A/N: Thank you for all of the messages after the last chapter!

For the disclaimer, please see the prologue.

Chapter Thirty: March 1945 Pt. III

Minerva awoke to startling fluorescent lighting. The walls of the room were stark white, and the air around her reeked of bleach. She opened her eyes more, and when she caught sight of Albus, her lips fluttered upwards into a gentle smile.

"I really wish I didn't have to find you in a hospital bed again," Albus said softly, stroking her hand. "This is becoming a regular fixture in our lives, you know."

"What hospital are we in?"

"The same one you were in after the bomb injured you." He looked her over. "How much do you remember?"

Minerva rubbed her eyes tiredly with her free hand. "I remember Callum found us," she blushed, "and I remember being captured."

"That's right," Albus chuckled sadly. "Both are true."

"I'm sorry if I frightened you," Minerva apologized meekly. She knew he wouldn't want an apology, but she felt horrible. Like she was the biggest idiot on the planet.

"You did frighten me, but you held your own." Albus rose out of the chair and pressed a kiss to her hairline, lingering for a moment. "What else do you remember?"

"You couldn't do it," she whispered, "so I had to fight him. I pulled on our bond —we still need to talk about that, by the way— and I turned into some hybrid phoenix cat animal."

"I wish I had seen that." Albus' eyes danced, despite the situation. "And then?"

"Then, well, I caught him in a precarious situation, I suppose," Minerva shrugged. "I took his wand along with yours, and I bound him as best I could."

"It was more than the best you could do. It was the best I've ever seen," Albus corrected gently. "It took me longer than I would care to admit to release those bonds before the Ministry took over and locked him away in Nurmengard Castle."

"How did you get the bonds undone?" Minerva's eyebrows creased. "I thought I imbued them with my magical signature. No one else should have been able to break through that."

"You did, and I've never been prouder," Albus began, "but you were also drawing on my magic through our bond. Your spell had my magical signature within it, as well."

"That makes sense," she murmured. "So Grindelwald is in custody?"

"Yes," Albus swallowed. "He'll be kept prisoner at his own castle where he'll be unable to hurt anyone ever again. You did that, my dear."

"It would be more apt to say that we did it," Minerva corrected, smoothing out her blanket. "I'm sure they'll want to question me. They'll want to know how I cast that spell, and what happened during our duel. Any ideas on how to avoid telling them about our bond?"

He bit his lip. "About that," Albus began, grimacing when her eyes narrowed, "you should know that the press has already released a story that, well, isn't entirely true."

"How entirely?"

"As in, not at all."

"Albus." Her voice was firm. "Enough with the theatrics. Just tell me."

"Well, the press is under the impression that I am the one who captured Gellert."

He watched her eyes open in shock, followed by a slight pursing of her lips. "Why would they be under that impression?"

"I was intrigued by Gellert's wand," Albus whispered. His voice was rough. He hated admitting his biggest fault, especially to her, and yet, here he was. "I thought it might be the Elder Wand."

Her eyebrows skyrocketed. "You mean the Elder Wand from the stories?"

He nodded. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I had searched for it a long time, you see, and well, I had to check to see if Gellert had succeeded."

Minerva opened her mouth slightly, worrying at her lip as the pieces clicked into place. "The two of you wanted to become the masters of death, didn't you? That's what your goal was."

"One of many," Albus confessed. "And, well, it is the Elder Wand. That's partly why he was so powerful."

"So you had the wand, then what?"

"The press came in, along with Callum. I had asked Callum to go and get back up. I wanted to get to you first. Anyway," Albus shook his head clear, "the press came in and saw me with the wand, and you were on the floor..."

"I suppose it was rather convenient that you could undo the binding spell, Albus." Her tone was neutral. "It would have been rather awkward for you if you had claimed to be the saviour of the wizarding world and then had been unable to undo your own binding spell."

"I didn't claim to be anything," Albus replied, almost harshly. "The press came to a certain conclusion, and—"

"And you didn't fight for the truth."

"It's not that I didn't fight."

"Fine," Minerva said coolly. "If we must get caught up in semantics, let me ask you this: how hard did you fight for the truth, Albus?"

"Probably not hard enough," he confessed, and she was shocked that he admitted as much. "Clearly not hard enough. Minerva, I'm sorry."

She sensed that he was about to start making excuses, so she held her hand up to stop him. "Albus, I'm not one for glory and fanfare and the press. You know that. We both know that's more up your alley." Albus winced at that remark, knowing he deserved the insult. "What I do support is the truth, Albus. I don't mind that you'll be the one contending with interview requests and public appearances for the rest of our lives. I'm quite happy to avoid all of that. I..." She bit her lip, seeking the right words. "I resent that you made me into some sort of damsel in distress when in reality, the reverse happened. I don't want glory, but I do want credit where credit is due."

