Fourteen: Morning Delights

Note: This chapter contains description of a lot of vigorous, playful sexual activity that may not be to the taste of every reader.

Chapter Fourteen: Morning Delights

Minerva woke at her usual hour the next morning. She smiled as she looked at her husband's face on the pillow beside her. She brushed his hair back. Despite having risen in the night, he apparently had forgotten the charm he used to keep his hair and beard from tangling as he slept. He was lying, half-sprawled, his shoulders and upper chest bared, his injured hand resting outside the sheet on his stomach, his mouth slightly open but, fortunately, not snoring, and he seemed to be dreaming.

Minerva watched Albus sleep for a while longer; when he turned his head toward her and sighed, she thought he was waking, but he didn't. She should let him sleep . . . but they did have the rest of the morning . . . and they could nap in the afternoon. The corners of her mouth twitched at the thought of what she would like to do just then, how she would like to wake him. Finally, she gave in and reached for him tentatively beneath the sheet. Her hand lightly traced the line of sparse hairs from his navel downward and found what it was seeking. Already firm to the palm she brushed over him, she gently teased his morning erection, trying to stimulate him without wakening him. His cock jumped against her hand, and his eyes moved beneath his lids as his breath quickened, his dream perhaps taking an interesting and unexpected turn. She loved the feel of him in her hand, full and heavy, his hardening shaft encased in the softest skin. Minerva explored and found the head of his cock, tender beneath her fingertips. It always seemed the most naked part of him, when he was large and erect, the crown emerging and pushing his foreskin back, naked and vulnerable. And so sensitive . . . Minerva gingerly lifted the sheet covering them, careful not to disturb Albus's hand, and edged her way under it, hoping not to wake him.

The room had been only dimly lit from the morning light leaking in through the closed draperies; beneath the sheet, Minerva could barely make out Albus's form. But she didn't need to be able to see for what she had in mind. She smiled and her pulse quickened as she thought of how she was going to awaken her lover. It had been a very, very long time since she had woken him in quite this particular way.

Minerva was glad Albus was lying half on his back, his left knee bent, right leg straight; her searching fingers easily found his soft sack. Minerva held him gently cupped in her hand as she approached him beneath the sheets. He smelled still of the almond soap he must have used before returning to bed the night before. A delicate approach was called for, she thought. Her tongue went out and touched him experimentally, just the briefest, lightest flick to the edge of his crown. Minerva smiled when his penis twitched. The tip of her tongue met the tip of his cock. Albus would awaken soon . . . she swirled her tongue around the head, then gently closed her lips around him. She drew her lips over his head, sucking slightly, and she felt Albus shift beside her and waken with a gasped breath. She kissed the tip, licked it again, then ran her tongue down his length and back up again. As her mouth closed around the head of his cock, Minerva heard a gratifying moan come from him.

His left hand came down to grip her shoulder through the sheet just as she lowered herself on him, pressing against his shaft with her tongue, bringing his head all the way to the back of her throat before rising up again. Minerva repeated this several times, each time ending by swirling her tongue around the crown of his shaft before diving back down again.

Albus moaned, then he whispered, almost gasping, "Gods, Minerva! You just . . . you just . . ." But her attentions grew more intense, and he found no words, but only moaned and gripped her shoulder harder.

Minerva felt his balls, cupped in her hand, begin to retract slightly, and she lowered herself completely, stroking his shaft with her tongue and swallowing around his crown.

"Oh, Minerva – wait – too soon – want to – aaah, Minerva!"

Minerva paid his words no heed, attending only to his penis, and then he came, and she swallowed again and again around his climax, finally stilling and gently withdrawing from around him. She kissed his penis very lightly, and then, still gently cupping his balls, she kissed his stomach, then his chest, planting soft kisses all of the way up his body until her head emerged from beneath the sheet.

"Good morning, Albus!" she said brightly, smiling.

Albus ran his fingers through her hair. "Good morning to you, my little minx," he said teasingly. "That was a very effective awakening, I would say."

Minerva laid her head on his chest, brushing her cheek against his beard. "I would hope you wouldn't sleep through the whole thing . . . very disappointed I would be if you did!" she said with a laugh.

"You should have stopped, though, Minerva, so that I could . . . share the pleasure."

She shook her head against him. "I enjoyed doing it. And that almond soap you used last night lent a rather interesting flavour to the process."

He could feel her smile. "Hmm. I will have to remember that. But still, I don't want to leave you wanting."

"I am fine, Albus. Last night was very satisfying." She lifted her head to look at him, her eyes smiling warmly. "Thank you, Albus. Thank you. I barely even remember why I was . . . upset, before, and I can't conjure up whatever it was that I was feeling at all. I feel rejuvenated and very blessed. So, thank you."

Albus caressed her cheek. "It was all that I could do . . . I love you so very much, Minerva, and seeing you like that last night, and knowing that I was partly to blame – hush, now, I don't mean that the way you probably are thinking, my dear – you were right yesterday: I could have worked on a solution day and night for five days without ceasing, and I would not have found one. The only solution was the one that you possessed. No, I was partly to blame because I should have come to you sooner. I should have held you immediately, kissed you as soon as you emerged, reassured you of how wonderful you are, and how generous and loving you were with Severus, and how good, and how very proud I am of you. I love you, my dearest Minerva, and I hurt you when I should have helped you. I am so sorry."

Minerva moved up the bed and kissed his cheek before settling back down with her arms around him and her head resting on his chest. "You did not mean to, Albus. I understand that. You did not know what to do or say, and you were worried and nervous, yourself. Perhaps it would have helped if you had been here when I came out looking for you, and certainly some of my worries would have been allayed, but I think that my primary feelings would have remained. I still would have needed you last night, Albus, needed you to help me to come back to myself and to you . . . to us. What I did over the last few days . . . as hard as it may have been at the time, it was harder once it was over, somehow. But you were perfect last night, Albus; you gave me exactly what I needed, all that I needed. And now, I feel whole again, complete."

"I am glad of it, my dear love," Albus said softly. He played with the ends of her hair. "I think that I . . . I feel better, myself. Settled, in a way."

Minerva sighed, her head on his chest, and closed her eyes blissfully, listening to Albus's heart.

They lay there quietly for a while, then Minerva stretched and yawned. "I think I need breakfast, Albus."

"That sounds like a good idea, my dear. Should we eat here or in the other room?"

"What about a cup of tea here, then breakfast in the sitting room at the table?" Minerva suggested.

"Perfect." He kissed the top of her head. "Do you mind if I use the loo and you call Wispy?"

"Mmm. That's fine."

On his way into the bathroom, Albus tossed Minerva her dressing gown. "For Wilspy," he said with a smile. "If you would care to remove it later, I will have no objections!"

Minerva laughed, then got up, opened the draperies, and wrapped the robe around her, looking down at her chest with some surprise. Shrugging, she called Wilspy and requested tea to be served in the bedroom and asking that she leave breakfast in the sitting room with a freshness charm so they could eat whenever they were ready.

When Albus reemerged from the bathroom, Minerva looked at him with mock annoyance.

"Now I know why you wanted me to cover up!" She stood in front of him and opened her robe: in the clear light of day, a trail of small red and purple marks could be seen stretching from her collar bone to her pelvis, a meandering path of love bites.

Albus raised his eyebrows, clearly taken aback, not having seen them in the half-light. "I'm sorry – I really didn't realise . . . so many."

He hesitated, unsure whether Minerva were really upset with him. "Do they hurt? I wouldn't want to hurt you." He had never left so many marks on her before . . . one or two, perhaps, and that rarely. Even when he made love to her with some force and energy behind their coupling, as he had the night before, he never wanted to hurt her.

"Oh, come here, Albus. I'm just teasing you – I was surprised, though. And no, they don't hurt at all." She stood, grabbed him around the middle, and held him tightly. "When you do finally say, 'mine,' you really mean it, though, don't you?" she said, smiling up at him.

"You know how I feel, Minerva," Albus said softly.

"I know, love. I know." Minerva looked into his eyes, thinking of his fears about the power he could exercise over her and his distaste for the thought of one person possessing another. "You shouldn't be so cautious, so afraid of it," she said, caressing his face. "I have no fear for you or of you. I trust myself with you completely."

