Chaper 7: An Unexpected Champion

Disclaimer: The characters you recognize belong to the brilliant J. K. Rowling; I owe her an immeasurable debt of gratitude for her creation, a new kind of Camelot.

Author's Note: My beta reader sent back the last chapters of this story this morning, and asked me if I am excited that it's finished. I am, I'm totally thrilled in fact, but one of the reasons for my elation is the chance to work with her, and the wonderful, talented admin on this archive who has been helping me with html and other stuff. These two ladies, and my totally wonderful original beta reader have given me encouragement, support, suggestions, and help beyond what I could imagine in my wildest dreams. I owe them a debt of gratitude that rivals what I owe J.K. Rowling. Thanks to all who are enjoying this story:) Your reviews brighten my day, and your pleasure makes me want to keep writing more:)

Chapter 7: An Unexpected Champion

Potter's Hollow, Hogsmeade, Scotland.

Ginny Potter sighed as she let the curtain fall back over the window, closing out the darkness and the mist that had risen in the night and now shrouded the ground. As she looked out, rain began to fall softly, and the idea popped into her mind that the weather was mirroring the tears of witches and wizards all over Wizarding Britain, weeping for the loss of Minerva McGonagall.

She wiped away the tears that threatened to blind her, and set about preparing breakfast, choosing things that could be made now and kept under stasis charms to hold their freshness and warmth. She knew she would have a houseful of guests for the next few days, and while Potter's Hollow had been designed with company in mind, a certain amount of attention had to be paid to the housekeeping.

No one would feel much like cooking, especially today. Ginny already had a list of things she knew would have to be accomplished over the next few days. Some of the items on it needed to be done as soon as possible, such as stocking the larder and pantry and having Harry check the bar supplies, as she had a feeling the Firewhiskey would be in demand.

She needed to make sure that she and Harry both had appropriate black funeral wear, too. Ginny had one indispensable black dress, but she was sure it had been bought when she was pregnant with Lily, and would need altering or replacing. Ginny wasn't a clothes person and didn't wear black unless she had to, no doubt a reaction to all those years of black robes and tights and skirts and shoes she'd worn at school.

Other items on her to-do list could be done later in the week. She could ask Mum or Fleur to order the flowers. Mum might be the best choice, since Fleur assumed that everyone had a bottomless purse, and spent accordingly. While the Potters were very comfortably fixed, Ginny's childhood of enforced frugality made it really distasteful for her to waste money, even 20 years later.

"Hey, babe, are you crying?" She turned blindly into Harry's arms, and snuggled close, taking comfort in his warmth, his nearness, and his love for her. Here was safety, and she let herself weep for the teacher they'd both loved and for her own profound sense of loss.

"Shhh, it'll be alright..." Harry held his wife tight, stroking her hair and murmuring words of comfort that he doubted she even heard. It was enough just to hold and be held on this weepy rainy morning.

After a time, Ginny stopped sniffling, and released herself from Harry's arms to grab a tissue, wipe her eyes and blow her nose. She gave her husband a gentle hug, then pushed him into his usual place at the table, setting a cup of steaming tea before him and filling a plate with ham and eggs and scones. Butter, clotted cream, and jam were already on the table.

"You are a wonder; this looks great, Gin. I really appreciate it." Harry looked up and let his appreciation show in his smile. Ginny took care of him the way they both had seen her mother take care of her father, and he counted himself the luckiest man in Britain to be one she'd chosen to marry, all those years ago.

"Tuck in and eat well. Today is going to be a madhouse."

Ginny brought her own plate and cup to the table, and took her own advice, addressing herself to her breakfast so she would be able to withstand the demands of the day ahead.

"Has Ron owled yet this morning?"

"No, the post hasn't come yet. Is he coming home?"

"Gin! It's Professor McGonagall. Of course he's coming home." Harry wasn't irritated with his wife, but he was surprised that she would think her brother would stay away at a time like this. "He owled Hermione last night and told her he'd be home this morning. He would have come last night, but there's something wrong with their Floo, way out there in the wilds."

Well, that made sense. All England stood a good chance of making it to the Quidditch World Cup Finals. Wanting his team to really focus, Ron had moved them from their sumptuous London training grounds to more primitive digs in Ireland so they could train undistracted. The training facility was way out in the middle of nowhere, and even the Department of Magical Games and Sports hadn't been able to guarantee the Floo worked all the time. Ginny hadn't seen Ron in three or four months. He had been too busy training with the Quidditch team to come to Potter's Hollow to visit, and she certainly hadn't had the time to go to Ireland to visit him.

Ginny had a niggling feeling that something was wrong, that Ron and Hermione were unhappy. She shook her head in frustration; maybe unhappy was too strong a word. But she couldn't think of a more accurate one. Something was different between Ron and Hermione; some change for the worse. It frightened her. She hadn't shared her fears with Harry, though she caught him sometimes looking at Ron or Hermione with a questioning expression on his face. Maybe he saw the uneasiness between them, too. She knew she could ask Harry what he thought, and it would be comforting to hear he'd seen the same things she did. She'd know she wasn't imagining things. On the other hand, it would also be worse, because if Harry saw it too, it would make it more real. There was definitely something to be said for being able to think one was imagining things. She sighed. It was too early in the morning for thoughts such as these.

She buttered a scone, and bit into it, resolutely focusing her mind on the day ahead and the things to be done. Harry must have been reading her mind, she decided, when he looked up a moment later and asked, "Do we know yet who will be arriving today?" He had finished his ham and eggs and was dawdling over a second cup of tea and another scone.

