts buzzing with excitement and warmth had no effect in these last two years.

With the added adult support to look after the students, however, the professors whose families were not at Hogwarts were able to leave for the winter break. Many of them stayed at the castle anyways, though. Opting to stay and help out. Minerva McGonagall, however, was not one of these professors. Instead, here she stood in the cold December snow in front of the large front doors of her late husband's Rochester mansion. She pulled her coat closer around herself as she tried to build up the courage to ring the doorbell. The unforgiving winds blew up her sleeves and fluffy snowflakes settled in her greying hair. Her hair was out of its usual tight bun atop her head style, instead just open and flowing down her back. She had a hard enough time getting out of bed lately, let alone doing her hair. She stood on the step for only a second until finally, in one quick motion without thinking too much, Minerva reached out and pushed the doorbell button. She heard the familiar chime of the bells and waited for someone to open the door and invite her out of this frozen tundra. The longer she stood out on the front door step, she feared, the more likely someone would see her.

After a couple of excruciating moments the door opened. An eighteen year old Daniel Collins opened the door and, upon seeing who was there, went wide eyed. Of all the people to show up at his door now, his stepmother was among the last he would have guessed. She had left two years ago and was nowhere to be found when they had needed her the most. He had begun to think she would never come home. Yet here she stood in his doorstep probably expecting him to welcome her with open arms. He felt the anger build up inside of him but couldn't find his voice in order to speak.

Nobody said anything for a long time. Minerva watched him closely. Daniel was a spitting image of his father with the same tanned skin, messy black hair and grey eyes. She could see Daniel's hand twitch every so often as if he was debating just slamming the door closed in her face. He was so much older than he had been the last time she was here. He looked so much like his father.

Finally Minerva spoke, "Hello Dan-"

"What are you doing here?" Daniel interrupted her, finally finding his voice. His face shifted from an expression of surprise to one of anger. He glared at her and Minerva couldn't help but think of that old expression, if looks could kill.

"I - I heard about what happened," she whispered, tears already filling her eyes. She did her best to blink them away. She needed to be strong right now. She wouldn't be able to explain herself properly if she devolved into tears. Daniel just stared at her. "May I come in?"

He looked her up and down, took a deep breath and then nodded. Minerva felt relief wash over her. She was glad he hadn't just turned her away. He stepped to the right to allow her access into the house and quickly closed the door behind her. The warm house defrosted her fingers and toes. Daniel watched her take off her boots and hang her coat on a coat rack and then, without a word, turned around to walk towards the living room. Minerva quickly followed.

"Is Lucy home?" Minerva asked quietly.

Daniel nodded but didn't say anything. They walked in silence for a while. When they made it to the living room Daniel finally spoke again. "Sit."

Minerva sat down on the couch and was about to say something when a young Indian woman walked into the living room. She had long black hair that stopped about mid back and brown eyes. Her skin was a caramel brown much like Daniel's. She was quite tall coming up to a little passed Daniel's shoulders and wore black jeans with a light blue blouse. Nina Chaudhry said, "Daniel, I was - Oh, hello."

"Hello," Minerva said giving her a little smile.

"Nina, this is Lucy's mother, Minerva McGonagall," Daniel mumbled. He was standing in front of the coffee table. He did not make any move to sit down.

"Oh," Nina said, looking a little shocked. When she was finally able to pull herself together she walked over and stretched her hand out for Minerva to shake. "I'm Nina Chaudhry, Daniel's girlfriend."

"It's nice to meet you Nina," Minerva replied shaking her hand.

"You too," Nina replied. "Um, Lucy is upstairs. She just got home from school so she went up to change out of her uniform." She looked over at Daniel. "Should I go get her?"

"No, I think that we have to talk first," Daniel muttered.

"Should I leave you two -"

"No, you can stay," Daniel said. She nodded and sat down in an armchair, knowing full well that Daniel wanted her to stay. Daniel looked back at Minerva. "Is the war over?"

Minerva looked over at Nina but before she could say anything Daniel spoke again. "She already knows."

"Oh," she said quietly. She turned back to Daniel and shook her head. "The war isn't over but... I heard what happened to Jay and... and I'm so sorry, Daniel! If I had been here... if I had... I could have... I'm just so sorry."

Daniel stared at her. Tears were rolling down Minerva's face now but for some reason that only made him angrier. She should have been here. She shouldn't have left. She should have come back sooner. They had gone through so much and he had needed her but she wasn't there and now it was too late.

"I just wanted to make sure you two were okay. I wanted to see you both," Minerva continued when he didn't say anything. "You two shouldn't -"

"So you'll be leaving again, then?"

"No, no, I'm here to stay," Minerva replied quickly. "If you'll let me."

"Even with the war still going on?" Daniel asked, glaring at her and crossing his arms.

