You know those so-called 'sex bracelets' the rubber bracelets, that some people say if someone breaks one or more of them you have to kiss them or whatever? Well, that's not what I use the bracelets for, but I thought it would be interesting if I could write a story about Dumbledore and McGonagall using them. Ok I admit it, PLOT BUNNIES STARTED ATTACKING ME AND I COULDN'T GET AWAY! ~Breaths heavily.~ Anyways, I also made up the bad luck thingie, and what you have to do if the bracelets are broken. I don't know if that's true or not.

Oh and I don't know what you see their ages as, but I made Dumbledore about ten years older than McGonagall.

BTW, I don't own anything that has to do with Harry Potter, 'cept the plot, and I didn't make up the jelly jewelry, or sex bracelets or whatever you want to call them. This is rated PG for mentions of sex and detailed kissing. As a warning: if you don't like the idea of Dumbledore and McGonagall kissing, or can't handle the mental image or whatever, don't read this.

Also, I know that Snape is out of character but I wanted to make him funny instead of the way he truly is, so sue me. Lol. Personally, I think this story is sappy and goofy, but I'd like your opinion since I'm not exactly the best judge. Please review and tell me what you think. If it's horrible I want to know, but please be nice about it, because I have a fire extinguisher, and I know how to use it! Mwuahahahahaha! Ahem. Ah.......yes. Anyways, let's go read about Dumbledore and McGonagall in love. Someone cover Snape's eyes!

Oh and guess what? *Laughs like a little kid* This is my first AD/MM story! Yay! All cheer! So that is why I need your feedback. Please.

Enjoy!

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Albus Dumbledore climbed the stairs to his Deputy Headmistress' office with the bag dangling from his hand. When he reached her office, located not far from her Transfiguration classroom, he knocked.

Minerva McGonagall was in her office correcting papers, when she was interrupted by the knock on her office door. She sighed and set the stack of papers aside. "Come in!" She called.

Albus Dumbledore, her good friend of old, and Headmaster, opened the door and stepped inside the office, his eyes twinkling, and his step light.

Minerva smiled when she saw him. She and Albus had been friends together ever since her seventh year in school, when she met him as her 27 year old Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher. They'd become fast friends, and when she left the school, she kept in touch with him, until she started teaching at Hogwarts as well, as the Transfiguration teacher. When the current Headmaster Armando Dippet, died, Dumbledore became Headmaster and appointed McGonagall as his Deputy Headmistress.

Little did Albus know that Minerva for years now, had felt just a little bit more then platonic love for him. She found herself thinking about him all of the time, wanting to do things with him, (A/N: Not those kinds of things you sick perverts!) and noticing more tiny details about him than most people knew. But she had hidden her feelings from him, not wanting to ruin the friendship she had with him, by making it awkward. Sometimes it was hard though, trying not to cry at night, when she realized that she was doomed to be alone for the rest of her life. Why was she? Because no other men had come near her. She didn't know why, but they had always thought of her as Albus's girl. They thought she was taken, and therefore kept their distance. Minerva was left believing that she could never be loved by anyone.

He now laid a small shopping bag on her desk. "For you my dear Professor."

Minerva was surprised. "What's this?"

"You'll have to open the bag to find out." He had a mischievous look in his eyes that she wasn't sure she could trust, but she opened the bag anyways.

Inside of it was a bunch of thin, small, rubbery bracelets, in an array of bright colours; tied together with string. She held them up. "What on earth are these, Albus?"

He tried to hide his grin. "Try them on."

She untied the string, and with little effort slid the bracelets onto her wrist. "They're very nice, but why did you give them to me?"

He didn't say anything, but grabbed ahold of a light blue bracelet, and yanking it hard, broke it into two pieces.

Minerva gasped. "Albus! You broke it!"

Albus didn't bother trying to hide his grin this time. He instead produced a folded parchment from his pocket. "I found them in a muggle shop in downtown London today. This came with them. Read it." He gave her the parchment, and sat down in the chair across from her watching her intently as she unfolded the parchment and began to read. This is what she read:

'Sex bracelets!

Meant to be worn many at a time, these bracelets carry meanings if broken. Better hope they're broken by the one you love!

