Enjoy - I sure did ;)

~Ministry of Magic 1949

The Annual Ministry gathering for Halloween was always a rather dull affair compared to Hogwarts Halloween Feast where this year the students and teachers alike were in costumes. Something which could not be said for the ministry employees and other important people this evening in the Atrium who were all in stiff uniforms or the lastest boring fashion from Diagon Alley. Albus would have preferred the costumes. He had looked forward to his own costume this year and the feast back at Hogwarts but alas the Minister had coincided the Ministry happening with the date for Hogwarts'. Unfortunately being Albus Dumbledore meant if he did not attend people would notice and he would end up on the front of the daily prophet the proceeding day with a ludicrous headline declaring him either an arrogant recluse or contagious with some far-fetched esoteric magic malady. Things were bad indeed when even the Minister himself had sent a howler with the said Halloween invitation. This howler had accidently arrived in the middle of teaching second-years to transfigure teacups into feathers and had interrupted the class with a deafening female ministry employee reminding Albus on behalf of the Minister that did he not attend he would indeed end up in the prophet with an embarrassing front-page. The blackmail was made even easier since Albus knew the Minister personally and knew that said person was in possession of incredible embarrassing pictures. And having attended Hogwarts with Edgar Bones he knew the kind of mischief the wizard was capable of. So naturally he attended, albeit grudgingly.

Presently Albus was standing beside Edgar with his honor guard of various ministers and Aurors, greeting the arrivals. Virginia Levichy and her choice consort of the evening arrived in swirl of colors, the legendary French witch adorned with sparkling jewelry and bright colorful scarves. The young boy she had brought with her was clothed in a tight suit, clinging to his body and Albus blushed when he noticed the boy's well muscled body. Albus felt his face warm even further when the tight muscles was flexed seductively when the boy greeted him, his white teeth smiling at him. Albus awkwardly shook hands with the young French wizard while glancing at the older, infamous Mrs. Levichy who was also giving him a coy smile, her lips painted a bright red.

"Mr. Dumbly-Dorr"

"Mrs. Levichy"

"I do not believe ve've met since the war – nasty business dat was,"

"Indeed."

Virginia leaned in giving him a quick peck on the cheek before she moved on, stopping to greet the other wizards. The young boy however took the opportunity and turned once again towards Albus.

"A pleasure meeting you, Mr. Dumbly-Dorr,"

"Likewise Mr…?" Albus asked politely, trying to block out the curious look Elphias was giving him from the other end of the Atrium.

"Zandru," the boy introduced himself, once again taking Albus' hand, the handshake being slightly longer than Albus deemed necessary. He blushed again when he felt the boy run his thumb slowly against the back of his palm before letting his hand go.

"Zandru," Mrs. Levichy called then, beckoning the boy over her bright eyes gleaming and her mouth directing a smirk at Albus.

Zandru cast a glance at Albus before leaving, his dark eyes holding nothing back when he assessed Albus from head to toe. The boy smiled again before he joined his mistress. Albus sighed with relief and excused himself from the greeting committee. Elphias joined him instantly, his eyes laughing as he regarded his old friend.

"I see you have met yet another admirer," he commented casually but his eyes betrayed his delightful joy at having caught Albus in yet another embarrassing situation.

"I hardly think-" Albus started uncomfortably but was interrupted by Elphias laughing and exclaiming;

"The boy was practically glued to your crotch Albus."

"Elphias! The boy is a consort of –" Albus started indignantly but was once again interrupted.

"I do not think Mrs. Levichy minds sharing – she has a whole manor full of companions – she won't miss him."

Albus spluttered, feeling himself becoming both angry at the insinuation and from trying to come back with something witty. Elphias gave a good laugh, patting him on the back.

"Dear friend, I am having you on," Elphias told him between laughs. Albus however did not find it particular funny but decided that there was nothing he could do to steer Elphias away from commenting on awkward, embarrassing situations.

"I do wonder how she gets past the legislation on polygamy?" he tried to steer the conversation away from the topic of young men and sex.

"Friends in high places I'd imagine," Elphias replied looking toward the bar where the said witch was ordering drinks, her young consort hanging onto her arm while every now and then casting furtive looks in their direction. "Why Albus, you could have a whole castle full of lovers if you wanted as well. Since the war people have practically been licking your fine behind," Elphias eyes turned once again from serious to taunting orbs that were observing him with mirth.

"It is a different matter here, Elphias. No matter the groveling our ministry tends to lean a bit more towards conservatism than the French. I'd daresay, should I have suddenly attained a group of consorts that the Ministry would have a thing or two to say about that." Albus told his friend in a grave voice albeit he was having trouble not breaking out in a laugh as well. He expected his friend to further continue the conversation, maybe imply something indecent or laugh it all up but Elphias had glanced up at the arriving guests and he suddenly latched unto Albus' arm.

