The Destiny of Minerva Duncan

Chapter One - The Hogwarts Express

September 1936

"I wish you could go through the barrier with me," eleven year old Minerva Duncan told her brother Stewart.

"Nah, you're better going in on your own," he said merrily.

Minerva looked at her brother. She was so proud of him, looking handsome in his British Navy uniform. She wanted to shout to the world that he was her brother.

"I'm going to miss you, Minnie," said Stewart sadly.

Just then it dawned on Minerva that Stewart's life was changing just as much as her own. Stewart was twelve years older than Minerva. Their parents had died when Minerva was five years old, and Stewart took it upon himself to raise her. He was the only parent figure Minerva could remember.

"Me too," whispered Minerva.

"It's always been just you and me against the world," said Stewart thoughtfully.

Minerva gave him a salute, which he returned. "You saluted me like I was an high-ranking officer," she giggled.

"General Duncan," he laughed. "Don't you always order me around at home?"

"That's because I just want help with the chores," said Minerva, still laughing.

"Making me scrub the floor with my toothbrush, peeling thousands of potatoes at a time," said Stewart, mocking her.

"Careful officer, or I'll throw you in the brig!" warned Minerva, trying to make a serious face without laughing.

Stewart brought out his hands, as if he was waiting for her to handcuff him.

"I'll write as soon as I get settled," promised Minerva.

"What did the bloke call it?" asked Stewart.

"Owl post," said Minerva from memory.

"Owl post," repeated Stewart. He bent down and gave her a hug. "I can't believe I'm going to have owls flying into the army base."

A horrible thought crossed Minerva's mind. "What if they get shot down?"

Stewart raised his eyebrows as he adjusted his uniform. "That's a good point. You might want to ask someone over at school about that."

"I will," said Minerva seriously, "I hate the thought of a poor owl getting shot."

"What's the house that the rest of the family's in?" asked Stewart.

"Ravenclaw," Minerva told him, "That's where I'll be placed."

"You're sure?" asked Stewart.

"I'm sure," said Minerva.

Minerva gave him a wave and then looked at the wall quizzically. How was it that on the other side of this wall was a whole different section of the train station? She closed her eyes and started pushing her trolley towards the wall. Just before the moment of contact, she closed her eyes tightly, waiting to hear the crash. It never came.

She looked around her in wonder. She had done it! Minerva looked at the Hogwarts Express in awe. It was the most beautiful train she had ever seen. She struggled with her trunk and then found a place to sit.

Minerva looked out at the corridor expectantly. She hoped that someone would ask if they could sit with her. Before she knew it, the train started moving, and Minerva sat in her compartment alone.

She took out one of her schoolbooks, Standard Book of Spells (Grade One) and started flipping through it. There was so much to learn! Finally she settled back and let her mind wander to the day her life had changed forever.

Minerva's parents had both been wizards. Her brother showed no magical tendencies, and everyone assumed that Minerva would be the same. She and Stewart lived like muggles, and didn't consider themselves part of the Wizarding World at all. They did keep in contact with some of their extended family, so they weren't completely ignorant about the Wizarding World. However, most of the family politely ignored the siblings. They were the black sheep of the family. Everyone assumed the Duncans no longer had magic.

Which is why she was so surprised when a professor from Hogwarts turned up on their doorstep two months ago, on Minerva's eleventh birthday.

She liked the professor, a Professor Dumbledore. Minerva giggled, remembering how astonished she was when he walked into the living room, an owl on his shoulder. He told her all about life at Hogwarts, and even accompanied Stewart and her to Diagon Alley.

There she bought her wand. A young man ran a wand shop called Ollivanders. It had taken forty-one tries, but a wand finally found her. It was eight and three fourth inches, made of mahogany with a core of a dragon heartstring. She couldn't wait to start using it.

Minerva knew that most of her extended family on both sides were all from Ravenclaw. She was determined to be in that house too, so she didn't lose face.

Just then a moment she had been dreading happened. The compartment door opened. Two boys entered, both older, and leering at her.

"Duncan?" one asked.

"Yes," sighed Minerva. This was one of her cousins, Adam McDougal, ones that didn't pay her and Stewart and her much attention.

"My mum didn't tell me you were going to Hogwarts," said Jon McDougal.

"I doubt that your mum knew. It's been a while since you sent a Christmas card," said Minerva bitterly. She hated that they thought they were better than her.

