Note: Once again, sorry for the very long delay. Life has been interesting, let's leave it at that. I hope to do better with the next one. It's a low enough bar, but – as always – I can't make any promises.

Pins and Needles

Chapter 17: No Return and No Deposit

The weeks flew by after their picnic, with Hermione burying herself in her studies to get her Mastery done in time and Minerva no less busy. "Funny how much more work it is to rebuild than it would have been to just maintain it in the first place," or variations thereof was a phrase that the newly appointed Headmistress could often be heard muttering while dealing with the myriad of things that had to be done before Hogwarts would once again be welcoming students in September.

In spite of this the couple made sure to make good use of the unusual amount of flexibility their current responsibilities still offered them and went on irregular short trips all over the Scottish North, extending their explorations all the way up to the Shetland Islands. At times they just enjoyed the breathtaking landscapes on more or less extended walks, at other times Minerva would delve into little history lessons. Hermione was astonished to find how entrenched Wizarding history was into the country's past.

They also took care to show up at the Burrow at least once a week. As much as she had enjoyed the weeks of respite at the Manor, Hermione found herself able to once again treasure the time she got to spend with her friends, be it playing Exploding Snap, watching the others compete in an impromptu round of Quidditch or, more often than not, simply enjoying the sense of extended family provided by the Weasleys' hospitality in general and Molly's cooking in particular.

There was one considerable drawback to being socially interactive like this again - people's birthdays or, more accurately, the obligation of giving gifts linked thereto. When it came to Ron, their lack of overlap in interests aside from not getting killed by Voldemort or any of his followers had always made it difficult to come up with ideas. Their year on the run and her subsequent retreat had not been particularly conducive to leisurely social activities either. Which was why, in mid February, after an unsuccessful attempt of getting Harry to provide any useful insights, Hermione found herself resorting to the last ditch effort of asking Ron flat out if he had any birthday wishes.

"Sure," he answered, not looking up while putting away the cards from the game the three of them had just concluded, sitting cross legged on Ron's bed like they had ever since Hermione had first set foot in the Burrow. These days this setup was kind of cramped, but no one had ever considered that reason to change it.

When he didn't continue, but kept himself busy with the cards, Hermione prodded, "So?"

He put the game away and looked up before answering, "Go on a date with me?"

Hermione did a double take. She had been convinced they were safely beyond this point. The hopeful expression in his eyes made her bite back the harsh answer she had been about to give him. "I don't think that is a good idea." As she heard the words leave her mouth, she knew they weren't going to cut it.

True enough, Ron protested, "We hardly ever tried to make it work last time. And it probably wasn't the best time anyway, with everything that was going on."

Hermione took another deep breath while carefully considering her reply. "Ron, you mean a lot to me. As a friend." She had put extra stress on the last three words. Recognizing Ron's history of performing less than stellar when it came to subtlety, she added, "But I do not want to go on a date with you."

"I'm just saying," Ron continued, with the energy of someone who had been waiting for his shot for a while now, "why not give ourselves another chance? How do you know it won't be good?"

Harry, who had been listening silently so far, tried to intervene, "Ron, just–"

"Drop it, alright?" Rapidly growing annoyed at Ron's persistence, Hermione hadn't even registered Harry's attempt. "It's not going to happen," she snapped at him as she rose from the bed and crossed towards the opposite end of the room.

Undeterred, Ron continued, "Why not? You're not seeing any other bloke. Just give me a reason."

"Because 'I don't want to' isn't good enough for you?" Hermione had turned back towards him, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Okay. Fine. For starters, I am not actually interested in blokes." She found herself mimicking Ron's pronunciation of the term without really meaning to. "There, is that good enough?"

Ron stared at her, dumbfounded, as Harry tried to sink back as far as humanly possible into the cushions. "Since when?"

"Since …" Hermione paused as she realised she hadn't considered this question before. "I'm not sure, alright? And I don't think it matters much. It is what it is."

"But …," Ron had gotten up from the bed and started pacing the room as he gesticulated wildly in the air, his movements betraying equal parts confusion and frustration. "How can you even know? I mean, really. You're not seeing anyone. You have never been with a girl."

"That is a really stupid line of reasoning." She only just managed to fight off the urge to add "even for you", instead continuing with, "You do not have to be with anyone to recognize the attraction." Long past the point where she'd be willing to say anything just to get him to shut up, she added, "But aside from that, you're wrong." She waited for a few moments, but his face clearly showed he wasn't catching on. "I am seeing someone."

"How?" He looked at her, his eyes wide. "You've hardly ever left McGonagall's house except to come here." Turning to Harry for support, he added, "She said so herself!"

Instead of answering, Harry eyed the door, unmistakably demonstrating his regret at failing to escape the room in time.

"I'm not living there on my own, am I?"

Ron's head spun back at her words. For a moment he just stood there, then his eyes widened. "You're fucking McGonagall?"

Drawing in a long breath, Hermione forced herself to silently count to three before answering in a quietly determined, icy voice, "Firstly, if you are at all interested in continuing our friendship, this will be the first and last time you have used this kind of language to describe my life. Or hers. Secondly, it is no damn business of yours whether Minerva and I are fucking, as you so charmingly put it, but I will answer the question you should have been asking. Yes, we are involved. Romantically."

"There's romance?" Ginny had entered the room during the last words. Taking in the tension, she added, "Is this a bad time?"

Hermioned let out a mirthless laugh. "You know what? It's not." She motioned her inside with an overly dramatic handwave. "Feel free to join this lovely conversation. The more, the merrier."

Not losing another second, Ron went on, clearly happy to involve another person in the conversation, "Did you happen to hear who she was talking about? Because you'll never guess."