If more than one bracelets are linked or knotted together and broken: the person who broke them gets to perform oral sex with/on you.

If more than two bracelets are broken and are NOT linked or knotted: the person who broke them gets to have sex with you.

If just one bracelet is broken: the person who broke it may snog you for as long as they want.

Of course the bracelets don't need to be used that way. They can go with any outfit and are fun to wear anytime!'

Minerva's eyebrows had shot up when she read the the first part of the paper, and as she went down, her face changed to disbelief then, lastly, when she got to what was to happen when one bracelet had been broken, like Albus had done, her mouth dropped open. Snog her! Well that sounded good to her, but she believed that he was toying with her, and that made her mad. Her lips pursed together and she crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it onto her desk.

"Albus Dumbledore, that is perfect rubbish!"

His eyes sparkled with mirth. "Did you read it all?"

"Of course I read it all!" She snapped. "And I for one, am disgusted."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I broke one."

"I know you-" She stopped. She'd forgotten he'd broken one for a moment there. Her face blanched, then she mentally shook herself. She looked at him. "So? You don't honestly think, that because you broke one of these things, I'm going to-going to......" She couldn't finish.

Albus' mouth was twitching as he tried to hold back a smile. "Yes?"

Minerva noticed his little smile. "Albus this isn't funny. Do you think this is funny or something?" She sighed. "I have papers to correct."

Albus picked up the pieces of the bracelet. "But I broke one."

Minerva sighed with exasperation and dropped the quill she was holding. "Yes, I'm quite aware of that. I do believe it's trash now." She gestured towards the trash can.

"But-" He picked up the paper and un-balled it. "According to this, that gives me license to quote, 'snog you for as long as I want,' unquote." He couldn't hold back his smile now.

Minerva bent over her papers again, solely for the purpose of hiding her red face. "Don't be ridiculous, you don't have to do whatever that little parchment says."

"Oh yes I do."

Minerva was thoroughly frustrated now. "Why on earth do you say that? That is perfectly ridiculous. The paper says-"

"Yes, I know, but you didn't read the fine print, did you?" He interrupted her, his eyes twinkling mishievously.

She looked up at him. "What fine print?" She rolled her eyes at herself. "Oh, what does it matter, this is just some silly game anyways."

Albus ignored the last statement and put the paper in front of her. "That fine print there." He pointed to the bottom of the page, where in minuscule letters Minerva read:

'It is said to be bad luck if a bracelet is broken and the according act not carried out.'

She looked up from the paper into his deep blue eyes, sparkling beneath his half-moon glasses and saw the corners of his mouth turning up in what could be called, were it not Dumbledore, a smirk.

"Albus Dumbledore, you are such a...a...a barmy old fool!"

He raised his eyebrows. "Oh dear. Well I've been called worse than that." He smiled at her, and she glowered back.

Did he even realize what this was doing to her? Probably not. Well it was driving her crazy. He was teasing her. Playing with her feelings. Acting like he wanted to kiss her, then later, he would say it was only a joke, a game. Well she wouldn't let him do it to her.

The other part that was driving her crazy was the thought of kissing him period. The thought of his lips touching hers.....Oh, he'd kissed her on the cheek enough times, but even that made her turn red.

"Come now my dear," he said now. "I know I'm not Gilderoy Lockhart, but I'm not atrocious I don't believe."

She just stared at him. Was he being serious? Did he really plan on kissing her? She couldn't let him do it, then get hurt later. She wouldn't.

"Albus, I'm warning you, I have papers to do, and if I don't get them done.....I'll get very angry!"

She gave him her worst death glare, which was pretty bad-if you weren't Albus Dumbledore that is. For it didn't faze him at all.

"Now Minerva." He said rather sternly. "It said that if I broke one bracelet, I could kiss you for as long as I want, and I intend to do just that." He started to lean towards her while she looked at him with horror.

She leapt out of her chair and raced behind it. He got up and came after her. "Albus!" She shrieked.

"Yes?" He asked mildly.

"Leave me alone!" She exclaimed, going around to the side of the desk away from him.