Albus twitched a slight, rueful smile. "Even after yesterday? When I left you here alone?"

"You returned. You returned, Albus. No one should expect perfection, from themselves or from anyone else. But you are perfect for me. And I am yours."

Albus bent his head and kissed his Minerva softly, then softly again, then once more with greater energy, continuing to kiss her with growing passion and need. Minerva responded, keeping pace with him, loving the sensation of his growing desire for her and the ripples of his magic against hers.

When his kisses moved to her neck and shoulders, Minerva said, gasping into his ear, "There's tea . . . you wanted . . . your . . . tea . . ."

His only response was, "Mmmm," and he continued his kissing and nibbling, stepping forward, pushing Minerva toward the bed.

"Need you. Want you," Albus said, his voice hoarse and breathy. "Now. Oh, now, Minerva, my dearest Minerva, my sweet delight."

Minerva felt the bed hit the back of her legs, and Albus followed her as he pushed her down onto the sheets, never lifting his mouth from her skin. And now he was kissing and licking all of the little marks he'd made the night before, sucking them gently again, then licking them before blowing a whispery breath over them. When he reached the cleft between her breasts, he took a detour, first to her left nipple, swirling a tongue around the aureola, then licking and suckling the nipple, and then moving to her right breast, again laving it before sucking its rosy peak. As Albus progressed, Minerva's breath grew faster and more shallow, and as he attended to her breasts, taking his pleasure in their feel against his tongue and between his lips, Minerva moaned her appreciation. His attentions were drawing a throbbing heat into her vagina, and her clitoris grew with her desire. She spread her legs and pressed her warm wetness against him, and was gratified when Albus moved his torso to massage her there, his beard rubbing against her, as he suckled still at her nipples before returning to the path that he had marked the night before.

His lips sucked the small purple and red signs of his ardour of the previous night, and Minerva could feel tingles of his magic as he licked them then breathed upon them, moving further down, following the path they marked, on the way to his final target. When he reached her pelvis, lingering there with feathery strokes of his tongue, Minerva raised her hips, urging him onward. Albus lay his head on her stomach and touched her with his left index finger, just stroking her clit with the one finger, allowing the tip of his finger to slip into her entry before pulling it out and up and dragging it across her clitoris once more. After stroking against her clitoris a few more times in that same manner, down to her entry then back up, watching his finger as it made the circuit of clitoris to vagina and back again, he tried the same again with two fingers. His breath was warm on Minerva's skin, and she moaned again, and rocked her hips.

In answer to her need, he lowered himself further, pleasuring her with his tongue a moment, flicking up and down, then back and forth, until with a groan, he raised himself above her and said, "I need you now, I need you now . . . my sweet, my sweet, my sweet delight . . ."

Albus pushed Minerva further up the bed and looked into her eyes, an intense concentration on his face, and he settled himself between her legs, the head of his cock pressing against her. His breathing was deep and ragged, and he drove his penis home into her. Minerva arched involuntarily and her legs went around him; Albus murmured a spell and Minerva felt herself rise up off the bed, only her head and shoulders still resting on the mattress, as Albus, kneeling now, pulled back and thrust again. At Minerva's moan, he smiled and thrust again and again, repeatedly pulling out and pushing in, pistoning within her, each thrust eliciting another inarticulate moan of pleasure.

"Minerva, Minerva, come for me . . . come, come . . . I'm coming, Minerva!" And Albus thrust faster and harder; Minerva cried out his name as she came with a rush, and Albus let go, his eyes closed and his cock buried deep within her, releasing as waves of her orgasm surrounded him.

When he had spent himself in her, Albus held onto Minerva and sat back on his heels, pulling her from her Charmed support and resting her on his folded legs, but not withdrawing from her or allowing her to slip free. He looked down and smiled.

"That was rather nicer than tea, don't you think, my sweet delight?" he asked, a twinkle in his eye.

"Very much. You are very much more satisfying than even the best cup of tea, Albus. But you know, I think I would rather like to sit up and kiss you, but I believe I need a bit of assistance . . . don't want to . . . dislodge anything, now!" Minerva said with a slightly naughty grin.

Albus reached down and, using a combination of magic and his left hand, raised Minerva into a sitting position. Without a pause, he kissed her mouth, gently and lovingly.

When they finally broke their kiss and Minerva lay her head on his shoulder, Albus said, "You are the most beautiful woman in the world . . . the most beautiful of all creation." He added, feeling her head move in scepticism, "The most beautiful in my eyes. The most beautiful and most sensual. And my beloved." He ended with a whisper, saying her name, and Minerva sighed happily.

"Being with you, in any and every way, is what gives me life and not mere survival, Albus. You always raise me to the highest heights, no matter what we're doing . . . most obviously when we are making love as we just did."

"I am afraid I may have been a bit . . . eager this time," Albus said apologetically.

"And I didn't mind at all. I like it when you're eager. You make me feel . . . desirable – as you always do – but it's different when you are, as you put it, eager." Minerva smiled against him. "I love this time together, the time after, you know. Just as much as when we're in the midst of our love-making, I think."

"Mmm, I do, too," Albus said, nuzzling her ear. "And this particular position is really rather nice . . . although, not being as limber as I once was, you may need to unfold me when you get up," he joked.

Minerva chuckled. "I would be happy to help. And if you need any after-care, I'd be happy to tend to that, too!"

They remained like that for a while, until finally, Minerva said, "I am afraid that Nature does not respect my desire to remain here in your embrace forever." She leaned back, looked into Albus's eyes, and smiled. "I am afraid that, first, a trip to the loo is in order, and then I really do need my breakfast."

Albus kissed her nose. "Mmm, Nature is also interfering with my enjoyment of the moment, though not in quite the same way – I do believe I have no circulation to my feet!" He chuckled.

Minerva moved off of him, feeling, with some regret, him slip from within her. Good to her word, she helped Albus "unfold," then rubbed his calves vigorously before making her trip to the loo. Not precisely the "after-care" she'd been thinking of, but certainly welcome in restoring his circulation.

After taking care of her morning routine, Minerva joined Albus in the sitting room, where he was sitting reading the Prophet. He had poured his tea, but had not begun breakfast yet. When she emerged from the bedroom, he put the newspaper down and used his wand to fix her cup of tea.

"Good morning, my dearest!" he greeted her, as though they hadn't just spent the last hour and a half enjoying the morning together.

Minerva laughed lightly and kissed his cheek before replying, "It is a very good morning! Thank you for waiting, but you didn't have to."

"Of course I didn't, but it was you who was hungry about an hour ago, and I who kept you from your breakfast!"

"Was it really? Hmm, I do remember some kind of distraction that prevented me from –" Minerva laughed as he playfully lobbed a breakfast roll at her, and she caught it.

"I can see I shall have to work harder in the future! 'Some kind of distraction,' indeed!" he grumped, a poorly suppressed grin on his face.

They talked and ate their breakfast, then read the newspaper, sharing interesting or ridiculous tidbits with each other. Minerva put down the paper and smiled happily at Albus from across the table.

"This is wonderful! I am so glad we're able to do this! Thank you, Albus."

Albus returned her smile. "I am glad, as well. I wish we could begin every day this way, my dear – with or without the early morning 'distraction.' I am sorry we cannot." He immediately wished he had not added anything to his agreement. Minerva knew well enough that such mornings were rare; he needn't have reminded her. He could see and feel her light mood fade.

"Yes . . . of course. And I know you are." She took a deep breath and let it out before continuing. "Well, I don't believe I need another shower just yet, but perhaps I should get dressed. Especially if Poppy will be coming for lunch. Did you speak to her about it, Albus?"

"Yes, briefly, when I went to supposedly visit you in the infirmary. It was the last visit I made before returning here last night, actually. I wanted to make sure that the rest of my plans would work out before I asked her. So, unless there is an emergency, she will meet me in my office at a quarter to twelve and I will give her the password, and she'll Floo through to you. I wish I could stay, but I do need –"

"That's fine, Albus. You are doing this for me, after all. By the way . . . I made a discovery when I was in the loo. One I don't believe I was entirely pleased with, actually."

