CHAPTER 8
Christmas Eve, 1994. Aquila was in her original dress from her old life, she had turned the sleeves into straps and made it a tad more fitting. It had a slit on the right side up to her thigh, black with gold detailing and a few shimmering flowers on the skirt of the dress. She sighed as she looked in the mirror and headed for Gryffindor tower, waiting outside the portrait for Hermione.
A few moments later after a few other people had left the common room, Hermione came out in a beautiful multi layered pink dress that suited her skin tone and body perfectly. Though Aquila belonged to someone else, Hermione had taken her breath away. "You look beautiful." She whispered to the younger witch and linked arms with her.
"Thank you." The brunette blushed slightly. "You don't clean up too bad yourself." She chuckled.
"Weasley is going to be livid when he sees that you went with me." Aquila mused knowing the youngest Weasley boy had a crush on Hermione but was too chicken to do anything about it.
"What about McGonagall, hmm?" Hermione teased knowing that her head of house would be sending her death glares throughout the night. "If she doesn't hex me tonight, I can only hope she'll forget about it over the break."
Aquila stopped them outside the doors of the Great Hall. "You ready?"
Hermione nodded with a smile. "When you are."
With that Aquila Black walked into the Great Hall with Hermione Granger on her arm. If only her original father could see her now. As they were waiting for the champions Aquila wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist. "After the champions have their dance, I expect you to dance with me." She whispered in her ear knowing Minerva was watching from the other side of the room. "Maybe I might get her peeved enough to have a dance with me."
This caused Hermione to chuckle and nod. "Of course, Quil." She was going to soak it up for all it was worth. She saw Ron out of the corner of her eye, his face almost as red as his hair. "Ronald looks like he is ready to blow the place up."
This caused Aquila to turn in the direction her date was looking. She winked at him and blew him a kiss.
"He will kill you." Hermione laughed playfully slapping Aquila on the arm before pulling her into a hug.
"I can protect myself." She assured placing a kiss into the girls hair. "Time to dance." She giggled and pulled Hermione onto the floor, easily falling into the rhythm of the dance. "I'll lead you." She reassured with a smile.
They shared a few dances together before Hermione wanted to go check on her boys. Aquila bowed and kissed the others hand before walking off towards Minerva.
She stopped by the older woman and offered a smile. "I was helping her get back at Weasley for being a coward and a prat."
Minerva looked at Aquila like she was ready to blow a fuse. "You mean to tell me that was nothing, Miss Black?" She questioned in a hush tone not wanting to draw attention to themselves.
"I would've taken you if I would've been permitted." The younger witch snapped back just as quietly. "People are starting to look, dance with me." She spoke pulling the professor onto the dance floor. She could see Minerva look petrified but she put her arms around her and offered a smile. "I'm here, and you are safe." She promised.
This seemed to make Minerva calm down and they shared the dance, almost losing themselves as they glided across the floor. It was like they were back as they were over 40 years before. Once the dance was over, Minerva grabbed Aquila's hand placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles as she bowed. "Meet me at our spot by the lake." She whispered before walking back over to the other teachers.
Poppy beamed as her friend walked back, she hadn't seen two dances move so perfectly together since they were teenagers. "Just like old times?" She questioned with a knowing shimmer in her eyes.
Minerva nodded with a blush creeping up her cheeks. "Aye, just like old times."
"Tabby, if it's a soulbond you are permitted to start courting her now as long as nothing goes too far before she's of age next year." Albus interrupted the two friends with a smile. "And minimal public displays of affection." He reminded with a twinkle in his blue eyes.
"Thank you, Albus." She hugged him gently. "I have to go for now, I think I need to talk to someone." Tilting her head to the door where Aquila was leaving to go out on the grounds. The other professors nodded with smiles, letting her know they accepted whatever was going on.
Minerva left the hall and walked down to her favourite spot of the lake, few knew about it. "Fancy seeing you here." She greeted making the younger witch jump and turn around.
"Min, don't do that to me!" She yelped before moving forward to hug the older woman. "Thank you for the dance." She whispered in her ear as she pulled back.
"Sorry, Quil." She chuckled like she hadn't in years. "I didn't really have much choice in the dance, but I rather enjoyed it." She smiled and sat down on their bench. "I think you look even more beautiful tonight than you did last time."
Aquila blushed as she sat down beside her. "I'm sorry for not warning you that I was bringing Hermione." She sighed and reached for Minerva's hand holding it between her own. "One, I knew Weasley liked her and wanted to make him jealous so he would man up. Two, and this is juvenile of me so forgive me.. I thought maybe if you thought someone else was interested in your girl, you might also get your big girl pants on and make the first move this time." She admitted softly not proud of playing with people's feelings.
"Mr Weasley did seem rather upset at the two of you dancing so seamlessly." The older witch mused as she wrapped an arm around Aquila's waist. "I will also admit I didn't like how Miss Granger looked so comfortable in your arms, I didn't even known you spoke to each other."
