Disclaimer: Harry Potter things, characters, etc. aren't mine. They belong to J.K. Rowling, who is a complete genius for thinking up all of them.

A/N: This is chapter 3 of "Albus Fever." Sorry for taking a little longer than I anticipated to get this up; writer's block and homework were obstacles for me. Well, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

"It was very thoughtful of you to do this for me, Albus," Minerva murmured as she curled up on the scarlet sofa in her sitting room.

Professor Minerva McGonagall had agreed to rest for a while if Albus Dumbledore would complete her grading. It would seem an unfair deal -- Professor McGonagall did nothing while Professor Dumbledore did all the work! That was not the case, however. Minerva, who was too ill to teach her classes, wanted to get her work done, while Albus, who was concerned about Minerva's health, refused to permit her to unnecessarily spend her energy. Thus, he came up with this idea.

"I'm glad you think so," Albus replied, "because earlier you seemed rather adamant that you work. It's nothing really, though; I'm sure you would do the same for me."

"You're right, of course. I would do exactly the same for you. Well, almost -- I wouldn't be doing grades. I'd be organizing your mail, feeding Fawkes, shooing away Fudge --"

"I'd be especially grateful for that," Albus interrupted, and Minerva laughed, much to his delight. He absolutely loved to hear Minerva laugh; it was so rare an occasion. However, Minerva's laugh quickly transformed into a coughing fit, which disappointed Albus.

Once the coughing stopped, Albus asked, "Can I get you anything to remedy that cough, dear? A potion, perhaps?"

"It's not that bad," Minerva lied, suppressing another fit. She failed miserably at that, though, and coughed even more harshly this time. When she could speak, she managed to croak, "Really, it's not." Truthfully, Minerva just didn't want Albus to leave to get the potion.

"Are you sure I can't get you anything, Minerva?" he persisted.

She nodded and said softly, "I'm sure."

"All right," Albus said and continued marking the papers.

Several minutes passed in silence. Minerva's spent those quiet moments with her thoughts centered around Albus. This certainly wasn't how she expected to spend her Valentine's Day, but it was going quite well nonetheless. Albus volunteered to stay with her, and he didn't seem to want to leave any time soon. Of course she didn't want him to go. She was enjoying his company and all he was doing for her. It was all very kind of him.

Minerva also noticed Dumbledore's extra usage of affectionate names for her. It was not uncommon for him to call her "dear" or "darling," but he seemed to be saying it much more often today. Perhaps it was simply because she was sick, and he was being especially caring for that reason. Albus had also gently kissed her twice that day. She mused over the exact cause of his actions. Was it simply the spirit of Valentine's Day? Did he feel for her something more than friendship? Minerva didn't know. She hoped for the latter, though, because she wanted so much more than friendship with Albus.

She loved Albus. She truly felt she loved Albus Dumbledore. Minerva wondered if he could tell. She did let slip more affection than she intended. Her behavior seemed to give away her feelings. How many times did she cuddle up to Albus? How many times did she snuggle into his beard?

Probably more times than necessary, thought Minerva, or even appropriate! She hoped she wasn't being too obvious.

At the same time, Dumbledore pondered over similar topics. He took note of her suddenly calling him "darling." Was it the fever talking?

She could just be delirious, Albus thought, although he hoped she was consciously saying these things. Minerva was making him feel exceptionally good today, more so than any other time before. Then he wondered if he had gone too far with the small kisses. She made no protests to it. It was in Minerva's natural personality not to show much emotion, though.

She smiled the first time, Albus continued in his mind. He was generally an optimistic man, and he decided that Minerva had yet to refuse his company, so maybe she was as happy around him as he was around her.

"How goes the grading?" Minerva asked into the silence, snapping Albus from his reveries.

"I only have three left unmarked," Dumbledore answered. "I hope I've done a good enough job. It's been a little while since I've last done grading." He circled a large letter E at the top of the page and placed it in the graded pile.

"I'm sure your excellent teaching skills are still intact," said Minerva.

"You flatter me," Albus said. He smiled and resumed doing Minerva's work. Minerva always had faith in him, and that made him happy. He was glad that Minerva trusted him enough to let him do her grading, a task about which she was extremely meticulous.

"I've finished!" Dumbledore announced a few minutes later, straightening the stack of parchment and setting it on a corner of the desk. He turned in the straight-backed chair to catch Minerva's response.

"Thank you, Albus," she said, flashing a grateful grin.

"Is there anything else that needs to be done?"

Minerva shook her head and said, "Don't worry about it, Albus. I can do it later."

"I hope by 'later,' you mean when you are well again," Dumbledore said, peering at her over his half-moon spectacles.

"Well, considering you're not going to let me out of your sight until then, yes," Minerva replied, and Albus laughed.

"How right you are, my dear," he said, still chuckling. After catching his breath, he got up from the chair and strolled to Minerva's side. He knelt down to be at eye-level with her and asked, "Since you intend to do your own work later, what can I get for you right now?"

Minerva shook her head again.

"You've done so much for me all day, Albus, and it's scarcely past two o' clock. Sit down; I think you ought to relax, too," she said. She slid over to make space for companion. Albus complied and sat down beside her. She smiled and added, "You know you didn't have to do any of this for me."

"Yes, I do know that," Albus said, "but I wanted to. I care about you, Minerva. Surely you know that."

And surely I wish I could tell you just how much I care, he thought disappointedly.

Minerva nodded and said, "I know. I care about you, too, Albus." She looked away in an attempt to hide the sadness in her eyes.

I care about you more than you know, Albus. If only I could tell you.

"What would you like to do now?" Dumbledore asked after they had not spoken for a few long minutes.

Minerva pondered this for a moment and shrugged.

