Hey all! Here's another new MM/HG for ya. For those of you waiting on updates, I am in the middle of writing the next chapter for "Heat of the Battle", and as soon as I'm done with that, I'm moving forward with another chapter for "Antebellum". I've also had a few recent requests for me to pick up "Heart" again, so I'll try and do that as soon as the rest of my to-do pile is updated. Oh, one more thing: I've also begun to plot out the sequel to "Point of Love". Those of you interested in that fic, shoot me messages, give me ideas. I know there were alot of loose ends in PoL, but I'm not sure I can form a full plot around those loose ends alone.

In the meantime, enjoy the start of the new MM/HG, by MegaNerdAlert!

The battle, the war was over. They moved Voldemort's body and laid it in a chamber off the Hall, away from the bodies of Fred, Tonks, Lupin, Colin Creevey, and fifty others who had died fighting him. Minerva had replaced the House tables, but nobody was sitting according to House anymore: All were jumbled together, teachers and pupils, ghosts and parents, centaurs and house-elves, and Firenze lay recovering in a corner, and Grawp peered in through a smashed window, and people were throwing food into his laughing mouth.

Minerva herself was sitting at what would have been the Ravenclaw table, head just resting on the warm wood, trying to drown out the laughter and sobbing that could be heard in the Great Hall. The thought of all the meetings that would need to be held in the next few days was giving her a headache. Snape was dead, and his deputies, the Carrow siblings, sure as hell weren't going to take his place as Head of Hogwarts. A new Headmaster or Headmistress would have to be elected, and Minerva was quite certain that she was on the short list of candidates. There was also a Minister of Magic to elect, as there hadn't been one since Rufus had been killed last year – at least not a legitimate one. Minerva had no idea who they might try to elect to that office, but she prayed to Merlin that they didn't even think about offering the job to her. She wasn't even sure she really wanted the Head of Hogwarts position.

"Professor McGonagall?"

Minerva sighed and turned her head to face the speaker. "Hello, Hermione," she said, upon seeing her favorite student. All year, the girl had been on the run with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, and she had found herself often wondering if the brains of the Trio was alright.

"What are you doing over hear?" Hermione asked.

Minerva groaned. "Trying to escape the noise."

"There are other places in the castle you could go for some quiet," the younger woman pointed out. "Would you prefer if I left you alone?"

Minerva sat up. "No, don't go," she said quicker than she'd meant to. "But good point on there being other places. Would you care to walk down to the kitchens with me and see if we can't find some decent tea?"

Hermione smiled. "Certainly, Professor."

Minerva stood, and nodded for Hermione to follow her out of the Great Hall. "This way, Miss Granger."

Hermione fell in step with her. "I like it better when you call me 'Hermione', I think."

Minerva smiled. "Alright, Hermione. It's 'Minerva' to you, then."

"Okay," Hermione replied with a small smile.

The two exited the Hall without anyone taking notice. They walked in silence, making their way through the wreckage with ease. They had nearly made it to the corridor that led down to the kitchens when it happened.

Without so much as a creak for a warning, the floor gave way and collapsed under them. Seconds later, they were both covered in dust and stone, laying on an earthy floor. "Hermione, are you alright?" Minerva called into the darkness. The only light was coming from about fifty feet above, where the pair had fallen in.

"I'm fine, you?"

"I think I'm alright as well," Minerva said, running her hands over her own body to check for major injury. The hole they'd fallen into was wider at the top, and narrowed as it got deeper. They seemed to have slid down the steep wall of dirt, breaking what would have otherwise been a rather nasty fall.

"Do you have your wand?" Hermione asked, voice now sounding rather upset.

Minerva looked around the dim lit cavern and saw her own wand laying on the ground, broken in two by a boulder that had landed on top of it. "Damnit!"

"Yours is broken as well, then?" Hermione sighed, walking over to where the older woman was sitting.

Minerva groaned. "Yes."

