XXIV: A Missent Missive
Chapter 24 of 141
MMADfanThe McGonagalls receive an unusual letter.
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XXIV: A Missent Missive
One cheery September morning in the McGonagall household, Merwyn joined his wife for breakfast in the small, sunny room where the two took their meals whenever it was only the two of them at home. Now that Minerva was working at the Ministry and their three sons were long established in their own lives, Egeria and Merwyn had a comfortable daily routine. Egeria had always been an early riser, with a much greater morning appetite than Merwyn, who needed at least two cups of tea before he could think about eating even a slice of toast.
Egeria would wake first, throw on a dressing gown, and go down to the kitchen to brew the tea and speak with Fwisky or one of the other house-elves about breakfast. Egeria always preferred to brew her own tea, saying that it was a calming ritual that helped her start her day. She would then go into the little morning room, whose draperies had already been opened by the house-elves, and pour her first cup while awaiting the first owls of the morning. Sometimes the only early Post Owl would be the one delivering the Daily Prophet, but occasionally other early post would arrive while she was sipping her tea, sometimes from one of her prospective mothers, other times from a new mother who was concerned about the health of her infant. Egeria would be on her second cup of tea, reading the Prophet, and beginning her breakfast before Merwyn would shuffle in, squinting in silent protest at the sunlight pouring through the windows. He always felt that it was much gentler to wake to a cloudy morning.
That morning, however, was not the slightest bit overcast, and as Merwyn stumbled into the breakfast room with his customary squint, he greeted his wife with a slight grunt; she blew him a kiss over the top of the newspaper. Merwyn had barely settled into his chair and had not even contemplated his first cup of tea when a particularly large and impressive owl flew to one the large windows behind Egeria and thunked his head against the glass insistently. Merwyn only looked at it blearily. Egeria smiled, shook her head at her husband's still semi-somnolent state, and waved her wand to let the bird in.
Egeria gave the owl a bit of toast with plum butter as she accepted the parchment from its talons.
"How odd," she said to her husband, who was drinking his tea with his eyes closed. "It's from Minerva, addressed to us both. I didn't think we'd hear from her again until the weekend. Perhaps she can't come up on Friday, after all."
Egeria opened the parchment where it had been sealed with a charm, read the first two sentences, then dropped the letter to her plate. Merwyn was awake enough to see that his wife had gone deathly pale, certainly not her usual reaction to receiving a letter from their daughter.
"What is it, Egeria? Let me see that," he said, taking the letter from where it rested on his wife's half-eaten breakfast. Upon reading the first sentence, he could understand why his wife had been shocked. After finishing the first paragraph, he became puzzled. He scanned the rest of the letter quickly. "Egeria, Egeria, love, it's all right. She wrote this months ago. In January. It must have been sent by the Ministry in error. Minerva's fine." Merwyn put an arm around his wife. "This must have been something she wrote back before she came home on leave from the Ministry last winter, remember? She went to her friend's funeral in Ireland, and Albus came to visit. This is dated just a few days before she showed up on the doorstep."
Egeria, relieved, reached for the letter. "Did you read the whole thing, dear?"
"No, I just scanned it quickly; once I had finished the first paragraph, it struck me there was something very odd about it."
"'Very odd' is an understatement, Merwyn." Egeria read the letter through, then, tears in her eyes, handed it back to her husband. "I think you should read it."
"Dear Mother and Dad,
"If you are reading this, then I must apologise for the pain I have caused you. You must know that I wanted to return home to you, and that I would have done what I could in order to see you again. But you also know that I could not refuse the mission that was given me I do not know if you are aware of its nature, so best not speak of it here nor could I leave anyone behind if leaving him would mean abandoning him to an evil fate.
"You have both always given me the greatest encouragement and love that any daughter could receive from any parents. You always allowed me the freedom to find my own path, and, where possible, gave me the tools to do so successfully. I have always known that you were as proud of me as ever you could be, no matter what I chose to do. So please, be proud now. You raised me to find what was right and to pursue it. I am doing that now.
