Chapter Four

Minerva swept along the corridors of Hogwarts like a cloud of righteous fury, her back was rigid with anger and there was the tell tale flush of rage on her cheeks. She was headed striaght for Albus' study, where he could normally be found at this time of day, and all her mind was full of thoughts of what she would do to him when she got hold of him. As Minerva entered a deserted corridor on the third floor of the castle, she saw a concerned looking Poppy Pomfrey hurrying towards her. Poppy had heard the rumours about Minerva's strange behaviour, and as Hogwart's healer felt it her duty to come and check on her friend.

"Minerva I heard you've been behaving strangely, you're not sickening for anything are you ?" Poppy asked anxiously, her eyes scanning her friend for signs of ill health.

"The only thing I'm sick of is this damm ring that keeps on singing at me." Minerva snapped, glaring at her finger in disgust.

Poppy had already noted Minerva's flushed cheeks with some concern, now she grew even more concerned as she gazed at Minerva's hand and saw nothing, perhaps Minerva had a fever. "I think you'd better come to the hospital wing with me ..." Poppy said softly.

Just as Minerva was about to answer Poppy, she noticed her ring opening it's mouth wide in an all too familiar way, "WILL YOU SHUT UP !!!" Minerva bellowed furiously.

Poppy took a nervous step backwards, then remembered her duties as school healer, "Now Minerva that's no way to speak to me." She said firmly, "I'm only trying to help."

It was only the fact that Poppy was one of Minerva's oldest friends, that prevented Minerva from wringing Poppy's neck at that point. Instead she bit her lip and snapped, "I was talking to this damm ring, it will keep singing at me, it's driving me mad." Minerva waved her ring finger furiously in front of Poppy's face, "All day it's sung at me, it never stops !" She snarled, her emerald eyes blazing.

Poppy's eyes swung back and forth, as though mesmerised by Minerva's madly waving finger, and her mouth hung slightly open in dismay. Poppy's expression clearly said that she feared that Minerva was either delirirous or crazy. Finally she took hold of Minerva's arm, and in her official healer's voice said firmly, "Now then let's get you to sick bay shall we ...and I'll call Albus ..."

At the mention of Albus' name Minerva's eyes seemed almost ready to pop out of her head with rage, as she clenched her hands as though she was already wringing his neck. "Yes ...call Albus, then I can kill him ..." She growled through gritted teeth, in a way that made Poppy turn white with concern and glance around anxiously in case help was needed.

"Now Minerva ..." Poppy said as soothingly as she could, "You don't really want to kill Albus, you're just not quite yourself right now ..."

Suddenly Minerva remembered that she hadn't yet told Poppy about getting engaged to Albus, or shown her the ring. She'd spent all of the previous day alone and blissfully happy with Albus, after agreeing to marry him - neither of them had told anyone yet.

Wrenching her arm from Poppy's grasp, Minerva snapped, "Dammit Poppy, I am not crazy." Then rapidly reversed the invisibility spell she'd cast earlier, and showed Poppy the ring that smiled blissfully on her finger. Swiftly Minerva explained how Albus had proposed yesterday, and how they'd spent the rest of the day together, despite her anger with Albus Minerva's face softened very slightly as she recalled those tender hours with him.

Poppy sqealed in delight at the news, "I knew it ..." she said happily, "I just knew you two were made for each other." Poppy peered at the merrily beaming face of the ring intently, "So, it really does sing then ?" She asked, then flinched slightly as Minerva glared at her thunderously. "Oh dear," Poppy said rapidly, "That must be rather irritating .."

There was a muffled sound from Minerva that resembled a snarl, as she clenched and unclenched her hands as though striving for self controll. Finally she seemed calm enough to speak, "Yes ..." Minerva said in strangled tones, "It is. I'm going to kill Albus, and then I'm going to give him his ridiculous ring back ..."

"Oh Minerva, you can't do that ...you'd beak his heart, he'd think you don't love him anymore or that you don't want to marry him." Poppy said softly.

Minerva was just about to snap that it served Albus right for choosing such a horrid ring for her, when she remembered the sadness in his face that morning and a wave of tenderness washed over her. The ring might be driving her mad but Poppy was right, she couldn't possibly hurt Albus like that. "You're right of course, but I'll go mad if I have to listen to much more of this ring's singing." Minerva groaned.

