A/N: Okay so I stuffed up, this is insanely short too. So... I'm actually gonna do three today lol Totalling all three up makes about 2000 and I feel weird giving you any less per day so there we are. Happy Sunday.
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Hermione had dropped the envelope on Mineva's desk between her morning classes the next day. She watched, disillusioned, from just inside the door as Minerva saw it and frowned, glancing around at a few of the straggling students. Hermione had second-guessed herself all night, but in the end, she'd just gone for it. If all that came of it was nothing, then it was still a nice gesture.
She couldn't stay for too long, but it was enough to see that Minerva was leary of it and immediately put it into her pocket for later. And to that end, according to the mutterings that swept around the castle, Headmistress McGonagall was in a bizarre mood for the rest of the day. By the time Hermione's own class rolled around at the end of the day she was on pins and needles. Hermione hoped beyond hope that because of the skill level of most of the class, Minerva might finally find time to open it.
She wasn't wrong. Hermione watched carefully, moving her mouth to pretend she was reciting the spell they were practising, while Mineva turned the envelope over in her hands. She looked up and Hermione just managed to look away in time, but after offering a little advice to a few of the other students, Minerva went back to the envelope. She seemed to suddenly make up her mind and slid her finger under the flap and tore it open.
It had occurred to Hermione that Mineva, still recovering from a war that finished not too long ago, might think it something insidious. So, she had taken great pains to explain what the gift was, in the letter inside. She just hoped the woman read it properly and took the time to understand the gesture.
Hermione watched from behind her book as Minerva did just that, her eyes skimmed over the letter and then the certificate. Minerva frowned, then read it again and after that, read it again. By the time she'd read it the third time, she shook her head as she came to the bottom. Hermione had done her level best to disguise her handwriting and when Minerva didn't look up, directly into her eyes, she knew she'd succeeded but now she had to hope she'd done enough to put the woman at ease. She'd set out all the reasons she knew Minerva wouldn't trust it to be innocent, but explained that the certificate was valid for whatever day she liked and the address of the restaurant so she could scope it out first.
She had explained that Minerva should ask for Matt and that he would be discreet, though he would greet her knowing who she was.
Hermione almost giggled at the puzzled look on Mineva's face. It would probably take her a while to scope out the place and try to figure out who sent it, but she wasn't worried. She'd give Mineva some space and let her enjoy her alone time with her wife and perhaps once she'd graduated, Hermione would tell her that her secret wasn't too much of a secret anymore.