SevyHero- Haha, (rolls eyes) nice one, webs. Of course our Albie put sugar in his drink! We ALLL know him better than that! Haha. And yes, I fulfilled your request to have them drinking something…haha…yeah…diss…-P Hope u like the update…at least the bit that you haven't read.

Portkeys Miss-Mione- Oh thank you! I'm so exhilarated that you like the way I write the characters. I try to make them realistic as possible. If I stray at all, you're more than welcome to tell me. And yes, typically I will wait two weeks before posting, and on special weeks, it may be as much as three. You must remember…I'm a little freshman in a public high school. ) I hope to see you again!

Silver Sorceress- Thank you for the positive review! It always makes me smile to know that my readers are enjoying and anticipating my updates…I just hope they are to your approval! Happy days!

Hogwarts Duo- Yup yup, AD/MM will eventually get all healed up, but the road, I think, is going to be a little bit longer than I anticipated. Hopefully you can wait it out!

Mugglemin- I will try EXTREMELY hard not to make everyone wait too long to see our fave couple getting together…but so far, this story is taking quite some time to write. Within the next chapter or two, I think we are finally going to enter our school setting…who knows…maybe next chapter WILL be in the castle…we must get on with the plot! Loved the review, hope to see you again!

ADandMMeva- Ah…shux! Your review was awesome, and made me smile! Well…I can't give too much away, now can I? When Minerva does get to the school, she is going to be strong for about…a few weeks, and then our Albus is going to work his magic. Several events that I have planned will um…chisel? Her hurt, frozen heart a little. In any case, it won't take more than a few months (aka chapters) for them to be getting close to the limit. (bwahahaha)

Lou. McGonagall- Oh! You always leave me such happy reviews!...and curious ones, too! Ah well…We'll get a little bit more into Albus's opinion of Maddy once they spend a little bit more time with each other in our male's attempts to woo Minerva again. The dream? Haha…I have a story behind that based on my own personal experience, not that it's very relevant. I was at a sleep over with some friends, and I was drifting off to sleep. (we were sleeping head to foot) Then the television made one of those big booming sounds, and I almost kicked a friend in the face because of it. (lol) sorry, well anyway. I put in the dream to show what Albus is perceiving from Minerva. He sees her slipping away from him, even though he is so close. I hope the last two weeks haven't been that horrible for you. I tried to make this chapter satisfactory, but we must get on with the plot!

Quill of Minerva- Well, I wouldn't quite say that he figures out that he is the father, it's a little bit more involved than that, but yes, that will come to play. AD and MM will be spending a lot of time with each other…sort of rekindling something or other…it won't be love at first, I can promise you that…but it shall come!

(Two weeks later)

Chapter Four: To the Fore

Minerva was up into all hours of the night completing her last piece for "The Magical Post". As was her custom, she put everything that was in her into the written word. Her eyes did not shut completely until the clock rang three and she was satisfied with the last article she would ever write.

A sense of happiness, sorrow, and dread enveloped her at the same time as she stared upon the parchment. She felt happiness that she was finally finished with the same old grueling work that was being a reporter. Sorrow also filled her for that same reason; it's all she had ever been and she was very good at it. Dread was the worst. Minerva dreaded what was to come after closure. Her interview at Hogwarts was to be one o'clock that very same day.

Oh yes, she was very fearful for what was to come. Hours had been spent contemplating over whether she would even go, but the sensible half of her won over the emotional bit. So it was decided that she would most definitely take a teaching interview with the man she'd tried so very hard to avoid. It was that man that made her fearful, not the concept of attempting to get a new career.

She knew there was no reason to be scared. He'd never done anything to harm her…the woman swallowed. That was the truth; he never did anything.

But no matter what she should have felt, dread found a home at the bottom of her stomach. What Minerva was so fearful of, she could not quite place. Perhaps she was afraid of having a civil conversation with the man who broke her heart. Another option may have simply been that she believed he would find out her secret. Or maybe, the pain of looking at his face would be far too great for her. All in all, the woman was scared to see him, no matter the reason.

