Disclaimer: I do not know Minerva or Bellatrix, nor the world they live in.

A/N: This is for BelleD'Opium's "Character Death" Challenge. My characters were Bellatrix Lestrange and Minerva McGonagall with the prompt 'grass'. Also, I want to thank my loving husband for betaing this for me.

If someone had asked her what her favorite plant was, the answer wouldn't have been a typical answer. While most people picked something beautiful or exotic, perhaps a flower or maybe a tree, Minerva McGonagall's favorite was a lot simpler. Grass.

It was resilient; after all, how many plants could be trampled repeatedly and not break and wilt from damage? It was simple; she had never been one for overly flashy or beautiful things, as those tended to fade with age, leaving only a ghost of their previous image. It was stubborn; even with a lack of care, the grass would continue to grow and thrive, even going so far as to sprout in cracks and between rocks where many other plants would fail. Not to mention, although she would never admit it to her students nor let them witness it, Minerva adored walking barefoot through the grass and letting the thin stalks of life tickle in between her toes.

This time, however, she crossed the yard with her shoes on, for this was no time to enjoy the luxury of the grass. There was a battle going on, and she considered it her responsibility to see to the safety of her students. Moving quickly between people to keep her self as minimal a target as possible, her eyes roved over the combatants, searching for anyone having difficulty. In particular, she was alert for any Gryffindor who may have snuck back to participate in the fighting. Gryffindors may have been classified as the bravest of the Hogwarts houses, but that bravery lent itself to an inclination toward recklessness.

There. Picking up her pace, Minerva blocked a few spells aimed at Colin Creevey and Lavender Brown. Sending several spells back at the Death Eater, she provided the cover needed to allow the children to slip back into the throng of people. "Get back to the castle!" She instructed after them, realizing the likelihood of them obeying her was slim, but hoping nonetheless.

With her Gryffindors gone, Minerva turned her full attention onto her opponent. The lack of the typical white mask allowed her to clearly see the dark hair, the smiling face, the wild eyes. Bellatrix Lestrange. Allowing herself to only track her surroundings out of the corner of her eyes to alert herself to any possible threat that may appear, her focus fell entirely to the psychopath, acknowledging that this duel would be a dangerous one. Her belief was proven correct as Bellatrix unleashed a barrage of spells at her.

Using a combination of shielding, deflecting and sidestepping, Minerva defended herself, returning spell for spell. Bellatrix may have been trained by Voldemort, but Minerva had been trained by Dumbledore. Since Voldemort had been intimidated by Dumbledore, it would have stood to reason that Lestrange should have been intimidated by McGonagall, had it not been for the fact the Death Eater was so far removed from reality that fear had no existence in the fragments of her mind.

The two woman maintained a delicate dance: casting, blocking, weaving, charming, dodging. As Bellatrix's wand turned from her opponent and seamlessly fired a curse at a nearby student, Minerva threw a protective shield to the student before sidestepping right to dodge the Killing Curse that attempted to claim her life. She didn't step back left quickly enough, however, and was caught across the right side of her ribs with a cutting curse.

Bellatrix cackled. "You're getting old, McGonagall. Too slow to keep up with wee-bitty me," she mocked leveling her wand at opponent's head. Minerva gave no verbal response, but merely ripped a handful of grass out of the ground and into the air. A simple wave of the wand transfigured them all into shiny needles and a quick banishing charm sent the swarm at the Death Eater.

Bellatrix blasted them away before having to sidestep the giant needle that Minerva had kept back as a second attack. "You think a little transfiguration is going to stop me?" She shrieked, sending another barrage at the fallen professor. One spell made it past McGonagall's defenses and the woman lost her wand. Bellatrix summoned it to her and made her way behind McGonagall in several quick strides. Grasping her bun firmly in one hand, she yanked the older woman to her feet and held tightly to the back of her neck to prevent escape. "So that's how you want to play? I can play that too." Bellatrix taunted, self-assured of her victory as her opponent was disarmed and injured. Twisting her wand around, she summoned the giant needle that had previously missed her.

It was hard to focus with the nails digging into the pressure points at the back of her neck, but Minerva waited one... two... At the last possible moment, she shrunk, leaving Bellatrix to hold her cat body firmly in the air as deadly metal slid just beneath the tabby and impaled itself into Bellatrix's abdomen.

With a strangled gasp, Bellatrix released the cat who landed neatly on her feet before changing back into a woman. Snatching both wands away, Minerva took a step back, staring impassively down at the fallen combatant. Bellatrix managed a partial sneer before the magic surrounding the oversized needle failed and it collapsed back into the simple piece of grass it had started as. Minerva's gaze rested on the Death Eater for several seconds longer as Bellatrix bled out before turning away.

As she wearily walked away, Minerva's only thought was that she now had a new reason to support why grass was her favorite plant.