That Dangerous Game
Minerva McGonagall woke up the next morning, feeling a little foggy. Dreams, mostly involving a certain Head Master, had been plaguing her sleep all night. Looking around her, her eye felt on the photo frame and the memories of the previous evening rushed back to her.
And so did the anger.
�How dare he!� she muttered, while rubbing the sleep from her eyes and getting up. �I�ve never been so embarrassed before in my life�.
�This was even worse than that time I got tipsy during Christmas dinner and let Hagrid kiss me�, she added warily as an afterthought.
While getting dressed she continued thundering under her breath. Making a mental note to scare the entire Order (in particularly the Weasley- twins) into keeping their mouth shut about the events of the previous night, she made her way to the Dinner Hall. This small dining room was used for breakfast during the summer, being more comfortable then the Great Hall.
She had just left the Gryfindor Tower when she bumped into the last person she wanted to see at that moment.
�Good morning Professor McGonagall�, Albus Dumbledore said pleasantly, walking up beside her.
�Good morning, Head Master�, she answered curtly, not looking at him.
�Oh boy, I�m in trouble�, Albus thought worried. A bit more tentatively he asked, �Did you sleep well tonight�.
�Splendid, as always�, she answered in that same, brisk voice she usually saved for students, �thank you very much for your kind interest. I trust your sleep was refreshing as well?�
�Yes, very�, he replied unable to fight the smile from his face.
Even though she was looking firmly at the wall, she could feel him grinning. �Damn the man�, she thought angrily, �why is he having this effect on me?�
The walked in silence for a while. Then Albus said conversationally, �I am glad to see you�ve regained your usual colour�.
That did it. Whirling around, she looked at him furiously. �How could you say that?� she spat at him. �How could you humiliate me like that? By saying��
He didn�t reply. He didn�t even look taken aback by her outburst. He simply watched her, his eyes twinkling and a smile on his face.
�What were you thinking, Albus�, she continued, �where was your sense?�
�My dear Minerva�, he replied easily, �I�ve always believed that telling people the truth is very sensible thing to do�.
Her eyes widened. �How� what��, she began to stammer, �How do you mean� what is�� She hated losing control like this.
�Yes?� he asked, clearly amused.
Minerva held her hands up and shook her head. �Never mind. Just forget it, all of it�.
Denial.
The word suddenly hit him like a brick. They had known each other for sixty years, and they still denied their feelings for each other. At least he did. �Well not anymore�, he decided, he was trough with denial.
Closing some of the distance between then he spoke softly, �How about a game of chess in my office tonight? So we can talk about this?�
With her last bit of control and dignity she looked him straight in the eyes. �We have nothing to talk about, Albus�.
Next thing she know he had grasped her shoulders and pulled her against him. He lowered his head and kissed her full on her mouth. Before she could even register what happened or respond in any way, he pulled back.
�Now we have�, he replied, his face mere inches from hers. �see you at seven�.
He turned away and left, leaving Minerva McGonagall completely and utterly bewildered for maybe the first time in her life.
Slowly she made her way to breakfast. �That did not just happen�, hammered her mind. �It�s impossible. Albus Dumbledore did not just back me up against the wall and kiss me!�
Carefully she touched her lips en then realised that he just very much did so.
When she entered the dining room she saw to her relief that both seats next to Albus were already taken. �Thank you for free seats during the summer�, she thought while sitting down on the opposite.
Her relief didn�t last for long. Every single, bloody time she looked up she saw Albus watching her with a strange, almost teasing expression in his eyes. She felt the colour rise to her cheeks and found it suddenly very hard to swallow.
She glared at Albus, trying to make him stop staring at her, but he merely smiled and continued watching. By the time breakfast was over, her hands were trembling.
She tried to keep herself busy that morning by reorganising her classroom. But she simply couldn�t concentrate. Images of the event of last night and this morning kept flashing through her mind.
Lunch time came and passed and again Albus stared at her without looking away once, causing her to stammer and drop her fork. Finally it was over and she locked herself in her study, breathing deeply.
What in Merlin�s name was he doing? She coloured even deeper when she recalled the curious stares she received from her colleagues. She tried to organise her thoughts. She wanted this to happen. She wanted their friendship to change in something� more. So why was she upset?
�Because you�re not in control�, a little voice told her. �You hate being out of control and he knows it�. She spend the rest of the afternoon mentally preparing herself for dinner.
Which turned out to be sheer torture.
The moment she entered the room he locked his eyes on her and stared� and stared� and stared some more. The other teachers, realising something was going on, were unusually quiet, which only increased the tension in the room.
By the time dinner ended, Minerva was a nervous wreck. When dessert was finally over, she dashed out of the room to her own quarters.
�I�ll kill him!� she thought beyond herself with fury. �I will actually kill him!� If he plans on keeping this Sphinx- game up all night he will be very dead for sure�.
She dressed carefully. Not to formal, but certainly not to casual. Hair up for one thing. With her stomach tight into a knot, she walked to Albus� office.
At the door she hesitated for one moment, �here it goes�, and then knocked on the door�
Next
Home