Albus sat and twiddled his thumbs upon what would be his desk come September first. It was ten o'clock in the morning, and he was growing aggravated with the lack of time that was passing. To him, it seemed as if the clock were moving backwards. Instead of it becoming 10:15, it became 10:14.

He quickly opened his new yet old desk drawer and plucked the letter out for the millionth time. His fingers ran across the closing of her short reply: Yours Truly. It was all so confusing to him and yet made the most perfect of perfect sense.

She had ignored him for eons, it seemed like sometimes. He'd wondered about her in the not so short eternity. He had wanted to know if she still had that same old flattering smile, or beautiful green eyes. He longed to learn if she had ever married or if she was happy. His ears ached to hear her enchanting voice. The hands to which he owned burned at not being able to feel her long hair and soft skin.

It was only one night; that is what he told himself everyday that he did not receive word from her. But he knew better than to lie; it was far more than just one evening together. It was a glance in the classroom, a humorous conversation in the Great Hall, and it was a kiss in his office. It was the way she spoke to him so freely; he'd never been spoken to like she did onto him.

Her melodious voice still drifted across his mind like that of a ghost's, as only a painful memory could. "Silly man…oh you, hush…I love you, Albus." In the time that they were together, he'd never doubted her feelings towards him. He had perhaps always seen that particular light in her eyes when they were together and even at that very early point in time, he realized it to be admiration. Only when he started to really notice her did he conclude that it could have possibly been love.

While a fair few people would argue the fact that Albus was not a typical man, he still was first and foremost a male. As such, it took him slightly longer to recognize the value to which he placed on Minerva. It was one bright afternoon in her seventh year that their eyes had met where he felt the true weight of her feelings. Quite coincidentally, he believed he looked upon her the same way she looked upon him. Only then was it that he noticed Minerva as not a student, but a woman.

For several weeks, it carried on as just a glance or two. Often, they would catch each other's gaze and hold it there. He took those sweet moments to explore what he saw in her. She was entrancing him with nothing more than her eyes, but he did not want the spell he was under to be lifted. The smile on her lips told him that she was unmistakably caught in the web of magic as well. Somehow, they seemed to understand one another without the use of words and that perhaps, was the most spectacular of the things they were just beginning to comprehend.

And comprehend she did. Minerva started waiting after class to have a word or two with him. At first, they were innocent, just questions about the material. Eventually, and perhaps it was partially his fault, things began trudging further and further away from the school subject matter. They began talking about music, people, art, etc. without as much as a second thought. Needless to say, she quickly became his best friend.

All the logic inside of him said that they shouldn't have been together. She was a student and he was his teacher. There were plenty of moral codes that they were breaking by becoming so close and even more school codes that they had completely shattered. He didn't worry though. He felt deeply for Minerva; quite possibly more than he had any right to, he being teacher, man, or lover.

He was falling for her. Or, perhaps fall is too bland a word. He was plunging for Minerva. Had he been an apple dropping from a tree, he would have been bruised and soft before even hitting the ground. And just when he would be about to smack into the rocky soil, all the time in Earth and space would stop, leaving the apple in that place for the rest of eternity.

Albus started seeing Minerva McGonagall regularly after class and on occasion, after dinner where she would be invited to help grade papers. He had no bad intentions that he was aware of at the time; he just found that she helped to pass the hours away. But as fate would have it, his unintentional intentions got the better of him one evening.

Minerva had a smile on her face as she read an apparently humorous essay from the first years. The man needed to stare at her in that moment, why he had never taken part to find out, but that he did. She looked so happy. Her eyes danced in the dim firelight as they tended to do when she was entertained. Her seemingly crimson lips parted to show her quite dazzling smile.

He was hypnotized by her beauty. Everything down from her hair, to her nose, to her neck entranced him. Unable to take his own eyes away he waited patiently for her to look up at him so that he may be who she was smiling at, about, or for. It wasn't long at all before Minerva did make eye contact with him. In that moment that they saw the other, each knew that they could be whatever both of them wanted to be together; and it was quite evident they wanted to be something.

That was the first time they shared a kiss. He had leaned over to her, and touched his lips to her softly. In response, that wonderful girl rested her hands on his shoulders and returned the gesture. It lasted only a short moment, their exchange, but that feeling would forever stay with his memory.

