Chapter 4

That night Albus dreamed of lemon drops, at first he was chasing them in desperate circles. Then they turned, and with fiercesome looks on their faces, started to chase him, screaming in blood curdling voices, about how they wanted to turn him into candy. Suddenly Minerva swooped down on her broomstick, dressed in her old quidditch uniform, and rescued him, then kissed him passionately. When Albus woke up, he was holding his pillow in a tender embrace, and kissing it passionately. He wouldn't have minded so much, but it was very dusty, and he had to spend several minutes picking dust, and feathers, out of his teeth.

The next day, at breakfast in the great hall, all Albus could do was look at Minerva with longing on his face, and the light of love in his sparkling eyes. Minerva wore an emerald green robe and hat, which matched her eyes perfectly, a wisp of raven black hair showed beneath her hat. As Albus gazed at her enraptured by her elegance and beauty, he could only imagine how lovely she would look with her hair down. For a moment, he was tempted to cast a spell to free her hair, to tumble around her shoulders, but he knew it would only embarrass and anger her. He noticed how her lips shimmered, like red rose petals touched with morning dew, and longed to feel their caress on his mouth again. Albus couldn't help but adore Minerva with his eyes.

At the Gryffindor table, Harry Potter nudged Ron Weasley, and said. "Look at Dumbledore staring at McGonagall, I reckon he fancies her."

"Get real." Ron laughed. "Dumbledore's too old for things like that."

"I dunno..." Muttered Harry. "I'm sure he's in love with her, wouldn't it be cool if ..."

"You're dreaming mate, it's never going to happen." Ron answered.

Albus's attention was suddenly distracted by what was on the table in front of him. Instead of his normal bowl of chocolate sugar puffs, there was a vast bowl of gleaming, delicious looking lemon drops. Albus utterly failed to notice the mischevious glint in Minerva's eyes as she watched him, or the way she nudged Poppy, and they both grinned. Albus could feel his taste buds almost weeping in anticipation. He picked up his spoon eagerly, and took a vast mouthful of lemon drops, an expression of expectant delight on his face. Suddenly his expression changed to one of abject disappointment. He didn't have a vast mouthful of lemon drops, instead it was a mouthful of plain boring wholewheat cereal, and it didn't even have any sugar on it. Valiantly Albus continued to chew, though the expression of disgust on his face grew. Further along the table Minerva, Poppy, and Rolanda Hooch were in fits of barely controlled giggles, while the students looked curiously at the staff table, and wondered what was going on.

Mournfuly Albus finished his bowl of cereal. He would have loved to transfigure it into something tastier, but didn't quite dare to do so, with Minerva's eyes upon him. As he ate the rest of his meal, he could hear Minerva, Poppy, and Rolanda whispering from their seats, by the way they kept looking at him, he knew that doubtless Minerva had more plans for him. Albus sighed slightly, she certainly was inventive. As breakfast drew to a close, Albus slipped along the table, to where Minerva was just about to rise from her chair.

"A very clever trick my dear, and most amusing I'm sure." Albus said softly, with a twinkle in his eyes. "I must congratulate you on your cleverness so far, and your imagination, but how much longer do you intend to torment me in this way ? Not only am I deprived of my lemon drops, but I am also deprived of your kisses, and that my love is far far worse."

Minerva was tempted to forgive Albus. He looked so forlorn, like a puppy wanting a hug, but Poppy and Rolanda would never let her live it down, if she let Albus off the hook so easily. So Minerva put on her most stern face, and glared at Albus as though he was a first year Gryffindor who'd just broken a rule.

"Don't you try and charm me with those sugary words Albus Dumbledore, it isn't going to work." Minerva said, in the most fiercesome and determined voice she could muster. "And you can stop twinkling at me as well, it has absolutely no effect on me." Minerva knew that Albus probably knew that she was lying. She always had found his twinkle utterly irrisistable in every way, it was a twinkle that could melt her heart at 20 paces, but she wasn't going to let him know that - not yet anyway.

"But Minerva, I am not trying to charm you, not at all ..." Albus said, looking at her with eyes full of love and pleading.

"Of course you are." Minerva stated firmly. "Just like you twinkle on purpose, oh yes you do, don't play innocent with me. I'm absolutely convinced that you twinkle deliberately when it suits you." Minerva wasn't really totally convinced of this, but she did have her suspicions.