"What was that?" Albus asked with some concern.

"This." Minerva stood and opened her dressing gown. "They're gone, Albus. All of them. I think you rather took the expression 'kiss it and make it better' a little too literally."

"I'm sorry, my dear. I just thought, well, I believed you would prefer that . . . and they aren't all gone. Well, the ones from last night are. But there is a new one; didn't you notice?" He stood and approached her. "Here, right . . . here." His finger grazed her left breast, and he smiled to see her nipple growing tauter.

Minerva looked down. On the inside contour of her breast, almost on its underside, there was a deep red mark. Unlike the others, which had been various shapes and sizes, but generally somewhat round, this one was a perfect heart-shape. Her fingers joined his on her breast, and she traced its outline.

"Do you think this is an adequate replacement for the others, my dear?" Albus asked with a slight twinkle.

"Oh, you silly, sweet, foolish wizard," Minerva whispered fondly. She took his hand and guided his fingers to trace the small mark, just as she had a moment before, then she moved his fingers higher, touching the tips to her nipple before raising his hand to her mouth and gently sucking first the tip of one finger then the next. Her other hand reached into his dressing gown to caress him, and she smirked when she felt him growing heavy and firm in her hand.

"You know, I think that, if I weren't worried about becoming sore – or over-taxing you – it might be rather nice to . . ." Minerva trailed off as she suckled his index finger while playing with him with her other hand.

"Mmmm . . . over-tax me? I do believe you insult me, witch!" Albus said hoarsely, his eyes half-open as he watched Minerva. "And there are charms, you know, to prevent any soreness – for either of us."

"Do you know any such charms?" Minerva asked coyly, whispering her words over the damp finger she held in front of her lips. She kissed the tip of his finger, then said, grasping him more firmly and drawing her hand up over him and back down again, "A big wizard like you, with such an impressive . . . wand, must know lots of . . . charms." Her thumb caressed the head of his penis. "I wouldn't want you to become sore or . . . over-taxed, either." She suckled his finger again as she stimulated his erection, stroking it the way she knew he liked.

"You really are a minx, you know," Albus whispered. "A rather naughty, teasing little minx."

"Am I really?" Minerva brought his hand back down to her breast, making his fingers trace the small heart again. "I would say you're rather naughty, yourself, marking a poor, defenceless witch like this."

"Defenceless? I rather doubt that . . . but I do think I need to show you that I do, indeed, know a few charms." He leaned forward and kissed her neck, nipping it lightly before withdrawing, causing Minerva to gasp in surprise. "Even though you are quite naughty."

"Do you need your wand, wizard?" Minerva asked, squeezing him once more.

"You have the wand I need in your hand, you sweet little tart," he said, "and you know it."

"Ooooh. And do you need it back?" She scraped him very lightly with her nails, causing him to gasp in surprise this time.

"Mmm." Albus stepped toward her, grasping her hand and holding it around his cock. "I could use your assistance, if you are a willing witch. Are you . . . a willing witch?" he asked, pausing to suck her lower lip for a moment.

"Can't you tell? I thought you were a great wizard."

"Of course, I can tell." He squeezed her hand around his cock and stepped forward again, backing Minerva against the table. Albus grinned and said, "Up you go!" And Minerva felt herself lifted, and she was now perched right on the edge of the table, where their breakfast dishes still sat.

Albus stepped closer again, forcing her legs to part to make room for him to stand in front of her.

"Now, you little vixen, we will see whether you are a willing witch! And whether I should cast my charms for you, despite your being such a naughty tease." He squeezed her hand around him again, then guided the tip of his penis to her entrance. "Ah, yes, very naughty and very willing! Why are you so wet here?"

"Because I'm a wicked witch who wants . . ." She gasped as he, still holding her hand around him, thrust the head of his cock against her clitoris.

"Who wants what?" asked Albus in her ear, his breath hot and hoarse against her. "What does this wicked, wanton minx want?" Again, he used Minerva's hand to stimulate his cock and press it up against her folds.

Whispering, Minerva said, "I want you to . . . take me."

"Take you? You want me to take you? Is that how naughty witches talk?"

"I want," she breathed the words into his ear, "I want . . . I am a very naughty witch who wants . . . to be fucked." When she uttered that final word, which did sound very naughty coming from her mouth, even after years together, Albus moaned.

"Oh, you are naughty, aren't you? I thought perhaps you might not be, but you are very, very naughty. I like a naughty witch." His hand closed around hers again, and he said. "You like having my wand in your hand, don't you, you vixen? You like to tease me and taunt me . . ." He rubbed the head of his penis against her again. "It is a good thing that you aren't just a tease, though . . ." He nibbled her collar bone as he used her hand to rub his cock against her clitoris.

Scarcely able to breath, Minerva asked, "How do you know I'm not just a tease? I do like to taunt you." She had been gripping his shoulder, but now she opened his dressing gown and groped downward, trying to reach his sensitive sac.

Albus moved forward and trapped her hand between them. "Oh, you are wicked, and you are a tease, you naughty, naughty witch. But you are more naughty than you are a tease, because –" He paused to suckle her earlobe before licking her ear. "Because you want a fuck," he whispered, his words mere breath. He demonstrated her desire using his tongue on her ear as he moved the head of his penis against her nub, and Minerva gasped and moaned, these words and actions seeming more lustful than any previous ones.

"You are very naughty," Albus added, "but I will use my wand to cast a few charms before I give you what you want."

Minerva gasped again as she felt his magic flow through him into her, seeming to come from both his hand and his penis; it was cooling and stimulating simultaneously, and she found herself wriggling against him.

"Tell me you're a wanton witch, and I will give you what you need."

"No, no . . . you need it. You want it, too," Minerva protested weakly, knowing she would give in.

"I want to hear you say it." He squeezed her hand around him again and pressed against her folds, rubbing her clit.

"Can you take me? Can you satisfy me? Can you give me what I need?" she asked, gasping into his ear.

"Don't you want to find out? Tell me! You can feel my big . . . wand." He moved his erection against her again, and she moaned. "You know you want it. Tell me you're a wanton witch, you naughty little vixen, and I will satisfy you."

Minerva, whose eyes had been closed as she concentrated on his words and his touch, opened her eyes and looked at him, trying to repress the grin she felt coming on. It had been a long time – years, in fact – since he had played "naughty witch" or "wicked wizard" with her; it had always seemed more exciting, being so incongruous with their ordinary lives, even their usual sex life, full of variety though it had always been.

Albus looked into Minerva's eyes, and they both grinned at the same time. He kissed her hard, passionately, and Minerva freed her trapped hand to put it around him and pull him to her, squeezing him again with her other one, pulling him toward her entrance.

Albus pulled out of the kiss and said, "Ah ah ah! None of that until you admit you are a wanton witch. And because you have been so very naughty, you must also say that I am the only wizard to satisfy you!"

"Oh, please . . ." Minerva moaned, only half in play.

"'Please' what?"

"Oh, please, I . . . I am," Minerva said with mock reluctance, "I am a wanton witch."

"And?" Albus titillated her clit with his crown again.

"I am a wanton witch, and you are the only wizard who can satisfy me," Minerva answered with a moan, wiggling against him.

"Mmm. Very good to hear you admit that, my naughty little minx. You teasing witch."

Albus pulled her into a kiss and removed her hand from his cock, then squeezed his penis between them, pressing himself against her bare stomach as he pulled her dressing gown from her shoulders. Suddenly, he startled her by lowering his head and closing his mouth around her right nipple, suckling it for a moment before pressing his erection between them again and holding her still, breathing heavily into her ear as he rocked against her.

"You are a teasing little minx. Feel what you do to me, you naughty witch!"

"Oh, but you said . . ." Minerva protested.

"Oh, I know what I said, but you have been very naughty." He put his left hand under her buttocks, his right arm around her back, and with the help of a little magic, he lifted her from the table and carried her to the sofa. "You have been very naughty. And now that you have the generous benefit of my charms, I need to show you how very well this wizard can satisfy you with his . . . wand."

Albus set her on the arm of the sofa and kissed her, pulling her against him and allowing her to wiggle against his torso.

