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Minerva McGonagall had come to the conclusion that men were idiots and in particular British men were idiots of the worst kind. She had graduated at the top of her class, and yet it seemed as if all of the men around her had relegated her to making tea and doing transformations that she had done almost quite literally in her sleep. To stave off the boredom she had trained herself to become an animagus, which had been a pleasant challenge for a while, but now she was back to tea and transformations that a first-year at Hogwarts could do.
She had been having tea, oh the irony, with Flitwick when he had suggested that she shake the dust of Britain off her shoes and go wandering for a while. Filius was a neuter, but he wasn’t unaware of the difference between men and women or how women were treated. Once she had calmed down from her somewhat hysterical laughing, he leaned forward. “Seriously, Minerva. Go. You are one of the best and brightest witches of your age. We know what trouble you get into when you are bored, my dear Tabby.” Minerva blushed. He had to help her with a charm in the middle of the night because while she had managed the transformation for the first time, she had a fine layer of fur all over her. She’d almost given him a heart attack when she had shown up at his door completely be-cloaked and faintly growling. “I’ll charm a bag of holding for you. Start in Japan. My friend Kai-Sensei teaches Transformation at the Sakura Pagoda in Edo and would love to talk shop with someone just as brilliant as she is. I’ll write you a letter of introduction.” Minerva found herself agreeing without even realizing it. Two weeks later, she had quit her job, packed up her belongings into the lovely small bag that Filius had given her, and was waiting at the Ministry for her international portkey. She touched the empty tin, and with a tug of her navel, she was gone. The only thing left was the dust from her shoes.
One translation spell later, and Kai-Sensei and she got along like a Goblin and gold. Minerva was charmed by Japan. She was intrigued by the formalism and how though women were even more restricted there than in Britain, women such as Kai-Sensei retained a great deal of authority and prestige. Besides Transformation, they had a mutual love of games of chance and strong liquor. Many a night was spent drinking, wagering, and debating. Minerva loved strategic games, though she knew she would never be more than an intermediate player. That didn’t stop Kai-Sensei from teaching her Go or Mah-Jong. Three months into her stay, Kai-san, as Minerva now called her, inquired as to whether or not she would like to visit a few other Asian countries. Kai-san was attending a roundtable on the theoretical idea of magical animagi and while she was in Singapore, she intended to visit a few other places in Malaysia as well as a cursebreaker in Siam who was at a Buddhist temple there. Minerva had initially thought to go to China next, but a traveling companion like Kai-san was so welcome. A week later, they pounded back a last shot of shochu to fortify themselves for streets packed with humanity.
Singapore was dirty, loud, and fascinating. It was Minerva’s opinion that whatever you wanted could be found in Singapore. Her experience had been that most magical folk tended to stay put, and there were very few that actually traveled. Finding another woman with whom to travel a bit had been a godsend. When they had left Japan, Minerva had whispered a blessing on Filius for his bag as she had been gifted with all sorts of things from an entirely too extravagant kimono made especially in her tartan by the royal family to a complete tea set for tea ceremony from the advanced Transformation students she had been tutoring, seeds for various magical plants that she wasn’t sure she was ever going to be able to grow, a case of her favorite sake from her fellow Mah-Jong players, and an absolutely stunning set of magical Mah-Jong tiles and a Go set that was divine in its craftsmanship from Kai-san that did make Minerva cry just a wee bit. In Singapore, she picked up spices, porcelain, and fabrics that she knew Filius would love as a thank-you.
The roundtable was great fun and culminated in a heated exchange between herself and the most preeminent animagi theorist in Asia, whereupon she proved that it was possible to slow a transformation down and even stop it so that the animagus would have characteristics of their animal form but not a complete transformation. He’d turned into a Chow dog, and she had halted her transformation while she was still mostly a woman but had cat characteristics. She towered over him and hissed. He’d yelped and backed away. The room had exploded into applause and laughter. Once they had both changed back, she apologized for embarrassing him and while angry, he admitted he probably needed to be taken down a peg or two. Mr. Chang and she became fast friends after that and had many a spirited debate on animagus differences the world over. At one point he scoffed at one of her theories and repudiated her claim by saying that such a thing had been done in Africa. She’d riposted with, “Prove it.” He was amused by her challenge and admired the fiery Scot that had come from so far away. “Visit the Kabaka in the Buganda Kingdom at the large lake that you British have named Lake Victoria. I will send a letter of introduction, though it will take quite some time to get there. Africa’s message systems aren’t as coordinated as our own. Things happen in their own time there.” She nodded and stated that Kai-san and she were off to Siam for the next month or so anyway.
