A/N: This is one chapter I've been wanting to write for eons. I hope you enjoy.

For the disclaimer, please see the prologue.

Chapter Fifty-Three: January 1957

Albus rubbed at his temples wearily. Violet was yelling at him—again—and he found himself wishing he had listened to Lavinia and had broken it off with her as soon as he realized he wasn't in love with her.

He had thought he might be, for a while.

When he first thought about his motives for pursuing a relationship with Violet, Albus felt rather ashamed. He didn't like to think about how he had wanted to find someone other than Minerva—partly to prove to her that he too could be happy in someone else's arms, but also to prove to himself that he would manage just fine without her.

Meeting Violet had been a happy accident. She was kind, attractive, and rather witty. She made him laugh, and was genuinely interested in Albus as Albus, not Albus Dumbledore. He appreciated that, and he respected her independence even more. Given Albus' own nature, this suited him well. Albus still missed Minerva, but he had grown comfortable with Violet.

Almost hopeful, even.

A sickening feeling had twisted in his stomach the moment he found out that Minerva was expecting. It hurt more than he had thought it would. The thought that someone else would be raising a child with her caused a hollowness he never thought he would feel.

Albus had never particularly loved the idea of having children. His own fraught childhood, combined with the faults he knew lay within him, made him hesitant to ever be a father. Early on in their relationship, Albus had had a conversation with Violet, explaining his misgivings. Bemusedly, Violet had explained that she wanted to wait to have children, and she told him that she had been using Muggle contraceptives all along. Albus hadn't quite understood the mechanics of the contraption she had shown him, and so he surreptitiously cast contraception charms after each time they had sex, just to be safe.

The news of Minerva's pregnancy had hit him hard. It had finally felt like Minerva would always be just out of his reach now, and Albus had found himself rather distraught. He had been in such a bad headspace that both Nicolas and Armando had commented on it. It was only after Violet had told him over dinner one night that they were expecting that he realized he had forgotten to cast the contraception charms a time or ten after learning of Minerva's news, too upset to be concerned with such trivialities.

Clearly, the Muggle device had proved to be useless.

Realizing he was rather trapped, Albus had done what he had thought was the proper thing to do, and proposed. He rededicated himself to Violet, and with the exception of a few moments of weakness, he had thought he had done rather well.

Athena's birth had been difficult to handle. Albus hated that Minerva had needed to pull him out of a funk. He really had wanted to be better than his father—not that that was a high bar—and he did his best to accomplish that goal. Albus came home early when possible, played with Athena, read books about child development, and helped Violet with the parenting decisions. Life wasn't perfect, but he and Violet were managing.

Then, Minerva had wanted to sever their bond.

At first, the thought had stung Albus. It didn't bother him too much, and he wanted to please her, so he agreed. For her sake, he was saddened by their linked reproductive systems. In his mind, though, it was further proof that they were meant to be together, and it pulled him out of his relationship with Violet.

Everything slowly started to unravel. Against his better judgment, Albus grew angry. He became frustrated. He no longer wanted anything he had, and this feeling of entrapment caused a chasm to develop between not only himself and Violet, but between himself and Athena, as well.

After the reveal of Athena's—and Dalton's—accidental magic a year and a half ago, Albus had done his best to right the wrongs. Like Minerva had advised many moons ago, he went to see a therapist numerous times. The whole bloody thing was complicated: he didn't trust a magical therapist to keep his secrets based on his identity, but nor could he reveal the wizarding world to a Muggle therapist. In the end, he had erred on the side of caution, choosing a Muggle practitioner and concocting some cock and bull story to try and explain his predicament.

All he had succeeded in doing was confusing the poor man.

Albus honestly had tried. Athena had been cross with him for a while—reminding him of Aberforth's ability to hold a grudge—until her curiosity had gotten the best of her. She had eventually approached him, unimpressed but excited, wanting to know anything and everything about her magical abilities. He had also done his best to explain magic to Violet, which hadn't gone very well at all.

