When they got back to Hogwarts that night, Albus escorted Minerva to her rooms before saying good-night and kissing her gently on the cheek. Minerva smiled at him and went inside her rooms. Sighing happily she threw herself in a chair by the fire. Albus was a truly wonderful man. Just the way he had kept an eye on her but not interrupted her when she was with Edward… Her eyes darkened. She still couldn't believe he had had the nerve to speak of Albus and treat herself the way he had. She sighed to herself. Some men just didn't know how to treat a lady. 'But Albus does,' she thought with a smile as she got out of her dress and got into bed. Her thoughts of Albus turned into the usual dreams of him and when she woke up the next morning she was smiling.

Exactly on time there was a knock on her door and she went to answer it, knowing who it would be.

"Good morning, Albus," she said and smiled at him. He took her hand and just like any other morning and kissed it softly.

"Good morning, Minerva. Did you sleep well?"

"Excellent!"

"Wonderful, dear. Shall we go to breakfast?"

They went down to breakfast arm in arm, just like every other morning and the students they passed didn't think twice about it. They had all gotten used to seeing them like this. They found it much more curious that Professor Ice Cube McGonagall was actually smiling. Broadly.

The owls came sweeping in, dropping letters and parcels for their owners. Minerva was more than surprised when an owl she didn't recognize landed in front of her. Carefully she took the letter it carried. The owl disappeared without waiting for a reply. Minerva looked after it, then down at the small scroll in her hands. With almost shaking hands, she opened it. She didn't recognize the writing.

My dearest Minerva,

My beautiful Minerva, I cannot get you out of my mind! However shall I go on without you? The time we spent together yesterday was so absolutely incredible, I can't get it out of my mind. I must see you again! Please! You don't have to stay with that old pervert! I love you, my Minerva!

It went on like that and Minerva was horrified when she looked at the signature.

Yours forever and for always,

Edward Jones xxx

She fumed with rage when she was finished reading it and she was seriously wondering if he had hurt his head badly when Albus hit him. Albus appeared to have noticed her change of mood and leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"What is wrong, Minerva?" She turned to him and wordlessly handed him the letter. He quickly read it and when he was done he looked just as angry as she felt. As soon as possible, he left the Great Hall in a rush. Minerva got up and left too; she had classes to teach.

Her mind was on the letter most of the day and even as she made her way to Albus' chambers that night to play chess, she was fuming. Having been her best friend for many years, Albus noticed this immediately and asked her what was wrong, though he had a pretty good idea.

"It's just that bloody letter, Albus. I mean, how dare he!"

"Well, my dear, after what happened at the banquet, I'm a bit surprised myself, but I do not blame him for not wanting to let you slip between his fingers. After all, you are a truly wonderful woman." Minerva looked at him and saw a strange look in his eyes, but when it disappeared a second later, she put it down to her own imagination and wishful thinking.

"Albus, you flatter me."

"I tell the truth. However, I do believe that this Edward Jones may be overstepping his bounds a little bit."
"A little bit!" Minerva spat. "How can you say that? You saw him, you heard him at the banquet! How dare he! How dare he!"

"You know, my dear," Albus replied with a chuckle, "I'm wondering that too, and I've come to the conclusion that he simply doesn't know about your infamous Scottish temper." Minerva mock glared at him.

"Honestly Albus... I can't believe this man. I'll just ignore him. Now, I didn't come here to rant but to play chess, so shall we?" She gestured towards the small coffee-table where they always played chess. Albus smiled at her and sat down at the chessboard, Minerva joined him a second later.

An hour later she had soundly defeated him and he held his hands up in surrender, while laughing merrily.

"Excellent play, Minerva, simply excellent."

"Thank you, Albus." She stretched and for a second Albus recognized her animagus form in her movements. "I think I better be off to bed, Albus. It's been a long day."

"Of course, my dear. Allow me to escort you to your rooms." They both stood and Minerva smiled at him and nodded. Arm in arm they walked the empty halls of night time Hogwarts, both enjoying the closeness of the other. When they reached her chambers, he kissed the back of her hand and said goodnight.

"Goodnight Albus," Minerva replied. "And sweet dreams."

"I always dream about sweets," he said with a grin. "Sweet dreams to you too, my dear." Minerva chuckled and shook her head at him.

Walking back to his own chambers, he thought about what he had told her. 'Not true. I never dream about sweets. I always dream about her.' He sighed and shook his head.

The next morning Albus went to escort her to breakfast, just like always. Minerva opened the door with a smile and he greeted her with a bright 'good morning'. They walked to the Great Hall in comfortable silence and when they reached the High Table, Albus held out her chair for her. Everything was just like any other day. Right up until the owls came sweeping in. Just like the day before, an owl landed on the table before Minerva. She eyed it warily, absolutely sure she knew who it was from. Reluctantly she released the latter from the owl's leg and the owl took off. Minerva noticed that her long-time friend and employer was watching her closely. Unrolling the letter, her hands shook. She sighed as she recognized the handwriting. Whispering she read it out loud to Albus.

"Minerva, my love, my life,

How can I ever begin to describe to you how much I love you? You are the light in my life! I would gladly die for you, I love you so much! You don't have to stay enslaved by that disgusting old pervert, Dumbledore…" She looked at Albus, aghast.

"Minerva, I apologise, I never meant to keep you enslaved. You are free to leave the school if you wish, I understand you," he said seriously. Minerva gaped at him.

