One:

Minerva marched into the headmasters office as the door opened for her entry. Her face was still, her green eyes full of determination and her mouth set in a simple straight line. She spoke before the headmaster could greet her. "I need to be frank, Albus, which will come as no surprise to you. I strive to be as sensible and level headed as possible, I always have done. Some might see it as cold and inhuman but I have never fretted much over peoples opinions, not since I was a pupil. My heart is an organ, it pumps blood to keep me alive. I have never seen it as anything more and hold little sentimentalities. I seek neither love nor romance and have lived quite happily in the position that I have moulded for myself. I am neither lonely or reclusive but it seems that even I have succumbed to feelings which have never bothered me before. It is better to have them out in the open, rather than dithering and fluttering about like love sick children. I hope that from this discussion, the situation will be remedied, one way or another, and I regard myself as sensible enough to accept whatever the outcome may be." She paused but for a moment, scolding herself for her own stupidity. " It seems, headmaster, that, despite my endeavours to prevent this from happening, that I may love you."

Albus, who had sat lounged in his chair behind his large desk as Minerva spoke, sat forward immediately, his eyebrows raised. "Well, that it certainly the last thing I thought you were going to say."

Minerva shrugged nonchalantly, as if she had simply declared something trivial. Her face had not changed, not a blush, nor a soften of her eyes as she sat on the seat opposite him, with her usual straight back. " lets not dwell on the shock of it, I simply came for your view."

Albus nodded slowly, revealing not a sign of the pounding of his heart. "I am somewhat older than you, Minerva."

It was her turn to raise her eyebrows. "what a funny thing to say. Age is but a number, is it not?"

"I am simply stating the facts as you wished. I am older than you, quite a bit, and you are young, talented and... Lovely."

Minerva rolled her eyes. " I forget that of the two of us, you are the sentimental one. Sentimentalities often elude me. What you think of me makes no difference. Age, talent, appearance aside, I simply want to know whether you feel the same or whether we should agree that I am being stupid and I will simply have to deal with these feelings."

Albus laughed. " This is the strangest declaration of love I have ever encountered."

"Be that as it may, you seem to be avoiding the question. What shall we do about it?"

He smiled. "I found your frankness one of your most endearing qualities, my dear. It means that I never have to wonder what you are thinking about. You have a face of steel, Minerva, perhaps a smile? Love doesn't come around very often."

Minerva rolled her eyes once again. " A smile is not the be all and end all. My face is my face. But my words are given earnestly, I do love you, though it pains me to admit to myself that I have placed myself in such a vunerable position. It seems that I am merely human, though I try to be anything but."

"In regards to your question, my dear, I'm afraid that my feelings towards you have no meaning in the conclusion that we should come to. I could never tie you down, whether I loved you or not-"

"Albus, I have been frank with you and so I expect you have the curtesy to be frank with me. If you feel the same way, then know I do not require flowers and sonnets. Yourself will be more than enough, not extreme effort will be needed from your person."

"Then know, my dear, that should I confess my love for you then our relationship will not be what you want. I find that one is in love, one wishes to give tokens that show the fact and to put effort into it, to... Make their loved one feel that love. I would be a romantic, I'm afraid."

"You may be want you want, as I shall be what I want. I may not be romantic, I may not say things as elequantly as you may, but my feelings are always true, as I say they are. I feel that, being adults, love would be easier if we were honest. I would, if you reciprocate this what I feel for you, show you as best as I can that I feel as I do. I may come across as cold and unfeeling, but know that I love you, in fact, words fail me as I try to inform of how much I do and what I feel." she sighed. " Now, you must tell me what you think. I may not revealing it how I should, but I could not hold it in any longer, you must know. I... adore you, Albus."

"Your sure?"

"Never question my sincerity, Albus. If I have spoken it, then I am sure of it," she said quietly and for a moment, Albus thought he was a flicker of worry in her eyes but it was gone as quick as it came.

He smiled. "Never in my life did I think that I would hear you say those words. I thought that your heart was sealed too tightly, forever more, and that you would never allow anybody to touch it, yourself included. Are you becoming soft, my dear, at long last?"

Minerva smiled for the first time, although it resembled a smirk. "Not soft, Albus but... defeated. I have been forced to surrender. Perhaps, rather than enjoying my obvious pain, you would give some words that will be of some use to me?"

"For words, if passed through one's lips, should always be of use, shouldn't they? It is a good thing that I am not as literal as you, my dear, otherwise this would never work. You see, Minerva, in these last few moments, with your honest and blunt words, you have made every dream I have ever had come true."