"Don't look Albus but your former student just arrived," he said in a whisper, his eyes glued to something behind Albus who was prevented from turning around by the tight hold Elphias had on his arms.

"Elphias I have plenty of former students" Albus exclaimed which made his friend look at him, his mouth curling with a smirk.

"You canoodle with all your former students in dingy nightclubs then?"

Albus felt a lump forming in his throat, his heart started beating in a perturbed rhythm and he felt instantly febrile. This was something he had not expected this evening. The last rumor he had heard, from the reliable source of the Minister for Magical Law, had Minerva McGonagall roaming the Asian wilderness apprenticing with some rather unknown transfiguration master. He had not expected her to show up at tonight's event. He slowly shrugged out of Elphias hold and turned around, trying to surreptitiously view the crowd without appearing to be looking for anyone special. At first he did not see her, only a blur of many black-robed wizards streaming from the floo-fireplaces. But then he caught sight of black hair and his breath was taken away. He covertly watched the beautiful witch make her way through the crowd, her slender pale hands greeting the Minister and his companions. Even from afar he could distinguish the slight mischievous glint in her eyes as she gave the Minister a handshake. Adorned in a barely opaque, thin, clingy dress that was fastened at her neck and went to the floor in an elegant black sweep, she was the embodiment of a dark goddess from a tale of Greek myth. The long sleeves of the dress reached well past her fingers but despite not revealing any skin besides her pale face, the clingy material was much more sensual than had she arrived in nothing; the way it hugged her curves and clung to her body as her own flesh. Albus closed his mouth and swallowed, having a hard time not reacting to the sight. He felt his mouth go dry, he felt slightly dizzy and for the umpteenth time in his lifetime he was glad for the fashion of wizards – long robes had the advantage of hiding certain biological instincts from being publicly noticeable.

"Thirty years younger and I would …," Elphias ended the sentence with an obscene gesture, elbowing Albus in the process.

"You really are too much," Albus declared, giving his friend a disgusted look.

"Says the teacher who banged his student!" Elphias gave again.

"I never!"

"Really?"

"Yes – really!"

"Why, I do believe you are blushing Albus Dumbledore!"

Albus however was inhibited from answering when he saw Minerva turn around and his vision was assaulted by the image of her entire back devoid of any clothes. The dress ended just above her buttocks and showed the entire span of her spine and shoulder blades, her white, pale skin standing in stark contrast to her black hair and the dress. He forgot to breathe in that moment mesmerized and attacked by fantasies of touching the bared flesh, trailing his fingers tauntingly down her spine, touching his lips to the delicious looking skin just on the soft spot where her back curved. Before he could act though she was gone, the crowd of people hiding her. He silently cursed, turned around again to watch an amused Elphias watching him.

"What!" he asked slightly irritated, whether by his friends knowing look or by the fact that the dark-haired witch was gone, he did not know.

Elphias rolled his eyes mockingly "Oh do lighten up – I was just gonna comment on her lovely outfit"

"You never do just anything, Elphias!"

"Phaww!" Elphias exclaimed quite uncharacteristically, giving Albus a look of something caught between bemusement and resignation. He shook his head and declared; "We need a drink!" while latching onto his sleeve and dragging him across the room to the bar.

*

Quite a few drinks later and many detours which consisted of avoiding Mrs. Levichy's young boy, Albus found himself at last resorting to magic. He saw the boy's dark eyes catching him across the room and immediately the boy started in his direction an impish expression upon his face. Seeing no places to retreat and hide, Albus instinctually disguised himself in a cloak of invisibility and swept by a wide-eyed Zandru who looked around the room with a perplexed surprise. Grinning Albus merrily picked up another goblet of alcohol and proceeded into a badly lit corridor that lead into an empty room currently used as a wardrobe of sort. Sighing with relief he wandered about the small room, still invisible and thinking about the events of the night. The boy had turned out to be quite a nuisance and as the night wore on and he had yet to encounter his former student, the apparent admiration of the French wizard had turned into an almost annoying affair. No one had offered to help him of course; Elphias had just watched with glee while Mrs. Levichy was giving him slightly encouraging looks throughout the evening. Why the French witch wanted to egg on contact Albus had no clue, but the behavior puzzled him. Looking out the window, he was quite caught up in the gentle rain hitting the glass and thus he jumped with surprise when the door into the wardrobe room suddenly banged open, its hinges screeching and the door hitting the wall with a loud sound. He spun around for a moment forgetting that he was invisible and was just about to say something to the intruders when he noticed that the couple who had entered was none other than his black-haired witch and some copper-skinned stranger. The tall man closed the door behind him, muttering an incantation.

