Tasty Compromises
Albus had never been happier to see the familiar spotted owl from the Minister of Magic as he had the following morning. By the looks of the roll of parchment clutched in its' talon, he would be busy for most of the morning and well into the afternoon. Sighing heavily, he surmised that there would be no need to send Minerva an owl informing her that he would not be at breakfast. Nor would there be any reason for her to assume he would appear at her door to escort her to the Great Hall. She had been too angry with him last night to even care so he didn't see the need to bother her further. With a heavy heart, he unrolled the long piece of parchment and set about to occupy his mind with work.
Minerva woke feeling physically exhausted and mentally fatigued but she also felt nervous. There would be some tense moments when Albus came to get her for breakfast and she was not sure how he would react. Hurriedly, she dressed for the day and sat in her favorite chair, waiting for his knock upon her door. The moments slowly ticked by and before long, she had missed breakfast and there had been no word from him at all. She knew he had not forgotten her. That wasn't like him at all. He was probably still hurt and it was up to her to try to make amends. After all, she had been at the root of their problem.
When she still had not seen nor heard from the Headmaster by lunchtime, Minerva decided to try her hand at peacemaking. She summoned a house elf and had him prepare her a nice plate of sandwiches and make a fresh pot of cocoa from Albus' special reserve. If he wouldn't come to her, she would have to go to him. There was no way she could face another tormented night and nothing was worth losing her best friend.
His paperwork and correspondence had done an admirable job of entertaining his thoughts throughout the morning. Occasionally his mind would drift back to the scene that met his eyes the previous night and the harsh words Minerva had spoken in anger. But he tired to push them to the back of his mind. He had lost her to another and it was his own fault. Now he must pull himself together and face things like the adult he was supposed to be. Just then he heard a soft knock and familiar footsteps in the foyer of his rooms. Rising from his chair to investigate, he was met by a pair of emerald green eyes, lacking their usual luster.
"Hello, Minerva. I did not expect to see you today. I assumed you would still be upset." Taking the tray from her, his fingers lightly brushed hers and a tingling sensation traveled over him. She must have felt it too, for she smiled and asked if they could speak openly and honestly about last night.
Once settled, neither made a move to eat the lunch that had been prepared as a peace offering. Instead, Minerva cleared her throat and tried to form some sort of coherent sentences that would express how she truly felt.
"First of all, I am sincerely sorry for missing our game. You must believe me when I say that I did not intend to hurt your feelings but I feel that I have. I will not make excuses for taking a walk with Conall and I do not believe he is to blame for any of this. He simply asked for a little of my time and I granted him that request. I would never have made such plans with him had I realized the day of the week or if we had made prior arrangements."
Albus sat motionless as he listened to her rationalizing what had taken place and how his heart came to fall in thousands of little pieces only hours before. Still grasping for words to repair the damage her lapse of memory had caused she continued.
"Albus, you are my best friend and I know that we rely heavily upon each other for so many things. But recently, you have been so preoccupied with first one thing and then another, I have felt neglected and unneeded. Can you understand that?" Nodding his head, she felt encouraged that some progress was being made. "At first I understood and tried to look at the big picture. And then Conall seemed to step in and offer me companionship when you weren't around anymore. I suppose I found a new friend in him when you were too busy to make time for me."
"Minerva, it was not that I didn't want to spend time with you. You of all people should know that. But being the Headmaster as well as the man our Minister of Magic turns to for the simplest of things, you have to understand that there are so many demands made upon my time. It does not forgive my neglect or lack of attentiveness to our friendship but I would have hoped that before things reached this point, you would have mentioned something to me."
Traces of reconciliation were forming and Albus felt the need to bridge the gap a little further. "When I saw you last night with him, I was hurt. Hurt that you had so easily forgotten me. Hurt that you were out having fun while I frantically searched the school for you. Hurt that you so casually dismissed my concerns. Those were the main reasons I was so upset, my dear. Maybe part of it was seeing you having a wonderful evening with someone else but then when you immediately scolded me, I too let my anger get the better of me. Try to put yourself in my situation last night and see how you would feel."
Minerva could see his point and had never realized how much her lack of attention might affect him and she still had one more hurdle to jump before things would really be on the mend. "Albus, there is something else that I need to say." As he peered at her with an intent gaze, she squirmed a bit before taking a deep breath and jumping right into her apology.
