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Differences

McGonagall had been the Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for nineteen years, now. This will be her twentieth year. A few years ago, she had one of her more... rowdy student. Yes, let's call him that.

James Sirius Potters' first year was had on the aged woman. He lived up to his namesakes in every way possible, and it would seem took inspiration from George Weasley and what he and his twin, Fred, had done in their years.

Luckily, she didn't have to do this alone. She had the entire staff on her side to help deal with the boy.

However, this year was going to be different. Only by a slight margin.

This year would be the first time a Potter and a Malfoy was at Hogwarts in the same year. And McGonagall was dreading the possible chaos and ruckus the two were going to cause, if their fathers were anything to go by.

——

To say she was surprised when Albus Severus Potter was sorted into Slytherin would be a lie. She knew that Harry could have been a great Slytherin, had he not been told from the beginning that only bad witches and wizards come out of that house. Ridiculous, in her opinion, but people still seem to believe in it.

Scorpius Malfoy, him being placed in Slytherin, seemed on the surface what she should have been expecting. But to hear from Alastair, the Sorting Hat, that he was seriously considering Hufflepuff or Gryffindor and only chose Slytherin out of the three the boy fit was because said boy wanted to be closer to his parents when they were in school. Especially his mother.

Minerva understood that aspect at least. She knew that it is hard to lose someone, and even harder to lose them when you know it would have happened whether you tried to prevent it or not.

——

The first time she had seen the young Malfoy heir smile it threw her off so much that she almost stumbled in her walk down the corridor.

The boy had been talking with one of the portraits from the looks of it. Minerva doesn't know what the topic was about, but Scorpius had been smiling so brightly that she halted in her path before continuing on. And if she walked a little closer to the boy to hear what was being discussed, then no one else had to know. Hopefully he doesn't notice and thinks she is spying.

"That's so cool! I can't wait till I'm old enough to learn that! Being an animagus sounds so interesting."

Minerva smiles softly at the enthusiasm he is showing for something she can do. The portrait goes on to tell Scorpius to ask for books to read, making sure to specify one's that don't include the 'how' in the equation.

Once back in her office, she decides to gather up all the books she has on animagi. After blocking out anything that could tell Scorpius how to become an animagus and stacking them on her desk.

——

She was ready for when the gargoyle alerted her to his arrival after classes had finished and before everyone would be at dinner. Walking down the stairs to meet him, she smiles at seeing the boy looking nervous.

"Is there something you need, Mr. Malfoy? Dinner is about to start." Her words are calm.

Scorpius nods his head. "Y-yes. I heard from one of the portraits that you are an animagus, and I know I can't learn it just yet, but I was wondering if I could do research on it because I find it really interesting and–" he rambles on until Minerva holds a hand up.

Scorpius goes silent, thinking he upset her for a moment before noticing her smile was still in place. "Come on up to my office and I'll shrink the books for you."

Once the books were shrunk and Scorpius helped Minerva place them all into a bag for easier travel he turned to her in excitement. His next words make her get a vivid memory of years ago when she was the Deputy, Head of Gryffindor, and Transfiguration professor.

******

She's not sure what happened, exactly. One moment she was watching Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy in an argument. The next, the young Malfoy was backing away from the Potter, small tears in his eyes and an angry look on his features.

"My father will hear about this, Potter!" He snarled and whined at the same time.

******

"I can't wait to tell Father about this! He's been wanting me to find a hobby for a while, so hopefully this can count!" Scorpius exclaimed in excitement, grinning happily.

That was what told Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, that the young Scorpius Malfoy was going to be a handful for completely different reasons that his father had been. And, if she's being honest with herself, she is actually looking forward to getting to know the boy on a professional level.