"Please give my love to Malcolm, Morgan, and Murdoch, and Melina, too. Tell her to study hard when she gets to Hogwarts, and to take advantage of the opportunity to learn everything she can.
"There is one other thing that I must mention. It may be possible that although I do not return, another will. You will remember this person well, as I did not throw up on his shoes, as you had warned him I might, Mother. It is likely that in this event, he will feel some guilt that he was unable to bring me back with him. You must tell him that I did only what I had to do, and that, as I wished to 'emulate him in every way,' could not choose to do otherwise. Remind him, too, that I am a Gryffindor and a McGonagall, and we tend to be a bit headstrong; no one could have prevented me from coming after him and finding him, and no price would be too high to pay in order to accomplish that. I only hope that I was sufficiently successful in my task and that he was able to return, even if without me. If I was successful in that regard, please tell him that my gratitude toward him is immeasurable and that some of my happiest memories include time spent with him.
"Do know that I love you all, although I may not say it often enough.
"With apologies,
"I remain your loving daughter,
"Minerva
"5 January 1945"
When he had finished it, Merwyn blinked hard. "Quite something, our Minnie-girl, isn't she," he said hoarsely.
"She certainly is. What do you think we should do?"
"Nothing. Put the letter away. Minerva probably forgot she'd written it, or she assumed that the Ministry destroyed it when she returned safely. She never told us anything about this . . . whatever this mission was that she couldn't refuse. She would likely be upset that we received the letter. Perhaps at some point, when it's not all quite so fresh, we could give it back to her. Or at least let her know that it was delivered to us, after all."
"Well, at least this explains something of her mood when she was here." Egeria gazed at her now-congealed eggs, not seeing them, but remembering that bitterly cold day earlier in the year when Minerva had Apparated in, with no explanation other than that she had been given some leave by the Ministry, and that she decided to take it and come to Scotland for a visit with her family. She had been home for Christmas recently, but it had been only a brief, two-day visit, so Merwyn and Egeria had been pleased to see her again so soon.
Minerva explained to them that she would need to leave for Ireland for a funeral and wake in two days. She would be travelling by Ministry-authorised Portkey in both directions. When Egeria asked whose funeral she would be attending, Minerva looked out the window at the steely Highland sky, pausing as if to collect herself, then told them that it was for an Auror who had been killed in the line of duty, her friend from Hogwarts, Carson Murphy.
Minerva had mentioned Carson several times in her letters home, both from Hogwarts and from London. Both Egeria and Merwyn were themselves shocked by the news, although they had never met the young man. Their daughter had been understandably quiet for the next few days, but her mood did not seem to lift when she returned from Ireland. If anything, she seemed more subdued. When Egeria had suggested that perhaps returning to work might be a good remedy for her grief, or that it would at least provide her with something to occupy her time, Minerva had let out a mirthless laugh and explained that the leave, and its length, were involuntary. She didn't offer any further information; Merwyn and Egeria presumed that the Ministry had placed Minerva on some kind of bereavement leave. They did think it odd since she was not kin to the dead boy.
The elder McGonagalls were further surprised when Albus Dumbledore Apparated to their home a few days later, looking for Minerva. Albus had apparently been unaware that Minerva had been placed on leave, and so had Apparated from London after having sought her out at the Ministry. They were ensconced in the library for over an hour; Merwyn came down the hall just in time to see his daughter flying out the front door, cloak half on, and the door to the library open to reveal Albus sitting in a wing chair, forehead cradled in his hands. Merwyn knocked lightly on the opened door and stepped into the library, greeting Albus softly. Deciding to stick to mundane matters, Merwyn didn't mention his daughter's flight from the house, instead suggesting that, after Apparating first to London then back to Scotland, Albus might be fatigued. Merwyn invited him to join the family for their midday meal. Albus agreed, somewhat hesitantly, to stay for dinner, and at Merwyn's request, he went out into the windy grey day to find Minerva and tell her that the meal would be served soon.
