A/N: Minerva finally says 'Yes' to Elphinstone. This fic was hard because I didn't even know about Elphinstone or Dougal before getting this prompt. I hope I did Minerva's character justice though. RxR. FxF.

Submission for:

The Movie Quotes Competition: "You should be kissed, every day, every hour, every minute."- The Lucky One. Prompt-Minerva, Dumbledore, Elphinstone, hogwarts, Transfiguration, whomping willow

Hogwarts Fair 2014 Challenge/Competition: Niffler Lucky Dig

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

The wind blew through softly through the winding limbs of the Whomping Willow. Although others may not have liked it, Minerva always admired it - a tree that rebelled against being a stationary object like the other plants, a tree that wasn't afraid to fight when under attack.

Minerva gazed down at the Hogwarts grounds from one of the many castle windows near the Transfiguration classroom, having gone to retrieve something off her desk. She saw the impressive tree and its reflection in the calm water of the Black Lake, a sad smile came over her face as she remembered a day a few years ago.

Elphinstone had owled her and requested to see her urgently today. She had asked him to come to the castle since she was unable to leave and he quickly accepted. She wondered what he would need to tell her that couldn't be said in an owl. She hadn't seen the man in probably a year as they had both been caught up in their work - he at the DMLE and she here at Hogwarts. But they kept in contact regularly by owl.

She remembered the last time they had seen each other and Minerva slightly frowned. They had gone out to eat and he had proposed her, as he had countless times before, and she had to turn him down once more. It was not that she did not like him. He was a true gentleman, a kind soul who shared her likes and dislikes, handsome and well-educated. He was perfect but she did not love him. And she knew she could not love him while she still loved Dougal.

Dougal. He was dead now due to a heart-attack a few months ago. He had died in the company of his wife and two children and was buried near his home in Scotland. She had gone to the funeral and cursed herself for not visiting him before. But she was scared. She hadn't given him an explanation to their broken engagement and that had been almost 30 years ago. Now she regretted it. She should have gone back, she should have explained, she should have-

There was a knock on the door to her living quarters announcing Elphinstone's arrival and effectively breaking Minerva out of her inner monologue. She would have to move on from Dougal.

After a brief lunch, Elphinstone asked her to go with him for a stroll and she happily obliged. They walked around the edge of the lake and they talked as they usually did. They picked each others brains as the Whomping Willow expressed its free spirit in the afternoon sun. They discussed each others hopes and dreams as the quiet waves of the lake lapped at its bank. They laughed together like good friends or maybe lost lovers.

There was a comfortable silence between them, a content feeling passing over them both, when Elphinstone said, "I know you may not love me, Minerva, as I do you. I know your heart is held for another. But you're an amazing woman and you deserve someone who can show you that. You should be kissed, every day, every hour, every minute. You should be loved and catered to like the princess you are, but not treated like a delicate flower. Let me be the one who can do that."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet box, a familiar ring nestled within. He got down on one knee and said, "This is my last attempt. There's only so many times someone can put their heart on the line, but Minerva, you are worth it. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, however many years are left of it. Will you marry me?"

Now the urgency of the meeting made sense, though Minerva could not say she was surprised. She and Elphinstone had known each other for years and from the first meeting, he had been sure that he and her would be together. They had a comfortable relationship which didn't need daily communications to stay afloat, for even after not seeing her in a year, he was ready to ask her to marry him once more. But this instance did not give her that gnawing feeling in her chest, that feeling as if she were betraying another. She felt free and she felt hopeful. She felt all those feelings she felt for Elphinstone blossom in her chest, for once unhindered by her love for Dougal. Maybe without Dougal, these feelings would be able to become love and she could give her heart to another. She could love Elphinstone.

"Yes, Elphinstone. Yes," she said with a smile as the words did not race her heart unpleasantly. He smiled back and placed the ring on her finger before giving her the first of many kisses to follow.

"I really should do something about that tree, but it seems to be somewhat sentimental," a soft voice said to her right.

"Oh, Professor Dumbledore!" she said, pulled out of her daydream, and reflexively jumping into a professional tone.

Albus chuckled but then his expression grew serious, "How many years has it been, Minerva?"

She turned back to the window and looked down at the lake, still able to see the loving couple embracing near its edge, "5 years."

Albus came close to her and surprised her with a soft embrace before saying, "And I'm sure he still loves you, just as you love him."