He leapt after her and she ran around the desk again, ending up on the right side of it, in front of a wall.

He leapt after her again, and this time managed to grab a handful of her robes. She shrieked and tried to run away again, but he was too quick for her. He pushed her against the wall, and put his hands on her shoulders.

"There now," he said, smiling at her.

"Albus, you let me go, right this minute!" She raised her hand to hit him on the shoulder, but he caught her wrist.

He held her hand and kissed the back of it.

"There," he said.

He dropped her hand and kissed her on the cheek, his beard bristling against her chin. He stepped back, and smiled at her.

She looked at him. Was that all he was going to do? She was torn between disappointment and relief. She stepped forward uncertainly. It was bad move. She should have stepped sideways. Now she was just as close to him as she had been before, and that was a dangerous place to be. The top of her head came up to his chin, and she looked up into his kind, sparkling, and happy blue eyes. He looked at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled. He raised his eyebrows at her and tilted his head. Her breath caught, and she stepped back, her back flush with the wall.

"Oh, no, Albus!" She protested as he stepped closer to her again. "You already kissed me!"

He merely raised his eyebrows again. "It said I could kiss you for as long as I wanted." He said. "And I'm not done yet."

Her eyes widened. "But-I-You......" She didn't know what to say.

Albus shushed her. "Shhh. You know what it said." And he winked at her.

She suddenly felt angry. She had thought for a moment thought this was all real. But now she knew it was a game, and she definitely didn't want to kiss him now.

Albus was watching her. 'If she would just let me kiss her she wouldn't have to be so worried.' He thought. 'Ah well, I'll just have to do it.'

And when she opened her mouth to say something, he leaned forward and pressed his lips firmly against hers.

Minerva was frozen. He had done just what she hadn't wanted him to do, and it was having just the effect on her that she had thought it would.

He gently nibbled on her bottom lip, licking her lips, and pressing his lips to hers often and softly. She couldn't move, could hardly breathe, and if he hadn't put his arms around her just now, she might have slipped into another world completely. Suddenly, without hardly realizing it, she was kissing him back. She didn't want to, she couldn't! She put her hands on his chest to push him away, and opened her mouth slightly to protest. He deftly slipped his tongue into her mouth, taking advantage of that, and if her mouth hadn't been covered, she would have gasped. She kissed him back hesitantly, but not reluctantly before a soft moan came from her throat.

She didn't want this.......She really wanted this......She felt him smiling on her mouth, and somewhere in the recesses of her mind she thought: 'what is he smiling about?' But she could only kiss him harder. She leaned towards him, and her arms, against her wishes, went up and around his neck.

He gripped her waist tightly, holding her to him. As his mouth moved on hers, he thought about how strange it felt to be kissing his DEPUTY HEADMISTRESS, as if they were two teenagers, and then he heard her moan lightly beneath him. And he wondered at his ability to make her do that. And when he thought that, he couldn't help but smile against her lips. But when she kissed him harder and leaned on him, his breath caught. The feeling of kissing her was amazing. The feeling of their lips together, of her being in his arms......

After what seemed to be both an eternity and a brief second, they broke apart, breathing heavily. They stared at each other, unable to look away. Minerva's hair was mussed, and Albus' glasses were askew.

"Albus," Minerva gasped. "I-I......"

"Shhh......." He whispered. He put his finger on her lips. "I need to know something."

She swallowed visibly, and looked up at him her eyes wide. "Yes?" Her voice was slightly hoarse.

Albus studied her face, and then said in a low voice: "Did you enjoy that?"

She stared at him. She hadn't expected that. "I......." The answer was yes. Yes, yes she enjoyed it. From the moment he started to tilt his head towards hers, her stomach had been doing flips. He waited for an answer patiently. Minerva swallowed again. What if she said yes? Then would he tell her he didn't enjoy it? And what if she said no? Would his feelings be hurt? Oh well, Minerva McGonagall didn't lie. Especially not to old and very good friends, and not to the Headmaster, and when you came down to it, her boss.

The last thought was what caused her to say what she said next: "Yes, sir."

