Minerva is so done
It was 11:13am, almost time for lunch, and Minerva was about to bash her head into Albus's desk out of sheer boredom.
Although really, she should be thinking of it as her desk now, Albus is gone. She wishes that Severus was still Headmaster, he seemed to take being in Alb- the Headmaster's office much better than she does.
Back to the topic at hand though, her sheer boredom.
Do you know how mind numbing it is to fill out requests to several different ward masters and master architects to come to Hogwarts to give a quote on how much it would cost for them to fix Hogwarts? You change a few words here and there, but the requests are practically the same. You'd think that there aren't that many ward masters and master architects to ask after the wars, but no, there are about a dozen each because they were the ones who were able to stay out of the wars!
Now you might wonder why she was just getting around to this. But the answer is quite simple really. They had just cleared out all the rubble from the castle's various damaged areas. They also sorted the rubble into piles of things that they might be able to re-use by the castle area that it came from and banished anything unusable.
Minerva finally finished the last of the requests when the clock hit 11:15am. She let out a sigh of relief leaning back into her chair.
That was right before she got the living daylights scared out of her as she saw from the corner of her eye a large shape swoop into the Headmaster's office. Correction two large shapes. The first one chittering loudly at the other which gave a soft trill in return.
She gasped at the sight leaning back with her hand on her chest, willing her heart to slow down again from the shock as the two creatures landed much more gently on her desk than one would have thought possible for creatures of their size.
The first looked like a dragon mixed with a bird with deep green feathers everywhere but its underbelly and legs where metallic scales of a dark greyish black color resided instead. It had black eyes, but they weren't cold eyes although they were still very much intelligent, she noted.
The other looked almost like Fawkes close to a burning day, if not for the notable difference in color and that the tail feathers looked more like a peacock's. It looked almost completely black in coloration with dark green and purple accenting colors on the wings and tail feathers, and its eyes were a rich purple color looking at her with amusement.
It was only after that observation that she realized that the first was holding out its neck and the second was holding out its leg with a letter tied to each of them for her.
There better be a good explanation for this in these notes or she swears that she will hunt down the person who sent them and hex that person.
She carefully unties the notes opening the one from the dragon-bird-thing first.
~~~~~
Dear Headmistress Minerva McGonagall,
I am writing to inform you that a new Lord Hogwarts has been found by an inheritance test of Gringotts Bank. Lord Hogwarts is a title that requires you to be the Lord of all four inheritances: Lord Slytherin, Lord Gryffindor, Lord Ravenclaw, and Lord Hufflepuff.
According to the Goblins of Gringotts, what this means for you is that Lord Hogwarts must be contacted to seek permission to do anything significant with Hogwarts grounds and Lord Hogwarts must oversee all matters pertaining to Hogwarts and its upkeep.
As Lord Hogwarts, a bi-yearly statement of affairs should suffice unless there is a major change to be made. Also, you have permission for Hogwarts to remain a school and for the current rebuilding efforts. I will also suggest that goblin wardsmiths be called upon to check and fix the wards once the physical rebuilding is done.
Yours Truly,
Lord Hogwarts
Ps. This is Doncaster the Snallygaster. Yes it rhymes, completely coincidental, I assure you. He only eats meat if you want to give him a treat, however you likely want to offer it on a clean platter so accidents don’t occur. Don’t be upset if he refuses though he just got fed this morning.
~~~~~
Minerva doesn't know what to focus on first. The fact that there's a Lord Hogwarts, that said Lord must be contacted to seek permission to do anything significant with Hogwarts grounds and oversee all matters pertaining to Hogwarts and its upkeep, that the Lord therefore wants bi-yearly statements of affairs unless major changes are to be made, that she needed permission from the Lord for Hogwarts to remain a school and for the current rebuilding efforts, that the Lord is 'suggesting' goblin wardsmiths be called for the wards and therefore half of the work that she just finished is completely useless, that the dragon-bird-thing is actually a Snallygaster and is named Doncaster, the names coincidentally rhyme and Lord Hogwarts has a sense of humor, that the Snallygaster eats only meat, that she should offer said meat on a clean platter so accidents don’t occur, or that this was sent this morning and it's now nearly noon.
She considers that she has a whole other letter to read and therefore just focuses on getting the Snallygaster, Doncaster, a treat since it is midday and no longer morning.
"Mipsy," she calls out.
*pop
"What does Headmistress Kitty need from Mipsy?" The female house elf asks popping into the office.
Minerva smiles at the half familiar moniker that the elves call her, they used to call her Professor Kitty. They've been using Kitty instead of her name since they found out that she can turn into a cat.
"Could you get a clean platter with a bit of meat on it for the Snallygaster, who's apparently named Doncaster, here?" She asked, gesturing to Doncaster who perked up a bit at the word meat, "Perhaps some water in a clean dish too? If I'm not mistaken, he's had a long flight."
Mipsy gasped looking at the Snallygaster with wide green eyes, "Mipsy be's getting some meat and water for Doncaster right away!" She exclaimed, nodding frantically before popping away.
