CHAPTER 6

Minerva woke up with a splitting headache and cracked open just one eye. Her head was pounding incessantly and in time to the loud snores emanating from Xiomara Hooch. Poppy, who was sharing the bed with Xia, had placed a pillow over her head as a sound barrier. Obviously she had not woken up long enough to cast a silencing spell on her friend or she had felt it would be wrong to do so. Having no such reservations herself, Minerva quickly picked up her wand and pointed it at the sleeping witch. When the blessed sound of silence filled the room, she let out a sigh of relief.

She placed her feet on the floor and stood. Note to self, she thought wryly, do not drink more than one Flaming Phoenix in a night. She moved to the liquor cabinet and nearly smiled when her blurry vision alighted upon a hangover potion. She broke the cap and downed the contents just as another unopened bottle appeared to take its place. Immediately her vision cleared and her headache receded.

Looking at the clock, she realized they had all overslept. They only had one hour to get three witches ready with one bathroom. Deciding the others could fend for themselves, Minerva entered the bathroom and took a very hot shower. Her thoughts were centered on the day's events. They were going spying at breakfast, would have a nice lunch out, and perhaps attend a few of the seminars, and then finish with some more spying for dinner, or rather at dinner. Of course, the last part hinged on whether they could find out which restaurant the two were headed to.

Toweling off and moving to the mirror, Minerva realized she looked like hell. She had massive smudges under her eyes, eyes which were bloodshot, and her skin was pale and tired looking. It was a good thing they were going to use glamours to move around. If she didn't, she might actually be mistaken for a hag. With careful precision, Minerva cast the spells she needed and smiled at the results. With brown hair, bright blue eyes and a nice olive complexion, she looked very nice indeed.

She exited the bathroom just as Poppy moved from the bed. Xiomara was still out cold, and luckily she was still silent. Minerva headed over to the bar and took out another hangover remedy, the one which had appeared to replace her own. She handed it over to a grateful looking Poppy.

"You'd best hurry, not much time until we need to leave. I'll wake Xia," Minerva said after Poppy had emptied the vial.

Poppy looked panicked and, with a hastily called thank you, headed into the bathroom herself. Minerva, for her part, was grinning madly as she headed over to Xia. Just because the sleeping witch couldn't talk, it didn't mean she couldn't hear. And on top of it, though Poppy and Minerva had discussed their glamours extensively, Xia had been bored with the conversation and had left them part way through, therefore she really didn't know what either of them would end up looking like. So while Poppy had shown no surprise at the 'stranger' in their room, Xiomara was sure to be quite put off.

"Oh, Xia, darling, it's time to get up," Minerva called out in a singsong voice, just before the sound of a rather loud gong rent the air.

Xiomara went shooting up in the bed only to grab her head a moment later as pain radiated through. She cracked one eye, just as Minerva had done earlier, and it looked murderously upon a grinning witch. Of course, less than a second later she had grabbed her wand and pointed it at her.

"Don't worry, it's just me," Minerva said loudly between bouts of laughter. "I have already applied my glamour."

Xia's mouth began to move, but nothing came out, which was just fine with Minerva since whatever she was saying didn't look very pleasant anyway. And when Xiomara grabbed at her throat and then lunged for her, Minerva doubled over laughing as she skittered out of the way. Quickly grabbing a hangover remedy and handing to her friend who was now on the floor, she released the silencing spell.

"…bloody kill you."

"Are you through?" Minerva asked sweetly.

Xiomara downed the contents of the vial and took a deep breath. "Quite."

"Well, you only have thirty minutes to get ready, so I suggest you hurry."

Xia sprang up, her rude awakening forgotten, and sprinted for the bathroom. Chaos ensued when she entered, but things quieted down shortly, and Minerva was soon dressing in a pair of nice robes which had been charmed a different color. She looked down at her hand and the elegant gold band that adorned it. She had put it on the same day the students left. However, it would be necessary to take it off to complete her disguise.

As she slid it off and hid it in her baggage, she found her heart hurt even more. A little sleep had improved her disposition. Poppy and Xiomara had been right to state that Minerva should require more proof. There could be an explanation. She trusted Albus more than any other being on the planet, and he deserved to be innocent until proven guilty.

