A/N: Good Evening, how are we all? Bit of a late one for me, tonight was the final of the State vs State Rugby League match between Queensland (that's us!) and New South Wales (they're NOT us). And yeah, we won :D
BUT Today is also the birthday of Toby Cananaugh Lover, Many Happy Returns and I hope you have a lovely day! Hope you and everyone else enjoys the chapter!
Thanks be to Spin, once more, who managed to squeeze this in between work and chicken sitting (no, it doesn't involve actually sitting on chickens). Thanks honey :D
By the way, I kinda went a little overboard with a few Easter Eggs. Some are slightly obvious, some are worded a little differently, so if you think you see one, point it out, cos you're probably right :D
-0-
Christmas week had passed pleasantly. Hermione had returned to her dormitory, owing to the whispers of where she kept disappearing to finally becoming too loud to ignore. She had returned reluctantly, but Minerva was pleased to see that she had fallen back at once into the groove of life in Gryffindor Tower. She was not pleased, however, to see that Harry and Ronald had not lessened their unhappiness towards her, and if anything had begun acting even colder, but Hermione was bearing it well.
It delighted her no end that she had even started going to see Hagrid on her own, helping with his proposal to save the hippogriff he had become so attached to.
"What are you so happy about, love?" Albus asked, joining her at her desk and leaning down to kiss her head, even as she smiled coyly.
"Wouldn't you like to know," she said with a wink, making him chuckle. "I was actually just thinking about Hermione and how she is so resilient."
"She is that," Albus concurred, signing a letter she had passed him without even reading it.
She snorted before attaching it to the leg of a waiting owl and watched if fly off through the open window.
"What has you here disturbing the peace of my office anyway, Mr Dumbledore?" she asked, her attention only partly on the letter she was now writing.
"Well," he said expectantly, making Minerva look up sharply.
"Well what? What on earth do you want?"
Albus chuckled and moved behind her once more, massaging her shoulders gently.
"One cannot help but notice that tomorrow will be the eve of a new year and I thought perhaps we should do something special."
"And what do you have in mind?" Minerva inquired, smirking a little at his twinkling eyes.
"I don't know yet, I wanted to know firstly whether you were open to the suggestion."
They were interrupted when a small owl flapped into the room, landing heavily on a pile of books next to the sofa.
"Isn't that the owl you gave to Hermione's parents?"
Minerva stood and rushed over to the tiny creature, where it suddenly became apparent that he'd flown through bad weather, if the little pool of water he stood in had anything to do with it.
"It is. I wonder whether this is meant for me?"
She waved her hand, Banishing the excess water and drying the owl, earning a grateful, but quiet hoot from the bird in the process. She picked him up gently and placed him on a cushion near the fire, leaving him a bowl of water and few owl treats.
"Get your breath back little one," she whispered, smoothing the feathers on his head as she went back to close the window. She unfurled the rolled up letter, trying to read through the watery smudges.
"Katherine and Richard would like to invite us," she frowned and tilted her head, trying to make out what it said, "on a double dare?" Minerva queried. "Why would they invite us to a double dare?"
"I'm not sure," Albus admitted, "but it sounds like fun."
Minerva tutted, leaning closer to the light as she tried to read the rest of the note.
There was a knock at the door and they both turned and smiled as Hermione let herself in.
"Um, hi?" she said, looking puzzled as they both appeared incredibly happy to see her – even more so than usual.
"Hermione, darling, can I borrow your amazing eyesight for a moment?"
Hermione chuckled and walked to Minerva, who let her lean against her as she read it. Smiling, the older witch wrapped her free hand around Hermione's middle and placed a kiss in her hair.
"What is a double dare my darling?"
Minerva knew she probably looked as perplexed as Albus did when Hermione burst out laughing.
"It's a double date, not a double dare. They're two very different things, and if someone asks you if you want a double dare, say no all right?" Hermione said, still giggling. "Mum and Dad want to go on a double date with you guys on New Year's Eve," she smiled up at Minerva. "That's really cute by the way."
Rolling her eyes, Minerva snatched the letter off her little Gryffindor and read the rest of the note.
"It doesn't say where we're going, only that we have to dress formally," she grimaced. "What on earth does that mean?"
"That means you're going to the special screening of Mum and Dad's favourite film franchise." Hermione said gleefully, and Minerva suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.
"And what would one of those be when it is at home?"
"Oh, didn't you have movies when you were little? I thought you were half-Muggle?" Hermione asked, her head turned to one side in a way that Minerva thought was adorable.
"Darling, I am quite a bit older than your parents," she said with a wry grin. "We had the wireless."
"Ah," Hermione said, nodding in understanding. "Well do you know what a television is?"
