"Enter," Dumbledoor's voice came through the closed door in front of me. I lowered my raised fist and turned the knob. Butterflies sprung into my stomach, like they did every time I saw him or heard his voice. A feeling of love spread through me. I couldn't believe how lucky I was, that Albus Dumbledoor was my partner. We weren't married… yet. It was only early in our relationship. After the attack at the Ministry of Magic, when I was wounded in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, he came to visit me. Grief stricken, he confessed how scared he'd been when he found out I was wounded his love for me.

"Minerva, I have to ask you something," he'd said taking my hand in his.

"What?" I gasped, barely able to get the words out because of my injury.

"Will you be my lover?"

The words had hung in the air for five seconds as the suddenness of the question had shocked me. When I was finally able to regain myself, I was able to croak out a very soft, whispered yes.

Relief had flooded his eyes and he lifted my hand and kissed it lightly before leaving me to rest.

I touched the back of my hand as I recalled the memory. I could still feel his lips on my skin.

I opened the door and he was there. Sitting behind his desk, looking as beautiful as ever. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of him.

"You wanted to see me, Professor Dumbledoor?" I asked closing the door behind me.

He smiled, his blue eyes shining, and gestured for me to come closer.

"Why the formalities, Minerva?" he asked, a chuckle to his voice, as I moved to stand directly in front of his desk.

"I –uh –um…," I stammered, not knowing what to say.

He smiled and rose from his chair. I held my hands behind my back, the nervous feeling of butterflies floating around in my stomach, as if trying to burst free. I was so nervous.

He walked around his desk so he was standing in front of me. He reached behind my back and took my hands in his, bringing them around so they hung, joined, in the air between us.

"You're scared Minerva," he stated. "Why?"

"I don't know what you called me here for, Professor," I replied, trying to sound as confidant as possible, and not nervous like I was. What is wrong with me, I thought. I never got nervous around him before our relationship status had changed.

"It's not serious, my dear," he said stroking my cheek. "I just wanted to see you. Am I not allowed to see my girlfriend? We haven't had any time together since you got back and I wanted to take advantage of this rare moment."

I looked down, feeling the blood rushing to my cheeks at the word girlfriend.

He moved closer to me. We were almost touching. Only our hands separated us.

"Relax," he whispered in my ear and I felt a bit calmer.

I looked into his piercing blue eyes as his hand tilted my head upwards. I couldn't look away. His eyes poured into mine, like he could see everything about me from that one gaze. Like my soul was bare for him to read like a book.

The little distance between us began to close slowly. I felt my eyes close as my lips got closer to his. My pulse quickened. I was about to have my first kiss with the man that I'd admired and loved for years and years.

Suddenly a great gust of wind tore us apart, flinging him into the wall on one side of the room and me to the other.

Now sprawled on the floor, I sat up, dazed, and looked around for the force that had expelled me from him.

"Ahahahaha," a female voice cackled from somewhere in the room and the lust I'd just been feeling was immediately replaced with fear and anger as I recognised the voice. No one could mistake that cackle. Bellatrix.

"Come now Bella," a male voice filled the room. "That was a bit rude."

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as a chill ran through my body. Voldemort was here.

He materialised in front of us with Bellatrix appearing almost immediately by his side.

Albus moved from the other side of the room to protect me in almost an instant. He shielded my body with his own.

"What do you want?" he growled at Voldemort. His wand was clenched in his left hand, ready to defend himself if Voldemort attacked. I copied his actions, drawing my own wand out in case of an attack.

Voldemort didn't respond. He started moving around the room in a mysterious way. Albus moved with him, so he was always facing him and directly in front of me. I slipped my left hand into his right, just to feel the comfort of him being here.

Voldemort lifted a finger and pointed at Albus. "Her," he said and with that one word I realised that the reason for his being here was me. I'd thought that Harry Potter was his reason, or Albus himself. I wasn't scared for me, I was scared for them. But in the instant of realisation, my fear became very real for me.

I felt Albus tense at the single word. "Why?" he asked, the word was barely a whisper. I could hear the tension in his voice.

Bellatrix, standing behind her master, looked up at him in surprise like she didn't know the reason they were here. A frown of puzzlement crept onto her face.

Voldemort ignored Albus again and instead, with a sudden woosh of wind, came at me and snatched me from Albus. My hand ripped from his in an instant. I gasped and let out a cry. Suddenly I found myself locked in Voldemort's embrace unable to move.