"Well, I -"

Minerva stopped when she saw a little head sticking out through the living room door looking at her. Her six year old daughter's cloudy grey eyes were staring right at her, the expression on her face unreadable. Minerva gave Lucy Collins a little smile. Daniel turned around and saw Lucy standing there as well. He gave her a half smile. "It's okay, you can come in."

She walked into the living room and over to where Nina was sitting, staring directly at Minerva as she moved. Nina smiled at Lucy as she approached. Lucy sat down next to Nina in the armchair. Minerva watched her. Her long hair was braided, going down her back. She wore black jeans and a dark red jumper.

"Hello, Lucy."

"Hi..."

Daniel looked at Minerva and then back at Nina. Nina nodded slightly and said, "Alright, Lucy, how about we let Daniel and Ms. McGonagall talk for a little while? Are you hungry? We should get you an after school snack."

Lucy nodded and Nina stood up. Lucy took her hand as they walked towards the kitchen. Minerva heard Lucy say quietly, "Nina, that was my -"

"I know, love," Nina replied.

Minerva turned back to Daniel. He motioned for her to continue. "Um, well, I just don't want you two to be alone right now," she said. "I know that me leaving put a lot of pressure on you and then Jay... and I just don't want you to have to deal with everything alone."

"We're not alone," Daniel muttered. "Nina is here to help."

"She seems like a very lovely girl."

"She is," he said with a nod. "Uncle Raj also helped us out a lot. He basically lives here now, he's over so often. Maria makes sure we have groceries, things for school, and deals with any of Collins Enterprises stuff that I might have to look at. We're not alone. We have a lot of people who stayed to help us."

"I'm glad and I will personally thank Raj and Maria for everything they've done but I want to help as well," Minerva said. "I told you I would come back and I'm back."

Daniel looked at her for a long time without saying anything. Finally when he spoke his voice wasn't angry anymore. It was sad and hurt. "I believed you," he said quietly. "I believed you when you said you were coming back and then when Dad got sick I thought you would for sure but you never did. You left me to deal with everything on my own and... and I... I just don't know anymore. You're back now, sure, but the war is still going on so I can't be sure you won't leave again. You can't be here and then leave again. It will kill Lucy."

"I'm not going to leave again, Daniel," Minerva said. "I know it's hard to trust me now but I'm not going to leave. I love you and Lucy, I want to be here for you both. I don't care about the war right now. You two are my top priority."

"I - I went up to Castletown," he said. "I thought maybe Isobel could help but - but she wasn't there either. She left too."

"She's in Germany right now. Doesn't get back till tomorrow. I doubt she even knows what's happened," Minerva said with a sigh. "I'm sorry she wasn't there when you went up."

"I may have accidentally punched a hole through her door."

Minerva smiled a little. "I'm sure she won't mind. Easily fixed."

He doesn't say anything.

Minerva took a deep breath. "I know that it might be hard to understand and I don't expect you to forgive me right away but... but I had to leave," she said. "I had to fight this war, Daniel, and it killed me to be away from you all. I thought about giving up everything and just coming back here, forgetting all about the wizarding world and its problems but - but I couldn't do that. I had to keep fighting for what I believed in, for what was right. I couldn't let people die every day because of who they were or who their parents were. I know what I did hurt you and Lucy. I know what I did is not easy to forgive but I hope that in time you both will come to understand and accept my apology."

He stared at her for a moment before turning away. She watched him. She wished he would say something. She had said what she had felt. She had given her explanation, good or not, now it was his turn to decide. As time passed Minerva thought that maybe he was just going to ask her to leave. She would understand if he did but it would destroy her. She should have done a better job to prepare herself for that possibility. It wasn't till now that the idea really hit her. What would she do if he did? Probably get a room here in Rochester and keep trying. She wasn't going to leave them alone again.

Finally Daniel spoke and when he did Minerva heard the pain in his voice. It broke her heart. "I do understand," he said as if it hurt him to say it. He did not want to understand. He did not want to forgive her yet. He was still angry with her for leaving him to deal with everything on his own. He had to give up so much but he had done it because he loved his father and Lucy and he would give anything to protect them. Which is why he understood. But understanding is not always enough. He knew what he thought logically but that did not change what he felt emotionally. "I understand giving up things to take care of people you love."

"Of course you do," she said, tears filling her eyes again. "You have been so strong, my love, and I am so proud of you."

Daniel took a deep breath and moved to an armchair. He sat down, leaned forward on his elbows, and put his head in his hands. Minerva moved over on the couch closer to the armchair that Daniel had been sitting on. She put a hand on his back. "I am so sorry, sweetheart. I'm so sorry for leaving. I wish I had been here, I wish I had known earlier."

"You're not going to leave again?"

"No, no, darling," Minerva whispered. "I'm here to stay, I promise."