His eyes widened. For two reasons. Two words: Yes, and sir. The first thought that went through his mind was: 'Sir? She called me sir? The last time she called me that was the first day we met!' And the second thought that ran through his mind was: 'Wait, what? Yes?' He had the strangest urge to jump up and down. He laughed slightly.

"Minerva.......Sir?"

She looked at the floor, not the stern, uptight Professor McGonagall the students knew her as. He tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes.

"Minerva, what are you afraid of?"

She stared back at him. "You." She whispered truthfully.

Albus didn't know what to say. "Why?" He asked her finally.

She swallowed a third time, but didn't answer.

"Minerva?" He prodded gently.

She shook her head silently.

"Min-" He started, but she tore away from him and walked across the room to stand by the window.

"I'm afraid of you," She said haltingly, "and my love for you."

He was silent.

Minerva bit back her tears, and tried to control her wavering voice. "I have loved you for years now, and that, that kiss ruined everything."

Albus was confused, but he still didn't say anything.

She turned to face him, tears running down her face. "I didn't want to kiss you Albus. Oh I didn't. Because I didn't want....to-to get hurt. I knew that you'd just joke around about it afterwards, and I would forever be haunted knowing that the one kiss I shared with you was not because of your love, but because of a game. Then the kiss.......I let it go too far Albus, I'm sorry." She had been looking at the floor during this little speech and didn't look into his face. She couldn't, she just couldn't see the look of pity there.

Albus was shocked. He was speechless even. For the first time in his life, he was speechless.

He walked in front of Minerva, but she kept her eyes on the floor. Her heart stopped when she saw his feet appear only inches from hers. He tilted her chin up. "Minerva." He whispered, his long nose centimeters from her own. "I wouldn't have broken the bracelet, never even have bought them if I didn't plan on using them." He leaned closer to her, his nose touching hers. Her breath quickened. He tilted his head to whisper in her ear. "And you're the only one I wanted to use them on." He pressed his lips against her cheek, enjoying the feeling of her skin. He moved down and kissed her jawline, heard her gasp. He smiled against her skin again, and this time, she pushed him away.

"Why are you smiling?" She asked him suspiciously.

He smiled at her now, and kissed her forehead. "Better now?" He asked her.

She glared at him. "Albus, I want to know. Why did you smile? That's two times now! What are you keeping from me?"

Albus pretended to look hurt. "My dear, I wouldn't-" He stopped when she stepped on his foot. "Well first, I want to know if you were telling the truth. About what you said-that you loved me." He looked at her seriously from over top his spectacles.

She flushed. "Yes." She said it stoicly this time, looking him straight in the eye. "I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you." She smiled faintly. "I really do." She whispered.

Albus grinned widely at her, his eyes crinkling and twinkling. "Good," was all he said.

She looked at him suspiciously again. "Why did you smile?"

He raised his eyebrows. "For several reasons. One, I was happy to be with you, two, I love you, three, I seem to have an affect on you that I find quite endearing, and four," He laughed. "Four, you smell like chocolate and peppermint."

She stared at him, bewildered.

"Oh yes, and five," He continued. "Five, because there are people hidden all in the room watching me snog you."

"Albus!" She shrieked.

He laughed. "That was a joke dear."

She shook her head. Then after a moment of thoughtful silence, she walked up to him, took off a bracelet and put it on his wrist. He looked at it for a second then looked at her. She grinned up at him, and pulling hard on the bracelet with both hands, broke it into two stretched out pieces.

Albus started.

Minerva pulled his head down, and gave him a long hard kiss. When they broke apart, she sighed happily. "I've always wanted to do that."

Albus threw his head back and laughed, the light reflecting off his spectacles. He pulled her tight to him in a hug. "I don't know why I never told you before," he said in his deep voice. "I was scared I suppose. Scared that you would stare at me, then become horrified at the thought. I had no idea you felt the same way."

"So what made you want to let me know?" Minerva asked.

Albus laughed again. 'I figured that the bracelets here," he tugged on one. "Would give me an excuse to 'Snog you for as long as I wanted.' Which I have wanted to do for a very long time." He winked at her.

"So how long would you?" She asked him.

"Would I what?"

She pulled the pins out of her bun, letting her hair fall. "How long, if you had as long as you wanted, would you kiss me?"