"I know, and I'm sorry that I let my quest for power turn into this. I'm sorry it affected you. I would do anything for you, my dear. You have to know that," Albus begged.

"Almost anything," Minerva responded venomously. "Anything but tell the truth, it seems."

"Minerva..."

"Not now, Albus. Not now."

"There's more you need to know," Albus hesitated. "The Elder Wand technically belongs to you. It doesn't fully work for me because I didn't win it."

She closed her eyes and leant against the pillow. "What a souvenir. Lucky me." Her eyes flew open again. "Wait. I won't be able to keep it, will I? People will expect you to use that wand. That's how duels work, isn't it?"

"It's not like I'm telling anyone what it is, Minerva." A trickle of annoyance crept into his tone. "But yes, people will expect me to use it; the few that pay attention to that sort of thing, anyway."

"So you're attempting to console me by informing me that I won the most powerful wand on the planet, and yet I can never use it because you —my boyfriend— allowed the press to believe a falsehood and then took credit for my achievement?"

He winced. "I'm trying to soften the blow."

"You're doing a terrible job," she informed him. He looked downward for a moment, and Minerva saw something in his face that she didn't like. "Albus, that isn't it, is it?"

"No," he sighed. "No, my dear, it's not."

"Albus?" She grew alarmed as he sat beside her on the bed, taking both of her hands in his. "You're scaring me."

"I'm very sorry to have to tell you this," Albus began softly, "but there was a bombing in London. A surprise attack. There hasn't been one in years, so this must have been an act of desperation. I'm so sorry, my dear, but Diana was caught up in it. She didn't make it."

"What?" Minerva's heart stopped. "No, Albus, no. No, no, no." A terrible thought occurred to her. "What about—?"

"Lucy and Iolanthe are fine. They were at your parent's house," he soothed as she released a sob and cried into his chest. "I wish I could do something other than tell you how sorry I am." They sat there for a time as she bawled into his robes, and he sat there, gently rocking them.

"Is everyone else okay?" Her voice was muffled against his chest when she finally spoke.

Albus pulled her closer. "We lost your replacement. As it turns out, Katrina killed Andrew. I don't think you would have met him. He was Aidan's partner while you were gone."

"I did meet him," Minerva responded, her voice hoarse. "Right when I was on my way to see you. Aidan introduced us. Oh, no," she groaned. "How's Aidan?"

"Aidan is upset, but he's doing better than I would have thought," Albus smiled sadly. "Trust me. He's coping as well as you'd expect."

Minerva nodded, accepting it for what it was. "What happens next?"

"Minerva, you need to heal and grieve for your sister. Don't worry about what comes next."

"Albus. You owe me this much," she insisted, and he knew she was right.

"Well, the Minister has informed me that you will be receiving a full scholarship for your mastery. Given that you're an accomplished animagus, the program would only last twelve months. You can start at the beginning of July, if you want."

"That sounds wonderful," Minerva admitted. "At the very least, the Minister is being gracious in his attempts at reimbursement. I wonder if I could stay on as an Auror part-time?"

"I think that if anyone could handle the workload, it would be you." Albus looked at her carefully. "Minerva, please don't bury your grief in work."

"I'm not!" she shouted. Albus raised his eyebrows at her, and she sighed. "I need to know that I have something to look forward to."

"Is being with me something to look forward to?" Albus teased.

A small smile appeared at the edge of Minerva's lips. "You know it is. We can finally be out in the open, and we can actually have a real relationship." A fleeting thought entered her head about how Albus was no longer just a noted alchemist, but a celebrated war hero. She didn't spare a thought to how that would alter their plans.

"Speaking of our relationship," Albus interrupted her thoughts, "I talked to the Flamels."

"You did what?"

"They're very discreet, and Nicolas and I are very close friends," Albus replied quickly. "You may recall that it was with Nicolas that I conducted most of my alchemy research, and it was he who helped me to discover the twelve uses for dragon's blood."

"There must be more to your relationship than that if you were willing to discuss our secret with him," Minerva pressed. "Speaking of which, did Grindelwald tell anyone about that?"

"I wiped that particular memory from his mind." Albus hung his head shamefully. "I couldn't risk him telling someone about that."

"I think you made the right call," Minerva shrugged. "Otherwise, we could have had an unfortunate situation on our hands. Which," she quirked her eyebrow, "makes me wonder why you would tell the Flamels without telling me first."

