Chapter 12
There was a knock on the door and the two professors looked at each other while the Fat Lady suddenly tried very much to fade into the background of her portrait. "That'll be Miss Granger making the most of her free period, I better be off", she squealed and made to disappear. "You let her out of the commons room?", McGonagall exclaimed. "And I had Cadogan tell her you were here, ta ta", the Fat Lady said and made her exit, Minerva staring daggers at the empty canvas.
The door swung open in the same moment that Professor Sprout reached for her wand. There was a simple solution to the situation, to make sure nobody said anything they would regret for the rest of their lives, and she would do it with a single word:
"Silencio!"
Hermione Granger opened her mouth for a declaration of undying devotion that never came.
With a smug smile, Pomona turned back around to Minerva. "Now. You take her to the hospital wing, Poppy has something for that potion. And then you take her for a long walk across the grounds, I'll take my leave now." Minerva gave her friend a grateful nod, just as silent as Hermione was and a little stunned at that much pragmatism. Sprout hurried out of the door, taking that last tiny little detail with her, counting 3, 2, 1...
Minerva crossed the room to where Hermione was standing just to- soft, warm lips were suddenly moving against her own, Hermione standing on her toes to reach and a hand on Minerva's cheek, making it perfectly clear that "the brightest witch of her age" did not need words to express her feelings.
Minerva pulled back and put Hermione under an upper body bind charm, a firm hand on her shoulder as she guided her student like a prisoner from the class room to the infirmary. Hermione never saw it, but behind her back, Minerva was smiling all the way.