Dear Reader,

Sorry it's been so long since my last chapter but I was on, yet again, another vacation (hey, but I'm not complaining!) to Hawaii. I just got back and now band has started. I have band camp next week and school starts two weeks after that so I might have some difficulty publishing often. Like I've said before, though, reviews help, so please keep sending them. Sorry for the dissertation about my busy personal life; now on to the story.

-LunarLitLover

P.S. Another sorry goes out: to all you Slug Club fans, but I've decided that this chapter is long enough without the Slug Club party. I've excluded it from this chapter but it will probably be the entire next chapter. Thanks for understanding.

Recap: Minerva just had dinner with Albus because his lesson caused her to miss the Great Hall's dinner. He has also asked her to the inner-house ball – an invitation to which she happily accepted.

Chapter 6: Library of Giggling Girls

"Uugghh! I can't believe you've decided to go to the inner-house Christmas ball with Professor Dumbledore! He's a teacher! And an ugly one at that!" Poppy Pomfrey exclaimed in a rather loud whisper.

"Sssshhhh!" Irma Pince warmed. "We're in the library!" She returned to her book and carefully flipped over an ancient page.

"I think he's rather handsome," said Lilac Azul, one of Minerva's fellow Gryffindors.

"You would," Samantha Prewett chimed in. "Just your type with the fiery red hair and short beard! Plus he's old!"

Minerva had been diligently researching for her potions essay on anecdotes to rare poisons, but she placed the book down now and joined in the conversation. "He's not that old. I think he's only ten or fifteen years older than us."

Samantha simply gaped at her. The recovering, she continued her witty insults. "Only? Well, I guess you'd be in his corner, too. After all, you did agree to go to the ball with him. You and Lilac…I just don't know what to say; I thought I taught you the art of man hunting better than this!"

"At least we Hufflepuffs, although we might not be lucky in romance, are competent in knowing who to stay far away from," said Poppy, indicating herself and Irma. However, Irma fully ignored this gesture, being completely absorbed in her ten-kilogram volume. "Oh, well Irma here, just keeps them all away. She's the best. All she has to do is begin quoting the library, which she knows in its entirety, and they run for the hills." Irma still did not move an inch. Poppy waved her hand at Irma as if to say, Oh forget her!

The five girls were curled up in their favorite corner of the Hogwarts library. The two Hufflepuffs and three Gryffindors came there often to enjoy their private gossip and, of course, to study. (This had become Minerva and Irma's passion.) But the dusty old book shelves served their purposes for the five girls: to provide masses of information on school-related subjects and to provide a private place for masses of life-related subjects to be discussed. It worked well for all the ladies, too, because Irma loved the smell of the old books, Minerva could do work, Samantha and Poppy could gossip, while Lilac got the chance to spend time with her best friends. Not to mention the fact that all five girls could easily get there, as opposed to one of their two common rooms.

"Well, Minerva scares them all away, too," Samantha continued. "All she has to do is outsmart them in everything she does and they don't want anything to do with Miss-Smarty-Pants. No guy would ask any girl on a date after that."

"Excluding Dumbledore, that is," Lilac interjected.

"Well, yes," Samantha responded. "And that brings up an interesting point. Minerva, you do realize that whenever a man asks a woman to a ball, it is a public statement of a relationship? I don't care if he's your boyfriend, your brother or your teacher; it means the same thing. It says you have a connection. And whether or not that connection is of a friendly or romantic nature, it's a relationship. Teachers are not supposed to have any kind of special relationship with students. So Dumbledore is publicly announcing his feelings for you. You do realize that, don't you, Minerva?"

"Hmm?" said Minerva, finally looking up from her rather large scroll of used parchment. "Oh, well, I guess with some people that's how it is. But Albus and I aren't like that. We're only going on a friendly teacher-student date."

"A friendly teacher-student date? Do you hear yourself, Minerva?" asked Poppy. "There is no such thing as a friendly teacher-student date! And this thing about calling Dumbledore Albus! What's that about? You call him that because you're close enough to do so. And that means you're close enough for him to be interested in you as a woman! And you enjoy talking to him and spending time with him, don't you? Are you sure that's just a 'friendly teacher-student relationship'?"

Minerva was all ears now and actually considering what Poppy was saying. "But Poppy, he's a teacher and I'm his student. I questioned his asking me to the ball, too. But he said there was no rule against it, and I agreed to go. Because I would like to! There! I admit: I want to go with him! But we're close enough to the line, as it is. He would never go any father with me, and you know that I wouldn't do anything with him! Plus, I'm too busy working towards becoming an auror to get mixed up with men. I've still got Animagism lessons, and then there potions I need to improve on, as well as charms and…"

As Minerva rambled on Samantha, Poppy, Lilac and even Irma grinned at each other. They knew Minerva better than she knew herself.

Poppy finally intervened in Minerva's speech. "That's a lot of work, Minerva. Don't you ever get tired of it? Don't you ever want a break? Time for you? Just to have fun?"

"Well, of course I do! You think I don't wish every day that I could do just that! But I can't! Auror training is just too important!" Minerva responded fiercely, although all she really only felt frustration.

"You can do both, Minerva," Lilac suggested quietly. "Life is not a one-lane road."

"But I don't want to ruin my future by making a careless mistake because I was too busy playing around," Minerva argued. "It's just too big of a risk."

"But taking chances is the only way to live life," Samantha threw out.

Minerva sighed. "So everyone keeps telling me."

Preview: Minerva's ball date is discussed at the next Slug Club meeting and is the topic of interest for both Professor Slughorn and Tom Riddle.