A/N: Hey everyone! We're now in Harry's fourth year. This chapter follows the book pretty well, so nothing too different from canon. It wasn't really my intent for this chapter to get so angsty, but we can't be happy all the time, can we? I wish. But then it would be no fun to read. So please review and share your thoughts. Thanks so much and enjoy!

Chapter 37: Break-Up and Make-Up

November 1st, 1994

"Leave us, please." Albus' voice was cold and commanding. He glared at Minerva, and Minerva simply stared back at him, her lips so thin they nearly disappeared. Her chest was heaving and her fists were clenched in wrath.

Severus Snape and Alastor Moody, who until this point were discussing with the other two the consequences of Harry Potter's name coming out of the Goblet of Fire, moved across the office to the door. Snape closed it firmly behind him. As they descended down the stairs, an eruption of rage echoed from the Headmaster's office.

"YOU CANNOT ALLOW THIS, ALBUS!" Minerva shouted.

"Minerva, I have made my decision. I ask you to accept it." His tone was even but firm.

She knew he was very serious and very, very upset. But caught up in her anger, Minerva couldn't stop herself. "I will not allow you to use Harry as bait! I forbid it!"

Albus, always so calm and self-assured, finally lost his temper. "YOU FORBID IT!" he bellowed, "WHAT RIGHT HAVE YOU TO FORBID ME TO DO ANYTHING? I AM YOUR EMPLOYER AND YOUR SUPERIOR, AND YOU WILL TREAT ME AS SUCH!"

Minerva stared at him with wide eyes. She tried to keep up her strong front, but her voice fell to a low cadence. "You are also my husband."

That was when Albus saw the flicker of fear and despair in the emerald eyes of his wife. He was almost about to give in and take her into his arms to comfort her, but he stopped himself. Albus realized that for once, he had the upper hand in the argument. He used it to his advantage. "It seems you cannot function with me as both your husband and employer." He regretted the words as soon as they escaped his mouth; he knew they were false.

Minerva was shocked and her first response was vicious. "Then I suppose you ought to fire me or divorce me. I'll leave the decision to you." She turned and fled the office.

Albus stood and stared at the spot Minerva had just vacated. How could I have said those things to her? I swore I'd never let student business hurt my marriage ever again and here we are. Why couldn't I have stayed calm and explained my reasons to her? She would understand. Minerva always understands. How could I let my emotions run away with me?

But Albus knew that when it came to Minerva, his emotions always got in the way of his rational thoughts. Ever since she was a student, he had done foolish things to protect her or make her happy.

So maybe that's it. It is I who cannot function as her husband and employer. Where does that leave us?

Albus hurried upstairs to his private rooms to see Minerva. This was far too great a decision to make on his own. He needed to discuss it with her, as he should have earlier with regard to Harry entering the Triwizard Tournament.

Much to Albus' dismay, Minerva had sealed the stairwell between their rooms. She was lying on her bed, sobbing into her pillow. Minerva was afraid. Firstly, she feared for Harry. The Triwizard Tournament was not meant for a fourteen year old boy. And, whoever put his name in the Goblet obviously wanted him harmed. Minerva could not lose her last family member to more dark wizards.

And now Albus was angry with her. Beyond angry with her. She quite truly believed that when she saw him at breakfast the next morning, she would either be unmarried or out of a job. Neither idea appealed to her and both scared her beyond belief. She wanted desperately for Albus to burst through the door and hold her in his arms so she could beg for forgiveness.

Albus, if he really tried, could have reestablished the passage. But if she had gone to all the trouble of sealing it in the first place, she didn't want to see him. He would grant her that privacy.

Even so, Albus slumped down beside the locked door. "Minerva if you can hear me, please listen. We cannot do this again. This fighting will ruin us. If we argue this way, we cannot work together, and we cannot be married. But I can't do either of those things. Minerva, I appointed you my Deputy all those years ago because I cannot fathom being Headmaster without your help. And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that while I cannot work without you as my Deputy, I cannot live without you as my wife. I love you with all my heart and soul. I need you, Minerva, like I need air to breathe. Please just let me speak with you about Harry, calmly and rationally, and we can come to some sort of solution. Please, Minerva, I'll do anything."