There was silence for a long time until finally Daniel looked up at her and gave her a small smile. "I'm glad you're back," he said quietly, reaching over and giving her a hug.

Minerva smiled and hugged him back, resting a hand on the back of his head. "I'm glad I'm back too."

When they pulled apart Daniel said, "You'll probably want to talk to Lucy."

"Yes, that seems like a good idea," Minerva said with a smile. Daniel stood up and started walking towards the kitchen. Minerva followed him.

Nina was in the kitchen chopping vegetables for dinner. She smiled at them when they entered. "Alright?"

"Yeah, we're good," Daniel replied. "Where's Lucy?"

"She decided to go upstairs," Nina said with a frown.

Daniel turned back to Minerva. "You know where her room is right?"

Minerva nodded. She turned and exited the kitchen. She walked up the stairs and down the corridor until she reached the door she was looking for. She knocked on the door.

"Come in," came a small voice from the other side of the door.

Minerva opened the door and looked inside. Lucy was sitting on the floor with her back against her bed. She had a book in her hands and her legs were stretched out in front of her. She looked up when Minerva opened the door but quickly looked back at her book when she saw who it was. Minerva sighed and came into the room. She closed the door behind her.

"Hi."

Lucy didn't respond. She watched her mother from the corners of her eyes. Minerva walked over to the little girl and sat down on the floor beside her.

"What are you reading?" Minerva asked.

"Nancy Drew," Lucy whispered, moving the side of the book so Minerva could see the front.

"That sounds nice," Minerva said.

Lucy looked her mother up and down for a moment before turning back to the book and saying, "you look the same."

Minerva smiled. "You don't," she said. "You're so much older now."

"My hair is longer."

"Yes it is. It looks really pretty," Minerva replied. "Did you braid it yourself?"

"No, Nina did it," Lucy replied, quietly. She closed the book in her hands and put it down on the ground. She pulled her braid over her shoulder and played with the end of it, still not looking at Minerva. "Why are you here?"

"I came to see you."

Lucy frowned and let her hands fall to her side. "Why would you want to see me?"

Minerva looked down at her daughter but she was still avoiding looking at her. "Because I was worried about you," she said quietly. "And Daniel. I wanted to see you two and make sure you were okay."

"How long are you staying?"

"How long do you want me to stay?"

Lucy didn't respond. She finally looked up at her mother for a second and then stood up. Minerva watched her pick up her book and walk over to put it back on her bookshelf. She had a lot of Nancy Drew books. She also had a lot of comic books. It seemed that Daniel's love of comic books had rubbed off on her. They were all set on the bookshelf in alphabetical order. All her books were. Minerva smiled, she remembered alphabetizing her own books when she was younger.

"Daddy said that you would come back," Lucy whispered, her back still too Minerva. "Before he... died... but I didn't believe him."

"Lucy..." Minerva replied. Lucy turned around and looked at her. "I'm very sorry for leaving, my darling. I wish I never had and I don't expect you to understand but I hope you can forgive me, eventually."

Lucy walked over and sat down cross-legged in front of her mother with her hands in her lap. She stared at her mother for a second before frowning. "I'm pretty smart, you know," she said. "I can understand."

"Of course, I'm sorry," Minerva said with a small smile.

"Why did you leave?" Lucy asked, not smiling. She didn't want to joke. She wanted answers. Real answers.

"I had to leave because of work," she said with a sigh, "but I'm back now, darling."

Lucy's frown deepened. Work. That was a nothing answer and Lucy didn't like it. Minerva could tell that she wasn't buying it but it was the best answer she could give her right now. She didn't want Lucy to worry about war. Lucy was only six years old. It wasn't something she needed to know about right now. Instead Minerva decided to change the subject. She smiled a little and reached over to take Lucy's hands in hers. It seemed to take her by surprise but she didn't pull away. Minerva took this as a good sign.

"Now, why don't you tell me about yourself?" she said. "What have I missed? I want to know everything about you."

Lucy looked at their hands for a second before looking up at her mother again and shrugged a little. "I don't know," she mumbled. "I'm in year seven now."

"Year seven? Really?" Minerva asked with a smile.

Lucy nodded.

"That's wonderful," she said. "Aren't you supposed to be in your second year?"

Again Lucy nodded. "I had to take a test which placed me five years higher."

"That's excellent, love. I'm so proud of you!" Minerva replied with a smile. "You must really like school then, huh?"

"No, it sucks," Lucy mumbled, looking away. "Everyone is so much older than me and treats me like a baby but I met a girl named Anne who's really nice."

"Well that's good at least," Minerva said. "I'm sure the other kids will come around too."

Lucy didn't say anything. She looked back at her hands in her mother's. Minerva decided to change the subject. "So Christmas is coming," she said. "Are you excited?"

Lucy shrugged. "It doesn't feel like Christmas."