"Really Dorian, there's no need to manhandle the door," Minerva dryly told the tall wizard standing beside her, her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed in mock-disdain. Albus watched entranced, feeling a fluttering in his stomach, once again mesmerized by her. The tall stranger strode toward her in a swift moment, almost making Albus shout out, and the stranger enveloped her in his arms, his mouth descending to meet her lips. The stranger pushed Minerva back towards the wall and pinned her firmly against it, still his lips placed confidently upon hers. Minerva elicited a small moan at his advances and Albus felt an ambivalent feeling of jealousy and excitement mingling together. The tall wizard finally drew back, his dark eyes regarding the heavy-breathing witch before him,

"I thought you liked it rough, darling," he whispered but his voice rang throughout the small room and Albus felt anger flare at the sound. He desperately wanted to escape the couple and their display of passion while simultaneously he wanted to rip the stranger away from Minerva and claim her lips himself. They glistened darkly in the room, slightly parted and painted almost black. He was unbelievably aroused, a painful longing in his bones and somehow the smoldering embers of envy only enhanced his dark lust.

Minerva looked up at her lover, her dark eyes twinkling in the shadows and her lips protruded in a crooked smile.

"Mmh," she moaned in agreement, running her slender fingers through the dark, short hair of the wizard. Albus watched in both horror and fascination as the wizard suddenly ripped her dress up revealing creamy thighs and in a swift movement had himself freed from his robes. Albus felt himself stirring almost painfully against his underclothes and his breath quickening as he watched the dark stranger taking Minerva up against the wall, roughly banging her into the wall in a repetitive rhythm of thrusts. He wanted to close his eyes but the visage of ecstasy upon her face kept his eyes riveted on her form, watching her closed eyes, parted lips and the single droplets of sweat travelling down her glistening neck. He wanted to impair his hearing but the sudden sound of her heavy breaths and gasps had him in a state of wily entrancement, unable to do anything but watch. And so he watched all the way to the end, embarrassingly aroused, and observed as the tall stranger stifled her moan of rapture with his mouth when they both climaxed. A thrill ran through his body like electricity then, and he leaned back against the window pane, his own breath perturbed as well. And at last he closed his eyes, only hearing the rustling of clothes signaling that the couple was in the process of rearranging their attires into decency again.

"Delightful," the timbre of the tall stranger travelled to Albus' ears, a slight undertone of dark syrup in it.

Minerva gave a laugh and Albus heard something being hit. He opened his eyes and saw the stranger holding onto his arm in mock-hurt.

"I'm charmed," Minerva told him, caressing his cheek. "Now, be a good boy and fetch me a glass of wine ."

"You like bossing me around, don't you witch," the dark man replied, although he was already on his way to the door.

"No more than you liked being handled, Dorian," Minerva called as he walked out the door. He turned around, blew her a kiss and disappeared down the corridor whistling a tune in his path. Minerva stared at the door for a moment and Albus thought she was going to go after the stranger but then she magically closed it with a resounding bang and turned her dark eyes in the direction of the window, staring directly at Albus. Albus shuddered momentarily but then remembered that he was invisible and she did not know he was here.

"You like playing peeping tom, Albus Dumbledore?" she asked him and he gasped with surprise, his cloak disappearing and he materialized into solid mass.

"W-what-h-how?" he stuttered, looking uncomfortably at the witch her dark eyes unreadable.

"Did you enjoy the show?" she asked another question as she stepped closer, observing him with an indecipherable expression, her posture intimidating.

"I-I – I did not mean-"

"You know, I found it quite arousing knowing you were watching," she then told him as she stood a mere inch from him, her dark eyes suddenly shadowed with amusement and something he couldn't quite place.

"You did?" he gasped in disbelief, backing up against the window.

"Mmm," she confirmed, "I was under the impression that you would be busy with the French courtesan – so finding you hungrily watching me was quite the pleasurable surprise"

"French courtesan?" he asked confused, only able to watch her advance on him, the sight of her appraising him with a sultry expression gluing him to the spot.

"Yes, my competition - the Levichy pet. I hear the lad has been following you around like a lost puppy," she told him as she pushed her fingers against his chest, her fingernails digging into his flesh painfully and causing him to shiver.

"Oh that."

"Yes that!"

"I assure you the infatuation is definitely one-sided – I have been avoiding the boy all evening. I came here for escape," he explained.

"Really?" she enquired her voice sounding slightly disappointed, something he had trouble accounting for. "People were talking and frankly the image of you planted between his buttocks had me quite aroused, I admit. Dorian came along and I decided a little tumble would be a nice distraction" she leaned in to whisper in his ear, her words sounding darkly secretive and alluring.