As Albus stared at her, unsure how to respond to her accusation, Minerva stuck her nose in the air, and swept off majestically down the hall. Just as she was about to go out of the door, she turned, looked back at Albus, and said. "You'll not get a single lemon drop untill I decide you've learned your lesson Albus Dumbledore."

Albus groaned, this was his second day without lemon drops, he knew it was silly, ridiculous even, but it was sheer torture being without them. When would Minerva relent ? 'I have to win her and my lemon drops back.' he said to himself. He was a determined man, a desperate man, desperate for lemon drops, and the blissfull kisses of his one true love.

As Severus Snape left the great hall, after breakfast, he found Albus standing in the entrance hall, staring into the mirror by the door, with a fixed expression on his face. As Severus watched, Albus started to close his eyes, and then open them again. He did this several times, with a worried intent expression on his face.

"What are you doing Albus ?" Severus asked, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.

"I'm trying to stop twinkling." Albus answered seriously.

Severus groaned, why was it that every conversation he had with Albus recently was so confusing ? He made a mental note to stop asking Albus what he was doing, perhaps it would be best to just stop asking questions altogether. So Severus said nothing, and hoped that Albus would change the subject, or better yet, go and find someone else to inflict his eccentricitys on.

"Do you think I twinkle deliberately ?" Albus asked thoughtfully.

Severus sighed, it seemed there was no avoiding the insanity, that seemed to be pervading Hogwarts these days. Hogwarts was normally a little crazy, but things recently had been even crazier, than the normal Hogwarts insanity.

"If you were twinkling deliberately, wouldn't you know you were doing it ?" Severus said, eventually

"I don't know." Albus replied. "Minerva seems to think that I twinkle on purpose, but if I am, then I don't know that I am, unless I'm doing it without knowing I'm doing it ..." Albus stopped, and looked utterly baffled.

"If you were doing it without knowing you were doing it, then you wouldn't be doing it on purpose would you ?" Said Severus logically.

"Really Severus, you're just confusing me now." Albus snapped, he really was becoming increasingly irritable, without his normal soothing lemon drops.

"I don't have time for this, I have a potions class to teach." Severus snapped back.

As Severus turned to go down the stairs to his dungeons, his attention was caught by Albus, who was spinning in circles in front of the mirror. Occasionally Albus would stop, and gaze at his reflection, then start spinning again. Snape's mouth fell open in shock as he watched Albus's antics. Albus seemed to have grown bored of going round and round. Now he kept turning his back on the mirror, taking a few steps, then jumping round to peer at himself intently.

'Don't ask, just dont ask.' Severus told himself frantically. 'You'll regret it if you do.' He couldn't resist his curiousity any longer though, he just had to ask.

"What in Merlin's name are you doing now ?" Severus asked irritably.

"Trying to catch myself twinkling of course." Albus answered matter of factly.

Severus groaned in despair, he knew he shouldn't have asked. "Thats it ! I give up." Severus growled and stalked off, his cloak billowing blackly around him.

"Give up on what, my dear Severus ? Severus ?" Although Severus had heard Albus's mystified voice, he pretended he hadn't heard and carried on walking. If he wasn't careful he'd end up as batty as the rest of them, Severus shuddered in horror at the thought.

Where ever Albus went that day, he seemed to see Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws eating lemon drops. Some from gleaming tartan tins, others from emerald green bags, that rustled in a way which made Albus's mouth water. It was obvious to Albus that Minerva had given everyone the lemon drops, doubtless with commands to eat them all over school. Whenever Albus tried to approach one of the students, they would hurry off, "Sorry sir, late for class," or "Quidditch practise, Sir, got to go." They would rush off so fast, that he didn't even get a chance, to ask them to share their lemon drops with him. Albus began to wonder if the students were avoiding him on purpose. By lunchtime, the entire school was full of the aroma of lemondrops, everywhere Albus went it tormented him, making his nostrills twitch longingly.

As Albus was leaving the great hall after lunch, he met Ginny Weasley walking along the passage. She didn't seem to be in any great hurry, as she ambled along, sucking on a lemon drop, with a bag full in her hands.

Ah my dear Miss Weasley, not in any particular hurry are you ? Albus said, smiling at her with sparkling eyes.

" Uhm ...No... Sir, " Ginny said, looking a little nervous. Vaguely Albus wondered why she was looking around, almost as though expecting someone to be watching her.

"I don't suppose you'd care to swap those delicious looking lemon drops for a whole bag of choocolate frogs would you ?" Albus asked eagerly.