Minerva rather enjoyed Singapore, but now it was time to start moving northward. Unlike most of Europe, there were separate apparition rooms so that people always had a safe place to arrive. This was true for most magical households and communities. In Britain, a place like the Ministry had safe apparition rooms, but other than that,you usually floo’d or owl'd ahead, and people cleared out at the specified time and place so you could apparate in. Minerva rather liked the Asian system of separate rooms, not only because it was safer but because the rooms themselves were decorated. Even the poorest of households that she had apparated into had decorated the room with at least painted designs on the walls. The most extravagant apparition room had been at the King’s palace in Bangkok with the most beautiful tile work she had ever seen done by non-magical Buddhist monks. When she had exclaimed over the beauty of where they had apparated into, the King responded that such rooms were not only safe for apparition but also allowed one to more easily remember where to go as each apparition room was unique to that household. Minerva had a start of realization that he was exactly right. She could remember every single room that Kai-san and she had apparated into between Singapore and Bangkok.
Kai-san and Minerva had a lovely visit with the King though they were really there to visit Wat Pho, a Buddhist healing temple that was both magical and non-magical in nature. Minerva found the monks to be rather sedate, though there was one elder monk who was absolutely ruthless at Mah Jong, but otherwise she deeply enjoyed meditating to their chanting. At Wat Pho, there was an elderly woman who was known for not only the elegance of her transformations but also for her reversal of cursed transformations. Kai-san had a particularly stubborn cursed transformation whereupon her uncle, a rather rude man, had been cursed and transformed into a salamander. There had been no luck in changing him back, and taking her uncle to Chung the Transformer was really the only option left. While Chung worked on the salamander who was also an Uncle, Kai-san and Minerva tried to stay cool in the oppressive heat.
Minerva had thought that Singapore had been bad with the heat and humidity. It barely held a candle to how hot it was in Bangkok. Cooling charms did wonders, but even they bowed under the pressure of the sun at some point. The King’s palace was set up along the river and designed to catch even the vaguest hint of a breeze. After two weeks, it was clear that Chung was going to need more time with the salamander uncle, so Minerva and Kai-san agreed to accompany the King as he visited cooler places throughout the kingdom. Everywhere they went, people prostrated themselves before the King, and Minerva and he had lively debates about governing, magical versus non-magical people, and the role of the land in the grand scheme of things. He was happy with his traditions, but he knew change was on the horizon, and he feared that the British would try to take his kingdom and his people. Minerva suggested that he try to learn more of the ways of British Muggles to better position himself and his people to resist colonialism. Between the two of them, they crafted an advertisement for a British tutor to come and teach the King’s children; in this way both the King and his children would be educated on the ways of the British Muggles. At a stop in Phuket, Minerva felt that she had never seen water so blue, sand so white, or land so green in all of her life. Was this paradise?
She’d been away from Britain now for well over half a year. There had been times that she would have given anything to have a wee dram of scotch from home or to bundle up in her woolen things and sit by a roaring fire in a hearth made of good solid stone to ward off the chill of snow and an icy wind. Still, she had to admit she had felt more alive in the last six months than she had in years. Being in the world made her realize that she did love home but that she needed to find a place for herself. No one would respect her for just being herself. She needed to show them that she was the best. Of course, if anyone had told her that she would have this realization at such a young age and in Phuket, Siam of all places while sipping cane juice sitting next to a king, well, she would have laughed at them and told them to lay off the booze.
A few weeks later the royal caravan made its way back to Bangkok. Kai-san found that her uncle had been restored and that his demeanor was a bit more palatable. Chang had received a letter from the Kabaka expressing hospitality for Minerva and so before she knew it, she was saying goodbye once more, though by this point she had been in Siam and Malaysia for three months. Gifts were exchanged, and dear old Chung taught her how to relax her mind and body as well as some particularly interesting tricks with cursed transformations. Her parting gift had been a bottle of absolutely lovely massage oil. The day before she was to start her journey to Africa, Chang, Kai-San, and she got absolutely roaring drunk, played far too many games of magical Mah-Jong, and got progressively sillier as the night wore on. The night ended with Kai-san falling asleep by the table, Chang transforming into a Chow, and Minerva transforming into a cat and then curling up on top of him and falling asleep. All Minerva could think as she drank the hangover cure was that she was glad that magical photography was relatively rare in these parts or she would never live it down.