Now, there were too many cracks in their kingdom; Violet hardly had trust in Albus at all. Consequently, he had tried to break it off with Violet, numerous times. Violet, however, was a proper woman, and thought it would besmirch her reputation to publicly leave her partner with her child out of wedlock in tow.

Ironically, his saving grace in the mess that had become his life was Minerva.

Minerva could see how much the stress of it all was hurting him, professionally and personally. When she would arrive to pick up Dalton and find Albus and Violet fighting, she would quietly take both Dalton and Athena home with her. Poor Melody Johnson, his ever-suffering Deputy, had bluntly informed Albus that Minerva had helped with many of the administrative duties, knowing instinctively that Albus would be delegating more and more responsibility.

This had all reached a boiling point about a month ago, around Christmas. Uncharacteristically, Albus had wept in front of Nicolas and Perenelle. He had explained that he had tried to leave, but short of taking Athena and denying his daughter access to her mother, Albus hadn't known what to do.

"Well, it's simple, dear boy," Nicolas had said gently. "We brew a memory potion! A Forgetfulness potion, to be exact."

Perenelle had frowned. "Nicolas, mon amour, that's a horrible thing to do to someone. You heard Albus: he doesn't want to rob Athena of her mother."

"I'm not suggesting he make her forget everything," Nicolas had replied hastily. "I'm sure it's possible to tailor such a potion to attract certain memories. For example, she may forget the magical world, and instead, simply think that she and Albus split amicably."

"Do you really think you could pull it off?" Albus had asked quietly. "Truly?"

Nicolas had shrugged, saying he would give it his best shot.

Now, out of his musings and listening to Violet continue to berate him for not informing him that Athena's magic could cause the neighbour's dog to lose all its teeth, Albus turned the memory potion over in his hands.

"Are you even listening to me?" Violet shrieked, finally prompting a response from him. "You're turning me into someone I don't want to be, Albus! I never wanted to be a nagging wife, and here we are!"

"Violet, I've told you. I believe it would be best if we part ways," Albus said, as gently as he could. "This isn't working, and it hasn't for a long time."

"I don't want this to be over!" Violet sobbed. "I don't want Athena growing up in a broken home."

"Surely two homes would be better than listening to us fight all the time," Albus argued. "Hell, I'm sure that we'll owe Dalton therapy by the time we're through."

"That's not funny, Albus," Violet hissed.

"Am I wrong? Don't forget: they're in the next room," Albus said, doing his best to keep his voice down.

Violet paled and sunk onto the chair across from Albus. She frowned as she caught sight of what was in his hands. "Albus, what do you have there?"

Albus considered hiding it, but thought better of it. He may have started their relationship with lies, but he wouldn't end it that way. Finally, he said, "It's a memory potion. Technically, it's a Forgetfulness potion."

Violet eyed the vial warily. "And why do you have it?"

"A very good friend brewed it for me," Albus admitted. "He thought it might be a good way to solve our problems."

"Did Callum do this?" Violet's voice was cold. Callum and Lucy's visits had become relatively infrequent lately, what with the constant fighting.

Albus shook his head. "No, it was someone else. Someone I trust implicitly."

"Is it for you to drink, or for me?" She narrowed her eyes. "You weren't going to just put that in my tea, were you?

"No, of course not," Albus sighed, and he held his hand up so that she would let him explain. "Listen to me, please. It's specifically tailored so that you would only forget certain things. You would forget about all of our fighting, and you would forget about the magical world. Obviously, you'd remember Athena, but you would believe that we had split amicably when she was younger. All of our problems would...disappear."

Violet seemed to genuinely consider the idea. "And you? Will you remember all of the bad times?"

"Yes. That'll be my punishment for being the cause of most of them," Albus replied softly.

"Albus, I don't know..." Violet trailed off, and they sat in silence for a time, both staring at the potion. "Are you sure it will work?"

"While I can never be sure, I'm quite confident in the brewer. I checked the ingredients myself."

"This feels like a very big decision."