Egeria remembered her response to Merwyn when he told her that he had sent Albus off to the cliffs to look for her. "Are you sure that was wise? And I don't mean simply because you say she seemed upset." Her husband removed his glasses, kissed her forehead, and held her, then said, "It was the only thing to do, love, wise or not. Minerva's not been herself even more than usual, I mean. Dumbledore knew the boy, too, if that has anything to do with whatever is wrong. And at least she got out of the house. She's been moping about so much, it was almost a pleasure to see her run out the door in a fury as she used to when she was small."
Yes, Egeria thought, this letter certainly places those events in a new perspective. Odd, though, that she hadn't mentioned Carson in the letter. Although the letter was cryptic, and the "anyone" whom Minerva would not leave behind could have referred to the Murphy boy as much as to Dumbledore . . . . But it was Dumbledore whom Minerva had mentioned explicitly, if obliquely, and it was for him that she showed concern, gratitude, and affection. Egeria sighed. Without knowing more about what the mission was, it was futile to speculate on why Minerva might have written of certain things and yet not written of others. Perhaps Carson's death was coincidental and unrelated to the mission; perhaps Minerva had already known that he was dead. If they were to proceed as Merwyn suggested, however, and not mention the letter to their daughter, any questions Egeria had would have to remain mysteries for now.
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Latest 25 Reviews for Resolving a Misunderstanding
954 Reviews | 6.45/10 Average
Okay...I think it's time for a Gertrude and Malcolm story. If you got any ideas like the proposal or her pregnancy I'm all ears. I've read this story 100 times but just wanted to say that this story is great every single time I read it, it always feels like my first time.
I have a love hate relationship with this fic. I do not enjoy stories where people spend time angsting when they could just tell each other how they feel and be done with it, no matter how it plays out. I enjoyed this because of Quin. If you hadn't had he or Getrude, this story wouldn't have worked for me. The witty dialogue is what kept me interested to the end. Well done with your OCs.
Review in progress... :-)
Putting myself in Albus's shoes - from his vantage point of what had played out between them - I can very well imagine how awfully guilty he must have felt, how repulsed by his own behaviour, how defeated, with no option but to assume things were over. Really sad and horrible, for him.
But then Gertrude...oh, how I love that woman! Her questioning of Albus, her coclusions: brilliant! Utterly love that small scene! :-)
Forgot to rate...
Must have been very upsetting, embarrassing and worrying for Albus indeed, to have found a young woman attractive for a few moments, only to find out that she's actually his student. I can so imagine how he must have been shocked and appalled by himself.
I loved seeing these two lively, bright and, both of them, determined and decisive girls: Melina seeing the need to educate on healing spells, before even being allowed to hold a wand; and Minerva, trying to take matters in hand concerning Albus's health as well as the running of Murdoch's household. Yet, I always find Melina bordering on overpowering and you already show that here, in her as a young girl.
"And what a pity we can’t hold hands as innocently as Melina does." I love this observation, which, I'd say, actually counts for all of us.
You made me realize it's a bit sad, isn't it? Holding hands is comforting and gives a sense of closeness, but once you're above a certain age (and experience?), there's just no way the innocence will ever come back, unless it's holding hands with a small child. Which means that I, and most likely by far the most of us, hardly ever hold hands anymore. Alas.
Very nice, serious chapter and probably decisive in Albus's later 'hesitations' towards Minerva. Right???
Soap in the eyes indeed! 
Malcolm is such a twit ... its hard not to like him at least a little ... still ... I think Gertrude is far too big a catch for the likes of this McGonagall ... *snorts*
Forgive me Madam Raven ... I'm bound to get uppity with at least one of your characters. 
Even with my aggravation, I did enjoy Malcolm and Gertie's banter.
