Disclaimer: We would like this to stay a splinch-free zone so please remember that the world, life and characters of Harry Potter belong solely to JKR. We are merely borrowing them to satisfy the muse that guides us.
Beware-If flames are sent our floo powder is ready.
~~To The Happy Couple~~
The resume of one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was presented to Armando Dippet shortly after breakfast that morning and then both Albus and Minerva tried to push the nervous anticipation from their minds and focus on their teaching.
A few weeks later the happy couple was preparing for the engagement party being thrown for them by Minerva's parents at their ancestral home.
"Albus, I appreciate your unique view on formal wear but I really do not think that a purple robe with lime green stars shooting across the fabric is appropriate for this particular evening. In any case, I do not want to look back at photos of this event in years to come and have my eyes burn from the image."
Taking the bottom portion of his robes and holding them out to inspect the design that offended his love, Albus still could not fathom why she was so opposed to his choice. He still did not see any reason why these robes were not wonderful for the occasion. After all, she had told him to look his best and these were brand new.
"Really my dear? I think these robes are rather on the conservative side although they still have a festive appearance. In consideration of the party, if you feel that something else would be more appropriate I would be happy to change my attire."
Minerva had a sudden flash of memory. It hadn't been so very long ago that the man standing before her would fight her tooth and nail before changing something to accommodate her wishes. Now, he was practically bending over backwards to make her happy.
"Dear, I think that a set of midnight blue robes with silver stars would look splendid. With your mostly silver hair and the few auburn strands that still remain, it will make a nice contrast. I love you." As she said the last words, her wand was raised and with a quick swish of her wrist, Albus' clothing had been transfigured into the exact outfit Minerva had just described. As she peered at her creation, she glowed with pride for him. He looked so handsome and distinguished and she could not wait to enter her parents' home on his arm.
At the family home, Harold and Athena were welcoming the arriving guests as the finishing touches were being placed on the table by the house elves. Athena had decided to meet their guests at the front door while Harold was stationed in the sitting room pouring drinks and engaging them in conversation.
"Mr. and Mrs. Flamel …it is so nice to meet you. I am Athena, Minerva's mother. Moxy will show you the way to the sitting room. Harold, my husband, is very interested in your latest discovery. He saw your article in Alchemy for Alchemists."
"Athena, you look as lovely as your daughter." Nicholas extended his hand in greeting. "I am always interested to hear a fresh perspective on my research. My theory of combining fluxweed, wolfsbane, dittany, phoenix tears, and other key ingredients in an effort to discover a cure for werewolves has been utterly fascinating."
Pernelle, who had been quiet up to this point chimed in with her own thoughts. "Yes, Athena. Albus even gave Nicolas a vile of phoenix tears for this experiment and those two have been owling back and forth almost daily. Now, before you bore her with your constant chatter about your work, I suggest we go inside and meet Harold."
The couple was making their way down the hall just as the next guests appeared. A tall thin man with a longish blonde beard appeared and moments later a short witch with yellow eyes ran up the steps to embrace Athena. "Athena, it has been far too long between visits."
"Xia Hooch! You are lucky I do not ground you! You can't tell me that professional quidditch teams do not allow their players access to quills and parchment."
Before Xia could answer, the gentleman who Athena figured was Albus' brother, due to the uncanny resemblance had made his way up the steps.
"Welcome. You must be Aberforth." Athena extended her hand and the gentleman raised it to his lips brushing a light kiss across her knuckles.
"My lady, Albus never mentioned Minerva had a younger sister."
Athena blushed slightly at the compliment while Xia rolled her eyes at the rogues attempt to impress the hostess. "Thank you for the lovely remark, but I am sorry to inform you that I am Minerva's mother, not her sister. She happens to be an only child."
She quickly turned to give Xia an all too familiar look, indicating that the young witch should be polite to the stranger. "May I introduce you to Xiomara Hooch. She and Minerva have been friends since they were small children and she has become like a second daughter to Harold and myself. Xia, this kind gentleman is Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus' younger brother, as you may have noticed by the strong family resemblance. Now, if you two will kindly make your way inside, Xia can show you to the sitting room. I will meet you there in a moment."