"It is, and the ball is entirely in your court. It's up to you to decide if you want to drink it, and when you want to do so—whether that's tomorrow or in a year." Albus did his best to explain himself. "All I ask is that you have me nearby if you do, in case there are any ill side effects. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"Thank you for that," Violet chuckled lowly. "I'm glad to hear you don't want me dead."

"Never, Violet. Never that." Albus checked his pocket watch and sighed. "I'm sorry, but I should make an appearance at dinner. I'll do my best to get home before you go to sleep, and then we can discuss this more, if you like."

"I think that's a good idea. Thank you, Albus," Violet replied. "I need some time to think about all of this."

"Of course." Albus nodded quickly and stood. He hesitated, then pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head. "Have a good rest of your day."

"You, too," Violet called after him.

Albus left the house, feeling like he had just said a final goodbye.

Violet watched the door for a long time after Albus had left. She didn't particularly want to give up on their relationship—in fact, she had fought longer and harder for it than she perhaps should have. But, she reasoned with herself, what was she supposed to do? She loved Albus, and she loved their family. Violet knew that if their relationship were given a chance—without all of the secrets—then they could make a real go of it.

The only longstanding issue was that her partner didn't seem to believe it.

"Mummy?" Athena called, yanking on Violet's arm and pulling her back to reality. "Where's Daddy?"

"Your dad went back to work, honey," Violet said, smiling. "He had some things to wrap up at Hogwarts."

"Did he go for work, or did he go because you keep fighting?" Athena asked. "It's getting sad, you know."

"It's getting sad for me, too," Violet admitted. She pulled Athena into her arms. "We'll figure it out, don't you worry." She looked over Athena's head at Dalton, who was playing with the potion that Albus had mentioned. "Dalton!"

"What?" Dalton shrugged, still twirling the vial in between his fingertips. "What is this, Violet? Is this...is this magic?"

"No," Violet said firmly. She released Athena, stood, and swept the potion out from Dalton's hands. "This is for adults, not children."

"Sounds like magic to me," Athena grumbled. "If it's magic, why can't we play with it? We're the magic ones."

"I'm sure that not all magic is suitable for young children like yourself," Violet admonished. She rubbed at her temples with her free hand. She didn't like admitting it, but she hated parenting while dealing with the magical world. There was so much she didn't understand, and that she couldn't explain. To his credit, Albus had tried to explain certain concepts when she asked, but she knew that experience was a large part of understanding.

"Mama has told me that I can't know everything yet," Dalton supplied helpfully, and Violet shot him a grateful look.

"Thank you, Dalton," Violet said, smiling slightly. "Why don't you two go and play?"

Athena narrowed her eyes. "Dalton, maybe she would have told us more!"

"Athena," Dalton said patiently as they left the kitchen, "your mum doesn't know more. She's a Muggle."

Violet bristled. She knew that Dalton didn't mean it in a derogatory way, but it was hard for her to feel anything other than less than. Sighing, she picked up the potion and twirled it around, watching the purple liquid float around the vial.

Albus trusted whoever made the wretched thing, didn't he?

In a split second, Violet made her decision. She uncorked the vial and dumped the contents down her throat, closing her eyes and wincing as it burned.

"God, what did I just drink?" Violet asked herself. She closed one eye so she could peer at the vial. "Why did I do that?" She stood, looking around. "Where am I?"

Pausing against the growing panic, Violet closed her eyes. She last remembered meeting a man named Albus, but had no idea where she was. Was this his house?

"Hello?" Violet called tentatively. "Albus, are you there?" She exited into the hallway, where she heard voices. Following them, she was stunned to find two children playing on the floor. The girl looked like Albus, so she presumed she must have been babysitting.

But she would remember that, wouldn't she?

Violet crouched down next to the children. "Dear, where is your father?"

"He's at work, Violet." The boy peered at her anxiously. "Don't you remember? He left a while ago."

"No, I don't remember that," Violet said, frowning.

