Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the associated characters.

So, someone asked for a Dumbledore/McGonagall fanfic, I sat down, without any other preconceived notion or idea, and began to type this.

ENJOY.

~*I'll Be Waiting For You*~

~)0(~

Her worn fingers, tinged with the dust of battle, caressed the well-defined stone. Regret swelled in her heart, warring with the pride, sadness, fury and loss that tossed like a stormy sea inside her elderly breast.

The day was long, the skies dark and still angry despite the great victory of hours previously; anger clenched her heart that someone could so callously leave askew the lid of her beloved's tomb, leaving him exposed to the elements like that.
A sigh left her lips as she realised it was all right, the enchantments placed upon the body had protected it from all else; the tomb and casket, nay... the monument to one who once was the greatest wizard alive, stood proud and firm.

His eyes were closed, but she felt his presence all about her tired, aching, filthy body; and laughed at the thought of him seeing her with hair all askew.
"Oh Albus, I can only imagine what you would say to see me thus," she whispered, trailing fingers over the well-preserved face.

Her head turned to survey the smouldering wreckage of the castle, hearing nothing from it, her shoulders lost the tense rigidity they had carried for hours after the battle ceased. No cries of wounded children rang out any longer, the wailing for those lost had ceased as the remaining slowly sank into safe, exhausted sleep...

It was silent, eerily so.

"I tried so hard to make certain the children were protected, Albus... and yet, over fifty students have perished, not counting those of the Order who came to fight as well. We have yet to find half the missing students, too... what will become of Hogwarts?" tears touched the edges of her eyes very gently, and she made no move to force them back. "At least, Potter lives and Voldemort is gone for good, your plan was true. Though I wish you were here to celebrate this victory with me..."

Minerva felt a gentle touch to her shoulder, and shut her eyes, not wanting to break the moment as it gently stroked her cheek... wiping at an errant tear the Head of Gryffindor would never admit to have shed.

'Trust in who you are, in what you know, and in Potter and his friends, my dear Minerva, and you will be able to re-build all that was lost. Those who have passed on are safe, I assure you... for I met with each one personally as they came and ensured their contentment.'

Her mouth parted to say something but shut again, a hand drifting up to hover over the sensation of a hand touching her cheek; it almost felt like silk brushed against her fingertips for an instant, then it was gone.

'Remember Minerva, when all hope seems lost, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home... and when the time comes, so shall I. Go and be with those that need you, for I am most certainly very proud of you this day, worry not for those I have taken under my protection this day... and remember now, as always, I love you.'

As the voice faded, so did the presence, until nothing remained but a lingering feeling of contentment, and the gentle hum of wind rustling through the Forbidden Forest.

Standing, Professor McGonagall opened her eyes and straightened her robe while looking about the world with new eyes that saw only what would be born from the pain and loss of this day.
With a final, gentle smile at her beloved's face, she gave a flourish of her wand and the lid of the tomb closed ever so gently, sealing Dumbledore within.

If she had chanced to look back just once, on her way across the lake in a tiny magic-driven boat, Minerva McGonagall might have seen the hinted glimpses of Professor Albus Dumbledore, the best Headmaster Hogwarts had ever known and the man she loved with all her heart, standing there...

Watching...

A smile of contentment on his face as friends from long ago greeted him, and one another, on another plane... and children of all ages played about him.

~*THE END*~

I wrote it just then, this is unedited, tell me if it's overly-cheesy, but that's all I could think of.

Some feedback might be nice...

~*SailorSilvanesti/Phoenix Fire*~