The best part of that evening, besides the kiss he had decided, was when she left. It was not because she simply left, that could never make him happy, it was the manner in which she went that made it so perfect. Minerva smiled at him as he said goodbye to her at the Gryffindor Tower. She didn't question him or his actions, but embraced him, kissed him on the cheek, and very quietly asked when they would be alone together next.

He had been caught off guard by all of her actions. Albus still didn't know what he had expected of her, but by no means was he expecting any sort of kiss or sign of affection. Her actions seemed to speak of her maturity quite clearly; she was grown up and quite able to handle a secretive relationship. He took her reaction to his full advantage and despite himself, he whispered back what he truly was thinking. "In my office again; I want to see you."

Minerva had nodded. "I'll dream about you tonight and that kiss. In the morning, I'll slap myself, and say it was only a dream, but then I'll see you and know that it was real."

Albus had smiled and taken her hand in his. "If you should wake up and decide that it was a dream, then I will keep reminding you it was not until I am unable to see you."

The dazzle in her eyes became utterly apparent to him once again as she stood in the spot. Slowly, very slowly, his head went to her height where he caught her lips. She once again brought her hands to his shoulders. His hands rounded her waist softly. He had attempted to make it quick and painless, but as he held her, something snapped inside of him. Albus pressed himself harder to her so as that she may feel what she was doing to him and was not afraid at all to explore her conveniently open mouth. His hands traced up her back and into her loose hair. She moaned into his mouth with satisfaction.

It felt like not even a second had gone by when there was finally release. He only let go for one reason and that was air. She too seemed to have gone slightly breathless as they looked upon one another with smiles.

He wasn't sure if it was the lack of air, or the late hour, but a thought quickly hit him with quite a bit of force. He knew worry was in his voice when he voiced it. "I can see we have a problem, Miss McGonagall."

"Nobody has to know," she pressed her slender finger to his lips, "it's our secret. I—I think I'm in love with you."

He knew what he should have said to her in that moment. He should have told her that they ought to quit while they were ahead. He should have told her a lie and said that he was only using her. He should have said that someone would find out and they both would be expelled from the Hogwarts grounds. He didn't though; he said what he felt. "I think I may be falling in love with you as well…yes," he nodded slowly, decisively, "our secret."

Only after he said it did she go back to her dormitory. She had stood still and listened to his silent debate, but didn't dare take a step until he confessed to her. If it was possible, the green in her eyes seemed to glow brighter and her smile grew wider when he had finished. It only took a nod from them both to know that it was time she went away. Quite slowly, she walked towards the Fat lady, said her password, and turned once she was in the room to flex her fingers goodbye.

Back then, he had nodded and watched her leave. He had dreamt of her that evening, as he said he would. Quite matter of factly, he saw her more and more often in his dreams as those last few months progressed. Even after the term, he saw her in his mind constantly.

It was really a year before he stopped seeing her. The spell she had put upon him back then wore off for near nine years, but it was placed back on him again. He saw her in the toy shop, then in a new dream, and now, he was ready to see her in his office.

He reread the letter again. "Yours Truly" for some odd reason just kept in his mind. Was she really his? Inside, he told himself the real answer. He knew he would never be Minerva's; she'd made that obvious years before. She had just placed it in the letter to enhance the enchantment she had cast upon him.

He shook his head violently. There was a reason why she had never owled him replies to his letters. She had an excuse of some sort just like she had some excuse for hinting to him on the acceptance letter he held in his hand. Albus made a point to note this fact. He would find the reason why. Why had she not replied to his letters? Why had she told him that she loved him when she obviously didn't? Why did put "Yours Truly"? Why did she say yes to his request if she didn't still have some sort of positive feelings for him? Why…

Why couldn't she decide what to wear! Minerva stared at the array of robes that surrounded her. There was every possible color down on the floor, but nothing seemed to be right; either it was too tight, too bright, too dark, too loose, or too old. She wanted to look appealing, but not desperate and not too sexual. There was a very fine line between the two, yet she had a very hard time interpreting it due to her many sets of robes.