"Last night I said some very harsh things to you. They were things that never should have been uttered or even thought. In the heat of my anger I allowed myself to get carried away and I failed to stop myself from yelling at you. I know that no matter what I say or do now, I can never take those words back and make you forget that I hurled them at you. I can only ask that you find it in your heart to forgive me for my serious lack of concern for your feelings. Believe me when I say that if I could turn back time and do things over again, I would handle myself much differently and spare us both some heartache."
Too many times to count during their long history together, they had shared comforting hugs and embraces but as Albus pulled Minerva into his arms at that moment, she felt something entirely different radiating from him. He softly muttered a sincere acceptance of her apology as he held her close and she found herself close to tears as a wave of relief washed over her. Flashing though her mind were scenes from the many times they had embraced but never had anything felt so wonderful than the sensations he was creating by holding her now. Even when Conall had tried to pull her into a hug or quickly steal a kiss from her lips, only to be given her cheek, she could not remember a time when she had felt so wonderful and it had everything to do with Albus.
As the two sat and chatted, they eventually came to the understanding that they had both been wrong. Each promised to make real efforts to keep things like this from creeping back into their relationship because it was too important to both of them to lose. When Conall arrived at Minerva' office for afternoon tea, he was surprised to see an empty room. They had not missed tea in over two weeks and he knew that she was with Dumbledore! I have come to far now to lose her again. She's the light of my world and I must make her see that I want more than friendship.
The afternoon wore on and Minerva was very thankful that her schedule had been free after lunch. It had allowed them a much-needed opportunity to put the events from the previous night behind them and move on to other things. She couldn't help but notice too how Albus had refused to open several important looking owls that were delivered during her stay in his office. That had given her some hope for a real change and it showed her that he was committed to make a true effort at what he had promised.
On the other hand, Conall was not amused at all when he stopped by Minerva's office after his last class. She had been there working on her papers each and every time he had dropped in unexpectedly and in some ways he was angered that she had not been there. Yet, he realized that Dumbledore still had a strong hold on her actions and emotions only he didn't understand it or appreciate it. Conall would love to have that kind of unending devotion from Minerva but as long as she saw Albus Dumbledore as the biggest part of her life and the only man with whom she could share her world, he would never stand a chance. So he made it his mission to devote all of his spare time to sweeping Minerva off her feet and into his arms.
Days passed and Albus noticed an increase in the notes delivered to Minerva with the morning post, the fresh flowers always gracing her office, the tins of her favorite biscuits, which magically appeared in her chair. But more than those, he noticed that Minerva was spending more and more time with Conall. She had not neglected her time with Albus and had made special attempts to see that their friendship was healthy. But their weekly chess game had been postponed three times so that she could help the new professor sort out one thing or another. Each time, Minerva had made it a point to speak with Albus first and to assure him that she was sorry. Hurt and angered once again, Albus realized that the new feelings he felt bubbling just below the surface were jealousy and resentment.
Struggling with his new feelings, Albus was unsure of what his next course of action should be. If he tried to broach the subject with Minerva he would run the risk of alienating her. She was a very strong and independent witch who was more than capable of making her own decisions about how she conducted her private affairs. Then again, if he didn't speak to her about his feelings, they would grow into something unhealthy and risk damaging something too precious to lose. Plus, she would not be given a chance at all to either accept or reject his feelings if he never shared them with her. If he wasn't careful, he'd lose her before he ever had a chance to love her properly. He sighed deeply and decided that the best thing to do was monitor the situation for now. Furthermore, he needed to sort out his own feelings before sharing them with Minerva.
Minerva knew that Albus had been more than understanding about her postponing their chess game and that he had also understood when she had been forced to refuse his offers of tea or a quiet time together due to prior engagements with Conall. She wanted to do something extra special with him as a kind of apology and to let him know that she still treasured her time with him. So, when her favorite owl arrived at breakfast with her copy of the Daily Prophet and she turned the page, she saw the answer staring back at her.
This Sunday at Honeydukes, there will be a 'Sweets' Exposition! We have brought in a large variety of tantalizing treats from the muggle world as well as some new creations from our own talented confectioners. Come and taste them for yourself!
"Albus, what are you doing this Sunday?" When he replied that he had nothing scheduled that could not be postponed, she flashed a brilliant smile at him as she shoved the ad in his face.
"Let's go together! It's not really my idea of a grand time but I'm sure you'd love it and I would really like to spend the entire day with you. What do you say?" With baited breath she waited for him to come up with some excuse why he could not go but much to her pleasure the famous twinkle that she had missed sorely appeared as a hearty "yes" kissed her ears.