"Mmm, such a naughty witch, rubbing herself against my beard like that."

"It feels so good," she answered, sliding against him. "Mmmm, so . . . good."

"You really are wanton," Albus said, pulling her hard against him before stepping back. "Masturbating against my beard. What a very wicked thing to do! Did it satisfy you, my little minx? Was that enough for you?"

"No, no, it wasn't enough . . . please, it wasn't enough."

"You probably want me to touch you there now, don't you? But I think you have teased me long enough! And I am going to show you how well I can satisfy you."

Minerva expected him to pull her toward him again and finally enter her, so she was surprised when he stepped back and looked at her, trying, without very much success, to leer. Minerva was stimulated enough that she was able to keep from smiling at his attempt. She circled a nipple with her finger, licked her lower lip, and arched her back, letting her thighs open to him, showing off, and was pleased to see his eyes grow darker as he watched her.

"Now, where does this very naughty witch need satisfying?" he asked, looking her up and down.

Minerva spread her legs further. "Here."

"Where?"

"Here," Minerva said, putting her hand on her thatch of hair.

"Really?" Albus raised an eyebrow. "Exactly there?"

Watching him, Minerva slid her hand lower. "Here. And here." She touched her clit then slid a finger to the entry to her vagina, slowly circling it before drawing her finger back up to her nub.

"Anywhere else?" Albus asked, swallowing as he stared at Minerva's hand.

"Well, here, too, of course," Minerva said breathily, sliding her hand down again and inserting one finger into her opening. She watched his face as she drew her finger slowly out of her vagina and up over her clitoris.

"I think," he swallowed again, then continued, "I think you need to show me once more."

"The great wizard with the huge wand needs to be shown this again?" Minerva asked, fingering her clit, then inserting two fingers and pulling them out with a wet sound. "I wouldn't think such a great wizard would need to be shown this again," she said, repeating her actions once more with three fingers before drawing them back up over her nub, then through her dark curls, drying them off.

"You are the naughtiest witch! And teasing me so," Albus said huskily. "You do like to watch me watch you, don't you, you vixen!"

Before Minerva knew what he was doing, or how he had managed it, she found herself lying stomach down, bent over the arm of the sofa, her head and chest resting on some pillows, his legs pressed against hers as his left hand trailed down the length of her spine.

"You can't watch this, my wicked little witch, but it will satisfy you. I will see to it," he said. "Yes, it will satisfy you more than your own fingers, you teasing minx!"

Minerva felt his fingers go lower, and he used his legs to push hers apart. His fingers just skimmed her until they reached her clit, where he began to rub, one finger on her nub, two others beside it, pressing, stroking, sliding.

"You wanted it here, didn't you, witch. Didn't you!" he said gruffly, demanding an answer.

"Ah, yes, there," Minerva answered with a moan.

"And here," he said, a finger circling her entrance, teasing it.

"Ye – yes," Minerva gasped.

"And here, you put your finger here, didn't you, you naughty tease?" Albus demanded, inserting his forefinger into her vagina as deeply as he could go.

In her position, Minerva could barely wiggle. "Yes, yes, there, too."

"Yes, and you didn't stop with one finger, did you, when you teased me, showing me your hot, wet sex, did you?"

"No, no, I didn't . . ." Minerva groaned as she felt him pull his finger out.

"You teased me, minx, fingering yourself like that, so very, very naughty," he said as he entered her with two fingers, Minerva groaning in response. "But you didn't stop your teasing there, you wanton thing, you taunted me with three."

Minerva gasped, "Yes, three . . ." She felt him withdraw and reenter, adding a third finger to his explorations, and she moaned, "Oh, gods, ohh!"

"But it wasn't my fingers you wanted was it?" Albus asked as he twisted his hand, turning his fingers within her. "I know what naughty witches want."

She felt the head of his cock against her clit again, and he rocked against her, his fingers still in her vagina, his erection sliding back and forth over her nub, his body pressing against his hand, moving it rhythmically within her. Minerva tried unsuccessfully to rock with him.

"Do you like that?" When she only breathed harder, he increased his pressure against her nub. "I asked, do you like that?"

Minerva moaned, "Yes, yes, I am a wanton witch and I like that." And she did. As his cock rode against her, she could feel her pulse throbbing in her clit and she could hear how wet she was against him.

"You like me to do this to you, don't you? Don't you?" Albus asked in a low, hoarse voice.

"Gods, yes, yes, I like it! I like it! Yes . . . yes . . ."

Minerva moaned almost uncontrollably as his fingers stimulated her within and his erection stroked hard against her nub. And then, almost unexpectedly, an orgasm overtook her; she cried out into the pillow, her legs shuddering, and as she came, she felt his fingers move from her vagina to her clit, and his penis entered her, thrusting hard.

"And here, witch? You want it here?" he asked, showing no mercy for her state.

"Yes, yes, there, there . . ." she responded, her answer barely more than a gasp as her orgasm was extended by his thrusting.

"Tell me again what it is you want, you naughty witch," he said, pumping twice more before stopping and fingering her clit, his cock buried deep in her vagina. "Tell me."

"I want you to . . . to satisfy me."

"And how do you want me to satisfy you?"

"I . . . I want you to take . . . ah . . ." He moved within her as his hand pressed against her, and then he stopped again, waiting for her response.

"I want you to take me," Minerva said, breathing hard as her orgasm subsided.

"And how do you want me to take you, vixen?"

"I want you to fuck me," she whispered in response.

Albus drew back and pressed in again. "I didn't hear that. What do you want?"

"I want you to . . . I want you to fuck me. I need a good fucking," Minerva said more loudly.

"Oh, you naughty witch! You think I can do that? That I can . . ." He pulled all of the way out of her, leaving her to groan at his absence, before pushing back into her heat. "That I can fuck you? That I can give you a good fucking? What makes you think I can give you a good fucking?" He asked hoarsely, standing still, waiting.

"Because . . . because you are so big . . . such a great wizard, and so big . . ."

"Big?" he asked, pulling out and teasing her entrance with the head of his cock. "What does that mean? What will satisfy you?"

"You have a . . . a big cock and – oh, gods," she moaned as he rocked in and out once more. "You have a big cock and I can feel you in me now . . . oh, gods, yes, you can fuck me. You can give me a good fucking!"

"Oh, you naughty tease! You are very wanton witch, using such dirty words, teasing me, just so I'll satisfy you. You do want it, don't you? My cock in you . . . fucking you . . . I know what a teasing, naughty little vixen needs! But you have to say it . . . say it again!"

"Fuck me! Fuck me, yes! Oh oh oh," Minerva moaned with desire.

Albus began to rock in and out of her, at first slowly, then faster, at one point pausing and whispering a slight spell before resuming, pounding in and out, his fingers still at her engorged nub, but only pressing against it without over-stimulating it. Minerva moaned and gripped the pillows beneath her. And each time his cock pushed into her, he hit her sweet spot forcefully, and she was soon coming again, this time with a flow of liquid into his hand, and her moans grew louder as he continued to thrust into her as she came, causing him to repeat his little spell, ensuring he would not spend himself until he was ready.

As she lay gasping, Albus finally stilled his movement. He wiped his hand against the couch, then rubbed her back. His hand was still damp, but she scarcely noticed, her own perspiration coating her.

"And now, for the remainder of the demonstration that I can, indeed, satisfy you," Albus said, withdrawing from her.

"More?" Minerva said somewhat weakly, her arms lying limply around her head.

"Oh, yes, more. You wanted a good fucking, witch! After all the magic I've expended, and all the other energy, as well, you didn't think I would stop there, did you? Did you think that was a good fucking? Two orgasms? That is hardly satisfying to a naughty, wanton witch! One with such a very needy, hot, wet sex," he said, inserting his finger into her and pulling it out again, "and such a dirty mouth."

He helped her roll over on her back, and Minerva saw he had shed his dressing gown. "Besides, as you can see, I haven't been satisfied yet. You need to satisfy me, you tease."

Minerva had heard the spells he had uttered to help him control his orgasm, but she played along with him. "I am sorry I am not satisfying to you . . . it is very naughty of me to tease you. You are right, I am a tease."