"I know, sweetheart," Minerva said with a sigh, running little circles on the backs of Lucy's hands with her thumb. "But maybe it will help cheer everyone up a bit."

"Daniel says we might go away for Christmas this year," Lucy mumbled.

"Oh?"

"Says that we might need a break from Rochester for a little while," she replied.

"Where are you going to go?" asked Minerva.

"I don't know," Lucy replied with another shrug. She looked back up at her mother. "Are you going to come?"

"If you want me to," Minerva said with a small smile.

Before Lucy could answer Nina's voice could be heard from downstairs. "Lucy, khaana!"

Lucy pulled her hands away from her mother and stood up. "It's time for dinner," she mumbled as she turned around and started walking out of the room.

Minerva stood up as well and followed her daughter down the stairs and into the kitchen. Daniel was sitting down with a plate of food in front of him already. Lucy walked to where Nina was standing and she handed the little girl a plate of her own. With the plate in hand, Lucy went and sat down across from Daniel at the table. Nina held out a plate for Minerva as well. Minerva thanked her, took it and then went and sat down at the table. Nina brought her own plate over to the table.

They ate quietly for a few minutes before Nina broke the silence. "So, Lucy how was your day?"

"It was okay," she said with a shrug, not looking up from her plate.

"Anything exciting happen?" Nina asked. "You probably had Christmas parties in most of your classes' right?"

"Yeah we had parties but nothing really exciting," Lucy mumbled.

"Um, alright," Nina said. She and Daniel exchange a look before she decided to just stop trying for now.

"How come Uncle Raj isn't here?" Lucy asked, looking up at Daniel.

"He had some late meetings and so he was going to be too late for dinner so he decided just to stay in London tonight," he said.

"Does Raj come over every night?" Minerva asked.

"Most nights," Nina said with a smile.

"He's been staying in one of the guest bedrooms upstairs," Lucy said. "He said that we could go skating tomorrow."

"Yes," Nina said. "We'll still go. The weather isn't supposed to be too bad."

"Do you know how to skate?" Daniel asked, looking at Minerva.

"I do somewhat," Minerva said. "I may be a little out of practice. Maybe you could help me, Lucy."

Lucy shrugged. "I'm not that good," she said. "Uncle Raj said he would help me."

"Last time we went, I think Lucy fell six time," Daniel said with a laugh. Lucy gave him a look making him laugh more.

Nina smiled and shook her head. She looked over at Minerva and asked, "so, you're a teacher?"

"Yes," Minerva replied.

"What do you teach?"

"I teach Transfigurations," Minerva said.

"It's the magic of changing one thing into another," Lucy said.

"That's right," Minerva said with smile. "I teach at a school called Hogwarts. Do you remember Hogwarts, Lucy?"

Lucy nodded. "It's a castle."

"That's cool," Nina said. "So you're a witch. Like a real witch! Brooms and cauldrons and all?"

Minerva smiled. "Yes, I'm a witch. Brooms and cauldrons and all."

"Lucy's been reading the textbooks you left behind and has been practicing magic," Daniel said. "She's getting pretty good. Moving things around and stuff."

"Yeah... you want to tell Daniel what you did last week when it was your turn to empty the dishwasher?" Nina asked giving Lucy a look.

Lucy smiled and her cheeks turned a little red. She looked back down at her plate again. "I broke three plates."

Daniel looked at her for a second and then back at Minerva. "Well, she sort of moves things around."

Minerva laughed. "Well, she's still learning."

The four of them ate their dinner and then moved back to the sitting room to drink their tea. Daniel sat down on the couch with the television remote and flipped through the channels absentmindedly. Nina sat beside him and Minerva sat in an armchair. Lucy sat on the floor by Nina's feet in front of the coffee table with her notebook and colouring pencils. Minerva watched her draw and then looked over at Daniel.

"Lucy tells me that you are planning on leaving for Christmas," she said.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," he said, giving up on the television and leaving it on the food network. "All three of us have three weeks off of school so Nina and I were thinking that it might do us some good to get out of here for a little bit."

"Where were you planning on going?"

"We haven't decided yet," Nina said. She reached over and fixed a flyaway hair in Lucy's braid. "These two are honestly the most indecisive people you will ever meet. They will not make up their minds about anything. Planning with them is so hard."

"I told you that I was good with wherever you wanted to go," Daniel said.

"Me too," Lucy said quietly, looking around at Nina.

Nina smiled at Lucy and motioned for her to sit down on the couch next to her. Minerva watched as Lucy sat down next to Nina and leaned into her chest. Nina wrapped an arm around her. Minerva felt jealousy fill her. She wished that she could do the same. She wished that Lucy would come sit beside her and lean her head on her chest. Minerva wanted nothing more than just to hug her and do her hair and comfort her when she was sad. With a quiet sigh, Minerva pushed her jealousy to the side. She knew why things were like this. She had no one to blame but herself.