A small chuckle escaped her mouth and she shook her head. "We had never spoken more than our names to each other until last month." She smiled and looked into the glistening green eyes she had missed so terribly. "I found her in the library doing homework for your class.. I may have asked her if she knew of the legend of the two witches that fell in love, one pure and the other not.." She bit her bottom lip for a moment before continuing. "Of course she did, and she asked me if I was the pure blood and I told her I was, then she asked me who was the other." She sighed and moved to rest her head on the familiar shoulder.
"What did you tell her?" Minerva inquired softly giving the young woman a gentle yet reassuring squeeze.
Aquila sighed again and looked back into those eyes. "All I could do was point to her transfiguration text book." She admitted softly. "Once she found out that we were soulmates, she agreed to come to the ball with me."
Minerva took the information in before a soft smile appeared on her usually firm features. "You do know Miss Granger is going to be on my back about this now until we get our happy ending, right?" She quirked an eyebrow with a small smirk.
Aquila giggled and nodded. "Of course she would, I've seen the way she interacts with you.. You are almost like a third parent to her."
Saying that she was shocked by that statement was really not enough. "Am I really that blind, Quil?" Her voice no louder than a whisper as she reached up to caress Aquila's cheek.
She shook her head and smiled. "No, Min, you are not blind." Moving to face the other woman better she placed a hand on the woman's knee. "You have just been closed off to love since I left." It was almost like a confession as a tear rolled down her pale cheek.
The older witch gently wiped it away with her thumb before leaning in to kiss her softly, the younger witch happily returning the gesture. They only pulled apart to catch their breath, resting their foreheads together.
"Just like I never left." Aquila chuckled now the tears rolling down her face were tears of joy.
"Just like you never left, my love." Minerva whispered pulling the girl onto her lap and holding her close.
They sat like this for a while watching the moon's reflection on the surface of the lake. Content to just be for a moment. It was perfect.
"Oh! I almost forgot." Aquila quickly said waving her hand causing a small velvet box to come flying and land in it. "I know we've only just taken the first step back into our relationship, but I got this from the Black vault at the end of my third year. By that point I knew you knew who I was and that I remembered as well." She started to explain while trying to keep her thoughts together. "Mother made sure it's not cursed or any dark magic is in it.. What I'm trying to say is.." She took a deep breath and opened the box to revel a simple silver band with two tiny stones, one emerald and one ruby. "It's a promise ring.. A promise from me that I will take whatever we have seriously and put in the work for the long run."
Minerva watched the young woman with a confused yet intrigued look on her face, she listened to her speak and was almost about to stop her thinking it was a marriage proposal. She looked at the ring before looking up at Aquila. "I'd be honoured to wear your ring, Quil." She whispered with tears in her eyes.
Aquila smiled and slipped the ring onto Minerva's hand. "I saw you and Pops at my grave just before my mum found out she was pregnant with me." She whispered resting her head on the woman's chest.
Minerva's lips turned up in a sad smile. "Pops would always go with me, I could never bring myself to go alone. Of course, I did have to wait a few years until your father died before I could go."
"Father was swine." She sneered. "I'm glad she kept her promise to look after you if anything happened to me."
"Besides your mother and myself, she was the person you trusted the most." She remembered with a smile placing a kiss in the girls hair. "I use to tease her, when you were here before." She giggled remembering how flustered her friend would get. "I use to tease her that if you weren't mine, she'd probably be yours."
This made the young with look at her with wide eyes. "Me and Pops? Minerva are you serious? She was like a sister to me." She was almost offended that her soul mate could think such a thing.
"Of course, I wouldn't have stood for it. I would've fought for my woman." They both laughed at this before sharing a few more kisses. "Albus said that as we are soul bound, we are able to court with minimal public displays of affection and nothing more than snogging until you are of age." She felt like her partner needed to know this information as well.
Aquila could only nod with a beaming smile. "I won't let you go this time, I don't care how many dark witches or wizards I have to go through. I won't leave you again." She promised and she hugged her tight, hiding her face in the crook of the older woman's neck.
All Minerva could do was rub her back gently as she held her. "Shh, my love. I've got you. I won't let you go." She whispered in her ear as she rocked them gently.
"I love you, Minnie." She whispered meaning every letter with everything she had.
"I love you too, Ursula." She teased. Growing up she would get called Minnie Mouse and she never had another Disney character to throw back at anyone, but hearing the name from a few muggle born students she had looked into it.
Aquila gently slapped her arm. "I'm not an evil sea witch, thank you very much." She playfully huffed, causing Minerva to chuckle.
"Well, I am not a mouse, my dear." She reminded before moving the girl off her lap. "I am a cat." She added proudly.
"Alright, alright. May I call you kitten instead?" She questioned with a small grin.
Minerva nodded knowing she was no longer a kitten but she was when she first changed in front of Aquila, and that is what made it okay. "I think we have enough time to slip one more dance in, if you are willing of course?" She offered her hand with a smile.
The young witch nodded happily and took her hand. "You know a lot of people will stare at us right? Draco will tell father and he has come around to the fact that I will marry a beautiful, intelligent, talented, half-blood witch.. I don't know how he'll react when he learns it's you." She spoke as they made their way back to the Great Hall.