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
Awww, you'd like Gertrude to be single and still all shades of mourning? Poor Malcolm! He adores her, you know! :-) ;-) He also amuses her & brings her some vitality. Glad you enjoyed their banter! :-)
Response from Fishy (Reviewer)
I know I know ... and you know why, of course ... his arrogance and swagger embarrass me because .... yes ... exactly ... reminds me of a younger version of ... someone foolish ... not saying whoooooo ... *whistles innocently*
And of course we can't have Gertie in all shades of black forever! She needs her lime green suits - just like in this chapter - she redresses in three shades of ... GREEN! Gertrude Spring! Seee! That's where I got the lime green from! *grins* 
That and I would want her to find joyous love ... I love Gertie too much not to. Even if it has to be Malcolm. *grins* 
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
There's a place in life for people who are a bit brash. Aside from their entertainment value! haha! But don't be down on those characteristics of yourself. You've noted yourself that you've learned to tone down a bit and not just say whatever pops into your head! :-)Yep, Malcolm got her to wear green, green, and green, and look all nice and cheerful. I was pretty sure you were remembering her post-Malcolm greenness when you mentioned the lime green suit. hee!
Response from Fishy (Reviewer)
I will share something simple I have learned. Humility is a virtue and pride is a liability. *nods* And I has lots more liabilities than virtues, me thinks. 
I so love this chapter. The dragon riding is just so incredible ... and then the duel is ABSOLUTELY awesome! I love the giant field of sunflowers and the fireball - aka - fire don't hurt phoenixes - snap you're stunned, Buddy bit. 
Give me a Madam! 
Give me a Raven!
Ravenclaw's Madam Raven! 
Response from Fishy (Reviewer)
Holy COW! Bloo knows English!
Dragons Dragons Dragons!
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
It was a stunner to get any review from Bloo that didn't consist of "Cheers for posting." It became so tiresome to keep opening TPP review alerts, go to the review page, and discover yet another of the exact same three words. I didn't want to turn off alerts altogether because I was still getting a lot of real reviews for fics that were still WIPs at the time.I'm glad you enjoyed the dragon riding and the "whoops, you're Stunned!" at the end. :-)Thanks!
Madam Raven, remind me which house Siofre was sorted into?
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
She's Ravenclaw. And Lydia is Slytherin. Siofre's first husband - Merwyn's father - was Gryffindor, and her second husband Herbert was Hufflepuff.
Response from Fishy (Reviewer)
I thought she was Ravenclaw. Still no idea who Lydia is ... I know her daughter is Maisy, or Maise or something like that.
Forgive me, I get all the McGonagalls and their affiliates, across yours, mine and Squibby's universes confused. 
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
Lydia's her sister-in-law, remember? Murdoch Tyree's wife. She's a major CSG character. (I thought you were reading that at one point, but I must have misremembered.)
Response from Fishy (Reviewer)
No I was reading it (you are correct), but in the last six months I've lost about 40 IQ points and have forgotten nearly everything I used to know ... so I am behind on RaM-verse extensions. Bad me ... 
*sighs* Albus ... Albus ... Albus ... most romantic man to ever grace .... fiction. If only men could be so romantic anymore. That poem is beautiful ... I am guessing, since there are no foot-notes, that it is one of your originals?
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
Yep, Albus and I wrote that way early in the story. 
I'm not much of a poet, but I thought it felt and sounded like a poem that Albus would write.
*snip*
“Ah, well, it’s best not to rush things. Enjoy it, Minerva, savour it. He’s likely nervous, as well. The age difference is probably causing him far more concern than it is you. His perspective is different from yours, and as I said when you were here on Friday, he is from a different time and place. He also has had experiences in his life that you and I, fortunately, have been spared, and that I can only dimly imagine.”
*snip*
I really like that. That shows uncommon wisdom.
Response from Fishy (Reviewer)
*snip*
“No, simply . . . odd, disorienting, I suppose,” Albus replied, though Minerva thought that he did look tired and drawn. “It was so long ago, it is almost like remembering a dream. Collum was actually almost five years younger than I, in Aberforth’s year, but he was in my House, and I was also good friends with Perseus. Perseus and Crispinian were cousins of some sort, and Crispy was great friends with Collum, who was only a couple years younger than he. Anyway, for some reason – I don’t remember why, now – we were all here for a few days that summer after my NEWTs. I had just married, and I remember that Dervilia persuaded me that we should accept the invitation because I would be beginning my apprenticeship soon and would have much less time for my friends. I hadn’t been inclined to, wanting to spend the time with her, and feeling that they were all still children while I was a married man – at all of eighteen! But we actually had a good time. I remember that the girls – Siofre and Gwyn – visited once for the day and gave Dervilia some relief from our masculine company.” Now Minerva was beginning to feel peculiar. Gwynllian and Siofre, the “girls,” were her grandmothers. Perseus was Gwynllian’s brother, and Crispinian was her other grandfather. For a dizzying moment, Minerva felt as though she had stepped back in time, to a point when her Great-uncle Perseus was just a boy, friends with Crispinian, not knowing that Crispinian would marry his sister, Gwyn, nor that Collum would marry Siofre and die in an accident when his son, Merwyn, was just a baby. And Albus and Dervilia . . . that their happiness would be very short-lived.