Ginny blushed slightly and fidgeted uneasily, "I ... uhm ... sorry Sir ...but ..."

Suddenly the bag of lemon drops formed itself into a semblance of Minerva's face, assumed an expression of righteous fury, and bellowed. "Ginerva Weasley, you remember my orders. Don't you dare give Professor Dumbledore any lemon drops."

The entire hallway was filled with the sound of Minerva's voice, it seemed to reverberate round the high ceiling, echoing among the beams. Instinctively Albus and Ginny both clapped their hands over their ears, to shut out the noise.

"And take your hands off your ears when I'm shouting at you !" The bag yelled in outraged tones, then vanished with a loud pop. Albus could have sworn that, the bag was laughing at him as it vanished.

Even though the bag had stopped shouting, the echos of it's bellows could still be heard, and for a couple of minutes, all that Albus and Ginny could do was to wait for their ears to stop ringing, as they stood somewhat stunned.

"Are you all right my Dear ?" Albus finally asked, resisting an urge to shake his head to try, and clear the remaining ringing.

"Oh yes sir" Ginny said, and added, "Sorry about the lemon drops sir."

"Not at all, not at all." Albus replied, valiantly hiding his disappointment. "Here you are my Dear, you have these chocolate frogs." Albus smiled at Ginny as she thanked him, then made her way to classes.

Albus couldn't stand the smell of lemon drops any longer. He didn't want to smell them. He wanted to feel them dissolving slowly in his mouth, to taste the delicious combination of tartness, mingled with just a hint of sweetness. Albus wanted the heavenly pleasure of deciding whether to suck them, or crunch them. Albus groaned, thinking of how close he'd come to having some lemon drops, so near and yet so far.

He had to win his lemon drops back, and to do that he had to win Minerva. A blissfull smile crossed Albus's face, as he remembered how it'd felt to be kissed by her. Albus was desperate for a plan, but with the aroma of lemon drops all around him, he couldn't even begin to think straight. So he decided to take refuge in his office.

Once in his office, and having shut the door extremely firmly, Albus settled himself in a comfortable chair by the fire, and started to think of Minerva. Suddenly his nose began to twitch, and thoughts of Minerva slipped from his mind, as the heavenly aroma of lemon drops invaded his last sanctuary, teasing and tormenting him. Albus tried to shut the scent of lemon out using magic. It should have been easy, but it utterly failed to work, and he began to suspect that this was Minerva's doing. He sighed, he couldn't help but admire her skill and cunning.

Suddenly an idea popped into his head, as he remembered how he'd once watched a muggle film with Arthur Weasley. It'd been an old comedy, something called smackstick, no no, that wasn't it, slap stick, that was it. In the film, the muggles had been plagued by horrible smells, and had used strange wooden pegs on their noses to shut them out. He couldn't really remember what else had happened, it'd been a long time ago. Albus's eyes twinkled merrily, and drawing his wand, he caused a wooden peg to appear on the end of his nose.

"Ouch !" Albus yelped, as he felt the peg squeezing his nose tightly, in it's firm grip. Albus flapped frantically at his nose with his hands, trying to dislodge the peg.

"Ouch! Ouch!" Albus's eyes were starting to water, as the peg seemed to tighten it's grip, his nose was starting to throb unpleasantly.

"Owww! Ouch! Owww!" Albus's wand had become tangled in his robes, his nose felt as if it was on fire. All Albus could do was hop round his office saying Ouch. As he took one particularly large hop, the peg finally flew off his nose. Relieved Albus rubbed his nose, and wondered if it would ever be quite the same again. He was certain that if he just had one lemon drop, his nose would hurt far less. 'I have to get some lemon drops somehow.' He thought 'I'm just not the same without them, I'll never think of a way to win Minerva's heart without lemon drops.'

As the throbbing in his nose eased slightly, Albus had an idea. A merry smile of anticipation spread across his face, he would soon have some lemon drops. It was so simple, he couldn't understand why he hadnt thought of it sooner.

Author's Notes

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far, reviews are great incentive to keep writing and make writers smile, so please review.

Sorry about delay in updating, I thought I was inspired right after putting up chapter 3, scribbled loads of notes, then had a crisis of confidence. Decided I hated most of them, then couldn't decide any more what to use and what not to, I needed to take a break of a couple of weeks to get my head clear. I'm still not sure about this chapter, but it's the best I can do, and it's kind of a build up to chapter five, which I hope will be funnier.

I think there will probably be two or three more chapters, mainly humour with a touch of romance.