Disclaimer: Albus and Minerva belong to the divine JKR I am just borrowing them for a while.

A/N: Big thanks to everyone who read and reviewed Risking my sisters Wrath. This is my new chapter fic I hope you like this too. MA

As Chekhov said 'a woman may be an acquaintance first, then a mistress and only then may she be a friend.'

Ok this fic is set just before the end of Minerva's first year at Hogwarts, I have written it so that she joins the school she joins as Transfiguration professor, Deputy Head and Head of Griffindor, I know that's not strictly cannon but as I think freelancer once said my fic my rules.

The end of the affair or How Albus and Minerva became friends

By Morgana-Alex

Chapter 1

The house stood still as silence fell through its long and winding passages but the house was not yet at rest for the night.

Minerva awoke to the sound of the wind howling through the trees closest to her bedroom window, her Animagus senses ensuring that sleep would not come easily to her tonight.

The transfiguration professor climbed gracefully from her bed, wrapped her green silk robe around her slender form and started her journey to the kitchen in search of something to help her sleep.

The halls of her family home filled by shadows from the faint light escaping windows that reflected the moon reminded the Witch walking through them that some things never changed.

She shook her head at that thought it would not do to dwell on what could never be.

It had been an unusually harsh winter in her hometown of Tarbert and her wind battered home had required her attention before it became a danger to itself and others. Tiles had been removed from the roof, windows smashed by objects carelessly caught up in the blustery weather and the garden was a shadow of its former glory.

The wards that had been placed on McGonagall Manor had begun to destabilise during years of neglect, the years between the deaths of Minerva's parents, the years she refused to visit the empty shell and now when her superior had forced her to return for the sake of her sanity and his own.

As she reached the kitchen Minerva pushed the door open with her right hand and set about making herself a warm toddy.

Minerva took a sip of her drink as she watched the tree outside the kitchen window sway back and forth in an almost hypnotic rhythm. She was trying to recall the species the tree belonged to when her eyes were drawn to the shape of a bird sitting on the branch closest to the ground.

Standing Minerva walked to the window to get a closer look at the lone creature that was braving the storm on the branch of a tree that would provide it little if indeed any shelter at all. As she reached the glass pane separating her from the elements the bird spread it wings and crossed the short distance to land on the window ledge in front of Minerva.

The bird an Owl as she could now see was looking at her expectantly as if waiting for her to do something, she realised it was waiting for her to open the window.

"Albus." She exclaimed as she opened the catch that held the window in place and beckoned her friend inside.

"Albus what in the name of Merlin are you doing out in this weather and better yet what are you doing outside my house in the middle of the night?" A look of anger graced her features as Albus Dumbledore transformed back into his human form.

"May I sit down Minerva the weather tonight is not kind to the body of an old wizard." He countered purposely ignoring her questions.

"Of course you may Albus but I would still like an answer to my question." Absentmindedly she waved her wand and a striped mug full of very sweet hot chocolate appeared in front of her visitor as she waited for him to answer.

"Is it really such a terrible thing to see me here Minerva, so terrible that I need a reason to be here?" His eyes locked with hers as he turned the question back to her.

"Albus you know full well that is not what I meant. I meant why are you risking your health and perhaps your life to sit outside my house on such a night as this?" He could not face her now, he did not want to tell her the truth, she would not thank him for that.

He stood in order to gain a little time to think of something that would satisfy her curiosity and ensure she didn't hex him into the next centaury.

But as he watched her eyes close and her face fall he realised that he couldn't lie to her no matter how much it pained him to tell her the truth she did not deserve to be told anymore lies.

"Minerva I came here because I could not sleep. As I left my chambers to seek you out I remembered that you were not in residence. I just wanted to talk to you Minerva and so I flew here to see if my friend was still awake." Many thoughts were running through Minerva's head at his words, thoughts of anger, pain, love and rejection were the strongest all fighting for her to say the words that would convey their feelings to the man sitting in front of her. None of them won that battle.

"Albus you have friends who are closer to Hogwarts then me at this time." She was baiting him and he knew it. He knew you didn't plunge a knife into the heart of Minerva McGonagall, ask to remain her friend and get off scot-free.

He knew that though her face and outward persona would never betray her by showing her pain it didn't mean that her heart was not in tears.

"True Minerva very true. But none quite like you." He watched her closely for a sign that he had caught her off guard. No such luck even in the dead of night she was not a woman to toy with.

"Why are they not like me Albus?" He had to admit to himself that she had him there. No answer to that question was right, nothing he could say that would not end in him wishing she would let him apologize again for what he had done to her.

"Minerva you know the answer to that question." She smiled at that.

"Yes Albus I do and as I have no desire to spend the rest of my days in Azkaban I think I'll change the subject." Her eyes were once again locked with his.

"Why don't we move to the drawing room Albus, the atmosphere in there is a little more inviting than a kitchen on a stormy night." With that Albus Dumbledore got to his feet and followed his former lover from the room.

End Chapter

A/N: Ok please please tell me what you thought of this fic as it is new territory to me to write in the third person. The second chapter I should be loaded straight after this one so happy reading and once again please please review. (P.S I know begging's not pretty but hey a girls got to try something!) Morgana-Alex