Minerva opens the second letter.
~~~~~
Dear McGonagall,
Snape’s alive!
Can you believe this man? He goes weeks without contacting anyone and then suddenly I get a text at 3 in the morning saying ‘I lived bitch’ along with a picture of him in a hospital bed holding up a peace sign! Supposedly Malfoy got to him right after I left, quickly asking a house elf to get him to a hospital after Malfoy stabilized him with antivenom that Snape had given him just in case. Malfoy kept in touch and told Snape about the goings on, especially my defense of Snape, Malfoy, and Malfoy’s mother, while giving Snape a phone.
He literally made me go all the way to St. Andrews Community Hospital for his ass to pick him up. All because he didn’t want to stay in a hospital for longer than he had to. Why couldn’t he have bothered Malfoy for a room? He’s Malfoy’s Godfather for fuck’s sake! He’s now in Regulus’s old room sleeping after eating bagels because Kreacher likes him.
I’m going to go insane with him here, I just know it.
Yours,
Harry Potter
Ps. This is my new friend Kageki! He’s a Hoo-hoo, they’re basically the Japanese version of a Phoenix! His name means shining shadow in Japanese. He only eats plants if you want to give him a treat. Kreacher gave him a fruit bowl this morning though so I’m not sure how hungry he’ll be.
~~~~~
Severus is alive??!!! Severus willingly bothered Mister Potter to get out of the hospital with one of those newfangled muggle contraptions???
She almost started crying out of thankfulness that Severus is alive before she got distracted.
The Phoenix looking bird is called a Hoo-hoo and is basically just that, a Phoenix. Potter named him Kageki meaning shining shadow. He only eats plants. He was fed this morning.
She grabs both letters and compares them for a moment while running the entrance of the two creatures back through her head.
She knows who to hex now.
She doesn't care that Mr. Potter doesn't have an owl anymore, he still could have borrowed one. He didn't need to show off his new friends and give her a heart attack!
*pop
Mipsy comes back with the meat and water for Doncaster and sets it in front of him, distracting Minerva from her plans to hex Potter.
"Is there anything else Mipsy can be getting you?"
"The Hoo-hoo, named Kageki, here needs a snack and some water too, he eats only plants," Minerva answered, gesturing to Kageki as Kageki trilled excited at the sound of a snack and water, but hissed slightly at the use of he for Kageki.
"Kageki is being a she Mipsy thinks. Mipsy will be getting Kageki her plant snack and water," Mipsy corrected, as Kageki trills happily at being properly gendered, before popping away again.
"I suppose Potter didn't know that you were female?" Minerva asks rhetorically as she raises an eyebrow at Kageki.
She's shocked as Kageki nods in reply to her question, she didn't think that the Hoo-hoo would understand and answer.
"Well, I'll be sure to tell him that you are female in my reply then," Minerva tells her.
*pop
Mipsy pops back in with Kageki's snack and water and puts it in front of her before popping back out.
Minerva looks at the stacks of letters to be sent out and banishes the one to the ward masters, she'll make a new one later to the goblin wardsmiths. She pulls 2 sheets of parchment out and starts penning 2 new letters.
~~~~~
Dear Lord Hogwarts,
I have received your letter and must say I was surprised at both the fact that there is now a Lord Hogwarts and your choice of creature for letter delivery.
I appreciate that you have given permission for Hogwarts to remain a school and for the current rebuilding efforts. It is also interesting to note that you must be contacted to seek permission to do anything significant with Hogwarts grounds and Lord Hogwarts must oversee all matters pertaining to Hogwarts and its upkeep.
A bi-yearly statement of affairs unless there is a major change to be made is a perfectly acceptable arrangement and I will go with your suggestion that goblin wardsmiths be called upon to check and fix the wards once the physical rebuilding is done.
Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Headmistress of Hogwarts
~~~~~
~~~~~
Dear Mister Potter,
Or should I say Lord Hogwarts? Hmm?
Don't think you were slick trying to make it seem as if two different people sent those letters, I know your handwriting and style too well to be fooled. Especially when you use two magical creatures to deliver the letters. Heaven only knows how you managed to get two magical creatures, much less get them to deliver mail for you.
On to more pressing matters.
Severus is alive??!!!
Severus willingly bothered you to get out of the hospital with one of those newfangled muggle contraptions???
I expect to see both of you for tea within a week to check up on you. In fact, you are to come this Friday for tea at 3pm.
Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Ps. It was close to noon when they arrived, so I had a house elf get a snack and some water for both of them. Also, Kageki is actually a female according to said house elf and Kageki confirmed it. Your new friends are alarmingly intelligent.
~~~~~
After the two creatures finished their snacks and drank their fill, Minerva tied the letters on to their respective creature. Hogwarts business for Doncaster and regular for Kageki. As soon as she was finished tying the letters on the two took off through the window.
'Well, that's that,' she thought while dusting off her hands and standing up, 'I'm going to get lunch now and send those other letters later. It is, after all, 11:45am, nearly noon.'
She’s so done with today already.