Disclaimer: None of the recognizable characters and settings belong to me. They are all the intellectual property of J.K. Rowling. I'm just playing around with them for the fun of it…no monetary gain is sought.
This story is dedicated to scattered logic for her cherished friendship and all her invaluable help.
Chapter Six: Reminders
From the depths of a cozy armchair, Minerva sat and sipped her tea and listened somewhat distractedly as Irma went on about her plans to purchase herself a familiar.
"I've always wanted a cat, but the castle is so overrun with them that I hesitate. An owl is certainly practical, but it's, by nature, not terribly cuddly, and I do think I want something to cuddle up with me occasionally. Something willing to share a little warmth and affection. What do you think, Minerva? Should I get a cat or an owl?"
She peered at her friend expectantly, and Minerva peered back, guiltily realizing that she hadn't actually been paying any attention at all to the substance of the conversation.
"Uh…I'm not sure," the Deputy Headmistress temporized.
Irma laughed shortly and took a sip of her tea. "Well, that's not exactly helpful. If neither of us can decide, how am I ever to choose?"
"I'm sorry." This was getting embarrassing. She had to stop her mind from wandering off on its own. It was only getting her into trouble and was certainly solving nothing.
"Oh, that's all right." Irma waved a hand dismissively. "I think I've pretty much decided that I'm going to get a cat anyway. As I said, I won't get the same sort of affection from an owl, and I really seldom need the services of a messenger anyway. After all, I can always use one of the school owls, if I need to."
"True. Though cats aren't always the most affectionate of animals," Minerva admitted reluctantly.
Irma smiled. "Well, I'm sure that you'd know much more about that than I would, but they'd have to be better than a toad or a rat." She shivered with distaste.
Then, taking a good look at her friend's pale face, the librarian sat back, frowning slightly with concern. "Minerva, what is the matter? And don't tell me nothing. I'm not blind. You were upset last night, and you're still upset today. After knowing you for all these years, I can certainly tell when something's bothering you. I know you said that you and Severus didn't argue, but you've been spending an awful lot of time with him lately; and arguing comes as naturally as breathing to that man. Are you sure that you haven't had a disagreement about something?"
Minerva shook her head. "No. I have not had an argument with Severus, nor with anyone else. I'm fine, really I am. I'm just a little concerned about this representative from the Board of Governors who's coming to inspect us. After all the trouble we had last year with Dolores Umbridge, and the constant decrees from the Ministry of Magic, I'm simply a bit wary."
Irma nodded. "Yes, I've heard that they're sending someone to look us over. Honestly, you'd think we were prized animals being fattened up for slaughter. I just hope that this time those inspecting us truly want to help us succeed instead of simply trying to make us fail so they can swoop in and take over."
As Minerva nodded in agreement, a harsh voice suddenly whispered in her ear, "If it turns into another failure…I suppose that the best that I can hope for is that she doesn't survive this time." With a slight gasp, the startled witch sat up straighter and shook her head to clear it.
Guiltily, she glanced at her companion, but Irma was reaching for a tea cake and hadn't notice her friend's momentary distraction. "Will the person from the Board of Governors be inspecting the classes the way that Umbridge did?" Irma asked curiously, as she made her selection and looked up once more.
Forcing her attention back to the conversation, Minerva struggled to answer. "Uh…I don't actually know, but I assume so. The man will be here for a couple of weeks apparently, so I'd certainly imagine that he'd want to observe classes. Albus wasn't really given any particulars as to what form the inspection will take. I'm not sure that he knows himself."
"Do you know who they're sending?" Irma asked curiously.
She'd been afraid that this question would come up. How should she answer? Honestly, but as briefly as possible, would probably be the best choice.
"Yes. Albus received a letter yesterday. The representative who's coming is a man named Ian Standish."
Irma frowned in consideration. "Never heard of him. Well, I suppose that we'll find out what he's like soon enough."
Hands tightened around Minerva's throat…squeezing tightly with rage. A roaring redness blanketed her vision.
"Minerva?" A voice penetrated her consciousness and brought her abruptly back to the here and now with a lurch.
"What?" she asked faintly as she raised a hand to toy with the lace collar at her throat.
"I said, I suppose that we'll find out what this Ian Standish is like soon enough," repeated Irma with concern.