The two witches who had been bickering in the bathroom emerged looking quite nice in their glamours, and it distracted Minerva from her musings. Xiomara had long blond hair, gray eyes and a creamy complexion. She was quite the beauty, and Minerva knew she must be fuming at Poppy and Minerva for making her look so feminine. Poppy, on the other hand, had short silver hair and warm brown eyes, with a few more wrinkles than was usual. Her complexion was similar to that of Minerva.

After they had dressed, everyone headed out the door silently. There wasn't much to talk about, and Minerva's thoughts drifted to what was ahead. They had decided she would assume her cat form, and Poppy would cast a glamour on her. It would be easier for her to get close that way. Poppy and Xia would find somewhere to sit, but might not manage to get close enough. Still, their presence would help Minerva get through what needed to be done.

Soon, they had found the restaurant; Aurelia was not far off in her estimate of it being around the corner. They backtracked a bit into a deserted corner after seeing that their two targets had not arrived yet.

"I decided to make you entirely white, with blue eyes similar to what you already have with your glamour. Patterned fur would be difficult, and I don't want to take any chances with it not holding. I'll need to pick you up once you transform so that I can get an idea of your shape. I have never put a glamour on a cat before and being familiar with your features will help me a great deal," Poppy stated.

"I fully expected as much. Are you ready?" Minerva questioned.

At the mediwitch's nod, Minerva transformed. She felt her friend's hands wrap around her as she picked her up off the ground. Once she was securely positioned in her arms, one hand wandered over her body as Poppy familiarized herself with Minerva's cat form. It felt nice and she began to purr.

Xiomara snickered, but stopped when she realized Minerva was looking at her through narrowed cat eyes. "Now don't forget, we will be around. Once Albus and Aurelia arrive, we will try to find a table as close as possible," Xiomara stated as she confirmed their plans while distracting Minerva from her recent laughter. "Also, you might want to prepare yourself in case Aurelia gets a little too close to Albus. Based on your previous encounters, and what you saw last night, it is entirely likely that she will be quite friendly with him."

At the mention of Aurelia's name and her possible actions, Minerva's claws dug into Poppy's arm. She would scratch the witch if she so much as breathed in Albus' direction.

"Do I need to declaw you?" Poppy asked threateningly.

Minerva's ears flattened, giving her obvious opinion on the matter. However, she soon butted her head on her friend's arm in a show of good will.

"Very well, but do be careful and don't hurt anyone." Poppy said as she set Minerva down. "No matter what you hear, just remember that Azkaban is not a retirement home."

Minerva stretched as Poppy began to cast the glamour over her. The magic tickled her fur, and she felt the need to rub against the ground. However, before she acted on her instincts, Xiomara leaned down and gave her back a quick rub. "A little scratch never hurt anyone," she whispered so Poppy would not hear.

Minerva meowed in agreement and trotted off toward the restaurant so she could place herself right in the middle of things.

She had only been milling about in the open café for a few moments when she sensed Albus'magic long before she ever heard his voice. In times past it would have been music to her ears, the sweet sound of his soothing voice as he spoke gently and with such compassion and emotion. If she'd been in her human form, she might have blushed as her mind filled with remembrances of softly whispered words in the dark of night as they lay together, naked and sated…so very happy.

Turning around and sniffing, as if detecting the delicious scent of salmon in the air, she spotted Albus. He was always easy to detect in a crowd, thanks to his rather outlandish style of dress, though these robes were among some of his less colorful ones. And of course, snuggling into his side was Aurelia, beaming as if she belonged there. Minerva could feel her hackles raising as she caught Aurelia looking intently at Albus as he procured a table for them and held out the chair for her.

As soon as Poppy and Xiomara caught a glimpse of Albus and the other woman, they made their move to secure a table nearby for themselves. They were most unfortunate to lose the only table close to their targets to a young couple, no doubt honeymooners, based on the way they groped each other in public…or so Xiomara remarked rather loudly, earning her a stern rebuke from Poppy.

The table they were given was situated more towards the street where the hustle and bustle of the city life kept them from overhearing a single word of the conversation. More than once, Poppy had to remind her cohort in crime that staring was not going to be effective and that they would simply have to trust Minerva to remain in control of her emotions. Neither witch truly believed it possible, especially if Aurelia started to make a move towards something more than friendship.

