This is another re-write (14/05/2020). Thank you to Lib McGranger for putting up with my hideous spelling and all the idea that seem to not materialise.

Reviews as always very much appreciated.

January 12th 1999 19:00

Whilst at school no pupil had any knowledge of their professor's personal lives. Yes of course there were the rumours, Hooch and Grubbly-Plank, Dumbledore and McGonagall, even Filch and Pince, but no one knew what went on behind closed doors. Everyone assumed they were single and lonely (barring the obviously rampant sex between them all) and spent time in solitude, researching, studying reading just generally being a stuffy old professors. They were however mistaken. Most of the staff at Hogwarts were indeed married or seeing people, more than half lived in the castle with their partners, yet students were the very kind of people ignorant to these goings on. Some may have noticed if they had wanted to investigate but there were more interesting things to do in a giant magical castle.

Minerva had been married for 15 years and only 2 students had dared to enquire as to the goings on in her chambers. The first who was swiftly thrown out of her office was a curious 6th year by the name of Severus Snape. The second person however, she could not lie to, would under no circumstance lie to. Hermione Granger, fresh from a year on the run, returning to be taught by those she had stood beside, they had laid their lives on the line together. Therefore when entering her delayed 7th year she was greeted with less formality and given privileges most were not. Wandering through the corridors one evening returning from a visit to Hagrid, she had stumbled upon a scene that left her intrigued as to how things happened. Minerva McGonagall was walking along, arm around another woman's waste, hair flowing down her back in formal robes giggling at something she had not heard. She stopped dead in her tracks, never had she been struck by the power emanating for the woman. She had seen her in battle and she exuded power but this power had her weak at the knees and her pulse quicken in her chest, butterflies bubbling in her stomach. Next to the two women were Rolanda Hooch hand in hand with someone Hermione recognised as the keeper of the Holyead Harpies. The 4 women strolled leisurely towards the staff room Hermione following, calculating the possibilities of what was happening in front of her. Not noticing when the women vanished and she had wandered straight passed the staff room and in totally the wrong direction of her dorm, she turned on the spot and headed to bed.

The next night at 7pm sharp, as she did three times a week, Hermione knocked on the door to Professor McGonagall's office and entered. She was going to ask, she needed to know, curiosity was getting the better of her as it did in most situations. She was convinced her Animagus should have been a cat, however only a fox would have the cunning she had expressed over the years.

Taking her regular seat across from the woman she took a steadying breath. "Min," and another, she did not like being on the wrong end of the wicked tongue the woman possessed. She had seen it directed a Ron far too many times, "who was the woman you were with last night?"

Minerva was stunned, although a split second later she was wondering why it had taken 6 months for Hermione to notice anything. "That was my wife." She answered without hesitation, there was no reason to hide this from the young woman before her like she had with Severus all those years ago.

"You're married?" Hermione gasped in shock. "And not to Albus? Bloody hell, I did not see that coming." Hermione was flabbergasted, she had never really believed the rumours of Albus and Minerva, she had naively assumed that the woman was an old spinster. She would never in a million years pictured the her as a lesbian.

"Tell me," Minerva quirked an eyebrow, "Is it the fact that I am married, or that I am married to a woman that has that look of perplexion on your face?" She was struggling not to down right laugh, she had never before seen a look of utter confusion on the young woman's face, and it was rather, well, charming. That is not a good thing to think when she walks around with a distracting body like that.

"…" Hermione looked for words but couldn't gather them. Not only had this woman allowed her to know something so personal but was now toying with her in a very flirtatious way. For the second time in 2 days her heart began to hammer. She hadn't believed it when her female friends spoke of it, yet here she was sat in the presence of the most formidable woman in the wizarding world and she had a flutter, and the longer she sat there under her scrutiny the more the wings flapped around her stomach. "Neither…Both…It's more that I would never have thought you would tell me something so personal." She recovered and breathed trying to calm her beating heart. This is not a good time to start to think of her like that. She's bloody well married. She chastised herself.

"Well when you have fought side by side together and seen the good and bad together, you have earnt my trust. I believe the truth is something that you will keep to yourself. You earnt my trust a long time ago Hermione and I can not see that changing." It is also very nice to see the blush rise up that very appealing neck, and if you happen to know I'm attracted to women then so be it.