Athena arrived just in time to see the fireplace come to life with a greenish glow, announcing the first of the guests to arrive by floo. A giant sized man with a face surrounded by frizzy black hair was bent over at the waist and appeared ready to step into the room at any moment. Aberforth stepped forward to greet the newcomer. "Hagrid, my boy, please, please come in and meet everyone. There's always room for one more…even someone as large as yourself."
Hagrid didn't move at the invitation and a pink hue began to work its' way from his neck to his large cheeks. "Er, um…I'd lurve ter join yeh, but I seem ter be, um, well, a bit stuck." Everyone froze and looked around the room before all eyes turned to Hagrid. Finally, Harold McGonagall broke the awkward silence and voiced a solution.
"Aberforth, come and give me a hand. Together, I believe that we can extract Mr. Hagrid from the fireplace before our next guest arrives." Each man grasped an arm as big as his own leg and began to pull. They soon realized that the original plan was not working as intended. As a result, each man braced a leg on the fireplace to give extra leverage and began to pull once again.
At the exact same time, the fireplace roared again as green flames shot up around Hagrid's enormous frame. A rolling ball of flailing limbs went flying across the room and landed in a disheveled heap at Athena's feet.
"What in the name of Merlin's beard just happened?!" Armando Dippet looked around to see the other guests either doubled over in laughter or picking themselves up from the floor. Athena was the only one who seemed to be in complete control of her emerging amusement.
"Headmaster Dippet, I sincerely apologize for this unfortunate incident. I've told Harold that the fireplace had been acting strangely. Maybe now he will take my advice and summon a repairman. I believe that this marks the arrival of all of our guests and it is indeed a lively start to the evening." As Harold brushed off his robes, he shot an apologetic glance at his wife and immediately offered his welcome to the latest addition to the party.
Hagrid had finally managed to pick up his massive bulk from the floor. "I'm sorry m'am ter have caused yah any problems. I hope everyone is okay."
Aberforth, who had been pinned underneath the pile of bodies, wasted no time in responding to Hagrid. "Ah, Hagrid, it's nothing that a little oxygen and a few mending spells won't cure. I think I'll be as good as new by this time next week." The final round of introductions was made and drinks were refilled as the guests began to mingle in anticipation of the arrival of the honored couple.
While the guests were becoming acquainted with each other, they were unaware that Albus and Minerva had finally apparated just outside the McGonagall ancestral home. Albus could not hide his surprise at the massive estate sprawled out in front of him.
"A bit surprised at the size of the house, Albus, or is that just a case of pre-party jitters?" Minerva smiled broadly as Albus prepared his answer.
"It is certainly an unexpected surprise. Your family's home is breathtaking and you must have had an extraordinary childhood being surrounded by such beauty." His arms encircled her waist from behind and she could feel his warm breath blow across her neck as he began to speak softly in her ear. "Before we head inside and join the gathering of friends and family, I would like you to know how happy you have made me and how much I am looking forward to our lives together."
Turning in his arms, she felt an overwhelming amount of love and contentment. As he had a habit of doing, Albus left Minerva speechless so she let her actions speak louder than any words. Raising a hand to gently cup his cheek she stared at the man before her. Never had she felt such a powerful feeling of love directed towards her. Slightly pulling his head towards her own, she planted a tender caress on his lips.
The moments of sheer delight between them were cut short by the appearance of Moxy, the house elf at the front door. "Missy Minerva, Moxy is happy you and Mr. Albus is finally here and is so delighted that you and the nice professor is getting married. Lots of peoples is here to wish you happiness. They is in the sitting room waiting for Moxy to announce you is here."
The couple quickly followed the little house elf down the hallway and to the appointed room. Moxy announced their presence and a large round of applause greeted Albus and Minerva. Immediately, they were swept inside the sitting room and into the arms of well- wishers.
"Hooch, I'm so glad you were able to make it. I wasn't sure if your practicing schedule would permit it."
"Mervie, I wouldn't miss this for the world!" Minerva's eyes darted over to Albus, hoping that he had not heard her childhood nickname. Her hopes were dashed as she saw his eyebrow raise in a questioning glance as amusement infused his features.
