Sept 26, 1998, 18:15

Without a sound, she appeared, kneeling beside the witch she had desperately sought for the past hour. She grasped the witch's wrist and pulled her to the floor. She gentled her grip without fully letting go. It's me, Minerva, it's just me. She willed her touch to communicate, but knew that it was her scent that would confirm it. Bless her animagus instincts. Pushing Minerva from her mind, she kissed her wand to the ground in front of her knee. "Doorwallia Momentum Reducto," she murmured through a curtain of riotous curls. A subtle ripple expanded outward, only noticeable by a slight light displacement. It's not enough! Pulling her magic to her, she focused as if to breathe out through her wand. An audible pulse erupted from the dragonheart string encased in vine, sending luminescent waves around her and her still companion and after a moment she tilted her head up to survey the scene before her.

Four wizards were not quite frozen in time, wands extended and mouths shaped in various stages of snarling incantation. A single stream of green was suspended three inches from the wand closest to her, looking much like the arc of a muggle welders torch, sputtering and straining against the invisible force preventing it from rushing to meet its intended target. Merlin's beard, that was close.

"Hermione." Came a whisper from behind her, a trace of wonder in its tone. Even after months of working together, hearing her former professor say her given name with her distinctive Scottish brogue set her heart beating faster.

"Yes, Minerva, it's me. Hang on." She pointed her wand straight up and let her wand guide her to the source of the anti-apparation net and murmured a counter-warding charm. And with a last look around, she twisted and pulled the woman into an embrace and with a loud crack, Hermione Granger and the recently appointed Headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall found themselves at the edge of a wood.

Her eyes landed on the familiar bark mark. We made it. Closing her eyes, she let go of Minerva and slid down the trunk of the tree, feeling the adrenaline leave her system. The spellwork she had done in the last thirty minutes had pushed her magical core further than she anticipated. Granted, she had only tested the time-altering spell once and in a non-combat context. But hey, it worked! A small smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. Thank heavens it worked. She banished her thoughts from going down the path of analysing what would have happened if she had failed.

Questions swirled as Minerva tried to regain her sense of balance, she couldn't recall the last time she'd side-apparated. While apprenticing with Albus . Her mind supplied readily. Reaching to brace the tree trunk that Hermione had just slid down, fingers found a perfect circle scarred into the bark. Interesting. She idly traced it with her first finger while still clutching her fir & dragon heartstring wand. After taking a calming breath, she looked down, emerald eyes taking in her former pupil, now Order partner. At once she noted her pale complexion and the uncharacteristically loose grip on her wand, surmising; that one, Hermione had indeed exhausted quite a bit of her magic; and two, she felt safe here. What was that spell she cast? Trying desperately to recall the muttered words. And how did she permeate the anti-apparition net, let alone my shield? Reaching into her cloak pocket she confirmed that her Order issued portkey was missing. She must have triggered my portkey to bring her to me. Brilliant, just brilliant. Taking in the now mature features and self-satisfied half smile, she couldn't help smiling also. She really has grown into a formidable witch. A sense of pride bloomed in her chest and just as quickly a weighted sadness subdued the effects knowing that the impetus behind Hermione's rapid magical growth was the time spent on the run unravelling Albus' damn riddles, the subsequent fight with Voldermort and the now thankless job trying to dispel Voldermort's die-hard followers who still believed him alive. She needs a break, damnit! An audible sigh escaped her lips. Hazel eyes flecked with gold snapped to hers, suddenly laser focused and full of concern.

"Are you alright, Minerva?" It was a rare sight to see the unflappable Minerva McGonagall in any other state than fully composed. And yet, here she was, leaning heavily upon the tree, face laced in pain. No, not pain, more like melancholy. Eyes continuing their scan for signs to disprove her assumptions, Hermione noted her skin was smooth and unmarred, but for the deep lines of her currently furrowed brow and a slight blush on her high cheekbones. She watched as rose coloured lips suddenly opened and a pink tongue swiped delicately across. Very catlike. Smiling at the thought, she recaptured those penetrating green eyes.

Unused to being openly examined, and not quite sure how to feel about it, Minerva waited until their eyes met to answer. "Aye, thanks to you, my dear. Just a bit dizzy, I haven't side-along apparated in… quite a while." Holding the intense brown eyes for a beat longer, she righted herself into her usual erect posture, hands joining in front, left hand resting gently over her wand hand, her head tilting slightly up to the right. Knowing full well that others relied on her appearing unaffected as a sense of stability, although it was becoming increasingly difficult to raise her walls around this witch whose intuition nearly matched her own and was quickly becoming her equal in magical ability.

"Really?" One could almost hear Hermione processing that nugget of information and calculating the whys, whos, whens until she arrived at her hypothesis. "Since Dumbledore, I'd venture to guess?

"Yes, Albus had a penchant for surprises, as you well know." Her eyebrow quirking above her silver frames as she tilted her head down. Taking another long breath, Minerva released her hands and dropped her shoulders to a more casual stance. "It was one of his more annoying qualities."

Hermione barked out a laugh, "I wholeheartedly agree." Honey eyes missing nothing. "You must miss him."

"I do, yes. He was a dear friend." Minerva broke eye contact to survey the unfamiliar area. Where are we? Her animagus olfactory senses picking up a hint of earthy centaur. And perhaps, unicorn? Opening her mouth to ask their whereabouts, she was cut short by a softly and tentatively spoken question.

"Was that all he was? A friend?" Hermione quietly probed. She knew they had more important things to discuss, like the trap they had just narrowly escaped and the probable leak in the Order, but her curiosity was unable to be contained. These unguarded moments with the enigmatic woman were so infrequent. She found them quite addictive. The more she learned, the more she wanted to uncover who the woman was beyond the persona of the great, timeless Minerva McGonagall.

Emerald eyes narrowed slightly and Hermione opened her mouth to apologise for overstepping, but was stopped by a gently raised hand.

"Albus Dumbledore was many things to me, Hermione. My professor, headmaster, Transfiguration Master, and later my boss. However, our friendship truly began once I was his apprentice." There was a long pause in which Hermione thought that would be the end of the matter. Hermione dropped her gaze to the horizon. To her surprise, Minerva continued. "During that time we learned we had one more thing in common than previously thought, which in and of itself precluded any furtherance of relationship beyond friendship." Green eyes glittered as she waited for the bright young witch to decode her meaning.

It didn't take long, eyes widening a bit, mouth dropping then snapping shut then breaking out into the most brilliant smile Minerva had seen upon her face since she transfigured a canary into a teacup in her first year class.

With sudden energy, Hermione hoisted herself from the forest floor, brushed the brambles off her robes and stood before the now smirking witch. Without thinking, she gently grasped Minerva's right shoulder, "Thank you for trusting me, Minerva. I know you value your privacy, and I just want you to know that anything you share with me will always be held in the strictest of confidence." Dropping her hand, smile returning with a mischievous glint added, "And if I may entrust you in return. I, too, share in the same proclivities."

It was Minerva's turn to gape. For the first time seeing Minerva at a complete loss for words, Hermione threw her head back and released a soulful laugh that bounced off the trees through the forest. Witnessing such unadulterated happiness, Minerva couldn't help but join the infectious laughter, reaching out to lean against the tree once more. My my, this woman is certainly full of surprises.

From a distant copse of trees the watchful audience of centaur & unicorn silently observed the two most powerful witches of an age sharing such a carefree moment, noting how completely unaware they were to the mingling of their magical signatures and the effect around them as a result; a siren call not heard since the early days of human magical beginnings.