To get to Africa, she took a series of portkeys that had her jumping from place to place: India to Sri Lanka to South Africa to Tanzania and finally to Entebbe, Uganda Protectorate. The portkey deposited her in a grove of palm trees. There was a tall young man who seemed to have been waiting for her. He spoke to her, but she didn’t understand him. He motioned for her to follow him and they started walking, and walking, and walking. By the time they came to a large open pavilion area, her shoes and the bottom of her long skirt were covered in reddish brown dust, and she was ready to sit down and have a drink of water. All the way here she had seen livestock, and the people stared at her in a way that was slightly unnerving. She had been stared at all over Asia, but not like she was being stared at here. It made her distinctly uncomfortable. The young man urged her to sit and so she did. A moment later, he returned with water. She murmured a purification charm out of habit and drank deeply. Shortly, a stony eyed woman approached her, spoke words around her in a ritualistic type of way and bade her to drink from a gourd, which Minerva did. All of the suddenly, she could understand the woman.
“There, there dear. Can you understand now?” Minerva nodded. “Your magic will work here, but there will be some odd places where there seems to be a miscommunication between magics. Don’t worry, language tends to be the biggest.”
They conversed for a time and Minerva learned her name was Justine.
There began one of the stranger and more contemplative odysseys of Minerva’s life. For two months she learned how to speak the native language of Luganda, how to cook food, and how to wear native dress. To say that the learning was intense would be a misnomer. If she was lucky, she might learn one thing a week. She was picking up the Luganda more out of boredom than anything else. Still, the things that she learned, she threw herself into with everything she had. She had many discussions with Justine about magic, differences between African and European magics, and all the things that Minerva needed to know to be a woman in Bugandan society.
One day, Justine looked at her, nodded and said, “You are ready to meet the Kabaka.”
Minerva felt that she had been ready since the day she arrived in the Uganda Protectorate, but she said nothing. Three days later, it was announced that the Kabaka was coming to town. The people started erecting welcoming signs, and all night long there was drumming, singing, and storytelling. Minerva felt like she would explode from the many meals she had eaten. On the third day, she dressed in her gomesi and was led to a small grove of trees by the water. A man was standing in the shade, leaning against a tree, and looking out over the lake. He was dressed in western clothes and his eyes were troubled. He assessed her with his eyes and asked, “Shall I see your animagi transformation?” She changed form at will and sat still looking up at him, a quizzical look on her face. “It is true then. Europeans can do so at will.” Minerva changed back. “Of course. How do your people do it?” There began many long days and nights of discussing the nature of the animagus. It was truly one of the most magic infused and yet mystical experiences of Minerva’s life. For a few weeks, she traveled with the Kabaka meeting other magic practitioners, spending days at shrines in ritual communion with people and spirits, and exchanging ideas.
The Kabaka and Minerva were sitting in the shade drinking freshly= squeezed mango juice when Minerva was taken with a sudden longing for home. The food of this place was heavenly, but nothing like home. It'd been nearly a year since seeing her friends and family. She had written, of course, but all communication had been one way for the most part. It was too burdensome on owls to travel such great distances, especially when people so rarely traveled them. It was easier to send a letter along the trade routes. It took about two weeks or so for mail to reach home based on the few messages that she had gotten.
The Kabaka was an very astute man. "Where are you, Minerva?"
She laughed a bit ruefully. "I'm home."
His look not unkind, "Then that is where you should go." At her rebellious look, he laughed, "I'm not kicking you out, but we both know that your thoughts have been turning more and more towards home. Word has come that there is a position open at Hogwarts in Transfiguration. We both know that you would be brilliant at it. The apprentices here have all said that you have been the best teacher."
His compliments made her blush. "Perhaps."
He gave her a mock stern look, "Don't be falsely modest, we both know it is true. Follow the Nile North. I'll give you safe passage and a letter of introduction. Talk to Taita in Cairo at the magical royal palace and he'll be happy to open the Pharaohanic archives to you. The ancient Pharaohs and their magicians did some truly amazing work with transfiguration. Work that, I think, would only help your application to Hogwarts."
She looked over the rim of her glasses in what would soon become her signature move as a teacher. "Well, I can't argue your logic."