*snip*
Woah ... yeah that would make me uncomfortable as well ... that is ... well that is just ... well ... my head would be swimming if I were Minerva. 
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
Yes, it is dizzying for Minerva, and it gives her an appreciation for some of the points her mother made, and for how and why Albus would not be completely comfortable yet.
*snip*
“Hold still, Merwyn! Your collar is all askew here,” Egeria said with slight impatience.“Don’t see why we have to get all dressed up,” Merwyn grumbled. “I thought what I was wearing this morning was perfectly acceptable.” “Those old brown robes make you look like Friar Tuck,” Egeria grumbled back.“They do not! Besides, I thought you liked my brown robes. That’s what you said the last time I wore them!” “No, it isn’t. I said I liked taking them off of you. There is a difference,” Egeria said with a smile. She patted his tummy and added, “And you are right, you don’t look like Friar Tuck. You have a much nicer figure – though heaven only knows why, when you sit behind your desk all day or in the library with your feet up.”
*snip*
Tee hee hee ... now Madam Raven, don't take my head off here, as you know I tend to picture your characters in my mind regardless of how you describe him ... but I thought you'd like to know how I picture Merwyn ... and here I see that I was wrong.
I picture Merwyn of average height, black hair that is now full of silver and white, and a very round figure ... probably from all that sitting behind his desk.
Response from Fishy (Reviewer)
*snip*
Minerva laughed. “Fly without a broom? No, haven’t mastered that, wouldn’t try. It’s not possible.”It was Albus’s turn to laugh. “Not impossible, merely very rare in this part of the world. And the Ministry would like to keep it that way. Hard to regulate that sort of thing. Most witches and wizards couldn’t accomplish it, anyway.”Minerva stopped and looked back at him. “You are joking, aren’t you?” “Not at all. I rarely do it, myself, although when I was with Master Nyima, I became quite adept. I would sometimes fly with Mother Dragon. I think that is one reason she took a liking for me, actually.”Minerva looked at him a moment, digesting this information, then she shook her head and continued the climb. Well, she hadn’t believed it was possible to become as completely invisible as Albus could, either. In fact, at the time, she had actually thought that she had always believed becoming invisible was as impossible as flight without a Charmed object. Apparently, it was, though not the way that she had believed. She should never underestimate Albus Dumbledore.
*snip*
*grins* I like this.
See ... we HP fans know that Dumbledore is brilliant and amazingly powerful ... but just to say it, well its a bit of a let-down, and harder to take as fact. But showing it ... especially in a sideways manner such as this ... an off-handed type of author's compliment, well that seems to me, to be perfection. I can truly appreciate his amazing talents here ... especially considering that Minerva (who is particularly powerful and talented) is amazed.
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
I'm glad you liked that. :-)I remember knowing that I would slip that in way back when I wrote the chapter where Dumbledore invisibly observes Minerva doing her tutoring session, and I always envisioned it happening at her family home -- I'd originally been going to have him actually fly, but without a good reason, it would have felt too stilted, especially since his Animagus form flies, so that would be more natural.
*shakes head* Malcolm, Malcolm, Malcolm ... there is such a thing as tact .... *groans* sadly .... I think I get most frustrated with Malcolm because he reminds me of myself ... er ... I should clarify, my younger self, who was obnoxiously blunt and said what ever came to my mind ... and I likely came off as gruff and uncouth as Malcolm does ... so its an annoying reminder of just how ungracious I can be. *grumbles*
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
He doesn't always employ his internal censor, and he doesn't always have the best way of putting things, but his heart's usually in the right place. And when he wants to, when he puts his mind to it, he can be tactful. But that takes work for him!
