Cat and Dog

Ch 5 - Bothered

She couldn't go in there. Minerva McGonagall was the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts and people would have the wizarding version of a Muggle coronary.

Then again, she never missed the opportunity to be a particularly magical minx and the look on Remus' face would be priceless. There wasn't anything wrong with a little mischief was there?

"Lacewings - for the discerning witch" read a sign outside a boutique in a side street off Diagon Alley. She was looking for that little something that would mess with Remus' well ordered mind, not just a little but enough.

Scanning the shelves, Minerva assessed her options - too strappy, too spindly, too . . .too . . . well let's just say that one wouldn't have looked out of place at a dark revel.

Oh these were perfect. Decadent enough to make an impression but not tarty enough to send out make people think she had fled from Knockturn Alley.

The only dilemma left for Minerva was the timing of her surprise. It had to be in an environment where Remus would be unable to react and start accusing her of mind games. Next week's Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quidditch match? Too public and besides she wanted to hang on to her surprise purchase for as long as possible. It was gorgeous.

Any meal in the Great Hall? No need to start a riot amongst the students or leave Poppy overwhelmed by the little dears fainting in shock.

That only left the staff meeting in two day's time. Perfect. Just perfect.

Minerva shifted in the navy velvet armchair in the staff common room. Would this meeting ever end? The only distraction was Remus sitting across from her, looking as though he was trying to master the art of sleeping with his eyes open.

Oh, could someone please feed Albus some Muggle jelly beans and let the sugar hit speed things up a little? There was only so much a self respecting witch could take and she was just about at her limits.

Selecting a creamy butterfly cake from the tea tray beside her, Minerva bit into the sweet treat causing some cream to stick on her upper lip. Meeting and holding Remus' gaze, Minerva daintily licked the cream away. Occasionally it was a good thing to bring out ones' inner pussy cat.

Holy mother of Nimue, I didn't think she was that much of a minx, Remus thought. The sight of Minerva's tongue sliding across her top Iip brought Remus' mind back to their spur of the moment kiss in her quarters two days ago.

The feel of his hands around her waist as he learned her shape, well as much of her body that wasn't covered in robes.

If nothing else, it had succeeded in taking one or two of the not so sharp edges away from the memory of Severus and Hermione smooching by the lake. They were still wrong but there was something very right about being lost in a kiss with a fine woman.

Noting her quarry was cheerfully staring off into space, Minerva shifted in her chair and put her teacup on the table, perhaps a shade too heavily. Remus' sensitive hearing noted the rattle of the china on the oak table and gazed at Minerva. Surely the woman had some table graces, he thought raising an eyebrow at the deputy headmistress.

The hem of her floor length robes had kept her feet well hidden from view - until now. Crossing her legs, Minerva's robes parted much like a stage curtain giving the entire Hogwarts staff a prime view of a shapely calf and a pair of Gryffindor red high heels with red satin ribbon straps criss-crossing her leg ballerina style.

"Fetching choice of footwear, Professor McGonagall," Albus tried to suppress his laughter, while wondering who on staff his second in command was toying with.

Remus just stared at Minerva's feet and tried to suppress the impulse to ask if she liked her feet massaged. Had he taken leave of his senses? That sort of sentimental, soppy gesture had no place in his life. He was a werewolf and a lone wolf at that.

Minerva's well polished toenails were still sending him some serious come hither messages though.

All Severus could do was wonder how Hermione would look in a deep green pair with the same wine red nails and how much fun he'd have undoing the bows with his teeth.

Ch 6 - Bewildered

Did you ever get the feeling you were being watched?

Remus wasn't too sure but the presence of red satin bows everywhere he went raised suspicions that a certain slinky grey tabby cat was up to mischief.

Nothing major but after that little stunt of hers in the staff meeting, a flotilla of red satin bows floated right by him as he sat down for breakfast in the Great Hall. The line of bows circled around his neck making sure their satiny texture caressed the sensitive spot near his jugular vein.

Just for a moment he could close his eyes and enjoy the sensation. Remus' reverie was shattered by Albus and Severus laughing hysterically and trying not to fall off their chairs.

The bows gathered in front of Remus, formed the shape of a pair of lips, blew the gobsmacked werewolf a kiss and then floated single file out of the Great Hall. He could have sworn he heard the Moulin Rouge version of "Lady Marmalade" coming from his glass of pumpkin juice.

Albus Dumbledore, he who personified all that was dignified about Hogwarts, nearly hyperventilated.

"Okay Miss Kitty, I take it that means 'game on"?" Remus was scanning the Great Hall for any sign of Minerva and failed to see Hermione petting a certain grey cat. The cat started to purr, nodded at Hermione and scampered out of the room.

Outside the room, Minerva regained her human form and strode off to have a late breakfast in her rooms and gather her materials for morning lessons. A first year Hufflepuff, late for breakfast, passed her in the corridor and later told his classmates that he couldn't be sure but thought he had busted Professor McGonagall giggling.

Finishing the last of his toast and coffee, Remus hoped he could go to class and get through the day without any more red satin distractions.

It was a third year Ravenclaw-Gryffindor DADA group, some of whom were too smart for their own good. He set them their essay task and settled back to try and work out what Minerva's next step would be. A grey cat poked her head around the door, miaowed and gazed at the teacher staring into space hoping the answer to whatever was bothering him would swoop through the window and land on his desk.

Minerva McGonagall resumed her human form around fifty metres after she walked past the Dark Arts classroom door, beginning to be satisfied Remus was at least thinking that some kind of attraction between them was possible. But what would he do now? Was the whole stunt with the bows too much or not enough?

By the time the teenagers had left a pile of parchments on his desk, Remus had decided to play a few games of his own and wondered if you could get catnip in Hogsmeade.

Minerva's day had gone from respectable to rotten as even she had not known it was possible to transfigure a tea cup into a baby elephant but somehow one of her fourth years had managed it.

Remus thought there were some advantages to borrowing Harry's invisibility cloak from Ron and he had just found the biggest one of them. It hadn't taken much to persuade the fourth year student to let him work the spell - a one month pass to the Restricted Section was a small price to pay for the look on Minerva's face and creating just the diversion he needed.

The beast was banished to the Quidditch pitch until lessons ended. In spite of pleas from Hagrid to "please let me keep him Professor McGonagall", Minerva and Professor Flitwick eventually returned the pachyderm to its most appropriate bone china state.

Resetting the wards on Minerva's rooms from the inside, Remus huddled under the cloak to watch his surprise unfold.