Perfect Woman

Chapter Eleven: Angelic Light

A/N: This is the last chapter, everyone. I've really enjoyed this story, and I hope that you all have, too! Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers - especially Junora! Thank you all!

The reason firm, the temperate will,

Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill;

A perfect Woman, nobly plann'd,

To warn, to comfort, and command;

And yet a Spirit still, and bright

With something of angelic light.

She felt warm and comfortable. A hand was rubbing her back gently, and Salazar's arms were around her. She turned towards him, eyes still closed, and buried her face in the crook of his neck. "Mmm, Salazar, that feels lovely…" The hand ceased its motion and she reluctantly opened her eyes, only to find a hurt Tom Riddle gazing down at her. The events from the past two days came rushing back to her, and she began to cry.

"I'm sorry, Tom," she sobbed into his shoulder. "I didn't mean to hurt you too…"

He rubbed her back comfortingly. "It's all right, Minerva," he replied, and she could feel the vibrations of his voice rumble through his chest. "You need some time to get used to the situation…"

It wasn't all right, Minerva thought, and she told him so. She looked up into his handsome face, the face that had changed so much since her departure.

"Tom?" she asked him, and he looked down at her.

"Yes, Minerva?" he replied.

"…I… I have something to tell you."

He nodded to her, indicating for her to continue.

"…it's… well… he reminded me of you," she said.

"I reminded you of whom?" he asked, confused by her confession.

"Salazar did." She unconsciously rubbed her stomach. "Before I began dreaming of him, I had dreamt of you. I never acted on it because… well, because you were so different. You seemed as though you only wanted power. And when I fell in love with him, it was because he was so like you…"

Tom took her hand, looking down into her eyes as she ended her confession. "I hope that you are not making that up because you feel you must, Minerva," he told her, serious. "Just because my feelings are as they are does not mean you have to feel the same way…"

She tried weakly to shove him away from her. "Is that what you think? That I would make something like this up in order to spare you from rejection? No! I do mean it, I do – why don't you believe that? I never told you because I didn't trust you – you just seemed… malevolent, somehow. I never really believed that Hagrid opened the Chamber, and I thought that you framed him. And it didn't seem like your 'friends' were really friends – more like a gang."

She felt him swallow as she mentioned the Chamber. "I opened the Chamber, Minerva. But after I graduated, after Dumbledore took me on as an apprentice, I told Headmaster Dippet what had really happened. Hagrid was allowed to come back to school and buy a new wand. I apologised to him – I was a completely different person before your disappearance," he told her softly. "I wanted to impress you; I wanted power because I thought that you would want me if I was powerful…" he trailed off. She looked at him in consternation.

"I don't want you because of power, Tom – and just wanting someone will not last forever. True love lasts forever," she told him. "Perhaps that's why I could return…" she murmured quietly, but he heard her.

"Do you mean that, Minerva?" he asked her, cupping her chin in his hand. She closed her eyes and nodded. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Her eyes fluttered open in surprise, and her hand drifted to her lips, touching them lightly.

"I love you, Minerva," he told her seriously. "I have for a long time. I am who I am today because of my love for you."

She smiled up at him. "Even when I was with Salazar, I thought of you. I missed home, I missed being here. Thank you for never giving up trying to bring me back," she whispered.

He brought one hand up to caress her cheek. "I love you, Minerva," he told her.

"I know," she replied. "And I love you too."

Little did they know that an invisible Albus Dumbledore was watching them, smiling at their joy, glad that they both had a second chance at love.

June, Three Years Later

As she entered the Headmaster's office, which was now Albus's office after Armando Dippet had died this past summer, she heard a squeal and saw a small, dark-haired boy dash across the room to her.

"Mummy!" the little boy shrieked, running towards her as fast as he could on his short toddler legs. "Grandpa says that Daddy is coming back today!" Minerva bent down to pick him up, smiling at his enthusiasm.

"Yes, Tommy, he is!" she exclaimed, tickling his round tummy, listening to his giggles. She smiled at Albus overtop her son's head. "I hope that Grandpa didn't give you too many sweets…" Albus grinned at that, eyes twinkling.

"And I'm sure that he'll be back any moment now…" At her last statement, the fire in the Headmaster's office roared, the orange flames becoming green.

"And here he is!" Albus exclaimed, getting up from behind his desk to give his adopted son a hug. After releasing Albus, Tom turned to his wife and son.

"Daddy!" the boy squealed, as Tom took their child from his lovely wife's arms. He held the boy above his head, spinning him around, a silly grin on his face as he listen to his son giggle and shriek in delight. Finally, he lowered the boy and shifted his weight so that he could hold him with one arm.

"Hello, darling," Tom told Minerva affectionately, giving her a brief kiss, due to their current lack of privacy.

"Hello, Tom. How was the conference?" Tom had been attending a two-week long conference on new advances in Potions, which was held in Munich, Germany.

"It was quite interesting, darling, though I'm glad to be back," he told her, eyes twinkling – a trait he had picked up from his adoptive father. They held each other's gaze until Albus's amused cough broke them out of their reverie.

"Would you like me to watch Tommy tonight, my dears?" he asked them, "You seem to have a lot to catch up on."

Both Tom and Minerva threw Albus a grateful glance and readily agreed, happy that their son had such an involved grandfather. They did indeed have quite a lot to catch up on…

"…mmm…" Minerva yawned, curled up in Tom's arms. "That was lovely, sweetheart."

Tom chuckled. "I thought so too," he told her, kissing the top of her head.

Her fingers traced patterns on his damp chest. "Tom?"

"Mmhmm?" he replied, smoothing down her hair.

"We're going to have a baby."

He stopped stroking her hair, his hand drifting down to her stomach, which, he could tell, was slightly rounded already. "Really?"

"Mmhmm," she yawned again, snuggling up further into his embrace. "In December."

Tom closed his eyes for a moment, relishing the present. "I love you," he told her.

"I love you too," she replied, turning her head to look at him. His eyes met hers lovingly, and she could see the joy and wonder present there. She placed her hand over his, both of them resting on her stomach. She stretched up to him for a kiss, and then nestled back into his arms. Slowly they drifted off to sleep, all at peace with the world.