Hermione exited the bathroom with her clothes in her arms, clad only in a towel. Her hair hung in dripping ringlets down her back. She tossed the bundle of clothes on the bed. Minerva gulped at the sight of the bare skin of her chest and shoulders.

"Your turn, Minnie." She paused, realizing that she was very nearly naked, and then smirked at the hungry look on Minerva's face. She was glad that Minerva trusted her instincts enough to let her desire show through at least some of the time. "Behave, saucy witch. Shower." Minerva fought down a shiver and hightailed it out of her chair and into the bathroom.

It didn't take long for Hermione to dress in the jeans and, long wine-colored merino sweater that Tilley had brought from her room at the castle. She laced her boots over her pants, getting a chuckle at the fact they made her feel a bit like a bad-ass. As she dried her hair with a flick of her wand, Hermione could feel her magic just underneath her skin, the strength of it sent brief chills along the fine hairs on her arms and across her abdomen. She smoothed her hair with another spell and separated a lock out next to her ear, braided it, and pulled it over the crown of her head, pinning it into place on her other temple.

Dressed, Hermione poured the rest of her hot chocolate into her mug, warmed it, and opened the french doors out onto Minerva's terrace. It was floored with shale, and enclosed in granite and there was a delicate, carved teak table in one of the corners. Hermione leaned on her forearms on the railing, sipped her chocolate, and looked out over the sun-touched, mist covered moors.

After a few minutes silent contemplation, Hermione felt Minerva join her. The older woman's hair was dry, but still loose; it shifted over her bare shoulders, forming a curtain of soft, black waves that fell to her hips. Hermione leaned into Minerva and dropped her head against the smooth, pale skin that covered her love's strong arms.

Minerva was wearing a pair of beige cargo pants today and a tight ivory camisole that left bare a large expanse of skin on her chest. Her feet were bare. Even in profile, Hermione could see she was smiling; the corners of her lips were turned up, the dimples under her sculpted cheekbones peeking out. Hermione's nostrils were filled with the scent of lavender and vanilla and Minerva.

"You are so lovely, Minerva McGonagall." Hermione said throatily, and at her words, she could see the older woman's smile broaden and a flush spread across her cheeks and down her neck. "Are you ready to go, Minnie?"

"Just about. I need to deal with my hair and put on shoes and et cetera. Are you sure you're up for this? I do not want you stuck in fox form again."

"I'm fine, Minnie. I feel wonderful, actually." Hermione smiled broadly at the woman she loved.

"If you're sure." Hermione abandoned her mug and ducked under Minerva's arm, sliding her arms around the older woman's waist. When she rested her head on Minerva's chest, her cheek came into contact with the soft skin exposed by her tank top. She was acutely aware of a nipple poking into her neck, but she didn't call attention to it, not wanting to end up in the same predicament they were in earlier. Minerva's arms wrapped around her and squeezed gently.

"Positive." She placed a delicate kiss on Minerva's sternum. "Now let's go."

Hermione bounced down the stairs and into the kitchen to pull her tartan jacket off the hooks by the back door. She returned to the foyer to wait. Minerva descended the stairs promptly; booted, wearing a hunter green wrap sweater, her hair in a neat french braid. It surprised Hermione how talking about the feelings that she and Minerva shared had made it so much easier to look at the older woman with the eyes of a lover.

She couldn't wait to explore the tall witch's body - her anticipation surprised her, because she had never really experienced its like before. Not with Ron and not with Viktor or any of the adolescent crushes she had had as a school girl. It was liberating, this anticipation. The thrill she got from dragging her eyes along the other woman's slender body, from imagining what the wide, thin lipped mouth would feel like against her own lips, from knowing that she alone in all the world could touch fierce, strong, Minerva McGonagall and see the sweetness that was in her very bones.

Minerva couldn't fathom the odd look on Hermione's face. Her countenance was caught somewhere between fondness, wonderment and just a soupçon of desire.

"What is that look you are giving me, mo cridhe. Is my zipper open?" Minerva grinned, a little embarrassed at the scrutiny.

"Just amazed at my good fortune, Minerva. And a bit awestruck at just how beautiful you are."

"I'm an old woman, Hermione. You're a kind, brilliant, beautiful young woman in the bloom of her youth. It is I who is continuously made breathless by you. That, and I find myself continually grateful that you can get past my walls - that it is so easy to be Minerva around you, instead of Professor, or Headmistress, or master of Transfiguration."

"I am grateful for that, too, Minnie." She grabbed the older woman's hand and pulled her towards the door. "Now, let's go for a run."

On the front lawn, Minerva paused and used a lick of magic to raise the wards around the manor. When she turned around, Hermione was already a fox, the tip of her tail quivering in anticipation, crouching in that universal canine position that says 'let's play'. She yipped.

"Who's bossy now, little fox?" Minerva then flowed into her feline form and was immediately bowled over by Hermione, who had pounced the second Minerva had begun her change. When they righted themselves, Minerva was aghast and had a grass stain smeared across her shoulder. Hermione's mouth was open in a happy, canine grin.

"Tag, you're it." Hermione said, her voice strangely hollow in Minerva's skull.

"How did you do that!" Minerva was incredulous. "How am I doing this?"

"I'll tell you if you catch me, Tabby!" She sneezed a laugh and then took off in the direction of the loch.

They gamboled playfully for well over an hour, heading for ground higher than where they had picnic'ed the day before. Hermione's energy was boundless and she continually doubled back to attempt to bowl Minerva over. Minerva paid the favor back by tangling herself around the fox's ankles. As they ran, Hermione told her that the Heart had given them the ability to speak mind to mind while in animagus form. They both thought it would come in useful.

When Hermione finally collapsed in a panting heap, Minerva stopped next to her and meowed plaintively.

"Can't keep up with a kitty cat, little fox?"

"Guess not. I'm ok with that." The silver cat stepped closer and rubbed her head along the fox's jaw.

"Once you catch your breath we'll head back to the castle." The cat then sat next to the fox, tucked her tail around her feet and lifted her face to the summer sun. As the cat felt her fur become almost incandescent with warmth in the way that only lounging cats could enjoy, the flattened fox fell asleep, delicate snorts issuing from its black nose.

Minerva sighed and changed back into her human form, bent to scoop up the fox, cradling it against her chest and disappeared.