Disclaimer: Never will own it, no matter how much I wish I could. Bleh!

A/N: I just wanted to say thank you so very much for being so patient and waiting for this update. I am sure so many of you have been anxious to see what happens next. Well, here it is.

Chapter Two: Minerva...

Ten Years Later...

Albus walked through the crowded streets of Hogsmeade. He loved the hustle and bustle of the small town. It was easy for one to get lost in a large group of people. Well, he used to be able to get lost easily. But since he defeated Grindlewald a year ago, everyone began treating him like he was royalty... and he hated it. Why couldn't they just treat him like a normal wizard? That's all he wanted. But no, that was not what he received. Men would stop him in the streets just so they could meet him while women would ogle him. Yes, men wanted to be him and women wanted to be seen with him. Night and day he would receive owl after owl with party invitations and marriage proposals. It was a never ending cycle which he wished would stop immediately.

Thus the basis for this little trip. He just wanted to have a day of freedom. Surely he would not receive any up at the castle. How could he with the ministry jumping down his throat about not being married at his age. Their attempts to get him to marry seemed to triple since Armondo announced that he wanted Albus to take over for him as headmaster when he retired in a month. Of course, Albus had been absolutely thrilled at the prospect of becomnig the next headmaster of Hogwarts. He had come to think of the school as his home. Even as a student, he'd loved it there. From the time he was eleven, he had always thought of Hogwarts as a magical place... if you'll pardon the pun.

He walked down the street and smiled to himself. Coming here in disguise had certainly been a good idea. He had shaved his aubron beard and mustache off and changed out of his normal multi-colored robes for more subtle black robes. He had even changed the color of his auborn hair into the color of platinum blond. Okay, not the best of disguises, he'd admit, but at least now no one would know it was him. They would merely think he was just another man out for a stroll in Hogsmeade. Yes, he was just a normal wizard and no one would bother him. Boy, did it feel great to have some freedom. No one was here to flirt with him... No one was here to shake his hand and try to become his closest friend... No one was here to force him to get married...

He sighed rather sadly as he thought of the marriage problem. Of course he wanted to get married. He wanted what any other man wanted-a loving wife who would see him for who he was-a man with many faults and fears, just like anyone else. Albus longed for a loving touch from a gentle woman, but he didn't want her to be weak either. He wanted someone who stimulated his mind and challenged him constantly. All these women who threw themselves at him night and day would most likely not give him the light of day if he had not defeated Grindlewald, and that thought somewhat saddened him. They would not want to make him laugh, or help him when he was sad or hurt. They did not want to have his children. All they cared about was getting their names in the paper and to be seen with someone famous. None of them wanted to really love him.

He mentally shook himself. He had to stop these thoughts. He'd find someone soon enough. He just had to. Everyone had someone for them. Everything was just a matter of timing. He just had to wait a little bit longer. He'd find someone soon. Wouldn't he? Heaving a big sigh, he began to follow his feet to a very familiar route. Honeydukes...

Oooooooooooo

Minerva heaved a heavy sigh. Oh, how she hated her life. She was twenty-one years old and still under her stepmother's thumb. Well, that would all change soon. She had managed to scrimp and save every last galleon and hopefully, within three weeks, she would have enough money to move out and get a small place of her own. Ever since she had finished her education at Beauxbaton's, she had been offered job after job from countless major wizard's. But she had turned them all down for one reason... She wanted to find her father's will.

After the funeral, the will had 'mysteriously' disappeared. At the time, Minerva had thought nothing of it. She had been too frought with grief to even care about anything else. But then something her stepmother had said had clicked in her brain. She had been fifteen and had had a huge argument with her step-sister, Lucinda. Lucinda had taken something very precious to Minerva and Minerva had wanted it back. It was a book which her father had given to her when she was five. When her stepmother came up to find out what all the hallabaloo was about, Minerva told her what had happened and the mother sneered.

"What would you do with a philosophy book, Minerva? You are not smart enough to understand something so complex." Minerva felt the anger well up inside of her as she stared back at her stepmother.

"If I can't have it back, then I'm leaving!" she shouted. She started to gather when her Eleanor stopped her. She looked worried for a moment or two before looking at Lucinda.

"Give her the book, Luci," she said before turning back and looking at Minerva in disgust.

"But Mother-"

"I said give her the bloody book," her mother had said. "You don't need it anyway. You're above all that nonsense." With that, she turned on her heel and left. But not before Minerva heard her mutter under her breath "I have got to see what can be done about that clause in Aires' will." But Minerva never heard another word about it.