"Ah, I heard Arthur Weasley talking about one of those once," Albus said, looking gleeful. "They find tiny people to go inside a box and pretend to be different things."
He looked slightly less gleeful as Hermione once more burst out laughing.
"Not quite," Hermione said patting his arm. "You know how photographs in the magical world move? Well, a television is a bit like that, except that there are shows and movies, all different kinds of stories, that you watch people act out."
"I'm not sure I understand, but I will take your word for it."
Minerva was once again a little put off by Hermione's grin, and wondered what exactly they were getting themselves in to.
"I'll make sure to let Mum know you've never been before, but I think you'll like it all the same." Hermione said encouragingly, and Minerva sighed, knowing she had already lost to Albus' excited smile and Hermione's adoring look.
"Fine, I shall reply and tell her we will be there," Minerva said, shaking her head as both Albus and Hermione both hissed an excited 'Yes!'.
-0-
"Hermione! Where are those earrings you told me to wear, I can't find them?" Minerva called, frantically searching for the drop earrings that Hermione had said would complement her outfit.
She had been on a few dates in her youth, and a few since she and Albus had finally acknowledged their feelings for one another, but she was not sure what was expected of her here, what she was supposed to do. Not to mention she felt extremely uncomfortable in her midnight blue dress, which when Hermione had suggested it she had balked, flatly refusing for most of the day, until Hermione and Albus had both ganged up on her and made her wear it. Right now though, she was very much afraid that she would perhaps vomit.
"Min?" Hermione asked, coming into the room and stopping still as she swept her eyes up and down over Minerva's dress. "I knew it, it's perfect," she beamed, handing over the earrings which were causing Minerva's most current nightmare.
"Hermione, it's not perfect! I feel naked," she protested, frowning at Hermione's smile. "Don't laugh at me please," she huffed, relaxing slightly as Hermione wrapped her arms around her middle and leant her head against her shoulder.
"You look amazing," Hermione said simply.
"But there is no back on this dress," she said, turning to look once more in the mirror. "It's virtually indecent."
"Please trust me?" Hermione asked, and Minerva was sure she was being given her best puppy dog look. "Do you remember when I told you that you should wear that green jumper and those amazingly tight jeans when we went bowling, oh and those boots?"
Minerva smiled, even as she was rolling her eyes. "They were amazing boots…"
"Well, trust me on this, too," Hermione said, holding out her hands and pulling Minerva into the other room. "You look amazing and Albus is going to freak when he sees you."
Minerva arched an eyebrow as Hermione giggled and whispered conspiratorially.
"That's if you don't freak first."
Minerva didn't have time to think about what Hermione meant as Albus walked out of what was now officially Hermione's bedroom. All thinking on Minerva's part stopped entirely.
"Al, wha-, you're –"
She could hear Hermione giggling in the background, but she just couldn't take her eyes off Albus. He stood in the doorway looking a little uncomfortable, but astonishingly attractive. She had seen men in suits before, being the one to visit all the Muggleborn students before the end of term, and it was not as if she lived in a cave either. She had also seen them in her village when she was small, but none of them could hold a candle to the wizard standing before her.
Hermione had dressed him in a suit, but it was no ordinary suit – at least it didn't look like one. It had all the right things: white silk shirt, a waistcoat with deep blue sparkles on it, and a tie; which along with the embellishments on the waistcoat, matched her dress perfectly. However, for Minerva there was something magical about it, how it made his eyes sparkle more than she ever thought they could.
"You look amazing Minerva," Albus whispered, and Minerva knew his gaze was as glued to her as hers was to him.
"You look very handsome Professor Dumbledore," she said, forgetting Hermione was in the room for a moment. "One almost wishes we weren't going out," she commented, blushing deeply when Hermione broke through her stupor.
"EW! Gross, I'm leaving," she said, her hands over her ears. She walked up to Minerva, hugged her tightly and pressed a kiss to her cheek, before doing the same thing to Albus, who looked a little shocked at the gesture.
"Have fun," she grinned, embracing Minerva a final time before leaving the room to attend the party that some of the Prefects were holding for the younger students still left in the castle.
Minerva shook her head at the girl before laughing out loud, along with Albus, who was standing rather close with a hand pressed to the small of her – rather naked – back.
"You seem to missing part of your dress, Miss McGonagall," he said, placing a gentle kiss near her ear.
"Yes, well, I did say this, but apparently according to Hermione it's 'perfect'." She laughed as he growled his approval.
"Shall we leave? Wouldn't want to be late now, would we?"
Minerva nodded and took his arm, following him through the Floo into the Granger's living room, having had it connected for the evening thanks to Albus' contacts at the Ministry.
