Hi folks! Sorry for the delay but currently there have been some things which kept me from writing. One of my doggies has died, and I wouldn't want to kill a character off, which would have been the consequence had I written then. I'd like to thank Lies for being there for me when I needed a friend.

But I hope you enjoy the new chapter. Don't forget to review. ;-)

Severus had retired to his chambers, still inwardly amused about Hermione's infatuation with Alan Rickman. Admitted, he was quite attractive, even he saw that. But still, he had always considered Hermione to be a more sensible girl.

Coming to think of it, he had thought about the girl for quite some time now. No improper thoughts, of course, but he had toyed with the idea of taking in an apprentice for quite some time now. And Hermione seemed to fit all the criteria he was looking for in an apprentice. She wouldn't finish school for another year but perhaps she was interested in doing some more potions and be some kind of assistant to him for now.

Before he finally fell asleep, Severus decided to approach Albus with that subject matter as soon as an opportunity would present itself.

The next morning Minerva woke up as the sunlight tickled her nose through the window. She was snuggled up contently in the arms of her husband who was still fast asleep. Minerva didn't care, she always enjoyed being awake before him and the opportunity to watch him so relaxed. During the day he was so tense which was only natural with all his responsibilities. But when he was asleep the tension was eased away from his face and the lines softened. He seemed to turn back into the man she had fallen in love with so many years ago.

Slowly Albus opened one eye, then the other, only to find his wife watching him intently. He couldn't repress a grin when he saw her, hair all unruly around her head and still a bit sleepy.

"Good morning, love." Carefully he raised his hand and caressed her cheek.

"And a very good morning to you too." Minerva smiled at him lovingly.

Albus yawned heartily. He wasn't an early riser, and usually he preferred to sleep in on weekends. Today was Saturday, and he didn't have any plans. The next order meeting would be on Monday evening, Remus and Severus would be on alert for today and tomorrow. So he would have the whole weekend to spend with Minerva – and the trio. At the moment he wished they weren't there. Not that he didn't enjoy the company of the young Gryffindors but during the school year he didn't see very much of his wife, only in the evenings and even then they couldn't be sure that there weren't any interruptions. But perhaps they would come up with something they would all enjoy.

"What about breakfast?" Minerva seemed to be very energetic today – despite their rather passionate night which meant that they didn't get much sleep.

"Okay, okay, I'll get up." Albus chuckled and got out of bed. He knew that he didn't stand a chance of staying in bed when his wife was in that mood.

While dressing he thought about what they could do today. He remembered that Minerva had always enjoyed the zoo, so he thought it would be a nice treat to apparate to London and visit the zoo there. When he told Minerva, it earned him a squeal and a kiss from his wife.

It was still rather early in the morning, and though Minerva knew that the children had come home rather late the other night, she decided to wake them. They could spend the whole day in London, first the zoo and then perhaps a visit to Diagon Alley. But to Minerva's surprise, all three of them were already wide awake and up.

"Now what happened to you? I thought you would prefer to sleep in today." Minerva smiled at Hermione who was just trying to get her hair into a braid which proved rather difficult. With some quick movements Minerva was behind her and took the thick hair into her delicate hands, braiding it with practiced ease.

"Thanks. And we thought we could do something together today. I don't know… we thought perhaps you would like to go somewhere with us? No lessons today, you know." Hermione winked at Minerva.

"Well, I'm glad you had the same idea. Albus suggested that we go to the London zoo. How does that sound?" She looked at the boys who nodded. Hermione gave a small squeal.

"Yeah, that would be wonderful." She quickly hugged Minerva.

"Very well then. Go and have some breakfast before we leave." Minerva turned to leave Hermione's room when she felt a hand on her arm. She turned again and looked in Hermione's brown eyes.

"Uhm… I mean… does Severus… come with us?" the girl asked.

Minerva smiled. She had noticed that Hermione seemed to have taken a liking in the potions master, and though she had first thought that the girl might develop a crush on him, she had dismissed that thought. Even if she did, Severus would be sensible enough not to start anything with her as long as Hermione was a student. That meant if he returned her feelings then.