And now, six years later, she was still looking for it. If she found it, perhaps she could find some way to get her step mother and step sisters out of her house. Well, Lucinda anyway. Griselda had seemed to mellow out over the past few years. Minerva did not know whether or not it was her imagination, but ever since that incident with the book, Griselda had lessoned in her abuse. Although Griselda did make snide comments every now and again, and although she never once raised her voice against her mother and her sister, she did seem to show moments of sympathy for Minerva. But then again, she never did do anything to help her, so Minerva was never sure whether she was on her side or against her.

Minerva looked at the incredibly long list of things her step mother had instructed her to retrieve. It seemed as though no matter how many things on this list she did, she never got anywhere. She had three large bags in each hand and several more shrunk down and placed in the pockets of her robes. What was the next stop on her list? Oh, Honeydukes. It seemed that her mother had an enormous sweet tooth. She made it a point to always stock her cupboards with some kind of confection. What was it this week? She looked at the list, her eyes bulging slightly, before she rolled them in disgust. Sherbet Lemons? Honestly. And she knew why she chose those precise treats.

Ever since Lucinda had begun her instruction at Hogwarts, Minerva only heard of one man: Albus Dumbledore. "Albus this" and "Albus that"... It was really getting on Minerva's nerves. Lucinda could go on and on for hours at a time on how handsome Albus was, how smart Albus was. And Eleanor seemed pleased at her daughter's infatuation with her professor. The flames of her interest had only been heightened at Lucinda's graduation ball when Eleanor met Albus and he made some comment on how "talented and kind" Lucinda was. When Minerva heard about this later that night (she had not been able to attend, since her mother had said 'there was only a limited number' who were allowed to go and 'only immediate family' was invited... Not that Minerva wanted to go anyway. At least with the house empty, she'd be alone to do as she pleased, which was something she rarely had), she had to stop herself from rolling her eyes and making gaging noises. Lucinda didn't know anything worth knowing about. All she cared about was getting married to a man who could support her for the rest of her life. Although she had never met Albus Dumbledore personally, she had heard many stories about him, most circulating around his defeat against Grindlewald. And although she had never met him, she still felt sorry for him. It seemed he never had any privacy. At least, not with people like Lucinda wondering around him and hovering over him for any sign of weakness in his defenses. It was truly sickening. And although Minerva had not seen a picture of him in years, she did know he was rather dashing, but that still did not give everyone the right to treat him like a hunk of meat.

And now, she was on her way to Honeydukes for Sherbet Lemons, which were apparently Albus Dumbledore's favorite candies. Honestly, was nothing secret about him? She would bet ten galleons right now that everyone knew what kind of knickers he wore and what sort of design, if any, was imprinted upon them.

She looked through the windows of Honeydukes and sighed. There was a large crowd today. And how was she supposed to shove her way through there with so many people in there? Sighinig heavily and shaking her head, she folded the list and placed in awkwardly into her pocket. Well, if she must she must. Just as she was about to grab the door to the sweet shop, it flew open and a tall, lanky fellow ran out, toppling Minerva to the floor, her packages flying every which way. Minerva fell flat onto her back, hitting her head upon the concrete.

"Ouch!" she cried as the man fell next to her.

"Watch it, will you lady?" he shouted at her before jumping to his feet and attempting to get away. But he didn't make it far before he was caught by the store owner's son.

"How many times must I tell you, Riddle, if I catch you stealing from my father's store again, it'll be to Azkaban with ya'," said the man. Riddle only sneered at him.

"The name's Tom, Frank," he said. "You don't see me calling you 'Longbottom', do you?" Frank narrowed his gaze at him. "How about some respect for your superiors?"

"Superiors? Ha! Who do you think you are, Lord Tom Marvolo Riddle?" he sneered. "What is Marvolo anyway, some kind of washing detergent?"

"Wash this!" Tom shouted. Then, in a puff of smoke, he disappeared. Frank looked around.

"I'll get you, Riddle! You can't hide forever! Not even you are above the law, your Lordship!" Frank said that last part in a mocking tone before turning and walking back into his shop.

Minerva's back and head ached from the impact with the concrete. What was happening? Who was that? Ouch! Her head hurt.

"Are you alright, Miss?" She looked up to find another tall man with piercing blue eyes looking down at her with genuine worry. He was incredibly good looking, with short blond hair. But it was his eyes which caught her attention immediately. She smiled stiffly.

"I'm a little cold," she admitted, though she was not wholly aware of what she was saying. She was still a little shaken from what had just happened. The man smiled and suddenly she couldn't breathe. Why was she reacting in such a giddy way? She had never found any man to be so breathless as she did now. He reached out his hand to her.

