Chapter 7

Hogwarts School, Scotland, Thursday, April 10, 2014

Hermione answered the door with a smile, ushering Andy inside. "Good evening, Andy."

"Hello, Hermione. How are you?" Andy asked as she leaned in for a hug.

"Not bad. My students are already on vacation, it seems. They had a very hard time concentrating during classes. I can only imagine how tomorrow will be." They laughed as Andy walked toward the seating area.

"Same here. I can't tell you how many fires I had to put out today during my afternoon classes. Honestly, how can someone confuse ascendio with incendio?" Andy asked in frustration as she flopped on the sofa.

A soft laugh caused Hermione to smile automatically as she tilted her head to receive a kiss on her cheek. "Hello, Gràdh," she whispered softly, gazing into clear, emerald eyes.

"Hello to you," Minerva answered with a lilt in her voice. She poured tea for the three of them before sitting beside Hermione. "Andrea, how are you faring today?"

"Well, I was just saying that my students seem to be rather distracted, but otherwise, I am well," Andy answered before sipping her tea.

"Ah. So, Miranda's absence isn't distracting you?" Minerva asked bluntly.

Hermione watched Andy spew out the liquid she had just begun to swallow and winced in sympathy. Turning to her wife, Hermione swatted her arm lightly. "Minerva! Leave the poor woman alone! For Merlin's sake, you are so uncouth!" Andy's inelegant snort of amusement stopped Hermione's rant. She turned to Andy. "What?"

"Aunt Minerva, uncouth? That's like saying that the Queen of England is poor, although I appreciate the sentiment." Andy leaned back after quickly muttering a spell to clean the mess her unexpected liquid projection had caused. They sat silently for a moment until Minerva broke the silence once more.

"When will you be seeing her again?" Minerva asked politely. Andy froze, cup half-way to her lips, and shot a horrified look their way.

"What makes you think I will be seeing Miranda?" Andy asked.

Hermione felt her mouth fall open in surprise. She leaned forward and stared at Andy. "You are! What's going on with you two?" She watched Andy's face flush a deep red and smirked.

"And you say I'm uncouth," Minerva muttered. Hermione slapped her arm, her eyes still focused on Andy.

"Um, well, we talked, kind of, on Monday, and she fire-called me yesterday to arrange for a meeting tomorrow night," Andy admitted, her eyes skittering away.

Hermione waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "A meeting?"

"Hermione!" Andy said in a shocked voice, a hand raised to her breast like a Victorian heroine protecting her virtue.

"Oh, pulleaasee!" Hermione replied with a laugh. "Don't even try to pull that virtuous act on me! Be thankful we didn't ask you on Tuesday."

Andy's eyes flitted from Hermione to Minerva, several times back and forth while her mouth opened and closed. She seemed uncertain and embarrassed. Hermione leaned forward and placed a hand on Andy's arm to comfort her. "It's okay, Andy. We've been aware for years that you have harbored strong feelings for Miranda. I think it's great if she returns them," Hermione said gently.

"I agree," Minerva said softly. "She is a formidable witch. You are a good match, and it is obvious that your feelings are not one-sided. I suspect that matter, at least, was cleared up on Monday."

Hermione noticed the twinkle in her wife's eyes and smiled. She had speculated Monday night once they had returned to their quarters that Andy and Miranda had interacted in some definitive way when Miranda had gone to the Charms classroom to find her daughters. It had not escaped Hermione's notice that the Priestly girls had arrived for dinner without their mother, nor that the two witches had entered the Great Hall together halfway through the meal, both freshly showered. Both had exuded an air of satiation Hermione knew well from her years with Minerva, and when Hermione had witnessed the two formidable women's eyes meeting, she had seen the air vibrate between them.

"Um, thanks. It, we haven't really talked about it. I am hoping we will sort things out more tomorrow," Andy revealed.

"Well, if you ever want to talk, I'm here for you." Hermione leaned closer and said conspiratorially, "I know what it feels like to be navigating feelings regarding an older, powerful, passionate woman." Ruminating on why Miranda had returned to the wizarding world, Hermione made a mental note to contact Harry and Ron. They might have some useful information.

After an amiable silence, Andy said, "I had another dream last night. I was flying, and I felt massive. I was flexing my shoulder blades, which makes me believe I had wings, but not as extensions of my arms. It was an odd sensation. I was high—over a mountain range—and I was worried. I remember searching below me and flying over a clearing where several wizards were dueling. I began to dive toward them, and then the dream ended."