The boys decided to ignore the last comment. "What's your name again?"

"Minerva," she said quietly.

"Another muggle born at Hogwarts," said Adam.

"What's the school coming to?" asked Jon.

"My parents were wizards!" said Minerva hotly.

"True, but you were raised by a squib. You probably won't get very far in Hogwarts," said Adam innocently.

Minerva stood up quickly. "Don't you dare talk about Stewart that way!" she demanded.

Adam and Jon looked at each other and grinned. "See you around, Duncan," said Jon, laughing.

Minerva flung herself into her seat. How dare they make fun of Stewart! And saying she wouldn't go far! She would show them. She decided right then and there that she would become the smartest witch at Hogwarts.

"Can we sit here?" asked a girl sweetly. Minerva looked up quickly; she hadn't heard anyone enter the compartment. Then she did a double take. Right behind the girl was another girl who looked just like her.

"We're twins," said the girl from behind, answering Minerva's unasked question. The girls both had light blonde hair, which were braided tightly in two braids.

Minerva nodded, happy that she would have someone to sit with.

"I'm Abby Kirke," said one girl just as the other said, "And I'm Tabby Kirke."

"Please don't laugh," said Abby. "She's Tabitha, but she likes Tabby better."

"And she's Abigail, but she likes Abby better. Our mother is insane," said Tabby cheerfully.

Minerva couldn't help but laughing at their cheerfulness. "I'm Minerva. I prefer Minerva. Only my brother gets to call me Minnie," she said happily, her anger giving way.

"Are you a first year?" asked Abby.

Minerva nodded. "You?" she asked.

"We're first years. What house are you hoping for?" asked Tabby.

"Ravenclaw," answered Minerva promptly. "All of my extended family is there. What will you two be in?"

"Tabby's hoping for Ravenclaw, too. I think Hufflepuff would be the best. But we'll probably be sorted into Gryffindor. That's where our family's from," said Abby brightly.

Already Minerva liked these two. She had lived most of her life on an army base, which didn't leave much room for colorful characters like them.

Minerva told them that she had been raised as a muggle. Both girls promptly started telling her about wizarding games, such as exploding snaps and quidditch. Minerva listened carefully about quidditch. She had seen her cousins play a mock game once. A few of the younger ones laughed at her when they realized she couldn't fly. She briefly wondered if Adam and Jon played quidditch. She would love to learn how to play and beat them at a game.

"Anything off of the trolley, dear?" asked an elderly woman.

Minerva brought out her satchel that had her wizard money. She looked at the choices in awe. Abby and Tabby started loading up on sweets. After a minute, Tabby nudged Abby. They both looked at Minerva.

"Chocolate Frogs are the best," whispered Abby.

"I really like the licorice wands," added Tabby.

Minerva couldn't decide. Sweets weren't exactly forbidden by Stewart, but she never actually had gotten to choose her own before.

"Chocolate sounds good," said Minerva, deciding at last.

The witch pushing the trolley handed her a small package, and held her hand out.

"Seventeen knuts," the witch told her.

Minerva stared at her money. She couldn't remember which was which.

Tabby saw her dilemma, and picked out a silver coin to give to the trolley witch. The witch handed Tabby twelve small bronze coins back. Tabby dropped them back into Minerva's satchel with a smile.

"We can tell we're going to like having you as a friend," said Abby cheerfully.

~~~~~

"First Years!" a voice called out. "First Years, over here please!"

Minerva looked to the voice, and saw a small man with an eye patch and an owl sitting on his shoulder.

"What are we doing?" whispered Minerva to Abby and Tabby.

Both girls shook their heads, not knowing the answer.

"I'm Ogg," said the man with a strong Scottish accent. Minerva wondered which part of Scotland he was from. Most likely the Highlands with his accent, she finally decided. "I'm the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."

He led the students to a dock where a great number of boats were stationed. "Well, get in!" roared Ogg.

The students scrambled to find a seat. When everyone was settled, Ogg said in a deep voice, "Onwards!"

The boats were moving! They were moving and no one was rowing! Minerva told herself to remember every detail so that she could tell her brother.

"There it is!" said Abby happily.

"Home for the next seven years," added Tabby.

Minerva looked across the lake and saw the most beautiful castle she had ever seen. She couldn't help but sighing. She thanked the stars that she had been given magic so that she could learn in this wonderful place.

