Minerva woke up to a cold bed, Albus having slipped out hours earlier, not wanting to wake or upset her. She felt as though she could cry, torn with worry for the man she loved. Minerva wasn't ready to admit it yet, but she loved Albus. The minute she laid eyes on him in the Great Hall, deep down she knew it was bound to happen. And now he was gone, but he didn't leave her empty handed. As Minerva arose to use the restroom, she saw he left a note and a conjured rose for her.

"My Minerva,

I left early this morning and didn't want to wake you - you looked so peaceful it would've been criminal to do so. I'm off to battle Grindlewald's army and god willing to win. Please take it easy on the first years - I can tell you'll be harder on them than me, which is for the best! Gods, you're so talented. Anyways, I'll be thinking of you always, my gorgeous girl, and cannot wait to be back in your arms.

We'll meet again,

A.D."

Minerva instantly remembered that popular Muggle song, instrumental in getting the Britons through the war. He said I'm his!, were her next thoughts as butterflies swarmed in her stomach. She held the note to her chest and promised to cherish it forever by tucking it in with his sweater that she never returned. The girl snuck back into the dormitories right as the others were waking up.

"Christ's sake, Min! What the hell happened last night?" Roldana was not going to tiptoe around her friend any longer.

"Okay, Albus had to go fight against the dark army that's been rising up in Germany. He's my hero. I have no clue when he'll get back but I need to take over classes for him." Pomona and Rolanda signaled their approval and newfound respect for the professor. "And … we spent the night together last night."

"Oh?" Pomona raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"No, no - not like that, not yet! It was just so nice to sleep in his arms. I feel like we're a real couple."

"Gods, I can't wait for the wedding! What if he proposes in front of the entire student body on the last day of classes? Can you imagine! Private Min and the Professor!" Pomona burst out laughing.

"I just pray he makes it through this war first." Minerva stated solemnly. "Now please keep me updated on what happens in classes today, girls! I'll be taking over Transfigurations for the day. Albus left some notes, and you know he's a genius, but he's so scatterbrained I can't make heads or tails of the lesson plans. So off to throw some things together I suppose."

Minerva was actually relieved to have to create lesson plans as it kept her mind off Albus. Today, she had the first years through the fourth years - all fairly basic and rudimentary stuff. As she'd been working with the first year class this entire time, she quickly put together a lesson focusing on the basic transfiguration equation. They'd be preoccupied with trying to memorize it for the full 90 minutes and Minerva quickly moved on to plan for the second years. Ahh, one of her favorite easy spells - beetle buttons! That would be a fun one for a group of 13 year olds, no doubt. The third years would start to learn about animagi - Minerva wasn't ready to transform in front of them yet but was getting more and more excited about her progress every day. At their last lesson, which seemed like forever ago, Minerva developed coarse black hair, feline-like eyes, and a tail. She was convinced that she was some type of cat. Finally, at the end of the day, the fourth years would have a lesson on vanishing spells - ever so crucial in these secretive times. Minerva sat back at Albus's desk - excited for the day, her first real attempt at teaching, but also constantly thinking about her love. Had he arrived safely? Whereabouts in the woods was his ragtag army? Were they ambushed? Her musings were abruptly interrupted by the first years scurrying in the room, eager for the day to start.

Minerva sighed as it was finally time for lunch. Her second year class was a doozy - full of practical jokers in Hufflepuff, they tried every trick in the book to tease her into letting class out early. But Minerva persisted, even when one precocious second year transfigured a pincushion into a porcupine on the young teacher's seat! Minerva was impressed, but still deducted 20 points from Hufflepuff for the offensive behavior. The young witch figured she'd just take lunch in Albus's office - she obviously knew the password (candy floss), didn't want to deal with the stares of the entire school, student and faculty alike, as her teaching situation was unique, and to top it all off, she had to catch up on all the classes that she would be missing over the next few days. The things we do for love, she sighed.