"I don't know," she said softly. "What would you suggest?"

"Chess, perhaps," he said, thinking Minerva would like a bit of friendly competition. Then he caught a glimpse of her hair, which, by now, had fallen completely out of its usual severe-looking bun. He found it quite lovely and thought aloud, "Or I could sit here and compliment you on your beautiful hair..." He felt the urge to run his long, slender fingers through her flowing black hair once more.

Minerva, who was slightly taken aback, asked, "What?" She wondered if she heard correctly.

Albus, realizing that he'd just let loose a bit of his thoughts, answered quickly, "We could play chess."

"No, the last part, Albus... You said something about my hair."

She wasn't exactly searching for praise, but she did enjoy hearing Albus say nice things about her.

Dumbledore turned pink and said quietly, "Er - I said that your hair is beautiful." He avoided eye contact, mentally scolding himself for the slip-up, although he was very much relieved he hadn't revealed more of his private thoughts.

Now, however, was Minerva's turn to blush.

"Oh! Um... thank you," she murmured awkwardly. She felt her cheeks burn and wondered just how red she was turning. Finally, after regaining her calm, she said, "I- I'll get the chess board."

"Right," Albus said as she rose and disappeared into her bedroom.

You've got to be more careful, Albus! he told himself once Minerva had left the room. Minerva is your friend, your best friend, and you don't want to damage that by letting slip your undying love for her. Merlin knows what sort of reaction that would bring...

Meanwhile, Minerva was pacing in front of her bedroom mirror, where she could see the blotches of color still on her cheeks. The chess board was certainly not in her bedroom, as she knew, but she needed a moment to think. Knowing she couldn't take very long, considering the board was in a rather conspicuous location in her sitting room, she quickly tried to recap what had happened and figure out what it all meant.

All those endearing names, the gentle kisses, the rather random compliment about my hair... perhaps Albus does care more than I think he does. Or not. I'm too hopeful, much too hopeful. It's probably just because I'm sick. I've got to stay reasonable.

Minerva pulled herself together and returned to her sitting room empty-handed. She opened her mouth and was about to speak when she saw that Albus was standing waiting for her, grinning toothily, with the chess board in his hands.

"I found it, Minerva," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "It was on the coffee table. I remembered moving it when Noel brought lunch." He replaced it on the table and beckoned for Minerva to take a seat on her sofa, while he went to pull the desk chair to the other side of the table. "You don't mind being the black pieces, do you?"

Minerva questioned how he recovered so quickly from his blushing while answering somewhat distractedly, "Of- of course not." Dumbledore placed the chair across from Minerva and sat down, still smiling.

"Ready?" he asked, and Minerva nodded. Because he was playing the white pieces, he was the first to direct the piece of his choice. After getting further and further into the game, they each spent more time planning and deciding their moves. During Minerva's turn, she caught Albus gazing intently at her. She blinked and looked away from the board and up at him.

"Why are you staring at me so, Albus?" she asked. His face held a dreamy expression, and she wondered what he was thinking.

"I was just-- " he stopped abruptly, catching his tongue before he said more. "Sorry. Am I distracting you?"

"Just a little bit," she said, observing him skeptically. He was rather fidgety, which was odd for him. Usually Dumbledore was calm and composed. Minerva wanted to know what was the matter with him, but she decided to leave the question for later, if he continued to act strangely. She gave him one last curious glance before returning to the game.

However, all concentration was lost. Minerva was continuously musing over Dumbledore's actions and words, hoping they meant what she so very much desired, all while her mind told her she was being overly optimistic and mistaking his friendship for love. Albus was constantly stealing glances at Minerva, in an attempt to satisfy his eyes and avoid any awkward questions from her. He carelessly moved his king into a bad position, but both players failed to notice what he did. In fact, both were randomly moving their pieces (Albus making increasingly worse moves), until one of Professor McGonagall's black pieces shouted, "Move me there! His king will be trapped; it will be checkmate!"

Minerva blinked rapidly and snapped back into reality. Promptly, she followed the directions of her knight and won the game. She murmured, "Checkmate," and suggested they move all the pieces back to their right positions. Albus agreed, and they clumsily put all the pieces where they belonged. Both were feeling extremely awkward and confused.

Finally, after deciding that she needed a lot of time to think, Minerva said, "I'm tired, Albus. Do you mind if I take a nap?"

"Of course not. You need to rest, and I'm glad your volunteering to do so," Albus said, relieved that he'd get some time to ponder the afternoon's events. "Will you be in your bedroom?"

Minerva nodded.

"All right. Shall I wake you in time for dinner?" he asked.

"I don't expect to be asleep for that long," she said, "but if I am, yes, please."

Dumbledore smiled faintly and said, "Okay. I'll be here if you need anything. Sleep well, my dear."

"Thank you, Albus." She gave a small smile too and vanished behind her bedroom door. She changed into a tartan nightgown and slipped under the covers on her bed. She honestly was tired, but she really wanted to be alone to think. Most of all, she needed to fully regain her composure so she could keep her cool around Albus. If she did decide she could tell Albus how she felt, she had to stay calm, which was next to impossible at the moment. Minerva pulled the blankets more tightly around herself and began some deep thinking.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore was still standing in Professor McGonagall's sitting room. He decided to help Minerva with some more of her grading. He had noticed a half-marked pile of essays in one corner of her desk earlier. He figured that relieving Minerva of another task would be good for her, and she'd be happy about it. He thought that if he would reveal his feelings, then he should start by alleviating her stress. Albus moved the chair back to the desk and got straight to work.

A/N: I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to write next, but hopefully some good ideas come to me. I'll try not to take so long for the next chapter, but I apologize if I do. I also want to thank all of those who have reviewed. D