"I know, love," Nina said. "But you don't have any ideas of where we could go?"

"Um... Antarctica?" Lucy said with a smile.

"Antarctica? You want to go there in the middle of winter?" Daniel said with a laugh.

"Actually its summer in Antarctica right now," Lucy said matter-of-factly, making Nina and Minerva smile. "We could go hang out with the penguins."

Nina laughed. "She's got you there, Daniel," she said. "The seasons are reversed on that side of the world."

"I still don't want to go to Antarctica," he replied with a shake of his head. He looked over at Minerva. "Are you going to come with us, wherever it is we end up going?"

"If I'm invited," Minerva said.

"Of course you're invited," Nina said with a smile. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Um, well, my mother will be back from Germany tomorrow and will be hosting everyone over for Christmas as always," Minerva said. "We could go there if you would like."

No one said anything for a moment. Lucy looked over at her mother for a second. So her grandmother had been traveling. Her father hadn't lied. That's why they weren't able to go over last Christmas or the Christmas before. It wasn't because her nani didn't like her anymore.

"Scotland, right?" Nina asked and Minerva nodded. Nina looked over at Daniel. "Scotland sounds nice."

Daniel thought about it. Did he want to see Isobel and the others again right away? They stopped coming over because of the war too. Did he still blame them for that? He didn't know. He looked over at Lucy for a second before she finally looked at him.

Do you want to go? He asked without speaking. It was her grandmother after all. Lucy should decide if she wanted to go or not. It would be the hardest on her not him or Nina.

Lucy didn't know if she wanted to go. She knew Daniel was waiting for her to make the final decision but she wasn't good at doing that. She thought about it. She would love to see her nani again. She would love to talk to her but she had wanted to talk to her many times in the past two years and never got too.

Lucy sighed and gave Daniel a little nod. She would try. She would see what her nani had to say. Daniel smiled a little bit.

"Alright," he said. "We'll go. It might be fun. We haven't seen Lando, Flynn, and Lina in a very long time."

Lucy nodded a little. She suddenly felt very awkward and very unsure as too if she had made the right decision. She looked at Nina, who gave her a reassuring smile.

"Okay," Nina said. "When should we get there? We should probably book the flight as soon as possible."

"Um, well I think my brothers will be arriving on Tuesday," Minerva said, "but we don't need to take an aeroplane. We can get there faster using magic."

"But Uncle Raj doesn't know about magic," Lucy said quietly.

"Uncle Raj isn't coming with us, kid," Daniel said. "He has work so he's just going to stay in London."

"But... but then he'll be all alone for Christmas," Lucy said.

"He'll be okay, don't worry, love," Nina said with a small smile. "We asked him if he wanted to come with us. He was the one who decided not to come. He said he just couldn't miss work right now."

"Okay..." Lucy mumbled.

"So, how are we getting there if we're not flying?" Nina asked, looking back at Minerva. She was very interested in learning more about how wizards and witches travel.

"We'll take a Portkey," Minerva said.

"I thought it was very hard to get a Portkey right now," Daniel said.

"It is. The Ministry is very busy processing refugee Portkeys out of the country so they are not bothering with any requests for within the UK," Minerva said. "They've lifted the law against creating your own Portkey for now. People traveling within the UK are now allowed to just create their own."

"What exactly is a Portkey?" Nina asked, still confused.

"It's an object that can transport you great distances in a couple seconds," she replied.

"That's cool," Nina said. "So we don't have to worry about getting a flight. The Scotland idea is getting better and better."

"Nina's scared of planes," Lucy said quietly with a sly smile on her face.

"It's not that I'm scared," Nina said defensively making Daniel and Minerva smile. "I just don't like them. They're just not my favourite way to travel."

"So, we'll also leave on Tuesday then," Daniel said. "If that's when Robert and Malcolm are also coming."

"I will let Mother know so she doesn't come storming down here," Minerva said.

"Why would she come here?" Lucy asked.

"She was in Germany so she doesn't know what happened yet," Daniel told his sister.

"What hap- oh…" Lucy stopped talking and looked down at his feet. Nina gave her a little squeeze and a small smile.

Minerva looked at her daughter and sighed. Lucy was still dealing with everything. It had only been a few weeks after all. Minerva wished there was something she could do or say to take all the pain away but right now she couldn't even comfort her properly. Apparently Nina had taken that job from her.

Just then the phone rang and Lucy looked up again. Daniel looked over at it but didn't move. "That's probably Uncle Raj. Lucy, do you wanna get it?"

Lucy nodded and jumped up quickly. She raced over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?" she said. "Hi, Uncle Raj... Yeah, I'm okay."

Minerva smiled a little. She was glad that Raj was doing so much for her children when she and Jay weren't able to. She would definitely thank him properly when she saw him next.

