Two:

She didn't know why, but the next day Minerva made more of an effort with her appearance then she ever had. She made sure her dark hair shone and fell in graceful curls past her shoulders and that her creamy skin was without blemishes. She wore emerald green robes that made her florescent eyes sparkle and she couldn't help but smile, making her face glow pleasantly. All the fear and embarrassment of the night before had nearly been forgotten and she found herself so excited that she couldn't hardly eat anything at lunch.

She wasn't sure why she was so excited. All it was was another lesson with her professor, a lesson with the same professor that had taught her for seven years and yet... it wasn't the same. She hadn't noticed how lovely he was, how kind, how... he had saved her, he had helped her and now she couldn't help but wonder how she hadn't noticed him before. Well, she had, she had noticed him look at her over his spectacles or smile more broadly when she achieved something spectacular. He obviously noticed her for he knew how she took her tea and he had been following Tom Riddle since he had noticed that Riddle had been following her... he cared and she had been to wrapped up in her need to be better than Riddle himself to notice it.

As the Great Hall began to empty after lunch and those old enough began to file into the courtyard ready to leave for Hogsmeade, Minerva made her way to Professor Dumbledore's sitting room, her legs carrying her too slowly. She nearly forgot herself and skipped as she jumped down from the bottom step of the staircase. Her heart was pounding, her stomach turning with a splendid mixture of nerves and excitement.

"Ah, your early," he smiled as he opened the door for her. "I've only just this minute finished eating," he added apologetically, his eyes on the empty plate that sat on the table.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I ate quicker than I thought, I can come back..."

"No, no, it wouldn't matter if I hadn't finished, I just apologise for the mess."

Minerva laughed. "Don't be silly, now, do I sit to learn this, or is it better if I stand?"

"Sit, sit, it isn't as practical as you might think, there is a lot of theory too," he said as he waited for her to sit down before he decided where he should sit. He chose the other end of the red couch, a safe distance away from her.

She had upright, looking expectantly at him. "Have you any books? I didn't bring mine, they didn't contain a lot of information, I thought and they most probably would have been rather useless, I have read them though..."

He couldn't concentrate on her words properly. When she spoke, her mouth moved into such mesmerising shapes and her voice was soft, entrancing. She looked wonderful- and he hated himself for the thought. She was young, she was brilliant... she was his student. It was wrong, everything was wrong- why couldn't he stop himself from loving her? It wasn't just attraction, he knew, it was love. She was so bright, so talented, so beautiful... he didn't simply want her, he wanted her with him, always. He wanted to give her everything, to make her realise how amazing she was. He loved her and although he shouldn't, he couldn't help it and he detested himself for it.

When Tom Riddle had began to pay particular attention to her, Albus had made it his business to follow him wherever he went. After the fiasco with the Chamber of Secrets, Albus hadn't trusted him anyway but when it came to Minerva- she was quick, she was powerful but Tom was cunning. He would overpower her somehow, no doubt he had planned it all before, and he had done the night before. If Albus hadn't of arrived, if he hadn't of been there for some reason... he shuddered slightly. He hoped that he had scared Riddle off enough to keep him away from Minerva until the end of the year, then all would part and would never have to cross paths again.

"Are you alright after last night?" He asked.

Minerva stopped, her eyes slightly wider with shock. "Yes, I'm fine. Honestly, if he hadn't taken my wand, I wouldn't have been frightened at all. I don't think I thanked you last night, Professor, but I do now."

"No need, my dear, I don't like Riddle and I certainly don't like Riddle being near you-" He stopped. He shouldn't have said that and by the sharp intake of breath that came from Minerva he knew that he had overstepped the mark. "I'm sorry, I wouldn't want to offend you-"

"You haven't offended me," she said quickly. "I was shocked that you would say that to me that's all. It's nice... I like honesty."

He raised his eyebrows. "You wouldn't like honestly from me, Miss Mcgonagall, it would be-"

"Honesty makes everything clear, don't you think? If everything is put on the table, we all know where we stand," she didn't know how she could be so brazen but what she said was true. She believed in honesty, that way she would never look like a fool in front of anybody- and she hated to look like a fool.

"I see your point but sometimes... sometimes the truth is too terrible," he said softly. "I couldn't tell you, Minerva, even if I wanted to, it would be-"

"You don't call me Minerva much," she observed. "Unless your being Albus instead of Professor Dumbledore."

"And you don't call me Albus much."

"You won't let me," she said simply. "One doesn't call their professor by their given name but one does call their... friend by their given name."

"Friend?"

"Yes. Didn't you know? A professor doesn't simply follow one student around to make sure that she is safe, I'm not just a student, and you are not just a professor," she had taken a chance. He hadn't explicitly said that she was more than a student but she thought that he did and she wanted to know if she were right.

"Maybe," he said hazily. "Maybe, but, even if it were so... it just couldn't be, my dear."

Minerva sighed, exasperated. "Your ridiculous. You skirt around the subject rather than just hitting it head on. Well, I'll get right to the point, as I find bluntness the only way to manage such things. I know how you feel about me and let me tell you, I do not think it wrong or taboo. If you thought of me as an object than, of course, I would be offended but I know that's not how you feel at all. I must admit that I have been... rather foolish. I haven't been able to see it before, I hardly noticed but after last night... after the fear I heard in your voice as you bellowed at Tom, when I saw the despair in your eyes as you helped me from the stone ground. I realise now that I love you as much as you love me. You can believe that, let me assure you, for I wouldn't say such... whimsical words without meaning. It doesn't matter to me that you are my professor, it doesn't matter to me that discretion is needed if we were to... embark on an relationship. I understand that more than my fellow students might."

Albus couldn't speak. Here she was, telling him everything he had dreamed and yet he couldn't have it. It was wrong, it was-

"Don't pull that face. Please speak to me," Minerva said plainly. "I have to know if I have just made a fool of myself."

"You could never make a fool of yourself, my dear," he said quietly. "You'll never be a fool."

"I don't want compliments, Albus," she said angrily. "I want the truth."

"I can't give you the truth, it wouldn't be appropriate-"

"Oh, damn what is appropriate!" She shouted, rising to her feet. "I thought that you were like me but I see that you are just as frightened of the truth as every person that I meet. I don't care about what other people think- what happens between us is our affair!"

"And if we get caught?"

"Oh, I see, your worried about your job, your reputation! Love doesn't matter a thing against that-"

"It is not my reputation that I care about!" Albus shouted. "It is yours! I couldn't be the cause of that stigma being attached to you! It would ruin your life- it would stop you from achieving-"

"Oh, Albus, please!" Minerva rolled her eyes. "Nobody will find out. I'm not about to parade out of this room naked as a baby the day it is born am I? I know the meaning of discretion! But, if I am not enough, if you cannot, then I'll go. I thank you for the offer of teaching me but perhaps it is better that I teach myself, have a nice-"

"Oh, what am I doing?" Albus cried as he pulled Minerva to him and kissed her hard on the mouth. As they pulled apart he said, "Now I know I've lost my mind."

Minerva chuckled as she pushed herself against him once more and pulled his lips to hers.