Sooo, I had an idea that I thought would be fun, and now it's almost 5000 words long… Oh well!

I own nothing! Enjoy!

*Saturday evening*

"Minerva McGonagall, how dare you!" Hermione exploded, shoving Minerva away, hurt and rage swirling in her eyes. "How dare you presume to know how I feel! Whatever this is that you're doing, just stop!" She spun on her heel, striding a few steps down the cobblestone alleyway before apparating away.

"Shite," Minerva muttered, running a hand through her hair. That had not gone at all how she had planned it.

*3 weeks earlier*

Hermione Granger strode down Diagon Alley one Monday morning, heading for Flourish and Blotts in search of a particular book on charms that might help in her latest research project. At that time of day there were few shoppers out, and Hermione took the opportunity to appreciate the winding road full of shops in all its glory. The repairs after the war had been exceptional, and every shop seemed as though nothing horrible had ever taken place there.

So caught up in her daydreaming, Hermione failed to notice that someone had stepped out of the shop to her right, causing her to bump straight into them.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" she rushed, reaching out to steady the witch she had almost bowled over. Her eyes widened in surprise when she found herself looking up into the bright green eyes of Minerva McGonagall. "Headmistress," she uttered, pulling her features into an unreadable mask. "I'm sorry, are you alright?"

Minerva looked just as shocked to see her former student out in Diagon Alley this early in the day.

"I'm quite alright Hermione, thank you," she responded. "How many times have I told you to use my given name since you're no longer my student?" she chided, looking down at the shorter witch with a small smile.

"Several times, Headmistress," Hermione replied, stepping away from the older woman.

"And how many times should I have to let you know before you actually do it?" Minerva asked her with a grin, hands on hips.

Hermione smiled back at her.

"At least once more, Headmistress," Hermione said, glancing up into those green eyes.

Inside, she was reeling, anything but calm at having bumped into her former Professor on her trip out that morning. Those green eyes had been haunting her for the last two years. After the battle of Hogwarts, Hermione had returned to school to finish her missed seventh year and had gotten to know the headmistress rather well. They had tea in her office at least twice a month, discussing new research in both Transfiguration and Charms.

Over those months, Hermione had felt her feelings for the older witch slowly turning from adoration, to those of affection, and eventually to attraction. By the end of the year, Hermione was so ashamed that after she graduated, she hadn't even owled the older witch, instead managing to see her only at ministry events or the odd Sunday dinner at the insistence of Molly Weasley.

Her persistence in using the honourific when addressing the dark haired witch in front of her was a measure of self preservation. Not allowing the familiarity of calling the older witch by her given name had kept a certain amount of distance between them that Hermione felt was necessary, lest she let herself slip back into old patterns of thoughts and feelings.

Minerva clucked her tongue at the smaller brunette in front of her.

"I don't know why you insist Hermione," she muttered, straightening her robes. "It's been ages since I was your teacher, we fought a war together."

"Call it a quirk," Hermione offered. "You're out early this morning" she said, deflecting the conversation onto something else.

Minerva blushed, confusing Hermione. What on earth could she have to be embarrassed about?

"Ahem, yes well, being an animagus sometimes has its disadvantages," she said, straightening her posture.

Hermione looked to the window behind Minerva and noticed they were outside of Magical Menagerie, the magical creature shop.

Hermione realized that Minerva must have been in there shopping for herself, rather than for a magical pet, and found herself unable to maintain her facial features.

"Oh hush!" Minerva admonished her, giving her a poke in the shoulder. "Hairballs are murder, you'd want help in dealing with them as well."

Hermione let herself have one giggle before she schooled her features.

"I'm sorry Headmistress," she apologized. "I just would never have thought that would be an issue for the esteemed Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall."

"Yes well, Headmistress or not, I'm still only human. Or in this case, a cat." She fiddled with her shopping bag as Hermione started shuffling her feet in the direction she had originally been headed.

"Hermione," she urged. "Would you like to get together for tea? There was a new article in Transfiguration Today recently and I thought you might like to chat about it. It's been a long time since I've had your input."