Despite the charms Albus had cast to make sure that she didn't get sore, Minerva thought a bit of a change might be in order. She sat up, then slid off the couch and directly to her knees. First she licked him, finding the taste of herself on him peculiar, but familiar and not unpleasant. She didn't put her mouth around him at first, though, only using her tongue before moving down and licking and gently suckling his balls, then humming against them. They were sensitive, and she felt him grip her shoulder harder in response. Then she put just the head of his penis in her mouth, swirling it with her tongue, causing him to moan, before standing again.

"I am very sorry for not satisfying you . . ." Minerva said, looking down in false contrition.

"I don't think you are sorry. You are a teasing, wanton minx. You aren't sorry at all. You enjoy this, don't you? Showing yourself off to me? Teasing me? And taunting me?" He pulled her against him and pressed his erection against her stomach.

"Only because I am very wicked and I'm not completely satisfied yet, just as you said."

"Not satisfied? What would satisfy such a hot, wet, naughty, teasing . . . witch?" he asked in a low whisper as he reached between them and rubbed her folds.

Albus lifted her as he had earlier, and she put her legs around him, rocking against him as she'd done before. Somewhat to her surprise, he carried her to the window near the fireplace. A whispered spell opened the window, its leaded glass panes swinging inward. Despite the fact that she knew that no one could even detect the presence of the windows, let alone see in, Minerva felt exposed as he held her there, naked, before the open window.

"Do you think they all know what a wickedly wanton witch you are?" Albus asked, indicating the few people on the lawn. The only ones she could recognize from that distance were Flitwick and Sprout. "What a naughty little show off? Showing me your needy, hot, wet . . . pussy?"

"No, no . . . they don't know," Minerva answered, looking down at the witches and wizards far below them.

"Because you are only wicked with me . . . I am the only wizard who can satisfy you and your wanton desires."

"Yes . . . yes . . . that's why. You are the only wizard who can satisfy me. I need you to satisfy my wicked, wicked desires." She rubbed herself against him, his erection tantalizingly close to her entrance, then leaned forward and licked his shoulder then nipped it lightly.

"Trust me," Albus whispered, needlessly, into her ear as he set her on the window ledge.

"Hold on," he said more loudly. "No, not to me, witch, to the window – above your head. Yes, like that. Now my cock needs you to pleasure it – you've been teasing it long enough."

Albus waved his hand, and Minerva could feel an invisible cushion behind her, holding her in place. She smiled, feeling quite secure now, and she uttered a spell of her own, creating a handle at the top of the window, the better to hold on to. She felt the head of his cock at the entrance of her vagina, and she lifted herself up and settled herself onto it, gasping in pleasure as she slid over him. Albus moved only a little closer, his knees now touching the wall beneath the window, but otherwise, he didn't move.

"Pleasure me, witch, pleasure me while I watch you," he demanded.

Minerva, using the back of her thighs against the ledge and her arms over her head as she hung from the window, raised herself up and lowered herself again, then did the same once more, moaning as she impaled herself on him. Albus was gripping the edge of the window with his left hand and had his right elbow pressed up against the window frame; he was breathing heavily as she rode him, rising up and down on his erection, pulling herself almost all the way off him before lowering herself again. Minerva leaned back experimentally and found that the invisible cushion still held her. With a smile, she let go of the handle she had created, and she leaned further back.

"Am I pleasuring you, wizard?" she asked. "Or am I simply pleasuring myself, like a naughty witch?" She rotated her hips, pressing her clitoris against him as she did so.

"Are you a naughty witch, pleasuring yourself on me? Let me watch you pleasure yourself on me, then, and if I see you come, maybe I will take some pleasure myself and give you a good, hard fucking." Once again, his unexpected use of the term caused Minerva to become more excited, which she hadn't thought possible.

She wriggled, writhed, rolled, and rocked against him, rubbing her clit into his pelvis and moaning, until finally, breathing raggedly, she began to simply rock up and down, laying entirely back against her invisible cushion, hanging out the window, Albus leaning forward slightly.

"You are going to come again, aren't you, you naughty thing? Yes, I can see it in your face. You are going to come, with all those people below, not knowing what a wicked, wanton witch you are, satisfying yourself on me. Yes, you are coming again," he said in a whisper.

"Tell me what I'm doing to you . . . I need to hear it. I am a very naughty witch who needs to hear it," she said, moaning.

"You're fucking me, witch, you're fucking my cock," he answered in a rough whisper. Almost immediately, he felt her clench around him as her orgasm claimed her and she moaned more loudly.

Her orgasm was milder this time, but Minerva felt drained and lay back against her cushion of air, still feeling oddly exposed, and hearing voices outside in the distance.

"You have no shame, do you, witch? Riding me like that here, naked in the window . . ."

"I'm a shameless, wanton witch, who loves to pleasure herself on your cock," Minerva answered breathlessly, very glad at that moment for the charms that Albus had cast to keep any soreness at bay. She wondered if they would extend to her legs and her arms, too . . .

"I think I'm going to have to teach you a lesson, witch, about what happens when you pleasure yourself on me, riding me so wantonly."

Albus lifted her again, carrying her, limp in his arms, back to the table where they had begun. With an impish grin, Albus waved his hand and all of the dishes and cutlery went crashing to the floor, making quite an alarming noise, although Minerva could tell that nothing had broken. Forestalling any complaint that might ruin the atmosphere, Albus kissed Minerva full on the mouth as he settled her on the table, drawing her tongue into his mouth. Minerva almost uttered a different sort of complaint, about them being too old for this, when not only did she realise that that would sound rather ridiculous after what they had just done, but that this would likely be easier on Albus, as well, since he would not need to be as careful of his right hand.

Albus kissed her once more before easing her down to lie back on the empty table. He used his left hand to raise her right leg so that her ankle rested on his shoulder. Minerva lifted her other leg to rest on his right shoulder. He had never withdrawn from her, and as soon as her legs were raised, he began to thrust vigorously, watching her face as he did so, and rolling a nipple between his fingers.

"Tell me what you like," Albus gasped. "Tell me, my shameless, wanton little witch!"

"I like . . ." Minerva gasped, unable to continue.

"Tell me . . ." He pumped into her, looking at her face as his penis moved in and out of her, her head tilted so she could watch him.

"I like to feel you in me."

Albus stopped a moment. "In you, like this?" He stood, staring down at her, tracing shapes on her breasts. "Just . . . in you? Is that truly all that a shameless vixen wants? Is that all you like? After pleasuring yourself on me, in front of the world like that, so shamelessly, I would think you would like something more than to feel me in you."

Minerva moaned and rocked against him. "I like you to move in me."

"Tell me what that is, when I move in you, in your needy, wet, heat. Tell me what you like, witch!" Albus was almost trembling with his need to thrust, but he held himself still and pressed his hand down on Minerva's pelvis, stopping her from rotating against him.

"I like it when you move your . . . your cock –" Minerva swallowed. "When you move your cock in and out of me . . . like you did." She knew what he wanted her to say, but if he was going to tease, she was going to tease him back, and she gripped the muscles of her vagina around his penis, rhythmically, taking pleasure in his reaction.

"Oh, you are wicked. Very wicked." He moved his hand down and squeezed her clitoris, then flicked his thumb across her nub. "Tell me, witch, what am I doing?" He withdrew and plunged into her again, then repeated it once more, stimulating her clit with his thumb. "Is that what you like?"

"Yes . . . yes, that is what I like." Her eyes were focussed on the point where their bodies joined.

"Tell me what you like, witch! Tell me," Albus said, pumping once more, then stopping half way. "Use those dirty words that I know you like so well. It excites you, I know it does."

"Or what will you do?" Minerva asked with a lick of her lips.

"I will make you watch while I satisfy myself without you. A wanton witch such as yourself would find that torture!" He withdrew from her and moved his hand from her clit to his cock and began to stroke his erection, as if to make good on his threat.

"No, no, not that, please! I like it when you fuck me with your cock," she cried out in feigned distress. "Please, I want you to fuck me! Fuck me, please!"

And with the words barely out of her mouth, he had reentered her, plunging deep and hard, thrusting in and out, mindful of his angle and stimulating her thoroughly.

