Chapter 1

Minerva McGonagall smiled in acceptance as Mrs. Granger set a hot cup of tea down on the table for her before joining her husband on the couch across from the unknown lady who had rang the doorbell earlier, politely introducing herself as Minerva McGonagall and asking kindly if she could come in. Except for her name, she hadn't said who she was, but the elder woman's appearance alone had been quite pompous to take in when Mr. Granger had opened the door to reveal her. She seemed like a woman of certain rank, and Mr. Granger wouldn't have been surprised to hear that she had been anything from an engineer to a university professor. The thin squared eyeglasses framing her intense teal green eyes made her look intelligent and wise. One could tell she was a proud woman by mainly looking at her composure: straight spine, raised head… undoubtedly proud of who and what she was… with reason.

Mr. Granger had stood aside to let her pass by and had indicated with his arm the way to the living room, shutting the door behind her before following her. His wife had looked up rather strangely as well, seemingly overwhelmed by the same feeling as him upon seeing Minerva McGonagall for the first time. She had stood up at once, shaking the other woman's offered hand and telling her to please sit down, asking if she would like to have a spot of tea before scrambling to get the tea and biscuits ready as the woman answered affirmative.

"I apologize for coming rather unannounced," Minerva said, considering it was a regular Monday night in July. They might have been on a holiday… or with family or companions or they might have had the aforementioned over for a visit. These visits were often enough a bit of guessing, but the fact the Ministry could at least locate the magic of the boy or girl in question of course helped. If necessary, Minerva would have offered to return later when more suitable. She seemed to be lucky, though.

That year, there seemed to have been notice of two children with magical abilities in Muggle families. There were usually one or two like that, and most of the time Minerva, being the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry took care of informing the families and the pupils about there being another world beyond the Muggle one, namely a Wizarding one in which the child could belong when given the chance. There had been two like that that year, and Pomona Sprout, the Head of Hufflepuff House and the teacher in Herbology, had offered to go deliver the other letter to a certain Justin Finch-Fletchley. The members of the staff who came to inform them of the news usually were the ones who helped them get ready for the new year by going to visit in Diagon Alley to get all school necessities – which was actually necessary considering neither the families nor children would know just how to get there to begin with. At first, there was usually shock, but that passed by soon enough after having been told more about Hogwarts and such. It happened rarely that the guardians refused to give their son or their daughter the chance to get educated in magic.

"I hope I don't disturb." Both Grangers immediately shook their heads. She continued, "I have come here today to talk to you about something related to your daughter Hermione," she said, addressing the Grangers sitting in the couch opposite. "It would be beneficial if she could join us as well," she said, smiling kindly. At Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall rarely smiled, but in occasions like these, she had soon learned, there was the need of reassurance even if only shown by a little smile.

Mrs. Granger quietly rose from her seat. "She's right upstairs," she said, crossing to the doorway to the hall and calling her daughter's name, her soft voice floating up the stairs to reach the young girl's ears. A bit later one could hear the sound of little footsteps coming down the stairs, followed by Mrs. Granger entering the living room again, followed by a small girl with bushy chestnut hair and curious hazel eyes – her daughter. The girl stood still in the doorway for a moment as her mother returned to her earlier seat beside her father.

In her left hand she carried a book, her forefinger tucked between the pages where she had left off to make sure she could find it again easily later on, maybe when the lady had left. The girl wore a plain purple top and a white skirt that barely reached her knees. Her feet were bare – the way she usually walked about the house. She looked at the elder woman curiously, finding her appearance quite… imposing. It seemed to radiate off her. Briefly casting aside her gaze, she noticed that her father and mother had filled one couch. She could wriggle between them or she could just be a big girl and seat herself beside the remarkable older woman on the other one. Taking a very deep breath, Hermione moved forward and politely extended a hand in greeting to the visitor, who took it kindly. "You must be Hermione then," she said. "I'm Minerva McGonagall." The girl's forehead creased at the seemingly odd name, shaking hands with her before walking over and seating herself beside her.

"Mrs. McGonagall is here for you, Hermione," Mrs. Granger announced.

"Ms.," Minerva corrected with a little smile that said no apology was needed. The mistake was made often enough. She turned in her seat toward Hermione and said, "That's right, Hermione. I have come here for you mainly, to say a few things to you and your mother and father. I work as a teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." At that, three sets of eyebrows quirked. It truly was a strange name. Witchcraft? Wizardry? "I know that the name may sound weird, but once you know a bit of my world, you'll see that it is not so weird at all." Neither set of eyebrows relaxed upon hearing the words 'my world'.

Hermione recovered first, her eyes again looking curious like when she had first appeared in the doorway. "What do you mean with 'your world', Ms. McGonagall?" Hermione politely asked.

The smile upon Minerva's features widened, and even though she spoke loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, considering it was of importance for the rest of the family to know and to get it all as well, her attention was mainly focused on the eleven-year-old beside her. "With 'my world', I mean the Wizarding world," she said. "I mean, the others who can do magic. Hogwarts is a boarding school, where we teach witchcraft and wizardry, all kinds of magic, to children who show signs of magic, like you."

"I show magic?" Hermione questioned, her eyes having become wide as she stared solely at the woman beside her, the book in her lap long forgotten.

