Disclaimer: I do not own anything and I never will.
A/N: Sorry for making you guys wait so long, but my two weeks is not up yet. LOL. Hope you guys like this one and I hope that you all continue to be so kind in your reviews, both in content and in number.
Chapter Ten: Ian…
Albus felt his blood begin to boil dangerously beneath his skin. Who was this man kissing his Minerva? And more importantly, why was he kissing her? He was about to ask, or, rather, shout, these questions when he saw Minerva pull back and slap the man hard upon his cheek.
"What the bloody hell are you doing?" she asked rather uncharacteristically. The man seemed unfazed, though he did frown as he rubbed his cheek with one hand and held onto her waist with the other.
"Gee, Minnie, I don't see you for ten years and this is how you react? Not exactly what I envisioned."
"What did you expect? A parade? AND DON'T CALL ME MINNIE!" She managed to wriggle free before he caught her hand again and chuckled.
"Not so fast-," he began. He was cut off, however, by a hand with long fingers, which clutched his wrist tightly. The man looked at the haggard face of Albus Dumbledore.
"You will remove your hand from her wrist," he said through clenched teeth. The other man glared at Albus.
"Oy, back off, old man," he hissed.
"Don't speak to Albus that way," Minerva barked as she finally managed to wrestle her hand free from the man's grip.
"Albus?" he asked. "Albus Dumbledore?" Albus nodded, finally removing his hand as well. The man smiled ironically. "Nice to meet you. I'm Ian McKinght." Albus said nothing, nor did he accept the hand Ian offered. Ian frowned. "I see success and fame has depleted your sense of propriety."
"Enough!" Aires commanded as he stood beside the two men. "Ian, I thought I warned you about coming around Minerva ever again." Aires looked as though he were about to pull his wand out and perform the Avada Kedavera.
"Ah, Aires, I was wondering when I would run into you again." In those brief moments of exchange, Minerva hurried to Albus' side and held him around his waist. Albus hugged her in return, thankful to have her safe in his arms. As if she were thinking the same thing, he felt her shudder involuntarily as she tightened her arms around him. This small exchange did not go unnoticed by Ian. He glared as he tried to analyze the scene before he sneered.
"What's this? Dear Minnie has found another?" Aires signaled for another man, who was obviously a ministry official, to do something. The man nodded, set down his drink, and made his way towards the group. Ian continued. "I figured you would search for another man to fill your bed, but him? Your standards have really gone lax."
Before anyone could say another word, Albus had released Minerva and hit Ian square against the jaw. Ian staggered backward as he felt Albus' knuckles crack against his jaw. To say that he was shocked was a gross understatement, to be sure. He looked at Albus and fire seemed to spit from his eyes. Albus took another step toward him, but was caught off guard when the man pulled out his wand and hit him in the stomach with a simple blast of air. Albus had no time to react before the man was kneeling before and, his hand pulled back and a split second later it came in contact with Albus' nose. A shooting pain went through Albus as he once again felt his nose break. He had no idea what it was about his nose, but his nose seemed the popular place for him to be hit.
Albus braced himself for another blow, but was surprised to feel Ian's presence leave from hovering over him. He cautiously opened one eye and then the other to see Aires hovering over him, holding out a hand to help him up. Albus gratefully accepted and grabbed the man's hand. He felt slightly dizzy as he felt his equilibrium go off balance. But it didn't last long. He smiled meekly as he realized that Minerva was standing next to him in an attempt to help keep him stable. She looked incredibly distressed.
"ENOUGH!" Aires bellowed as he watched Ian struggle against two other men, one of whom was the ministry official. Ian stopped immediately, though he did not appear to be happy about it. Everything as silent as all eyes now lay upon Aires. He stormed up to Ian, raised his hand as though he were to strike, but then lowered it as though he decided against it. He was breathing heavily as he was obviously attempting to control his temper. Despite the fact that his hand never came in contact with Ian, the latter winced as though he had actually felt a fatal blow. He could tell he had made Aires angry, and he feared what was to befall him.