"Why don't we get you off that ground? We don't want you to get tampled now, do we?" She gladly accepted his hand as he pulled her up to her feet.

"Thank you so much," she said as she grabbed her head. "Ouch!"

"Oh, let me see," he said. He placed his hand on the back of her head. She winced slightly when he did so and he immediately pulled his hand back.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"No, it's alright," she replied. "It's just a little sore from the fall." He smiled.

"Are you sure you are alright?" he asked. She merely nodded. No, she was not okay, she was sore all over, but she was not going to tell a total stranger this. They kept their eyes locked before he dropped his gaze to her packages on the ground. "Here, let me help you."

"Oh," said Minerva, finally remembering her packages which had been strewn all over the ground. He helped her with them and she thanked him.

"It is no problem," he said as he handed her her last package. "Anything to help a beautiful damsel in distress." Minerva blushed furiously.

"I am not beautiful, I assure you," she said, not able to look him in the eyes.

"Oh, but you are, Miss-" Minerva looked back up at him when she saw him reach out his hand.

"Oh, sorry," she smiled. She shook his hand. "Minerva McGonagall. And you are?" He smiled. She didn't recognize him. That was good.

"Aberforth," he lied. Surely his brother wouldn't mind him using his name for a few minutes. After all, they have often been mistaken for twins before. Why not? Minerva nodded.

"Aberforth," she said. "Is there a last name that goes with that?"

"No, just... Aberforth," Albus replied.

"Okay," she replied. "Don't tell me. Can I call you Abe?" Minerva almost let her jaw drop. Was she flirting with this man? She never flirted with anyone before, least of all a man she hardly knew. He chuckled.

"Why not? My brother always does," he replied. "So, were you going in here?" He pointed to Honeydukes and Minerva nodded, heaving a deep breath.

"Unfortunately," she replied. He laughed.

"Why unfortunately?" he asked. She shook her head.

"I hate sweets," she said. "But unfortunately, I am doing all the shopping myself and my step sister demands that I get her Sherbet Lemons." She sighed again. "Honestly, I don't know why she is making me get them. She won't eat them, I know she won't. She will only keep them because they are the favorites of Albus Dumbledore!" She said his name in a fake whispy tone as she bat her eyelashes. Albus laughed and Minerva couldn't supress the chuckle either. "Honestly, with all the talk my sister does about him, I feel like I know him."

"Is that right?" asked Albus, his eyes twinkling. 'Well, not well enough,' he thought to himself. Minerva nodded.

"The poor man. I doubt he gets any rest with all the letters my sister sends him. And she signs them all the same." She once again acquired that whispy tone. "Yours truly, Lucinda. Honestly, I feel sorry for Mr. Albus Dumbledore. He must get no sleep at night with all the people fawning over him and asking for his presence." Albus smile grew broader. He didn't want to say anything, but somewhere along her rant they had started to walk down the street, away from Honeydukes. He didn't dare say anything because he did not want this conversation to end.

"So you are not one of the many women who vye for his attentions?" She shook her head.

"Most certainly not," she said, casting a sideways glance towards him. "He has enough to contend with. Besides, he is probably extremely arrogant." Albus felt this to be a blow to his gut, but was quick to remind himself that she did not know who she was talking to. He laughed.

"And why do you say that?" he asked. She scoffed.

"What man wouldn't be with all that fame and attention? I seriously doubt he has any idea how a woman should be treated?" Albus had to hide his hurt and he merely smiled.

"And how, praytell, should a woman be treated, in your view?" he asked. She considered this for a moment before responding.

"Like a person, with kindness and respect. She need to be his equal, and not thought of as just a thing that a man owns or has power over. She needs to be treated as his equal mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. A man cannot look for a woman in the hopes of finding a servant. Women are much stronger than most think and that is why we should be treated the same as men." Albus stopped walking and looked at her thoughtfully. She stopped and turned back after she realized he was no longer walking with her. He smiled.

"You're not like most women, are you?" he asked. She squared her shoulders.

"No, I am not. What of it?"

"Oh, nothing." He chuckled as he walked the few feet to meet her. "It's refreshing, really. I've never heard a woman speak the way you have just now. Thank you for showing me that there are indeed women like you out there." He took her right hand and placed a bag in her hand. "It was very nice to meet you, Miss McGonagall." And with that, he walked past her and disappeared into the streets. Minerva was left stunned for a few moments. What had just happened? Shaking her head, she placed down the other bags and opened the small bag he had given her. She couldn't stop the small smile spreading over her face. Sherbet Lemons.

A/N2: Okay, there is the second chapter. I hope you like it. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. Read long and prosper. Always Hopeful