"She loves me," Voldemort stated. "She always has and always will. She belongs to me. So I shall take her."

Albus froze in shock for a moment. When he'd composed himself, he spoke. "No she doesn't. She could never love you." He raised his wand so it was pointing at Voldemort. One shot and I could be free. In saying that, Albus could also hit me and I knew he wouldn't risk it.

"How do you know?" Voldemort shouted. Bellatrix flinched at the raised voice. "Minerva is meant for me! She's mine. She loves me, she told me so! When I first met her, that's what she said. She wants to be with me."

Silence filled the room. No one knew what to say. I opened my mouth to speak when Voldemort continued.

"And I love her."

Bellatrix gasped and I saw pain fill her eyes. Her feelings for her master became obvious to me.

"Well I love her too," Albus said, appearing unfazed by Voldemort's confession. "And I know that she isn't a possession. Minerva should be free to choose who she loves and wants to be with. Let her choose Tom."

"Don't call me by my filthy father's name!" Voldemort shouted, his grip on me tightening.

"Tom, please. Let me go," I pleaded with him. He looked at me, his eyes meeting mine and I could see the pain and love in them.

"You'll go straight to him," he whispered. I could hear the pain and longing in his voice.

"I promise I won't," I said softly. To everyone, I said, "I will give both of you a chance to win me over. Say whatever you want to convince me. It is true that I once said that I loved Tom. Let me go and you can prove yourself to me."

Voldemort didn't respond. He obviously didn't trust me.

"Bellatrix will restrain me so I can't run away."

With that, he released me to that I could be taken by Bellatrix.

"Minerva," Voldemort began. "I have always loved you, ever since I saw you. The day you started here was the best day of my life. Whenever I saw you smile my day instantly got better. I remember every laugh we shared and every time I saw you smile. In my quest for power, I didn't think I was capable of love until I remembered you.

I want to be with you. I remember the day you said you loved me when we were kids. I will be good to you, like I've never been to any one before. I can give you everything your heart desires and I will always put you first."

He finished speaking, his words touched me. I knew they were true. I glanced sideways at Bellatrix and saw her sad eyes.

Albus faced me. "Minerva," he began the same way. "When you entered the Hogwarts gates and I saw you I knew we were made for each other. I wanted to be with you right then and there but you were too young. As you grew up, my desire to tell you increased but I held back because I knew that in doing so I would rob you of the chance of having a normal life of your own. I knew that was too cruel of me to do so I kept my feelings hidden.

I knew that I would never love another the way I love you but I was prepared to spend my life alone if it meant that you would be happy with someone you chose. Whoever you choose today, I won't hate you. I will be happy for you."

He finished speaking. I felt a love spread through my chest at his words. I felt the same way about him. With Voldemort, his words were nice but I couldn't trust him. I didn't feel that way about him. I had made my decision.

I opened my mouth to speak when Bellatrix let out a shriek beside me.

"Master, don't go after her. She doesn't deserve you! It's obvious who she loves! I'm sure there's someone else out there who is better for you than her and actually loves you!"

Voldemort didn't even tare his gaze from me at Bellatrix's outburst. I was like it didn't happen in his world.

"I choose," I began. I was about to say 'Albus' when one of Voldemort's death eaters burst through the window, spraying glass fragments everywhere.

"Master, the Ministry has found us. They're coming we must leave," said Lucius Malfoy.

Voldemort cursed under his breath and flew after Lucius with Bellatrix in pursuit. "This isn't over. Minerva will be mine if it's the last thing I do. You have been warned," his voice echoed around the room.

Silence followed as Albus met my eyes, unable to believe what had just happened.

"You," I finished. "I choose you."

His face erupted into a smile so big, it extended to his eyes. He came over to me and took my hands.

"I choose you too," he said.

We stood like that for a while just gazing into each other's eyes, all my nervousness had vanished.

I grew aware of the slowly closing distance between us.

"What are we going to do about Voldemort?" I asked.

"I don't know. I expect he'll be back but I don't want to worry about that right now," he replied in a low voice.

"Me either," I said.

"You look beautiful with glass in your hair," he whispered seductively. I smiled.

"I love you," I whispered back. "Always have and always will."

He broke his hands from mine and placed them on my lower back and pulled me closer. I wound my hands around his neck and his mouth lowered towards mine. My heart beat faster inside my chest.

"Forever," he whispered as our lips almost touched.

"And always," I finished.

I closed my eyes slowly as our lips met.