Hermione paused where she was, shocked at the invitation. Two years she had managed to avoid the woman beyond anything more than large social events, why now would she want to get together and chat? Knowing it was rude to decline outright, but unwilling to make a concrete time, Hermione smiled at the older witch.

"That sounds nice," she offered, "I'll owl you?"

Minerva's face fell at her response but smiled back nonetheless.

"I look forward to it. Have a good day, Hermione."

"You as well, Headmistress."

Hermione turned and headed back in the direction of Flourish and Blotts, completely baffled by Minerva's sudden invitation to tea. She couldn't do it. She just wasn't ready, she told herself. Two years clearly hadn't been enough for her feelings to finally calm down. Two years hadn't been enough for her heart to stop jumping into her throat when she looked into those beautiful green eyes. Two years hadn't been enough. No, she wouldn't be sending an owl, no matter how much her heart might want her to.

*2 weeks earlier*

Minerva sat in her office, letting out a huff of frustration. Hermione had said that she would owl her, but it had been over a week and she hadn't heard anything from the younger witch. Realizing that her own frustration was caused by the thought that Hermione might be avoiding her, wasn't helping.

Two years had passed since they had last spent any meaningful time together socially. Minerva assumed at first that it was because Hermione had graduated and was settling into her life outside of school. But as time wore on she began to worry that it was something she herself had done to upset the brightest witch of her age.

Minerva had done everything she could to ensure that Hermione never learned of her professor's attraction, disgusted with herself when she had realized she had feelings for the golden girl. Two years she had worked at pushing her feelings aside. Two years she had given the young Gryffindor as much space as she could manage. Two years hadn't been enough. Over those two years she had never stopped to think about why Hermione had never contacted her either.

Now though, with the realization that Hermione had been avoiding her as well, Minerva couldn't help but wonder why.

"Well, we'll see about that," Minerva muttered to her empty office, pulling out a small piece of parchment and sliding her inkwell across the worn desktop. Hermione was too polite to decline a direct invite, so Minerva quickly penned a letter to her former protege.

*The next day*

Waking to the sound of gentle tapping on her bedroom window, Hermione rolled over to peer at the large tawny owl she saw perched there. Groaning, she stood to let the bird in. As it landed on her desk, she reached out to untie the roll of parchment that had been secured to one of its legs.

"Where did you come from?" she asked out loud, unrolling the missive and giving the owl a treat for its services.

Seeing the Hogwarts crest at the top of the note, Hermione froze. She wouldn't. But she had. Hermione rolled the parchment open completely, pausing only to take note of the familiar slanting cursive that she knew all too well.

Hermione, it read.

I hope this note finds you well. I was hoping to hear from you earlier in the week, but since no correspondence found its way to me, I assume your owl must have gotten lost. Cheeky, Hermione thought.

As such, I have taken the liberty of writing you in the hopes that you will acquiesce to my request for tea. I will have a room at the Leaky Cauldron reserved on Monday afternoon at 2:00 if you would be so kind as to join me there.

Warm regards,

Minerva McGonagall

Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Unbelievable, Hermione thought to herself. The nerve! The gall! It was almost Slytherin of her. Hermione knew she couldn't ignore her, but shook her head at the audacity of the older woman forcing her hand in such a way.

She reached for a quill, whipped it out of its well and put it to parchment with indignation. She huffed as she penned a tactful reply.

*Monday afternoon, 1 week earlier*

Minerva shuffled her feet nervously on the floor beneath her chair. 2:00 was fast approaching, she had checked the time with a tempus charm three times in the last five minutes. Nervousness covered her body like a cloak, hunching her shoulders and making her limbs restless. Hermione had responded in the affirmative. She would be coming, there was nothing to be nervous about.

Casting another tempus, her eyes flicked towards the worn oak door that was the entrance to the room, willing it to open. Taking a calming breath, she stood to hover in front of the fire, staring into the flames as they danced in the hearth.