"How can you not remember that?" The girl put her hands on her hips. "You were fighting with him, Mummy!"

Mummy?

Violet recoiled. "Dear, I don't remember fighting with your father, so I'll take your word for it. Unfortunately, I am not your mother. You must have me confused with someone else."

The girl's mouth dropped open. "Mummy, what are you talking about?"

Violet grew anxious. "Please, stop calling me that."

Now, the boy got involved. "Violet? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong! I just don't remember either of you! I don't know who you are, or where I am, and I feel the strong urge to leave. Will your parents be home soon?"

"You are my parent!" The girl wailed.

"Look," Violet said, thoroughly cross now, "I don't know why you're calling me Mummy, but I think I'd remember giving birth to you, don't you think?" Violet stood and walked in the direction of where she thought the front door must be. "I didn't choose any of this, and I need to get back to my life, so I'm leaving."

She had just found the door when the girl spoke again, this time in a nasally voice.

"Mummy, what about your things?"

Violet turned around and winced. Drat, the girl was crying. "I'm sure your Mummy will come for her things later."

"Mummy!" The girl screamed, but Violet kept on walking.

She had no idea what was going on, but she was sure she had things to do.

If only she knew how to get home.

Dalton stared at Athena, dumbfounded. He didn't understand why Violet had just left, but he knew that Athena was sad about it. When he was sad, his Mama hugged him. So he hugged Athena.

She cried for a few minutes and then said, "Dalton, we never hug."

"Er, right," Dalton answered, quickly stepping back. "Sorry. You were crying."

"Because Mummy just left!" Athena screamed again. "What do we do now?"

"We can't be home alone. Mama told me to never be home alone." Dalton's eyes grew wide. "Who can we get to watch us?"

"We could try Uncle Abe, I guess," Athena shrugged. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Wait! I have an idea!"

"Yeah, what is it?" Dalton had met Aberforth a few times, and didn't like the way he always smelled of goats and sweat. "Anything but your uncle's."

"What if we went to Hogwarts?" Athena exclaimed, excited now. "We've never been, even though loads of professors bring their kids! I heard your mum telling Callum once!"

"Athena, we don't know how to get to Hogwarts," Dalton said patiently.

"I do! Uncle Abe told me once! It's a long walk, but I know we could get there."

Dalton could tell Athena wouldn't let it go, and he didn't want to stay at the house alone, either. "Okay. But we should get our coats. It looks cold, and Mama will be mad if I get sick."

"Yay!" Athena squealed and threw her arms around Dalton, forgetting that she didn't like to hug him. "We're going on an adventure!"

Dalton just hoped his Mama wouldn't get mad when she eventually found out.

Minerva had watched Albus arrive late to dinner, and then leave early. His red face and stormy disposition were enough to let her know that he was unhappy, let alone the fact that her stomach had been turning uncomfortably since fourth period. She thought about going after him, but she had patrol, and she wanted to get home to Dalton. It had been an uncharacteristically long week—many of the first-years were suffering from new bouts of homesickness after the holiday break, and she had had to sit with many of them as they cried. She cared for her students and was happy to take care of them, but she had not been home very often this week as a result.

Little did she know, Dalton had come to her.

Minerva was walking around the Great Hall when she saw a nervous Hagrid approach her. When she had first joined the staff, Hagrid had thanked her quietly, professing his gratitude for her role in procuring him a position on staff after the Chamber debacle. Ever since, the two had shared a nice friendship.

"Uh, Professa?" Hagrid gently tapped Minerva's forearm.

"Hagrid, I told you to call me Minerva," Minerva said kindly. "What is it?"

"I told yer to call me Rubeus," Hagrid remarked.

"You hate that name."

"Yer right." Hagrid smiled gruffly, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm really sorry to haf ter ask yer this, but...do yer haf a kid?"

Minerva's blood ran cold. "I beg your pardon?"

"Urm." Hagrid sighed and blushed. "There's a kid out on the grounds who looks exactly like yer, and he's not alone. There's a redheaded girl wi' him, too."

