1Chapter 3
Albus's Musings
As Albus continued his slow trek up the stairs, he continued to ponder why Horace would ask Minerva to go to the ball with him. It wasn't as if Minerva was beautiful, or lovely, as Horace had put it, Albus added bitterly. At least he'd never thought of her that way. He supposed she had some charms, her eyes were bright and her features were not un-fair, but she was his Minerva, his best-friend, not Horace's.
That was what truly bothered him. They always went together. Why would she agree to go with Horace? What if she was in love with him? The image made him laugh. Minerva, his smart, funny Minerva in love with Horace Slughorn. It was comical.
And Horace, what was Horace thinking asking his Minerva to the ball? He should know better. He'd worked at the castle long enough to know not to try to come between the headmaster and his deputy and best friend. Why would Horace do that? Could he truly be attracted to Minerva? It was impossible. Minerva wasn't attractive...and yet, what if she was attractive, and Horace thought so and everyone thought so except for him? No, that was silly...or was it? Memories began to flow unbidden into Albus's mind.
There was the time years ago, before Armando's death, when he had commented on Albus's relationship with Minerva and the amount of time that they spent together. Albus had managed to assure him that they were only friends, that he would never think of Minerva like that. She wasn't that sort of woman. They were friends. She was his equal. She was a buddy, a pal. Armando had commented that none of his friends had figures like Minerva's or such lovely features. Albus had laughed it off as a joke at the time, but what if it wasn't a joke? What if Armando really thought that Minerva was beautiful?
Then he remembered the time, right after Minerva began teaching, when he had caught two Gryffindors walking through the corridors talking about their new head of house's ample curves, and how they wished they'd taken their NEWTS in Transfiguration. He had escorted them both to his office, given them each a week's worth of detentions and taken fifty house points from each of them. In retrospect, it may have been a tad harsh.
Then he remembered the time that he and Minerva had been staying at the castle for the summer, around 1957, and they had traveled into Hogsmeade for the afternoon. They had gone to get ice cream, and were walking down the street when they ran into Albus's brother Aberforth. Albus had introduced Minerva and Aberforth, and Minerva excused herself to go run an errand. After Minerva left, Aberforth gestured to a bench and they sat down.
"So, brother," Aberforth asked "that's the women you write all those books with?"
"Why, yes. Minerva and I are partners."
"In what capacity?" Aberforth asked with a slight smirk.
"What do you mean?" Albus asked.
"Just that you two probably had some entertaining moments between chapters..."
"Oh, you mean like two characters in a novel, who are perceived in one light by the protagonist, and therefore only seen in one way, but they do a lot of things between the chapters." Albus said with a smile. "Yes, we are a bit like that. We played a lot of chess during our breaks."
"Is that what they're calling it now?" Aberforth asked with a smirk. "I know I'd sure like to play a lot of chess with her." Aberforth said raising his eyebrow.
Albus didn't have time to respond, however, as Minerva had returned with a box of Ginger Newts and a bag of Lemon Drops for him.
Albus sighed as he stood outside Minerva's door. There was no point pondering it further. It was as it was, Minerva would be attending the ball with Slughorn, and he would just have to find himself a real date.