"Say it again, say it again, and I will sate us both, witch! You wicked, shameless little vixen!" he rasped, eyes fixed on her face.

"Fuck me . . ." Minerva gasped the words.

"Again, from your dirty little mouth," Albus breathed as he pumped into her. "Again!"

"Fuck me, fuck me," she shouted in rhythm with his thrusts. "Fuck me, fuck fuck fuck, oh, gods! Yes!"As unlikely as Minerva had thought it a few minutes ago when she lay, exhausted, in the window, as Albus drove into her, fondling her clitoris again, she began to feel another climax grow in her, and her moans and gasps grew.

"Oh, gods, yes, yes . . . oh, hard hard yes hard . . ." she cried, her voice hoarsened after her previous exertions. Her head was thrown back, and her breath came in gasps as her eyes closed and she shuddered as her orgasm exploded and coursed through her body. "Harder! Hard hard hard!"

And Albus obliged her desire by pounding harder and faster, until finally, with a groan and a gasp, he pressed into her one more time and came as her orgasm faded around him. Exhausted, he collapsed onto her, head on her chest, barely able to remain on his feet.

"Oh, gods, Minerva . . . oh . . . Minerva, my sweet delight," he murmured. He turned his head just enough to kiss her damp skin softly, before resting again, his breathing only slowly returning to normal.

"Let's go lie down somewhere more comfortable," Minerva suggested after few moments.

"Mmm." Albus pushed himself up with one hand and felt himself slip out of her. "I see now why we don't use the soreness charms often . . . we tire faster than we get sore." He grinned down at her.

"Speak for yourself, Albus! Well, I suppose you're right . . ." Returning to reality, she sat up and looked around, trying to spy her dressing gown. "It was fun, though, wasn't it?"

"Immensely, my dear!" He Summoned her robe for her and draped it around her shoulders before Summoning his own from where it lay by the sofa.

They made their way over to the sofa and collapsed together. Albus put his arm around Minerva and pulled her to him, kissing the top of her head as she settled against his chest. Albus was almost asleep when Minerva said, "I hate to say this, but I'm hungry again. And I'm afraid that what was left of our breakfast . . . well, you made rather a mess." Despite nothing breaking, there was spilled tea and food strewn all over the floor next to the table.

"I did, didn't I?" he answered drowsily. He opened one eye. "How decent are you? Decent enough," he said, answering his own question. "Wilspy!"

Minerva pulled her gown a little more closely around her. The little house-elf had seen her in various states of undress, and Albus, too, of course, but somehow, when she was with Albus in a state of undress, she found it very embarrassing to have the loyal little elf pop in on them. And she didn't think that Wilspy was entirely comfortable, either, though she couldn't be sure of that.

After a few heartbeats, Wilspy arrived with a sharp crack.

"My Professors is needing me?" the house-elf asked, a broad smile on her face.

"Yes, my dear," Albus said, in his most apologetic tone. "I am afraid I made rather a mess earlier. I was hoping that you could clean it up – but after you have brought Minerva a little snack."

"Something for Albus, too, please, Wilspy."

"I am back in a jiffy!" she responded, Disapparating immediately to fetch their snack.

In a "jiffy," the house-elf returned with toast, lemon curd, and tea.

"Is this enough, Professors?" she asked before popping over to clear away the remains of their breakfast.

"That's fine, thank you, Wilspy," Minerva answered, thinking that lunch was around the corner, anyway.

Minerva ate a few slices of toast with lemon curd and drank two cups of tea, but was only able to cajole Albus into eating one slice of toast and sipping at a cup of tea before he fell asleep. Minerva found her wand in the pocket of her dressing gown and cast a Tempus alarm for eleven-fifteen. Albus would need a shower before dressing and leaving for lunch. Then she settled against him and fell asleep, listening to his heartbeat and feeling the steady thrum of his magic pulsing against her.

---

Shortly before eleven, Minerva woke. She and Albus had slowly tilted as they slept, and he was now partially lying down, she still resting against him. She took a deep, satisfied breath, and let it out slowly. But, much as she enjoyed lying against him, she was getting stiff, and she imagined Albus was, as well. She slowly disengaged from his embrace, trying not to waken him. As she sat up, he rolled over on his back and threw his left arm over his head, but didn't seem to wake. Minerva stood and then moved his legs so they were fully on the couch. Albus murmured something, but without opening his eyes, so Minerva just leaned over and kissed his forehead and whispered, "I'm going to take a shower, now, love. Sleep a while longer."

She received no response, but he seemed to sigh and fall more deeply asleep. Despite not feeling as though she needed another shower earlier that morning, after their recent activities, Minerva felt sweaty and definitely in need of a wash. She left Albus sleeping, confident that the Tempus alarm she had set, which he could dismiss as well as she, would wake him in time to get ready for lunch.

Minerva took a quick shower and, feeling refreshed, she was standing naked in the bathroom drying her hair when Albus walked in.

"You abandoned me!" he said, feigning a pout.

"Not at all! I freed you to sleep a little more comfortably until you had to get up, dearest." He nuzzled the back of her neck as she waved her wand and charmed her hair into a French twist. "And this way, I could be through in the bathroom before you had to use the shower, and I would be ready when Poppy arrived."

"Mmm, well, if you put it that way," he said, nibbling her ear from behind. "Although we could have showered together."

"Oh, my, Albus, after this morning, the thought of taking a shower with you – and I know we would start out just washing, but I doubt very much we would stop there – it is just exhausting! I wouldn't mind, myself, getting exhausted with you, but you do need to make it to the Great Hall for lunch and then have your conversation with Lupin. I wouldn't want you falling asleep in your soup without me there to catch you!" she teased.

"All right, my dear." He ran a gentle hand from her breast to her hip and looked up to smile at her in the mirror. Seeing her there, he cocked his head. "Hmm, it does appear that I have developed a rather bad habit," he said, turning her to face him.

There was a very clear love bite on the side of her neck, another one just beside her collarbone, and yet another just above her left breast. He touched each one, smiling. "They don't hurt?" he asked, making sure.

"Not at all – you didn't do it too hard, so they don't hurt."

He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Minerva interrupted, "And no, I do not want you to do anything about them. I could do it myself, if I wished, though if I do want to hide them or get rid of them, I will ask you to do it. But for the weekend, I see no reason to do that."

"Poppy –"

"I am not planning on removing my robes while Poppy is here. If, by some peculiar chance, I have to for some unforeseen medical reason, I doubt very much that whether I have a few love marks or not would be of any consequence."

"But this one, at least, may show," Albus said, indicating the one on her neck.

Minerva merely shrugged. "I'm sure she's seen similar marks before, Albus."

"That's just it . . . what I mean is, she'll know . . . she'll see what I've done."

To Minerva's amusement, Albus Dumbledore was blushing like a schoolboy. She kept herself from laughing by kissing him, instead. "Oh, Albus! I doubt very much she thinks we have been in a chaste relationship these last oh-so-many years!"

"Well, no, of course not, but . . . it's embarrassing," he said.

Albus still hated it when, every year, Poppy Pomfrey checked the general state of his health, and always asked how his sex life was. She didn't put it precisely like that, of course, but it was the point of her question, and he still wasn't used to it, despite her having conducted the exam for over forty years. The first time he had gone to her as a regular part of her health checks on the Hogwarts staff, it was fine for the first several minutes, as she waved her wand over him in all the standard diagnostic spells. But then she asked him to lower the top half of his robes. She had turned her back and written some notes on his health record, but when she turned around again, he was still fully clothed. Poppy raised her eyebrows.

"Now, Professor . . ."

"I really don't think this is all necessary. You learn everything you need to from the diagnostic spells," he protested.

"It is a part of the standard examination, Professor. You know that. You've had one every year since you began teaching."

Albus just looked at her, tongue-tied, unable to tell her that it had been quite different when it had been large, jovial Madam Valentius, whom he hadn't even known before she had started as the Hogwarts matron, or the ancient, bent-over Madam Sanitas who had died in her post in 1940 and who had been matron when he was a boy at Hogwarts. He looked at Poppy Pomfrey and he still saw the bubbly little Hufflepuff who had bounced up and down the first time she had turned a wooden matchstick into a silver needle.

