oh wow...only a week late! If you're happy and you know it clap your hands! claps if you're happy and you know it clap your hands claps if you're happy and you know it and you really wanna show it, if you're happy and you know it clap your hands claps (hoooray!) though I do apologize for the lateness, I had too much to do what with the move and all to type up the last of this chapter. But I'll have you know I put much thought into it! wink wink nudge nudge now, here are your notes reviewers!
Webby: I should like to say dear webby...this chapter is totally and completely in your honor. Call me when you read it, I'm sure you'll have some er...comments that you want to talk about directly. I think I just felt like giving you something to read that would make you...think. lol. Just remember, "boats gone," and that I am having fun writing these last 2/3 chapters.
Athena Dumbledore: lol. alright, I'll take it. glad u liked the chapter.
Chugabooe- I suppose I'm happy about moving. There were way too many creeps at my school and stuff.. besides, I'm going into highschool, and I have a better chance to make friends and things like that. The only reason that i wouldn't be happy about moving is that the academics at the school arent as good as the one that I would have gone to. but that is life, and I am happy. my only complaint so far...I share a room with my 8 year old sister...I didn't know anyone could snore like that! :- but yeah. glad u liked last chapter, hopefully this will be better though. wink wink nudge nudge.
Liz O'Brien: [grins evily] Albus and Minerva are going to spend their remaining time together well alright...ahoy matey! Meeting-HO! onward!
Morpheus: it just seems like everyone moves at this time, doesn't it? lol. Hope you like your situation with the moving thing...tis a hard thing to leave everyone and what not. Well newayz....here's your update! tis a wee bit late, and I'm sorry, but here it be and here is shall stay! =) okay, so I've had a little too much sugar today, I am a happy person...harry potter movie ho!
adnarel: I'm afraid i can't promise you for them to come back married. :( that was never the intent of the story, but we've got another er...couple that has moved up a notch. hint hint. Ah no, the tour guide...I just am a firm believer in characterization. We won't meet him again. However Fred and Lulu are a different story. We won't meet them directly...but you'll figure it out later. lol.
Angeldust aka Evilwoman: Here it be! Surprises await you m' dear!
Hogwarts Duo: Oh thank you! I'm trying SOOOO hard not to make every other line "I'm in love" or something of that nature, and am trying SOOOOO hard to make this sound real. yah know, when I read a lot of fanfics, they don't seem...contrary to life, yah know? haha, funny you should mention "feelings being explored" because er....well just read it. lol. Hope u like the update!
Morgana-Alex: Oh I hope you like this! I'm still waiting for a good moment to return your email, I'm posting this from my mothers work! I'm a desperate child, but w/e. Here's your update Jen!
Emutet: lol I took careful thought thinking of Fred and Lulu's names. lol. Glad u liked them. yah know, I was talking with m' mum today, and she asked me what sort of reviews I get (as in what do people say) and I used you as an example. I said, and I quote, "you roxors my soxors." lol. thanks for making my day, just like I make yours.
Portkeys Miss-Mione: update accomplished! yay! lol..."how the hell do you do it?" lol...in my book that's a big compliment. Fraid it just takes a bit of imagination and a whole lotta free time. lol. Wel thank you SOOOOO much for the review, it was a giggle to read.
Jestana: Banter odd word...more like...oh fine, you win. We got more to come. lol. Heres the update yah wanted!
chapter fourteen: clockwork
Minerva awoke beside Albus the following morning, knowing quite well it was their last full day to be together. They'd have to leave early the following morning, too early infact. She ran her hand along his naked chest, and inhaled everything as best she could. She'd never been happier; never in her entire, vacant, lonely life. It couldn't end so soon, she'd waited for this time for so long, she couldn't let it go so fast.
Albus, who slept next to her with a childish grin upon his face, made no movements whatever. It was those moments, the ones where she stood and stared at his handsome face, when there wasn't a reason for words, times like that when the world just seemed to stop and give in only to their needs that Minerva could not leave. These moments were too precious for her, like a seedling coming to sprout in the spring. If she made a wrong move, gave too much, or too little, then it all could die.
She knew he was different than anyone else in the world. No one had his charm, his smile, or his somewhat odd sense of mind. No other in the entire universe had his twinkling eyes, or his skillful way of doing things. Not one single person out there was like Albus Dumbledore because no one else had ever loved her. She found herself grinning at the thought, for the first time in her thirty-some years of living, she was truly, honestly, and uncharacteristically in love.
Slowly she dragged a thin finger down his shoulder line, and up to his oddly shaped nose. His eyes blinked open, and then he turned over to face her with a smile. "Is it morning already?" he yawned slowly.
