"How in Merlin's name is it possible for you to be in love with me?"
With a small smile, Minerva McGonagall caught Hermione Grangers' hand and kissed it slowly, not breaking their eye contact.
They were sitting by the fire at Minerva's Scottish cottage. Having finished their first dinner together, they had retreated to the living room and the fireplace. Now they were huddled up close beside each other in the big comfortable sofa.
"My dear, sweet Hermione" Minerva whispered against Hermione's fingers. "Even I am at a loss for words when faced with understanding the mystery that is the human heart".
The feeling of Hermione's fingers squeezing her own, urged Minerva to continue.
"But I do know one thing; I love you, with my entire heart and my entire soul and I cannot imagine that will ever change".
Feeling tears burning behind her eyes, Hermione blinked.
"I really hated being in love with you" she whispered.
Minerva slowly caressed her cheek.
"I know" she whispered, leaning forward to gently brush her lips against Hermione's for the first time. She was rewarded by the feeling of lips parting to let her taste more of this beautiful young woman.
The kiss deepened, and for a moment, the world stopped spinning and everything seemed to stand still.
"What on earth have I done to deserve you?" Hermione asked as Minerva drew her head back.
Chuckling a little, Minerva gave Hermione another kiss before answering her.
"You are Hermione Jean Granger" she smiled as Hermione drew her fingers through Minerva's long, curly hair. "And that's enough. To me, you are perfect and I love you for the wonderful person you are".
Hermione was about to tell Minerva how wonderful she was, but was cut off by another sweet kiss.
They decided to sleep in separate bedrooms, but that didn't stop Minerva from insisting she wanted to tuck in her young love.
Standing in the doorway, blowing Hermione a good night kiss, made Minerva truly feel like she was in heaven.
--
It was the church bells she noticed first. Looking around, Minerva found herself standing in a light dress at an altar in a sunny church. Standing next to her, was the beautiful Hermione, wearing a chalk-white wedding dress and the biggest smile Minerva had ever seen. Suddenly it dawned on her.
It was their wedding!
And happiness beyond words overwhelmed her.
All of a sudden, she saw Albus Dumbledore stand before them, and heard Hermione saying the magic words.
"I do."
Minerva smiled happily. Now Albus would turn to her and it would be her turn to say those wonderful words.
But instead of turning to her, Albus turned away from her and addressed a man standing on the opposite side of Hermione.
And the truth came crashing like a bucket of ice-cold water. Minerva wasn't the one Hermione was marrying, staring around, Minerva realized she was only a bridesmaid. And suddenly she had flowers in her hands, withered roses Minerva, without a doubt, knew came from her very own garden.
In a haze, she watched as the flowers left her hands and slowly collapsed on the floor. Gazing up, Minerva found herself staring into Hermione's beautiful eyes. The younger woman looked very confused.
"I gave you my heart!" Minerva cried.
Hermione's face seemed to harden.
"Yes and it was wonderful, for a while."
Feeling the cold come creeping again, Minerva tried to reason with her love.
"Don't you love me anymore?"
Unexpectedly Hermione drew her head back and made an amused laugh.
"You really are a bigger fool than I expected!" she snorted. "I never loved you like that; it was only a stupid teenage crush, and you fell for it you stupid old hag!"
Still laughing, Hermione turned and walked away from Minerva. When she tried to run after her love, Minerva found she couldn't move. Her entire body felt heavy. Heavy and so incredible cold…
With a loud gasp, Minerva sat up in her bed. Putting a hand on her panting chest, she tried to catch her breath. Her body still felt heavy and cold and the church bells still rang in her ears. A soft "meow" turned her attention away from the shadows, and she spotted a ginger tabby cat sitting just inside the door.
"Oh Crookshanks" she breathed.
Rising from the bed, Minerva clutched her night-robe and walked over to the window. The moon shone on her face as silent tears dropped down her cheeks.
What if this really only was a teenage crush Hermione felt? What if her love for Minerva would disappear as she grew older? What if Hermione only saw this as a summer fling?
Feeling Crookshanks rub against her bare legs, Minerva looked down at the cat. And to her surprise, she found him sitting there, gazing up at her and shaking his head over and over again.
With a sigh she slowly bent down a lifted the feline in her arms. Immediately, he started purring and Minerva buried her tearstained face in his fur.
Did he know about her dream? Did he know what she feared? Minerva knew he was part Kneazel, thus allowing him to detect suspicious and distrustful people. Did this also mean he could detect when someone was really sad or frightened?
Suddenly, the ginger cat shifted in her arms and jumped down to the floor. As Minerva watched, he walked to the door, stopped and let out a low "meow", as if asking her to follow him.
And Minerva did. When she entered the corridor just outside her bedroom door, she found Crookshanks sitting in the tiny gap of the almost closed door leading to Hermione's bedroom. As Minerva tiptoed towards the door, Crookshanks disappeared through it. She peered in just as the feline jumped up on the bed and settled down by his owner.
The sight of Hermione sleeping blissfully in the comfortable bed made Minerva's heart take an extra jump. Shuddering a little, she decided to head back to bed and at least try to get some more sleep.
For now, everything was fine.
--
The next time Minerva woke, it was to the smell of something delicious. She couldn't really identify the sweet aroma, but decided it was only one way to find out what it was.
Upon entering the kitchen, she almost felt like crying again – this time of joy.
Standing in the sunny kitchen, wearing jeans and a light top was Hermione, scooping up pancakes on a plate. Her hair was drawn back in a loose bun at the back of her head. But what really made Minerva's heart ache; was the absolutely gorgeous smile Hermione was flashing at her.
Putting down the plates, Hermione went to greet her beloved.
"Good morning" she purred as she hugged Minerva.
Finally, Minerva found her speech.
"Good morning to you, my love" she smiled back.
"I hope you don't mind me taking over your kitchen like this" Hermione said, drawing away.
Minerva dragged the young woman back in her arms and gently put her hand on Hermione's cheek.
"Not at all, my love, not at all" she whispered as she closed her eyes and kissed Hermione. Feeling those perfect lips against hers, made Minerva immensely happy.