Winter was upon us. A cold and dark winter as it hadn't been in many years. Hogwarts had been snowed in and for the first few weeks of the new year, the students ought to remain inside. The fun of having snowball fights had long ago sailed and most just wished for better weather soon. At night you carefully had to tuck yourself in bed — deep underneath the woolen blankets — as to protect yourself from the bitter cold. During the day, extra candles would be lit and even then, most students walked around with their shawls wrapped around their necks and their hands deep into their pockets. The Common Rooms were warmest, so that's where most held themselves up. Even now, the Gryffindor Common Room was very crowded for such a late eve. The students postponed going to bed as much as possible so they were able to sit by the fire a little longer. The fire and many torches lit up the faces of the students who were huddled up in small groups around the cozy room and preferably close to the fire. Whoever had the privilege of sitting on the big sofa by the hearth, would be most comfortable. Overall, these were the older students who wouldn't budge to sent a few second- and first-years away so they could seat themselves at the fire most pleasantly.
This evening, a particularly tall seventh grader had settled himself in the large sofa and looked over the room as if this fact made him prince of Gryffindor tower. A few girls fawned over him and his friends tried to talk him into getting up so they could get his perfect seat. From the corner, a girl was watching the scene from over her large, round-shaped glasses. She wore her thick Gryffindor jumper and almost disappeared behind the stack of books, lying on the table. Her long, black hair was braided neatly and a few loose strands were tucked behind her ear. On the table stood a damp glass of black tea with a small amount of thick milk poured into it. Every now and then, the girl sipped from her tea before scribbling a few more lines on the piece of parchment before her and stealing a glance at the boys up front. On the girl's chest gleamed a golden badge, saying "Headgirl". It seemed to be taken proper care of, since it glimmered proudly in the orange light of the flickering fire.
'Mini!' She looked up as she heard someone call her by her idiotic nickname. She pushed the glasses that had slit off her nose back and smiled. A short, curvy girl sat down on the table next to the large stack of books.
'You know Mini, that next week we are allowed to go to the Hogsmeade village, right?' The girl with the glasses nodded. 'And you will never guess who asked me to escort him!' She paused and looked at the friend who carefully rolled up her parchment and emptied the table into her leather schoolbag. A silence fell and the girl with the glasses realized her friend was desperately waiting for an answer.
'Uhm... B-.' 'YES BRISTON!' the other girl almost screamed. As she half jumped up from excitement her brown, thick curls sprang up and danced happily around her head, her blue eyes shone bright and her mouth shaped into an unmistakable smile. The scream had made the girl with the glasses jump and they popped off her nose. She sniggered and put the glasses straight again, after having them cleaned carefully with a tissue she got from her bag.
'That is wonderful, Emily,' she said with a pleasant smile.
'Oh, Minerva, you have no idea, he is so lovely,' she squeaked. Emily blushed heavily as she talked. Over the next few minutes, Minerva remained quite silent as her friend bragged on about how lovely the boy was, exactly. Eventually she excused herself and told Emily she was tired and should go to bed. Emily kissed her on both her cheeks and wished her goodnight, still looking as flushed as before. Minerva accepted one last hug from her friend and went upstairs to the girls' dormitories. She closed the door and stood against it, enjoying the peaceful silent and the absence of the exposing light. She dropped her bag onto her bed and kneeled down to stock al the books in to her improvised shelves. After having done that, she undressed herself and put on her silk nightgown she had gotten for her last birthday. It was a very chique one and she loved wearing because it was very soft and comfortable. Also, it did help her sometimes if she missed home. Which wasn't very often because she was quite at ease at this place, but sometimes on a dark night, she would.
Her furry, tabby cat must have woken up by the minimal amount of sound Minerva made as a pair of yellow eyes stared at her from out of the dark. She clambered into the bed and under the woolen sheets. Her cat settled herself against her as she lay down and with the warmt of the purring cat, she soon fell into a deep sleep.
the girl who just feel asleep was Minerva McGonagall. A very bright witch, with extreme good Transfiguration qualities. She became Headgirl after having been prefect since her fifth year and she was a well practiced Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. She comes from a family with a Muggle as a father and a witch as a mother. Her two brothers are named Robert Jr. and Malcolm. She was born and raised in Caithness, Scotland. Minerva got sorted into Gryffindor after nearly five and a half minute of which the Sorting Hat tried to decide if it should be that or Ravenclaw. She would have well fitted into Ravenclaw, as Minerva was a very smart girl and gave a lot of time to keeping up her grades and studying. She was best of her class and had already gotten "Outstanding" in all her O.W.L. exams. Sometimes there was doubt if she shouldn't be in Ravenclaw, but Minerva was a very brave girl as well. She wouldn't easily stand back for something, even if it scared her and in her roared the lion that roared in every Gryffindor. She was very loyal to her house and since she had gotten very badly injured in the last Quidditch game against Slytherin, that desire to fight for her house — and crush Slytherin in Quidditch — had grown even bigger. This was Minerva McGonagall and she was about to get herself into some big trouble after she had woken the next day by the weight of her tabby cat on her chest.