Well, this concludes Mistletoe, and now I will be returning to Dueling. Evil, evil plot bunnies. There are two nerd references in this update, from two different TV shows. To the first person to spot both of them, I will do a oneshot with the pairing of your choice. Please enjoy!
Minerva took a deep breath as she took the stage. Today was the day. Today, the classes of both 1998 and 1999 were graduating together, and today was the last day that Hermione Granger would be her student. The younger woman's question of what now had been converted into a well, when, after Minerva had adamantly refused to even consider being with someone who was still her student. While she was compelled to be intimate with Hermione by the mistletoe enchantment, she could not blame the enchantment for Hermione's continued interest in her, nor could she deny that even before this mess, she'd been attracted to Hermione. So, she'd offered Hermione a compromise. If the younger witch could remain only a student between that day and the day she graduated, Minerva would be willing to give a relationship a try after the fact. She didn't promise it would work out, but in the six months since, she'd grown more and more certain that it would.
She knew Hermione hadn't meant for her to find out ahead of time, but Minerva had discovered that the younger witch also seemed confident that their relationship would work out well, as she'd already purchased a small cottage on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, and she'd put in an application with Filius for a Charms apprenticeship. Minerva had already gotten confirmation from her Deputy that he intended to take the talented young woman on, though he wanted to wait till after graduation to tell her. While Hermione could use a Charms Mastery in any number of fields, Minerva suspected that she'd probably do a correspondence course with another master in either Potions for Defense, in hopes that a teaching position here at Hogwarts would eventually open up for her. Hermione was planning her future around the school she knew Minerva would never leave.
There it was. Her name. "Hermione Granger," Minerva called the name on her list.
Hermione got out of her seat and walked onto the dais. The graduation, as usual, was outdoors and while the rustling of robes and parchment were certainly present, it didn't seem to take away from nature's serenity. Just over a year had passed since the war ended, and Minerva quite suddenly realized she was at peace.
"Congratulations, Miss Granger," Minerva said with a subtle quirk of her lips.
"Thank you, Headmistress," Hermione said confidently.
Hermione took her diploma, and with a nod made for the steps back down to the seating area. Minerva watched as she went, waiting for her to leave the stage before calling the next name. Then, just before stepping down, Hermione paused.
"Oh, what the hell!" Hermione finally said, turning around and making her way swiftly back toward the Headmistress.
She wouldn't... Minerva thought to herself as Hermione got closer and closer.
Then, Hermione's lips were on hers, and despite an acute awareness of the woof-whistles in the crowd, she kissed Hermione back. Six months of no relationship at all… gods, Minerva missed those lips. The world around them seemed to vanish, and remained gone into Minerva felt someone tapping on her shoulder a minute later. She broke the kiss, and turned to face her friend and colleague, who was looking at her with a decidedly satisfied smirk.
"Hello Filius," she muttered, blushing.
"Minerva," he greeted. "I hate to break this up, but you have a graduation ceremony to finish."
Minerva turned to face her paramour. "My quarters, six?" she whispered.
Hermione nodded and whispered back. "I'll be there."
The younger witch left the stage, and Filius took his seat in the row of teachers behind her. Minerva looked up at the crowd with trepidation, and was not at all surprised to see that there were many grins, with splash of utter shock and a sprinkling of horror and disgust. It was to be expected. At least, she mused, this saved her the trouble of having to tell people she was involved with Hermione. By tomorrow morning's edition of the Daily Prophet, the entire wizarding world would know. Half of it would know first-hand.
"My apologies," she stated with little cough. "Moving forward then – George Hammond!"
Being seated in alphabetical order worked in Hermione's favor during the graduation. Greg Goyle on her left had just stared at her with a perplexed look on his face, and George Hammond, a classmate of Ginny's, seemed content to simply ask if their mutual friend knew there was something between Hermione and the Headmistress, to which Hermione had answered with a firm no. Nobody knew.
Right on schedule, minutes after the ceremony ended, Harry, Ron, and Ginny all marched toward her. "Hey, 'Mione!" Ron called. "What the bloody hell was that about?"
"Being Gryffindor," she shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea at the moment."
Harry frowned. "Was that… the first time?"
"Um… no. Remember the mistletoe sixth year, Harry?" she replied.
He paled. "You're kidding."
"Minerva found me before…"
Understanding dawned on Ron. "Before I did," he said, looking horrified. "You mean that you wanted to be with me?"