"Every dream, Albus?" She questioned.

"Yes, every dream," he replied earnestly. "My heart is yours, Minerva, and it has been for a long, long time. I love your clear thoughts, your blunt tongue, your wit, your practicality. I love you for the woman you are and I expect nothing more then what you always have been. You are a remarkable woman, so different, so unique. I yearn to know you, to know everything about you, for although you regard yourself as clear cut and easily defined, you have the ability to stun me. Today is an example of that."

Minerva sighed and relaxed her shoulders. "Finally. Your answer. So it seems that I do not suffer with unrequited love."

"Certainly not. A painful and miserable business that is."

Minerva grinned. "You will find no comfort from me, Albus. If you felt as you do, then you should have told me, rather then suffer."

"And if you did not return my love?"

"It is better to know the facts and deal with them properly, then guess and question something that you could never know the answer to. You should have done what I have done, have a real conversation."

"We cannot all be as brave you," he remarked.

"That may be but it seems that you don't have to suffer any longer. We both feel the same about each other, so I think that we move onto the next step."

"Which is?"

Minerva sighed deeply, sagging into her seat. "That, I do not know. I have never done this before, I have never wanted this before but something within me is telling me that I could not live without it. It is an alien feeling, but, I must confess, I think that if you had sent me out of here telling me what I fool I was then I think... well, Albus... I think I may have cried!" She blushed deeply.

Albus laughed. "You can tell me that you love me, that you adore me, within even as much as a pink tinge to your cheeks but when you confess that you might have cried, you turn bright red!"

"Crying is... difficult for me. It shames me, that I could not control myself."

"Do you always feel the need to control yourself?"

She nodded. "Yes. But, sometimes, rarely I cannot, as you may have guessed. I'm worried that if I do not keep my guard out, the words will pour from my mouth."

"Let them pour."

"To what means? Words are empty. I do not need to talk of hearts and feelings and roses to prove my love for you. I have told you and you should trust it. I believe that I can show you my love, but it will be... unconventional. I'm afraid I do not know how to do it properly but I know that I do not think that words are what makes ones love real. Words are said and disappear as quickly as they leave the mouth. The security of my knowledge and my depth of feeling for you, are enough for me to know that I love you. I do not need keep reminding myself. I just know."

"I am intrigued, I must as admit. I have often wondered what lies beneath your skin, Minerva, and I can see that it is just as mesmerising and mysterious as what you reveal is. I believe part of what you say, when one feels secure one doesn't need to repeat oneself. Then, allow me to tell you, with some risk of repeating myself in the future, that I love you, Minerva, my dear, hopelessly and endlessly. You have been my world for quite sometime, you invade my every thought, my every dream. My heart is filled with you- your laugh, your smile, your sweet voice- and sometimes when I think of you, I am so overcome with feeling I feel as if I may drown. I will be impertinent in saying that, my words, from what I gather, of course, describe near enough, what you wish to say but you do not know how?"

"Perfectly," she whispered. "How did you know? Sometimes when I think of you... what was it you said? You feel as if you may drown? That is exactly what I feel put into words. I wish I could say it as you do, but my mind prevents me from being able to form it properly, as wonderfully. I don't think I can be what you want me to be, you speak as if you were in a book and I am nothing but a cold, sensible woman. If it not something I can see to describe, then I cannot find the words. Will that be enough for you?"

"Let me be the words, my dear. Too many words and we will be swamped," he said quietly. He rose from his chair and softly padded to her. He knelt down in front of her and cupped her angular face with his hands. His bright blue eyes searched hers, what for, she didn't know, but what she saw in his, mirrored exactly what she wanted him to see. They looked at her, full of adoration, tenderness and a little relief. She closed her eyes, she didn't want to ruin this moment with the coldness of her sharp green eyes, and bent her head. He moved his hand to her chin and with a soft tug from his thumb, lifted her head back up. "Open your eyes," he whispered. "You should never feel the need to look away from me. If this isn't want to you want-"

"It isn't that," she said softly. Suddenly, she was frustrated with herself. She knew that she should be annoyed that she was struggling to convey the love that she felt but instead she was annoyed that she had allowed herself to be so overcome by his soft words, by his touch. She placed her hand gently around his wrist and lowered his arm. "I do want this. I know I do."

He smiled so brightly, she couldn't help but smile back.

"I wish you would smile like that more often, Minerva. You look so beautiful, your dear face lights up."

Minerva rolled her eyes and shook her head but a smile played at the corners of her lips.