"Yes," she nodded her head, and kissed him softly on the lips, "'tis morning m' dear Professor Dumbledore."
"That felt good," he grinned mischeivously, "do it again."
"Do what?" she raised an eyebrow. Exceeding his 'up-to-no-good' look, she planted a kiss on his nose. "This?" she scooted closer to him, and consumed his lips with her own. She hardly let him get a good intake, but merely let her lips linger there before pulling away with a childish grin.
"Come now Min! That wasn't a kiss just uh...uh...uh peck! I'm a man with needs."
"I know that," she giggled, "that's why I enjoy teasing you."
He sighed, wrapped his arms around her while she pressed her body against his, and rolled her beneath himself. "You know Kitten," his eyes began to twinkle, "you're lucky I feel the way I do about you, otherwise you'd be as flat as a pancake from all the motion we've been doing together."
"Well lucky for you I wouldn't mind being as flat as a pancake," she smiled. "Let's go out to breakfast," she whispered. When she saw the hurt look upon his face, she couldn't help but explain. "I want to remember today. This could very well be the last time I have a romance like this, let's not let it go to ruin."
His twinkle faded, and he rolled his eyes with a sigh. "You know what?" he whispered in her ear gruffly, "you have to be the only woman in the world that can get me this sexually frustrated."
She looked into his eyes. Naturally he was just playing, the both of them knew this wasn't to be the last time, though he made it sound like it. She ran her finger along his (after much debate) shaved chin. "Well maybe if you take me out to breakfast I'll stop getting you frustrated, and we can get it on?"
Together, they walked hand in hand towards the bakery that they had shared breakfast with each other only the day before. Minerva squeezed Albus's hand tightly as they strolled. He looked down at her, the amazingly beautiful and brilliant woman that he, Albus Dumbledore, wanted to present a ring to as a symbol of engagement for marriage. Only the day before he'd found a reason to leave her, and find his own way to a rather fine jewelry store that lay outside the country. He'd told her he needed to return some clothes, when in truth he'd apparated to London. With a stop at Gringotts, and a long search for a reasonable jewelry store, he'd found the perfect diamond ring. He felt confident with the small box that held a spot in his pocket.
He hoped dearly that it would come as a surprise, maybe even a shock. The plan, at this point was merely find an opportune moment, and ask her the question that had been burning holes in his mind for the past three days. Will you marry me?
Her hair was pulled back today, not in a bun, but some odd knot with half of her hair sat draped across her back. Her deep pools of eyes were filled with life. Her tanned skin from the day before was rather becoming of her. She wasn't so much a porcelain doll like she had been, now she was...real. His dream world, with his Minerva porcelain doll, was no longer a dream. It was all real, every single bit of this fantastic week was real, as real as the sun and the moon.
They'd connected honest and true, and he'd been her first. As they entered the shop, he swallowed, she'd take him as her last too. It wasn't some trick anymore, some meaningless stratagem, it was love, it all was love. As he looked back at all the years, he noticed now just how blind he had been. She'd stopped by his office at least three times a week for no reason at all. She'd always given him a rather thoughtful Christmas gift when the time came. She'd always looked at him differently than everyone else; past his titles of recognition, and into the very things that make him tick. It was like clockwork. They would last until the end of time.
"Albus!" He felt a rather hard nudge, and realized he'd been staring. Though that wasn't what Minerva McGonagall was nudging him for, ever so sadly, that wasn't it. Across the room, and looking a little too cozy sat his poker partner so to speak, and his lover's best friend at a table. His heart sunk, Minerva wouldn't take this too kindly, she didn't like Severus Snape, no that was an understatement, she hated him. And Severus and Poppy, Minerva's best friend, were simply too close for any on-lookers comfort.
He observed the woman beside him, who seemed to be making it into more sense by scrunching her face into a number of odd looks. She peered up at Albus, then back towards the table with a rather hurt look upon her face. "Let's go and talk to them," she said slowly.
Quickly he swallowed, and grasped her hand in his. Together the walked over towards the table. A smile crossed Poppy's face once she had noticed the two of them looking down, "Minerva!" She jumped up from the table and clamped Minerva between her arms. "I thought I told you to drop in!" She laughed happily. "Bit too busy, aye?" Poppy held Minerva at arms length.
His lover glanced at him quickly, "I suppose you could say that," she grinned. He felt his hand being pulled closer to her, so he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind her.
Poppy's eyes grew wider, and her smile became larger. "Oh I'm so glad for you two!"
"Well thank you," Albus leaned in to Minerva, and kissed her softly on the cheek.
"And you and Severus?" Minerva whispered with a fake smile. "You look happy."
"Oh," she turned back towards her lover of all sorts. She beckoned him to stand up and be beside her. "I suppose it's about time you met my uh...boyfriend."