"I thought I would try to have some answers for when you woke up," Albus explained. "After we bonded, I realized that various quirks and characteristics of the Flamels reminded me of, well, us. I once asked Perenelle how she and Nicolas remained so in love over their lifespans—"

"Because they have the Philosopher's Stone and are immortal?"

Albus stared at her. "Yes, exactly. Please keep that to yourself. Anyway, I found Perenelle's answer to be funny at the time, but it makes sense now. She said that you always stay in love with your soulmate, especially when your skin still catches on fire every time you touch. I had no idea that she could mean it felt like literal fire," he smiled slightly. "We also vacationed together in the Alps one Christmas, and when Nicolas injured his foot, Perenelle seemed to suffer the same affliction. In hindsight, I looked back and realized that all of the signs were there."

"And did they confirm your theory?"

"They did." Albus nodded. "They have been soul bonded for centuries. They were quite excited for us. Perenelle wanted to throw us a bonding party, but I talked her out of that."

"Thank goodness for small mercies." Minerva wrinkled her nose. "That would have been horrible. Did they tell you anything useful?"

"They offered to talk to us once you were feeling better. Walk us through some of the feelings, the benefits, the struggles, anything we want to know," Albus relayed. "I believe it would be a good idea, considering I am at a loss for how to proceed from here."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure what difficulties this will cause. For example, if your mastery is in London, and I'm at Hogwarts for ten months of the year, I wonder how the distance will affect the bond between us. I also find myself wondering if there's a way to harness and control it, much like you did when you duelled Gellert. It would be good if we had as much information as possible."

"I see," Minerva commented. Her mind was whirling. Not only had she just found out that her sister had died, but she was more than a little peeved that Albus had talked to the Flamels about their situation. It wasn't them she had a problem with, not really; it was the fact that Minerva had been asking Albus when they could tell people about their relationship, and Albus had always said 'later, after the war'. While it was after the war now, she wished that he had at least given her the courtesy of talking to her about it first.

Then there was the whole other matter of how the world thought he was responsible for taking Grindelwald down when in reality, he had needed his girlfriend to cover his ass.

"I can tell that you're angry," Albus interrupted her thoughts. His face was sorrowful and apologetic. "I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am."

"For which part?" she snapped.

"For all of it," he whispered. "For dragging you into this mess, for being too weak to handle Gellert, for the mess with the papers, Diana...all of it."

She pursed her lips. "You didn't drag me into this mess; I came willingly of my own accord. As for Grindelwald, I do—"

They were interrupted by a knock on the door, followed by Callum opening it slowly. He stopped suddenly upon seeing Albus. "Ah. I should have figured you would have been the first in to see her. May I have a word with my sister, please, Albus?" His tone was polite, but cool.

"Of course." Albus stood up. "I'll be in to check on you a little later on, Minerva." He kissed the top of her head gently before making space for Callum.

"Albus, we will be having a conversation about all of this later," Minerva informed him firmly before he left the room. "Don't think this is over."

He nodded and shut the door behind him. Callum looked at his sister carefully. "What, are you two having a lover's quarrel? I would have thought that the benefit of dating an older man is that at least one of you is sensible."

Minerva smacked Callum's arm. "Really, Callum?"

"I feel entitled to a fair bit of teasing," Callum laughed, "seeing as I did walk in on you with Albus."

Her face flushed. "What are the chances you'll just forget about that?"

"Nil."

"Wishful thinking, I suppose," Minerva groaned, leaning back against the pillow. "But please, keep it to yourself. Hardly anyone else knows."

"Why exactly is that, Minnie?" He looked at his sister carefully. "I asked him about it, but I need to hear it from you. This was all legal, wasn't it? You weren't forced into this or anything?"

"Merlin, Callum, no," Minerva answered quickly. "What kind of person do you think Albus is?"

"Well, at first, I thought he was our weird, barmy professor, then I thought he was a good friend, and now I think I have to look at him as some kind of...brother-in-law?"

Minerva slapped his arm again. "We are absolutely nowhere near that stage. The reason no one knows is," she inhaled deeply, "we started seeing each other right after graduation." She took a moment to steady herself, forgiving herself for the small lie to her brother. "We knew how it would look, and then there was the war going on, and it just seemed safer to keep it hidden."

"Particularly because Grindelwald seemed to have it out for Albus," Callum finished.

"Yeah, that's part of it," she chuckled morosely. "He still found out, though, and that's why I was taken."

"What really happened in that room, Minnie?" he asked, and when she merely raised her eyebrow, he continued, "I have a feeling you did a lot more than the press is saying. I know you, there's no way in hell you would have merely sat in the corner and 'cast protective spells where possible'."

"Is that what they're saying?" Minerva gasped, horrified. "I will have no credibility if that keeps up."