Response from Fishy (Reviewer)
Sounds like someone I know ... *groans* Another reminder for me. I guess some of us are just ungifted with the 'gracious' gene.
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
He doesn't always employ his internal censor, and he doesn't always have the best way of putting things, but his heart's usually in the right place. And when he wants to, when he puts his mind to it, he can be tactful. But that takes work for him!
Response from Fishy (Reviewer)
Sounds like someone I know ... *groans* Another reminder for me. I guess some of us are just ungifted with the 'gracious' gene.
FINALLY! Hooray for Quin and Wilspy ... *steals Wilspy and takes her to the island where she's stashed Gertrude*
I thought about stealing Quin but ... I am on this celibacy kick ...
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
Oooohhhhh noooooes! *MMADfan enlists Quin to help find and steal back Wilspy and Gertrude*
Response from Fishy (Reviewer)
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
*Quin turns on the charm 
, turning
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
's celibate knees to jelly 
so she can't chase after MMADfan as she steal back Wilspy and Gertrude*
Response from Fishy (Reviewer)
*floats like a jellyfish (uber slow) across the water while she sees Quin, Gertrude and Wilspy sail off on the boat. Is quite sure Wilspy and Gertrude are crying and waving in mourning as Quin steals them both from the enchanted island*
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
Heheheh!!
Response from Fishy (Reviewer)
Its an island enchanted to have no mosquitos, sand flies, fire ants or thorny trees/bushes but lots of beautiful fish, both shell and fin, and a huge variety of fruit trees and veggies year round, and maintains a perfect temperature and humidity level ... *sighs* 
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
I wanna go there!
Response from Fishy (Reviewer)
Me too! 
This is the chapter that I want to throttle Minerva and grant Quin sainthood ... honestly ... what she does to that poor man ... 
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
I know. Minerva was not at her best there, was she? Poor Quin!
*snip*
Finally, at midnight, he went down to his office and opened the cupboard in which he kept his Charmed parchments. He rarely used them, and he hesitated to now. It would be prying . . . it would be for his own personal gain, not for school business. But he cast the necessary spells, and the results were clear and easy to read, there were so few people in the castle. Johannes was in his bedroom in Ravenclaw Tower. Gertrude and Malcolm . . . were both together. In her rooms. In her bedroom, in fact. Well, that answered one question that he hadn’t wished to ask. Johannes’s name was steady, but Gertrude’s and Malcolm’s names seemed to pulse, becoming thicker and bolder, then returning to the normal script. He could imagine what that might mean, and he averted his eyes. But Minerva’s name was not on the list. There was Fawkes listed. For some reason, he was perched in the Astronomy Tower. But no other being or creature was named. Albus still hadn’t set the wards properly to detect the ghosts. It had been a low priority, and he had never managed to get to it.
*snip*
OOOOOOOOOooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh, so THAT's how the Mara's Map was created! Or at least, that is one way ... nice little intry there, Madam Raven!
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
Yes, the magic that allows those Charmed parchments is the magic that was tapped into to create the Marauders' map. It's part of the magic that was being tested and fixed that summer when Minerva helped with the wards, changing back and forth into her Tabby self to see whether the wards detected her identity when she turned into her Animagus form -- the wards had been so damaged that they no longer detected someone who was in Animagus form.Many years later, this became important for seeing Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black on the map. Also, by the time that he enlisted Minerva's help, Dumbledore had already fixed the ward that detected the true identity of someone who was disguised using Polyjuice -- meaning that during GoF, Potter saw that B. Crouch was searching Snape's office. Of course, he thought that it was B. Crouch senior, not the crazy son who had supposedly died in Azkaban. The fake Moody (Barty Crouch) took the map from Harry so that Harry wouldn't notice that Moody never left his office (where he was stuck in the trunk), and that where Moody apparently was, Crouch actually was.