"Yes. I suppose we will," agreed Minerva softly, though she prayed that no one here would ever really have to know what he was like.
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With hesitant steps, Minerva approached Snape's door a bit reluctantly. If she could've gotten out of coming this evening, she would have. However, she knew that he'd be expecting her, and if she didn't show up there was a very good chance that he'd just find some way to track her down. Then he'd be annoyed on top of everything else, so there really wasn't much point in trying to avoid him.
She wasn't looking forward to the conversation though. What were the odds that Ian's name wouldn't come up within the first five minutes of her visit? Not worth betting on, that's for sure.
Oh, well, she was here now. Might as well get it over with. She raised her hand and knocked firmly on the door. It was barely a breath before the door opened, and Severus stood there staring at her. He must have been waiting for her in order to answer that swiftly.
The Potions master smiled a knowing smile. "Ah, Minerva. I wasn't sure that you'd come this evening." He stepped back and gestured for her to enter his rooms.
She stepped inside and waited for him to close the door behind her. It was obvious why he hadn't been sure that she'd come; she almost hadn't, after all, but she'd be damned if she was going to make it too easy on him by asking why he'd think that. Instead, she thought she'd try an opening gambit of her own.
"You're looking very well this evening, Severus." And indeed he was. He seemed to be moving much more easily. No more sweat beaded skin, no more tightly drawn mouth and ashen lipped face. In fact, he looked very relaxed and well rested. Much more like his old self.
For the first time since he'd been injured, he was actually dressed. Instead of pajamas and a dressing gown, he wore dark slacks and a white button down shirt. Not his usual more formal attire, granted, but surely a step up from what he'd been forced to live in for the last month.
"May I assume from the fact that you're wearing day clothes that you've been up and around all day today?" she asked pleasantly.
He inclined his head and stepped closer. "You may indeed. Poppy has finally seen the light, thanks to Albus' intervention, I believe. I have been approved to return to a reduced teaching schedule beginning tomorrow." A small frown crossed his face as he uttered the word reduced.
"That's wonderful. I'm sure that you must be very happy about that. What is Poppy allowing you to manage?"
His frown deepened, and his voice echoed his contempt. "I'm to be allowed to teach half days for the remainder of the week. Then she said that she'd reevaluate. She won't find anything to complain about though, no matter how hard she looks. I feel perfectly fine. I'd be well able to handle a full class load if she wasn't so overly cautious."
Minerva smiled in understanding. "Poppy just doesn't want you to overdo it. It's better to be a little cautious after all than for you to end up back in the infirmary."
His face twisted into a grimace. "I suppose so," he muttered ungraciously.
Minerva turned away from him and walked over to the chess table, which stood ready and waiting, between their two chairs by the fire. "Shall we play then? I've been in need of a diversion all day."
Snape crossed over to stand beside her. "Yes, I imagine you have been. The news that your ex-husband would be joining us shortly for a little visit did seem to unsettle you a bit. Are you concerned about seeing him again?"
She hadn't even gotten to sit down. How typical. Severus wasn't one to waste any time when he desired to know something. Resignedly, she turned and faced him again, noting the curious and speculative look on his face. "I was actually more concerned about the fact that you'd heard his name come up during your time with…Voldemort." It did seem to get easier with practice, she noted, pleased that she'd managed to say the name without hesitation this time.
Snape nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, that is a cause for some concern. It opens up other possibilities when one is trying to decide just why he's coming here. However, you were upset at the merest mention of his name, Minerva. Don't try to pretend that it's his dealings with the Dark Lord that were distressing you. That information never came up before you ran out of here last night."
Minerva's eyes slid away from his, and she stared uncomfortably into the fire. "I'm not exactly looking forward to seeing Ian again…no. It's been many years since we've seen each other, and we didn't part on the best of terms. Frankly, I hoped that I'd seen the last of him. It was a bit unsettling to discover that I'm wrong about that."
"Your marriage was an arranged one?" he asked quietly, still watching her carefully.
With a shiver, she nodded absently, while the answers came to her lips unbidden as yet more memories of the past unfurled themselves for inspection. "Yes. That's often the way it was…especially in those days. I was the only child of a well placed landed family. I knew that I wouldn't have much, if any, say in whom I ended up marrying, and I didn't. Ian Standish was my father's choice. He and Ian's father were friends; their estates bordered each other's. To them, it seemed like a natural fit."