Hermione sighed. "At that point, yes, Ron. But after Minerva found me… well… one kiss was all it took for me to realize that while I cared deeply for you, I was not attracted to you in the way I ought to have been. I'm sorry."
He nodded, seemingly excepting of the whole thing. He was dating Lavender Brown now, so someone who used to want to be with him, even if it was his best friend, didn't really impact him too much.
Ginny looked excited. "Then what happened? You don't get away with snogging the Headmistress in front of the entire school and half of the rest of the wizarding population after one kiss."
The brunette sighed. "During Christmas this year, I found her trapped by mistletoe. I entered the enchantment, and we kissed again. Well, more than that…" Hermione knew she had to be blushing furiously.
"You had sex with McGonagall?" Harry asked, looking horrified. "You had sex with Minerva bloody McGonagall?"
"Generally when two people like snogging each other, it does eventually lead to sex," Hermione replied haughtily. "Speaking of, it's almost time for me to meet her, and as we'll probably have sex again, I'm not inclined to keep her waiting. I'll see you guys later."
Harry and Ron looked stunned as she walked away, but Ginny was laughing like maniac. "You go girl!" she shouted after her friend.
Minerva looked up as the clock chimed six, and all of five seconds later, there was a knock at her door. She answered it with a frown on her face. "Hermione Granger, you have a lot of nerve!" she said, greeting her young lover. "Kissing me in front of the whole bloody school!"
Hermione smiled sweetly. "I am a Gryffindor, you know."
"Hummm," Minerva replied noncommittally.
"Come on, Minerva…" Hermione said in a sultry tone. "You're pleased we no longer have to worry about people's reactions to us as a couple. It's done."
"Maybe," the older witch conceded. "But be that as it may, it was still unusually rash for you, dearest."
"I was inspired, what can I say?" the Hermione shrugged.
"By what?"
"By whom," she corrected. "And you, of course."
Minerva's gaze softened. "I think I love you," she admitted softly. "It scares me."
"I know I love you," Hermione replied. "And I feel incredibly lucky. How often to people meet the love of their life at twelve years old?"
"How often to people find any sort of love at my age?" Minerva asked in turn, pulling Hermione close. "Don't worry darling. We'll get through it, together. There are other aspects of the future that need our attention, though."
"I bought a cottage in Hogsmeade," Hermione said, rushing to assure her lover that she'd already given their future some thought. "And I'm going to apprentice under Filius. I would never ask you to leave Hogwarts."
"I was thinking more along the lines of a family, Hermione," the older woman said. "I'm too old to get pregnant, but you're not, and with transfiguration and potions, two women can have children. Is that something you'd want?"
The younger woman nodded. "Perhaps, if you wanted a child or two as well. I don't want you to give me children if you don't want them yourself."
"I've been a teacher for most of my life, dear. In what reality would I not want a child or two of my own?" Minerva replied. "I've simply never been with anyone I loved enough to do so. Children are not something you can box away if a relationship goes badly. And I wouldn't agree to children unless we were married. Any McGonagall heirs will be McGonagalls in the full."
Hermione laughed, pulling Minerva toward the very same couch they'd sat on a year ago, talking about their first, unexpected kiss under the mistletoe. "I'm planning to marry you with or without children in the picture. The how long till that happens is up to you."
"What about now?" Minerva asked, sitting down next to her lover. "Would you marry me tomorrow, if I asked?"
"Yes." There was no hesitation.
"You'd go down to the Ministry of Magic tomorrow morning, walking in as Hermione Granger, and out as Hermione McGonagall?" Minerva asked, still surprised at how sure she seemed.
"Yes. Gladly. Without any doubts," Hermione said with a soft smile. "Minerva, I love you. I think I always have, I just didn't realize it till after we kissed the first time. While the boys and I were on the run, I had a lot of time to think, and you know what I realized?"
"What?"
"I realized that I was happy when it was you that stepped into that enchantment," Hermione admitted. "While I hadn't considered you as anything more than a friend before that day, the moment I did consider it, just before you kissed me, I knew it was right. I knew being with you was right."
"You are an odd woman, Hermione," Minerva breathed out. "For which I shall be forever grateful."
The two sat in silence for a while, a tangle of limbs on a sofa in front of a window with an amazing sunset view. Eventually, they ordered dinner, ate together, and then retired for the evening, making love for hours before passing out in Minerva's large canopy bed.
All was well.
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