Minerva's eyebrows rose. "What?"

"I take it yer know 'em, then." Hagrid looked at her rather awkwardly and then said, "I won't tell anyone. Yer lucky. They're cute kids, Min'vra."

Hagrid's use of her given name caused her to relax slightly. "Thank you, but not both of them are mine," she admitted, sighing. "Where are they?"

"Follow me. I put 'em in my hut. The coats they was wearin' wasn't fit for this weather."

"Oh, Merlin." Minerva Transfigured her outer robe into a warm cloak. "Please take me there, quickly."

Minerva and Hagrid rushed off to his home. Feeling thankful that there was a lack of students outside due to the cold weather, Minerva sincerely hoped that the children were fine. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out how they had gotten there.

After she made sure they were safe, she would ground them until they were thirty.

Hagrid paused at the door to his hut. "Yer ready?"

Minerva waved him off anxiously. "Just open the door, please."

He opened it, and Minerva's eyes instantly settled on Athena, who was sobbing into Dalton's arms, his tiny biceps bulging with the effort.

"Dare I ask what you're doing here?" Minerva couldn't keep the harshness out of her voice. "Are you two all right?"

"Mama," Dalton breathed. "Look, Athena. Mama's here. She'll keep us safe."

"My mummy left!" Athena cried. She turned to look at Minerva, her blue eyes stormy and her pale cheeks stained red. "How could she leave us, Minerva?"

"Your mum left?" Minerva asked. "Why would she do that?"

Athena leapt out of Daltons' arms—much to his relief—and ran straight into Minerva's, burrowing her head in Minerva's chest. "Mummy and Daddy were fighting a lot," Athena whispered, her voice muffled. "A lot a lot."

"Ah," Minerva mused. That would certainly explain the anxiety permeating their bond today. "It didn't end well, I take it?"

Athena shook her head. "Daddy left to come back to work, and Mummy wasn't the same after."

"She had a weird magical drink!" Dalton added. "She said we weren't allowed to play with it, and we had to leave the room."

"Did she drink it?" Minerva asked wondrously. Albus wouldn't have been so careless as to leave a potion strewn about, would he?

"I dunno," Dalton shrugged.

"I think so," Athena whispered quietly into Minerva's hair. "Mummy didn't remember us after."

"What?" Minerva pulled away so she could look into Athena's eyes. "What do you mean, she didn't remember you?"

"Er, I'll go outside an' be with Fang," Hagrid said awkwardly. He could tell he shouldn't be privy to the conversation, even if he wanted to know more about this strange family dynamic.

Minerva shot him an appreciative glance as he stepped outside. "Now, Athena, darling, what do you mean? Surely your mum knew who you were."

"No, she didn't!" Athena wailed. "She said that my real mummy would be home soon, and she left. She didn't even bring her stuff!" She looked at Minerva. "Why did she leave me?"

Minerva's heart broke as she pulled Athena back into her arms. "I don't know, sweetheart. I'm so sorry. Is that why you came here?"

Dalton nodded earnestly. "We knew we weren't allowed to be alone, so we wanted to come and see you."

Minerva groaned. "I appreciate that, but did you ever think how dangerous it would be for you two to come out here alone?"

"It was an adventure, Min!" Athena said, popping her head out of Minerva's shoulder.

"It was dangerous, and I don't want you two to ever do that again, do you hear me?" Her voice was firm. She waited for them to nod before adding, "How did you get here, anyway?"

"Would you believe me if I said Daddy told me?" Athena asked meekly.

Minerva stared at her dubiously. "No, I wouldn't believe that for a second."

"She asked Aberforth, Mama," Dalton interrupted. "Aberforth told her in case she needed to reach Albus."

"Dalton," Athena whined. She looked at Minerva. "Don't get Uncle Abe in trouble."

"We'll see about that," Minerva said, sighing. She could only imagine how annoyed Albus would be at his younger brother. "Are you two all right? Are you hurt?"