Lucy suddenly put the phone down on the table and looked back at Daniel. "I'm going to take the call in the kitchen."

Daniel nodded and she ran towards the kitchen. Daniel got up and waited for her to call that she got it before hanging up the phone on his side. He looked over at Minerva with a small smile and said, "she's talking about you."

"I know," Minerva said with a small smile.

Inside the kitchen Lucy had the phone back up against her ear. "Okay, I'm alone in the kitchen now."

"What is it you wanted to tell me, Princess?" Raj said with a smile.

"Uncle Raj, today something really weird happened."

"Oh?"

"Someone came to our house."

"It wasn't a reporter was it," Raj said, smile fading immediately and disdain in his voice. He was getting very sick and tired of these reporters exploiting Lucy and Daniel's pain for their stupid newspapers or magazines.

"No," Lucy said quietly. "It was my mum."

"Your mum?" Raj said, sounding very surprised. He took a moment and when he spoke again it sounded like he was trying very hard to sound happy for Lucy but she could hear the contempt in his voice. "Minerva is at your house right now?"

"Yeah," Lucy said. "She came a little while after I got home from school. She said that she heard what happened and wanted to make sure we were okay."

She heard what happened? Raj rolled his eyes. She must have heard that there was a huge pile of cash with her name on it.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Raj asked, pushing that thought from his head. He could deal with that later. Lucy and Daniel was his first priority. "How are you feeling? If you need me, I can drive over right now instead of waiting until tomorrow."

"No, it's okay," she said. "I'm okay. Just... weird."

"It is weird," he said.

"I don't forgive her."

Raj didn't say anything.

"Daniel forgave her like right away but I don't forgive her," Lucy said angrily. How could her brother do that? How could he just forgive her without much thought? Lucy couldn't do that. She didn't want to do that. "But I didn't. I don't want to forgive her yet."

"That is understandable," Raj said, a little cautiously. He didn't want to turn Minerva's daughter on her or try to tell Lucy how she should feel but he wanted her to know that how she felt was okay. "It's a hard thing to forgive. You can take all the time you need."

"Uncle Raj?"

"Yes, love?"

"Do you think I should forgive her like Daniel?" Lucy asked. She was still unsure. She didn't want to. She hated that Minerva wasn't there while her dad was sick. She hated that she and Daniel had to deal with it all without her. She hated that she had spent two years all alone without her. At the same time though, Minerva was her mum. Lucy loved her, didn't she? And Minerva loved her, didn't she?

Raj sighed. "I can't tell you that, my love," he said. "That's something you have to decide for yourself. Sometimes it takes longer for some people to forgive than for others. You don't have to feel pressured one way or another. It is all up to you."

"Okay," Lucy said. This wasn't really the answer she was looking for but she got the idea that Raj wasn't going to give her a yes or no answer. "When are you coming tomorrow?"

"I'm going to head out after lunch. I have a meeting with some business people from Glasgow so I will be a little while," he said.

"And then we can go skating?"

"Of course, Princess," Raj said, smile returning. "We can go as soon as I get there. For now, why don't you run along and play. Tell Daniel that I would like to speak with him."

"Okay, Bye, Uncle Raj," Lucy said. "I'll get Daniel."

"Goodbye, sweetheart."

Lucy put the phone down on the counter and raced back to the living room. "Daniel! Uncle Raj wants to speak to you!"

"Okay," Daniel said, getting up.

Lucy raced over and took the television remote from him before sitting back down next to Nina. Nina smiled at her as Lucy pulled some of the throw blanket Nina had been using over herself and started flipping through television channels.

"What did you and Uncle talk about?" Nina asked.

"Stuff," Lucy said with a shrug. "He's coming tomorrow after lunch and then we can all go skating."

"That's nice," Nina said.

Minerva sighed and rested her cheek on her fist. As happy as she was that Daniel and Lucy had both Nina and Raj during such a traumatic time in their lives, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the both of them. She wished that Lucy had run up to sit down next to her or that she was the one taking them all out to get their minds off everything.

Daniel walked into the kitchen, picked up the phone, and greeted his uncle. Raj greeted him back but took very little time to get to the matter at hand.

"Minerva is back."

"She is," Daniel said, nodding even though Raj wasn't here to see. "She got here a little while before dinner. It was... a surprise."

"A surprise, yes," Raj mumbled. "Are you alright, Daniel?"

"I'm okay. It was really Lucy that I was worried about mostly," he said. "She's not doing as well with this."

"She told me that she was okay but that she felt weird."

"Weird is one way to describe it, yes," Daniel said. He sighed and shook his head. "I don't know, Uncle Raj. It's a strange feeling. Her being back. I keep forgetting that anything had happened at all and expect my dad to walk through the door any minute."