"Quil, love. Whatever happens, we will deal with it together. No more running off by yourself if there is potential danger, okay?" Minerva stopped them and placed her hands upon Aquila's cheeks.
She nodded with tears in her eyes before hugging Minerva once more. "Together." She whispered before pulling back, linking her arm with the professors.
They made their way inside, as predicted a lot of the crowd had paused for a moment as the pair found a place on the dance floor. Aquila's hands wrapped softly around Minerva's neck and Minerva's hands were on Aquila's waist as the music began. They dance perfectly in sync, there was no stumbling, even the lifts were flawless. Everyone watching could see the magic between the pair, it was obvious they were made for each other.
After a few moments the pair didn't even realise they were the only ones dancing, while everyone else watched on.
"I don't think I've seen Min this happy since… Well you know." Poppy whispered in Albus' ear, to which he quickly nodded.
"They dance together like they've been doing it everyday for the past 40 or so years." He whispered back watching the pair and how their love for each other flooded the room with a soothing warmth.
Once the dance was finished the hall thundered with applause causing the women to giggle, resting their foreheads together.
"I guess we know we aren't alone in this anymore." Aquila smile before stealing a brief peck on Minerva's lips. This caused the crowd to cheer louder, it was mostly Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. The Slytherins didn't have much of a reaction, but neither witch cared.
"Aren't you upset that your date dumped you for a teacher?" Ron groaned towards Hermione who didn't seem to be impressed with him.
"For your information, Ronald! I only came here with her to make our love interests jealous.." She threw up her hands and shook her head. "Obviously it worked, you are just too stubborn to see it." At this point Hermione ran from the room causing the two witches lost in each other to look up.
"Go check on her." Minerva whispered with a small nod and smile. "She'll need a friend who understands."
Aquila kissed her cheek before nodding and running after a clearly upset Hermione. She ran through the halls, only to find the girl almost curled into a ball on a staircase. "Hermione?" She called softly as she got closer to sit next to her.
"Ronald is a complete idiot!" She snapped as tears rolled down her face. Suddenly she felt arms around her and heard soft whispers of care and friendship. This calmed her down enough to play with a bit of frill on her dress. "He is completely jealous, but he is too pigheaded to see it." She explained feeling comfort from the girls embrace.
The older witch smiled, happy that their plan worked in some way. "Give him time, he is a boy after all." She whispered. "One day he will wake up and realise that you are the most beautiful witch in his world."
Hermione smiled at this thought and it made her feel better. "Is that how it happened with you and Professor McGonagall?"
"In a way, you see Minerva is very stubborn has always been set in her ways." She explained softly. "She also grew up in a catholic house hold, her father was a minister. At school we were a year apart despite being the same age for most of the time we were here. It happened for me when I was in my fourth year, she was in her third. I was in Slytherin and she the bravest lion I had ever met." She sighed. "It was the night of the quidditch final, Slytherin verse Gryffindor.. We were both chasers for our houses. Slytherin won that year… But it was a brilliant game, at one point we almost collided." She chuckled remembering all the gasps she heard that day. "After the match I stayed behind at the pitch and Minerva had the same idea.. We had already been friends since her first year at this point… Once we were alone, I told her I liked her more than a friend. Well, she ran off and didn't talk to me for the rest of the school year." She shook her head remembering how hurt she was.
"Anyway, half way through her fourth year and my fifth year. Poppy decided she had enough of us avoiding each other and dancing around the issue, she locked us in a broom closet and wouldn't let us out until we admitted how we felt."
Hermione listened to the story taking in every detail she could. "Did you make up that day?"
Aquila nodded with a smile. "I had my first kiss that day. It was a tough road, but we got through it and I'm glad Poppy did it."
The younger witch smiled at the ending, she hoped it could be a similar ending for her and Ron. "I'm happy to see her almost glow, I've never seen a pair in love like you guys."
"Thank you, Hermione. I know you see her as a parental figure, I promise to look after her the best I can." She kissed the girls cheek before standing up. "Best if we retire for the night. If Weasley causes you anymore pain, come find me.. I'll set the boy straight." She chuckled gently squeezing Hermione's shoulder before walking up to her dorm.
"I know you will, I can see it in your eyes, the way you look at her." She nodded but stayed seated. "I'll do that." She smiled watching the girl leave. This left Hermione alone on the stairs, but now with a newfound bravery. She went back down to the hall and found Ron and Harry at a table; she saw Professor McGonagall offering a smile to convey that she was happy for her before turning her attention to Ron.
"Ronald Weasley! You are a complete and total arse!" Hermione yelled hitting him on the arm. "I wanted you on my arm tonight, not Aquila! But you were too stupid to see it!" She continued now everyone's attention was on them. "Then you blow up at me for actually having a date and dancing with them! Maybe you should've picked up some of that Gryffindor courage and asked me earlier and not as a last resort!"
At this point was feeling proper embarrassed, his face as red as his hair. "I-I—" He stuttered before running back to his dorm that he shared with Harry and Neville.
Hermione sighed and looked around the room before walking out and went to bed.