Chaser 2 of Magpies;
Prompt: You'll be writing about two characters in a colleagues relationship + Albus Dumbledore Minerva McGonagall
Optional Prompts: (food) strawberry; (dialogue) "I've forgotten what it's like to feel young."; (word) fix
Disclaimer: Own HP not
Word count: 946 as stated by Google docs.
A/N: No one really wants to be a writer once they tried writing.
A man with a long white beard and eye-catching lime green robes sat across a woman with a tight bun and what seemed like an ever-present frown—at least if he were around. The woman was bent over papers, filling out student forms and writing letters for the aforementioned students, the same papers he was supposed to be filling out as well.
"Minerva, my dear, would it be possible to take a small break? I'm afraid my old eyes need rest after filling out these forms for hours."
"No," she said without looking up from her work. "You've already taken five breaks so far. In fact, you've spent more time taking breaks than filling out the paperwork which is why you still have a stack of it in front of you."
"But Minnie, I've forgotten what it's like to feel young!" he exclaimed.
Minerva finally lifted her head and looked at him.
"You've stopped being young half a century ago."
Dumbledore clutched at his heart as if in pain. "You wound me, Minerva."
"Good."
And with that, she went back to filling out the papers in front of her.
It was summer holidays, but that did not mean she was able to go on a vacation. Being who she was, and having Dumbledore as the Headmaster of Hogwarts, meant that vacation was a myth for her.
Dumbledore mumbled something under his breath and got to work.
They spent another hour or so on it before Dumbledore once again asked for a break and Minerva let him take one. "A not complaining Albus means getting more work done," slowly became her mantra.
"Letting him take that break was a mistake," Minerva thought while looking at the, now burning, stack of papers and what looked like a staring competition between Albus and Fawkes who seemed to be winning it if Albus' face is anything to go from.
She wondered when had she stopped being surprised when events like this one happened.
She took a deep breath to calm herself, put out the fire with a quick Aguamenti spell, and tried to salvage what was left of the papers.
Albus was muttering under his breath while the phoenix gazed at him, radiating satisfaction.
Ignoring the duo, she went back to work and hoped to avoid that kind of behavior when she reached his age. That, and never getting a phoenix companion.
Dumbledore let out a yawn and Minerva looked at the clock. It was nearing one am. Another day, another pile of paperwork to keep her up at night.
As much as she loathed to admit it, Albus was right; they really were too old for this.
"I don't think it would be wise for us to continue tonight," she said to the still yawning Albus. "We're both running on borrowed energy and will run out of it soon enough."
Dumbledore gave her a smile accompanied by those mischievous twinkling eyes. "I know how to fix that!" he exclaimed.
Minerva could already feel a headache forming. "Oh? Do tell, Albus."
He only said one word.
"Strawberries!"
"Strawberries?" she said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, strawberries. The little red ones from the kitchens. I was thinking of going there, taking the strawberries and some whipped cream, and going back up and enjoying them," he said and wiggled his eyebrows.
Minerva stared at him for a second or two before starting to shake with laughter.
"Oh, Albus, you old flirt, we both know that ship has sailed. If we were forty years younger and not married I might've taken you up on the offer. But we're both old and wrinkly now and you never did get over Gellert," she ended with a sad little smile that was mirrored by Dumbledore's own.
"He is a hard man to get over."
He sat there, lost in thought, before giving his head a small shake and smiling again.
"While that is true; it is not a good enough reason not to have strawberries. Sometimes you need some sweet things in your life to make it, or you, less bitter," he teased, making her frown.
"I am not bitter. And I don't think you need any more sweets in your life; you all but live on those Lemon drops!"
He waved a hand as if swatting the thought away.
"Pure exaggeration."
"Oh really? So if I were to go to your office right now, will I or will I not find at least three bags of the sweets?"
Her raised eyebrow was met by silence before Dumbledore started talking again.
"I actually have the third one with me right now."
Minerva took a deep breath and looked back at the still smiling man sitting across from her.
"That only serves to prove my point."
"There's nothing wrong with liking sweets," he argued.
"No there isn't. But there is plenty wrong in eating them as much as you do." Minerva took another look at the clock and remembered what started the whole conversation. It was time to wrap it up. "That's the end of that conversation, I think. It is too late to be arguing. Let's just go down to the kitchens and eat those strawberries you like so much so I can finally go to sleep. We've barely made a dent in the paperwork and don't think you're getting out if this time."
Dumbledore put his arms up in a placating move. "I promise I will try to be there on time."
Minerva just looked at him before shaking her head. Trying is still a better response than she usually gets.
They packed up and left for the kitchens. Strawberries didn't sound half bad at this point.