The heavy latch clicked open and she turned to follow Hermione's progress as she pushed her way into the room.

"Hermione," Minerva started, "I'm so glad you came." She moved toward the table and chairs as Hermione closed the door.

"Good afternoon Headmistress," Hermione replied, hovering near the door. Her features spoke of nervousness, but also of determination. She took a deep breath and strode to where Minerva stood, waiting. She continued around the chairs and faced Minerva quietly before settling into the chair opposite her.

Minerva sat as well, crossing her her legs primly before reaching to pour the tea.

"I want to apologize Hermione," she muttered, steeling herself for the younger witch's reaction. "I admit to being rather forward in my attempt to get you here today." She passed Hermione a teacup and slid the plate of ginger newts across the table, observing her carefully.

Hermione sat quietly for a moment before looking into Minerva's eyes and smiling.

"I admit to being quite surprised by your letter, actually," she said sipping her tea. "I got quite busy with work and completely forgot to owl you. It's me who should be apologizing."

"It's quite alright dear," she smiled back. "I assumed something must have come up or you would have owled me, I just saved you the trouble." She sipped her tea, peering at Hermione over the rim of her cup.

"Why were you so adamant?" Hermione asked her, reaching for a ginger newt. The smell immediately transported her back to Minerva's office at Hogwarts, which perpetually emanated the Scottish witch's favourite treat.

"Honestly? I miss our conversations, Hermione." She put her teacup down gently and looked intently at Hermione. "I could rarely debate with anyone as well as you. I feel as though our time apart has robbed us of the connection we used to have when we would discuss recent research, or magical creature rights, or life in general." She again reached for her cup, more bold now that she was speaking freely. "Am I being presumptuous in assuming that you might miss those things as well?"

Hermione sighed, cradling her cup to her chest and wrapping her fingers around it like a lifeline. Her eyes were clouded with struggle, but she returned Minerva's gaze evenly.

"No," she uttered. "You're not wrong. I do miss our conversations. I have missed them. It just never seemed like the right time to contact you." She slackened the grip on her teacup and relaxed her shoulders. "You never contacted me either though."

"Aye, I didn't," Minerva replied, thumbing the handle of her cup. "I always assumed you were busy settling into life outside of school, and that you didn't need a stuffy old professor taking up your time."

"What changed?"

Minerva looked at Hermione again, noting the ever present curiosity in brown eyes.

"You quite literally bumped into me," she said, smiling at the younger witch. "It made me realize how much time we'd lost, and that I'd missed your company and ridiculously sharp mind."

The small intake of breath across the table hinted at things that gave Minerva hope, but she dared not push her luck too much. It had been a feat already just getting the young brunette to meet her at all, let alone that she might feel the same.

The moment stretched, and Minerva worried that she had said the wrong thing.

"You're not a stuffy old professor," Hermione finally replied, taking another small sip of her tea. "Our debates were a highlight from my time at Hogwarts."

She let the statement hang and Minerva knew this was as hard on Hermione as it was on her. She didn't know why she knew, she just had an inkling, and decided to push the conversation toward other topics to give them a break from the current one.

"Then let us renew our debates," she encouraged, "although in this case I think we tend to agree. Silvanus Hearst is at it again with his concept of permanent trans-species transfiguration."

Hermione inelegantly snorted into her cup.

"How has nobody imprisoned that old coot for cruelty to animals?" she asked, reaching out for another ginger newt. "Honestly, that man should be locked away. I can't believe he's still being published."

"I knew you'd say that, and I wholeheartedly agree, he's even tried to claim that creatures immediately adapt to their new forms without pain or emotional distress, bollocks in my opinion."

Relaxed into their old banter, the two witches spent more than a few hours discussing the many topics they used to frequent, and Minerva secretly hoped that things would continue in the same fashion.