"Look, Professor, if you don't want me to do it, you can go to St. Mungo's –"

"No, no . . . but I assure you, I am quite healthy. In every way," he added, remembering the questions that Madam Valentius had always asked him about his bowel movements, his urinary habits, and whether he was still able to achieve an erection to his satisfaction.

Poppy had narrowed her eyes at him a moment, then, startling him, she'd whirled around and left the small examination room, shutting the door behind her. He thought he had offended her professionalism, but before he could become very worried, she returned a few minutes later and thrust something at him.

"Mr Dumbledore! You are out of uniform! Put this on immediately!" she said sharply, then she turned and left him alone again.

He had unfolded the bundle and discovered a Hogwarts uniform of the type he had worn when he was a student, though a size or two larger than the last such uniform he'd worn. He raised his eyebrows, but he undressed and redressed in the old-fashioned uniform. It even had the small version of the Gryffindor crest on it that had been on the robes when he had been a student. The hat that came with it was the first-years' round, brimless cap, which hadn't been worn by any students since at least the 80s. He cringed, but pulled it onto his greying head. Just in time, because Poppy was back.

"That's better, Mr Dumbledore. Now, you may address me as either 'Matron' or as 'Madam Pomfrey,' as you prefer, but I will have your cooperation!"

"Yes, ma'am, Matron." Poppy had put on a more old-fashioned version of the mediwitch hat she wore daily, or had Transfigured her own to resemble it, and it now tied under chin and included a wimple. With her newly sharp manner, he began to feel like an errant student instead of a teacher who was being examined by one of his own pupils.

Poppy began the examination all over again, giving barked instructions to him, and by the time she told him to lower the top half of his robes, he complied obediently, still somewhat embarrassed, but not prepared to defy her, either. She completed her examination by asking him to pull his robes back up then open them below. Albus complied again, unbuttoning the lower half of his robes reluctantly. She barely looked, however, merely pinging one final diagnostic charm from his genitals before asking him the requisite questions about bowel movements and urinary function, then telling him he could button up again.

After closing up his robes, relieved that her examination had been so cursory, Albus said, "Um, wasn't there something else, another question . . ."

"Those are all the questions that I would ask of a male first-year student, Mr Dumbledore. I trust that if you have any more specific troubles, you are intelligent enough to visit a Healer who specialises in such things," she said, giving him another sharp look.

Poppy had left him alone to dress in his own robes, feeling somewhat sheepish about the fuss he had made. She had never done precisely the same thing again – that was the only time she gave him a student uniform to wear – but whenever he came for his annual exam, she addressed him as Mr Dumbledore, only performed the more limited exam, although after several years, she did begin asking him the more routine questions about his sexual health, and, when he reached one hundred-twenty, she had handed him the card of a Healer at St. Mungo's, and asked that Albus see him for a thorough examination of the type that all wizards past a certain age require.

Minerva looked at Albus, a smile on her face. "Is this the same wizard who just had me hanging naked out a window?" she asked teasingly.

"But no one could really see you –"

"Is this the same wizard who has made love to me in the staff room on more than one occasion? When there might be others waiting outside to enter?"

"I always cast wards!" Albus protested.

"Or whom I have known to enjoy certain delights al fresco?" she asked with raised eyebrows, still teasing.

"But never anywhere we could be seen –"

"Albus, Poppy isn't just an old friend who is quite aware of our relationship, she is also a professional! Really! I hardly think it matters if she sees a few marks."

Albus caressed the little marks he'd left. "But these are ours . . ." he said softly, trying to remind her of how he felt about them. It wasn't simply embarrassment or a desire for privacy, though it was that . . .

"Albus," Minerva said, "if you like, I will make sure they are covered up, but you may remember that just a few days ago, Severus literally watched you pleasuring me, and your response to it was to say he should have gone off for a wank, if I remember your words correctly. Surely that was far more private and personal than this."

"Well, of course it was," Albus answered, startled by the turn the conversation had taken, and not liking the memories it evoked. "But it happened, and there was nothing we could do about it afterward. And I didn't say he should have gone off for a wank, just that it would have been a healthier reaction – he's a man!"

Minerva grew stiff. "Albus Dumbledore, I do not wish to speak of Severus, nor of the relative degree of . . . exposure there is between having someone see me with my legs spread as you pleasure me and having someone notice a small red mark on my throat." Minerva noticed that Albus's blush was growing, but she didn't stop there. "However," she said distinctly, "however, if you mean to suggest that it is preferable simply because he was a wizard and Poppy is a witch, I beg you to reconsider that statement."

"No, of course not. You know I wasn't happy about that, either. I wouldn't want anyone to ever witness what Severus did. But the fact was, he did. And . . . you are right, of course, it doesn't matter whether it is a witch or a wizard. That wasn't what I was saying at all. They're two entirely different things." Albus looked deflated and embarrassed. "And I suppose it doesn't matter if a friend sees the mark, if you don't mind it, yourself . . . just . . . suit yourself, Minerva." He shrugged and tried to move away toward the shower.

Minerva put her arms around him and held him, realising suddenly how she'd driven him into a corner, and unsure exactly how she'd come to do that, herself. "I'm sorry, of course I know you don't mind it in the way I made it seem. But I'm really not ready to be rid of them, and it bothered me so little that Poppy might see them, I didn't even think about it until you mentioned it." She leaned back, arms still around him, and looked up. "I'll use a Glamour, as usual, all right?"

"You don't need to for me . . . however you are most comfortable, really, my dear," he said, trying not to sound as sad as he felt. Why had she tried to compare the business with Severus with this? The situations were so different, they were beyond comparing. She had made it sound as though he hadn't cared that someone witnessed him pleasuring her, and of course he had! For all of his play, he was no exhibitionist, and he certainly wouldn't want to put Minerva on display. And it really wasn't so terribly important that she cover the mark with a Glamour, if only Poppy was going to be there to see it; it was just a little embarrassing for him, that was all. If Minerva hadn't pressed the issue, he would have just shrugged it off, taken his shower, and hoped that Poppy didn't reflect too long on his sexual activities with Minerva.

Minerva kissed him lightly on the lips.

"This would be most comfortable to me, you know that. I already have a lot to talk to her about, I don't need her staring jealously at my love-bites, wishing she had some of her own!" Minerva joked. "Really, Albus. And you will be late if you don't hurry now." She kissed him again.

Albus returned her kiss before shedding his dressing gown to take his shower.

"I love you, you know," he said quietly, feeling better, but still somewhat unsettled. It wasn't whether she used a Glamour or not that unsettled him; she'd had to bring up the other incident, just when he had been so happy to have his beloved Minerva back with him again, and not having to share her with anyone anymore.

"And I love you, my darling Albus," Minerva answered.

He turned to enter the shower, when he heard Minerva first gasp then giggle. He turned back, eyebrows raised, still slightly hurt that she would seem to so deliberately misunderstand his meaning, and feeling that she had put him in the awkward position of defending words he never had wanted to utter, anyway, but he was nonetheless curious about what she was laughing at.

"Albus," Minerva said, chuckling, "are you having any discomfort when you sit down?"

Now he was puzzled. "No . . . well, perhaps slightly," he said, reflecting on it. He had absent-mindedly thought he must have done something to himself during the activities of the last day, but hadn't given it much consideration.

"I think you need to look in the mirror."

Albus turned his back to the full-length mirror next to the door and looked over his shoulder. Right in the centre of his left buttock were purple finger marks.

"Oh, my," he said. His lips twitched, then he laughed, Minerva joining him.

"I think I may have become a little enthusiastic at some point," Minerva said. "I'm sorry I bruised you."

"Last night, I think. That last time, remember?"

She grinned. "I don't think I could forget! Still, I didn't mean to grip you so hard."

He shrugged, smiling. "I don't really notice it, unless I shift my weight when I am sitting down. It's fine."

"Well, at least we don't have to consider a Glamour for it," Minerva said. "Unless you plan on mooning everyone at lunch?" She giggled giddily at that thought, and Albus laughed, too, imagining her suggestion.

"No," he said, catching his breath. "I had not intended to. After all, no one from the Ministry will be in attendance; there would be no point!"

