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.

~~From Friends And Family~~

Nuzzling his neck and ear while making slight purring sounds, Minerva came up with a suitable compromise. "How about you show me the benefits of a nice, long backrub and I'll consider joining you at the masquerade ball? After all, I believe that we both win in this situation." A long, intense kiss followed and before long, they were both feeling the wonderful affects of compromise.

Albus walked into Minerva's sitting room and saw a small pile of decorative, colorfully wrapped gifts sitting on the long couch they usually occupied when he was visiting. Her back was to him and she was picking up one and gently shaking it. He cleared his throat and Minerva jumped in surprise

She ran over and gave him a hug and a kiss, and then pulled him over. "I can't wait to see what we received. This is so exciting, almost like Christmas but better." They had agreed to open the gifts they had received and it looked as if it was none too soon for Minerva. The wedding was only a couple of weeks away and now was as good a time as any. Albus conjured mugs of hot chocolate for both of them before beginning the fun-filled task ahead.

"Now, before we begin I thought of an idea. I think it would be best if we record what the items are as we unwrap and who it came from so we don't have to try and remember later." Minerva removed a roll of parchment and some ink and enchanted them to write for her.

"Sometimes, my dear, you completely amaze me." Albus shook his head at the woman who seemed to be organized and ready for any occasion and settled down for an afternoon of unwrapping wedding gifts from their closest friends and family.

She blew a kiss in his direction before urging him to open the gift from his brother first. He had a feeling it was because it was the largest one in the lot. Her eyes shined as he picked up the package that was wrapped in bright orange paper and had a large purple bow. When Albus went to pull off the ribbon, it yelled "Congratulations" and confetti went shooting everywhere.

They both laughed and Albus continued to unwrap the gift. Since it was from his brother he had no idea what to expect and was a bit concerned based on items he had received in the past. The box was striped in every color imaginable and he handed it to Minerva to open.

"Albus, these are wonderful; how thoughtful of your brother." As she spoke, she pulled out matching robes, slippers and bath towels. They were all white and fluffy and smelled wonderful. Minerva immediately stood up and took one of the robes and put it on. It instantly transformed to match her body size and turned into a silky green wrap.

"Wow! I must admit that I am surprised and not at all displeased." As Albus ogled his future wife, he stood up to put on his own robe. However, he didn't have a chance to see what it changed in to because he was being swept by the robe into her arms.

At first, it was a nice surprise but as they struggled to part, they realized that the robes were enchanted to stay together. Finally after much effort the ornery robes were discarded on the floor. Albus promised to fix the problem and made a mental note to have a talk with his dearest sibling.

Their attention soon returned back to the pile still sitting between them. The gift wrapped with flying dragons which were spitting fire at one another and dodging the golden hearts scattered on the paper had to be from Hagrid. The fact that the package didn't have air holes and wasn't moving was taken as a very good sign. Just to be safe however, Albus took responsibility for the opening.

He took a fortifying drink of hot chocolate and tore the paper away. After the first gift, he wasn't sure he wanted to open any more but Minerva was very excited and insisted that they go ahead and open everything so they could send thank you owls. A white box was revealed and it looked plain and harmless. Opening the lid, they found a collection of interesting things inside. A tin of treacle fudge, which Albus quickly warned Minerva to not eat, a book titled Magical Creatures: A Guide to Eternal Happiness and a pair of handkerchiefs with their initials intertwined. The last gift had obviously been hand embroidered by Hagrid as the letters were a little difficult to make out and were very large.

Minerva made little noises of happiness as each gift was unwrapped and Albus kept looking at her out of the corner of his eyes. Marriage had a strange effect on women and it looked as if Minerva was no exception. They packed all the items from Hagrid back into the box and moved on to the envelope from Armando Dippet.

Inside was a card, which Minerva opened. The sounds of The Wedding March were soon playing in the room and they were both delighted by the little surprise. Inside was a folded piece of parchment and Minerva had the duty of opening it. "Oh Albus, this is the best gift Armando could have ever given us."