Turning back towards them after having closed the door, Ginny took a few seconds, looking back and forth between the two. Then she ventured, "McGonagall?"

As Hermione looked at Harry who quietly shook his head to tell her he wasn't to blame, Ron stared at his sister for a second, before exclaiming, "Ah, so everyone knows. Everyone but idiot Ron. This is fucking wonderful."

"Will you calm down, you silly twat?" Ginny looked as if she was about to knock him over the head with something. "I didn't know anything. Hermione hasn't exactly been clubbing lately, now has she? You'd wear a different face if it were you. She and McGonagall appear to be remarkably close indeed. And given just how shocked you were …" She shrugged. "It's really not all that hard to guess."

Ron huffed, unwilling to concede a point. "So you're telling me you think it's a perfectly normal relationship?"

Ginny rolled her eyes in what clearly was intended to be overacting. "I'm telling you that it's none of your damn business. Nor mine, for that matter." Turning towards Hermione she pointed an accusatory finger at her to add emphasis to her next words. "Which isn't to say I am not interested in all of the juicy details of how that came to be." She smiled as she noted Hermione blush. "Because I really am."

"Got it." Hermione returned the smile, silently conveying her gratitude for Ginny's timely intervention.

The respite was short lived though.

"Am I the only one to see it's crazy?" Ron looked around the room, clearly addressing everyone with his question.

"No, you're not." Hermione's answer had been quiet, all of her earlier anger gone from her voice. "But crazy is part of being in love, right?"

"You love her?" Ron asked, his voice equally calm.

Ginny spoke before Hermione had a chance to. "Of course she does, you thick-headed dolt." Hermione looked at her in surprise as, once again, Ginny shrugged. "I doubt you'd choose to have this conversation with …," she paused to shoot another glare at her brother, "... us because of all the fun you imagined it would be."

Hermione chuckled before turning back to talk to Ron. "She's right. And I know there are a lot of people out there who will judge us, and not too kindly either. But I really do love her, I very much intend for this to be a long term relationship and I am not willing to live my life in hiding." She paused, giving her words a chance to sink in, before adding, "And it would really mean a lot if you … were not one of those people."

There was another long pause before Ron answered, "I still think it's crazy. But if crazy makes you happy …?"

"Very."

"I want you to be happy." He let out a deep sigh. "I really do. I'll be okay. Just … give me some time, alright?"

"Of course." Hermione blinked back a tear. "Thank you."

Ron just shrugged.

Judging the time right for a change of subject, Harry spoke up, "She's also going to have a great job soon."

As everyone turned to look at him, clearly having forgotten he had been there all the time, Hermione silently shook her head at him.

To his credit it only took Harry a second to catch on. "What with a record time Mastery. You'll be able to pick," he added, as if clarifying his previous statement.

Smiling her thanks for the swerve, Hermione was all too happy to tell the other three all about the state of her studies. Thanks to her rapid progression into very advanced spells and her willingness to include some demonstrations, she quickly had her audience captivated. They only noticed how much time had gone by when they heard Molly calling them down for dinner.

As they went downstairs, Harry took hold of her arm to make them fall back a little before he said, "I'm sorry. I didn't realise you didn't want anyone to know about your new job."

Hermione shrugged the apology off. "Neither did I. I just thought that maybe it was a tad much."

Meanwhile, Ron and Ginny had reached the kitchen door. As it opened, Hermione got a glimpse of the rest of the family. Excited, shrieking noises let her know that Teddy and Andromeda had joined them for supper. The nearer she got to the door, the more she felt herself tense up as the weight of today's unplanned revelation started to settle in. Allowing Harry to enter before her, she paused in the doorframe, trying to catch Minerva's eyes. When she succeeded she motioned for her to join her in the hallway.

As soon as the door had closed behind Minerva, Hermione started babbling, "I messed up. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to–"

Taking a quick look around to make sure that they were alone, Minerva pulled her into a little nook. "Darling, slow down. You are not making sense. Breathe." She waited until Hermione did as she had been told. "Tell me what happened."

"I kind of maybe just told Ginny about us. And Ron." She saw Minerva's eyes widen slightly. "He kept pestering me about giving us another shot and I just snapped." She made a face. When Minerva didn't say anything she went on, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I just never expected it to be this hard not to tell anyone." She paused again, taking in the other woman. "You're not mad," she observed and felt some of the tension leave her body.

Minerva shook her head. "I am … miffed. I would have appreciated being included in making that decision. I am not particularly looking forward to going in there again." She gave a half smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "But let us not pretend that this is about anything else but timing. It was always going to be awkward. So how about we treat it as the proverbial band-aid."

"You really think so?"

Minerva shrugged. "Well, how much of a choice do you see us having?" She took Hermione's face into her hands, her own expression softening further. "Maybe it really is for the best." This time the smile she gave her was real, soon to be followed up by an encouraging kiss.

Minerva finished the kiss, then waited for Hermione to make eye contact again. Eyeing the door to the kitchen, she asked, "Ready?"

"No."

"Feel free to air your grievances with whoever decided to rip off the band-aid." Minerva took Hermione's hand in hers and started to gently pull her towards the door. "Just remember that Molly is on our side. We will be okay."

Note: The title is taken from the song I Am What I Am from the musical La Cage aux Folles. The most popular version is probably Gloria Gaynor's. It's one of my all time favorite songs and you're likely to know it. If you don't, you really should fix that. It's a gay anthem.

Heads up: We're slowly but surely nearing the end of the fic. Right now, I'm guessing another two to three chapters. Fair warning, in case you're hoping for very many chapters of established relationship.