"I had a series of increasingly vivid dreams right before my animagus form revealed itself to me. In fact, I changed for the first time directly after waking up from one such dream," Hermione confided.

Minerva smiled softly. "I well remember that day. I found you asleep in your bed without a stitch of clothing on. It was quite shocking."

"Just shocking?" Hermione asked coyly. She noticed the red tinge on defined cheekbones and smiled widely. Chuckling, Hermione added, "I was so exhausted after flying around for the first time that I couldn't be bothered to pull on clothes." She looked at Andy. "I'll tell you right now that you'll want to charm your clothes and any belongings on your person so that you can banish and summon them before and after changing forms. My mentor forgot to pass on that little helpful piece of advice."

"Well, I did plan to tell you, Hermione. I just hadn't quite gotten around to it," Minerva huffed.

"That day, Minerva nearly died," Hermione said in a near-whisper. She felt the dulled knife of agony shoot through her. Even after all these years, it hurt to think about. Andy had heard the story before, of course. It was well-known in the wizarding community how Hermione in her animagus form of a phoenix had used her magical tears to heal Minerva's mortal wound that snowy day on the Quidditch pitch so long ago.

"But I did not, thanks to you, Gràdh," Minerva responded.

Hermione was captured in a loving gaze. That day, over fifteen years ago, had been one of the scariest in her life—right up there with when she had thought Voldemort had killed Harry during the final battle of the Second Wizarding War. Remembering it helped Hermione to understand Minerva's desperation and very real fear of Hermione getting hurt or worse during this present dragon crisis. If Hermione lost Minerva—pain shot through her chest at the thought—she did not know whether she could survive the loss. Melodramatic, she knew, but that's how she felt.

A warm hand cupped her cheek, redirecting her attention to her wife.

"I am right here, and I am not going anywhere. Nor are you," Minerva declared firmly. To Hermione's astonishment, Minerva leaned in and captured her lips in a heated kiss. Propriety flew out the door as Hermione responded to Minerva's passion by wrapping her arms around her waist and pulling her closer. After several moments where Hermione was unable to focus on anything but the sensations Minerva evoked, the kiss wound down to loving pecks delivered reverently. Hermione caught her breath as her eyes fluttered open, her attention focusing on her wife's strong arms, the sofa's soft cushions, and the fire's warming flames.

She also remembered that they were not alone.

Looking over at the other sofa, Hermione saw Andy's soft smile and couldn't help smiling ruefully in return. She squeezed Minerva's arms gratefully, warmed by her willingness to push aside her natural reticence to act affectionately in front of others in order to provide reassurance.

"Thank you, Love," Hermione said huskily. Inhaling and exhaling loudly, Hermione smiled as she ran her fingers lightly over Minerva's cheek.

"So, it sounds like your animagus is a bird of some sort," Hermione mused. "That's great! And actually," Hermione continued, becoming excited by the prospect, "I can show you some of my favorite places to fly around here and near the Manor."

Andy laughed at Hermione's enthusiasm. "That sounds wonderful, Hermione. I am looking forward to it."

"I should warn you: I was extremely sore after flying the first few times. My arms, my back, my legs—everything. But it gets easier as your body adapts."

"Huh. I was wondering whether an animagus form affects the human body. What other changes have you experienced?" Andy asked curiously.

"For my part, since my animagus is a cat I have found that my ability to see in the dark has increased dramatically as well as spotting movement at far distances," Minerva revealed.

"My body has changed, particularly my upper body, and I am much healthier. And I can apparate anywhere in either form, regardless of any anti-apparation spells, wards, or disillusionment charms that may be in effect," Hermione said. "Of course, that's only because I am a phoenix. No other animal has that ability."

Andy's eyebrows rose in surprise. "That's incredible. I've never heard of a magical animagus. How long did it take you to master your animagus form?"

"It was actually quite quick—about three months," Hermione answered.

"The times vary, Andrea. It depends where you are in your studies and how advanced you are with transfiguration. Since you had trained for several months with me before leaving for the States to study for your Potions Mastery with Professor Cabiness, I anticipate your animagus mastery will happen quickly," Minerva said.