Soon everyone in the room had greeted the guests of honor and at Athena's request, Moxy and the other house elves began to escort the group into the impressive dining room located just down the hall.
Dinner was proceeding smoothly until a tiny lizard leapt from Hagrid's pocket and scurried across the dining room table, headed for the large platter of roast beef. The guests who were unfamiliar with Hagrid's fascination with unusual animals shot away from the table in surprise. His hand stretched across the table and gently plucked the animal from the platter of rare meat. As he carefully stuffed the tiny, wriggling creature back into his coat pocket, he began to explain. "Oh, don't yeh worry none…little Spotty is harmless."
Aberforth, who has always been know for his forthrightness could not contain his tongue. "When have any of your pets ever been harmless? Where ever did you get such a lizard?"
Hagrid's back straightened and pride shown in his features. "I got ol' Spotty here at the Hogs Head Tavern from a man who deals in exotic animals. He gave me quite a bargain. She's a morphamelion. They're not only able ter change their shape, but they can also change their colorin' too. One of the sweetest critters I've ever met…the only problem is I keep losin' Spotty…what with her ability to disappear an all. But she always turns up, 'specially in some odd places. The trick ter findin' a morphamelion is puttin' out some raw meat. After all, they are a flesh-eatin' variety of lizard."
Nervous moments followed as everyone tried to resume their places at the table and push the thoughts of a flesh-eating thing so close by, confined only by the pocket of a kind hearted man. Albus could feel the stress radiating from Minerva's entire body and he quietly slipped his hand under the table and grasped hers. Giving it a gentle but reassuring squeeze, she turned to grace him with a smile. Playfully, she began to move her thumb in small circles across his palm, knowing full well what the eventual outcome of such an action would normally be. It wasn't until Albus began to make similar gestures with his own nimble fingers that the two decided that it would be best to stop their antics before someone noticed their blushing cheeks.
The conversations lulled for a moment and Armando figured it was best to share his information now while he was thinking about it. "Albus, I thought you would like to have an update on your application. I just came from a meeting of the Board of Governors and we should have a decision by next week."
"Application?" Aberforth looked questioningly at his brother who was seated across the table from him.
"As you may know, our Deputy Headmaster passed away a few weeks ago and a search for the new Deputy is under way. I submitted my application shortly after the announcement." A great deal of congratulations met his statement and there were even a few smatterings of applause. Minerva and Albus had decided to keep it a secret until the outcome was announced. Of course, they had forgot to mention that to the Headmaster.
Albus hoped that since they were not alone, Aberforth would hold his comments on the subject until later. By the look on Aberforth's face, it most certainly would not be the case. "What do you mean you applied to be the Deputy Headmaster?"
The table had gone suddenly quiet and everyone was focused on the tense conversation between the brothers. "Aberforth perhaps we can discuss this at a later time?"
"Now seems as good a time as any. Why you ever wanted to teach in the first place is beyond me and now you want to enter into politics? Our parents must be rolling in their graves! Such potential wasted on those who do not appreciate it."
Albus realized how his brother's words might sound to the others seated at the table. However, the fact that the back of one of Aberforth's hands rested against his forehead and his other clutched at his heart gave Albus hope that they would soon understand that his brother was given to fits of the dramatic.
"Aberforth yeh fool! Yeh know perfectly well that Albus Dumbledore has bin a blessin' to Hogwarts. Don't let yer own problems with yer research cause yeh to be havin' such a childish fit." Hagrid slapped his hand across Aberforth's back as he finished speaking causing the disgruntled man to begin coughing.
"My research is going perfectly well." With that, Aberforth began to concentrate on the vast amounts of food still left on his plate, disregarding the confused looks of the others at the table.
The remainder of the meal proceeded smoothly with a great deal of lively discussions on various topics. Suddenly, all of the glasses began resonating with a ringing, as if each person was tapping their spoon against the side of each one. Nicolas stood with his glass raised and began to speak.
"With the exception of Aberforth, I believe that I have known Albus longer than anyone seated here tonight. Therefore I would like to make a toast." Turning to face the happy couple, he continued. "Albus, my dear friend, I'd almost given up hope that you would ever find a woman willing to put up with your quirks and odd family. It only took you 120 years, but then again, you were waiting for perfection. And I must say, you have certainly found it in Minerva. Pernelle and I wish you as many long and blissful years as we have enjoyed together."