"I hope you are satisfied with what you have done," he said through gritted teeth. "I warned you once to stay away from my family… Minerva especially. You have not headed my warning." He turned to the man from the ministry. "Please let the minister know the next time you see him that I wish this man to be punished with a suspension of his magic. For how long, I do not know. Leave that to the minister to decide. And if he comes near my family again, then I want him to be imprisoned." The man nodded and was about to take Ian along with him, but Ian stopped him and smiled at Aires.
"How badly do you wish to be rid of me?" he asked. Aires glared at him.
"What kind of a question is that?" he asked. Ian laughed.
"Answer the question, Aires, and do try and be honest," he sneered. Aires walked up to Ian, stopping about three feet away from him.
"I wish you would leave forever. I would give anything for you to stay as far away from my family as possible." Ian's grin grew wider.
"Then how about a challenge?" he asked. Aires quirked a brow.
"What sort of challenge?" he asked. Ian pulled his arm out of the ministry official's grip and straightened up, looking directly at Aires.
"I challenge someone to a competition. If I lose, I walk away forever. But if I win, I get Minerva's hand in marriage."
"WHAT? NO!" Minerva exclaimed. Albus pulled out his wand to call a spell, but he could not, in all honestly, see anything more than a blur. Minerva went to her father's side. "Father, please don't do this." Aires smiled down at his daughter.
"Of course, Tabby, I would never do such a low thing," he said as he pat her on the cheek. He looked at Ian and glared at him. "I'll take my chances with the ministry, McKnight." With that, he turned and walked away as the two men who had hold of Ian before took hold of him once again. Had anyone cared to look back at Ian, they might have noticed the snide look upon his smug little face. But for the time being, no one cared to look back at the man who had just ruined what could have been a wonderful picnic.
Ooooooooooo
Albus lay upon his bed, feeling absolutely ridiculous. No, he had no qualms whatsoever about having gotten into a fight. Minerva's honor was on the line at that point and he didn't care what her father thought of it. If anything, he should be happy that Albus had jumped to Minerva's aide. He was not even embarrassed to all the men and women who had witnessed the event. What shamed him above all that had transpired within the past few hours was the fact that he was now lying upon his bed, a nose brace upon his even more crooked nose. Twice in one day. That had to be some sort of new record. Yet, of all the records he was proud to claim, this was not one of them. There was a knock at the door.
"Come in," he called reluctantly. The door opened and Aires walked in. He closed the door and walked to Albus' side. 'Here we go,' Albus thought. He mentally prepared himself for the lecture of a lifetime. And considering how long he lived, that was quite a lecture. Aires stood there, sighed, and looked down at his own shoes, as though they were suddenly the most fascinating things in the entire room.
"Look, Albus, I just wanted to say-how-how-," He could not seem to think of what to say. Albus sat up and rested his head against the headboard of the bed.
"It's alright, Aires, you don't need to say anything," he said sorrowfully. "I know what I did was wrong and-." He halted his speech when Aires raised his hand.
"I did not come in here to beret you, Albus," he said. He lowered his hand and looked at Albus, whose face was now blanketed in confusion. "What you did tonight was not wholly without reason. I am actually glad you did what you did. You did what everyone else wanted to do." Albus was stunned. No, stunned could not even begin to describe what he was feeling. He was…. Well, there was no word in the English language that could begin to describe what he felt. So, instead, he opened and closed his mouth several times before he settled on keeping it closed. Aires chuckled softly before sitting next to Albus on the bed. "Surprised, aren't you? The great McGonagall ogre can be nice like any other man." He chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. Albus chuckled a little too.
"I must admit that I expected you to come in here and yell at me for what I had done earlier," he said, feeling uneasy and yet, somehow, strangely relieved. Aires sighed.
"Look, Albus, you might have known that I am not the easiest person to put up with; especially where Minerva is concerned. After all, we have more men born into the family then we do women, so to let one go is a hard thing to do. And I can see that Minerva truly cares for you, and that you really care for her. Especially after tonight. Very few men have the courage to fight for their women nowadays. That is a very good quality indeed." Albus smiled.
"Who is Ian?" he asked. Aires rolled his eyes.
