Eternal Courtship

Prompt #97: Sunrise

Pairing(s): Hagrid/McGonagall

Notes: Still early years on her being a teacher.

Additional Notes: I kinda hate this one, actually. It started out so well, but then I couldn't make it end properly so I had to just force an ending note. Oh well.

(o/o/o)

He wanted to do something stupid and romantic. He'd considered climbing up to her room, but immediately shot that idea down on the grounds that he couldn't climb walls. Instead, he got a handful of pebbles from the lake shore and tossed them, one at a time, at her window, until he finally got her attention. She threw the window open and glared down at him.

"Hagrid!" she hissed angrily. "What are you doing?"

He gestured to the basket he'd brought with him. "I thought maybe yeh'd want to go on a picnic with me."

"A picnic? ! Hagrid, it's the middle of the night."

"Yeah! I know! I though' maybe we could have a moonlight picnic. Come on, Minerva, it'll be fun!"

He gave her a pleading look. She considered the idea; actually, a late picnic did sound fun. On the other hand, she had classes to teach in the morning, and if she went with Hagrid, she'd certainly be late getting to bed and be sleepy the next day. She wavered between the two for a moment before finally deciding to go along.

"All right, all right, I'm coming down." She disappeared and reappeared a moment later at her lower window. She hopped up onto the windowsill and swung her legs over. "Don't drop me," she added.

Her bedroom was on the third floor, but her office below that was on the second and from there she had only to fall a few feet to Hagrid's outstretched arms. He set her down gently and picked up the basket, holding out his other arm for her to take.

"Shall we, then?" he said, and the two strolled off across the grounds, picking their way carefully in the dark.

They picked a spot near the forest, just out of sight of the castle, and Hagrid set about spreading out the blanket and putting out the food he'd brought along (which seemed to have been prepared by the House Elves, thankfully).

It was a beautiful late-summer night. A light breeze skittered across the grounds, ruffling her hair and the edges of the blanket and causing her to wrap her dressing gown more tightly around her.

They ate slowly, carrying on whispered conversations and feeling a bit like naughty children, though really, there was nothing in the rules about them being out there that late. Overhead, bats winged in wide circles, catching bugs as they chirruped to each other to avoid crashing. In the forest, an owl hooted softly and they could make out the occasional calls of other forest natives in the distance.

When they'd finally finished eating, they lay back in the damp, dewy grass and stared up at the sky. The night was clear and the sky above was awash with stars; a quarter moon glittered near the horizon. Only a few of the lights in the castle were still on, casting a dark silhouette against a backdrop of the night sky.

How long they lay there, they didn't know. They felt a gentle contentment fall over them, and they drifted into silence, unwilling to ruin the still calm of the night.

Gradually, Minerva became aware of the tinge of pink peeking up over the horizon. She sat up; Hagrid followed suit. The sun was beginning to rise over the edge of the forest, casting an eery light over everything. As the sun climbed higher, the grounds were bathed in a bright golden glow.

"Oh my..." Minerva said quietly. "It's beautiful..."

"Yeah..." He shuffled sheepishly. "I though' yeh'd like it. See it every day almost, when I'm off tendin' the grounds, an' I jus', I wanted yeh to see it too."

"I can't remember the last time I saw something so amazing," she admitted, staring out across the grounds.

"I can," Hagrid said quietly, so quietly she almost didn't hear him.

She turned to look at him quizzically, and was startled to find he was staring at her. She blinked several times, startled. "Hagrid..."

A blush was creeping over his face. "Yeh weren' supposed to hear that," he admitted.

"I'm glad I did." She stood up on her tiptoes- even then he had to stoop a little so she could reach- and kissed his cheek gently. "You're sweet, Hagrid."

He was turning so red that his face resembled a very hairy tomato. She looped her arm through his.

"Let's go back," she said gently. "If I hurry, I can get an hour of sleep in before I must wake up."

He walked her all the way back to her chambers. There was much shuffling of feet when they made it to her door.

"So, er, I guess I'll be sayin' good night, or, good morning, I guess." He turned crimson again, and leaned down to kiss her quickly. "Good morning."

He left immediately, before she could react. She was still standing there several minutes later, when Sir Nicholas drifted through a nearby wall. He eyed her curiously, standing in the middle of the corridor in her dressing gown with her hand brought to her lips, where the ghost of his touch still remained.

"Minerva?" he asked kindly. "Is everything all right?"

"What?" She looked startled; she obviously hadn't realized he was there. "Yes, of course. I'm fine. I... must be going now."

She abandoned her dressing gown near the door and crawled back into the bed she'd abandoned hours before, the morning playing through her mind. Had Hagrid really kissed her, or had she imagined it? She pulled the covers up around her ears.

One thing was certain, sleep deprivation would be the least of her distractions in class that day.

(o/o/o)

Last-minute footnote: I guess technically that was their first kiss? I actually had already planned out their first kiss, but I guess they disagreed with my plan. Oh well. The second one will be much more memorable.

(Also, I'm not one to ask for reviews, but seriously you guys, one or two would be nice, just to let me know I'm not just writing this for myself.)