"Thank you Minerva, I would never break your trust." The younger woman smiled, "I am very grateful to have gained it so young by doing nothing other than was necessary to survive and allow those I love to survive. I have to ask though, how on earth are any of the professors married and living in the castle for 9 months of the year?"

"I wondered if you would bring that up." She raised an eyebrow at the younger woman. "I am sure you would be able to work it out if I gave you some time."

"Can you just tell me? It's been a long week," a pout upon her lips. "You can tell me and pretend I worked it out?" Her pout turning into a toothy grin. Oh Merlin, Hermione you are flirting with her, what the hell are you doing. "Of course if you cannot say and I have to work it out myself I'm sure it can't be too difficult to do, well barring Albus having anything to do with it?"

"No, no dear I can indeed tell you. And for Albus' part, he did it for me. Well he did it for himself so he didn't have to deal with all the paperwork he dumped on my desk." Minerva allowed a sad smile to cross her face as she did whenever she thought about her dear departed friend. "For many years it was against school rules for any teacher to have a relationship let alone marry anyone. Albus and his fluffy filled head resented it from the moment he stepped through the doors to teach. As his notion of love being the greatest form of magic and yet not allowing it in the castle drove him crazy. When I was asked to start teaching, I had been with my now wife for the best part of 5 years and I was not willing to give that up for my dream job. I told the interviewing panel that she was to move into the castle with me or I would not take the post." She chuckled lightly, "You know I'm not entirely unsure that is why the old coot offered me the job in the first place. Well it didn't go down too well with the governors and they declined me the job. They didn't see why they should bend the rules and would definitely not consider it unless I was married."

"That's preposterous, why should the love between two people be determined by marriage. It's..." Minerva held her hand up to stall the younger witch. "I am here am I not? I have been here teaching for the past 20 years." Hermione nodded. "Then I will finish." The young witch had the graces to blush. There that lovely colour is again.

"I asked my wife to marry me. She refused. I asked again the next year. She refused." At this point Hermione was looking at her with confusion. "Don't get me wrong we love each other very much but she was not willing to compromise. We do on occasion still argue about it. Two years later Albus arrived on my doorstep with another job offer. He had told the board that this time they would accept me and my partner married or not or he would resign. They made an exception for me. Three days later my wife and I moved into our chambers at Hogwarts."

"So why does no one know that there are spouses living in the castle?" Hermione sat further back in her chair, mind trying to work through the options.

"That's simple. We each have a floo in our chambers and this leads to the partners place of work or one of the rooms above the leaky cauldron specifically kept for use of Hogwarts staff and relatives. We spend meal times with the pupils at the governors requests and retire for the evening to our other halves. Those on the staff who are single take the majority of the evening rounds, although not a written rule they do take the burden without question. To be honest there are only three members of staff at the moment without someone living with them." Minerva smiled at the look on the young woman's shocked face. "Not many pupils have asked about the situation, in fact I myself have only been asked twice. Once this evening and the other by a very inquisitive Severus when he was a pupil. I didn't tell him anything and the look on his face when he joined the staff was rather amusing."

"I am grateful for your honesty. It sort of…" Hermione tailed off.

"Sort of what dear?" Minevra raised her eyebrow.

"It keeps my dream alive of coming back to Hogwarts, to teach. But I do want to find the person to spend my life with and I just assumed I would have to choose." She smiled brightly. "This way I can have everything and having love in my life."

Minerva nodded her agreement. "And what subject do you imagine yourself coming back to teach?"

The conversation that evening went on longer than usual as they delved into the depths of Hermione's aspirations to teach, to find the person of her dreams and start a family. They only parted when Hermione realised the time and apologies profusely for keeping her from her wife.

For Minerva's part that night had been the first that she had not thought about getting back to her wife after her office hours. The cold shoulder she had been given for the next two days had been enough for her to make a compromise that only once a week she would be later than her office hours and it would be on an evening her wife was out of the castle. It was these evenings she would spend with Hermione, becoming closer than she should have and she knew it but couldn't bring herself to care about it. The young woman had captured something within her that she had thought long lost.

Hermione that evening dreamt of the older witch for the first time. Each meeting they had would end with her having a dream and as the weeks went on they became more and more intimate. Knowing that Minerva was married was probably a good thing as it kept the boundary in place that she feared she may otherwise try to push or more likely cross.