*4 days earlier*

Hermione again woke to the gentle tapping of a beak on her window and she allowed herself the briefest of moments to hope that it was from Minerva. She rolled onto her back and craned her neck toward the window where a great grey owl sat patiently waiting to deliver its message. Sighing, knowing that Minerva's owl was a tawny, she stretched and pulled herself out of bed to retrieve the large bird's message.

Giving it a treat before it again took to the sky, Hermione looked down at the small roll of parchment it had delivered. As she unrolled it, her eyes shot skyward at the untidy scrawl littered across the surface. Ron's penmanship remained horrible, even into adulthood, and Hermione had the urge to roll her eyes every time she looked at it. Getting past her slight irritation, she scanned his message. He was planning a get together on Saturday evening with all of their friends and wanted to know if she 'could pull herself out of her books long enough to pop by.'

Rolling her eyes again, she reached for her quill to pen an answer. As she finished, she was startled by another gentle tapping at her window. Snapping her eyes around, she saw Minerva's small tawny owl perched on her sill. Her heart fluttered at the thought of another invitation from the Headmistress. Their time spent on Monday afternoon had tempered some of her earlier hesitation at spending time with the dark haired witch, and she was caught between excitement at rekindling their regular discussions, which she valued so much, and trepidation at how her her heart would fare in the long run if they did.

"Hello again," she muttered as she opened the window for the second time. "It's Astraea, right?" she asked the little bird, who nipped her fingers in response. "Of course," she chuckled, "how could I have forgotten, terribly rude of me." She received a small hoot and smiled as she removed the note tied to her leg.

Minerva's smooth lines and neat loops immediately made her smile, regardless of the content. It was another invitation, as she'd secretly hoped, or feared depending on how she thought about it, and was surprised to see that it was also for Saturday evening.

Her eyes drifted to the response she had been working on for Ron, now torn between two invitations for the same day and time. She looked back to Astraea, patiently waiting for her treat.

"What am I going to do?" she asked the owl, who cocked her head to the side in response.

*Saturday evening*

Apparating into Muggle London was always a risk, Minerva knew, but was also a secret pleasure. Muggles were seldom paying enough attention to notice anything around them, and Minerva loved the chance to get away from the wizarding world and relax for a little while. She had chosen Muggle London as a sort of ode to Hermione's parentage, and thought that it might make Hermione see her in a different light than simply as the Headmistress.

She smoothed the front of her coat nervously before pulling herself up to her full height and stepping out of the little park she had apparated into. The small cafe she had suggested was less than a two minute walk and she made good time, coming around the corner nearest the shop with five minutes to spare.

She gaped as she saw Hermione walking from the other direction. The muggleborn had freed her chestnut curls from their usual ponytail and they framed her face gently, swaying as she walked. She had also forgone her usual jumper and jeans, and had donned a white dress that fell to her knees in a soft eyeletted material.

Composing herself, Minerva continued forward, raising her hand in greeting.

"Good evening, Hermione," she said, taming the excited quiver in her voice as they reached the door to the cafe.

"Good evening," Hermione replied, smiling at Minerva with a look in her eyes that the Scottish witch couldn't place. "Shall we?" She indicated the door to her left and Minerva reached out to open it for her, stunned by the confidence in the younger woman, hanging back to allow her to enter first.

Following Hermione into the little shop, Minerva took a moment to marvel at how well things were going. She had to remind herself that things might be going well, but that she couldn't push Hermione too quickly. She still wasn't sure of the younger witch's feelings and didn't want to lose the what little ground they had made.

They ordered their drinks and made their way to a table in the far corner of the cafe, surrounded by floor to ceiling bookshelves, which Minerva knew Hermione would appreciate, it was one of the reasons she loved it there so much herself.

"How did you find this place?"Hermione asked, settling herself in one of the chairs and inspecting the many spines closest to her.

Minerva chuckled, "that, my dear, is a secret." She placed her cup on the table before shrugging out of her coat and hanging it on the back of her chair. As she turned back to sit down, she caught Hermione's eyes glued to her body. She preened under the scrutiny, settling herself in her chair with a grin across her face.

