A/N I know the British have a different word for 'hide & seek' but I can't for the life of me remember it and none of the on-line sites are being particularly helpful at the moment.

Thanks again Maria for the super quick turnaround time.

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Minerva wasn't in her classroom. She wasn't in her office. Nor was she in her rooms.

Albus sighed. As much as he normally enjoyed a good game of hide and seek, he just hadn't the time today. Fervently hoping it would reveal her to be in the Great Hall or the library, or anywhere other than a certain other professor's private rooms, he removed his wand from his robe sleeve to cast a locator spell.

The response he received – it wasn't possible - showed her as not in range. For that to be true, she would have to be past the school's grounds – past the castle's protections.

Dread and anger bubbling up inside him, he cast the spell again, but this time on a different subject. The spell gave the same response.

Cursing himself and the both of them, Albus set off for the castle entrance at a most undignified pace. The things that he would do to that man – if only he could get to them before Voldemort did.

On a landing just before the castle doors, Albus came across a most unusual sight.

"Give him here!"

"No, I won't!"

Watching Arthur Weasley grappling with a first year, Albus would have been wondering why exactly Arthur was attempting to steal the first year's pet kneazle if his mind wasn't paralyzed by the knowledge that Arthur Weasley shouldn't be there. Having long since graduated, the clerk from the Ministry's Magical Law Enforcement Office had no reason to be at Hogwarts. The Fidelius charm should have kept him from being able to locate the castle…unless something had happened to the school's secret keeper.

Having succeeded in wrenching the kneazle from the first year and noticing Albus's stare, Arthur blushed. "Nasty business this."

Before Albus could respond, Alastor Moody and Frank Longbottom arrived.

Alastor questioned Arthur, "That the last one?"

At Arthur's nod, Frank went back the way he had come.

Almost to himself, Alastor bemoaned, "Poor Minerva. Some people, the only luck they seem to have is bad luck."

Albus didn't understand and he wasn't sure that he wanted to, but still he asked. "What about Minerva?"

Arthur seemed surprised by his ignorance. "Surely you've heard about the attack?"

"What attack? What happened to Minerva? Where is she?"

Alastor looked taken aback. "You mean you don't know?"

Albus was growing frantic with the lack of answers. "Of course I don't know. If I knew, do you really think that I would be asking? Now someone tell me what happened to Minerva!"

Neither of the other two men would answer nor even meet his gaze. Again, this time louder, Albus asked. "What happened to Minerva?"

Walking into the castle, Kettleburn, eloquent as always, was the one to finally answer him. "She got rogered by a kneazle."

Albus knew what the term meant, but … "What?"

"It's true." Arthur affirmed with a shudder. "She came to my office at the Ministry and told me everything." Sounding as if he himself wanted no part in answering any further questions, Arthur pointed to Kettleburn. "Professor Kettleburn was with her. He can tell you … all the details."

"Yeah, I was with her. Some date. I try to put my hand up her frock and she starts crying about a kneazle. It kind of killed the mood. I didn't want to deal with her so I brought her to the Ministry."

It didn't make sense. Why would Minerva go to the Ministry about what had happened between them? Had someone seen - Kettleburn perhaps? Had Albus not been the only one to go looking for Minerva that night? But if Kettleburn had seen, exactly how much had he seen, and why had he waited so long to come forward? None of it made sense.

"Where is Minerva now?"

Alastor motioned to the door. "I thought it best she stay put until we rounded up all the kneazles. Found the one responsible."

Arthur held up his freshly won prize. "I'll bet it's this one. He looks to have the right coloring."

"No, it isn't that one either." Everyone turned at the sound of Minerva's voice.

Frank Longbottom was standing beside her, a supportive hand at her elbow.

Arthur insisted. "Are you sure? He's the right coloring."

Minerva shook her head. "He's too well kept. This one was much more scraggly."

Arthur looked a bit dejected. "It's been over a month. He might not even be in the vicinity anymore. Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

Arthur wondered why she hadn't said anything sooner, but Albus still wondered why she had said anything at all. Something wasn't right.

Minerva's shrug, it looked too amused. "I don't know. I was ashamed, I suppose. I didn't want anyone to know…"

When she moved one hand to rest on her abdomen and cast a hesitant glance his way, Albus finally realized exactly what was going on.

"…but everyone is going to know soon enough."

Sounding agitated, Kettleburn broke the silence brought on by Minerva's words. "Do I still have to be here?"

Kettleburn headed further into the castle while Frank Longbottom, Arthur's kneazle in hand, headed back out.

Arthur looked quite apologetic as he seemed to wonder aloud. "But I still don't understand. Couldn't you have just changed out of your animagus form when it…started to happen?"

Minerva shrugged. She looked almost amused. "I already told you, it was all over so quickly."

Despite his shock, if only internally, Albus had to object. It wasn't that quick and after all he had warned her that he wouldn't have the best of control over certain things.

