A/N: I know it's late but… Merry Christmas to everyone. I'm sorry I left this story aside for a while (short given my history…) but I wasn't certain of what chapter to post next… I finally decided to just go chronologically on this one, so I hope you like it.

Enjoy ^.^

1982

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Chapter 8

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Dumbledore's rooms

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by Saeshmea

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It was around midnight when the fireplace in the Headmaster's office was filled with smoke and Albus Dumbledore appeared suddenly.

Severus looked up, not daring to move. Minerva had fallen asleep on the sofa with her head on his lap while they waited.

"Goodnight, Severus," he said, apparently not surprised by the intruders in his office.

"I'm sorry we entered without permission, Sir." Severus apologized.

"It's alright," Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace and sat on the armchair to face Severus, "I was expecting this day, but not so soon."

"I don't understand, Sir."

"Aren't you here because of Minerva's marriage?" the Headmaster asked.

"You knew?" Severus couldn't hide his surprise and after regaining his temper he checked on Minerva, who was still sleeping peacefully.

"I knew there was something wrong and that she didn't want to talk about it to anyone," Dumbledore explained.

"And you did nothing about it?" Severus said, upset.

"I did," the Headmaster said looking at him.

"You mean you brought me to the school knowing I'd found out?"

"No, I brought you here because I needed a potions professor," Dumbledore said, "I didn't knew you would be helpful with Minerva's matter until the moment she told me she'd seen you in the train," he explained, "I hadn't seen that sparkle in her eyes since she lost the baby," he admitted, "even her voice had something different."

"You don't expect me to believe you actually planned all this to happen," Severus pointed out, trying not to raise his voice.

"No, of course not," the Headmaster answered, "I could only hope it would work, that you would get close, maybe grow a friendship and that at some point she would feel comfortable enough with you to open herself," he said, "I have no idea of how you've managed, specially so quickly, and I have no intention to ask," he added, "all I care about is that you're here with her, hopefully to put an end to this awful marriage."

"Does this mean you will fire Mr. Coen immediately?" Severus asked, leaving aside a dozen other questions.

"No," Dumbledore said, "I'm afraid I can't do that."

"What?!" Severus exclaimed, and he soon realized that too loud, because Minerva moved on his lap and when he looked she was awake.

"I'm sorry we woke you up, my dear," Dumbledore said as Minerva sat up on the sofa and fixed her hair.

"Albus, I'm so sorry..." she apologized, clearly ashamed by having been caught asleep on the Headmasters couch.

"Please," Albus replied with a smile on his lips, 'I'm glad you found my sofa comfortable enough to have a nap... Or maybe it was Severus lap what helped you have some sleep..."

The potions professor didn't reply, but watched Minerva blushing and putting her look down.

"We were just discussing about the future of your husband," Dumbledore said, and Minerva opened her eyes widely and turned to Severus.

"You told him already?"

"I didn't," Severus quickly replied, "he already knew."

"What? You knew?" she was nervous, even scared by the look on her eyes, "What did you knew? Since when?"

"We've known each other for a long time, my dear," Dumbledore said, "after you married Ethan," he lowered his voice, "and specially after you gave birth to Felicia," he let a moment for Minerva to held her tears, "I watched the sparkle of your eyes go away, you stopped coming to play chess with me, going out with your friends… I convinced myself you were just mourning your little girl but with time I started to notice other things, like the way you would never disagree with Ethan in public, or the way you would keep pulling your sleeves down… I would ignore that at first, but one day at breakfast I noticed a mark on your wrists, and when I asked, you told me you'd burned yourself without looking at me. You were lying, and it was then when I understood there was something else going on."

"You never said a word…" Minerva muttered, holding a cry on her voice.

"I wouldn't dare," Albus said, "I didn't know how to approach you about it, and I knew you would have never admit it to me if I asked."

Minerva stood up and walked away to the window. Severus guessed she was hiding her tears from them.

"I feel so stupid," she muttered, still giving her back to both men, "I thought I could hide it from everyone, but… I wonder if anyone else knows."

"Everybody appreciates you here, Minerva," Dumbledore said, "if anyone knew they would have said something, to you, or me... nobody else is the kind of fool I am."

"That's true," Severus pointed out and Minerva turned around and stared at the Headmaster.

"You seem to have given this a thought for a longer time than me," she said, "Tell me, what am I supposed to do now?"

"I'll owl Mr. Benson first thing on the morning," Dumbledore said, "he's a good friend of mine and a great divorce lawyer. He will be a greater help than I can."

"Will you fire Ethan?" she asked.

"I already told Severus, Minerva," he said, "I can't do that."

"What?"

"Ethan's contract doesn't expire until June," he explained, "to dismiss him earlier I would have to present a report to the Ministry and unfortunately they won't accept being an abusive husband as a reason to take him away from his duties."

