Author's Notes:

Sorry, it's been a few days since I updated. Here's a shot chapter that I hope will appease people until I produce something longer and post it. Hopefully I can do that tomorrow but one never knows. In any event, here you are.

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Minerva could not help but feel guilty at the depth of her feelings for Albus Dumbledore. Every time her mind strayed to him, she felt as though she was betraying Malcolm and her thoughts were straying more and more often to her auburn-haired mentor.

She hadn't expected this to happen at all. When she'd left Hogwarts last summer, she'd still been fuming at Dumbledore for his treatment of her during that entire escape to transfiguration class incident. She'd spent her summer growing closer and closer to Malcolm and rarely sparing a thought for Professor Dumbledore. She'd returned to Hogwarts earlier this year still very much ignoring any feelings she had for the professor and thinking she might even be falling in love with Malcolm.

She'd also returned with no more bitter feelings towards her beloved teacher. They had faded over the summer and he was more than happy to welcome her back into their normal routine. He'd welcomed her back with open arms.

Seeing Professor Dumbledore again for the first time after the summer had been a quietly joyful event. They had not said a word about what had happened at the end of last year. There had simply been an understanding that such things occurred between mentor and protege, and thus all was suddenly right between them. Minerva had not realized how much tension she had been retaining from that until she had found it released from her then.

They had been quick to resume their twice weekly animagus lessons. The first had taken place before that first week of school had finished. She had spent a rather large chunk of her time with Professor Dumbledore in his office, working through the complexities of the animagus process. What remained of her time had been spent practicing for quidditch (her mother had mercifully relented on her hysterical promise to never let her on a broomstick again), studying and being with Malcolm.

For the first two months of the term nothing had been wrong. Malcolm had constantly invaded her thought and Professor Dumbledore rarely did so, except in the context of lessons and her progress as an animagus. As time passed, however, the magic of a new relationship had faded and Minerva had slowly found her professor beginning to invade her thoughts the way he had before.

She'd still not acknowledged her feelings for what they were, however. Just as she had to Muriel that day in the hospital wing, she'd insisted to herself that all her feelings rested with Malcolm and his lovely blonde curls. The idea that she would fancy her professor was highly inappropriate, and for another few months she'd fought the idea.

She'd been fighting a losing battle, however. Muriel had dragged the matter into the light many months ago and try as she might, Minerva could no longer hide it in the shadows.

Admitting she fancied Professor Dumbledore had been, however, a mistake in Minerva's eyes. Far from being the first step toward getting rid of her feelings, it had opened the floodgates of her emotions. There were times when she had found herself thinking about Professor Dumbledore more than Malcolm.

She'd once even caught herself thinking about Professor Dumbledore as Malcolm kissed her. The guilt from that had been overwhelming. She'd cried about it in her dormitory for nearly an hour. She did not want this. She wanted the relationship she'd had with Malcolm over the summer.

Through this all, Muriel had been Minerva's constant advisor. Minerva found it easier to talk to Muriel about these sorts of things than she did anybody else—though she had not even managed to tell Muriel everything. She was something of a private person, and sharing absolutely every feeling she had about something was not something that came naturally or easily.

And some things were hard to admit. Only she knew that her mind had wandered to her professor once as Malcolm had kissed her. It would more than likely remain that way.

At least it had only happened the once. Minerva's horror had driven Dumbledore out of her thoughts for at least a week.

She did have her periods of blessed sanity, however. There were times when Malcolm would manage to tug at her heart so that Professor Dumbledore would sink from her mind completely for days at a time. It was times like those that allowed Minerva her hope that she could beat her infatuation.

It allowed her her hope that she would beat her infatuation and ride off into at least a short term sunset with Malcolm, whom she knew adored her and whom she was, obviously, remarkably fond of as well. It was this hope that allowed her to justify her clinging hold on the relationship she and Malcolm had with one another. She would get over this silly thing she had for a man who was her teacher and far too old for her and instead be able to concentrate on the marvelous young man who was her contemporary in age.

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"My dear girl, if you are not going to concentrate on your task, I might as well send you back to Gryffindor tower. Minerva, what is wrong with you?"

The idea that I am going to be going away from this castle in a scant couple of weeks and will not see your blue eyes for three months, Minerva thought bitterly, feeling that she should not be thinking what she was, just as she nearly always did when such thoughts occurred to her. Rarely was there any indulgence of any thoughts like these—and when there was she inevitably felt guilty later. Such things were better avoided.

So what should she tell him? She hated the idea of lying to him, of course, but whenever these sorts of situations came up there was no question that she would not tell him the whole and complete truth of the matter. A loose version of the truth was always what she settled on. She was, by nature, an honest person.

"I've just been thinking about the summer, Professor."

Dumbledore smiled. "Most students are about ready to leap out of their skins in anticipation. I'm surprised that even you're not excited about the prospect of seeing your parents."

"I am," she assured him. "It's just . . . After I came back last summer, I felt like I'd lost at least a month off of this. It bothers me. I want to do this, and do it right. I don't want to take a few steps back each year. It's a long process."

It had not been exactly what she'd been thinking right then, of course, but overall it was an undeniably true statement. Becoming an animagus was indeed a long process—one that consisted mostly of preparation for the series of transformations in which the animagus form was revealed and then made to "stick." Stick was really the wrong word for it, at least in Minerva's eyes, for one's animagus form could never change or be consciously decided on, but it was what the process of making the form inherent and transformation natural and wandless was generally referred to as. In any event, it was supposed to be a mostly ongoing process, not one interrupted for three months on a yearly basis. She had done what she could last summer, driven by her strong desire to become an animagus and do as much of that as possible without Dumbledore—whom she had of course still been mad at. There had been times, however, when she had simply needed Dumbledore's help and without him she could not continue. It had put an amazing stall on things and she'd returned to Hogwarts feeling as though she'd lost months of time over the summer.

Dumbledore seemed deep in thought, considering her words. Finally, he began to speak in a slow, thoughtful sort of voice. "Perhaps we continue our work over the summer, rather than allow this project to fall behind and to atrophy . . . Would you be willing to come to my summer home twice a week so we might continue? You would easily be able to travel back and forth through the floo network."

Minerva had not expected nor had she even wanted Professor Dumbledore to suggest what he had just suggested. She had been planning on spending the entirety of the summer away from him and spending as much time with Malcolm as possible. Three months away from Dumbledore and his twinkling eyes and kind smile and brilliant mind and . .

Well, those three months would do her a lot of good. Her infatuation with him was most certainly not a good or desirable thing and from that perspective, spending her summer flooing back and forth to his summer home was a very bad idea.

From the perspective of her becoming an animagus, however, spending her entire summer at home and allowing herself to waste so much time was ludicrous. She did want to become an animagus didn't she? Well that meant she needed to suck it up and ignore those silly feelings of hers. This was about her becoming an animagus and everything else was irrelevant.

The second perspective was by far the more practical one and it quickly won out in Minerva's head.

"I think that's an excellent idea, Professor."