Albus smiled and stroked her hair. "Until the people watching us went away."

"Albus!"

"I was joking, dear, joking. If I had as long as I wanted, I don't think I'd ever stop." He smiled down at her.

Her breath was utterly taken away. "Is this real?" She whispered.

Albus smiled. "No. I'm a figment of your imagination, and none of this is real."

She put a hand on his cheek. "Albus Dumbledore, what am I to do with you?" She asked softly, searching his eyes.

He put his hand over hers, then leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Nothing at all my dear, nothing at all." The clock over the door chimed 12 times. He pulled away from her. "It's getting late Minerva, perhaps you'd better be off."

She nodded reluctantly. "Goodnight, Albus."

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The next morning, Minerva sat up straight in her bed. "Was it real?" She asked herself. She leaned over and put on her stern looking glasses. She hurriedly hopped out of bed and dressed quickly in her usual Emerald green robes, and pulled her black hair, now speckled with grey into a tight bun, remembering, what now seemed like a dream, the night before when she'd let her hair down. She quickly pulled on and laced her black leather boots and looked in the mirror. She hurrumphed at her image. She looked like an old schoolteacher. She nearly laughed at that. That's what she was, wasn't she? She quickly sprayed perfume on her hair and neck, and pinned a necklace about her throat. She was dressing up.......For Albus.

She ran out of her chambers and down hallways and stairs. She passed a clock and looked at it. She was amazed. She was late for breakfast! She hadn't been late for breakfast in years. She hurried down the main staircase and skidded the last few feet across the entrance hall to the doors of the great hall. She opened the doors, and as the huge hinges creaked, the entire student body and school staff looked up. Minerva McGonagall was twenty minutes late for breakfast, and according to the rules, breakfast could not be started until both the Headmaster and Headmistress were at the table. Minerva looked up at the staff table. The Headmaster wasn't there yet. She did a double take. Albus wasn't there yet?! He had never been late to breakfast, even when he was sick. She took her usual seat in-between his chair and Severus Snape.

The students and staff stared at her. When she sat down, Severus leaned over and asked: "Where have you been? And where's the Headmaster?"

Minerva shook her head. "I was......up late last night, and I don't know where Albus is."

At that moment, Albus Dumbledore himself walked in the doors. Minerva felt her breath catch, and Severus looked at her, a knowing look on his pale face.

Albus walked between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff house tables and walked up to his seat in the middle of the staff table, right beside Minerva herself. She felt his purple robes brush aginst hers, and, she caught a whiff of his scent, a mixture of lemon, clean laundry, and fresh air. She took a deep breath to regain her composure, and then nearly lost it again when he smiled and nodded at her. She stared at him, and he winked.

Before he sat down, he cleared his throat. "Attention everyone!" He hadn't needed to call attention at all, every single pair of eyes was already focused on him. "I'm very sorry for the delay, as I'm sure all of you are very hungry. Enjoy your breakfast!" The food appeared on the golden plates adorning the tables and the students' low murmur turned to a dull roar as they began eating and discussing the strange lateness of both the Headmaster and his Mistress.

Professor Dumbledore sat down in his seat next to Minerva and took a deep breath. She smelled like chocolate and peppermints again, and...flowers. He turned and smiled at her. He really did wish she would let her hair down more often. It made her look so much more soft and kind. He offered her a basket of biscuits. She took one wordlessly.

Severus leaned behind Minerva to talk to the Headmaster. "Where were you?" He asked. "You've never been late, not since I've been here anyways."

"He's never been late period!" Minerva snapped. "And why don't you mind your own business?"

Severus stared at her, and Dumbledore tried to hide his grin.

"I didn't ask you!" Severus exclaimed indignantly. "And why are you so defensive? You were late too-were you two together?"

Minerva's cheeks turned pink, and she refused to answer. She still wasn't sure if she'd been dreaming or not.

"You were, weren't you?" Severus asked. He had the whole of the staff table watching them with curiosity now. "If you weren't together this morning, then you must have been last night." He groaned and passed his hand over his eyes. "Oh, oh, bad image. Oh that was not good." He pushed his plate away.