The piece of paper dropped to the floor and Albus was being pulled around the room once again. "Well, what did he get us and where are you taking me?" As they entered the bedroom, Albus grinned wickedly.

Minerva slapped him on the arm and brought him to stand before the full-length mirror, which stood by her wardrobe. "Now walk through."

When Albus just stood there looking dumbfounded, Minerva left him and traveled through the mirror on her own. Albus quickly followed and was amazed at the sight before him. They were standing in the bedroom of a different set of living quarters.

"Armando decided to connect our "official" rooms to a set of personal rooms through the full-length mirrors. As far as everyone is concerned, we will have separate chambers but the mirror will be our doorway to our real living quarters. There are two in here, one for your room and one for mine. He said it was well deserved and the castle didn't seem to mind the rearrangement."

After a careful exploration of the new connected rooms, Albus and Minerva were once again in front of the rest of the unwrapped wedding gifts. A small debate over which gift to open next occupied several moments of the couple's time. Albus was having a grand time teasing Minerva about Hooch's gift. He couldn't help but notice how she kept pushing it off to one side, as if she hoped he would forget about that particular package.

"Minerva, I do not understand why you are so reluctant to open Xiomara's gift. I am certain that you are making it much worse than it is. She loves you and it's probably a very nice tea set or something similar."

"Albus, I know her! She has never given me anything simple in her life! How about we open the gift from the Flamels and then the one from my parents? I can open Hooch's gift later tonight and let you know what it was." After a long pause, Albus suggested that they open each gift together, for better or worse, and that her parents' gift should be last since he considered it to be special.

Reaching around her slender waist, Albus pulled the gift from Nicolas and Pernelle Flamel to him and began to tear open the brightly colored paper. Inside was a wooden box, which had seen many years by the look of it. Carefully opening the lid, Albus and Minerva were surprised to see a crystal orb nestled inside a golden stand. A note of explanation was also placed within the box and Albus read it aloud as Minerva rested her head on his shoulder.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Albus and Minerva,

This is a very old and rare magical orb. There are only three in existence and we wanted you to have one. Once the incantation at the bottom of the page has been spoken, both of you will have the power to store favorite memories within the object. It is similar to a pensieve in that the thoughts and feelings will be available upon command. The difference is that only you will have the power to access them. Once a memory has been recalled, the scene will play out before your eyes in both real time and as three-dimensional figures. Go ahead…give it a try. We use ours to store our most treasured moments together.

Best Wishes,

Nicolas and Pernelle

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Oh Albus! Let's try it now and see how it works. I've never seen anything like this before. Now, which memory should we store first?"

"Ahhh, well I have one or two that I'm partial to and I definitely want to remember one night in particular. I believe that will be my choice for a treasured memory." Seeing the playful gleam in his eyes, Minerva blushed and then scolded him for even thinking such a thing.

"Albus Dumbledore! I don't know whether to be hurt or flattered. Hurt, because you think we need to save those memories in case we forget them or flattered because you feel it was such a wonderful experience and you do not want to risk losing the memory of it."

Kissing her tenderly on the cheek, he assured her that his statement was not meant to hurt her feelings at all. He merely wanted to see how much it would take to make her cheeks flush crimson and he completed his apology by stating that any time with her was so breathtaking and surreal, he had to replay certain images in his mind to assure himself they were real.

Those loving words caused Minerva to melt and before long she was faced with the two remaining packages, one from her parents and one from Xiomara Hooch. After much persuasion on Albus' part, he finally convinced her to open the gift from her best friend. On the outside, the package appeared normal but fears and doubts flooded Minerva's mind as she took her time removing the paper adorned with quidditch scenes.

Albus placed his hand on the small of Minerva's back as she took a steadying breath and removed the top of the box. To her surprise, there were more wrapped gifts to be found. Choosing the largest one, together they removed the additional paper.