A few days later, she had said her goodbyes, and while she was rowed up the Nile towards Cairo, a letter of introduction flew ahead of her and her application for the job of Transfiguration Mistress made its way to Hogwarts. Her bag of holding, as she had come to think of it, now sported several gomesi, beautiful baskets, and soapstone carvings that she secretly delighted in charming to move and act like the animals that they represented. The journey North wasn't without danger, of course. Hippos were more dangerous than crocodiles, and more than once she was called upon in the middle of the night to protect the camp from a wandering hippo. Two weeks later, she was standing in magical Cairo in front of the hereditary palace of Pharaoh. Muggles believed that Pharoah and his people were no more, but that was untrue. The line continued but, like in Britain, in a completely separate way. Even Muggle Egyptians had forgotten that those with true magic still walked among them.
It turns out that Taita was the current Pharaoh. She had been prepared to meet with an archivist, not a king of such an ancient and noble lineage! Taita's face was like that of a raptor, but his eyes were kind, and it was clear that he ruled his magical people in a generous and fair way. That said, he seemed absent much of the time. Oh, his body was there, but he was distracted, and at times the pupils of his eyes were so large that you couldn't see the irises. It made Minerva distinctly uncomfortable, but she didn't get the feeling from him that he was a threat. Minerva spent three weeks in the archive researching the half transformations of the Egyptian "gods" that the Muggles were fascinated with. As she read deeper into the archival evidence, she started to see, or at least she thought she saw, that Pharaoh Taita was in the final stages of a transformation.
Over a private dinner, she asked him, "Which transformation are you trying for?"
He gave a start but then narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't know what you are talking about."
She looked over her glasses at him. "Be that as it may, we both know that no one has been able to accomplish the transformation in the last 1000 years give or take a century or two. Wouldn't you rather have one of the best transfiguration experts in the world helping you?"
He watched her silently for awhile, and just when she thought that he was either never going to speak to her again or hex her, he ground out, "Horus. I am closest to the falcon."
"How close are you, do you think?"
He leaned back and took a sip of wine. "A couple of years yet. Each stage of the transformation is as much about the physical half transfiguration as it is about raising the level of power that one holds."
Minerva relaxed into her own seat. "So you've got time then. My intention is to be here for only another week or so and then continue North. I've had word that the current Headmaster of Hogwarts wishes to interview me for the Transfiguration position."
His lips quirked into a smile. "Congratulations, Minerva. Like there was ever any doubt."
All of the sudden, she looked as young as she really was. "Well, I don't have the job yet. Be that as it may, if you need me, I'm here or can be here fairly quickly.
True to her word at that dinner, Minerva spent about a week and a half actually in Cairo. Part of her couldn't believe that her adventures were coming to an end, and part of her was more than ready to return home. Still, she circumvented her desires for home by throwing herself into the archive and into discussions about where Taita thought he was stuck and what his next moves would be. When her portkey was ready, Taita and she spent a long night talking, playing senet, and drinking wine. Taita gifted her with a senet set from New Kingdom period as the Muggles called it. In the morning, her eyes outlined in kohl, she bid goodbye to him and with a tug at her navel, she began her journey home.
Four portkeys later, through Rome, Paris, London, and finally Hogsmeade, Minerva was back to the place that she called home. People stared as she walked through the magical village, and was it really any wonder? Her outlined eyes, her bronzed skin, and while she was completely modestly dressed, the fabrics were clearly not British in origin. Her interview with the Headmaster was the next day, but she was staying in the castle overnight and catching up with Filius.
As she crossed the great bridge, the doors opened, and Filius hustled out. "Well?" Minerva laughed, started her transformation and used a wandless spell she had picked up in Uganda to turn into caracal. Filius was completely beside himself. "Well done! Well done my dear Tabby!"
Minerva transformed back and smiled at him. "Shaking the dust of home off my feet was exactly what I needed. You were right, Filius, but now I am home and I'm ready to come back to Hogwarts."
Someone cleared their throat. Minerva turned toward the main doors and the Headmaster nodded at her, "With a display like that, I would say the interview is a formality." Minerva glowed with pride, thanked the Headmaster, and began her life at Hogwarts.
Several years later, her fourth years would get the shock of their lives when a falcon would soar through the room and turn into a living God named Horus or a few years after that when, what appeared to be a wandering Buddhist monk would transform into a garuda messenger from the King of Siam to tell her that his father had died, but thank you for having suggested to his father that a British schoolteacher be brought to Siam. Minerva was considered to be the most strict of teachers, but then odd little things like this would happen and the students would wonder about her.