"What about the way he treats the animals?" Severus interrupted, "I saw him beating up one of the hippogriffs just this afternoon. I could testify and…"

"That is not enough, Severus," the Headmaster said, "mistreating an animal it's no crime, he would easily justify that he was disciplining the hippogriff," he explained, "Ethan will have to stay in the school until the end of the year unless he chooses to leave on his own."

"Then what am I doing here?" Minerva suddenly wondered, "I should go back to our rooms," she said, her hands began to shake, "if I tell him I got lost while coming back from the forest he won't get too mad," she muttered taking her hand to her head and beginning to walk to the door, "this was crazy, I should have known…"

"Minerva," Severus followed her, "Minerva, you don't need to worry about Ethan anymore," he said, and she stopped and looked at him, "you don't have to go back to him."

"You know nothing, Severus," she said, "neither of you do," she added, "he'll get very angry if I'm not back to our rooms immediately. And if he finds out we've been talking about divorce…" her voice trembled and her eyes filled with tears again. Severus held her hand and pulled him into his embrace and before anyone could say anything else someone knocked the door.

"It's him," she panicked, "I know it's him."

"Calm down," Dumbledore stood up from the armchair and walked towards them, "Severus take Minerva upstairs to my private rooms."

Severus obeyed. Not letting go of Minerva's hand, he climbed the spiral stairs and went into the little apartment over the Headmaster's office. Leaving the door ajar, he watched Dumbledore inviting in a very nervous Ethan Coen.

Minerva saw it too, and Severus had to silence her with his hand so they wouldn't be heard.

"I'm sorry to disturb you this late, Headmaster, but" Ethan said, "Minerva wasn't in our rooms when I came back from my tasks and I wondered if maybe you had kept her working late."

"I'm afraid I have," Dumbledore answered, skillfully keeping his temper, "I had to send Minerva to the Ministry at the last minute for an emergency," he lied, "I told her she could stay the night in London so she didn't have to travel back during the night, I'm very sorry that we worried you, Ethan."

"It's alright, Headmaster," the professor replied in a very polite tone, "if it was an emergency... At least I know she's alright. Good night."

"Good night," after that Dumbledore closed the door and Severus returned his attention to Minerva.

She was trapped between him and the cold wall, gagged by his own hand and looking at him with a look he couldn't read.

"I'm sorry," he said after letting go of her, and before she could reply, Dumbledore appeared by the door.

"Well, we have nothing to worry about for tonight," he said, "you can stay in my guest's room, Minerva," he suggested, "and I'll teach your morning classes so you don't have to confront Ethan until you have spoken to the lawyer."

"Thank you, Albus," Minerva said almost on a whisper.

"Then it's time for me to go," Severus interrupted, "I'll come back after breakfast to check on you," he said, giving one last look at Minerva before turning to the door, but he was stopped by her hand grabbing his wrist.

"Stay," she said, and he turned around, "please."

"Minerva, I don't…"

"I need you," she whispered.

Dumbledore's guest's bedroom was poorly decorated and had only one double bed. Severus sat on the edge of it as he waited for Minerva to come out from the bathroom. When she did, her clothes had been transfigured into a long sleeping gown with long sleeves and a shy neckline that didn't show her breasts but did unveil some skin and part of a bruise on the right side of her body.

Severus made a great effort not to fix his look on it, not only because he wanted to avoid talking about that, but because he was afraid she would think he was looking at something else.

He expected Minerva to walk to the other side of the bed and lie down, but instead she approached him and sat at his side. They looked at each other for a moment, and soon he felt her hand caressing his arm, and he tried not to surrender at her touch, but then her other hand began to brush his cheek and held his chin as her lips looked for his.

He returned the kiss, and even allowed himself to place his hands on her waist before moving apart and standing up.

"I don't want to do this," he said.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I thought…"

"No, don't misunderstand…" he tried to explain himself, nervously pacing around the bed, "I do want to do this, I really do, I haven't thought of anything else since I saw you on that train," he confessed, "but," he stopped walking around and looked at her, "this is not the way I want it to be," he sat next to her again and took a flock of her hair behind her ear, "you have a lot of things to clear out," he said, "only a few hours ago you thought you would spend tonight with your husband," he pointed out, "and now you are here, with someone else, in a bedroom that it's not yours, neither mine…" he held her hands, and raised them to his lips, "whenever it will happen between us," he said, "I want you to really want it, Minerva."

They were in silence for a moment and then she got free of his hands and cupped his face.

"I wish you had come back to my life before," she said.

"I don't think it would have been legal, professor," he joked, and he received a stare for an answer, "let's go to sleep, it's late and tomorrow appears to turn into a long day."

"You are not going to leave?" she asked.

"Of course not, you asked me to stay," he answered, and they didn't say anything else.

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TO BE CONTINUED...