"Just cold," Athena shrugged.

"And scared," Dalton said. "You got scared when we got here."

"It was a lot colder and darker and scarier than I thought," Athena said defensively.

"No fighting, please," Minerva sighed wearily. "Come with me."

"Are we going to see Daddy?" Athena's voice was meek. "He's going to be angry."

Minerva thought about it, and decided against it. "No, I'll take you to Auntie Ro and Auntie Poppy's."

"Don't they live in the castle?" Dalton asked excitedly. "You mean we'll get to see Hogwarts?"

Despite the situation, Minerva smiled. "Yes. But when we get in there, be very quiet, okay?"

"Min, I'm scared to go back outside," Athena said quietly. "It's dark."

"I'll ask Hagrid if he can carry you," Minerva sighed. "Now, come on, let's go." She added an extra few layers to the children's coats before placing warming charms on them. They walked outside, and Minerva stopped them before they could go too far.

"Hagrid? I hate to imposition you further, but would you mind carrying Athena up to the castle? She's a wee bit frightened."

"O' course not. Come 'ere, Athena," Hagrid said gently. He picked her up. "Let's get yer inside."

The quartet managed to avoid being seen during their walk, something for which Minerva was eternally grateful. She couldn't imagine the rumours that would start if they saw her and Hagrid carrying young children into the castle. When they arrived at Poppy's door, Minerva turned to Hagrid and gently took Athena into her own arms. "Thank you so much for your help, Hagrid. Please, keep all of this to yourself. No one..." she sighed. "No one knows about the kids."

Hagrid shook his head earnestly. "Yer secret is safe wi' me."

"Thank you," Minerva said gratefully. "Dalton, knock on the door, please."

Dalton did, and Poppy opened the door a second later, a shocked expression on her face. "What on earth...?"

"Would you mind watching them for a bit?" Minerva asked as they stepped inside. "I'm really sorry about this, but they got themselves here."

"What?" Poppy shut the door behind them. "How?"

"It's a long story," Minerva sighed. "Apparently, Violet no longer remembers them."

"Seriously?" Ro entered the room. "What's going on here?"

"Mummy forgot who we were and then left us, so we came to see Daddy and Min at Hogwarts," Athena said bluntly. "Can I lay on the couch? I'm cold."

Ro stared at Athena dumbly. "Sure."

Athena ran over and jumped on it, sighing happily. "Dalton, come here! It's comfy."

Dalton made to leave, but Minerva kept hold of his hand for an extra moment. "Darling, I'm proud of you for being a good friend to Athena."

Dalton shrugged. "I love her, Mama."

Minerva smiled, unaware how true that would be in the years to come. "I know you do. Off you go. Stay with Auntie Ro and Auntie Poppy—no more running off, do you understand?"

She watched them settle in before turning to her friends. "Poppy, I hate to ask, but—"

"I'll check them over." Poppy nodded. "It's no problem."

"Can you keep them here all night if necessary?" Minerva asked quietly. "I don't know what state Albus will be in when I tell him."

Ro nodded, grimacing. "Of course we can. He was mercurial all day. Who knows what he'll be like when he finds out his partner ran off?"

"That's what I'm worried about," Minerva admitted. "Good night, kids!"

"Night!" They called.

As she was leaving, Minerva heard Athena ask, "Poppy, do you have any chocolate?"

Minerva chuckled and shut the door behind her, quickly making her way to Albus' office. She gave the password and steeled herself before knocking on his door.

"Come in," he called.

She entered and didn't mince words. "Albus, we have a situation."

He frowned. "What's wrong, my dear?"

"Our children somehow found their way to Hogwarts this evening." Minerva paused to take a deep breath as the dangers of the situation finally hit her. "Hagrid found them, and alerted me to their presence."

"How did they—"

Minerva held up their hand. "Apparently, Aberforth once gave Athena instructions as to how to get here. I have no idea how they managed it, but they did."

"Why did they do that? Where are they now?" Albus rose out of his chair. "Are they all right?"

