Belonging

Nesting the Love Birds -Minerva McGonagall-

-Minerva McGonagall-

Friday Morning

Severus Snape had been artfully avoiding Minerva all week. She knew through gossip first that they had reached the hiccuping stage. A sign things were on the way towards completion, but she would have appreciated a check in from him. Last night he had sent a missive alerting her that he may not be able to work tomorrow if the hiccups were not to be quelled. She had informed him by returned note he should try if he could to keep working, that he needed to assure he was spending time with Miss Watson to prevent them.

He had not come to dinner. Minerva's mate had informed her he was trying a hiccup tonic, so she assumed he was downstairs brewing away. She had been about to go down and demand a status update when she had seen Miss Watson heading down there with cupcakes for two. Who was she to get in the way of them getting to know each other at this difficult stage?

This morning she would force her way into their bubble to make sure everything was on track though. She had her fingers crossed that this bond would snap into place this weekend. Preferably on Saturday, leaving Sunday as their hibernation day and then he could be teaching on Monday. Not that he would want to. She expected he would much rather be locking himself up downstairs with her but there was no two ways about it, there was just no substitute teacher available.

Sure everyone could miss Potions for a day... two or three if needs must, however they could not take time off after the bond. It wouldn't look right. Everyone would know what they were up to, and it was not the correct decorum after Albus had pitched to the board of Governors that everything would be the same. No, ideally this business had better sort itself out over the weekend and then Severus would have to use his willpower and behave himself. They could be crazed with lust from the last bell of the school day to the first one of the next. For now she just needed to make sure they were actually trying to deal with their symptoms and not still at odds. Severus was not the warmest of people. Sometimes he needed a push in that way.

She marched herself down to his office early hoping to catch him before Miss Watson arrived and was only just a little sorry to walk in on them with foreheads nuzzled together, almost kissing. She couldn't hide her smile, but did feel a little bad that they didn't notice her right away. "Good morning, you two." She announced, making them jolt apart.

"What?!" Severus snapped at her.

"Sorry to intrude. Hiccup difficulties?"

"Yes. Extremely painful, thank you for asking. What can we help you with?" He grumbled, taking a small glass from his future mate. Minerva saw the blue liquid she recognized from before. "That's quite clever combining the tonic with touching, is it working? I must say kissing would be the most potent antidote, don't shy away from it."

"What can we help you with?" He grit again, baring his teeth at her so she knew she was intruding.

"May I steal Miss Watson and yourself to go on a little adventure this morning? You both have a free period. I thought it would be nice to go to the storage room. Miss Watson, I think you should choose some furniture for yourself for this room. Either a small writing desk or an armchair. Something that could go right over there... You need a space in here that belongs to you."

"Are you going to let me junk up your space?" She asked him. Minerva wanted to intervene, she deserved a space of her own. Damn Severus' opinion on the matter.

"I will allow it." He almost kind of smiled at her. Minerva had to purse her lips, the girl was melting him already.

"Right this way Watson, you may have your choice of decades of teacher cast offs." Minerva led the charge to the storage area.

With a wave of her wand all the dust sheets lifted up into the air, letting them see the furniture in question and holding the dust that had rested on them high up above their heads to descend once more when they were safely out of the room.

Minerva purposefully hung back, allowing Miss Watson to browse. She enjoyed watching her run her fingers over every feminine armchair she came across, looking back at Severus with hopeful eyes. Severus seemed to be doing his best to give no opinion on that blue armchair with the ruffle around the bottom that her eyes had gone all excited over. Minerva almost wanted Watson to choose something that would pain him to accept into his space. Something too bold, too loud, but the girl seemed to check his face at each chair, too concerned about his thoughts on the matter.

Mostly she just enjoyed how much they must have bonded since Monday. There was a familiarity and ease between them that made her feel so happy to see. A small hiccup from Watson and Severus was at her side in a flash, picking up her hand to prevent more.

Curious how they had gotten so in step with each other in just a few days after their difficult wedding ceremony. They moved through the room like a unit, conferencing eye contact without needing to speak. More curiously, Watson seemed to have stopped dead in front of an armchair and Severus was saying her name and waving his hand in front of her eyes. "What's going on?" Minerva asked.

"She's been having little visions. She told me she had the sight when she was a child. It's spooky when she disappears inside herself like this. Madelyn, can you hear me?" He asked.

Minevera was surprised by this news but doubly so when he called her by her first name. "She has the sight?"

"She said she hasn't had a trance since she got her wand but I think these little spells are a lot more than daydreams as she describes them. Madelyn come back to us, please." He entreated near her ear. Minerva's eyebrows could not go any higher if they tried. Suddenly Watson was back with the living. "What did you see?" Severus was tilting his head at her in a way Minerva had never seen him do before.

"This is the chair." She said, pointing at the peach coloured vintage velvet armchair with tassels all along the bottom edge.

"What did you see ?" Severus asked again intently.

Watson glanced back at McGonagall before pressing her lips together. "I uh... don't think you'd want me to say." Her cheeks were holding back a burst of laughter. The future mates stepped a little away from each other as if they were embarrassed by the mere notion of romantic futures involving the chair. Minerva found the two of them a most curious pair, already quite symbiotic. She wondered how they would change afterward.

"I apparently also will be choosing this table here... and this lamp. That really takes the thinking out of the equation." Watson proclaimed, pointing at a lamp consisting of three pink glass snow drops on a golden stem, and an octagonal table with a blue tablecloth.

"Well you could choose something else if the vision was something you don't want to happen... or don't care if it did." Minerva pointed out. The future was fluid after all.

But Watson dropped her face, tried to hide a smile and said "No... I think I'll take those please."

Minerva caught Severus's expression before he hid it. There was a few seconds of smug satisfaction that his mate had seen something happen on that chair that she had chosen to keep that future by selecting that item. Minerva was ready to leave these two alone, so she made arrangements that the furniture be sent to his chambers and hightailed it up to her class. They might not know it, but the sexual tension was growing all over them like mold on a long forgotten yogurt.

She made it to her class just in time, with a smile on her face knowing their bond would be snapping before the weekend was out. The few Galleons she had put on it against Professor Sprout would pay off after all. 

(I decided to give you this mini chapter too. I'm so excited to keep posting as we move deeper into this connection. Don't forget to vote, and drop me a comment I live on comments.- Miss Measured)