"Distracted, dear?" she asked, reaching up to take her hair down from its complicated bun.

As her dark tresses cascaded over her shoulders, she gave them a little shake and looked back at Hermione, who was now struck dumb, red colouring her cheeks in the most fetching way Minerva had ever seen. She smiled innocently at the blushing witch across from her and reached for her mug.

Hermione immediately blinked and averted her gaze, reaching for her own cup and spluttering in embarrassment.

"I, err, that is, I've never seen you with your hair down before." She kept her focus on her drink, eyes boring a hole in the ceramic.

Minerva smirked, triumph in her eyes as she watched Hermione struggle to control her features. Deciding to give her a break, Minerva relaxed her posture and sipped her drink.

"Relax, Hermione," Minerva chuckled. "I was teasing you."

Hermione raised her head and peered at Minerva, sizing up the comment, along with the eyes, dancing with mirth.

"Ahem, it's just a shock to see you in such a relaxed and different environment I suppose." She fiddled with her mug, watching it turn between her fingers. "I've never seen you in muggle clothes before either, what inspired you to venture out among muggles?"

"I just decided that I needed a change." She shrugged, turning her head to look around their corner of the cafe at the other patrons. "It's nice to be out somewhere and not be recognized as the esteemed and venerable Headmistress of Hogwarts. Don't you find it irritating that you cannae even go out for a cuppa without people gawking at you?"

Hermione chuckled.

"That it is. I go out to do my shopping in muggle London as much as possible, unless I'm specifically looking for magical items." Hermione finally sipped her drink and let out a sigh. "It's actually quite nice here. Honestly, I haven't gone out for a cup of tea or a drink with anybody in ages. Thank you for the invite."

"You're quite welcome Hermione," Minerva replied. "I've been a recluse as well recently. Even Filius is urging me to get out of the castle more often."

Hermione smiled at the mention of the half goblin, remembering his tufts of white hair fondly. She sat back as Minerva started telling her about a recent run in he'd had with a pair of fifth year Ravenclaws who'd decided it was their duty to turn their dormitories into a magical escape room of sorts, which the diminutive professor had had to logic his way through in order to undo all of their hard work.

As she entertained Hermione with tales of the castle and its students, and their cups grew empty, Minerva decided that the next step of her evening plan was in order.

"Hermione," she started. "Since our cups are empty and our hosts will be closing up shop soon, would you like to take a walk with me? If you're not too tired, that is." She peeked at the younger brunette through her lashes, secretly pleading that things were going well and that she wasn't pushing too much.

The response took but a moment.

"I'd love to."

Minerva's heart soared at hearing those words and she beamed at Hermione as she stood to collect her coat.

They exited the little cafe and turned toward the park that Minerva had first apparated into. Their pace was easy and they continued to chat as they progressed around the corner and down the sidewalk to the park. They strolled through the gate and along the wide gravel path that wound its way between the trees, the gravel crunching under their shoes as they walked.

Minerva was ecstatic. The evening was going better than she could have hoped. Hermione was opening up again, she had clearly made a conscious effort to change her wardrobe for their meeting, and she had been caught staring at Minerva, blushing. The thought crossed her mind that maybe all Hermione needed was a little push to allow herself to see Minerva the way Minerva hoped she did.

She continued to steer their progress towards the centre of the park where she knew a gazebo was nestled in a grove of willow trees that had been wrapped in little electric lights. Why on earth they were called fairy lights, she would never understand, as they clearly resembled nothing like any fairy she had ever seen.

They rounded the final bend in the path and Minerva heard the intake of breath that let her know her effort had not been wasted.

"This is beautiful!" Hermione dashed ahead to gaze in wonder at the surrounding trees. She turned to look at Minerva, who was making her way towards her. "This really is beautiful… Minerva. Thank you again for the invitation tonight."

Minerva faltered and then nearly squealed with joy at finally having her given name fall from those lips.

"You're welcome again, Hermione." She replied, coming to stand in front of the smaller brunette. "I'm glad you like it, I've been unable to share this place with anyone since I discovered it some time ago." She stepped closer, letting her eyes drift over Hermione's face in the pale blue light.