Moody looked more outraged by the question than Minerva did. As he took Arthur from the room, Albus could hear the auror berating the young man. "Never blame the victim!"

When the door shut, Minerva started to close the distance between them. "Can we talk?"

When Albus shook his head, she paused in her advancing.

"I didn't mean for you to find out this way. I thought I would have time to see you before someone else told you. I knew I couldn't tell you first. You never would have agreed to go to the Ministry."

With all the adrenalin still rushing through him from this most recent fright, he couldn't think straight. "Not now."

"And I didn't dare talk to you about the idea beforehand because I knew you would never have agreed to any of it."

Incredulous, he asked, "And did you think that by doing it this way, by announcing it to the rest of the world first, that I wouldn't object? You knew I would never agree to it – then why do it!"

"Albus, I know-"

"-Not now!" He just couldn't hear any more of it right now.

She went quiet, but a moment later he had to ask. "Just tell me one thing. Tell me that isn't really when we…"

"Merlin no!" she cried, revolted. "That was just in case anyone didn't believe the story. So I could take Veritaserum and answer truthfully. It was after."

"When I woke with you in my rooms, but that was only one time."

Smiling hesitantly, she reached for his hand. "What can I say; you are very potent for such an old man."

Incensed by her apparent amusement, he pulled his hand away. "Did you think this through? Did you think this through at all? No one is actually going to believe this story." Given the presence of several Ministry personnel at the castle rounding up kneazles, Albus amended his statement, "For long. And even if they did, have you considered this child? Have you put any thought into what this child's life would be like? You know how cruel people can be – especially children!"

She looked slightly annoyed that he had pointed out a few of the many obvious flaws in her ill-advised scheme. Or perhaps it was that he had not immediately become overcome with joy at the prospect she had put before him. Had she really no concept of the peril that she was putting herself in?

"I admit it isn't a perfect plan. It has a few drawbacks."

His mind awhirl, he continued lambasting her. "A few drawbacks? A few?" It was all too much for him at the moment. "Just stop talking."

"Albus, I know you're angry right now, but give it some time to settle in. I know you will come around to the idea."

"Angry? You think I'm angry? Angry doesn't even begin to cover it!" If she wanted to talk so badly, he would give her something to talk about. "Severus knows about us."

Albus could visibly see the color leave her face. If she had seemed amused before, she certainly didn't now. Now as she realized how very close Voldemort was to knowing, she looked much more the part that she was playing.

Alastor chose that moment to walk back into the room. The usually astute auror mistook the cause of her pallor as something else. "You shouldn't be standing."

Minerva allowed herself to be lowered into a chair.

Ignoring Alastor's presence, Albus continued. "You aren't staying here. Give me a few minutes to make other arrangements for you. Pack only what essentials you will need for the night. I will bring the rest of your belongings to you in the morning."

Albus was ignoring Alastor, but Alastor was doing no such thing. "How dare you! How dare you blame her for what happened!"

"Alastor, stay out of this!"

"The hell I will!"

"Alastor, this doesn't concern you." Albus had forewarned Minerva of what his terms were for having children. Maybe not in words, but clearly in deed she had accepted, and he had every intention of holding her to that agreement. There wasn't just her safety and happiness to be thought of now – there was the safety of their child.

More opposition rushed into the room in the form of several of the staff members.

"Kettleburn just told us what happened. Is it true?" Sprout sounded as though she wouldn't really believe it until she heard it from Minerva's own lips.

If he had the time to properly consider it, Albus might have realized that something seemed not quite right about Hagrid's response. "I never would have believed he would do something ter hurt yeh!"

Minerva allowed Poppy to pull her into an embrace. "You poor dear! Why didn't you say anything before?"

"To think; a kneazle! I can hardly wait! When do you deliver?" Filius seemed far too excited and not nearly horror-struck enough by the situation.

Wanting to put an end to any speculation as quickly as possible, Albus made Minerva's announcement for her. "Professor McGonagall is resigning her post and leaving – effective immediately."

Minerva's words were faint as her face was pressed into Poppy's shoulder, but they were loud enough for the others to hear. "This is my home. I don't want to leave Hogwarts."

"And you won't." Poppy assured her, stroking her back. The school's nurse was giving him a glare worthy of one of Minerva's own. "Let's get you to your rooms so you can lie down."

Albus shook his head, adamant. "She isn't staying here another night. I won't have it!"

Filius and the others looked more scandalized by his reaction than they had been by the news of Minerva's claims.

What he would and wouldn't have, didn't seem to matter to anyone else.

Pulling back from Poppy and still looking every bit the part, Minerva spoke. "I think I would like to lie down."

Without so much as another glare, Poppy, Filius, Hagrid, and Sprout formed a phalanx around Minerva and led her up the stairs.

It was Alastor, his voice and his expression ripe with disgust, who had the last word. "I would have thought better of you."