"Can't you just take it off and hide it somewhere, and tell him you lost it ?" Poppy asked, "My sister did that when she hated her ring, and her husband bought her a beautifull new one."

For a second Minerva's face lit up at the brilliance of Poppy's idea, then it fell again, "I can't lie to Albus ...it wouldn't be right." she said firmly, "There must be some other way."

"If only you could really loose it ..." Poppy muttered her brow furrowed in thought.

A gleeful grin crossed Minerva's face, "That's exactly what I'll do !" She said triumphantly, "I'll accidentally on purpose loose it ...can't be that hard to persuade a ring to fall off your finger somewhere it can't be found again ... Now where would be a good place to permanently loose a ring ..."

The ring gazed up at Minerva reproachfully, then began to sing in a sad little voice.

"So you want me gone,

I knew it all along.

Oh it breaks my heart,

That you want us to part.

Oh where did I go wrong ?"

When the song finished the ring blinked sorrowfully, and stared at Minerva with accusatory eyes much as though she wanted to murder it. The silencing spell that Minerva had cast earlier must have worn off, because the rings song was back to it's normal volume and clearly audible to Poppy.

"Oh how cute !" Poppy cooed without thinking, then noticing the murderous look on Minerva's face, added rapidly, "I'm urgently needed in the hospital wing."

As Poppy shot off down the passageway in quite the wrong direction for the hospital wing, Minerva growled, "I think I'll go for a walk by the lake." There was an evil glint in Minerva's eyes as she said this, and the ring gulped and was silent for the time.

Minerva spent the remainder of the lunch hour marching along the shores of the lake trying desperately to persuade her ring to fall off, and hopefully be lost forever in the murky waters. As she strode along the lakeside Minerva kept shaking her arm, but the ring clung to her finger like glue, seemingly determined not to be parted from her, much to Minerva's chagrin. To add to Minerva's annoyance, the shaking motion seemed to provoke the ring into singing yet again.

"Shake, shake, shake me baby,

Oh Yeah, baby,

We'll groove on down,

And hit the town,

Yeah, Shake me Baby."

The ring sang in a sultry rock and roll voice, then had the nerve to dare to wink at Minerva in a suggestive manner.

Minerva's cheeks flushed crimson with fury, and her lips tightened into a thin line of determination, one way or another she would be rid of this damm ring, how dare it wink at her like that, it was intolerable ! Whipping out her wand Minerva cast a quick loosening spell on the ring, then shook her arm hard over the waters of the lake. Still the ring refused to leave her finger, so Minerva resorted to shaking her arm as hard as she possibly could, surely it had to fall off soon.

In her desperate attempts to dislodge the ring Minerva's shaking became more and more vigourous, until she was waving her left arm up and down in the air frantically. So intent was Minerva on this, that she failed to notice Severus Snape stalking along the shores of the lake towards her, until he spoke.

"If one wishes to learn to fly then one would normally flap both arms, don't you think." Severus sneered, with just a hint of contemptuous amusement in his dark hooded eyes.

A remark that rendered Minerva speechless with fury and enabled Severus to sweep off in the opposite direction, in his most superior manner. As Minerva glared after him with fire in her eyes, her wand hand twitched and she was desperately tempted to jinx him, only the knowledge that this was not appropriate behaviour for a professor prevented her.

Suddenly Minerva had a brainwave, if magic wouldn't persuade the ring to fall off, then perhaps something slippery like soap might. Minerva's face brightened hopefully as she strode purposefully towards her chambers. Though she had no classes to teach until later that afternoon, she wanted to be rid of the ring as soon as possible.

Once she reached her rooms Minerva smothered her left hand with damp soap, working the lather in round the edges of the ring. "This should do the trick ..." She muttered.

Just as Minerva was about to leave her rooms she noticed the open window that looked out over the woods, and her eyes gleamed as she remembered how the bushes grew in a tangled impenetrable mass directly under that particular window. For a few seconds Minerva stood motionless, her mind busily calculating trajectories and the best possible chance of the ring landing deep in the middle of the thorn covered undergrowth. Then she stepped forward a couple of feet, and shook her left arm vigourously several times.

