DISCLAIMER: All things Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling.

-- December 27th --

Two days after Christmas, Professor McGonagall paid a visit to Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

When Sirius came out to greet her, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Sirius, confused by both the hug and the apology, reacted only to the one he was sure he knew the proper response for and awkwardly returned her embrace. After a moment, she pulled away. Sirius let her slide out of his arms.

"I'm sorry," Minerva repeated. "I was hoping I could get permission to take you outside."

"You'd do that for me?" Sirius's voice was awestruck.

Minerva was surprised by his reaction. She'd expected him to be disappointed. Then again, he hadn't known what her plans were. She wondered briefly if he'd even figured out what the tennis balls were for.

"I mean," he continued in a more normal tone, "I would have thought you, of all people, would be against me going outside."

"If someone doesn't do something with you, you're bound to wind up doing something stupid on your own. I'm sure if it were planned carefully, and done in area that isn't likely to be watched, we could get away with it." Minerva sighed. "At least, that's the argument I used when I was trying to convince him to let me... Oh, but it doesn't matter! Dumbledore has refused me permission." (She didn't tell Sirius that it had actually turned into quite a vicious argument, which ended with Dumbledore telling her she had ten seconds to remove herself from his office before he lost his temper completely and did something they'd both regret.)

"You know..." Sirius said thoughtfully. "Just because we don't have permission doesn't mean we can't..."

"You must be joking!"

Sirius just looked at her with a you've-known-me-how-long-now expression. She could tell he was serious. (No pun intended.)

Curiousity overcame her and she asked simply, "How?"

"Upstairs window?" Sirius suggested. They couldn't just go out the front door, after all.

No one else was in the immediate area, apparently having decided to give Sirius and Minerva some privacy. But Sirius would have bet that at least two of them had been eavesdropping on their conversation. Not that he thought Fred and George would object to what they were about to do. In fact, the twins would probably want to congratulate Sirius for getting straightlaced Professor McGonagall to go against the rules...

-end of chapter one-

A/N: I was planning to have this be a oneshot, but it looks like it's going to be a four-parter. (part two- getting ready to go out/the sneaking, part three- playing fetch in the snow, part four- coming home/aftermath of their actions)