Minerva searched the café and quickly located her best friends. She smiled to herself as she overheard Xiomara grousing about the young lovers and how they should get a room if they wanted to have a good shag. Leave it to Xiomara, the one witch who had probably done more daring things in public, to pick this particular time and place to start pointing fingers at others. Comforted by the fact that Poppy seemed to be reeling her back into stealth mode, Minerva meowed and turned her attention back to her husband and his former lover.

She watched from a short distance away as they perused the menus leisurely. She did not miss how Aurelia seemed to want to continuously touch Albus' arm or hand when she found something which sounded particularly enticing. However, she was pleased to note how the favor was not returned. Instead of initiating any flirtatious contact with her, Albus merely leaned over slightly and pointed to the item on the menu. That would have been all well and good if Aurelia had actually been looking at the menu. Instead, her full attention was devoted to the man sitting with her. It was the look of a woman very intrigued by the man and not the conversation.

After placing their order, the two old friends seemed to slip into a comfortable silence, at least that's how it would look to Xiomara and Poppy. To Minerva, though, things looked much different. From her vantage point as a feline, she was able to see what went on beneath the table and her heart began to beat much faster than before. Be it from anger or hurt, she wasn't exactly sure but she had agreed to spy on her husband no matter how painful it might become.

As the light conversation started up once more, Minerva moved closer to her targets, milling about as if looking for a wayward mouse or perhaps a friendly diner. It was then that she noticed Aurelia's legs beginning to stretch out beneath the table. That wasn't so unusual. Often times sitting in one spot caused Minerva's legs to grow restless, but she did not expect the witch to so openly flirt with a married man by rubbing her leg against his.

Albus jumped slightly as he felt Aurelia's foot brush against his leg, and without calling attention to the movement, he simply brushed it off as an accident and continued on with his train of thought. When it happened again, he no doubt thought that perhaps she felt a bit cramped. Sliding his chair slightly back from the table and once again moving his own legs out of her way, he continued on with the conversation.

Minerva had seen more than enough. Stealthily she moved closer to their table and was pleased to hear Albus discussing Hogwarts and various colleagues Aurelia might have met during their time together. It wasn't an intimate conversation at all, but one she would have expected to overhear between people who shared a common history of people, places and events. She was almost ready to return to Xiomara and Poppy when she noticed Aurelia's restless legs once more.

That was it for Minerva. She had reached her breaking point and decided to teach the old woman a lesson she might not soon forget. Aurelia had just slipped her foot out of her sandal, probably for another pass at Albus, and Minerva, not willing to stand back and let her enemy successfully stalk her prey, unsheathed her claws and waited.

Not a moment later, Aurelia's bare foot made a move and so did Minerva. Sharp claws met bare skin, causing the woman to scream in pain and shock. Albus, not knowing what had happened at all, jumped quickly to his feet as an unnoticed Minerva scampered off towards the table near the street. She paused in the shadow of a bush to watch with glee as Aurelia patted her foot with a napkin. She hadn't meant to draw blood, but she wasn't exactly sorry for it either. Maybe that would teach the hormonal old hag to dally with another woman's husband!

As soon as she reached the table where her curious friends sat, she jumped into Poppy's lap and gave a loud mew, signaling them that it was time to retreat and perhaps discuss their options.

"Merlin Min…what did you do to her? Wait, let me guess. You interrupted a game of footsie with those sharp claws of yours," Poppy announced nervously.

"Good for you! 'Bout time someone dug their claws into the battleaxe and let her suffer a bit. You've certainly done enough of that at her hand. It's time she had the favor returned. I'm proud of you!" Xiomara reached out and took Minerva from Poppy's arms, giving her a big hug. "Now, how about we go to the bakery around the corner and you can tell us what you saw and heard. I dare say the tramp won't try the footsie game any more today," she giggled as they started down the street.

When they reached a safe alcove, Minerva transformed back and Poppy applied the appropriate glamours.

"Minerva, you must tell us what caused you to claw Aurelia," Poppy demanded once they were back on their way.

"Did they say anything incriminating?" Xiomara asked curiously.

"Yes, I am fine after my ordeal," Minerva huffed. However, she couldn't stay upset long as she was still elated from giving some back to that gussied up witch. "Actually, nothing was said that wasn't out of the ordinary," Minerva replied.