Snape frowned speculatively. "Yes, I suppose it would. How long were you married?"
"Six years," she whispered. "Six horribly long years."
"Most arranged marriages survive because, even though the participants do not love each other, the families would lose too much if the union was dissolved. Yet yours did not. Why not?" Curiosity tinged his voice as he cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow…waiting.
Pulling herself back from the painful images that filled her thoughts, Minerva turned and stared into his eyes uneasily for a few moments, then she pressed her lips together firmly and straightened her spine. "That's none of your business, Severus. My marriage is my affair. It's not something that I wish to discuss."
Dismissing the subject firmly, she then turned and seated herself in front of the chess table. "Are we going to play or aren't we?"
Snape looked at her sitting there with all her defenses raised, and decided to take another tack to breach them. Slowly, he moved to stand behind her chair. Raising a hand, he let his fingers trail down along her rigid cheek and jaw to delicately fondle the soft skin of her neck. Then he slipped one long finger beneath the neckline of her robe and lightly traced a fingertip along the length of her collarbone.
"We can play chess if you wish…or we can simply…play…instead," he said softly.
A shiver coursed through her at his touch, and she licked her suddenly dry lips; slowly, she turned her face and looked up at him as he bent over her. "I thought we'd agreed…" she began.
The intensity of his voice increased. "We agreed to nothing. You told me that it would be best to wait until Poppy had removed the constant supervision of the house elf. Since I had no interest in being observed under those circumstances, I acquiesced to your plea. However, circumstances have changed. Poppy has agreed that I am no longer in need of being watched. So my quarters are once more…private. No one will be spying on us tonight if we wish to resume our arrangement."
"I see," she murmured softly. Her heart began to beat faster, and her breath caught at her throat.
Snape's other hand released his cane to lean against her chair and dropped down to caress her shoulder as the one that had been tracing her collarbone slid lightly up her throat, resting easily there while the tip of his index finger traced the line of her jaw with a delicate touch.
Without warning, she found herself feeling smothered by that restraining hand, however lightly it held her, and she gasped slightly and pulled back. In the back of her mind, it was suddenly another hand that held her throat…that touched her skin…that suffocated.
"Perhaps we'd better stick to chess this evening, after all," she whispered in a slightly strangled tone.
But Snape had had enough of chess. Abruptly, he shoved the table to the side sending the pieces flying and eliciting another gasp from her as he moved to kneel in front of her and grabbed her firmly by the arms. With a single pull, he had her out of the chair and down onto her knees on the floor beside him. In a move filled with impatience, he pulled her roughly against his chest and proceeded to kiss her breathless.
When, after a time, he pulled back slightly, she tried to swim up out of the mire of conflicting sensations that had hold of her, but she wasn't able to find purchase in reality. With no clear recollection of getting there, she suddenly found herself lying flat on her back on the floor while he hovered over her, his lips trailing down her throat, his fingers sliding possessively over her body, claiming it once more for his own, while undoing the fastenings of her robes to allow him the access he truly desired.
His low voice cajoled her softly. "It's been over a month since we've been able to indulge in our little arrangement, Minerva. I was under the impression that you had enjoyed it as much as I had. Yet now that I'm healthy once more, and free of that goggle-eyed elf's infernal spying, you want to do nothing more than play chess? Have you forgotten what it was like in that span of time? Must I refresh your memory?"
His nimble hands had opened her robes and now drew them down off of her shoulders, exposing more smooth fragile flesh for his lips to explore. She tried to move her arms, but the heavy material held them prisoner. His weight pinned her down and held her captive to his advances.
Closing her eyes, she shivered at the intense feelings he was stirring within her with his actions. Her breath began to come in gasps as her pulse sped up in time to her increasingly swift heartbeat.
"Severus," she murmured, unsure whether she meant to plead for him to stop or to urge him onward. Her voice drew him back to her face, which he cupped in his strong fingers as his lips descended once more onto hers, this time with less urgency. His lips caressed hers and drew them into his own. His tongue met hers full on and explored in detail the enticing contours of her mouth. Slowly, he drew back and breathed softly. "You don't want me to stop, do you?"
Determinedly, his lips moved on to nuzzle at her ear, whispering urgently, "Feel me against you...atop you…haven't you missed it, as I have?"
