1Chapter 7

Dinner with the Flammels

The moon shone brightly down upon Albus and Minerva as they arrived at the Flammels

doorstop. Minerva exhaled a breath that she didn't fully realized she'd been holding. Albus smiled, and turned toward her, running his hands down over her arms.

"It's going to be fine, Minerva. They're going to love you."

Minerva lifted his eyes to his shyly, and smiled sheepishly, "I know that it's silly, but I really want to make a good impression."

Albus felt a pang of guilt that he hadn't introduced her to the Flammels and that she was now so very nervous about meeting them. Her nervousness was rather touching. "I've talked about you so much these last few years that they probably feel that they already know you," he said playfully, a grin spreading across his features, as his eyes twinkled madly.

Suddenly the door opened, and a short, slightly plump witch with cropped grey hair stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. "Albus Dumbledore, don't you know that it's rude to hover in doorways? You're already late. Get in here this instant." She chided him gently, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

Albus walked quickly into the house, saying, "Yes, Mam," with a playful grin and a mock salute, then he bent down and scooped the shorter woman up in his arms, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "It's nice to see you, Pernelle. Thank you for inviting us." As he let go of the older woman, a bouquet of roses appeared in his hand, which he handed to her with a flourish.

"Showoff!" Pernelle said, slapping Dumbledore playfully on the shoulder, and rolling her eyes at Minerva. "So, Dumbledore, I see your manners haven't recovered completely..." she said, gesturing to Minerva. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" She dragged the word friend out in a way that made Albus distinctly uncomfortable.

"Ah, yes, of course. Pernelle, this is Minerva McGonagall. Minerva this is Pernelle Flammel."

Pernelle smiled sweetly, and grasped a hold of Minerva's hand gently. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Minerva. Albus has told us so much about you, I feel that I already know you."

Albus cast a knowing glance at Minerva, and she quirked a grin at him in response.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Mrs. Flammel. I'm sorry that we were late. It was my fault entirely."

"Please call me Pernelle. And don't be silly. Albus is always late...it couldn't have possibly been your fault." Pernelle said shushing Minerva as she tried to respond. "Now, we should probably adjourn to the dining room. You two can have a seat while I go find Nicholas."

"He's in his study." Albus said. It wasn't a question.

Pernelle motioned for them to sit down at the table. "I left him there over an hour ago. He said he'd be right out...but you know Nicholas." With that she set off to collect her husband.

"So, what do you think of Pernelle?" Albus asked Minerva, and suddenly he felt almost as nervous as she had been earlier.

"She seems lovely." Minerva said with a genuine smile, as she rubbed Albus's hand lightly to reassure him. "I can't wait to meet Nicholas."

Albus smiled at her. "So, no more nerves?" He asked with a cheekish grin, and earned himself a playful shove in response.

Albus was about to tease Minerva further, when he heard Nicholas's distinct voice in the hallway. "I'm going. I'm going, Pernelle. You're going to kill me woman!" With that Nicholas entered the room, his wife playfully pushing him from behind.

"Oh, Albus, you've brought a friend." Nicholas said, circling around the table to embrace Albus quickly, before moving on to Minerva. "My dear wife didn't tell me that." He said shooting a glance at Pernelle. "Who is this lovely lady?" Nicholas asked grabbing a hold of Minerva's hand, and kissing the back of it galantly.

"Minerva McGonagall." Minerva said with a very slight curtsey.

"This is Minerva McGonagall?" Nicholas asked. "The Minerva McGonagall? Your Minerva McGonagall?" He said, turning to Albus. Then, turning back to Minerva, he said, "Well, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you that I feel as if I know you already."

This time it was Minerva who cast a knowing glance at Albus, and Albus who smiled in response.

"Let's sit down to dinner then, shall we?" Pernelle asked, gesturing for everyone to have a seat.

Dinner was a pleasant affair. Minerva fit easily into the conversation, and when Albus and the Flammels began to reminisce about their long friendship, Minerva found that she quite enjoyed leaning back and watching them interact.

They had dined on Haddock and steamed veggies, which had sparked an animated conversation. Albus had gently ribbed Minerva about the fact that they were having fish, and Minerva had elbowed him in response, which had prompted Pernelle to ask why it was so funny that they were having fish. Albus had explained that Minerva's animagus form was a cat, and that, as a result, she had a rather insatiable appetite for fish. The Flammels both found this quite funny, and Nicholas, in particular, found it interesting because he thought that it probably had implications either for the side-effects of one's animagus form, or the innate nature of a person and its application to one's animagus form. Minerva answered all of his questions on the subject easily, and referred him to a few articles that she'd written some years earlier on the subject. Albus watched the interaction with interest and pride. Minerva was so brilliant. She was able to hold a conversation with Nicholas easily and he knew that Nicholas was interested in talking to her, and that he would enjoy reading her articles immensely.

After Albus had finished his haddock, Minerva had reached over and scooped up a generous helping of veggies and deposited it on his place. Albus wrinkled his nose slightly in response and began to protest. "But, I already had berries for lunch, and I had some vegetables with my fish."

Minerva shook her head slightly, "You don't eat nearly enough vegetables, and you eat entirely too many sweets. Besides the only way I got you to eat those berries was by covering them with cream and sugar." She chided gently.

Albus stuck his fork into his vegetables, admitting his defeat. Pernelle and Nicholas had been casting each other glances throughout this entire exchange. Nicholas smiled, perhaps Albus had finally settled down with the right type of woman. Pernelle's thoughts differed slightly from her husband's...Minerva seemed to care for Albus and he seemed quite fond of her, but he had bristled when she'd insinuated that they were more than friends, and she knew Albus well enough to know that he almost never knew what was good for him.