-0-
"Minerva! You look amazing," Katherine said as she waited for Minerva to banish the soot from her beautiful dress. "Hermione was always good at choosing outfits," she chuckled as she embraced the older woman with a smile.
"She was instrumental in getting both myself and Albus ready this evening, something I think I will be grateful for quite a while," she said, turning as Katherine did to watch Albus walk confidently from the Floo.
"Gracious me!" Katherine said, looking between Minerva and Albus gleefully. "You both look incredible!"
"Darling? Oh, hello all!" Richard said, shaking Albus' hand and pecking Minerva on the cheek. "Darling we need to go, or we'll miss the beginning."
Katherine couldn't help but laugh at her husband's enthusiasm.
"Alright love, let me get my coat," She ushered Minerva and Albus into the hallway, taking her wrap from the banister and letting Richard help her with it, smiling as he pressed a lingering kiss on her cheek. "Shall we?"
The walk to the local pictures was a pleasant one, and Katherine enjoyed the almost juvenile curiosity from both Albus and, albeit a little less enthusiastically, Minerva.
"How about we all just wait until we get there?" Katherine said, laughing at the indignation upon Albus' face.
"Patience is a virtue Albus," Minerva said, rolling her eyes before winking at the other woman. Minerva had some sort of an idea as to what they were going to see, but Albus had obviously not really understood what Hermione had told them.
The truth was that James Bond happened to be Richard's favourite action hero, and Katherine couldn't wait to see what Minerva thought of him. The local cinema did this fairly regularly during the holidays, digging out the old classics for the more discerning viewer. She still had no idea what this new fascination over a sparkly vampire was all about, but she was sure that Minerva would enjoy a couple of hours in the company of James, just as much as she did. And she was fairly sure that Albus would be a changed man when they exited the cinema as well.
-0-
It turned out, he was a changed man. Albus had all three of them in stitches as they walked down the street to Katherine and Richard's favourite restaurant, having conjured a trench coat and hat as soon as they'd turned down the alley.
"Minerva, catch my hat," he said, throwing it rather clumsily to the witch, who was biting her lip quite hard, evidently having as much trouble halting her laughter as Katherine was.
"Albus, please!" Katherine said, finally unable to contain her giggles any longer, as she leaned against Richard, whom she knew really wanted to have a go as well.
"Albus I promise you, when we get back to the castle, I will Transfigure you a hat stand all of your own so you can practice," she said with a wink to Katherine, who just laughed all the louder.
"Excellent idea darling," he said, retrieving the lost hat and holding his arm out for her to take. "But you have to be sat behind your desk so I can practice being debonair."
"Oh dear."
Dinner was lovely, all four of them enjoying the conversation much more than they perhaps thought they would. They talked about schools to teaching, dentistry to James Bond, but invariably their conversation turned to Hermione.
"I really don't know what I would have done without her," Minerva said quietly. "She truly is a gift Katherine, you have the most amazing young woman."
Katherine merely smiled, patting Minerva's hand.
"It is not all down to me; I see her come home for the holidays, and at the end of the year, and no matter what she has been up to with those boys, she always seems brighter, happier, and that – that's down to you Minerva," Katherine said quietly, ignoring the men who were recounting the best parts of the film, again for the umpteenth time.
"She has changed me more than I have changed her," Minerva said happily. "I wrote to my brothers. They live in the States now, moved away after the war." Minerva continued quietly, knowing full well they were in a Muggle establishment. "We lost touch… I, I was cold although they just wanted my friendship. But they've agreed to come back, and that," she took Katherine's hand, taking a deep breath as she did, "that is because of your wonderful child."
"Well, then I won't argue," Katherine said with only a slightly smug smile. She knew Hermione was special, could touch people without trying, but that she had such a pronounced effect on Minerva warmed her heart.
"Shall we go for a stroll before welcoming in the New Year?" Katherine suggested as Richard paid the bill.
"I think that is a marvellous idea," Minerva said, letting Albus help her with the coat she had hastily Transfigured as they left the cinema.
"We don't see much of the fireworks from here," Katherine explained as the quartet meandered down the road. "You can hear them though, so it's quite romantic."
"Have you never actually been to a display on New Year's Eve?" Albus asked with a twinkle in his eye that Katherine couldn't read.
Katherine shook her head sadly. They had nearly made it one year, the year of Hermione's birth. She had become ill the day before and they had suffered through her colicky screams from then until the fourth day of the New Year. They hadn't bothered again.
"Well," Minerva said, breaking Katherine from her reverie. "I think we can do better than that."
Katherine watched with interest as Minerva and Albus had a silent conversation, both of them nodding at the same time, and she knew that it was borne from decades of being together, even if it wasn't quite in the capacity they now shared.