"But Albus, you don't… this guy is crazy… you'd never… he believes that we're together… Albus don't believe – you were joking weren't you?" she asked when she saw his eyes twinkle merrily and his whole body shook from trying not to laugh.

"Yes," he said, his voice tight from trying not to laugh. Finally he gave up and laughed heartily. Minerva glared at him for a second, then she joined in him with a soft laugh. After a while they both calmed down and Minerva read the rest of the letter out loud to Albus. When she finished, she was aghast.

"Albus, this man is crazy. We hardly spent twenty minutes together and he claims that he loves me more than life itself? That's not possible! And this – this gentleman, he should realize that after what happened, I have no wish to see or hear from him again. Honestly, the way he spoke about you…"

"Ah, yes, my dear. Perhaps that is why he believes that we have an understanding." Minerva shook her head gently at his old fashioned way of saying that Edward Jones thought they were involved.

"Oh, but Albus, I told him that we're not in a relationship!"

"I see. However, he still seems to be under the impression that there's more between us than friendship." Albus looked intently at her and Minerva sighed.

When Minerva stepped into her classroom she stopped abruptly. There on the desk, sat a large crystal vase filled with more roses than she could count. Blood red roses. Reluctantly she went over to her desk and found a card among the roses. Never had she seen a more sickly sweet card; it was red and silver and it read 'eternal love' on the front in shimmering flourishing letters. Sighing, Minerva opened it and frowned at the handwriting, which she by now had come to detest. It said almost the same as the two previous letters had; that Edward adored her to no end and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, that he'd make sure that 'that old pervert Dumbledore' wouldn't get in their way. Minerva sighed deeply, her eyebrows knitted closely together in a frown. She then shook her head and tried to remove the vase… only to find that it was far too heavy for her to lift. Sighing, she sat down to prepare for her students' reactions to seeing a bouquet of roses – the flower of love – on their stern strict Professor McGonagall's desk. And sure enough, as soon as the first few students were in the door, they stared at the vase. Minerva sighed and prepared for a long day.

That afternoon Minerva sat in her office, marking her Ravenclaw fifth year essays. When she heard a gentle knock on her door, she smiled to herself. Albus had a habit of coming to visit her in the afternoon and she always enjoyed his company. Looking up with a bright smile, she called for him to come in. Her smile, however, faltered when it wasn't Albus who stepped in the door. In a flash she was out of her chair and had her wand in her hand.

"What do you want, Mr Jones?" she hissed through clenched jaws. Edward Jones smiled at her.

"Hello, my fair Minerva. I am merely here to ask you to accompany me to dinner tonight?" Minerva's eyes narrowed. The nerve of that man!

"And why, pray tell, are you under the impression that I'd wish to have dinner with you?" she asked coldly. Edward's smile fell slightly and he looked a bit unsure of himself.

"I just thought that… I mean, we had such a lovely time at the ministry banquet and…" he didn't finish the sentence.

"A lovely time?" Minerva repeated in disbelief. "A lovely time! You insulted my best friend, manhandled me and Albus punched you! What could possibly be lovely about that!" But Edward didn't answer her questions.

"And you must have understood from my letters that I adore you, my goddess!"

"I am not your goddess! I am not your dearest! I am not your fair Minerva! I'm not your anything!" Minerva hissed. "I do not wish to have anything to do with you!" Edward's expression changed from dazed adoration to a mixture between shock and red-hot anger.

"How dare you refuse me, Minerva McGonagall! After all I've done for you!"

"Done for me!" Minerva began to raise her voice too. "What have you done for me, except insulting my best friend and slapping me!"

"I love you! I sent you letters and roses! Do you have any idea how expensive those roses were!" The infamous McGonagall temper flared and she screamed at him, "You can have your bloody roses back! I never wanted them! I don't want to have anything to do with you!" But Edward backed her up against a wall and pushed himself against her.

"It doesn't matter what you want, Darling'! You'll just do as you're told! You'll stay away from that disgusting old man, Albus Dumbledore! Do you understand me!" He had Minerva's right hand in a firm grip so that she couldn't use her wand against him and he was far too strong for her. Minerva tried to keep her mind clear and focus on the task at hand; getting Edward Jones off of her. But her Auror training didn't help her much in this case, her robes were too heavy, her position was awful and he had a strong hold on her wand hand. Minerva was brought out of her thoughts by the feeling of Edward's lips pressing hard against her own. She let out a muffled scream and tore her face to the side, thus breaking the kiss. But he just began kissing her jaw and neck. Minerva was getting scared. She had no idea what to do. She had fought followers of Grindelwald who were almost twice her size without a batting an eyelash, she had done the craziest stunts on a broomstick, she was brave, she was bold, she was a Gryffindor. But at this very moment she was a woman who was being assaulted by a man. She struggled, she wriggled, she tried to get away but Edward just tightened his grip on her, never letting his lips leave her skin. When he was no longer satisfied with the amount of bare skin available (which wasn't much), he ripped off her outer robes and unbuttoned the black dress she wore beneath, never letting go long enough for Minerva to get away. She was really beginning to panic now. As he unbuttoned another button, finally revealing her bright purple bra, Minerva closed her eyes in fright. Her arms worked to free themselves but to no avail. She was trapped and there was absolutely nothing to do about it. Tears of rage and powerlessness pushed their way to her eyes but she bit them back, determined not to give Edward the satisfactory of seeing her cry.

TBC...