It had been so long since she went on any kind of an interview. Usually she was the one who interviewed others and that usually required something casual or intimidating, depending on who she was speaking with. A job interview however, required a different kind of dress that she wasn't quite sure she owned.

She stared at her nearly empty closet. There were still muggle dresses that had been worn on occasion when she went into muggle London. She always felt…daring in them. Minerva felt as if she were breaking the rules by acting as if she were a powerless person when in truth, she was one of the most gifted witches in, if nothing else, the United Nations. It made her feel like an actress and that she was doing a fine job as the lead.

Very slowly, she reached up and took a very well fitting black dress. Her hand touched the smooth surface. The woman looked around the room where she found a green cloak and held the two together. She took in a slow breath. It would make her look intelligent, appealing, and professional all in the same second.

"Well," she sighed to herself, "why not?"

Albus tapped his finger on his soon-to-be desk. Armando was due any minute and Minerva was due within fifteen minutes. He knew he was anxious. He could feel the churn of his stomach and the shakiness of his limbs. In an effort to sooth himself at one point, several notes were scribbled by his hand onto parchment. It didn't help. He read the notes to himself which were written in a rather shifty manner; Don't stutter, but don't point fingers either. Don't get in over your head. They were such simple commands that he had made for himself, yet he knew there would be a problem of completion with both of them.

He didn't think there would be a real problem with the actual enunciation of words; it was the words that he said which worried him. Him hiding his emotions in the past, if the situation required it, was not problematic; yet this was quite a different condition than what he was used to. There were so many emotions that he felt when he looked at Minerva that he wasn't quite sure which he would use the most.

Albus was not angry; that was far too strong of a word. He was not distraught; once again, too strong of a word. The man was hurt, and if one so chose to call that too harsh, he was impaired.

It was not as if he were unable to date; there was plenty of that. It was the simple fact that she had given him a love impairment. It was hard for him to get close to anyone in the romantic sense. On occasion, naturally, he would see a pretty girl and think once or twice about asking her if she would like to go out for ice cream, but the second he considered, there was not a second thought; what was the point? He could send hundreds of roses to any girl and she would no doubt love to see him. There may be thousands of meaningless love notes written by his hand to some woman who may be flattered. A box of chocolates might even have been sent by him where a lady might have smiled at his incentive. But the gifts to who ever received them were not true gifts. He only sent them out of appreciation. What could he do? He was love impaired.

Then, Albus could most definitely see himself accusing Minerva of something horrid and unjust. He would, if he didn't stop himself, blame her for his disability. She was the cause of it all. If there had been any word…any at all from her, then there would have been closure. Without a specific point that said 'end' to him, he was walking blind in a world that he knew not at all.

"Tired?"

Albus blinked several times to see the ex-headmaster approaching his desk, immediately sat upright, and put his notes back on the desk. The man opposite of him just frowned at his odd behavior. "No," he said quickly, "I'm just thinking."

"You really have no need to be this nervous." Armando sat at the designated chair beside Albus's and made eye contact with him. "It's only an interview."

"With Minerva," Albus added with a sigh.

"I don't see why you're getting worked up about this. It will last maybe one half of an hour and then she will leave."

Albus bowed his head. He was in over his head already without saying a word. All he needed was a made up mind in order to start turning circles. "I need to speak with her privately. If we decide that she isn't right…then I want my conscience to be clear."

Armando put a hand on his shoulder. "It is not my place, Albus, to tell you who to keep on your staff. I am only here as a…helper. In the end, it is your decision whether to put Miss McGonagall on pay roll."

He looked at his previous employer carefully. Had he just suggested what he thought he was? Armando had quite clearly said to his face that there really was no need to hold interviews at all. If Albus wanted Minerva to work for him, then she would do so.

Albus blinked and thought over something really for the first time. Did he want Minerva to work for him? Originally, when he sent her the letter, he was doing it out of sheer guilt and memory. When she replied, though it gave him joy, he never stopped to consider what it may be like with her working so close to him. He hadn't considered it…

Thump, thump, thump the door to the office vibrated gently. Albus's chest tightened just a little bit more than it was already and his breath caught ever so slightly. It was her. She had come and he wasn't even sure what he was going to say. Oh Merlin, what was he going to say!