~~~~~

When the students entered the castle, Professor Dumbledore was waiting by a staircase. "You shall be entering in a few moments," he told the group, his eyes twinkling.

Then the Great Hall doors opened and Professor Dumbledore lead the First Years into the room. Minerva was absolutely enchanted by this school. When the professor had told her about Hogwarts, he mentioned she should look at a book called 'Hogwarts, A History'. She had seen it in the bookstore, but didn't have enough money to buy it. She decided that she would go to the library first thing tomorrow and read the book cover to cover.

Professor Dumbledore placed a stool in front of the Teacher's table. He stood next to the stool, holding a sheet of parchment. "Fiona Avery," he announced. A small girl with red hair sat down on the stool and had the hat place on her head.

"Gryffindor!" roared the hat.

More students were sorted, then the professor said, "Minerva Duncan."

Minerva gulped, and sat down on the stool.

"Ravenclaw please," she said softly.

Hmm...I do see the intelligence for Ravenclaw...

"Thank you," said Minerva, waiting for the hat to announce it to the Great Hall.

But...

"What's wrong?" whispered Minerva.

I see a different future for you...

"I don't want that future," said Minerva frantically, "I want Ravenclaw!"

Difficult. Very difficult...

Minerva shut her eyes in horror. How could she prove her cousins wrong if she wasn't in the house for intelligence? She tried one more time. "All of my family is in Ravenclaw," she told the hat.

I understand...but your destiny is elsewhere...

"GRYFFINDOR!!!"

~~~~~

September 1937

Minerva took a deep breath and started walking purposefully through King's Cross Station. Her brother Stewart's ship was participating in a war game exercise, so he wasn't able to take her to the train station this year. Luckily, he had gotten a cadet to drop her off.

She glanced up at the clock. She only had seven minutes to get to the train.

"Oi!" a voice called to her.

Minerva stopped in her tracks, and turned to look at who had yelled at her so rudely. There was an elderly lady, holding the shoulder of a young boy with dark brown hair.

"Excuse me?" asked Minerva coolly.

"Are you one of them?" asked the woman in a strong Welsh accent.

"Them?" repeated Minerva, raising one eyebrow.

"Do you go to that crazy school?" said the woman, looking like she didn't want to be here at all.

Minerva gave the woman a nasty look. "If you mean Hogwarts, then yes, I do."

"Thank heavens," said the woman. "I'm going to leave him with you."

"Pardon?" asked Minerva.

The woman ignored Minerva and turned to the boy. "Tom, she'll take care of you. See you when the term's over." With that, the woman simply walked away, leaving the boy standing next to Minerva with his trunk.

Tom looked at her miserably. "Sorry," he muttered under his breath.

"Doesn't matter," said Minerva. "We have to hurry, the train leaves in just a few minutes."

They quickly pushed their trolleys through the station. "Allright, you just need to run through that pillar," instructed Minerva. "Wait on the other side till I get there."

The boy nodded and started running. Minerva followed him just a moment later. Together the two ran onto the train just in time. "We made it!" said Minerva happily.

She noticed the boy looked lost. "You can sit with me, if you'd like," Minerva said.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

Minerva opened up a door, and they walked in.

"What's your name?" asked Tom.

"Minerva Duncan," she replied. "Yours?"

"Tom Riddle," he said.

"Was that your mum with you?" she asked hesitantly.

Tom's eyes flashed. "No!" he said forcefully.

Minerva raised her eyebrows in surprise at his response. "Sorry for asking," she said.

"I didn't mean it to come out like that," said Tom softly. "My mother is dead. And my father...he's just not in the picture."

"My parents are dead," Minerva found herself telling Tom. "They died in a car accident when I was five. My brother raised me."

"Were they...like us?" asked Tom .

"They were a witch and a wizard, if that's what you mean," said Minerva. She couldn't believe she was telling this all to someone. Things she hadn't even told the friends she had made here at Hogwarts.

"Are you muggle born?" asked Minerva easily. She found herself enjoying Tom's company. He was only a year younger than her, after all.

"No," he said proudly. "My mother was a witch."

"You'll like Hogwarts," said Minerva, to change the subject. "I was nervous my first year, but I love it now. I can't image being anywhere else."

"I know I'll like it," said Tom. "I've memorized the textbooks."

"Really?" asked Minerva asked surprise. "That's one way to start the school year. So tell me, what is the difference between Monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"They're the same plant, but they also go by the name of aconite," said Tom automatically.

"I'm impressed, Riddle," said Minerva. "I was considered one of the best students in my year, and I didn't even know that until the second term."

"Thanks," he said, grinning at her.

"Do you know anything about wizard sports?" asked Minerva, more than willing to give an impromptu Quidditch lesson. She absolutely loved Quidditch and hoped, even though she was only a Second Year, that she might get chosen for the House Team. Minerva was quite a good flyer and she didn't mind who knew it.

"I'm not wasting my time on sports, when I could be learning magic," he said quietly.

"All work and no play make Jack a dull boy," said Minerva, using a common muggle expression.

"I have a feeling that I won't consider learning magic work," said Tom sagely.