"The slimiest creature to ever walk this earth," he said without the smallest hint of humor in his voice. "Ian McKnight is one of Minerva's many admirers and, for a few brief weeks, her boyfriend. Many of us thought he would become her husband. But then the horrible, miserable cretin cheated on her. He seemed to have wondered how on earth he could have gotten caught. But it is as I always say, if you are dumb enough to cheat on such a wonderful woman as Minerva, then you must be dumb enough to get caught in the act. And oh, did he ever get caught." Aires smiled at the thought of how that horrible man was caught.
"If I had known that, I would have harmed him beyond repair," Albus muttered. Aires laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.
"I can see how much you care for my daughter," he said.
"I do care for her, sir. In fact, I don't just care for her… I love her." Aires sighed and nodded.
"I was afraid of that," he smiled. He looked down at his hands. "Take care of her, will you? She deserves all the treasures in the world, much more than I could ever have given her." Albus could tell Aires was doing his level best not to show too much emotion. His voice cracked a few times along the way of that sentence, but other than that he did a great job at hiding his fear of letting his daughter go to another man. Albus nodded and stood. He went to the pocket of one of his robes and pulled out the little black velvet box and walked back to Aires.
"Aires?" he whispered. Aires looked up and saw the box. He quirked a brow and looked at Albus.
"I am afraid you are not my type, Albus," he replied. They both laughed as Albus shook his head.
"No, I don't think I would be," he joked back. "For I love another." He opened the box and Aires' smile grew impossibly further. "It was my grandmother's ring. It is not grand by any means. Merely a diamond with an emerald on either side." Aires took the ring and passed his forefinger over it. "But I would like very much to ask you for your daughter's hand in marriage. I know I may not be the best choice out there. After all, I am not young, nor am I incredibly handsome; at least, not with an extremely broken nose." They laughed as he touched his nose softly. Albus sighed. "But please let me know that I have your permission to marry Minerva. This weekend has not gone exactly the way I thought it would. But I have not gone away screaming, and I am sure I never will. I am intent on staying here as long as Minerva needs or wants me to be. I would never turn away from her. I want to grow old with her. Or, rather, older." Aires stood and looked Albus squarely in the eye. He pursed his lips, sighed, and held up the box to Albus, who took it in turn.
"Take care of my daughter, my sweet Minerva," he said. "She means the world to me." Albus smiled broadly, nodded, and clapped Aires on the shoulder, who did the same. "And remember these words from your future father-in-law: If you get any ideas about cheating on her or harming her in any way, whether it is physically, emotionally, or mentally, then remember one thing… I have got no problem going back to Azkaban." At first, Albus was not sure whether he should laugh or not, but that was decided when Aires laughed himself. Albus nodded.
"I will remember, Aires," he said. Aires stepped back.
"When do you plan on asking her?" he asked.
"I thought perhaps after dinner. Well, if we are still going to have dinner."
"Of course," Aires smiled. "Some advice? Take her by the lake. That always was her favorite place to go. This will make it an even more special time for her." Albus nodded.
"Thank you, Aires," he said, bowing his head slightly. Aires returned the gesture.
"Well, I suppose I really should go find my own wife. Lord knows where she might be. Perhaps she is dressing into another one of those blasted pant suits that she is so fond of. I tell you, we men put up a lot with those women and their infatuations." Albus laughed.
"Well, I think we give them plenty of trouble as well," he said. Aires nodded.
"That we do," he replied. "That we do."
Ooooooooooo
The moment Aires entered the bedroom he shared with his wife he was instantly enveloped in his wife's loving arms.
"You are a great man and an even greater enigma," she smiled before she began to smother him with kisses. He laughed.
"What did I do this time?" he asked.
"Don't try to act innocent," she said, smiling up at him. She indicated the mirror with her head. "I saw what you just did. Oh, my dear, dear husband, you are so full of surprises. I love you." With that, she proceeded to cover her husband with kisses. Aires laughed.
"Gee, if I had known being nice to one of Minerva's boyfriends would be this rewarding, I would have done it sooner." Hera pulled back and smiled at him.
"Well, it's a good thing, because then Albus would not be here and Minerva would not be getting married to the man of her dreams." Aires nodded as he contemplated this. Then, without another thought, he leaned forward and kissed her lips.
A/N2: Okay, well, there you go. I hope you liked it. Read long and prosper. Always Hopeful