"Really," Xiomara said, sounding like she was a bit disappointed.

"Really," Minerva answered with an edge to her voice.

"I didn't mean that the way it came out."

"Hmmm," Minerva sounded as she eyed her friend. "They spoke about colleagues and Hogwarts…but Aurelia decided to throw in a game of footsie."

"I knew it," Poppy said gleefully. "Oh, and I didn't mean that the way it came out either."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say both of you want Albus to be found guilty."

"Now, you know…" Xiomara started.

"…we would never…" Poppy continued.

"However," Minerva interrupted loudly, "I will just chalk this up to the two of you enjoying spying a bit too much. Now, if I can continue."

Both of the witches looked chastised and nodded just as they reached the bakery. "After a few attempts on her part, which Albus rebuked, she actually removed her shoe to try again and that is when I struck. It may have been a bit harsher than I had planned but she deserved it." Minerva sounded positively gleeful and she repeated the story of her attack. "This does leave us with conflicting information though."

"Yes," Xiomara said carefully. "Albus rebuked her attempts of intimacy at breakfast but that doesn't explain what you found in his rooms. And their conversation gave no hints to their current relationship. What do you want to do?"

"Let's get some breakfast first, and then we can plan our next course of action," Minerva responded.

After purchasing some bread and cheese, the three witches walked along the street not saying much as they took in the sights of an awakening city. They reached a pretty garden that had a fountain with some benches, and they all sat and began to eat. The bread was crusty and the cheese smooth. Minerva hummed her appreciation as the tastes mingled in her mouth.

"I think we need to do some more research," Minerva said after a few more bites of breakfast. "I'm just not sure what is going on, with Albus anyway. Aurelia is obviously attempting to lure him into her bed."

"I agree," Poppy spoke up between bites of her own.

"What about attending his presentation?" Xiomara suggested. "Aurelia might attend, as well, and if you can get a seat close to her, maybe she will let something slip."

"Unlikely," Poppy responded.

"Still," Minerva said thoughtfully, "if I could get her talking…"

"Oh, no, I can just see what a disaster that would be," Poppy exclaimed looking horrified.

"I can stay calm," Minerva quipped, defending herself. "And we don't have many chances left. I need to use every opportunity I can."

"I suppose," Poppy agreed reluctantly.

"Look at him," Xiomara suddenly whispered.

Thinking she had spotted Albus, Minerva glanced over to where Xia was pointing. She was disappointed to find that there was only a man walking his dog. Looking back at her friend to find out what the big deal was, she immediately noticed the spark in her eyes and sighed. This could only mean that Xia had found her next conquest.

"We are supposed to be helping Minerva," Poppy said as she rolled her eyes.

"I know, but we have several hours until Albus gives his presentation, and what harm is there in enjoying ourselves for a bit?"

Not waiting for an answer, Xiomara was up and walking in the direction of the man in question. Minerva and Poppy watched as Xia struck up a conversation, though it looked stilted. When she leaned down and stroked the man's dog, Minerva knew that they would not be seeing her for some time.

"Does she even speak Italian?" Poppy asked in amazement.

"I'm sure she knows enough for what she is after," Minerva replied.

Both women looked at each other with horrified expressions on their faces from what Minerva said before they burst out laughing. As they peeled over in giggles, they missed Xiomara taking the man's arm as he led her away.

"I can't believe I said that," Minerva gasped.

"Oh, I can."

Poppy had tears streaming down her face, but was the first to compose herself. She held out a handkerchief to Minerva when she had recovered sufficiently as well. The two women sat in silence as they finished up their meal.

"I needed that," Minerva spoke quietly.

"I think we all did," Poppy responded. "You have handled everything so well."

"I don't feel like I have."

"You are so strong, and much braver than anyone else I know. I think I would have just stayed home coming up with horrible scenarios and weeping," Poppy said as she took Min's hand.

"Without you two here, I probably would have" The two friends smiled weepily at each other.

"Let's look around," Poppy suggested. "We have hours until we have to return to the hotel, and I haven't been here in ages."

"That sounds like a lovely idea."

A/N: And the games have begun! Hope this chapter lived up to your expectations. Thanks so much for all the reviews! We're going to try to post the next chapter Tuesday or Wednesday! Have a great weekend!