Severus stood beside Poppy, and slid a hand into hers. He looked well, perhaps a little tired though. The usual black robes were gone, and he wore something more of a festive get-up; muggle jeans and a brown shirt. "Hello Headmaster," he nodded in Albus's direction, "Minerva, nice to see you again."
"Charmed to be in you presence," she spoke in such a supercilious manner, that only someone close to her would have noticed; namely Albus and Poppy. "have you two been here for very long?"
"Just as long as you," Severus spoke deeply. "I would assume that our headmaster hasn't told you just where the funding for this trip came from?"
Minerva eyed Albus, then back at the potions master. "No, he hasn't," she said softly, the disdain completely gone from her voice. "You knew we were taking a holiday here?"
"My dear head of Gryffindor," a weak smile crossed his face, "I'm afraid I set you up."
She looked at Albus with a vacant expression, then to Severus, and then to Poppy. Albus stared. For someone that she hated so much, though it might just be petty things that she hates him for, it was inconceivable that he would do something nice for her. "What do you mean...set up?"
"Poppy, me, and the rest of the staff pulled money together to send you two out in the middle of nowhere so that you would finally see that you belong with each other. Obviously," she smiled boldly, "this trip wasn't a complete waste. You've found your way into each other's arms as is."
"Albus," she met eyes with him. He felt a fearful jolt run down the pit of his stomach. "You...let the entire staff," she spoke softly, her eyes becoming rather wide, "set us up?"
"I didn't know it was the entire staff." He peered at Severus who had a rather amused smile on his face. He started speaking dumbfoundedly. "The entire staff?"
"Where the bloody hell do you expect me to collect that much money? From my empty bank account? I think I'd need a considerably large raise in pay to be able to take care of the expenses for this outrageous trip for you, and I."
"But," Minerva spoke gently, she was yet still surprised, "why?"
"That should be obvious!" Poppy peeped in happily, "For you to honestly think that no one knew about your infatuation, then you are very much mistaken. The whole school knew before you two did! Now," she laughed, "doesn't it just make you feel wonderful?"
She shook her head with an unmistakable blush crossing her face, "We would have found our way to each other sooner or later."
"Yeah," she giggled, "after it's too late for you to reproduce!"
"Poppy!" Everyone seemed to have yelled it simultaneously, even Severus. Everyone stared here and there, Minerva had an unbelievably red blush across her face, Albus could even feel his own cheeks go red. "I can't help it!" She grinned. "You two are perfect for each other, don't give me any of that crazy nonsense! I took the liberty of dropping by your room two days ago...I would hate to have been a maid and walked in on that scene."
"You what!?" Minerva laughed aloud.
"Damn right Minerva," she grinned, "I wanted to see how you and Albus were getting on. Obviously, there wasn't any point to that." She looked up at Albus with a warm smile.
"You know what Poppy," Albus grinned sheepishly, "I'm not sure whether I should raise or lower your pay."
"The only thing I'm asking you to do," she winked slowly, "is give my best friend one hell of a ride."
Albus looked at Minerva, whose face was being smothered by her hands. He pulled her hands away from her face, leaned in, and whispered softly in her ear. "Are you embarrassed enough m' dear?"
She nodded with her rather pink face, and then faced the other couple. "And what about you and Severus, Poppy? Tell me, how many times has he ridden you within the past week?"
Poppy blinked a few times, then a grin crossed her face. "Too many to count. Off hand I'd say about twenty-four."
Minerva's mouth dropped, and her eyes went wider than Albus had ever seen them go. "I didn't actually want an answer! Do you two even sleep?!"
"Um," Poppy looked up at Severus, then back towards Minerva, "no."
"You're crazy, both of you."
"No more crazy than you are, Min."
She blinked, and then smiled. "Well if it's quite alright with you, Albus and I came here for breakfast, not to listen to you making fun of me...that's Albus's job."
"No doubt about that," Severus buzzed in heavily.
"I'm sorry Min," Poppy frowned, "Maybe I am being a little insensitive. We've got to leave anyhow, there are plans that we must fulfill. You're not angry with me, are you?"
"No," Minerva shook her head, "I'm not. Perhaps we can meet up later today, when I have enough mental power to understand all this madness."
"Yes," Poppy nodded, "let's. When?"
Minerva looked up at Albus, and he looked back at her with shrugged shoulders. "How's this evening then? After we sup?"
"Eight?"
"Alright then," Minerva nodded, "eight 'tis."
"Nice seeing you," the two men nodded.
Poppy and Severus left quickly, more than likely due to Severus's wishes.
Minerva didn't move until they were out, and turned around her with a frown. "What the bloody hell is she doing with that git? Of all the people in the world! She just had to choose Severus Snape!" She sat down in the chair with a start.
