Author's Notes: A therapy piece written as a way of venting upon finding out that one of my teachers had left my school. Dedicated to said teacher.

Disclaimer: -insert comments about how a sixteen year old girl does not own Harry Potter here-.

lines written upon losing someone

Minerva had always assumed he would be around forever.

For the seven years that she had been at Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore had had been this constant fixture in her life. He was her favorite teacher, always around when she or her fellow wizards needed something. He had always been always there, and his presence had been a strong one. When Minerva thought of Hogwarts, she instantly thought of him. He had been the one who had helped her become an animagus. The thought of him leaving Hogwarts had never crossed her mind, because, quite frankly, it had been ridiculous. Ridiculous and absurd.

Today had proved her wrong, though. Today had been the day that had shattered her naïve idea that Dumbledore would always be at Hogwarts. That he would always be there for her. She was his star pupil, and he was her mentor. He couldn't one day just decide to pack up his things and go, she needed him. The whole of Hogwarts needed him!

Professor Dippet's words repeated in her head, as if they were a broken record.

"It is with great sadness that I tell you that Professor Dumbledore will no longer be with us. The Ministry has requested his help with the Grindelwald matter. Professor Dumbledore will be missed, and we wish him the best of luck. Until a permanent replacement is found, I will be teaching his classes."

Those words had brought confusion and betrayal to Minerva's mind. How could he have left so swiftly and abruptly? Why hadn't he said anything?

Dippet had expected the students to accept Dumbledore's leaving just like that, and they had. Not another word had been said on the subject. After the announcement and many surprised murmurs from the students, dinner had proceeded as usual. Minerva was shocked; the greatest teacher Hogwarts had ever seen had just left with the drop of a hat and all everyone else had cared about was pumpkin juice and pasta? It had been incredibly unbelievable to Minerva. What was wrong with everyone? Didn't they care? Professor Dumbledore was gone! Gone, just like that.

How could he have done this? Why had he departed so suddenly? Minerva had not even gotten a chance to say goodbye to him. Why would he deprive her of that? Dumbledore was one of the few people whom she was close enough to confide in. Minerva didn't make friends easily; everyone thought of her as simply the quiet girl who was at the top of all of her classes. But Dumbledore? He was different. Minerva had thought that he had truly cared about her. He hadn't said so in so many words, but his message had still been pretty clear. They had been much more than professor and pupil; they had shared feelings of friendship. Recently, Minerva had began to feel something more for him. Her love for him had only been budding, a distant flicker on the horizon, but it had been there. It had been the first time she had ever felt that way about anybody, and her feelings had definitely been real. Now, however, all of that had been shattered into dozens of tiny fragments, just like Minerva's heart. He had left without saying a word to her, as if she was nothing but a stranger.

His departure had brought fury and hurt and confusion and betrayal, but something else was also in that mix: fear. Even though he was renowned for being the greatest wizard who ever lived, she couldn't help but worry about him. Grindelwald was a horribly powerful wizard who had been the executor of many brutal murders. The thought of anything happening to Dumbledore made Minerva flinch. Merlin forbid, if something did happen to him and she never got the chance to say goodbye - to properly thank him for all that he had done for her and to play one last game of chess and to possibly tell him of her feelings - she didn't know how she would feel, or if she would even be able to feel anything.

She wished that he had not had to go; that he could have stayed. They would play chess. His wisdom would mix with Dippet's idiocy to keep Hogwarts at a nice, normal balance, just as it always had. He would be her mentor, friend, and the one who she loved. She knew that it was necessary for him to at least try to defeat Grindelwald, but she wished with all of her heart that he had said something to her. She was hurt that he did not let her know, that he said nothing. She was hurt and he was the cause of the pain that had spread throughout her body and had settled in her heart.

She wasn't going to let him defeat Grindelwald alone, though. She was a surprisingly talented for a seventeen year old witch, and he would need someone. An assistant, perhaps. She would go with him and find him. They would defeat Gellert Grindelwald.

And that was that.