Armando got up from his seat and opened the door to reveal the quite done-up Minerva McGonagall. The only mouth that Albus would ever own dropped to its rock bottom at the sight of her. He remembered her lips being that dark, eyes being that green, and skin being that fair, but even his memory did not do justice to her. She was dressed in some sort of muggle dress which he needed to admit, made her look amazingly thin and was surrounded by an emerald cloak; that is what brought out her eyes, the whiteness of her skin, and darkness of her lips. The woman's hair was done in some sort of bun.

Minerva looked straight at him as she entered. Apparently, she too was surveying him for she did not take her eyes away until her seat was shown to her. Even then, the occasional glance was seen.

The ex-headmaster sat beside Albus and nudged him gently on the shoulder. Quickly, the new headmaster shut his jaw while scrambling to find the papers which, quite coincidentally, were placed directly infront of him. He smiled at himself when he realized his mistake and looked at Armando for help.

"Well, I cannot lie to you, Miss McGonagall. Your résumé was quite impressive; an animagus at twenty-seven?"

She smiled warmly at Armando. "Yes, I've been registered since my sixth year here at Hogwarts." Minerva glanced at Albus.

Despite himself, Albus smiled too. He couldn't be blamed solely on her accomplishment, but he had always encouraged her to learn. She had always been talented…always.

"Might I persuade you to demonstrate for us?" Armando folded his hands.

"Of course." In a manner of seconds, there was a small tabby cat sitting infront of them. It was a tiny creature, but an animal none the less. And then with a poof, it was gone. Once again, Minerva stood sat before them in her chair with a confident grin.

"Bravo," Armando applauded softly with a smile of his own. "Very impressive indeed." He sat back in his chair and folded his arms. "So, besides your obvious skill in Transfiguration, why else might you want to teach here at Hogwarts?"

"I enjoy children. They challenge me in the sense that they question things."

Albus blinked. Very direct; that's what they were looking for. There were always questions that needed to be answered and the correct one was the ideal. Her reply wasn't bad either. He knew her to be a child person even as a student. On occasion they brought up the subject…she'd always wanted a house full of children, even at seventeen.

"Do you have any children of your own?"

"Yes," she nodded, her smile faded slowly. "She is nine and really well behaved."

Armando's eyebrow raised a hair. "In the event that you are chosen for this position, you are aware of your obligation to work and child?"

Minerva nodded.

"Also, in the event that you should become one of the staff members, your daughter will be living in the same chamber as you?"

"Yes," she nodded her head again.

Armando wrote something on the parchment that was before him and passed it over to Albus. He read it slowly. Say something. He swallowed and made eye contact with Minerva.

"You still enjoy quidditch?"

She looked at him for a fair few seconds. Maybe she was surprised that he spoke at all. Or perhaps it was just the personal level on which he spoke to her. "Of course. I do miss watching the house matches, they were always so fun to go."

"Speaking of," Armando intercepted, "the position also comes with an automatic head of house position. You see, due to the fact that Albus has changed his title, we have no Gryffindor head of house. The remainder of the staff does not seem to want to deal with the pressure. As it comes out, we leave it to a new member to take on the burden."

She continued to smile. "That would be no problem at all in the event that I should be chosen. Working diligently is the only way to get anything done."

Armando smiled. "You're quite an enchanting woman, Miss McGonagall; you always did know how to get what you wanted."

Her smiled fell slightly as she glanced at Albus. Did she know he had told? Did she care?

"Thank you for your time."

Minerva sat up from her chair with a smile and shook hands with Armando. Then she turned to Albus. Very slowly, she reached her hand out to shake his. Albus swallowed. "Might I accompany you out of the room? I would like to speak with you privately."

He could see it on her face; she didn't want to go. It was written on her mouth and in her eyes. But the both of them knew that declining would come off as snobbish in one way or another. So Minerva had no choice but to agree to it. She gave him some odd form of a smile. "Of course you may."

A smile drifted across Albus's face as they walked out of the room, Minerva in the front. He followed a good four feet behind her until they reached the spiral staircase. He entered only a step above her; close that he could smell her sweet perfume of honey.