*snip*
“I thought I was being seduced, but it has been a while . . . I may have been wrong,” Gertrude answered, her breath warm upon his face.
*snip*
I just love her wit.
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
She is one sharp Slytherin, and she loves answering a question at a different level than it was being asked. :-)
*snip*
“Yes, you mentioned that at the party. You are aware of how Gertrude’s husband died, though?” Minerva asked.
*snip*
What the hell does that have to do with anything? 
Goodness - Minerva has a serious voyeur problem, doesn't she? Naughty!
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
She's concerned that Malcolm might bring up a sensitive subject in an inappropriate way, for one, but mostly, she's worried that Malcolm might just be in it for the fun and that Gertrude is vulnerable if he just up and leaves. Gertrude hasn't formed any other attachment since the trauma of having her husband killed in such a gruesome manner, as far as Minerva knows, so Minerva's worred that Gertrude is opening herself up in a rare manner and that her brother might just be too cavalier with her feelings. (I'd have to reread the section, but that's what I remember o fher motivation.)I'm sure Minerva wishes she had better timing! lol!
Response from Fishy (Reviewer)
As I continued to read, Minerva's concern was apparent, as usual, in my typical Gryffie fashion - we leap before we look ... or rather, we shoot our mouths off before we have all the facts. *sighs* 
Oh hooooo! Malcolm may think he doesn't want to become too ... attached ... but his heroic defense of 'good' Slytherins sure tells me something or other about a recent acquaintance of his.
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
Yes, he is definitely defensive here! Seems he is becoming more than a little attached to a certain Slytherin!
I so love Gertrude. I want a Gertrude in my life! *steals Gertrude and runs away* 
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
*MMADfan puts on her running shoes and jogs after
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
*
Response from Fishy (Reviewer)
*snip*
“It was a long time ago, as I said, that it all began. When I was a child, really, I suppose. I would like to be able to say with some modesty that my time as a student was unremarkable, but it was not. I excelled at whatever I put my hand, mind, and magic to. I was eager to learn, even more eager than you were – indeed, the Sorting Hat very nearly put me in Ravenclaw, but it decided, in the end, that my nature and my need were Gryffindor. “I chafed at what I saw were restrictions on me and my progress. I found most of my teachers wanting, and believed them dull and unimaginative. Nonetheless, I wanted to please them, and please them I usually did. But I pushed every boundary and stretched it. If it weren’t for the guidance and firm hand of Professor Futhark, I might have become even more insufferable than I no doubt was. But despite my general attitude, I found myself with friends of all types, and, with a rather foolish and overblown sense of my own importance, I came to believe myself not only advanced academically but also better than my peers and their natural leader. And, I suppose, I was – academically advanced and a leader, not better than they,” he clarified.
*snip*
I really like this ... it sounds very Albus to me ... save for the Ravenclaw bit *grins* but sometimes you just gotta tout yer house, right? 
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
I think that sometimes, it's really clear that there's one House that a witch or wizard belongs in, and other times, there are others that would suit, too. I think Albus could have fit in with Ravenclaw -- he certainly pursued knowledge, both Light and Dark -- but there were bits of his personality that drove him that were Gryffindor that shaped his intellect and his use of it. (I can't have written that part of the monologue and really substituted "Hufflepuff" -- though I think that with a few tweaks to the text, Slytherin could have been included as an option -- he is a wily wizard, after all!)I'm glad you like it. It's one of the reasons that I think this section, these chapters, work better as a first-person recounting than as I had originally written it -- in the third person as a kind of flashback. We get to see Albus's personality then and now, and his own take on his character as a teen and young man, and how it developed.
*snip*
“Not a bit of trouble, my dear man, not a bit of it! A friend of the Headmaster’s is a friend of mine, I’d like to think! And dear Gertrude, of course.” He winked at Quin. “She’s quite the witch, isn’t she? Knew each other as students of course. Had a bit of a crush on me at the time, I think.”
*snip*
I have to laugh at this ... I just do ... he's a younger and less wise Slughorn than the Sluggy I know from HBP, so it does make sense that he'd brag a bit louder and exaggerate a bit stronger ... but saying that of one's co-worker - wow! That takes some ... something ...