They both laughed even harder at that, then Minerva picked up her wand and indicated he should turn around.

"I said it's fine, Minerva," Albus said, backing toward the shower.

"What, you don't trust me?" she asked, eyebrow quirked, a smile on her face.

He turned around for her and she incanted, "Solatus! There, that should feel a bit better now. But don't worry, it's as purple as it was before! And Albus, I am sorry – about what I said before. I know you didn't mean what I implied you did. Well, what I said you meant," Minerva said, feeling bad about having created a problem where there really was none.

Early on in their relationship decades before, both of them, as private people, took for granted that Minerva would cover any marks that showed – and not simply out of her own sense of modesty and preference not to be embarrassed, but also because very few people knew of their relationship, and it was best not to have anyone speculating on the origin of any love bites she might have. That was something shared between them, something that reminded them of the special time they spent together and the passion they shared. Not that Albus marked her often, or as heavily as he had the previous night – he associated one person marking another with Dark Wizards such as Grindelwald and Voldemort, despite recognising the essential differences between their marks and his – but it did happen occasionally and spontaneously. And she routinely covered them if she was going to be in public.

Minerva continued, "I started out just . . . just teasing you a little, but then I thought of Severus, and of what he saw, and it put me in a bad mood. I know . . . I know what you really were saying."

"And that was?" Albus asked as he started the water in the shower.

"You actually did say it, I just . . . I didn't hear it. They are ours. For us." Minerva looked at him, waiting for his reaction.

Albus turned, smiled, and nodded happily at her, glad to put Minerva's momentary fit of pique behind them. "Sure you won't join me?"

"I would love nothing better, but you have ten minutes before you are supposed to meet Poppy in your office, so if you don't want her to contemplate the two of us up here in the throes of passion, I suggest you hurry!" Minerva smiled as Albus closed the shower door behind him.

Minerva picked up Albus's dressing gown and hung it up for him on the hook on the back of the door, then she took her own dressing gown into the bedroom and began to gather together the clothes she would wear that day. Through the open door, she could hear Albus humming; it was a cheerful tune, not one of the more sombre ones he'd been singing in the shower in recent times.

She pulled out his set of midnight blue robes with contrasting silver piping, and the matching hat, thinking he might like to wear it. It wasn't very cold yet, so she didn't get him any underclothes – the robes were double-layered, anyway – but did pull out a pair of silvery socks and set out his short, dark blue boots for him. She was slightly concerned he might be too warm, but every time she'd expressed that concern in the past, he had simply tutted and reminded her what cooling charms were for. In their early days together, that remark would have her fixing her gaze just below his waist, occasionally even accompanied by a playful grab at him . . . after all, in those days, his cooling charms seemed most often used to alleviate certain symptoms of his physical attraction to her. She smiled remembering how he had told her of retiring to her loo to cast cooling charms on himself, practically chilling himself through in the process of reducing his unwelcome erection.

As Minerva dressed, Albus came out of the bathroom, whistling as he waved his wand around his head, drying his hair and beard and casting a detangling charm at the same time.

"Oh, lovely, my dear! Just the robes I wanted for today. Thank you!" He kissed her cheek. "I am afraid I am late," he said with a sigh. "But I'm sure Poppy will wait."

Albus dressed quickly, then pulled on his socks and short boots, using his wand for most of it, given that his right hand was no longer available for such tasks. Minerva hated to see that – there had been so many things he had preferred to do manually, despite having plenty of magic to spare and more than sufficient talent. So she fussed with her own clothes, then cast a quick Glamour to cover the two marks that showed – the one on her neck and the one beside her collarbone.

"Walk me out, my dear?" Albus asked.

"Of course!"

"I plan on being back by one-thirty, unless there is a major crisis and I am absolutely unable to. I need to see Remus, of course, and then I am going to pick up some work from my office to bring back with me. I thought perhaps we could work on it together, get it done more quickly . . ."

"An excellent idea," Minerva said agreeably. She really didn't mind working – either him working or her – if they were doing it together. She rather enjoyed it, in fact.

They stood in front of the fireplace, and Albus looked down and caressed her face.

"You look very handsome, Albus." The robes made his eyes look an even deeper blue, and the silver piping on his hat and down the front of the robes complemented the bright white of his hair.

"And you, as always, are beautiful." Albus bent and kissed her, not caring about the hour, just gently kissing her lips several times, then her cheek, then trailing kisses to her ear and down her throat.

Minerva gasped as she felt him suck particularly vigorously at a sensitive spot on her neck. He hummed and sucked it again, pulling it between his teeth, and Minerva felt a ripple of magic.

"Oh, oh, Albus, what . . . what are you doing?"

He kissed her once more lightly on the lips. "Just a little good-bye present, until I see you this afternoon – and I expect to see it when I return," he said with a twinkle, tilting his head and looking at her neck. "Rather nice one, if I do say so myself!" He laughed at her expression. "I'll be sending Poppy right through, but if you hurry, you may be able to see it before she does!"

"Albus!?" Minerva had no idea what to think, but Albus just winked at her in the way that always put a silly grin on her face, then he tossed in some Floo-powder and was away in a flash of green.

Minerva hurried into the bedroom and looked into the mirror, waving her wand to light some lamps so that she could see better. There, in the spot just below where her jaw met her neck, right beside her pulse point, there were two marks, one red, one purple, in the shape of intertwined hearts. The silly wizard! Minerva blushed. Sometimes he was worse than a child! But no boy could have done that, and Minerva thought that it was truly very sweet of him. Rather silly, but very sweet. She was just admiring the way he had made it appear as though the two hearts were intertwined when she heard Poppy's voice calling her from the other room.

"Coming, Poppy!"

---

As Albus showered, humming to himself, he reflected on Minerva's unexpected reaction to his barely voiced embarrassment about having his little love bites uncovered to the eyes of a third party – well, to Poppy. He was only slightly embarrassed – after all, as Minerva said, Poppy was an old friend, and a professional, and she no doubt had some notion that he and Minerva still enjoyed one another, even after all these years. If Minerva didn't mind, well, it wasn't what he would prefer, liking to keep them as something special between them, yet it also wasn't the end of the world. It wasn't like Minerva, though, to be so dismissive of his feelings, nor to believe he didn't care about hers. He had only been going to offer to cast the Glamour for her and she had cut him off, teasing him; then her teasing had suddenly become something else . . . but, as Minerva said, she had remembered Severus, and that had put her in a bad mood.

They had had such a lovely morning. Albus didn't want Minerva to be in a bad mood for any reason, but particularly not on account of Severus. Minerva may have recovered from the way she had felt about what she'd done with the other wizard, but it seemed to Albus that she hadn't completely recovered from the sheer intrusiveness of Severus's presence over five long days, and she no doubt had other feelings about the situation that she perhaps hadn't even discovered yet. Albus knew that he couldn't "kiss it and make it better," but perhaps there was something he could do to help. Something, perhaps that would reassure her . . .

It seemed odd to Albus that Minerva wouldn't simply cover the little marks with a Glamour as a matter of habit, let alone that she would take offense at his mention of it, and then go on to dismiss his feelings about it so easily. After all that she had been through during the last few days, though, there were probably more factors at play than he could be aware of at that moment, yet the fact that she had raised Severus again, brought him between them . . . could there still be some insecurity about their relationship? Minerva had no reason to feel insecure, and Albus didn't believe she was. But perhaps it wasn't insecurity, so much as it was a positive desire to revel in their relationship, rather as they had together that morning in their loving, trusting, and highly . . . stimulating play.

Albus smiled as he remembered how their playtime had begun, her tracing the little heart-shaped mark he'd left her on her breast. His smile broadened. That was something he could do for her . . . Something a bit more artistic than his last effort, perhaps. Something that might indicate that he belonged to her as much as she to him. If Minerva wanted, it would be something playful that she could share with her friend . . . and if Minerva didn't want to share it, she could cover it up, if she wished.

---

Note: Because I am beginning work on a sequel to this, I am reworking the ending. There are now fifteen chapters and an epilogue to An Act of Love.

I would love to hear what folk think of this chapter – I know it may not be everyone's cuppa, but I hope that some enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!