Butterflies fluttered inside his stomach, flying every which way there could possibly be. He didn't know what to say to her. How could he start a conversation they hadn't had for a decade? How could he talk to that woman like he once did…and what would she think of him if he was that bold? What if he didn't say anything? What if he just touched her face and pecked her? Would she hit him? Would she smile? Merlin…what could he say?

But Minerva saved him from his anxiety. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs and were well out of earshot to Armando, she stopped to look at him with folded arms and a piercing stare. "There was something you wanted to talk to me about?"

He nodded. "I didn't expect you to really come."

He could see the slow swallow she took and perhaps even some anxiety in her eyes. "I couldn't turn it down. I've wanted this job since I went to school here."

"I remember." He nodded thoughtfully. "That's why I wrote you."

She turned away and looked out the closest window. A silence dawned upon the both of them. It wasn't a sweet period of time like it would have been, nor was it angry. With the lack of harsh words, he could feel something of pain in the air. He was not sure whether it was his pain or perhaps hers. Maybe it was just the feeling old lovers got when they met again after so many years.

Even with her face to the bright sun, he could see the chill on her body. White bumps had begun covering her skin, enhancing that pale complexion that she had always had. He wondered if she, too, felt the pain in the air. Perhaps she could sense his pain.

Slowly, he approached the woman who had her back to him, not for the first time and placed his hand slowly upon her shoulder. She didn't flinch. She didn't slap him away. Minerva didn't do anything, except perhaps shudder.

A sadness filled his throat when he had the courage to look upon her face. Her eyes were puffy and red. A frown had made its way to the beautiful complexion that was Minerva. She looked up at him with an afflicted stare.

"Why do you look so sad, Minerva?" He wanted to reach out and touch her face. But even though she was right infront of him, she was so incredibly far from his reach. She was thousands of miles away and he seemed to be screaming at her from inside, yet she could not hear a word.

"Because of you."

His stomach lurched dreadfully. "W-what have I done?" he stuttered. It was far beyond him what he could have ever done to the woman. He was the one who had loved her; he was the one who would have given everything up. And she was the one who left him; he should have been sad because of her.

"Do you insist on playing games?" she blinked.

"No," he shook his head, confused. "I don't understand what reason you have to look sad."

Her green eyes met his and she stepped away from his hand that was previously placed on her shoulder. "I had to come here today; you know that as well as I do. I only want to know what could have possibly promoted you to ask me to come."

He stood still for a second…then two…then three. She had to have known the answer to her silly question. The woman must have known how much he was in love with her. She received his letters; surely she read some of them.

Minerva looked at him closely and spoke again after an ample amount of silence had passed between them. "What was your objective, Albus?" she shrugged.

He shrugged also, finally giving in to the whim he had gotten since the day they met in the toy shop. He needed to be by her, or at least find out what had happened a decade before. Albus would say or do anything to get her to come…anything. "I want you to work for me. Whatever happened ten years ago…we can work through it, or we don't have to ever talk about it again. I just thought that maybe you would want a chance to do what you've always wanted."

She stared up at him and her rigid frame grew slightly softer. "For what reason do you possibly want me to be on your staff? It will just make things awkward."

He shook his head softly. "Does it make a difference?"

Minerva looked from the ground back up to his eyes and then back again. Gently, in a surprise move, Albus reached up and made her look at him. "Hmm?"

"No, I suppose it doesn't," she sighed.

A smile slowly crossed Albus's face. "I know it may be as awkward as a spider with no legs, but I would really like you to work for me…no questions asked, if you want the job, I'll hire you."

The woman's smooth lips parted slightly in awe as she continued to blink. For whatever reason, she was obviously shocked. Though to Albus, it really should not have been any sort of surprise. If he hadn't wanted to see her, he never would have written her in the first place.

He stepped up to her again, perhaps a little bit too close for as long as they'd been apart. "Do you want it?" he said softly.

She nodded her head. "And put the past behind us?"

At that point, he didn't care what he needed to say in order to see her every day. He didn't care that he had to lie to her. What was needed was her consent. "Yes, put it behind us," he swallowed. "If you say I never loved you, then it shall be so."