"Nicolas Flamel!! I am highly offended by your "odd family" remark. And as the only representative of our so-called quirky family, it is only fitting that I offer up a toast to my older brother."
No longer able to contain her voice, Hooch finally chimed in with her own remarks. "I believe that you have monopolized enough of the dinner conversation. I would like to offer a toast on behalf of Minerva." A worried look passed between Minerva and her mother but neither dared interrupt. It had always proven best to let Xia Hooch voice her opinion and deal with the consequences later than to attempt to silence her.
"Having known Mervie since the beginning of time, I have never met a finer lassie. I could tell you all stories of her wilder days but I will save those for later. I'm proud to say she's taken up the mantle for hundreds of female students, past and present, since the majority of them had crushes on the handsome transfiguration professor. I even remember one spicy conversation we had in our school days about Albus. We were discussing how it would feel to…." Clearing her throat, Minerva decided it would be best to end this particular toast before anything else could be revealed that might embarrass them all.
"Thank you Xiomara for your "detailed" toast. Remind me to prohibit you from making a toast at the wedding reception on my behalf. Merlin only knows what you will say, given enough time to ponder the statement!" Attempting to regain control of the room and steer the conversation away from the more touchy subjects, Minerva decided it was time to make a little announcement of her own.
"Albus and I wish to thank you all for joining us this evening in celebration of our upcoming wedding. We feel so fortunate to count you all as friends and family. So, it is only fitting that we announce to you that we have chosen a wedding date." Rounds of applause and mild chatter ensued and Albus raised his hands in an attempt to reign in their excitement. Once he had successfully quieted the table, Minerva spoke again.
"We have discussed several options and we both agreed that we would like a summer wedding. Taking both of our schedules into account, the date has been set for June 25, which is a Saturday. Because of our high profile lives, we know you will understand when we tell you that this must remain our secret. If word reached certain ears, it could prove to be most hazardous to us and to you. The wedding will be a small private affair and we promise to keep you updated on the arrangements as soon as they are finalized."
Another round of congratulations was made and soon, one by one, the guests began to leave until it was just Albus, Minerva, Athena, and Harold left in the quiet sitting room. Harold noticed the way his daughter and the man she loved snuggled together on the small sofa and he was pleased. Sitting quietly in his favorite chair, he reflected on her life and how blessed he was to have Athena and Minerva in it. Now their small family would be growing by one, for now.
To Be Continued…
A/N: Thanks to everyone who took the time to review. We hope that you'll stick with us and just for your information…there are approximately 3 more chapters and then Worthy Undertakings will be complete. WHEW!
Questions: Someone asked a question from chapter 12 about how Albus used "Accio Minerva's wand" without a wand. Very good question! We had always assumed that Albus could do wandless magic since he was such a powerful wizard. First, if you look at the books, Harry is able to do wandless magic. Granted it is not something he is able to control-such as making the glass disappear at the zoo and inflating his Aunt-but we assume (and may be wrong) that someone with decades of experience and with such an enormous amount of talent would be able to accomplish many tasks without the use of a wand. Secondly, if you think back to the movie Sorcerer's Stone, Albus was able to change the banners from Slytherin to Gryffindor by simply clapping/raising his hands. We know that you can't take everything in the movies as canon but paired with our other thoughts, we consider it a pretty solid case. We hope this answers your question or at least lets you know what we were thinking.
Also, someone asked about the portraits speaking to someone other than the headmaster and the deputy. Another good question! When we wrote this particular section, we decided that Armando was somewhat of a 'by the rules' sort of person. Therefore, he would not allow the portraits to speak to anyone other than those designated. However, when Albus took the position, he changed the rules to grant the portraits more freedom and chances for interaction. He just seemed more laid back with certain rules. We had Minerva broach the subject with Albus when she told him that "I believe the headmaster has the ability to alter that rule should they see fit…but it's never been done." We hope that helps to clear up any confusion.
Thanks to all those who keep us on our toes with your questions! They help us ensure that we stick to the books as much as possible and give you a story worth reading.