I own nothing but the plot!

The Predicament

Chapter 1

Minerva McGonagall found herself in quite the predicament. She had attended the Ministry ball in honor of the one year anniversary of Voldemort's downfall as expected of her. Her appearance a testament to her positon of Headmistress of Hogwarts, sharp dress robes of gold, silver and black with her hair in a loose bun at the base of her neck. Her appearance was softened by the light makeup adorning her face. Minerva had sat at a table with various Order members including The Golden Trio as she referred to Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. She had indulged tonight, enjoyed her Scottish whiskey among her comrades where merriment was high. Conversation had flowed like a river and it soothed her as she expected it did most of them.

The war had brought the Order together in ways that would be hard to forget. She had missed the good conversation and friendly banter while she had been at Hogwarts as its new Headmistress. It was difficult to be surrounded by likeminded people daily figuring out how to survive and win a war against the current Dark Wizard and not become close. Minerva had struggled with the withdrawal of the Order as she went to Hogwarts and the lonelier times she had endured since. The younger members among the Order members present had dragged her onto the dance floor most of the night. It was amazing how not being able to take house points from them could cause her famous Professor McGonagall ire to be meaningless. Minerva had worked on that façade for decades! Minerva had lost count of how many dances she had shared with the younger order members but her most shocking had been when Hermione Granger had cut in and danced her away from a less than pleasant acquaintance of her childhood.

The time had slipped away from her and she had been startled to see so many had already left. She excused herself to go to the ladies room and had planned to meet Hermione in the lobby so they could apparate to Hogsmeade together then walk to the castle together. Hermione had surprised no one when she had decided on an apprenticeship with Minerva instead of immediately going to work as Harry and Ron did. Minerva smiled when she thought of how close of friends she and Hermione had become. Hermione had somehow broken down the walls of defense Minerva had long ago constructed and then helped rebuild her emotional sanity. Minerva was thankful to find a friend like Hermione!

Hermione had become her confidant. The young girl was a balm to Minerva's battered soul. Many nights they could be found sitting in front of the fire with a cup a tea in hand and a tin of biscuits talking for hours. Minerva had learnt so much about her young friend and she in turn had spoken about her past experiences. Minerva had spent many nights crying on her friend's shoulder or lap. Hermione had merely comforted her and never spoke of their private conversations to others. Minerva still wondered how the girl had gotten her to talk about some of her deepest fears and darkest days.

Minerva was so lost in thought she missed the man with a raised wand in his hand and the spell that hit her from behind. She fell to the floor of the ladies restroom and became immobile, not even a word could escape her lips. Her heart was racing as a wizard, one she recognized as a fellow Scotsman, dragged her from the middle of the ladies restroom to the corner and lifted her up on the vanity against the wall. She watched terrified as the wizard before her tore the sleeves of her robes off. He pulled out a case from within his pockets and opened said case. A syringe filled with a dark red liquid and another one with a lilac colored liquid were nestled inside and Minerva was horrified as they were injected into her arms. She was in a predicament, she thought.