So, it was settled. They would rise early on Sunday and skip breakfast in the Great Hall. Albus had wanted to take Minerva to a new restaurant that served pancakes with dozens of toppings to choose from. Then, they would spend the day strolling along the crowded streets, stopping in shops to pass the time until lunch. He planned to grab some sandwiches and butterbeer from her favorite restaurant and then invite her to a picnic on the hillside overlooking the village. The visit to Honeydukes would be the last thing they did before returning to Hogwarts, as Albus assumed his pockets would be lined with all sort of tasty morsels to devour.
Conall had overheard both Albus and Minerva speaking feverishly about their upcoming adventure and his heart throbbed with the knowledge that she would be spending an entire day away from his sight. He had already been denied the pleasure of her private company on Saturday due to a quidditch match that she refused to miss. So it didn't take him long to conceive a plot that he hoped would force the Headmaster to cancel his plans with Minerva, ultimately forcing her into his comforting arms. Once he had shown an ample amount of sympathy, he would confess his love to her and hope that she would return his affections.
Sunday morning, the Dark Arts professor rose early to begin his devious plans. He quietly slipped out of the castle and made his way to the large area near the Forbidden Forest where the animals were kept for the Magical Creatures class. Conall had been fortunate in that he had befriended Professor Kettleburn and had been given information regarding the care of the herd of hippogriffs. His plan was to upset the entire herd of animals in the hopes that Dumbledore would be called upon to assist in their restraint. If that happened, he would be forced to cancel his plans with Minerva, thus playing directly into his hands.
Albus too, woke especially early on Sunday in anticipation of his outing alone with Minerva and enjoyed the quiet time before he was to meet her. To say that he was surprised when Professor Kettleburn burst into his outer office, just as he was about to leave, demanding some assistance with the animals would have been an understatement. Quickly summing up the situation, he wrote a note to Minerva explaining that a slight problem had arisen and that he would catch up with her later in the hopes of salvaging some of their day. He ended his note by saying that he was unsure how long it would take to rectify the situation but he hoped she understood that duty called. Sending Fawkes with his important message, he hurried from his office, trusting that all would be well when he returned.
A/N: Wow! Looks like it's safe to say that all of you hate Conall too! And we're sure this chapter didn't change your opinions! Your opinions and comments are very important to us and we thank you for taking time to review!
Jestana: You're right! He had no cause to step between Albus and Minerva during their argument but he was trying to prove to both Albus and Minerva that he is a valid rival for her affections. Let's just hope he doesn't succeed!
Minerva's Quill: Don't put away your wet kipper just yet! You might need it again for our dear Conall! Don't be too annoyed with Minerva. She is trying to make amends now and that's the first step.
Tabbyforever: Dark Lord? Nope…he's just a guy who's fallen hopelessly in love with a woman who may or may not return his affections! You'll just have to stick around for the final chapters to find out which suitor it will be! Please!
Minerva Black: Thanks for the wonderful comment! We sincerely appreciate it. He is like Lockhart in a way but he's more concerned with winning Minerva's heart. Will he be the winner in the end? Well, for that you'll just have to stick around.
Griselda La Fey:Sorry to have made you cry but Albus wasn't feeling too happy that night either. L Conall's not a complete jerk. He's just a guy hopelessly in love with a woman and he's desperately trying to win her heart by doing all the wrong things.
Liz O'Brien: Yay…you're back! We're so glad! You'll have your answer about Minerva's decision within a chapter or two. So, just hang in there with us and see what the 'slimeball' has up his sleeve next.
Catwoman99: Another reference to the 'slimeball'. Guess that means that you don't like Conall either. Well he has a few more important scenes in this little story so stick around for the next updates!
Evilwoman: You weren't the only one growling at Conall! And yes, Albus was calmer than he should have been. Maybe if he'd shown a little of his true feelings things might have stopped and there'd be no need for further chapter. Oh well…hope you enjoy them anyway!
Happy Reader!: Maybe we should offer Minerva some glass cleaner for Christmas. Thanks for the compliment and here's your update so you can put away your whip!
Minnie Dumbledore: The time frame is set between the first and second rising of Voldemort and before Harry and his friends arrive. And we agree…Conall was not the wisest person to step between the most powerful witch and wizard of their time as they argued. Too bad he wasn't hexed, huh?