His eloquent speech was wasted. Between the sealed passage and her own sobs, Minerva didn't hear one word. She cried herself to sleep without even changing into her nightgown. Albus didn't fare much better. He fell asleep on the ground against the door, waiting for Minerva to hear him.

Minerva went to breakfast the next morning and picked at her toast and eggs. Albus never arrived. She wasn't sure what this meant but she feared the worst. Obviously he didn't want to see her yet. Perhaps the damage she had done was too much.

Minerva McGonagall was a private person, never sharing her true feelings with anyone but Albus. But right now, she needed to talk to someone. She thankfully had a free period after breakfast, so she abandoned her half-eaten meal and went to the Hospital Wing.

Madam Pomfrey was remaking the hospital beds when Minerva came in.

"Poppy, have you got a minute?"

She looked up into her friend's sad green eyes. They were still bloodshot from crying. "Of course, Minerva. Come back into my office. Tea?"

Minerva followed Poppy to the back room. "Yes, please."

A moment later, they were sitting at the matron's desk, each clutching a teacup. "So what's happened? I assume you and Albus had an argument."

Minerva sighed. "Yes. About the Potter boy. Albus wants him to compete in the Tournament. And I think it's ridiculous to force a fourteen year old to risk his life this way!"

Poppy frowned. "That doesn't sound right. Albus would never force a student into danger. Surely he explained himself better than that?"

"Well I'm afraid I didn't really give him a chance…"

"Minerva, what did you do?" Poppy asked sharply.

"I think I said something along the lines of 'I forbid this to happen.'"

"Oh Minerva, you know you aren't in a position to say things like that!"

Minerva set down her tea in exasperation. "I know! I was just so angry, and you know my temper…"

"Yes, I do. And so does Albus. He surely didn't take you seriously, did he?"

Minerva nodded sadly. "I lost my temper and he lost his. We ended the argument with the realization that we cannot be married and remain colleagues. I left after telling him that the only solution would be for him to divorce me or fire me. I haven't seen him since."

"He can't believe that's what you really want."

"I hope so. But seeing as he's avoiding me, I can't be sure," Minerva replied sadly.

"This seems like when you both got so upset over Severus and James Potter with Lupin," Poppy observed.

"We didn't make things so personal then. But I won't let us avoid one another for weeks like we did then. We were both foolish during that argument. I won't be so stubborn this time. I can only hope that Albus will be receptive to my apology."

Poppy squeezed Minerva's hand comfortingly. "Everything will be fine. You love each other too much for it to end up otherwise."

Minerva wiped a stray tear from her eye. "Oh I can't bear to think about this any longer. Now what's new with you? It must be nice for you to have Alastor back in the castle."

Poppy's brow furrowed. "No, not really."

"Oh dear. Did something happen between you? Come to think of it, you haven't mentioned him in a very long time…"

"During the war, he was far too busy at the auror office. And he did tell me that our relationship could be dangerous during those times. It changed him. He used to be so gruff and stoic with everyone except me. With me, he was kind and attentive and very affectionate. The Alastor Moody teaching in this school is not the Alastor Moody I was in love with. He barely spares two words for me now. It's odd that I didn't really miss him during all those years we were apart, but having him so close but not with me just breaks my heart."

"It seems that neither of us is having luck with men at the moment. Perhaps you could speak to Alastor. Knowing him, he has no idea how he's hurting you."

"I don't think so. Our time is done, I'm afraid. It was wonderful while it lasted, but I have to let it go."

Minerva hugged her close. "I'm so sorry, Poppy."

"Thank you, Minerva. It was nice to finally be able to talk to someone. But I think you have a class to go to."

"Oh hell, you're right. Feel free to come see me anytime, Poppy."

Minerva got through her classes with little difficulty. She kept focused on her students and their lessons. She skipped lunch to mark some papers she had neglected to visit Poppy. Other than the fact that she was more terse than usual, no one could tell there was anything wrong.

No one, except Hermione Granger. As the fourth years left, she turned to Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. "Did you notice that McGonagall seems a bit worried?"

Ron stared at her incredulously. "No. She seemed fine. Why would she be worried?"