Hermione sat down on the ground beside her former Professor. "So, no wands, and there is no way we can get back up the way we fell down, it's far too steep. Any other ideas?"

"Wait for help to come, I suppose," Minerva replied crisply.

"We can't be the only people to think of going to the kitchens," Hermione assured her. I'm sure it'll be no time at all before someone comes along. And we aren't hurt."

Minerva shifted. "The passage we went down is accessible only to teachers. So one of the teachers will have to come down this way. That limits the pool of people that might come across us considerable.

"What about House Elves?" Hermione asked suddenly. "Couldn't you just summon one?"

"They evacuated to my Manor when the Battle began," Minerva sighed. "I told them to not return unless I personally came to tell them it was safe. I even set up special wards so that no one could summon them without going through the wards of McGonagall manor."

Hermione broke out in a wide smile.

"What?" Minerva snapped. "That does prohibited them from being able to rescue us, you know."

"I'm just pleased that you gave so much consideration to their safety, Minerva," Hermione grinned. "Not many purebloods care about House Elves enough to have bothered with all that."

"And how do you know I'm not a half-blood, or muggleborn like yourself?" Minerva wanted to know.

Hermione blushed. "I, um, was kind of obsessed with you during my third year. Went sort of crazy trying to find out anything I could about you, and your background."

Minerva raised her eyebrows. "Oh? And other than me being a pureblood, what did you find out?" In truth, she was rather flattered that Hermione would think that highly of her, but at the same time she wished Hermione had just asked.

"Oh, this and that," Hermione punted. "Found out a few things we have in common, other than academics."

Minerva crossed her arms. "Don't evade the question, Hermione. Things we have in common? Like what?"

Hermione sighed. "You asked for it," she warned.

Minerva nodded. "Go on," she encouraged. At the least, this would help pass the time until Filius or one of the other Professors got hungry.

"We both dislike milk chocolate, but love dark chocolate. White chocolate makes us both very hyper. We both enjoy watching Quiddich, but not playing, though you were on the Gryffindor Team while in school because you were trying to outdo your elder brother, Artemis, and he had tried out for the team and not been chosen. Your parents got a divorce, just like mine. Your mother was verbally abusive, as was mine. Both of us excelled with school to prove to our mothers that we were not…stupid. We both prefer tea to coffee, but if we drink coffee, it's only ever black. And, well, we both…" Hermione paused and looked at Minerva carefully.

Minerva was staring at the girl. She had been expecting Hermione to site various articles that had been written about her over the years, but the things she knew…those were things that she could have only found out about Minerva by very careful observation; And considerable eavesdropping. Minerva vaguely recalled telling Albus about the reason she'd been on the Quidditch team in her youth.

"Minerva?"

"Yes, Hermione?"

"Should I stop? I mean, if it freaks you out that I know so much about you…"

"Not at all, dear," Minerva said. "I'm just rather fascinated by the type of things you seem to know. I expected you to recite facts about my life, not personal preferences."

Hermione blushed furiously.

"What?" Minerva asked, curious as to what she'd said that would have made the younger woman blush.

"We're both lesbians," she mumbled quietly.

In any other room, any other time, any other day, the words would have been to quiet and muffled to understand. But here, in a deep hold in the underbelly of Hogwarts, Minerva heard every word clearly.

Minerva was stunned. "Oh."

Just then, Minerva heard the echo of shuffling feet above her. "Hey! Down here!" she called out.

"Minerva!" a worried voice called out from above.

Good timing, Filius, Minerva thought. She was in no way ready to have THAT conversation with Hermione. It was not the first time a student had developed a crush on her, that was for sure, but it was the first time she'd found herself returning the feeling.

"I and Herm – Miss Granger fell into this hole," Minerva called back. "Both of our wands seem to have been broken in the process. We are not injured, but do require help getting out."

"Sit tight, ladies," Professor Flitwick replied. "I'll be right back!"

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