When Minerva left she walked to another door, checking to see if it was unlocked and when finding it was, went inside before locking it behind her. She looked at the stone and took a deep breath, turning it three times. She heard a rustling sound and when she looked up, she grabbed her chest in shock as Albus stood before her. "Al… Albus," she stuttered, wide eyed and shocked.
He nodded her head. "I see Harry gave you the Resurrection Stone and after seeing what's been going on, I'm glad he did."
"Oh Albus, it's just one huge mess. I wish you were here." She took a step closer to her friend, wishing she could give him a hug, but as he was just a shadowy figure, she knew she would just go through him.
"I know Tabby." He nodded, arms crossed.
Minerva pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't know what to do."
He shook his head. "Yes you do. Why do you fear giving up your magic so much?"
"Because it's been a part of my life since birth."
"That is a terrible reason and you know it." He folded his arms, looking at her over his half moon spectacles and even though he was just a shadow, Minerva could tell he had no twinkle in his eyes.
"I don't know. I guess," she turned around and looked out the window, "magic is who I am. If I lose magic I lose who I am. No more would I be a Master at Transfiguration, no more would I be Headmistress, no more would I be a witch."
"Who cares if you would not be any of those anymore? No one will love you less if you weren't. You would still be the same Minerva McGonagall to them." He noticed Minerva shoot him a brief glance of doubt before turning back as realization dawned on him. "Tabby, Hermione will still love you, magic or not."
She shook her head. "You don't know that Albus."
"I may not know her as well as you do but I do know her character and she doesn't strike me as someone who is shallow and will love someone because of their power, wealth, and magic." He decided to change tactics. "Tell me Minerva, if she wakes up and is unable to walk, is unable to feel your touch, will you love her any less?"
"Of course not!" Minerva said turning around fully, her Scottish ire appearing.
"And if the bleeding in her brain does damage to her mind functions to the point that she is not as intelligent as she is now… will you love her less?"
Minerva's ire quickly gave way to the panic bubbling up. "Poppy said it was minor…"
"It's worse than Poppy knows it to be," he held up a hand as Minerva started to interrupt, "But Severus's cousin may catch it. Now answer my question."
"I love her mind, but it's not why I love her, so no, I will not love her less."
"Then can you not see, that even if you lose your magic, she will not love you less, for I am pretty sure that yes, she may love your magic, but it's not why she loves you, just like her intellect or her ability to move her legs is not why you love her."
"The possibility of being a Muggle scares me. I don't know how to do anything their way."
"And that is why you should thank Merlin that you are in love with a Muggle-born who will most definitely not leave you if you lose your magic. If anything, she'd probably break her own wand. She will be able to help you transition into a Muggle lifestyle and there are others who can help. I know Harry would be more than willing also."
Minerva sighed as she thought about what Albus said, turning to look back out the window. She had a view of the lake, watching as the waves gently washed up on the shore before sliding back in. Turning back around she looked at her old friend. "I guess you're right Albus."
"Aren't I always?" He said cheekily, blue eyes twinkling madly.
Minerva laughed, but sobered up when she remembered that her love was still in danger. "Albus, do you know what's going to happen?"
He shook his head, the twinkle dimming. "I can't see into the future."
Minerva growled in frustration and threw her hands up in the air before pacing, looking all the more like a caged lioness. "This is killing me inside. I want her to wake up, to be ok. I want to hold her, to kiss her, to make love to her, to look into her eyes and tell her I love her one more time."
Albus looked at her, debating on if he should say his next words and decided it was needed to drive this all home. "You do realize she will wake up sometime?"
"Yes, but that doesn't change what it's doing to me," she stopped and barked at him before resuming pacing.
"And do you think it's any different for Hermione? At least you know she's going to live. She, on the other hand, believes that you love your magic more than her. She believes you are going to die in less than a year, that she has less than a year to hold you, to kiss you, to make love to you, to look into your eyes and tell you she loves you because in less than a year it'll be gone forever. Her being in a coma she will wake up from and live is killing you, how do you think she feels?"
Minerva stopped dead as his words hit her heart and she felt the tears burn her eyes in realization of what her love must be going through. "I… I… I've been so blind Albus, swallowed up by my insecurities and fears that I didn't think how she would feel. What do I do Albus? How do I fix this?"
"Make sure she knows you love her more than your magic before the potion is complete for if you don't, she will always doubt if you love her more. And then after you've convinced her, grovel for her forgiveness. It may not be pretty, and maybe a bit humiliating, but it's necessary."
"Thank you my friend." Minerva could not stop the scowl at the thought of groveling as she was a proud woman, but couldn't help but concede that Albus may have a point.
He gave a sad smile at his friend. "It's time we draw this to a close Tabby. Severus is back with his cousin, and I'm sure you want to be there when they arrive." His face turned solemn as he continued. "Things are going to get worse, more stressful, harder even, but remember Tabby, love triumphs over all. As long as you believe in that, you will do fine. Follow your heart." He started to head towards the door. "I will walk with you back to the other room."
Minerva nodded as she left the room. "Thank you Albus, I love you," she said before entering Hermione's room.
"And I love you too Tabby. Take care and cherish your young lover. Life and love is so precious." She watched him disappear after his parting words as she handed the stone back to Harry.
"Thank you, Harry, for letting me borrow this. It was much needed after all."
He nodded. "Did you find the answers you were looking for?"
"No but I did get some answers that I needed to hear and realize some things need to change." She walked over to Hermione's bedside.
"For the better I hope."
AN: Sorry for the long update. I started a new job and a new relationship practically at the same time and it took some time adjusting, but now I think I'm getting better at balancing things and hope that I can update this story along with others soon. I also will be posting new stories that way I can prevent future writers block as I can work on a story fresh each time. Also with this story I'm struggling with which path I'm going to take. I will post in next chapter the different options I could do and let you all vote as I do write for you (along with my own selfish pleasure of writing lol). Thank you for reading and to those who review and have stuck with me.