With a ragged intake of breath, she arched her back responsively against the firm desirable body that pressed so insistently against her own, grasping at him with her fingertips as an internal fire spread outward throughout her body from deep between her legs. "Yes," she gasped softly. "Yes, I have missed it…missed you…"
A smug smile of triumph lit his face, as his fingers found the hem of her robe, and began to slide beneath it, to run up the side of her silken clad leg seeking the edge of the fine material where he could once more intimately touch soft flesh.
Outside this cocoon of time, true only to the two of them, the world continued to revolve, and its revolutions brought reality to knock on Snape's door at what they would no doubt consider the worst possible moment. Its harsh reverberations froze the two of them in their place on the floor. Gasping as he pulled back and forced his attention towards the offending panel, Snape was beside himself with frustration. Now? Some cretin had the unmitigated gall to interrupt him now?
Minerva began to struggle to pull herself together, but Snape stilled her hands in his. "Let whoever it is cool their heels," he hissed. "They'll give up and go away eventually."
Realizing that he was allowing desire and need to cloud his usual pragmatism, she shook her head. "Don't be silly. Everyone knows you're here, Severus. If you don't answer, they might just get worried and attempt to force their way in. Now, let me up."
Fuming with poorly suppressed aggravation, Snape pulled off of her abruptly and sat up. "Who is it?" he expelled sharply in the brutal tone that always reduced his first years to tears.
"It's Albus, Severus. May I come in?" inquired a mild voice.
"I'm not dressed, Albus, come back later," Snape snapped shortly, while he retucked the shirt that her fingers had pulled from his waistband and watched as Minerva frantically smoothed her hair back into place and pulled her clothing back into position as quickly as she could.
"Ah, well, it would be better to speak to you now," the Headmaster's voice floated faintly through the wooden panel. "Is Minerva with you? I assumed that you'd be playing chess."
"She's not dressed either," Snape exclaimed angrily as he pulled himself to his feet and sank down into his chair by the fire while ignoring the horrified look that Minerva shot him as she finished straightening her robes. While the flustered witch headed for the door, he waved his wand and righted the chess table, returning the pieces to their proper places.
Satisfied that both she and Severus were once again decently clad, and that all evidence of their true former occupation had been eliminated, Minerva opened the door and let the Headmaster in. "I'm sorry, Albus. Severus is in a rather grumpy mood this evening. I'm sure that he thinks he's being amusing, but he's not." She shot Snape a glare.
He glowered back in return.
Dumbledore examined the two of them shrewdly but refrained from remarking on Severus' comments. Instead, he smiled and nodded to Minerva and then turned to his Potions master. "I'm certainly glad to see that your sense of humor has returned, Severus."
Snape slumped down into his seat, and he propped his chin in a hand as he narrowed his eyes and answered, "Yes, I thought you would be, Albus. I know how much you enjoy a good joke. What brings you down here tonight? This is turning into a bit of a nightly ritual for us, isn't it?" Unfortunately, the frustrated man thought sourly.
"I wanted to let you know as soon as possible that Ian Standish plans on arriving tomorrow in time for tea," Dumbledore stated mildly.
Both men instinctively turned their eyes towards Minerva, who'd gone quite quiet as she continued to stand by the door. As she noted them both looking at her, she nodded and sighed. "Well, we knew it would be soon. I suppose it's best to get it over with. Do you have any idea how long he's planning to stay?"
"No, unfortunately the visit appears to be open ended. I imagine that he'll stay until he's accomplished his mission," said the Headmaster.
"Yes," Snape's voice rose softly from the chair. "Whatever that mission might turn out to be."
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Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone who's read and commented on the story so far. I'm pleased that I've been able to get anyone interested in a Snape/McGonagall story. I wasn't at all sure that I could, when I started out. :)
I wanted to address a couple of questions that have arisen. The age difference between Severus and Minerva is somewhere around forty years. I'm not trying to make Minerva any younger than she is in canon. However, I am assuming that magic does strengthen and stretch out the middle years for most witches and wizards, so Minerva isn't exactly ready for the nursing home just yet. Also, there will be a few lemons in this story; however, this is a plot driven story, not a smut driven one. If that is your primary interest in reading, you might be happier to try a different story. Thank you all for reading; I hope the story will continue to hold your interest.
shadowycat
