Till A' the Seas Gang Dry | Epithalamium #2 | Minerva McGonagall

3. Venice: Tintoretto & Tiziano

"I'd say lead on, man."

They walked back to their hotel and got a recommendation from the desk clerk, whose girth, Albus later declared, was a hint that she knew where the neighbourhood's best food was to be had.

The restaurant was homey and small, but they were early, and the waiter gave them a prime seat near the blazing fireplace. Minerva was hungry, so they had a hearty risotto of Borlotti beans to start, and a bottle of Amarone. That was followed by a rabbit stew in rich broth for Minerva and a fritti mista for Albus. They polished off the red wine with dinner, so he ordered two glasses of sweet Torcolato to go with their pudding, warm chocolate cake drizzled with hazelnut cream.

As they stepped out onto the cobblestones of the tiny street, Minerva put a hand to her head.

"I think I've had too much wine," she said.

"Minerva McGonagall? Pissed? Impossible," said Albus, and she batted him on the elbow he offered to steady her.

"There was a lot of wine in that risotto. And I think there was some in the broth with my rabbit. Then you ordered wine with the pudding."

"All part of my dastardly plan to get you tight and have my wicked way with you."

"You brute," she said, smiling, and he pulled her into his arms.

She was just tipsy enough to feel no shame as they kissed in the middle of the street with evening strollers looking at them as they passed. His lips were warm and sweet, and she felt positively wanton as she pressed her tongue into his mouth.

A group of youths came by, hooting and whistling. When one young man called out, "Bravo, Nonno!" Albus broke the kiss, but she held him close, their breath making warm puffs of mist that mingled in the frigid air.

"Keep that up, and you'll have to carry me back to the hotel," she said.

He grinned at her like a schoolboy and grasped her hand.

Their second-floor room was small, but it had its own bath and a window that opened onto a tiny courtyard rather than the noisy street.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Albus cast a Warming Charm. Minerva took off her coat and gloves, tossing them on the straight-backed chair that sat in the corner of the room, and began tugging at the buttons to her dress, her fingers maddeningly unobliging, thanks to the chilly walk. Frustrated, she grabbed her wand from its hidden pocket, intending to Banish her clothes, but he grasped her wrist.

"Slow down, my love," he said, and brought her fingers to his lips. "We have all night and nowhere we have to be in the morning." His other hand ghosted over her breasts as he reached for her buttons. "I want to undress you myself."

A shiver went through her as she remembered him saying something similar the first time they'd made love, when the newly discovered desire that had stirred in her for months finally clicked into place, like a key in a lock.

She sent her wand to rest on the small bedside table.

He removed his heavy overcoat and laid it on the chair along with his Homburg. His hands were steadier than hers as he began to undo the buttons that went from the neck of her wool dress to the hem at her calves. She undid the maroon-and-gold tie at his throat and pulled it out from under his collar-stiffeners, then stuffed it in his jacket pocket. After pushing the jacket from his shoulders, she tugged his shirt out from his trousers and got to work unbuttoning it.

When Albus's hands reached her waist, the front of her dress fell open, and he bent to kiss the skin he'd bared, his tongue lapping at her clavicles and darting into the soft divot that lay between them. He kissed her neck, his lips sucking gently at the place where her carotid artery pulsed with life.