"I assure you; we have the situation under control. We've gone through one transformation already with absolutely no problem," Albus explained, watching as the man across his desk continued to look at him with skepticism. "Wolfsbane has done wonders!"

"And what is it you're telling your students when he's missing every month?"

Before Albus had a chance to reply, the door to his office flew open so hard, he was sure it was going to come off. In stepped his Deputy, her face as red as the crest of her house. So much for under control, he thought to himself. "Albus, we need to talk."

Trying not to show his irritation in front of the minster, Albus stood from his desk and walked towards Minerva. He placed a hand on her arm, but she pulled it away. "As you can see, the minster has stopped in for his monthly check in. I'll be around in an hour or so."

"No; we are going to talk now," she snapped, her nostrils flared the way they did when she was most angry.

Albus could feel sweat beginning to form at the back of his neck. "Minerva, this isn't a good time."

"I can go, Albus," the minster said, standing as well. "I can see she really needs to talk. If there's anything I can do-,"

"Get out," Minerva snapped.

"Stop by anytime, Albus," he said awkwardly.

Breathing heavily, Albus nodded and watched as the minister grabbed a handful of floo powder and disappeared into the fireplace. Trying not to shout, he turned to the fuming Minerva. "When were you going to tell me?" she asked angrily.

With a last attempt to control the situation, racking his brain for what could have her so angry, Albus picked up his jar of lemon drops and held it out. "Lemon drop?"

Minerva glared at him, and the jar suddenly shattered in his hand, cutting his hands in a few places. The cuts stung, and he tried not to show a reaction. She was ruthless when she was angry. Merlin, I forgot how skilled she is at wandless magic. "I'm going to ask you again. When were you going to tell me?"

Albus sighed, having a feeling he knew what she was talking about. "Minerva, at least sit down."

"I'm not sitting down," she spat, her eyes fixated on him. Her body was visibly shaking, but it was clear it was out of anger, not nerves. "When were you going to tell me about what happened with Severus?"

"In the shrieking shack?"

"When they tried to kill him! When they tried to kill him and you did nothing!"

Sitting down, he kicked the pieces of glass with his foot. "I wasn't going to let an incident of Remus's childhood impact him teaching here."

"I'm not referring to his teaching here. I am not questioning your decision about Remus teaching." She stepped forward, towering above him. "What I am questioning is why you would keep something like this from me…for all these years. Back then, why didn't you tell me? They were my students, and they put Severus in grave danger."

"As I recall, Severus followed them," Albus clarified.

"So that gave them the right to try and kill him? You know I would have never allowed such reckless behavior to go unpunished!"

"I know," he nodded. The decision not to tell Minerva had been a difficult one. He knew she would have punished the boys, but he had felt that any additional punishments on them could risk them revealing anything about Remus's condition. The boy had struggled enough as a child; the last thing he needed was more students knowing his secret. "I was thinking about Remus."

"I really don't know what you were thinking about," Minerva replied. Laughing bitterly, she wrung her hands. "Sometimes, I can rationalize your decisions," she continued, now pacing furiously in front of him, her accent beginning to reveal itself. "For the greater good, you always say. And, I know you and Severus have your boys club, and quite frankly, I don't want to know what goes on between the two of you. But, when it comes to my students, the decisions are mine. I didn't realize that we were not in understanding about that."

"They are your decisions, Min," he cut in. "This was one time where, as Headmaster, I made the call that I felt was best for the school as a whole."

"And what about Severus? There was no justice for him!"

"Severus was also breaking school rules. He could have exposed Remus," he said calmly.

"You always let those boys slide by. I loved them; Merlin I did, but I wanted to do more to keep them in line, and you always pushed back!" she shouted.

Knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere arguing with her, Albus sighed, waiting until she stopped pacing and looked at him. He had to admit, she looked unshakeable- her eyes fierce and hair beginning to fall out of its usual constraints. As angry with him as he knew she was, and as much as he would always stand by his decisions to keep Remus's condition as under check as possible, Albus admired the way the woman always spoke her mind. As much as it led to them clashing heads, it's why he kept her around. Was she right about the boys' lack of punishment? Albus knew she was, but he also knew that decisions did not always have a clear right and wrong. His had been right for Remus, hers right for Severus and the other boys. The silence that had fallen between them was tense, and he could hear her breathing echoing through the room. "How did you find out?"

Leaning over to grip the back of the chair, she pursed her lips before admitting quietly, "Severus told me."

"You're speaking? During our chess game last week, you said you were struggling to stay close."

Clearly still angry, her voice was calmer than before, though he could tell the calmness could quickly break. "He told me last night that there was something he wasn't telling me…that I didn't know everything."

"Ah," Albus said, unsure of where to go next.

"Who else knew?" she asked, but as less of a question and more a demand for an answer.

"Poppy."

Her eyes widened. "Poppy?"

"She tended to him that night."

"And she never told me?" she asked, more to herself than to him.

"Do you think Poppy one to disobey a direct order from the Headmaster?"

Minerva shook her head. "No." Silence fell between the two again until she spoke. "You can't keep these things from me. I…" her voice trailed off for a moment. He couldn't tell if she was still angry or trying not to cry. "Black escaped, dementors in the castle, what happened with Quirrell years ago…we're approaching war, Albus. I'm your right hand. I will always stand by you, but you know that if you hurt my students or Severus that I-,"

"I know, my dear," he said. "I know that this hurt you on both accounts."

"He's struggling, Albus."

"I know he is."

"And that's it? I know he is." Her anger was returning. Damn, the Scottish temper for being so easy to flare.

"What do you suppose I do? Fire Remus?"

"Of course not!" she exclaimed. "But… the Wolfsbane…teaching his classes..."

Albus put a hand up. "We're approaching war, Minerva. You said it yourself. You're going to have to trust me."

"I trust you, Albus," she replied, straightening back to her full height. "But, if I find out that you pull something like this with one of my students again, that trust is going to falter." Without a word, she swept herself up in her robes and slammed the door behind her.