"Never mind your credibility, Minnie, I want the truth," Callum pleaded. "Honestly, what the hell happened?"

"It was a...a joint effort," Minerva admitted. "I did most of the grunt work, but I would never have been able to do what I did without pulling on his magic. I needed his magic to get through it, truly, or I would be dead right now."

Callum looked skyward. "Dare I ask how you pulled on his magic?"

"You can ask, but for the sake of your sanity, I think it would be better if you didn't."

"Are you stuck to him for life, or something?"

"Something like that," she laughed. "Seriously though, that's all I'm telling you. I would need to talk to Albus before telling you more."

Callum looked his sister over. "There's something I need to tell you, Minnie, but it's not going to be easy to hear."

"If it's about Diana," Minerva said gently, "then I already know. Albus told me."

"He shouldn't have told you," Callum growled. "It should have been me. This is our family, not his."

"I know." Minerva patted his hand soothingly. "Don't blame him. He had to tell me about the press, and I think he wanted to get all of the bad news out of the way. Albus would have wanted to be here to comfort me, not rob us of a moment. I hope you know that."

"I do, but hell, I miss her, Minnie," Callum whispered. "It's just us now."

A tear found its way out of her eye. "No, it's not just us. We have Lucy and Iolanthe. We have Aidan, and we have Albus, even if you want to curse him at the moment. For better or worse, we have our parents. We will get through this."

"It wasn't just Di," Callum breathed. "Do you remember Andy?"

"Andy?" Minerva frowned. "Lucy's brother, the one who was on the quidditch team with us?"

"Yeah, him." He shook his head. "I forgot that you played together for a year or two. He was caught up in the same attack that killed Diana."

"How's Lucy doing?" Minerva asked sadly.

"She's in the same position as us," Callum pointed out. "She lost her brother. I think she's saddest for Iolanthe. Iolanthe won't get to know her aunt or her uncle now."

"We'll make sure Iolanthe knows who they are," Minerva promised. "This won't be in vain. It can't be."

"Minnie, there's one more, and I'm really not sure how to tell you this," Callum began, causing Minerva's heart to thud loudly, "but Rowena was injured badly in a bomb attack on your campsite. She didn't make it, either."

"Oh, no," Minerva swallowed. She was very happy that it wasn't a person who was actually dead, but she knew she couldn't just tell Callum that without Rolanda and Poppy's approval. "I'll need to talk to Poppy. Is she still here?"

"Yeah, she is. Rowena's parents didn't know about them, so Poppy felt weird going back and mourning with them."

Or, Minerva mused amusedly, she wanted to stay with her girlfriend. "That makes sense." Callum shifted on the bed, and she cocked her head to the side. "What is it, Callum?"

"Well, there's some paperwork I need you to take care of," Callum answered. "I'm really sorry to have to give this to you now, but Ma wants it dealt with sooner rather than later."

"What is it?" She reached her hand out to take the documents from him, skimming them quickly. "A will?"

"Lucy and Andy were the Peverell's sole heirs," Callum explained, "and now that Andy is gone, Lucy stands to inherit Peverell Manor."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Well, if Lucy and I will be living in Peverell Manor, McGonagall Manor would go to Di...but now that she's gone, it goes to you. Ma wants you to sign the paperwork so that it's settled, and then Da can't say anything about it if Ma dies first."

"Oh, my," Minerva inhaled, running her hands over the first page. "I never expected this."

She honestly hadn't. Being the youngest, she thought she would grow up and then leave McGonagall Manor behind her. The thought of being able to build better memories there —perhaps with her own family one day— made her smile.

"I know, Minnie." Callum smiled gently. "I know."

"Oh!" A thought occurred to Minerva. "That reminds me. Lucy gave me her invisibility cloak. Now that the war is over, I want you to have it back."

"Oh, no." Callum shook his head emphatically. "Nope. That was Lucy's gift to you."

"She wanted you to have it, but you insisted she give it to me," Minerva pressed. "Take it back. Make it a fun gift for Iolanthe when she turns sixteen, or better yet, use it to keep yourself safe on the field."

"Are you not staying with me on the Auror force, Minnie?" His lips quirked into a smirk. "You were actually useful, you know."

"I think," Minerva began hesitantly, "I might see if I can stay on in the Auror office while I get my mastery."

Her brother's face hardened. "In Transfiguration, I presume?"

"Yes." She rolled her eyes. "But that's because I'm good at it, not because of Albus. I'll have to study in London, anyway, so I'll be far away from him."

"And close to me." Callum grinned again. "Perfect. Nothing like having a trusted babysitter close by."

"Honestly, after a war? I'll take a baby any day."