Raj sighed too. "Are you sure that you're okay, Daniel?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"What did she say? What was her excuse?"

"Ah," Daniel mumbled, not knowing what exactly to say. "She had to go away for - for work."

"For work? Teaching?" Raj asked.

"Yeah."

"Daniel..."

"I know that it sounds bad but -"

"Daniel, it sounds bad because it is bad," Raj said. "How many time have I or your father gone away from work? Have either of us ever gone for as long as she has or done so without ever contacting you during our trip?"

"No but -"

"Bud, I understand that you want this to work. I want it to work too but we have to be responsible about it, don't we?" Raj said, interrupting again. "For Lucy."

"Yes, I guess," Daniel said with a sigh. "How do we go about it responsibly?"

"I don't know if her staying with you is a very good idea," Raj said. "I just - I don't know, bud. She's back, yes, but if she leaves again..."

"It will destroy Lucy."

"Yes, so we have to be careful about it."

"She's here now, though. I can't ask her to leave. It's technically her house too," Daniel said. "Both our names are on the deed."

Raj took a deep breath. This is exactly why he had wanted Jay to sign everything over to Daniel. He didn't want them to get mixed up in a legal mess like this.

"Alright, we can all sit down and talk when I come tomorrow," Raj said. "Maybe I can get her to sign the house over to you and then we'll know the real reason she's here."

"I don't think she's just here because of the money," Daniel said with a frown. "I don't think she cares about that stuff."

"That may be what she told you but I don't know, love. The timing is just not great," he replied.

"Yes but for a situation like this when would the timing be great?"

There was a long pause before Raj sighed again. "I don't know, bud."

"All I know right now, Uncle Raj, is that she's back. She says she's back because she wanted to be there for us and that's what I choose to believe," Daniel said.

Of course Daniel, very much like his father, wanted to see the good in other people. Raj tried. He always liked to think he could do it too but he just couldn't get over a woman leaving her four and sixteen year olds for two years without even once giving them a call.

"By the way, we've decided where we're going over Christmas break."

"Oh, where?"

"We're going to Scotland."

"You're going to see Isobel."

"Yes," Daniel said.

Raj didn't say anything for a long time and Daniel was starting to get a little worried. He wanted his uncle to support this idea and agree that it was a good decision because he was still a little unsure.

"I was hoping you three would go somewhere outside the UK," Raj said finally. "Somewhere where you could forget about everything for a little while."

"I know but I think this will be good for us," Daniel said. "I haven't seen my cous- well, I guess they're not really my cousins but... I haven't seen them in a long time and I don't blame them for what their parents did."

Raj thought this over for a minute. Maybe it would be good for Daniel and Lucy to see their cousins.

"Alright, if that's what you've decided. You can talk to Maria to book the flight and everything."

"Min's got it covered. Don't worry."

Of course she did. Raj rolled his eyes again. He and Daniel talked for a little while longer before saying goodbye and hanging up the phone. Daniel wished that he could just tell Raj about magic and the war. He would understand better if he just knew. He would suggest such horrible things if he knew the whole situation.

He sighed and shook his head. He walked back towards the living room where he found Lucy and Nina sitting on the floor playing checkers. He walked over and pointed at one of the red checkers.

"You can take two of the black ones with this one."

Nina smiled and moved her piece. "Nice!"

"Hey! You're not allowed to help!" Lucy yelled, glaring up at her brother.

Daniel laughed as he walked back over to the couch. Minerva looked over at him and gave him a little smile.

"I hope that Raj wasn't too hard on me," she said quietly.

Daniel's smile faded and he didn't respond. Minerva's smile faded as well. She wondered what Raj had said about her. She hoped that Daniel didn't believe anything he may have said.

"It's nothing. You don't have to worry about it," Daniel said.

They all sat in the living room for a while. Nina won the checkers game against Lucy but Lucy insisted that it was only because of Daniel's help.

Eventually it was time for Lucy to go to bed. Nina stood up and held her hand out for Lucy to take but Lucy crossed her arms, frowned, and shook her head.

"But it's not even a school night," she whined. "I should be allowed to stay up long!"

She looked over at Daniel for support.

"Sorry, kid," he said, putting his hands up in defeat. "It's out of my hands."

"Besides, you've already stayed up past your regular school night bedtime," Nina tried to reason. "You did get to stay up later."

"I think I'll head to bed too," Minerva said, standing up as well.

"See, everyone's going to bed," Nina said.

Lucy sighed. "Fine."

She stood up and took Nina's hand. Nina smiled and then looked over at Minerva. "I can get you a room ready," she said. She look over at Daniel. "Should I fix up the master bedroom?"

Daniel nodded. "I think some of her clothes are still in there."

Nina nodded and then looked back at Minerva. "Is that okay with you?"

"Sure," Minerva said though she wasn't exactly sure how she felt staying in her late husband's room. It had been so long since she had even seen that room.