You know I have a soft spot for Slughorn I think it would be fun to pick his brain and study him ... especially try to determine what conditions cause him to puff out his chest the most ... call me weird.
I also love any and all descriptions of the various houses, since we only see two of them in the movies - Slytherin and Gryffindor ... never did get a chance to see Ravenclaw's or Hufflepuff's ... shame really. I'd love to see the Badger room, all decked out in black and yellow - I think I'd feel like I was snug inside a giant bee hive! Oh and I would imagine there would be plenty of honey.
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
Yes, Sluggy's sense of grandiosity is quite at its peak here. And it's not yet been burst by the emergence of the Slytherin "Death Eater sect" led by one of his former star pupils. So he's amiably pompous, tries a bit too hard to chum-up to Quin, and yet there is a part of him that genuinely likes other people (in my view) and simply wants them to like him in return. I really enjoyed envisioning the Slytherin dorms and some of the more decent Slytherins in "The Sorting of Susie Sefton." It was fun to look at them from a different POV than we had in the books, and yet try to make it all still recognizably Slytherin.It would be neat to experience Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. And I wonder if Hufflepuff would be all honey with no stings attached ...
*snip*
“It is worth far more than that, Horace, as you know,” Gertrude said, “and even if you offered what it might fetch on the open market, you know the Headmaster still wouldn’t part with it. Your grumbling about it every time he generously chooses to share it is most unseemly and detracts from our enjoyment.”
*snip*
HAHAHAHAHA! Stop complainin and enjoy the bloody mead, yeh buggar!
I do like this chapter, I love just the idea that being a head of house, or even just a teacher, creates some sort of bond, or weave, in the magical wards and structure of the castle. And its nice to see the faculty supporting each other.
Response from Fishy (Reviewer)
Oh and, I also love lore with the Sorting Hat - for some reason I find that 'character' of Rowling's to be fascinating. 
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
I like to imagine that each teacher in the history of Hogwarts, especially Heads of Houses and Headmasters/mistresses, leave some of themselves, some of their magic, in the wards, helping to strengthen the school long after they're gone. That would be a heritage.The Sorting Hat is fascinating, and I think it is intriguing to contemplate whether it's sentient or not, and what its existence says about sentience, at least in the HP/Hogwarts universe.
*snip*
Besides, when I first began teaching, it wasn’t long after Reginald died. It didn’t feel as though it had been long, anyway. I was not particularly concerned with what I looked like. It became a habit. And now I’m too old to be worried about such things.”
*snip*
Oh how I can relate to that!
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
Yeah, I think Gertrude is quite human here. But it's interesting how when Malcolm comes into her life, she begins to take an interest in her clothes again! Or at least, they reflect a cheerier self. :-)
*snip*
Albus smiled and sliced them each a piece. The cake itself was chocolate, and it was filled with raspberries and thick whipped cream. There was more whipped cream, Minerva thought, than cake. The icing was chocolate, one layer of an almost brittle icing, then a softer chocolate butter cream over that in decorative curlicues and rosettes. Whole raspberries topped it all off.
*snip*
GAH! I want a cake like that for my birthday - ANY birthday!
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
Me too!
*snip*
“All right. Are you finished, then? Would you like more wine? I have another bottle – ”Albus laughed. “Are you getting me in practice for your brothers?”Minerva smiled. “I don’t think I could drink any more, either, but I thought I would offer. We can have some cognac with our dessert.”Albus pushed back from the table. “We could try out your wireless,” he suggested.“Good!” Minerva would be agreeable to almost anything he suggested right now.
*snip*
I'll bet she would!
Response from Fishy (Reviewer)
*snip*
Minerva looked up at him and was struck by how very attractive he was. In that moment, she would have agreed that the sound of monkeys banging ashcans was nice. Fortunately, this was the station’s “music for the dinner hour,” and really was pleasant.
*snip*
*bursts out laughing, barking in fact*
Response from MMADfan (Author of Resolving a Misunderstanding)
Minerva is in a very agreeable mood!