A/n: Hello everyone! Big, huge thank you's to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I love to hear your thoughts and I am glad that so many of you like how I write the brothers, I have a lot of fun writing them. Well on with the next chapter, enjoy!

Chapter Twelve: Knocked to the floor

"Minerva!" yelled Grace at the top of her lungs, "you're wanted!"

The face in the fire grimaced at the sound of the young witch's trill voice, she could have easily gone to fetch Minerva from the other room rather than shouting but Grace never did what was simple and quiet.

Minerva opened the door and looked at her friend, it was only half six in the morning and the sound of Grace's voice had gone right through Minerva. Minerva was a morning person but she had no idea how Grace could be as cheerful as she was in the morning, it was still dark outside and there was a chill to the air. Minerva stepped into the warm living room and sat down in the chair near the fire. Grace looked at her and nodded before making herself scarce.

"Alastor! Hello!" greeted Minerva.

"Can't talk long, never know who might be listening!" growled Alastor is a friendly manner "Get yourself into the offices, I need to pick your brain!"

"Now?" asked Minerva as she glanced at the grandfather clock, she didn't have to be in work for another hour or so and she had planned to get some reading done before going to work.

"Now!" confirmed Alastor before disappearing.

Minerva sighed and stood up, Alastor Moody had to be the most demanding boss that Minerva had ever dealt with. He didn't seem to care about official ministry hours, he would bend the rules to suit him and he expected his staff to jump on his every command. Minerva respected the head auror, she had worked for him for five years now and they had a good professional relationship though she did feel that sometimes to placed to many of his burdens on her shoulders. She needed a strong cup of tea before she went anywhere that morning and she wasn't going to get one at the ministry, the house elves there seemed to lack the most simplest knowledge of how to make a cup of tea. She wandered in the kitchen where Grace was stood over the cooker, brewing some tea for them both.

"Let me guess," said Grace "he wants you in this minute!"

"Full marks Gracie," confirmed Minerva as she sat down at the kitchen table "only Merlin knows what he wants at this time of the morning!"

Grace handed her a streaming mug of tea and sat down opposite her, the two women sipped their tea as the stared at another for a few minutes. They often did this and the first one to break the contact was the loser and had to go and get the biscuit tin, nice times out of ten Minerva would win but she wasn't concentrating today and so she ended up getting up.

"I am not here tonight!" Grace reminded her with a smile.

"Ah yes, a date with lover boy!" teased Minerva as she sat back down with the biscuit tin and offered a biscuit to her friend.

"I need to talk to him about my leaving," explained Grace who had explained her plans to Minerva once she had got out the bath last night "I would like it if he came with me!"

Minerva didn't say anything, sadly she doubted that Marcus Craven would up sticks and move to Ireland with Grace. Marcus was an up and coming wizard inside the ministry of magic, he had been headhunted by the minister herself and was destined for bright things. Minerva didn't doubt his commitment to Grace but she knew that Grace would be second choice after his job.

"I know what you are thinking Min!" said Grace "I think he would seriously consider it!"

"I hope he does for your sake Gracie," answered Minerva with a smile "I really hope it works out how you have planned! Now I must go otherwise Alastor will have my wand, have a nice night and see you tomorrow!"

Minerva bid her friend farewell and stepped into the kitchen fireplace and was quickly transported to the ministry. Alastor was waiting in her office when she stepped out; he was glancing at his pocket watch and tapped it when he caught her eye. Minerva instantly felt like a naughty schoolgirl who had turned up late for a lesson.

"You took your time Minerva!" he stated

"What can I do for you Alastor?" she asked, ignoring his reference to her time keeping.

"I need your help to pull out all our files on a certain dark wizard, I have someone coming in later to go through them with me!" he told her "You have been heading up the team so I think that you should be on in the meeting as well."

"When is this someone coming in?" asked Minerva irritably.

"In three hours!" he answered with a twisted grin.

Minerva sighed loudly, how she was meant to present a presentation in three hours when no work had been done. Why couldn't he have told her this last night because at least then, she would have been able to put something together for the meeting that wasn't rushed?

"Alastor, who is this someone?" she asked.

"Albus Dumbledore!" answered Alastor.

As the name reached her ears, Minerva felt the colour drain from her face. She couldn't face him today; she couldn't talk about dark wizards and their findings when she had made a fool of herself in front of him. How was he going to take her seriously when he had seen her on her bottom outside a sweet shop? Minerva suddenly felt like coming down with a mysterious bug that meant that she couldn't possibly be at work today but then she knew Alastor would see right through her, there wasn't much that got past Alastor Moody. The only thing she could do was work exceptionally hard on the presentation and try to make him see her as an intellectual counterpart rather than an irritable woman.

"Leave me be so I can get to work!" she told Alastor as she shooed him out of the office, she was the only member of his team that could get away with pushing him out of her office. Many had speculated why that was and though a few thought it was because their boss held a touch for her, many thought it was because she was more than his equal when it came to intellect, duelling skills and that he admired her opinion.

"Knew I could count on you tabs!" he told her as he found himself pushed out into the corridor.

"Alastor, what have I told you about calling me that!" she asked, her hands dropping to her hips.

"That if I were to call you it again, you would hex me severely!" he answered with a grin, she had threatened him many times with that and he had continued to call her Tabs because he knew that she wouldn't hex him, he was her boss.

"One of these days, I really will hex you!" she warned before shutting the door and settling down to work.

Three hours later, Albus Dumbledore was walking through the busy corridor that led to his friend office. He nodded politely as he passed people and chuckled when one young witch nearly walked into a table because she hadn't been looking where she was going. He glanced at the door that used to have Alastor Moody's name engraved on it and found that it had now been turned into a store room, Alastor had often joked that his office was no bigger than a storeroom. Albus looked around the corridor for a door that had his friends name on and didn't see one; he might have walked past it on his way down. He turned and suddenly found himself struck by a door swinging open, it hit him square in the face and he tumbled backwards, falling to the floor with his hand clutched to his nose.

"What in the name of Merlin?" came a cry from the other side of the door.

Minerva McGonagall came around the door with a stack of parchment in her hands and looked at the man on the floor with shock evident in her eyes. There on the floor, clutching a bleeding nose was Albus Dumbledore!

To be continued