"I love you Minerva Dumbledore."
The words echoed in Minerva's happy brain. She had never expected to fall madly in love. It seemed counter to her nature. Yet Minerva was desperately in love with Ulysses McGonagal. It seemed miraculous and impossible to her that he returned the feeling in any way, but he did. Ulysses worshipped everything about Minerva, from her way she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, to the way she phrased her potions essays, to the way her lily white neck connected to her shoulders. That this kind of love had found Minerva was exceptional, but that she had reciprocated it was more so. Minerva was, as a rule, rather reserved and intellectually driven and had never taken much interest in matters such as romance. The school heartthrob, Thomas Riddle, was desperate for her affection, but she had ignored him as if he were no more than a fly on the wall. She chose to spend most of her time in the library, or with her father, the transfiguration teacher Albus Dumbledore, rarely engaging in the social follies of her classmates. Minerva was not the kind of girl whom one would expect to fall in love, especially at such a young age as 16.
Minerva and Ulysses stood there locked in an embrace, his head buried in her raven hair. "You're going to get sick of me." she told him.
"Min, I don't think I could get sick of you if I tried, not even if I had all the time on the world. Even if we lived a thousand years."
"Never in a thousand years" her lover declared, holding her close. Minerva became aware that she was once again in the past... about a thousand years in the past around the founding of the school to be exact. "Rowena promise me you'll never send me away" he begged.
"Why be so silly. You know I have no intention of leaving. Especially now" she said, patting her stomach.
Just then a boy of about four, with curly brown hair, came running to her. "Row-eeeeee-na!!" he called, "Come and save me from Myrrdin!"
She smiled at the childish game and told him, "Why, Salazar that's none of my business...you'll have to ask Godric if you need help"
"But he always sides with Myrrdin!" Salazar pouted, looking up at her, his large hazel eyes partly covered by the curls that had fallen in his face, "You know he secretly hates me."
She had to admit it was true that Godric wasn't overly fond of the boy and resented on Rowena's doting on him. Godric was a good man but sometimes a bit impulsive and blunt for the introverted, stargazing, Salazar. He saw Salazar as underhanded and manipulative, not understanding why Salazar was the way he was, and didn't trust him as far as he could throw him (which for Godric was pretty far).
Minerva found herself back with Ulysses in the present. He was watching her anxiously. He still wasn't used to these trances she would go into randomly. Albus thought that she ought not to worry but to try to gather as much information as possible from them. So far they had discerned that during all of the trances Minerva fell into she lived bits and pieces of the life of Rowena Ravenclaw. Many of them, such as that last one were pleasant and not disturbing in nature and it was only rarely that Minerva was troubled by them. The guess was that there was something unresolved in Rowena's life which was attempting to come to light through Minerva's visions and that once they discovered what that thing was they could stop the trances.
"I'm fine really" she told him, resting her head on his shoulder
"It's just you looked so far away" he replied, ashamed at his worry being discovered.
"I was actually right here" she told him, "Just a thousand years ago".
"Well if you can manage to stay in the present for a few minutes I have something I want to ask you..."
"And what would that be?" she asked.
Ulysses kept ahold of her hand and went down on one knee. "I want to ask you to marry me Minerva" he looked up at her, pulling a box from his pocket.
Minerva gasped in surprise, "But Ulysses, we're so young" she protested.
"We don't have to get married tomorrow...I'm just asking you because I know that I at least want to spend my life with you. I guess maybe you don't feel the same way..."
"Oh don't be silly! I love you Ulysses. I love you with all my heart. I want to spend all eternity with you."
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Breaking the kiss he opened up the box. Inside was a beautiful sapphire ring.
"So, Minerva Dumbledore...will you promise to marry me, not today, or next week, but before we leave this life." He asked her.
"Yes, Ulysses McGonagal I will marry you." She replied, "There could never be anyone else for me. ever." He took the ring and slid it on her finger, and they once again lost themselves in an embrace.
They did not notice the shadowy figure watching them from above.