"Alright," Nina said with a smile. "Follow me."

"Good night, Daniel," Lucy said.

Daniel smiled. "Night, Lucy. Night, Min."

Minerva smiled. Daniel hadn't called her 'Min' in so long. "Goodnight, Daniel."

Nina led Lucy and Minerva up the stairs, Lucy still holding her hand. She opened the master bedroom door and motioned for Minerva to enter. "I'm going to put this little one to bed and then I'll bring you some blankets."

Minerva nodded. "Alright, thank you," she said with a smile. "Goodnight, Lucy."

Lucy looked up at her mother. "Night," she whispered before pulling Nina by the hand towards her own bedroom.

Minerva watched Lucy's bedroom door open and close before entering her own room. She looked around the bedroom. It looked the same as it had the day she left. The same pictures hung on the wall. The same houseplants sat on the windowsill. The same clothes hung in the closet. It looked like Daniel hadn't gotten rid of any of his father's clothes yet. Minerva looked at the line of suits hung in the closet and felt the tears sting her eyes. She took a deep breath and closed the closet door quickly. She walked over and sat down on the bed. She sat there and waited for a while. Finally she heard the door to Lucy's bedroom open and close again. Nina walked through the hallway to the hallway closet. She got some blankets and sheets for Minerva and then walked back to the master bedroom.

"Okay, here we go," Nina said. Setting the clear plastic bag that held the new bedspread on the ground and opening it. She moved to the bed and began to pull the blankets and sheets off of it. Minerva stood up and watched her do so. "So, um, I noticed you didn't have any bags so if you need anything just let me know. I think we have some extra toothbrushes and stuff like that laying around."

"Oh, no I actually do have a bag," Minerva said. She pulled out what looked like a miniature suitcase out of her pocket. It looked like something that would come with a doll. Minerva set it down on the ground and pulled out her wand.

Nina watched with wide eyes as she flicked her wand and the suitcase expanded to normal size. "Wow! That's awesome!"

"Thank you," Minerva said with a smile. She moved back over to the bed and helped Nina spread the fitted sheet on the mattress.

"I wish I could do magic," Nina said. "It seems like it could really come in handy."

"It definitely makes things easier," Minerva said. "How long did it take before you found out about it?"

"Not very long," Nina said with a laugh. "Lucy showed me a few weeks after Daniel and I started seeing each other. The first day we spent just the two of us."

"Wow," Minerva said with a shake of her head. "Lucy can't keep a secret to save her life."

"She really can't," Nina laughed, "but in her defence, she had been having a very bad day and seemed to be at the end of her rope. She just didn't have the energy to stop herself from telling the secret."

"Oh," Minerva said. "Well, to be fair, magic may be easy but you Muggles seem to be good at inventing ways of making things more convenient on yourselves as well."

"Muggles?"

"Oh, sorry, that's what we call non-magical people," Minerva explained.

"Oh, well, yeah I guess we have but, I mean, it's not really the same," Nina said with a smile.

"Well, I mean, modern medicine rivals that of potions and spells," Minerva replied. "Lucy was born premature and it was Muggle medicine that saved her life. Magic couldn't do anything to help her."

"Really?" Nina asked as she changed the pillow cases.

"Yes and I'm sure there other things muggles have come up with that I'm unaware of. Wizards seem to think they're better than muggles because they can do magic but both have their own value. We cannot say one is better than the other."

Nina smiled. "I'm glad you think so. Daniel told me that there is a war going on in the wizard world right now."

"Yes," Minerva said with a sigh, sitting back down on the bed.

Suddenly the smile on Nina's face faded away and she stopped what she's doing. She looked at Minerva and said, "I know that you left to protect Daniel and Lucy so, please don't take this the wrong way I just have to ask, are they safe now?"

"We are living in a very dangerous time," Minerva admitted, "but this house is quite safe for now. Before I left, before Lucy was even born, when the war first started I put a lot of enchantments on this house to protect us from intruders and my mother's house in Scotland is also quite safe. I also took extra precaution to make sure I was not followed here."

Nina nodded. Her smile returned and she got back to fixing up the bed. "Okay good," she said. "Sorry, I just had to be sure."

"No, I understand. I appreciate your concern for both Daniel and Lucy's safety," Minerva replied with a small smile. She got up again and walked closer to Nina. "Thank you, Nina, for looking after my children. Both of them."

Nina smiled. "Of course. They're great people. I'm just glad to have gotten the chance to have them in my own life. They take care of me as much as I take care of them."

"You and Daniel are very good together," Minerva said with smile. "I'm glad you two found each other."

"So am I," Nina replied. She put the pillows back on the bed and threw the old covers back on the bag. "Alright, we're all set here. Sleep well, Ms. McGonagall. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Nina," Minerva said as Nina exited the room.