Ah, I'm do touched by this comment and so delighted you enjoyed the fic! As I was saying to Woldy above, Gran stole the show here--somehow it was fairly easy to image her and Minerva discovering (or rediscovering) each other late in life, but I've always wondered about her relationship with Neville and why her expectations are so high. Imaging her dealing with missed opportunities helped me understand her a bit more.
One of the things that saddened me about the books was the fact that so few of the women got to interact together--Minerva, particularly, seems to need contemporaries to interact with. I'm not sure why I haven't read or written this pairing before, but it's certainly on my radar now. I'll be watching out for it.
Thanks again for such a lovely, lovely comment! Maggie
I'm a first-year professor who's feeling a bit oppressed by the grading as well. It sounds as if that's going to be a continuing theme...