"I asked Professor McGonagall to be your godmother when you were born."
"McGonagall is my godmother?"
For the first time all day Beorc smiled. "Yes. She was absolutely thrilled. She had always been my favorite teacher and since she never had children herself, I just felt that it was the right thing to do. And I trusted her. It was such a strange time. Even though it was terrifying to be alive then, people were uniting underneath it regardless of differences. She always told me that I had been her best student and she even over-looked the fact that I was one of those power hungry Slytherins. I knew that if anything ever happened to us that she would care for you well and that you'd always be protected."
And suddenly it clicked. Of course McGonagall would take a special interest in her if she was her godchild. Every question she had about that particular issue had been put to bed. But there were still so many questions to be answered.
"You grew up in a wizarding family and though it was rough for that first year when Voldemort disappeared everything was that much better. Your father and I thrived and you grew up so quickly. We didn't tell you about your grandparents because we didn't want you to go around with that hanging over your head. When they died we had them buried there and I haven't thought on them since." Beorc gave her daughter a moment. She needed a moment herself to catch her breath.
"I'm sorry that they died." Gwen said softly.
"You shouldn't be. They were awful people." Beorc's face hardened slightly. "Besides, it's in the past and their gone. They can't spread any more evil."
Gwen watched her mother closely. She saw the sadness in her eyes; the circles of regret and worry deep and black underneath. She placed her hand on top of her mother's and saw how suddenly she didn't seem quite so sad as she had been moments before.
"You're an amazing kid Gwen. I'm sorry to have underestimated you."
"I think I underestimated myself."
"Well, when your father died I hardly knew what to do with myself. It was terrible really. No one knew that the deatheaters were still about. Your father and I wanted a vacation. So we left you with your Aunt Ann and your father's brother George. We spent eight glorious days together but it was a short lived glory. The deatheaters hadn't been active for years and suddenly a group of them had us cornered. They killed your father and attempted to kill me. It was almost too easy to fake my death."
"Why would you want to?"
"Because if the deatheaters were still around they would want me dead anyway. It was most likely that my own parents had signed a warrant for my death as a last wish from Azkaban. In the end it just worked out. I altered my appearance and changed my name. When it was safe enough to return home I took you back and erased everything. I made the dream world for you and off you went. One year before we received your acceptance letter to Hogwarts."