PART THREE: MORNING

After her date with Alastor Moody, Poppy told her fiancé to make himself comfortable in her room so she could check on Minerva, but after knocking several times, she came to the conclusion that, as of Midnight, Minerva had not returned.

About an hour later, Pomona returned from her date with boring but renowned Herbology researcher Harvey Pickle and she, too, knocked on Minerva's door. No answer.

Cicely Sinistra slipped out of her room around 2:30 am, unbeknownst to her longtime boyfriend Terence Bones, and she slipped down to Minerva's room, where she knocked and knocked. No response.

Rolanda Hooch scandalously did not return to the school until eighty-thirty in the morning. Where she was, only she (and perhaps one other person) could say for sure. She immediately went to Minerva's room and knocked and knocked. Nothing.

Minerva awoke around nine in the morning, and was pleasantly surprised to find herself still in Albus' arms.

On the couch.

The two had been up so very late, talking and laughing and kissing and, yes, playing chess, and had fallen asleep together somewhere around three.

"Good morning, Minerva," Albus said quietly after he saw she had awoken.

"Good morning, Albus." She paused. "My friends will never believe that nothing happened last night. And if they do believe, they'll be so very disappointed."

"Well," he said, a smile forming across his lips. "We don't want to disappoint them, do we?"

"No, I suppose we don't," she said, feigning innocence. "But whatever shall we do?"

He kissed lips before he said, "I have a few ideas."

She laughed and allowed him to lead her to his bed chambers. "Well!" she exclaimed just before he closed the door. "This was one blind date that certainly turned out right!"