"Charlie and Bill and Fleur will be here this afternoon; Mum and Dad this evening. I expected them last night, but Dad got tangled up in things at the Ministry. Mum Flooed me last night when Dad got home, he was exhausted and still had a lot to do today. I think Percy and Penny will probably come with Mum and Dad. Percy worked late last night, too, to get as much done as he could so he can take the next couple of days off. "

"Kingsley should just close the ministry, and let everyone have the entire week off," Harry grumbled. "I bet Minerva taught ninety per-cent of Wizarding Britain; they should just make it a national day of mourning."

"She had an incredible life, Harry. She will be in the History books, and we were taught by her when we were children and you've worked with her as a colleague for years. What an amazing life she had."

The tears threatened again, and Ginny resolutely put her chin up and continued to name people from whom she'd gotten owls about coming to stay.

"George and Katie will be here tomorrow; they are closing the shops Thursday and not opening again till Monday. Kingsley called on the Floo. He will be staying at Hogwarts, but he's coming round to see us tonight when he gets in from London."

"Ok." Harry sipped his tea, trying to chase down the stray thought he'd wanted to share with Ginny. A soft chime from the fireplace behind them indicated someone was calling on the Floo network, and Harry got to his feet and went to kneel on the hearth.

"Hello, Harry speaking."

"Potty, glad I caught you."

Draco Malfoy's cultured tones floated out of the fireplace, and Harry and Ginny both smiled.

"What do ferrets want this early in the morning?"

A chuckle, and then, "Well, I can't speak for ferrets as a species, you understand, but I'd like to pop through the Floo and cadge breakfast off you if Ginny's cooking it. I've got something to tell you. Are you decent?"

Ginny called out, "No, but we're dressed, come on through." She and Harry broke into comfortable laughter. A moment later there was a flash and a whooshing sound, and Draco Malfoy stepped out of their built-extra-tall-on-purpose walk-in fireplace. While he and Harry were shaking hands, Ginny was wielding her wand to get the dust off Draco's impeccably tailored dark suit; she exchanged a hug from him for a cup of tea, and Draco sat down at the table on Harry's right.

"What brings you out so early, anyway? It's barely half six, you're never up this early. Oh, wait, I know...There must not have been any opening nights or charity galas to attend last night?"

"Old joke, Ginny, give it a rest, alright?"

Draco scowled at Ginny, and she playfully waved her wand at him, setting a filled plate in front of him a moment later.

"So, what's up?" Harry looked at Draco with curiousity in his eyes. In the years since he had started teaching, he had come to know Draco Malfoy well. He didn't just pop over to a friend's house for breakfast. Something was up.

"Well, Potter, I wanted you to know first thing that I honored your request not to be considered for Minerva's job. Your name did come up, and you had quite a lot of support, but I told the board that you didn't want the job. Anyway, after a lot of noisy discussion, the Board of Governors offered the Head of School position to Hermione, and she accepted our offer. It will be announced later today. "

"Excellent! Thanks, Ferret. I don't want the Head's job, because I'm no administrator, but there are still a few on the Board and at the Ministry who think that Boy-Who-Lived rubbish makes me eligible for any government job that comes up vacant. 'Mione is the best choice; I'm glad you all could see that."

He sipped his tea contentedly with a satisfied smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

Draco chuckled, making Ginny and Harry look up at him suspiciously.

"What is the meaning of that evil sound, sir?" Ginny spoke for both of them.

"You weren't at the meeting yesterday, to hear what old Snape said to the board about her."

Ginny and Harry both widened their eyes in surprise, and Harry said, "Go on, then, what did he have to say? And if it was something rotten about her being Muggle-born or a Know-It-All, I will hex him into next week, even if he's only a painting."

"It's nothing bad, Potty, I wouldn't have allowed that. No, it was something else entirely, something I never expected to hear."

"What did he say, then? You can't torture us like this; tell us he said something amazing and then make us wait for it."

"I could, but it would be cruel." He paused, drawing out the moment, and found himself facing the business end of Ginny's wand from a distance of 3 inches. She had an evil glint in her eyes as she said, with a friendly smile, "I've been doing lots of reminiscing lately, thinking of everything I learned at Hogwarts. Did you know it was actually McGonagall who taught me that Bat-Bogey Hex?"

"Stop, I surrender, I'll tell." Draco was laughing as he pushed her wand away. "That was a horrible hex. The governors were all talking about who should be Head of School, and the portraits were all arguing, you should have heard old Salazar Slytherin bellowing that there was only one pure-blood candidate being considered. It was total chaos. And then Snape cut them all off with one sentence." Draco dropped his voice to its lowest register, and said, in a fair imitation of Snape's lazy drawl, "Draco, it would be obvious to a Flobberworm that the Board of Governors should offer the position to Hermione Granger-Weasley."

Harry had taken a sip of his tea, and now he nearly choked on it, coughing as Ginny pounded him on the back. Ginny was laughing uproariously.

"Give off, he never said that! Snape?"

"As I live and breathe."

Harry was still laughing. "Did you tell 'Mione?"

"No, I shall save it for the proper moment."

"Wish I could have seen that."

"I didn't think he would care about the appointment. I was surprised he took that much interest."

"Be sure to tell Ron what he said when you see him."

Harry got up to replenish Draco's cup of tea and Ginny's. While he was standing at the sink refilling the tea kettle, he noticed a whole flock of owls heading for Potter's Hollow, and opened the window to let the birds in.

"The day has definitely begun," he announced, and the three of them began untying the messages tied to each bird's leg.

~OoO~

Prompt Information

My modifications: The story is written about a portrait and not a ghost. I only borrowed Hermione being in love with Severus from prompt 8.