The air around them seemed to hum with energy as the moment stretched and they looked at one another. Minerva started to reach a hand out to Hermione, when suddenly the younger woman stepped away.

"You still haven't told me how you discovered these little hideaways," she said turning to make her way to the gazebo.

Minerva sighed. "No, I suppose I didn't. It's simple really, I left the Leaky Cauldron one day and decided that I would just walk until I found somewhere that spoke to me. This place did. It's not far to the Cauldron from here actually. Would you be interested in a drink?" Maybe the push was a little too soon, but Minerva could be patient, After the last two years, seeing that Hermione might have feelings for her as well made a little bit of waiting seem like the most inconsequential thing in the world.

Hermione turned back to face her and smiled.

"That would be nice, lead the way."

They moved away from the little grove of trees but continued in the direction they had started. In a few short minutes, they came to another arching gate and paused for a moment to wait for traffic before crossing.

"That's one thing I'll never really get used to." Minerva muttered as they stepped back up onto the curb.

"What's that?" Hermione asked her, placing her hand in the crook of Minerva's elbow. She kept her eyes forward, not giving away any emotion.

"Err.." she muttered, thrown off by the gentle pressure of Hermione's hand. "Cars. I often forget to look both ways."

"Don't worry, you'll get better at it." Hermione replied, grinning up at her, "most muggle children remember to do it by around age ten."

Minerva's jaw dropped open at the cheeky statement.

"Hermione Granger, did you just compare me to a small muggle child?" Minerva asked, shocked at how relaxed Hermione was becoming so quickly.

Hermione giggled then, a small tinkling sound that Minerva decided she could listen to forever.

"Yes, I suppose I- oh shite!" She gripped Minerva's arm and heaved her into the small alleyway they had been crossing.

Before she knew what was happening, Minerva had been spun around so that she was enclosing the younger witch against a rough brick wall, their bodies close, almost touching. She dared not breathe at their proximity, nor move the hand that was currently pressed against the wall effectively trapping Hermione in between.

Hermione's wand whipped out, tapped Minerva on the head, and she had the horribly uncomfortable raw egg feeling of a disillusionment charm running down her body. Hermione then waved her wand in a circular motion over her own head and Minerva watched as she slowly disappeared in front of her.

"Hermione," she muttered, "what are we doing?"

"Shh," Hermione shushed her, "it's Ron. I avoided owling him back about going out tonight after I got your invitation. He's walking up the street towards us and I just don't want to deal with his immaturity tonight."

Minerva wished she could see the younger woman's face as they stood so close together. She had avoided going out with Ronald in order to spend time with her? That in itself was exciting, let alone the way they were stood. Not being able to see the younger witch made Minerva a bit more bold than she would normally have been. She raised her other arm and placed it where she knew Hermione's waist to be.

There was a sharp intake of breath and a hand found its way to her forearm, stilling her movements.

They froze as Ron walked loudly past with Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. After they were gone, Minerva muttered a small finite and they both reappeared in front of the other.

"Minerva," Hermione uttered, eyes wide, staring up at her, and breathing shallow. "What are you doing?"

"I'm being bold," she replied. "I am a Gryffindor after all." She moved her thumb slightly on Hermione's rib cage and Hermione froze again. "I know you feel it too." She leaned her head forward, intending on kissing the beautiful witch, but..

"Minerva McGonagall, how dare you!" Hermione exploded, shoving Minerva away, hurt and rage swirling in her eyes. "How dare you presume to know how I feel! Whatever this is that you're doing, just stop!" She spun on her heel, striding a few steps down the cobblestone alleyway before apparating away.

"Shite," Minerva muttered, running a hand through her hair. That had not gone at all how she had planned it.

Well there it is! I was intending on this being a fun little one shot but it completely got away from me and now it will be a two shot. Or more. I don't know! Haha.

Thank you for reading, please R&R!

AndeB