Those next two days felt like a lifetime. As it was the Harvest Festival, Pomona and Rolanda dragged Minerva to dinner and forced her to try the various pies and puddings laid out. Minerva felt guilty at every meal, enjoying Albus's favorite foods while he probably hadn't eaten or slept for nearly 48 hours.

Speaking of 48 hours… Albus promised her that he'd be back by now. Minerva'd figured out that Albus had an entrance to his quarters through his office, so she sat by the fireplace in his bedroom, figuring once he did finally make it home, she'd want to be there by his side. It was nearing 8pm and Minerva was in the middle of grading some of the fifth year's Animagus papers, figuring Albus would be pleasantly surprised by the gesture, when finally, he Apparated into his rooms.

The man looked like death. Gaunt, grimy, robes caked with mud, Albus collapsed on the carpet. It must've taken all his remaining strength to apparate through the heavily charmed Hogwarts wards, something only the greatest wizard of their generation could ever accomplish especially after battle. Minerva immediately ran to his side, she removed Albus's crusty outer robes and checked over his body for immediate injuries. There were multiple deep cuts on his torso, suggesting a slicing curse or a similar dangerous spell. She was relieved that Albus was still conscious and coherent as he reached up to touch her face.

"Minerva… angel… you were waiting for me…"

"Albus, shhhh, it's okay. You're safe now. Stay still while I clean your wounds." Ever the pragmatist, Minerva conjured up a bowl of warm water and cleansing soap. She cleaned the dirt and wounds from his body, by hand and with no magic. After bandaging up his torso, she murmured, "You must be starving… Hold on, I'll be right back."

Minerva decided she'd go to the kitchens. The house elves had always loved her for some reason and she knew she'd be able to easily persuade them for some stew or a hearty dish for Albus. As she left his quarters and swiftly marched down the corridor, she bumped right into Headmaster Dippet.

He quizzically asked, "Minerva, what are you doing in this part of the castle so late at night?"

She panicked, "I was just on rounds sir! And yourself?"

He chuckled. "You really will be an excellent member of staff someday! I'm on the way to visit Professor Dumbledore. The wards alerted me that he's back from his urgent business. I'm sure he'll be in contact with you soon about how your courses went."

Clearly Dippet was oblivious to her knowledge of Albus's involvement in the war, and of course he had no clue of their personal relationship. That was too close for comfort. She'd left Albus healing on the floor but was confident he'd be able to handle Dippet and she continued onto the kitchens, procuring a hearty mix of stew, bread, and various sweets for Albus. Once she mentioned the food was for Professor Dumbledore, the house elves had gone wild with the sweets - they loved the man and they knew he loved sugar. Hidden outside his doorway, Minerva ensured the headmaster was gone before entering Albus's chambers. He was sitting upright now, obviously worn from his meeting with Armando, but his eyes lit up when he saw her.

"Oh Albus! I am so sorry I had to leave you - you need to eat and I ran to the kitchens. I came back as fast as I could but Headmaster Dippet caught me as he was on his way here."

"Minerva - you've done more for me than I ever deserved. Poor Armando would've found me comatose on the floor had you not patched me up! I am so sorry to have kept you waiting, the battle was… uglier than expected."

"But you survived, thank gods! And the others? Was it victorious?"

Albus somberly stated, "We lost two of our finest soldiers, Christopher Mingus and Blaise Finnegan. But ultimately, it was a success for the resistance. Grindlewald is quickly losing power, we should be able to overtake him in the next months. It will come down to me and him, but I'm afraid that after this battle, I'll need to regain strength."

"Of course, I can teach for as long as you need. But beyond that, I will be here for as long as you need. Come to bed, Albus."

In that moment, Minerva couldn't care less what Pomona and Rolanda thought, what the other Gryffindors thought, what all of Hogwarts and the Headmaster thought. She would face the consequences of staying the night - the man needed her and she needed him. Minerva snuggled next to Albus, making sure not to touch his bruised and swollen chest, and fell fast asleep, lucky to be in the bed next to him.