"I'll ask him, okay? He is supposed to share the watch for the order this weekend but perhaps Remus can take over today." Minerva nodded and then finally left the room, on her way to find Severus.

It didn't took Minerva long to locate the young man. In fact, Severus was still in his room and still asleep. It was not like him to sleep in, and Minerva had to smile when she entered his bedroom and saw him snuggled up under the covers, rolled into a tight ball.

Checking her watch, Minerva silently debated with herself if she should wake him or not, but the look on Hermione's face made her decide in favour of it. Plus Severus wouldn't like to sleep all day, he would be furious with himself for being so 'weak' as he saw that.

Softly Minerva stroked over Severus' head, easing the hair out of his face, before planting a kiss on his forehead.

"Severus, dear. Wake up."

Mumbling something indistinguishable, Severus began to stretch and slowly opened his eyes. He was quite surprised to find Minerva standing beside his bed; it had been quite some time since that had last happened.

"Good morning. Is something wrong?" His mind had started working immediately. He could only come up with some kind of catastrophe that made Minerva wake him in the middle of the night.

"Good morning. No, nothing's wrong." Minerva said.

Severus took a look around the room and noticed that it wasn't dark outside anymore but bright daylight.

"What time is it?" Severus pushed himself up from the bed and pulled the covers back to get out.

"8 am. Albus had suggested we spend the day in the zoo in London, and Hermione asked if you would like to come with us. That's why I thought I could wake you." Minerva stepped back from the bed to grant him space to get up, looking down at him.

He looked at her quite surprised.

"Pardon? Miss Granger… uhm… Hermione wants me to come along?" Severus couldn't believe it but Minerva nodded.

"Well, I'd love to but I have order duty," Severus said regretfully. He couldn't believe that Hermione actually wanted him to join them but apparently she did. And he couldn't believe that anyone could imagine him enjoying a day in the zoo. But then again the three Gryffindors had gotten to know him quite well over the past weeks, and especially Hermione had discovered more than one new side of him with her sharp mind and close observations.

"Don't worry. Albus had apparently thought about you joining in too. Alastor will cover for you today." Minerva couldn't suppress a grin at the look on the younger man's face.

"Hey, so I didn't really have a choice then it seems." Severus tried to appear upset but failed miserably. Minerva could look straight through this mask that worked so well with all the students.

"Oh, nonsense. And now, up with you and get some breakfast. My Gryffindors are already downstairs, so hurry up if you want to get something to eat." Minerva lightly slapped him on the arm and then left his room.

She sighed softly. It had been so long since there had been so much life in this large house. And even though she enjoyed having Albus usually to herself over the summer holidays, she enjoyed every minute. She loved having Harry, Ron and Hermione around and Severus, of course. It had been so long since she had had the possibility to look after him. At school she couldn't do that.

When she entered the kitchen she found all four of her 'adopted children' sitting at the table, chatting about yesterday's movie. She could make out that Hermione seemed to fancy the male lead and the boys lacked understanding for that. Severus could only roll his eyes at the outburst and hope for the best.

"Well, I'm glad you had a great evening." Minerva helped herself to a cup of hot chocolate which Albus preferred for breakfast – a habit she had taken over years ago.

"Yeah, we did. Though I just don't see what's so great about that actor guy." Ron shook his head.

"And who are we talking about?" Minerva knew quite some muggle actors since Albus had made it a tradition to take her out to a movie show every once in a while.

"Alan Rickman," Hermione said, a dreamy expression manifesting itself on her face. Ron and Harry looked slightly disgusted while Severus had to suppress a smile.

"Oh, him. Yes, I have to admit he certainly is attractive." Minerva grinned at the boys who had a rather shocked expression on their faces and Severus nearly choked on his tea.

"What?" Minerva looked at the three men with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing. I just… didn't expect you to say something like that. You certainly still manage to surprise me." Severus grinned now openly. It was rather amazing. He had known Minerva for so long now, and he hadn't known that.

Minerva smiled enigmatically.

"Well, I think there are some more things that would surprise you if you ever found out." With a wink she rose from her chair and left the kitchen to gather the things they would need for the outing.

"Who would have guessed…" Harry said softly, but with a smile on his face.