"Yes, you do," Minerva said. "Have you never really experienced weird things happening to you in the past?" she wondered, causing Hermione's forehead to crease again with thought, pondering about what could be considered as weird. "Something that is hard and seemingly impossible to find reason behind?" Minerva tried again.

"I recall certain occurrences like that," Mrs. Granger spoke, catching the attention of both her daughter and the visitor. Mr. Granger remained quiet sitting beside her. "When she was five, for instance, she lost the bracelet that had been given to her by my mother before she died on a little school trip. She was… unable to be soothed when she came home later and found she wasn't wearing it anymore. She cried for hours until she fell asleep at last. The morning after, the bracelet was lying on her nightstand as she woke, even though we were all sure she had worn it when leaving and no longer when coming home. I still recall telling her in the car that I was sure her Gran was thinking about her as long as that she wore the bracelet."

Minerva McGonagall's smile widened. She nodded. "Those are the exact things I'm referring to. Such things happen occasionally to children who carry magic," she said, turning to the girl again. Minerva McGonagall calmly opened her hand before her, showing her a long thin wooden object that looked like a princess' magic wand, much like the one which she had had for carnival that year – even though minus the shiny star at the end and not pink. "This is a wand," Minerva elucidated. "At Hogwarts, we teach magical children to channel their magic with the help of these. There's a large variety of lessons that will teach you how to perform certain kinds of magic. I, for instance, teach Transfiguration. I teach how to change matter into another type of matter. There are other classes, like Charms, which don't change the matter of something, but change the abilities of something."

"Could you do that?" Hermione asked, eyes wide.

"Yes, I can," Minerva replied. "I do teach Transfiguration, but that doesn't mean that I cannot perform any other kind of magic. However, as you might soon experience, everyone has their better subject in magic – much like in Muggle school, I reckon." As Minerva finished talking, she easily waved her wand at the book that rested in Hermione's lap, her little fingers having slipped from the pages as she had no longer really cared about the book, but had hung at Minerva McGonagall's every word. In response to the wave of the long wooden object between the older woman's fingers and the whispered "Wingardium Leviosa," the book lifted itself from the younger girl's lap and rose into the air, suddenly turning into a bunch of pale blue flowers raining down on the girl's lap at another wave of the woman's wand.

All three Grangers eyed this with something like mild shock. "My b–!" Hermione began. However, as the last blue flower fell into her lap, the book materialized again. "Will I be able to do that as well?" Hermione wondered aloud, gazing at the elder woman.

"If you should choose to attend Hogwarts, then letting things float into the air is one of the first charms you will be learning."

"Wow."

"Are there many like you?" Mr. Granger suddenly questioned, voice sounding quite normal to his wife and daughter's ears even though what they had just witnessed.

Minerva quietly turned to him. "Well, compared to Muggles – a term we use for anyone unable to perform magic – no. However, about forty new spots are filled at Hogwarts each year. I have come here to offer your daughter one of them." Another swish of her wand and a letter appeared atop of the girl's beloved book. "That one's for you," she said. "It contains your acceptance letter and a list of what you will need for the new school year if you should choose to attend Hogwarts. Every new pupil gets one like that. Most letters arrive by mail–" about this being usually owl mail, Minerva chose not to divulge – "but considering Hermione is the first in her family who has shown magical abilities, I have come to deliver it myself. We believe this is the best way to get the existence of magic across, considering there might be a lot of questions with first magical children in the family as well."

Hermione by then had turned to her mother and father as well. "Oh could I go?" she asked.

"Of course, if you should choose to allow your daughter to further her education in magic at Hogwarts, I will accompany you to the right stores, where she could get her school necessities for the first year, and make sure she has all she needs. I know it can come quite as a surprise and can be overwhelming at first. I have had to do this multiple times over the years, and it is usually a bit shocking in the beginning, of course."

"Yes, you could say that," Mr. Granger replied, his wife nodding agreeingly.

"Where is this school you mentioned?" Mrs. Granger wondered.

"The school is in Scotland," Minerva said, remaining vague. A number of powerful spells rendered Hogwarts Castle unable to be found and the ones who knew about its location tong-tied, making it impossible to divulge it. "A train straight to Hogwarts will be leaving at King's Cross in London on September 1."

"All seems well organized then," Mr. Granger said, watching as the remarkable woman quietly reached for her cup of tea and lifted it to her lips, taking a meticulous sip.

Minerva slowly lowered her cup and swallowed. "We try," she said. "It'll get easier to deal with once the first few weeks at Hogwarts have passed. This is all new and exciting and possibly confusing as well – I don't make myself any illusions – but it will all be fine. I've never known of someone who did not find his or her spot at Hogwarts yet. Besides, there are always teachers, like me, whom you could ask for help if there are any issues."

"Please… could I go there?" Hermione nearly begged, eying both other Grangers.

She had been thoroughly fascinated by Minerva's little performance, and the mere thought that she might one day be able to do the same had made her heart beat faster. She had shown magic, and she had been offered a spot at a school that allowed to help her channel it all and possibly do even more awesome things!

Eventually, the Grangers had said yes and had given their daughter the opportunity to farther her education in magic. That Saturday, she had gotten all of her necessities for school in Diagon Alley with the help of Professor McGonagall. She had been all set, and even though she never could have expected just what adventure it would all become some say, she knew that that day when Minerva McGonagall had come to deliver her letter of acceptance for Hogwarts must have been one of the best of her life.