"They're cold, but they're fine. I dropped them off at Ro and Poppy's, and Poppy will examine them more thoroughly." Minerva eyed him carefully. "Albus, they came here because Violet left."

Albus swayed for a moment. "I didn't think she would just leave without telling me first."

"Apparently, she had a "magical drink" in her hands, and then couldn't remember the children. Do you know anything about that?"

Albus paled. "Oh, no. I told her not to drink it unless I was there!"

"Albus?" Minerva asked, alarmed. "Tell me you didn't give her a memory potion."

He bit his lip. "Nicolas brewed a Forgetfulness potion."

"For what purpose?" Minerva snapped. "To make her forget about your woes?"

"So that she would forget about magic," Albus admitted, "and so she would think we were happily estranged. It wasn't supposed to be that potent."

"Clearly you and Nicolas need a new hobby!" Minerva yelled. "You two are inferior at every magical experiment you try!"

"Not everything. After all, there was the dragon's blood..." Albus trailed off as he realized she had started to cry. Without thinking about it, he walked over to her and pulled her to his chest. "Hush, Tabby. They're fine."

"But what if they hadn't been?" Minerva sobbed. "They walked miles to get here—and who knows how bloody awful your brother's instructions were—and anyone could have picked them up off the street!"

"I know, and I'll be having a conversation with Athena later. Most importantly, they're safe. They're safe, in our castle, with family. They'll be fine," Albus soothed. He kissed the top of her head gently. "Don't worry. I've got you."

He rocked her softly until her sobs settled down. Eventually, she shuffled away, embarrassed. "I'm sorry about that, Albus."

"Don't be. If I had found them, I surely would be just as distraught."

Minerva looked at him anxiously. "Do you think you should go home? Just to visit the house and corroborate their story? Make sure it's really safe?"

Albus sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was leave her like this, but she had a point. "Will you be fine here?"

She nodded. "I'll just sit on the couch."

He kissed her head again before grabbing his cloak. "I'll be back soon."

When he returned, his face was ashen.

"Albus?" Minerva sat up concernedly. "Are you all right?"

He found himself suddenly choked up and without words.

"Albus?" Minerva asked again.

"Tabby," he choked out. "The vial's empty. She drank it all. I have no idea how to find her, and now Athena doesn't have a mom."

"She might come back, Albus," Minerva said gently. She stood, took Albus by the hand, and practically dragged him to the couch.

"Would she, though? Nicolas and I could try to locate her, but without a magical signature, it'll be difficult..." Albus looked at her, his eyes wild. "What did I do?"

She cupped his cheek gently. "You didn't do anything. You didn't make her drink the potion, Albus. You'll be okay. We'll figure it all out."

He blinked tears out of his eyes, letting them flow down his cheeks and land gently in his bead, like silver spiders creating a web. "Tabby, why do I fail at everything?"

"You don't fail at everything."

"Everything that matters."

"That's not true. Athena matters, and she is wonderful."

"All of the credit for her goes to you and to Violet."

Minerva's heart broke for him. She put her other hand on his other cheek and forced him to look at her. "Albus, she is half of you. All of the brilliant parts of you are in her."

He stared at her, his blue eyes wide and shining with tears. "Don't flatter me."

"I'm not," Minerva said gently. "She is wise and funny, and has a penchant for mischief that can only be traced back to you. She has your red hair and your big dreams. An unflappable spirit and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge."

"It's been a long time since you've spoken so nicely about me," Albus joked weakly. He turned his cheek so he could press a kiss to the back of her hand. "Thank you, my dear."

Minerva moved her hands away from his cheeks and interlaced them with his own. "I've always thought these things, you know. I just wish you had more confidence."

Albus laughed hollowly. "I'm sure Aberforth would tell you that I'm far too confident for my own good."

"Intellectually, perhaps. In proven arenas. But when it comes to anything that's new to you—like raising children—you're just as human as the rest of us." Minerva paused before resting her forehead against his. "It's not a crime to be human."