"Albus, you were right. Look…isn't this box of parchment beautiful. And it even has two quills, one emerald green and one bright purple. I am claiming the green one for myself." As she pulled the quills from their separate box, she noticed a handwritten note. It explained that the quills and parchment had been charmed to act as a means of secret communication. When the owner of one quill wishes to speak to the other, the quill will begin to twitch. Once contact has been made with the special parchment, it will then begin to scratch out the thoughts sent by the other person. Both items can be enchanted to work using specific passwords and over great distances.

"Let's try them to see how they work. Get your green quill and parchment and see if you are able to read this message." In a matter of seconds, Minerva's feather began to scratch out the makings of a message from Albus. I love you, Beautiful. Albus quill then began to move and on his paper appeared…Thank you, Handsome. Lulled into a false sense of security, the couple felt it safe to open the two remaining gifts, one addressed to Albus and one addressed to Minerva.

They decided that the two packages must be somehow connected and it might be best if they opened them simultaneously. Minerva was astounded to see that she had received a very revealing piece of fabric, supposedly a muggle nightie, purchased in London. Albus' mind swirled with possible images but those were short lived when he opened his own treasure. He had received a bottle of an energy potion along with a note stating that both items might come in handy on their wedding night. After the initial shock of the gifts wore off, the flustered recipients dissolved into a fit of laughter and it didn't end until he made her promise to pack her 'naughty nightie' for their honeymoon.

After much anticipation, only one gift remained. It was a tiny box with a bow designed to resemble the vivid McGonagall tartan. Taking the item in her hand, Minerva snuggled close to Albus as she began to reveal the contents.

A bright silver key gleamed up at the happy couple as she took it in her hands. A bit of parchment was attached and it simply read: Domus Dumbledore. As she uttered the words, a swirling wind began to fill the space between the couple as a magnificent miniature cottage emerged. Out of thin air, words began to appear over the little model.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dearest Children,

Our gift to you is simple. Consider this your home away from Hogwarts…the Dumbledore's home in the outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland. We hope you will use it as a private hideaway from the world, a place to spend quality time together. We designed your new home with both of you in mind when choosing the style and various features. Once you've had the opportunity to see it in person, we will be happy to make any changes since this is our wedding gift to you. But our favorite feature, and we hope you will agree, is that it is very secluded and has the added benefit of being on a loch. We will owl you with more details later.

Love,

Mom and Dad

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As Minerva turned to look at Albus, he could see the tears welling up in her eyes. Lightly covering her cheek with his hand, he could feel her trembling slightly. Before he could even process another thought, Minerva had fallen into his arms as waves of emotions overtook both of them.

"My dear this is the most wonderful gift your parents' could have given us. I had not even entertained the notion of our secret little cottage." Albus pushed back a bit from Minerva and tenderly kissed her, causing her to release each and every tear of joy.

"Albus, this is a beautiful little hideaway. I'll owl my parents immediately and tell them how thrilled we are with it. I knew they would do something amazing for us but never did I dream it would be a home of our very own. You do like it, don't you?"

"Minerva, I couldn't be more delighted with it and please express my deepest gratitude and thanks to your parents. I won't promise anything, but I will see if Armando will allow us to slip away this weekend so that we can officially inspect our new home. Maybe, if I phrase my words correctly, we can even stay overnight. What do you think? That would give us a chance to set up the protection wards and really 'inspect' every square inch of our home." As she threw her arms around his neck, Albus could barely breathe. But he was able to make out the sounds of sheer excitement at his proposal as they lost their balance and tumbled to the floor.

To Be Continued…

A/N: You have all been so wonderful about taking time to review our story and we sincerely appreciate all of your comments. You have made this a thoroughly enjoyable experience and we look forward to sharing more of our stories with you. Having said that, we want to let you know that there is only one more chapter ahead of us…and then the story is complete…for now! And Pal, you can't leave us hanging with your 'review' story. You have to make everything okay with Kitty, Bumblebee, and Gollum. Not to mention Pal and Smeagol.  ^_^  We look forward to your comments on this chapter and the next so keep those reviews coming…it may help inspire a sequel!!