This story was originally written for the 2012 Dysfuncentine Fest on LiveJournal. The prompt was: "Life contains but two tragedies. One is not to get your heart's desire; the other is to get it." ~ George Bernard Shaw
It's unusual among my Minerva stories in that it follows the backstory we're given about her on the Pottermore website. I suspect, however, that this wasn't quite what Ms. Rowling had in mind when she wrote of Minerva McGonagall's early heartbreak.