Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. All proceeds go to the amazingness of JK Rowling.
"Why did you take me here, Albus?"
"Oh, I thought it would be a nice place to picnic," Albus replied casually, surveying the tall oak trees and soft green grass around them. He set down the basket and spread out the blanket. He nodded for Minerva to take her seat; she sat down gracefully, tucking her skirts around her legs. He sat across from her and took her cool hands in his. Rubbing her pale skin to warm their hands, he felt, rather than noticed, that she had tensed briefly. He gently placed her hands back in her lap.
Minerva looked around at her surroundings and couldn't help but take in a little breath at the serene beauty of the landscape. The air was tinged with the heady scent of primroses and honeysuckle. She breathed in deeply and smiled, for the first time, at Albus. Plucking a daisy from the ground, she buried her delicate nose into the petals, sniffing cautiously. Albus stretched his long legs out; the toes of his shoes barely brushed hers.
"Do you remember where this is now?" Albus asked, trailing a long finger over the hem of her light, summer skirt. Minerva looked more carefully around her, and suddenly it dawned on her.
"The place where you proposed…" She whispered, switching her intense emerald eyes to his piercing, sapphire blue ones.
"Exactly, my love. Twenty years ago, we came here and you agreed to marry me. Having no rose to present to you, I plucked a daisy (your favorite flower still, I can see) and kneeled before you. I remember your smile…brighter than any sunrise that I've ever seen."
Albus leaned forward slightly and, ever so gently, traced a path over Minerva's rosebud lips. She closed her eyes at his touch, remembering that day…she had been so young then.
"I asked you to marry me on one condition: that you wouldn't overwork yourself. Seeing you today, buried under all those formidable essays, I thought it would be fitting for me to remind you of what you promised me twenty years ago by taking you, my darling, to our special place."
Minerva swallowed, tears building behind her throat. At that moment, she loved Albus with every fiber in her being. Her eyelashes lifted like the wings of a butterfly. Albus looked at her with such simplicity, such tender devotion. Her heart swelled as the doves behind them began to coo softly.
"Now, I do have a surprise for you. Wait for me here. I won't be gone long." Albus patted her cheek affectionately and rose majestically. Instead of turning around and striding into the forest clearing, he backed away while facing her. His smile burned into her field of vision. She watched him as he gradually disappeared.
Minerva slowly stretched herself out on the blanket and stared up into the bright blue sky. While thinking of Albus and his last whispered promise, she succumbed to her exhaustion and closed her eyes. The last thing she felt was the caress of the wind upon her face, as gentle and light as the touch of her Albus.
A few hours later, Minerva awoke with a start. Blearily opening her eyes, she turned her head to see the cream-colored sunset disappear over the tops of the trees. Then, she realized that she was alone. Quickly sitting up, she felt a sudden wrench in her heart: where was Albus?
She was so preoccupied that she did not notice that a special someone had covered her tenderly with another light blanket. The blanket had fallen to her waist as Minerva surveyed her surroundings with a wide eye. She was so preoccupied that she did not notice that a special someone had lovingly laced honeysuckle and daisy garlands into her raven black hair. The crown had slipped through her tresses when she lifted her head. And lastly, she did not notice that a special someone had handpicked a bouquet of daisies, primroses, and lavender and set it by her side. Blinking back tears of vulnerability, Minerva tremulously reached for the note that was tucked carefully into the wildflowers. Upon reading the first word in familiar neat script, her heart relaxed and a smile returned to her lips.
My darling sweet Minerva,
You need not have fear; I am here. I have watched the sun set for only the briefest moment; it was much lovelier to watch you sleep. I came back soon after I left you, but your exhaustion took you from me. Do not distress yourself, I only want you to be rested and well. We have our entire lives to be together, isn't that so?
Turn your face, look behind you. I am smiling at you now.
Minerva raised her head and turned slowly. Albus got up from leaning against an oak tree, his smile gentle and heartwarming. She likewise rose from her seat and walked slowly to Albus. They met in the middle, their arms wound around each other. Albus' surprise for Minerva was leaning against the tree trunk.
"Albus…my darling husband. You've made my day so very special. I love you."
"I love you, Minerva. Would you care to see what I made for you?"
Minerva nodded eagerly, looking toward the sketchbook propped against the tree. She crossed to where it was and flipped to the last page. What she saw nearly made her heart break for joy.
Albus had drawn the sleeping form of her. While she usually did not think of herself as portrait-lovely, his picture had a certain magic to it; it was as though she breathed and the wind whispered through the sketched trees. Albus had colored the sketch with…what were those little wax sticks that Muggle children used?
"Crayons, my love." Albus replied in her thoughts, reading her mind. He grinned at her boyishly now, and she noticed a slight red smudge on the tip of his crooked nose. She smiled and rubbed the mark off, kissing him gently on the nose. Sometimes he could be so charmingly childish, and she loved him so much for it.
Holding her portrait close to her heart, she swept her eyelashes up and gazed at him speechless. But it did not matter: her glowing radiance and tender smile were all the thanks that he needed.