Chapter Three

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The familiar knocking came promptly at eight in the morning as it normally did whenever Minerva had to head up to the castle for work. While Milo had proven himself to be a very responsible twelve-year-old, she never liked the idea of him being alone. Perhaps it was her own paranoid thoughts, but she always thought back to the night where Milo came under her care. How the two boys were discovered, alone in their house, sitting next to the body of their dead mother. Milo didn't seem to have any recollection of the night as he grew older but there was always the worry in the back of Minerva's mind that one day, he would remember something and she didn't want him to go through it by himself.

Gwen or Rosmerta would go back and forth between mornings, showing up to get Milo up for the day to spend with them, either at the Three Broomsticks or The Magic Neep. It was certainly a struggle to get the boy out of bed, Minerva knew that all too well, especially when it came to Milo's first year at Hogwarts where he was famous among the professors for sleeping in. Several times, Minerva personally had to go wake up the boy in the dorms herself, not tolerating him missing class. It was not only a poor image that he was putting out of himself but a reflection of her as well.

She had already been up, long before the knock came on the front door, calling the person in. It was apparently Rosmerta again that would be the one taking care of the boy for the day, although Milo certainly wouldn't find himself complaining in the slightest. The task came with actually waking the boy up.

"He's still in bed, isn't he?" Rosmerta sighed, placing her hands on her hips as she stood in the doorway.

"Were you expecting him to be parading around outside?" Minerva asked fixing her robes and gathering some of the things she would need up at the castle for the day.

"That would have been a sight to see."

"Well, I'm afraid you won't be that lucky today, he's still in bed and he's been snoring for the last hour. Although I can't say that it's entirely his fault, he was rather fidgety last night. Nearly walked circles around the house to get him into a calmer state. I doubt he went to bed early."

"That fidgetiness of his seems to be becoming more frequent as this school year draws near," Rosmerta pointed out. "He wasn't like this when he started last year. You think it has to do with his brother starting up this term?"

"I'm certain that, that has everything to do with it at this stage," Minerva said. "He hasn't stopped asking questions. Ones that I simply cannot give him the answer to."

"Minerva McGonagall, unable to give an answer, now that's unheard of. What sort of questions is he asking you?"

"Well, for one, what house will Harry be sorted into, as if I have become the human embodiment of the Sorting Hat."

"Oh," Rosmerta replied before she started laughing. "You can't blame the boy for being curious about that. I'm sure he just wants Harry to be in the same house as him. You know, get started on working on that brotherly bond that they've been missing out on."

"There is no telling how Harry will take to that, Rosmerta," Minerva said. "Milo might be all for bonding but that does not mean Harry will be as willing. After all, the two have grown up in two very different environments. I'm not sure how Harry will react. I don't know how much the boy knows."

"Well, surely, he knows that he has a brother, right?"

Minerva couldn't give a definite answer because she had no idea. She didn't know what Harry had been informed, but from she observed from the Dursleys, it was probably safe to say that the boy was completely ignorant when it came to the world of magic and the impact it had on his family all those years ago.

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