"Fuck," Minerva muttered, tossing the stack of parchments Albus had handed her onto the desk. She stood and ran her hands through the loose strands of hair that hung on the sides of her face. Albus sat quietly, exhaling a breath he had been holding in since she had walked into his office for the meeting. His Deputy was pacing in front of his desk, biting down on her thumbnail. He waited for her to speak, knowing she was going to need to process the news. When she finally spoke, she laughed slightly, albeit a nervous laugh. "I'm happy about it," she explained, turning to face him with troubled green eyes. "Believe me; I love the man, and I know he desperately needs this break."

"But, I think a certain someone is going to raise hell."

"You think?" she asked, sneering.

"With the Wolfsbane potion, it shouldn't be a danger to the students…"

"Oh, come off it, Albus! You think this is about him being a damn werewolf?" she asked angrily.

Albus rubbed his temples. "I know."

Minerva gripped the back of the office chair. "How do we tell him?"

"I was hoping you-,"

"Oh, no!" she snapped, putting a hand up. "This is on you." There were times when Minerva McGonagall was not to be bargained with. This was one of them.

Albus nodded. He had a feeling she wasn't going to tell him; he couldn't blame her- he didn't want to tell Severus either. "I understand." Silence passed over the room, and the only sound in the room was her heavy breathing. "Remus will be so happy to be here," he said softly.

A small smile passed her lips. "Merlin, I bet."

"He hasn't had a home in years."

"I know. I always worried about that one after James died and Sirius…well."

"I did too; you were good to him," Albus said. "He'll be happy to have you back in his life. He could use a friend."

"He's a good man," she agreed. "I'm excited to welcome him here."

"But someone else has come into your life that makes things…complicated."

"That's one way of putting it," she muttered.

"Tea, Minerva?"

"You have anything stronger?" The smirk on her face was more like the woman he knew.

"Only for you," he laughed. "Severus should be here in a half an hour. I asked him to meet this evening."

"You couldn't have warned me?"

"Consider yourself warned," he shrugged, walking to his liquor stores and grabbing a bottle of whiskey. A few clean glasses sat on a towel beside the bottle, but he turned to face Minerva when she called his name.

"A shot glass will do," she replied as she took to her seat once more.

Raising an eyebrow at his normally pristine deputy, he fulfilled her request, bringing the bottle and shot glass back to his desk. She had one foot pulled up onto the chair, her robes covering it. It was the rare moments where she looked so casual that he valued her friendship the most. He poured her a shot and watched with amusement as she downed it quickly. "And that is precisely why I have a Scot as my deputy," he joked

She raised the shot glass for another to be poured. "I'll drink to that." He did as she wanted, but she let it sit for a while before taking it. "I missed you last year," she admitted.

"I know."

"If you have any more surprise trips planned for this year, do give me a head's up."

Albus chuckled. "I'm not going anywhere."

Minerva took her second shot of the evening. "I need this to get through this conversation," she explained sarcastically.

"The two will need to sort out their differences," Albus said.

"Hmm," she hummed. "It's not Remus's differences I'm worried about. Severus is stubborn- he's not going to give him a chance."

"And that's Severus's problem, not yours," Albus reminded her, placing a hand on hers.

"You should know by now these things are never separate."

Albus nodded. "I know, love. You're a good woman."

"I'm a bloody fool," she muttered, tapping her fingers against the shot glass.

"You're in love."

"Humph. That love is going to kill me this year."

Albus watched his friend's eyes. She was such a complicated woman; it's what he loved about being her friend. Albus knew he was extremely lucky to be one of the few people she opened up to. The night he found her crying her classroom, clutching a letter about her dead former lover, was still so clear in his head. It had been almost unreal to see her that way- even as a student, she was so serious and strong. It was moments like these, when she sat drinking her stress away, that he knew how lucky he was. "Min?"

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry about last year."

"We did what needed to be done," she replied. Typical Minerva.

"You didn't need to be thrown into all of that."

"I did my job," she pointed out.

"You're just as stubborn as Severus sometimes."

"I take that as an insult," came the Potion's Masters voice from the doorway. Albus hadn't even noticed he walked in. He was early. Glancing at Minerva, he saw her face pale when Severus walked in. She was leaning on her hand, her elbow propped up on the table. "I do pride myself on being more stubborn than her."

Severus made his way to the desk, taking the seat next to Minerva. He reached out and touched her arm, and Minerva threw him, what Albus knew was, a weak a smile. Keeping his arm on her, Severus turned to Albus. "Thank you for coming, Severus. We need to talk about the newest addition to our staff."

"I would love to hear what moron you plan to place in Dark Arts this year," he muttered.

"With some careful consideration and planning, this is who I intend to bring on this term," Albus said, pushing the parchments towards him.

Severus picked up the parchments, and Albus could feel the tension in the room as his narrowed and he pulled his arm off Minerva's. Minerva looked like she was going to throw up. Slowly, Severus put the parchment back on the desk, his hands resting on it. "Lupin?"

Albus nodded. "He'll be a wonderful teacher."

It was clear that Severus was biting the inside of his cheek in anger. His face was growing red, and when he finally spoke, he spoke slowly, "Ah yes, no better way to learn the Dark Arts than having something so interactive."

"As long as we have a fully stocked supply of Wolfsbane, then-,"

Severus put a hand up. "And I will be brewing Wolfsbane for him?"

"This is the decision I have made, Severus. You will need to learn to live with it by the start of term."

Severus nodded slowly, standing from his chair. "Good night, Headmaster," he said bitterly. Albus knew he hadn't been this angry with him in years; it was going to take time for him to calm down.

Without a word to Minerva, Severus was out the door, slamming it behind him. Silence fell between the Headmaster and his Deputy for a few moments until Albus poured Minerva another shot and slid it across the desk towards her. Shaking her head, she picked it up and downed it right after the last two she'd taken. Albus wasn't sure what to say, but he simply squeezed her hand. "Remus will be coming on the Hogwarts express with the children. You'll have to fill him in before the Sorting Ceremony."

Minerva nodded. "I'll send him an Owl and let him know we need to have a meeting when he arrives."

"Want to play a game of chess, my dear?" he offered.

Shaking her head, Minerva stood from her chair. She walked around and hugged Albus, something she didn't do very often. "I should check on him. Perhaps, tomorrow night?"

"I'd like that," he said with a smile.

"Good night, Albus," she said.

Albus watched sadly as she left; it was going to be a long year for them all.