Minerva usually wasn't one to pay attention to student gossip, but these three always seemed to know more than they should. She followed them out of the classroom to hear the rest of the conversation.

"Ronald!" Hermione scolded. "Have you no intuition whatsoever? Harry's in the Triwizard Tournament! That's got to upset his Head of House. And Dumbledore wasn't at breakfast, but he looked miserable when she wasn't at lunch. Do you think they had a row?"

"Come off it, Hermione. There's nothing between McGonagall and Dumbledore. That's like saying there's something between you and me," Ron said sarcastically.

"Wrong, little brother." Fred Weasley appeared on Ron's left.

"What!"

"There is definitely something between McGonagall and Dumbledore. And I'd wager Hermione's right about their having a row," George answered on Ron's right.

"Yeah? How do you know?" Ron challenged.

Fred shrugged. "Simple. They slept in separate rooms last night."

"And how do you know that!" Hermione shrieked.

"Trade secret, Granger. Don't worry about it." George smiled and winked before he and his twin turned the corner and departed from the trio.

Harry, who had been silent up to this point, rolled his eyes. "They borrowed the map from me last night."

The three continued down the hallway, but Minerva was frozen in place. The students had no idea she had been following them. And Minerva had no idea that the students knew that she and Albus usually slept together. She sighed angrily. Wonderful. Another thing to discuss with Albus. Although if I get sacked or divorced, I suppose that will be a moot point.

Later in the evening, Minerva resigned herself to going to dinner. How would it look if the Deputy Headmistress skipped two meals in one day?

When she reached the Entrance Hall, Albus came behind her and grabbed her arm. She didn't protest when he led her up to his office and shut the door. Minerva was rather surprised, however, when he pulled her close and kissed her. She was far too shocked to respond.

From above, the angry voice of Phineas Nigellus Black rang out, "Oh please…"

"Shut up! No one's forcing you to be here!" Albus barked. His expression softened as he turned back to Minerva. "I'm so sorry, Minerva. My temper got out of hand. I should have never suggested that we cannot work together. The truth is, I can't work without you. And I have no intention of ever living without you as my wife. Can you forgive me?"

Minerva threw her arms around his neck and hugged him close. They didn't speak for several moments. She pulled away to speak. "It is I who should apologize, Albus. You know my temper. In anger, I said things to purposefully hurt you, and I'm so sorry."

He kissed her again, this time more tenderly, and she happily responded in kind. Albus held his wife in his arms and rested his forehead on hers to gaze into her eyes. "I'm glad we didn't carry this out for too long."

"I agree. But we do still have a problem."

Albus released her from his grasp. "Oh?"

"I still don't like the idea of Harry competing, Albus. But I know you wouldn't put him in danger without a good reason. I want to know your thinking, if you'll explain it to me."

He placed a sweet kiss on her nose. "Of course. I should have done that last night, for which I apologize. Let's go upstairs and talk. I'll call up for some dinner, seeing as we won't be dining in the Great Hall this evening."

Once their meal arrived, they sat comfortably on the sofa. "So why exactly are we purposefully risking the life of a fourteen year old boy who happens to be my only living relative?"

Albus frowned. "Minerva, please."

"I'm sorry. I really do want to understand."

"It's quite simple, actually. Someone put Harry's name in the Goblet. Someone wants him in the Tournament. If we let events take their course, we can find out who and why. Alastor will be keeping a close eye on everything. And you know I won't let harm come to any of the champions, especially Harry. We cannot protect him by sheltering him. The more he knows and the more freedom we give him, the better he can protect himself."

Minerva sighed and nuzzled up to Albus. "Alright, Albus. I understand now. I don't like it, but it's the best thing."

He leaned over to kiss her cheek. "Thank you. I regret that the circumstances are not more favorable, but we will have to make do with what we have."

Later that night, Albus and Minerva made up properly.

Up in Gryffindor Tower, the Weasley twins were proving to Harry, Ron, and Hermione that the Headmistress and his Deputy were indeed involved. Fred found the two dots on the Marauder's Map in Dumbledore's bedroom. They were one large dot with two labels. "Oh look, they're making up!"

Ron retched, Hermione insisted that it was very sweet, and Harry and George simply laughed.