Chapter 6
Minerva woke up later that same afternoon and looked around for Albus, but he was no
where to be seen. "I must have imagined him," she thought sadly to herself. She had been so
sure; she even thought she could still smell him in the air. That mix of hot chocolate and
parchment was hard to forget. Minerva began to indulge her thoughts when she realized she
wasn't alone.
Poppy was sitting at her bedside, looking at her old friend with quiet glee and obvious
relief. Minerva looked at her, and, after thinking for a moment, asked, "Poppy what happened?
The last thing I remember Mr. Longbottom was waving his wand and a red flash was coming at
me. After that there's nothing until I woke up here."
Poppy just looked at her friend for a moment, an instant of pain flashing in her eyes.
"You were hit Minerva. With what I don't know; you would have to ask Albus about that."
Poppy decided a little nudging was in order. If they wouldn't do it on their own, a little push
couldn't hurt. "Albus arrived first and carried you here. I couldn't get him to leave your side
once he arrived. I have never seen that man look so lost as he did when we thought you
wouldn't wake up. He's been moving on instinct all week. His lack of sleep hasn't been helping
either. He's been rather busy covering your classes, along with everything else."
Poppy took a slight breath to let her information penetrate, and she could see the worry
build up behind Minerva's eyes as her brow furrowed slightly. "The oddest thing happened
about three days ago; Albus was reading something, and the next thing I know he's smiling like
an idiot and yelling something about fairy tales. I thought he'd finally gone round the bend."
Poppy finally came to the point she wanted to discuss, she just hoped she would still be
in one piece at the end. "What exactly is going on between the two of you?" Minerva looked at
her friend in horror. Her cheeks flushed, and her mouth opened and closed like a trout with no
sound coming out.
"What? Nothing; why would you ask?" Minerva stuttered, completely flustered.
Poppy knew it wasn't kind, but she did love getting under Minerva's skin. It was an
event so rare it was worth savoring. "Oh, no reason. He just walked into my ward, sat down for
a little while, leaned over and kissed you, and then left. I was just curious." Poppy enjoyed
watching as Minerva's eyes widened in shock, but she misinterpreted the look.
Minerva's mind was racing at a ferocious pace. "Fairy tales..a kiss and I wake up. It
couldn't be. He doesn't.." Realization dawned in Minerva's eyes as her thoughts came to a
close. He had broken the briar rose enchantment, but that would mean he was her one true love.
A small smile graced her face as tears of joy started to stream from her eyes.
Poppy, misreading the tears started to become worried and reached out a hand to
Minerva. "Minerva what's wrong?"
Minerva just shook his head through the tears. "Nothing Poppy; absolutely nothing. Everything is wonderful. I have something I need to do; please let me go." Poppy shrugged her
shoulders and, as she threw her hands in the air, said, "I have no reason to keep you. All your
tests are negative and you've had more than enough rest. Go, but you had better come back and
let me know what's got you in such a state."
Minerva was up and transfiguring her night gown into regular robes before Poppy had
finished speaking. She nodded her head as she rushed out of the Hospital wing. She only hoped
he was in his office; classes were over, but it wasn't quite dinner time. Minerva quickly made
her way toward his office, but was stopped several times by students and colleagues to
congratulate her on her recovery. Minerva never wanted to be left alone more in her life. It took
Minerva almost an hour to reach the statue. It was only then that she realized she didn't know
the password. She tried the one from earlier in the week, but it didn't work.
Minerva let out a slight growl of frustration and brought her hand to rest over the statue.
To her shock, and delight, the statue moved began to rise allowing her access. Minerva was at a
slight loss. Armed with the information she had, it was obvious what she should do. The only
problem was how to go about it. She couldn't just walk in there and blurt out her feelings.
Perhaps she should take a page out of Severus' book and cajole Albus into doing all the work.
"No, he's not a toy to be meddled with," she said to no one in particular.
The stairs arrived at the door and halted, and Minerva was no closer to her answer. She
was suddenly very nervous as she reached out a shaking hand and knocked on the door. It took
a moment, but the most bone weary, "Come in," met her ears. Minerva took a deep, steading
breath and pulled open the door.
A/N: Sorry for the odd format; my computer is apparently not happy with me right now and is in the midst of a rebellion. By the way, if you've gotten this far, push the pretty little button just on the left. Thanks!