"And that book I gave you, A Step-by-Step Practical Guide to Finding Your Inner Animal, is really helpful," Hermione added.

"Oh, yeah. I already read that one years ago, and I've started reviewing it again. Um, I was also wondering…" Andy said with hesitation. Hermione noticed that she seemed unsure of herself.

"What is it?" Hermione prompted gently.

"Well, I wondered whether any animagus forms have the ability to hear another's voice telepathically." Andy stared at her hands, clenched in her lap.

"Telepathically?" Minerva said. "Not that I am aware. Why do you ask?"

Andy's face flushed, partially hidden by her curtain of dark hair. "Oh, I must have been mistaken. I mean, I've never had that ability before, and I cannot do it with anyone else. Um."

"Besides whom?" Minerva prompted.

When Andy did not answer, Hermione and Minerva exchanged glances. "Miranda?" Hermione asked softly. She watched Andy nod.

"But, well, we haven't spoken of it. Perhaps that's not what happened. I mean, we were in the middle of, I mean we…" Andy's words petered off, and Hermione bit her lip to keep her grin at bay. Andy had pretty much just confirmed Hermione's guess that something pretty intense had occurred between them.

"Yes, you should discuss it," Minerva said gently. "And when you are in her company, perhaps you can determine whether that ability is present." Another nod.

Hermione wondered what animagus could read minds or speak to another silently. She felt the spark of intellectual curiosity take hold. She thought of a few books that might be helpful, and tilted her head as her mind ran through a list of birds. Minerva's whisper broke her concentration.

"I believe we are losing you to your thoughts," Minerva murmured before delivering a kiss to Hermione's cheek. Looking into eyes laden with affection, Hermione grinned.

"Sorry." Hermione said, chagrined, before returning her attention to Andy. "What are your plans over the holiday break?"

"I have no idea," Andy answered.

"You are always welcome to join us at the Manor," Minerva said.

At Andy's hesitant look, Hermione added, "We have plenty of room, as you well know."

"Yes, thank you. It's just that, I am guessing that Miranda's daughters will be remaining here, and I would feel better keeping an eye on them," Andy admitted.

"Well, then. You can always visit. The moorland is beautiful this time of year," Minerva amended.

"And you'll have to come by this Tuesday night for your animagus training. Now that you've started back up and are experiencing the dreams, it's essential to keep your scheduled Tuesday lessons," Hermione said.

"All right. That sounds great," Andy said with a smile. She placed her empty teacup on the side table and rose. "I'd better get going. I am feeling awfully tired. Must be all that flying I've been doing," she joked.

"No doubt," Hermione agreed. She hugged Andy at the door. "Good night. Sweet dreams."

"Right," Andy said sardonically as she withdrew from hugging Minerva. "Good night."

Turning away from the closed door, Hermione felt soft lips cover hers. "Mmmm," she hummed. "I love you," she whispered against moist lips.

"And I love you," Minerva answered. "Come to bed."

"I will in a moment. I just want to deliver a message to Harry," Hermione said. Since he was the Head Auror at the Ministry of Magic and Ron was also an Auror, Hermione had no doubt that they were investigating the dragon attacks, too.

"I'd like to be there when you speak to Harry and Ron about the dragon attacks," Minerva said, kissing the tip of Hermione's nose before she released her.

"How did you…" Hermione began. Raised eyebrows stopped her question. She chuckled. "Right. Silly question." Hermione smiled tenderly. "You know me so well."

'Don't be too long," Minerva murmured. Hermione received the tender kiss eagerly and nodded. She quickly wrote out a formal request for she and Minerva to see both of them at their earliest convenience, and apparated to the second level of the Ministry of Magic. With a smirk, she laid the message on Harry's desk and apparated back to Hogwarts. Why use an owl when I can deliver my letters quicker in person?

Business finished, Hermione banked the fire's embers in their fireplace, extinguished the candles, and made her way to their bedroom. As soon as she crossed its threshold, Hermione heard Minerva's Scottish burr mutter magical words. Feeling her clothes disappear, Hermione advanced to their bed where Minerva lounged. "In a hurry?" Hermione asked with a smirk as she climbed on top of her equally naked wife.

"Aye. Now come here," she growled playfully.

Hermione yielded without hesitation, lowering her head to taste her wife's irresistible lips. They were together, alive, and she intended to rejoice in every moment.