Being Minnie's Daughter

NEW Chapter 5

Remus' POV

As we get up to leave the Great Hall, I turn back to see Professor McGonagall smiling at me. I look away quickly and follow Mackenzie out of the Great Hall.

"So what do you want to see first? I can take you on an official tour if you want!" I ask Mack hoping she will want one.

"Remus, my mum has been a professor since before I was born. While you all had summer break, I would come here and be taught by both my mum and some of the other professors who would stay a little bit longer to teach me. I know the grounds like the back of my hand. I have spent practically every day of summer here since I was born," Mack informs me with a smile.

"Oh, I didn't think about that," I say sheepishly.

"It's okay, I thought you would've figured that out already," Mack says sweetly.

"Well it does make sense but I thought your mum would've taught you at home, not at the school," I say softly.

"But, a tour of your favorite places in the castle would be nice," Mack says with a grin. "Ooh, do you know about the secret passageways? I love them!"

"My favorite parts of the castle?" I think long and hard about my favorite spots. "Hmm, well my favorite spots are the lake, the library, the dorm room, the Room of Requirement and the Astronomy Tower, but those are all out of the way of the Transfiguration room so I would have to show you those later. And I don't know anything about secret passageways." I say to her obliviously.

Mack reaches over and slaps my arm, "Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't you dare lie to me Remus. I know you know about the secret passageways because my mum told me about the map you boys made!"

"Technically it's not done yet, we've made a couple maps but they all have errors so we are starting over again. And Professor McGonagall knows about that." I pause mid-step and grab her arm, "why haven't we gotten in trouble then?"

"It's not so much that she knows but it's more that she suspects you have something like the map. She said it's not in James' or Sirius' nature to walk around with parchment in their pockets."

I shake my head and start walking again, "I told them they needed to be more discrete."

We jump over the missing step and continue walking down the hall. "Why were you late to breakfast this morning? You and Lily left before I did."

"Mum wanted to see me," she says simply.

I nod quietly and we keep walking towards the Transfiguration courtyard. I steer her over to a bench in the shade before regretting my choice. It's surprisingly cold in the shade on this sunny September day. Her cheeks at bright pink and warm from the cold. I shake my head to stop my thoughts from where they are heading and clasp my hands in my lap.

"You know I never got to ask, do you mind that I've called you Mack?" I say looking at the ground.

"Of course not, it's nice having a nickname." She smiles. "Mum always used to call me Papuga."

I look over at her confused, "Papu-what? What does that mean?"

She laughs. "Papuga," she says slowly, "It means parrot. I used to follow her around and copy her when I was little."

I look over at her and grin, "That's cute."

She crosses her arms and tries to look angry. "If you tell anyone, I'll hex you into next week."

I hold up my hands.

We sit there silently for a little bit and it starts to become an awkward silence when Mack leans over and lifts my arm up and around her shoulders. I immediately jump. She holds my arm tight in her hand and leans her head onto my shoulder.

"Hogwarts grounds are so pretty in the morning," she whispers.

I look down at her and see her staring at me with puppy dog eyes. "Yeah they are," I mumble and pull her closer to me and relax my arm around her shoulders. "What's it like living with McGonagall?" I ask.

"Um, same as any other family I'd suppose," she sighs. "It was quiet when I was growing up because mum would be gone at Hogwarts all day but I would often be watched by a close friend named Aberforth. I call him my uncle actually even though we aren't related."

I nod and she continues talking, "My mum owns a cottage in the middle of a forest. There are multiple trails that lead to it but they are hard to follow since it separates into multiple forks to throw people off the trail to find it. At the start of the trail there is a garage that contains a Muggle car in case we ever needed one."

"It's a small cottage with 4 bedrooms but two of the bedrooms are used as a library which has my desk and the other is Mum's office but she added a door between them so she has access straight from her office to the library. She has it as a separate room in case any of the other professors needs to talk to her in person at our home."

"What does your room look like?" I ask her and then realize that wasn't a smart question.

"Why in the world would you want to know that Remus? I didn't think you were like James or Sirius," she exclaims sharply.

"I don't mean it like that," I explain quickly, "I've read in magazines that knowing what someone's personal space is like, such as a bedroom, lets you know more about their personality and likes and dislikes."

"Hmm, that actually seems like a true thing. And it makes perfect sense. For instance, I know you are a neat freak," she says giving me that 'you-know-I'm-right' look.

"I am not a neat freak," I say flatly looking down at her.

A pair of hands clap down on my shoulders hard, making me let go of Mack and whirl around. "You really are a neat freak, mate," James says with a grin.

"Shut it James," I growl. I look around him and see James, Sirius, Lily and Marlene. Mary and Peter must be late, and Alice is probably with Frank. Mack gets up and walks over to Lily and Marlene where they immediately start chattering and giggling. I stand up and head over to James and Sirius.

Sirius swings his arm over my shoulders and starts to chant, "Remus and Mackenzie sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G," over and over again, at first soft but then getting louder. James starts laughing so hard at me because I'm shoving Sirius and he won't shut up.

Finally, I pull out my wand and shout "Silencio!" and immediately it stops. The girls didn't hear Sirius, but they heard me, so they give me a weird look, especially Mack. I blush and rub my neck and smile sheepishly. Mack grins and turns back around. We follow the girls into the Transfiguration room.