Dumbledore chuckled and Minerva herself had a hard time biting back a laugh. The other teachers groaned after a moment as well. "Gee thanks, Severus," Professor Vector said dryly.

"Now, now," said Dumbledore. "The thought of Minerva and I together isn't such a bad thought, is it?" He put his arm around her shoulders.

Minerva groaned. Professor Sprout shook her head. "It's not the thought of you two together that bothers us, it's the thought of you two-" She shuddered and pushed her plate away like Severus had done.

Albus laughed outright. He found the situation amusing. He kissed Minerva on the cheek. "Does that bother any of you?" He said a little loudly. A few students had noticed the kiss and Dumbledore's voice and whispering spread like wildfire. Soon, all attention was focused on the staff table, although the staff themselves didn't notice.

Madame Pomfrey shook her head and laughed. "Why would a kiss on the cheek bother us any?"

Dumbledore's jaw twitched in an enormous effort to keep from grinning. McGonagall gave him a warning look. All of a sudden he put an arm around her waist, and pulled her into his lap. She gave a squeal of surprise. "Does this bother you?" He asked the staff, but the whole student congregation heard him. Most of the staff looked at each other, slightly uncertain before shaking their heads.

But Severus banged his head on the table. "Yes!" He moaned.

Albus grinned widely now. "Well," he said standing up and pulling McGonagall with him. Severus looked up. "Does this bother you?" Albus asked. And with that, he turned Minerva's head towards his own and kissed her fully on the mouth; his beard and mustache covering both of their mouths.

The whole of the great hall was dead silent except for the rustling of Albus' robes as he wrapped his arms around Minerva.

The students were staring in blatant fascination; and the staff were staring with disbelief, (except for Professor Flitwick who'd fallen out of his chair in shock.) Severus with his mouth hanging open. True enough, it was strange for teachers and students alike to see their Headmaster and Headmistress kiss. A kiss on the cheek was one thing; as Madame Pomfrey had said, it didn't bother them at all. But the kiss their Headmaster was laying on the Headmistress was not a simple kiss. True also, Minerva wasn't kissing him back, but the complete truth of that was that she was shocked. She knew the students were staring, she knew the staff was staring, and she was amazed that Albus would do such a thing.

'Well,' she thought 'I may as well give them something to stare at.' And with that, she put her arms around Albus' neck and kissed him back.

Even Severus couldn't look away then.

Later, someone asked who it was that started the clapping and cheering, catcalls and whistles, but no one ever found out. But Severus knew, as he was the one who started it. He later claimed that the sight of them kissing was a weird thing to see, but no one quite believed him.

A moment after the cheering began, Dumbledore pulled away from his Deputy. He smacked his lips and winked at her. "Pumpkin juice."

Her eyes widened, but she didn't say anything.

After a few minutes, Dumbledore raised his hands. "I do believe that it is time for classes to begin. See all of you at lunch!"

A few voices rang out: "Nice one Professors!" "Thanks for the snogging lesson Headmaster!" "We always knew you'd get together!"

The students (and teachers) had enough gossip to last them for weeks, and they dragged it out even longer then that. In fact laughter and joking about the incident lasted for years to come.

A few weeks later, Minerva and Severus were in the teachers' lounge having a late night cup of tea.

"So how long were you in love with him?" Severus asked Minerva, meaning of course, Dumbledore.

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Oh, mind your own business, Severus."

"But I want to know!" He insisted.

She sighed. "Oh I don't know, I've probably loved him since not long after I met him, but I didn't realize it until years later." She sighed. It's amazing how he's the first man to ever be interested in me in my entire life."

Severus stared at her. "What makes you think he was the only man to ever be interested in you in your entire life?"

Minerva sighed. "Because no other man came close to me. It was like they were afraid of me or something."

Severus snorted. He set his tea down and began laughing. He laughed so hard he was on the floor holding his stomach; tears streaming from his eyes. He laughed so hard and so long, that Minerva began to get angry,

"I really don't see what is so amusing about that!" She snapped, annoyed.

Severus finally began to calm down. "Minerva, I'm afraid to tell you that there were many men interested in you."