~~~~~

Minerva sat on top of her broom, silently waiting for her turn. The person before her had just finished.

A whistle blew. "Duncan!" a voice cried.

"Don't mess this up, Minerva," she told herself quietly, bending forward, to pick up speed. Suddenly, a bludger came out of nowhere. She did a quick barrel roll, and it missed her by inches.

"Here comes the quaffle!" the same voice yelled.

Minerva looked to her left and saw it speeding towards her. Raising both her hands for just a moment, she caught the quaffle, and put a hand down on her broom to steady herself. Without thinking, she raced towards the goals. The Keeper was waiting in front of the left hoop.

Minerva faked to the right, causing the Keeper to change positions. Then she moved back to the left and threw the quaffle threw the unattended goal. Minerva did a quick loop-de-loop to celebrate and then went back towards the stands to watch the rest of the tryouts.

She couldn't help but laugh, as happy as she was. Minerva had convinced Stewart to let her buy a broom during the summer. Minerva quickly memorized the schedules of the different navy unit's schedule. There was at least one hour everyday during the summer that Minerva could go to an empty field near the navy base that Minerva called home. She practiced flying whenever she could. She was determined to win the open chaser spot this year.

Obsessed was a little more like it. Every free moment that Minerva had, she used to make herself a better witch. Part of it was her loyalty to Stewart. Her cousins still hadn't stopped giving her a hard time. Minerva wanted to become a great witch to prove that being raised by a muggle didn't matter.

So far her plan was working. She scored the highest out of all of the first years on the final exams. Now it looked like she might have won a spot on the Quidditch team as only a second year.

The tryouts lasted another hour, and then the team had a conference. The captain, Brian Bell stood in front of all of the team hopefuls.

"This was a hard decision this year," he told the group. "But let's congratulate Minerva Duncan on being Gryffindor's new chaser!"

The students around her applauded half-heartedly, having hoped to be chosen themselves. Minerva allowed herself a small, satisfied smile. Her cousins, Adam and John hadn't made the Ravenclaw Quidditch team until their fourth year.

~~~~~

April 1938

"Why is it, Riddle, that every single time I'm in the library, you're here?" asked Minerva, smiling.

"I'm not sure, Duncan. Maybe it's because we both like to study?" said Tom with a grin.

"Would you mind if I sit here? All of the other tables are taken," said Minerva quietly.

"Sure," said Tom easily.

Minerva was glad that she and Tom had become friends. She had been disappointed when he had been sorted into Slytherin. She had hoped he would be in Gryffindor. But the two maintained a friendship based on their mutual love of books. She noticed from afar that he didn't seem to have many friends.

They sat in silence while they studied. After a good half hour, Minerva let her mind wander. She started looking around and tried to see what book Tom was reading.

When he noticed her trying to see what he was up to, he slammed the book closed and put it on the seat next to her.

"Not nice trying to peek, Duncan," he said slowly.

Minerva shrugged. "I was just curious, that's all. I didn't mean to upset you, Riddle."

He gave her an odd look, as if he really didn't believe her.

Minerva stared into space a little longer, and then decided she needed to confide in someone.

"Do you ever worry about the Muggle world?" she asked him quietly.

"No," he said resolutely.

"Well, I do," said Minerva. "My brother's in the Navy. He keeps writing about this bloke in Germany who seems power mad."

"So?" asked Tom, opening another book. He looked bored with the conversation.

"You said your father's a muggle. You must have muggle relatives. Aren't you worried about them?" asked Minerva, her voice rising.

Tom shut the book loudly and stood up, his face red. "I have no muggle relatives, Duncan," he spat and walked away.