Minerva stayed still and kept making eye contact with him, though his hand had been long since dropped from her chin. "Then that is what I say," she whispered.

Silence set in on them. It was much colder than it was the first time. He did not hear the ticking of the clock nor the sound of the wind outside. He heard the windows begin to frost and felt his blood run cold. The quiet he then felt had only one name that could be defined; finality.

"I will write you, Minerva," he said gently, feeling some odd form of a cry starting to fold within his throat. The last time he had uttered those words, he had been hurt. She couldn't deny him again. They were talking about her career, not some silly love affair.

She nodded. "Very well. You don't mind that Madelyn will be coming with me?"

"No," he shook his head, "I wouldn't have been a teacher if I didn't like children. Besides, she seemed well enough behaved when I met her."

"So," Minerva whispered. "I'll be seeing you sometime in the near future, then?"

Albus bobbed his head slowly. "We will need to get together sometime before the term starts so that I may be able to go over the course outline for each year with you. We can decide when by owl."

"Thank you." Some odd form of a smile crossed her face. "You really don't know what this means to me."

"Perhaps someday we will have forgiven each other enough for you to tell me." He looked hopefully at her.

"Perhaps someday," she agreed. "Goodbye then."

"Goodbye." And he watched her walk until she was out of sight.

It was some sort of karma in a way. Things were happening just the way he had said they would so many years ago. She was to be working with him, side by side, at the school. The very thought of it frightened her, but at her age she was bold enough to face anything, even it was the man who broke her heart.

What was odd about the meeting, perhaps hitting a heartstring, was the way he responded to her. He looked fearful for her words at times, sad at her expression, and…no, that couldn't have been hurt upon his face. She was the one in pain, not him.

How she wanted to scream out at him! What she would not give to cry out and ask why he had never been bold enough to write her a decade ago! He was happy to write her about working together, but for some odd reason, he did not understand the concept of communication when she was two months pregnant with his child. What possible sense did that make?

She shook her head and began climbing the stairs to her apartment.

He had agreed to put it all behind them, that was something she was perfectly capable of doing. Minerva could never forgive him, she knew this to be true, but there was no reason why the woman would be unable to make a living with him over her. What happened long ago would never be brought up again. Perhaps someday, once Madelyn was grown, she would finally let loose the fact that Albus was indeed her father. That was years away though, too many to think about. By then, her and the headmaster would be able to work with one another without the mention of what may have, or did, happen. What was done was done.

Slowly, the woman pushed open the door to her home. Immediately, she was attacked by a little person's hug. "Mummy!" the child yelled aloud.

"Yes, yes," she laughed as she was knocked down on the floor, "I'm home!" She wrapped her arms around her daughter and propped the both of them to the door. "What are you up to, Miss Madelyn?"

"Nothing," she blinked innocently, "except Grammy and Pompom talked to me in the fireplace."

Surprise crossed her face. "Did they? But you only left their house a day ago!"

"I know," she grinned, "they wanted to talk to you. Grammy looked confused when I told her that you went to Hogverts though."

Minerva let out a chuckle. "That's Hog-warts, dear."

"Oooooh!" Understanding crossed her face. "I see! Why did you go there, mum? They didn't understand me when I said you went to see Mr. Albus."

Her eyes dilated slightly. Her parents knew about Albus. They knew everything about him. Both of them knew that he was Madelyn's father. They had always understood the fact that their daughter was if nothing else, stubborn. If she had decided not to tell him about Maddy, then they seemed fine with that fact. Of course, in retaliation for her choice, they had sent her away for her obviously wrong decision. In all respects, it was a win/lose situation either way.

"What did she say when you told her?"

She shrugged. "She just wants you to floo her."

Minerva nodded. "I'll do that sometime. But in the meantime," she poked Maddy on the tip of the nose, "I have something to tell you that might make you a little sad."

"I don't like sad things," Madelyn frowned.

"I know, dear," she sighed, "but it's a good thing for me and you'll be around more people instead of being home all day with Emily."

"I'm not seeing Emily anymore?"

"No," she shook her head, "she's gone to watch someone else's children."