Suddenly to Minerva's utter delight and joy, the ring flew off her finger and sailed towards the open window. For the first time that day Minerva smiled, as she watched the ring's flight across her room - she was so focused on this that she failed to hear the soft knock at her door. Just as the ring was about to shoot out of the open window and be lost forever, Albus Dumbledore stepped lightly into the room.

Albus instantly noticed what was happening, and leaping across the room, flung up his hand and caught the ring within an inch of the open window. "Wasn't that lucky ?" Albus said triumphantly, as he beamed at Minerva radiantly and held the ring aloft as though it were some valuable trophy. "If I hadn't caught it then it might have flown right out of the window."

Minerva stared at Albus in disbelief, her mouth moving soundlessly as her hands clenched into knots of fury. At last she found her voice, "Lucky !" She snarled, "Only if you want me to be driven mad by that bloody ring, and it's constant inane singing !"

"Oh has it been singing to you ?" Albus asked innocently, completely unaware that this was the worst possible thing he could say.

"Has it been singing at me ?!" Yelled Minerva, grabbing the nearest thing she could think of, which just happened to be an old quidditch broomstick. "Has it been singing at me !!" She bellowed, as she advanced on Albus with a murderous glint in her eyes and broomstick raised in a threatening manner.

Albus gulped and took a slightly nervous step backwards, "You wouldn't really hit me with that broomstick would you my love ?" He asked hopefully.

Minerva's only response was a blood chilling growl, as she swung the broomstick round her head as though it were a weapon, or an executioner's axe about to descend on a hapless victim.

Albus paled slightly and took a couple more rapid steps backwards, then promptly tripped over a small stool and landed in a heap on his back. As Albus landed he banged into a small table which swayed slightly, and tipped a half full bag of lemon drops over him. As the bits of candy tumbled into his open mouth, Albus beamed blissfully. "Mmmm lemon drops ... this really must be my lucky day ..." He murmured through a mouthful of candy.

"Oh you're impossible, just impossible !" Snarled Minerva, as she flung the broomstick at him in disgust, and stormed towards the door, emerald eyes blazing with rage.

Instantly Albus lept to his feet, "Minerva, please don't ...please ..." He gasped, as he flew across the room after her. Just as she reached the doorway, he grasped her hand in his and held on tightly, turning her gently to face him. "I have something to show you my love ... something I would have given you if I hadn't been so foolish."

Almost against her will Minerva was drawn back into the room, unable to completely resist the lure of his bright blue pleading eyes that sparkled with love for her. Albus took a small box covered in emerald velvet from his pocket and pressed it into her unwilling hand. "Please open it my darling." He said softly.

As Minerva opened the box, Albus whispered tenderly, "This is the ring I should have given you, I chose it for you weeks ago. Then like a fool I got nervous and ... and ..." Albus sighed helplessly as he gazed at Minerva anxiously.

As Minerva saw the shimmering golden ring set with an emerald green gem, that exactly mirrored the colour of her own eyes, her whole face lit up with joy. "Oh Albus ..." She murmured, "It's so beautiful."

Tenderly Albus slipped the ring onto Minerva's finger, then lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Nothing is as beautiful as you, my darling." He said gently, as his hand caressed her face with a feather like touch, then drew her lips up to meet his.

Later that day the happy couple were lounging contentedly in each other's arms, when Albus asked, "What do you think we ought to do with the singing ring ? There must be someone who'd appreciate it."

Minerva supressed a sigh, then her eyes glinted as she suddenly had an idea. "My nephew is getting married soon, we can give it to them." She said firmly.

"An excellent idea my dear." Albus answered, "I hope his fiance will like the ring." He added.

"Well I never have liked her anyway ..." Minerva replied matter of factly.

Albus couldn't help but chuckle softly at this, as he drew Minerva even closer and kissed her tenderly.

The End.

Author's Notes

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far,and apologies for taking longer than anticipated to update, reality got in the way. I hope I eliminated all typos and spelling mistakes, but I may have missed a few. Please review, since reviews make authors smile happily. :D