"My dear, would you take my arm?" Albus said suddenly, taking Katherine's hand gently, and pulling her close.
"Albus, what –"
"Trust us my dear, you too Richard," he said, while looking at Katherine intently. "Now, take a deep breath."
Katherine did as she was told, but as she did, she felt her body being squeezed from all sides, then propelled through a pin hole, twisting and weaving, making her eyes roll around in her head, before being squeezed out of the same pin hole again, and she gasped as her feet hit the ground solidly, and Albus' arms caught her deftly.
"Breathe deeply," Albus instructed gently, rubbing her back.
She felt terrible, like her insides had been rearranged and she moaned, trying to breathe deeply like he said. It wasn't long before her husband and Minerva appeared next to them, Richard very nearly losing his dinner as he leant over the gutter.
"What was that?" Katherine gasped as she realised they were no longer in the same street as they were before. "And where on earth are we?"
"I apologise," Albus said, holding out a sherbet lemon for each of them, who took them only to take the focus away from their still rolling stomachs. "Welcome to Edinburgh."
Minerva laughed easily as she slipped into Albus' arms.
"I know exactly where to go," she said taking Katherine's hand and pulling her in the direction she wanted to go. "Come, you will love it!"
They walked through thousands of revellers, Katherine looking around in amazement at the city she had never been to, fire and lights and music and people everywhere.
She looked at Richard, who was clearly just as excited as she was, and she squeezed his hand a little as they followed Minerva and Albus through the streets and a throng of people onto a slightly less crowded thoroughfare.
"Ooh, I know this building," Albus said cheerfully, leading them up some steps and waving his hand surreptitiously over the locked door.
"Albus Dumbledore, what on earth are you doing?"
"I'm getting us the best seats in Edinburgh, my love," he said, waving them all in. "The, um," he looked around before dropping his voice, "the Standard Life building has a fabulous view."
"And just how do you know that?"
Katherine nearly laughed at the lone figure of disapproval Minerva was cutting on the expansive marble floor, but decided against it.
"'Ere, what are you all doin' in 'ere?" a voice disturbed them, and all four spun around to see a security guard wielding a torch at them.
"Ah, my good man, we're here to borrow your balcony, hope you don't mind," Albus said, waving his hand in a way not unlike the scene in Star Wars that Richard always insisted on doing when he didn't want to do something.
"Ur, yeah, sure, go on up," the security guard said, looking confused.
"We've locked up behind us, so carry on with whatever you were doing, good man," Albus said, sweeping Minerva with him as he rushed towards the stairs, moving faster than Katherine was sure he should be able to.
"ALBUS!" Minerva squirmed, and Katherine nearly laughed at how ridiculous they were behaving. That was of course until Albus pushed the woman out of the door onto the balcony, and she and Richard followed closely behind. "Albus, I can't believe you would do –"
Katherine knew why Minerva had stopped in mid-sentence, because there in front of them was Edinburgh Castle in all its glory, the sound of bagpipes and thousands of singing voices floating up to enhance the magical atmosphere.
"Oh Albus!" she sighed, and Katherine grinned as Minerva grabbed Albus by the lapels and kissed him soundly.
"Oh Albus, indeed!" she agreed, pecking Albus on the cheek. "Well done."
"I aim to please," he said, blushing faintly after being kissed by two different women. He looked back at Minerva, who seemed enchanted by where they were. "Am I forgiven, love?"
"Oh, I think so," Minerva said as Albus mirrored Richard's move of wrapping his arms around the love of his life while the two couples waited in a comfortable silence for the New Year celebrations to start.
"Five." Minerva murmured, wrapping Albus' arms around her middle.
"Four." Albus said, smiling at Minerva over her shoulder.
"Three." Richard whispered into Katherine's ear.
"Two." Katherine said, leaning her head back on Richard's shoulder and looking up at him.
"One." they all breathed and Katherine didn't need to look; she knew that Minerva and Albus would be enjoying the same moment that she and Richard were.
"Happy New Year!" she whispered against Richard's lips, refusing to part from him just yet.
"Happy New Year," he said in return, pulling her back to his chest again as they watched the fireworks.
After hugging Albus and Minerva, they all sang a rather shaky version of Auld Lang Syne and Katherine was certain she'd never had a more enjoyable New Years.
"To many more New Years to come," Minerva said as they popped the cork on a bottle of Champagne Albus had been hiding in his suit pocket. Katherine still wasn't quite sure how or where it came from, but she laughed all the same.
"To Family," Katherine said, smiling at Minerva's tearful nod before taking her hand and squeezing it tightly.
"To Family."