"Then why didn't they ever come near me?" She asked still slightly mad.

"Because they were afraid of you Minerva, or rather, the Headmaster."

Minerva was confused. "Why would their being scared of Albus have anything to do with me?"

Severus sighed and rolled his eyes. "Because they automatically assumed you and he were together. You were so close, even as teacher and student, that there were many rumors and speculations about the two of you. No man or boy dared to come near you, with you so close to him. They knew he was nice enough, but who knew what he would do if they got near his girl?"

Minerva blushed. "His girl? Ha. Funny how those rumors had no basis. Albus and I were simply friends until believe it or not, about three weeks ago."

Severus stared at her. "You're pulling my leg." He said matter-of-factly.

Minerva smiled. "No, I'm not. We never had a secret affair or anything, we didn't even know we loved each other until a few weeks ago."

Severus whistled. "Woo wee! I can hardly believe it. Took you long enough, don't you think?"

Minerva smiled. "You have no idea. I still can't believe that people thought Albus and I were together long before we even had a clue."

Severus shrugged. "Well, you didn't exactly flirt, but it was close to it, lots of teasing and joking around. You knew him better than you knew any other teacher, you were the only one who called him by his first name." He shrugged again. "Heck, I still don't even call him by his first name."

Minerva laughed. "I only wish we'd figured it out sooner. Ah well. At least we got together in the end!" She took a sip of her tea.

"There were other things that made people think you were together though," said Severus.

Minerva looked at him. "Oh really?"

"Yes. Things the Headmaster did. If any boy started talking about you around the him, he'd get a nasty look on his face, and be cranky all day."

"Really?" Minerva was surprised. "I never noticed."

"Of course you didn't!" Severus exclaimed. "That's just it. He was never cranky around you."

Minerva smiled at her new-found knowledge. 'Albus, you sweet, wonderful man.' She thought to herself.

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Minerva was nervous. Extremely nervous. It was four months later, and the great hall had been changed into a wedding chapel for her and Albus' wedding. She was right outside the doors, about to walk down the 'aisle' which had been laid between the house tables and up to the 'alter' where the staff table used to be. There was waiting a pastor and.......Albus himself. She hadn't seen him all day and assumed that he'd been busy with the preparations for the wedding. The Great Hall was already filled with students, families, and friends, and Minerva was alone. Her cue to walk into the great hall was when the doors opened and the music started. She was dressed in a white silk wedding gown, still a virgin even at her age, and her long dark brown hair fell down her back, the way Albus liked it.

She took a deep breath. 'Calm down Minerva. It wouldn't do to get sick on your wedding day.'

It was only a moment longer before the doors creaked open and the music began to play. Minerva took a deep breath and walked into the great hall. Children and adults alike gasped.

Albus Dumbledore stared and stared. She was beautiful. She looked up and met his eyes, and winked. He nearly fell over. 'I don't believe I've ever seen her wink,' he thought to himself. It seemed like forever before she finally reached his side, and when she did, she took hold of his hand. The minister began reading, and before either Albus or Minerva knew it it was time to put on the rings.

Severus was the best man, and Poppy Pomfrey, Minerva's closest friend besides Dumbledore himself was the maid of honor. Two first years, even as old as they were had the great honor of being the flower girl and ring bearer. The bridesmaids were all fellow teachers of Minerva's. The ring bearer brought the rings to the couple and they each took one. Taking turns they slipped them on each others fingers, repeating the vows.

"I now pronounce you, Husband and Wife."

Dumbledore had been waiting for that. He leaned down and gave Minerva a lingering kiss to the cheers of the crowd.

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Later that night, Minerva was sitting on the bed that she and Albus were to share, in her nightgown, brushing her hair. Dumbledore was changing into his long nightshirt. Suddenly Minerva felt the brush being taken out of her hand. Albus picked up her wrist and slipped some bracelets onto her arm. They were linked together. Minerva stared at them.

She looked up into Albus' twinkling eyes. "Albus Dumbledore, you wouldn't dare!"

He grabbed ahold of the looped bracelets. "Albus no!"

He yanked hard, and they broke, into pieces.

THE END