"No, I suppose not," Albus whispered. His breath was warm against her cheek. Hedging his bets, he brushed his lips against her cheek. "Minerva, would it be permissible if I—"

"Mhmm," Minerva cut him off, already knowing what he was about to ask. "Yes."

His lips found hers, and Minerva sighed contentedly into the contact. It had been a long time since she had felt at ease kissing someone, and she brought her hands up to once again cup his face.

When they broke apart, Albus looked at Minerva in wonderment. "God, I've missed you."

"I missed you more than I thought," Minerva admitted. She tugged on his beard gently. "That was nice."

She leaned back, but he grabbed her wrist, stroking it gently. "Please?"

Minerva sighed. "What exactly are you asking me for, Albus?"

"Comfort. Companionship. Love. Friendship."

She snorted. "You want sex, Albus."

His face flushed scarlet, but he didn't deny it. "Minerva, please."

The next morning, she wouldn't know if it was because she had wanted to make him feel better, or because she had still missed him, or if it was because her body also had needs, but Minerva found herself agreeing. "All right, then."

Albus' eyes widened, almost like he couldn't believe it. "Thank you."

She shook her head. "Don't thank me. This isn't out of pity." Minerva stood and took his hands, leading him into his own bedroom. She warded the door and sat on the bed, looking at him expectantly. "Here. I'm yours."

"You're sure?"

"God, Albus, do you want me to leave?"

He put that notion to bed quickly by wandlessly sending their clothes to his hamper.

Minerva looked down at her now nude figure, then back up at him, amused. "Was that entirely necessary?"

"I have a lot of time to make up for," Albus said cheekily, and he kissed her until she was breathless.

After they had made love, Minerva lay on Albus' chest, lazily weaving their hands together.

"Minerva?"

"Hmmmm?"

"I want to apologize to you."

"For what?" Minerva turned so she could look directly at him. "Nothing to apologize for, in my books."

Albus smirked and poked her shoulder. "I mean that I want to apologize to you for the way things ended between us."

"Albus, that was ages ago."

"I know, but I must make amends, Minerva. I am so sorry for the way I backed you into a corner. I'm sorry for the way that I dictated who we could tell about our relationship, and when. In fact," Albus grimaced, "I'm sorry for doing that regarding Dalton, as well."

"It's all forgotten now, but I'll admit that the apology is very nice to hear." She thanked him with a quick peck. "But if you're apologizing, I would like to apologize, too."

"Whatever for?" He frowned.

"Because I was young," Minerva sighed, "and at some point, I realized that my constant need for reassurance didn't help matters, nor did my inability to respect your boundaries. I took a moral high ground, and made our situation out to be black and white. For that, I'm sorry."

Albus smiled gently. "Thank you." He ran a hand through her hair, smoothing it down. "Where do we go from here?"

She quirked an eyebrow. "You mean..."

"As in, do we start our relationship again? I missed you, my dear. More than you could know."

Clearly, she thought. "I don't think we should jump into a relationship, even if we did just jump into bed," Minerva said, slowly and honestly. "The mother of your child just left you. You need some time, and I'm still not sure we'd work well together, Albus."

He bristled at her last remark. "Why do you say that?"

"Because while we've grown, I'm not convinced we grew in the right ways that would allow us to be good romantic partners."

"I still love you, Minerva. Isn't that enough?"

"I'm not sure it is enough, especially when we work together."

"Do you not know how you feel about me?"

"No, not particularly," Minerva replied gently. "I love you, but in love...that's something else."

"Min..."

"Can we just..." Minerva sighed heavily, and felt a tear make its way down her cheek. "Can you just lay here beside me and hold me, please? It's been a long day, and I just want to enjoy this time with you, for whatever it's worth."

"Yes. That I can do." Albus pulled her closer to him and pressed her to his chest again. "Is that better?"

He felt her nod, and he wrapped his arm around her more tightly, wishing he could stay in that moment with her forever.