Tears started to well up in the little girl's eyes. She and her nanny had gotten rather close of the year. Minerva had known it would not be a good thing to separate the two of them, but she couldn't hold Emily to the point where they both were without a job. Madelyn leaned into her mother's chest as tears began leaking down.

Minerva swallowed down the feeling she was getting. There was no joy at all in making her daughter sad. She preferred a happy Maddy, instead of a tearful one. There was no way to avoid life, however. The woman rocked slowly with her daughter to her chest.

"It's alright, dear," she whispered, "You'll make new friends at my new job."

Her head lifted up, tear streaked and all. "New job?"

"Yes," she attempted a smile, "I went to see Albus today, you remember him, don't you?"

She nodded.

"He wants me to teach at Hogwarts. It's where you will be going in a few years to learn how to do magic with a wand. We'll be moving there, you and I."

"Moving?" A look of confusion crossed the child's face.

"I need to be at the school so that I can teach. But you will like it there, I promise. It will have lots of children you can make friends with."

Madelyn blinked a few times and a tweaked smile started to cross her face. "There will be people I can play with?"

"Yes," she nodded, "lots of them. And I'll get to see you more too."

"Really?" Maddy looked at her surprised, "you mean you won't have to work all the time?"

She shook her head. "We can finally go on that broom ride I promised you."

Her eyes lit up. "Can we go fast?"

Minerva chuckled. "Yes, we can go as fast as you want."

"Okay." Maddy smiled and got out from her mother's arms. Minerva watched her walk out of the room to her own bedroom. When she didn't return, the woman followed, only to see her daughter with a pink suitcase and her dolls piled on her bed.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Packing," Madelyn said and gently placed her new doll in the luggage.

When Albus returned to his office, Armando was still there waiting for him with a glass of alcohol in his hand. "Albus! You've been gone for what seems like hours. How did it go?" he asked quietly.

"Very well," he grinned, "she's going to work for me."

Armando nodded. "Care for a drink?"

The man bobbed his head slowly and with a quick poof, before him stood his own glass of something or other. When he took a sip, his senses told him it was scotch. He had never been a large fan of the liquid, but he drank it because Armando did. He wasn't about to complain about something as small as a drink.

"So," Armando smiled, "begin fantasizing yet?"

Albus chuckled. "I've been fantasizing for ten years! She wasn't very easy to talk to today, however."

"What a pity," sadness crossed the man's face, "you'll have plenty of make up time, I would assume."

The headmaster nodded. "She did look rather nice today, though." He closed his eyes slowly and imagined her face; her smooth lips, green eyes, long lashes. Certainly, he would be having some nice dreams when he slept.

"Oh yes," Dippit smiled, "very nice. Definitely is your type, now that I've seen her again. Nice face, nice waist, nice legs, I would assume."

Albus had to laugh. "I don't think she would appreciate me talking about her like this…though you're right," he grinned.

"And she's qualified to boot. If you can work through your problems of long since passed, you would make a very nice couple."

"I hope we can work them out." He frowned. The thought worked its way through his mind. What if they couldn't work it out, then what? It didn't matter, he told himself; there was a way to work everything out. "She's had me under a spell for the longest time, figuratively speaking. I can't stop thinking about her."

Armando smiled. "Then you certainly have a chance at her if your will is that strong. When will you be seeing Miss McGonagall again?"

"When it gets closer to the start of term…she needs to get her quarters here at the school, move in, and we need to go over the syllabus for each year. A little over a month or so, I think. I'll have thought enough about what I'm going to say to her by then."

"Jolly good," the ex-headmaster smiled. "Then cheers to a happy future?" He raised his glass. Albus did the same. "Cheers, I suppose." And they both drank to whatever lay ahead.

-sighs! Wow, that was a very long chapter…but I just wanted to get it all over with. The school setting will be coming very soon…and we will finally be out of this horrid summer/meet/talk thing I have going on. I only ask that you stay with me for a chapter or two, and then…dun dun dun! Our plot intensifies!

No notes today, just a thank you for reading and a beg for reviews. Please? If you have any questions regarding this chapter, I will be more than happy to answer them. My email address is on my home page if you would like to contact me that way rather than by review.