He looked at her, a twinge of pride coursing through his body. She wouldn't hide anything if she didn't want to. Her disapproval was no exception. "Come now, he's not all bad. He's paying for this trip."
She glared at him, "Albus!"
"What's so bad about him, Min? What has he done that was so horrible?" He shrugged. After all, Severus hadn't ever done anything to Minerva that he knew about. She was slighlty prejudiced though, he knew that much. With Severus being a death eater and all, let alone Slytherin that was reason enough for her to dislike him. She had no reason other than that. He stared at his fiery lover.
"Where do you want me to start?" She threw her hands up in the air. "Not only is he the foulest living piece of scum on this Earth, but he's dating my best friend!"
"So?"
"What if something happens to her? What if..." she grew soft, and looked at him sadly, "what if he gets her pregnant or something? Then what?"
He smiled, maybe it didn't have anything to do with Severus. Maybe she was just looking out for her best friend...in a rather odd way for that matter. "Then it's their decision on where to go from there. What if I've gotten you pregnant?" he shook his head, "Poppy isn't going to tell me what to do, just like you can't tell them not to see each other."
"But Severus isn't...stable."
"In what way is he unstable, Min?"
"He was a death eater for Merlin's sake! He's working for both sides now! Any day now, someone could find out what he's doing, and he could be killed. Poppy doesn't need that."
"No matter what you tell her," he took Minerva's hand, "she won't listen. The look in her eyes was the same one that I get from you. He makes her happy, try not to spoil it."
"They have no business being together," she protested.
"And we do?" He leaned in, and pecked her on the lips with a smile.
She frowned, "I still don't like it."
"That's a girl," he smiled and pecked her again, "Love you."
She sighed with a smile on her face, and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "I love you too."
"Did you see the way she was looking at me Poppy? What you see in Minerva as a friend I just can't understand. I helped get her and the headmaster together, and what does she do?" Severus waved his hands wildly about the air, and spoke through his nose, "Charmed to be in your presence."
"Calm down." Poppy walked across the room, and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You didn't honestly expect her to like us being together, did you? Besides," she whispered softly, "that was before she knew that you had set her up. She was much nicer once she knew that."
He turned with eyes filled with emotion, something rarely seen to anyone besides her. "What happens when we tell them we've gotten married?"
Poppy smiled to herself. "She'll be angry at first, but who cares what Minerva thinks? In time, she'll think it was romantic, and she'll be mad at me for not having her come. But I think she'll forgive me for eloping with the man I love." She pulled him closer, and touched her lips to his. He moved in hungrily, and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Mmmm," she moaned slowly into his mouth.
"You know Poppy Seed," he smiled after their lips had departed, "I don't think anyone will take too kindly to the fact that we've fallen in love."
"They just won't like the fact that the mean old Potions Master actually has a heart...let alone that he has fallen in love with the nurse on campus."
"It's not my fault you're good at mouth-to-mouth," he smirked. He leaned down, and put his forehead on hers. She smiled at the look in his eyes that distinctly reminded her of lightening during a storm. Everything was going to be alright if they had each other and if he kept on looking at her that exact same way.
"Severus," she spoke softly, "I'm glad we did what we did. I love you so much." She leaned in, and nuzzled his day old facial hair.
A smiled crossed his face, slowly he lifted her chin, and leaned down to touch his lips softly to hers. "I'm glad too. You're the only thing that's ever been good in my life."
"You know I'll always be there." She stood on the tip of her toes, and pecked him slowly. "Now my dear husband," she crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow, "do you want to drown now, or later when we'll be rushed for mouth-to-mouth?"
hoooooray, that was my update with a er...surprise...hopefully. Did you like the end? Lol...I did, I feel I have finally conquered the element of surprise...then again maybe not. What do you think?(haha webby)
you don't need to read this readers, but I just feel like blabbing my big mouth about something that happened the other day. I was finishing up the end of this chapter when my twelve year old cousin came in, and started reading. (She too is a hp fan, though isn't as into the pairing thing as I am.) Anyway, she was here when I was finishing up this last Poppy/Severus segment and lol, she goes "Why is it that whenever I walk in someone is kissing?" I guess I'm just too much of a romantic sometimes. = Then again maybe she just happens to always come in at the wrong times too.
Another announcement! Because I have been moved, my word document type is different due to the exchange of computers. I have no spell check, nor grammar check. If there's anything wrong, please point it out. I try, but I have bad luck a lot of the time.
last announcement! Harry Potter 3 comes into theaters today! =) Everyone sing a song! Happy happy joy joy happy happy joy joy! :-D
that is all :-)