He gulped, not believing his own ears. "You find the thought of me with another man stimulating?" he asked in incredulous voice, feeling a tightening in his neither regions although it somehow seemed wrong and dirty

Minerva laughed and leaned closer, her lips upon his in an instant, her mouth pliable and soft. Before he could respond efficiently however, she drew back and gazed at him with something akin to tenderness.

"I think it was more the image of you having sex than the gender of the person. Though perhaps, the thought of you gallivanting with a male courtesan somewhere might've had a rather hearty incentive – I'm not sure." she told him, her eyes glinting despite her serious tone.

"You don't think that's slightly…," he searched for a word, trying to describe this most absurd situation.

"Wrong? Warped?" she supplied in a laugh, "Why what would that make you, voyeur?"

"A twisted, lecherous old man," he answered but belied the words when he caught her lower lip in his teeth, savoring the feel of her lips once again, happy to just immerse himself in the feeling and scent of her. He felt her moan into his mouth, the sound caught by his lips. When he broke apart for air, she leaned her head back and looked at him, a dark smile touching her lips.

"Just the way I like you," she told him seductively. Just as he was about to seize hold of another kiss, the sound of the door banging open again echoed throughout the room and they both spun around and watched a shocked Dorian looking at them. The tall dark wizard gave Albus a hard look, clearly telling him he was standing too close to his witch.

"Your wine, darling," he smiled at Minerva, his hand offering her a liquid-filled goblet. He was obviously oblivious to the fact that they had been about to kiss, Albus realized with relief though he would have preferred had the dark wizard not come back at all. He watched as Minerva stepped up to Dorian in an elegant sweep, her hips swaying but her eyes beholding his when she took the goblet.

"Thank you, Dorian," she told the tall wizard beside her while smiling over the rim of the glass at Albus as she took a sip. Dorian looked enquiringly at Albus, eyes narrowed with dark menace.

"Dorian Moer meet Albus Dumbledore," she introduced the two wizards, watching with barely veiled amusement. Dorian's expression changed upon hearing the name, his eyes suddenly turning to relief and his mouth turned into a genuine smile.

"A pleasure Mr. Dumbledore," he greeted Albus and extended his hand. Albus shook his hand and told the foreigner a curt 'likewise'. He was finding it hard not to stun the wizard, shove him out the door and ravage Minerva. Dorian leisurely and confidently put an arm around Minerva, bringing her to his chest while he continued to talk to Albus, apparently ignorant to the murderous stare he was receiving. Albus wondered whether he was an imbecile. Anyone else walking in on them would have known exactly what was happening.

"I've heard quite a lot about you, sir" Dorian told Albus, then he looked at Minerva, "You never said you knew Albus Dumbledore?" he said in a mock-accusing voice, fingering one of her black tresses.

Minerva smiled, and Albus found it to be torture.

"Albus was my professor at Hogwarts," she told Dorian as she grinned at Albus impishly. Dorian looked ecstatic at the information.

"That must have been absolutely inspiring," he remarked.

"Indeed, very stimulating," Minerva answered her voice sensually caressing the words. Again Dorian was ignorant of the covert message but Albus was not and he gave the witch a hard look, trying to convey that she was walking on a thin edge. Dorian was not bound to be a complete dunderhead.

"I envy you Minerva!" Dorian exclaimed, his arms around her waist now. Albus was just about to do something drastic when the foreigner opened his mouth again, this time the words knocking the wind out of Albus.

"By the way, Mr. Dumbledore, Zandru Levichy is looking for you," Dorian told him in a neutral voice meanwhile a smirk could be detested playing on Minerva's lips. And Albus suddenly understood why Dorian had stopped feeling threatened by him when he heard his name. Apparently everyone thought he was gallivanting with the courtesan of Mrs. Levichy's. As if the voicing of his name had somehow summoned him, the very same French wizard appeared in the doorway, a look of calculating glee on his face when he saw Albus.

"Mister Dumbly-Dorr," he called in a happy greeting, his voice heavy accented. It was as he was in a nightmare, Albus realized. He felt Minerva's eyes upon him, glinting with darkly glee as well. He gave her a half reproachful, half longing look and started toward the door, shoving the excited boy outside. He had to get the boy away from Minerva and the situation that was bound to only worsen. He quickly saluted the black-haired witch before he started striding down the corridor, telling Zandru that he was on his way home. The wizard looked crestfallen and was about to protest, but Albus was fortunately saved by Elphias who suddenly appeared out of thin air and declared in a high voice that they were going home now. Zandru looked from Elphias to Albus, his eyes widening and suddenly the French boy looked disappointed and resignated. Walking arm in arm toward the Floo Network, Albus felt glad to be finally rid of the boy. But it was with a sad mind he went home, a certain witch on his mind.

I know – they never seem to actually make 'full contact'! ;) Quite on purpose!

Next: International Conference of Transfiguration, Paris 1952