Chapter 6: Home

Not knowing quite what to expect, Albus paused before stepping into the fireplace and thinking of home. When he emerged from another hearth, he felt her hands on his face before his eyes were even open, and a second later their lips met, too. His lips left hers only so he could breathe and scatter more kisses all over her face, eventually reaching an ear and continuing down her neck to her collar.

At this point she pulled back and, with a glint in her eye, suggested, "Let's continue this in the bedroom."

The next morning Albus woke with a smile, aware of the warm and soft body holding him. "Good morning, Minerva."

"A very good morning."

With a chuckle, he turned to run his fingers through her hair and kiss her. Soon they were interrupted by their stomachs growling in protest of a dinner missed. "Why don't we get dressed and have breakfast?"

"Excellent idea."

As they were about to leave the bedroom, Albus's brow furrowed, "Minerva, do you remember what I told you about the mail?"

Appearing surprised, she turned back to him and confirmed, "That you receive quite a bit of it, including some fan mail?"

"Yes. And some of it from quite amorous women."

"It won't bother me." She turned and proceeded to the kitchen.

"I hope not," he whispered as he followed her.

They made breakfast together and sat at a small table by a large window in the kitchen. The sunrise was glorious, and Albus appreciated the opportunity to spend quiet time with the woman he loved, the pinks and reds of the sunrise causing her to appear as though she were blushing.

When he saw the owls coming, he suggested they move to the study. There they sat next to each other at a large table by a window overlooking the front garden and received the owls. Once the birds were gone, Albus raised his wand and his mail sorted itself into three small piles. Minerva had received only two pieces of mail and so didn't need to sort hers. Albus explained, quickly glancing through one pile, "This is the work I shall have to attend to this morning. Hopefully the only work for today." Turning to the smallest pile, he noticed who each letter was from. "Correspondence from friends." And glancing at the final pile with a look of discouragement, he added, "And letters from people I don't know."

Minerva smiled at him. "I just have a letter from my parents and one from Poppy."

"Well, shall we dispense with the mail, then?" At her nod, he summoned parchment, ink, and quills from the desk and started in on his business letters as she read and replied to her letters. Happily, the work that had to be done took only a short time, and since she was still writing her replies, he started in on his correspondence. When he noticed that she was finished, he offered, "I could leave the rest of this until later."

Smiling, she encouraged him to continue. "It must get done sometime."

Picking up the already-answered letter from his brother, he offered it to her. "Would you like to read what my brother wrote? It is rather amusing."

Though she looked uncertain, at his nod, she took the letter, began reading it, and soon was laughing. This seemed to loosen her reserve about intruding on his personal matters, and they read the rest of his mail together, Minerva leaning on his other arm, watching him write the answers. They laughed together at his fan mail as he addressed the generic postcards he sent in reply.

Until they reached the last piece of fan mail. "Albus, this is a marriage proposal."

Sighing, Albus admitted, "Yes. You'd be surprised how many of those I receive from total strangers. I was."

"Have you ever courted someone who wrote to you?"

"When I was about your age I agreed to meet a few of them." He shuddered. "One meeting was quite enough – in some cases, too much."

Absorbed in her own thoughts, she observed, "I don't believe I've ever heard of you dating."

"I more or less gave up on dating, oh, I suppose around the time you were born."

"Why?"

"Because, my dear, each time I dated a woman, it seemed to start well, and though I didn't have strong feelings for any of them, I thought I might grow to, and dating was pleasant enough. But the woman involved always called for an end to it the moment she found out I'm skilled at Legilimency."

Minerva had been listening attentively and sympathetically, but at this she could not suppress a giggle. "Albus, those women knew that if you ever got a peek in their minds, you'd know they were dating you because of your reputation as a wizard rather than because they had sincere feelings for you."

Pretending to be hurt by her words, Albus teased her, "And you have no such fear?"

Turning to him directly and looking deeply into his eyes, she proclaimed, "None whatsoever. You may look into my mind if you like. You will find a deep affection."

With a smile playing at his lips, he assured her, "I know I would, my love. And I never use that particular ability unless it is very important."

They stared contentedly into each other's eyes until Minerva softly stated, "I looked at your thoughts in the pensieve. Thank you. I wish I could share my thoughts with you."

"Well, Legilimency is far from an ideal way to do that, though we could give it a try if you like. You could put some of your thoughts in the pensieve for a more manageable way to share."

Slowly Minerva nodded. "We could try both at some point."

"We could," Albus agreed. "But before we make any decisions about more exotic means of communication, why don't we take a turn around the gardens and talk? And we can work on the door locks, as well."

The locks were easily dealt with, and as they strolled around the grounds, Albus described some of the other protections on the house and grounds, in addition to talking about some of the plants in the yard.

"Elegant and easy to care for," Minerva observed as they walked through the garden.

"Has to be," Albus confirmed. "I'm here so little. I hope that you don't mind that it's a rather small house. At the time I bought it, this was all I could afford, and now…"

"It's quite comfortable, Albus. Certainly plenty big for two people, and even a few guests."

"Shall we arrange for your parents to visit?"

"Or your brother? We could. But right now I'm quite happy to have you to myself." They smiled at each other and continued to walk arm in arm. "Albus, what are those?"

He looked to the spot in the hedge that she indicated. "Rabbits. I should have mentioned that this garden is home to both magical and non-magical creatures." Anticipating her objection, he added, "I know rabbits and some of the rest are commonly regarded as pests, but I just can't bring myself to shoo them off. Come see. They're so sweet and so soft."

Minerva seemed to enjoy seeing up close the rabbits, frogs, and butterflies that Albus coaxed close, and he was glad he had befriended them.

After their walk, they returned to the house, made lunch, and sat by the window talking and eating until they were interrupted by an owl.

"Go. Take care of it. I'll clean up."

Albus gave her a small kiss before leaving for the study. Fortunately, the work was easily tended to and he was soon headed back to the kitchen. As he approached, he was surprised to hear Minerva's voice, apparently in conversation. Entering the kitchen, he found her laughing at the fireplace.

"Oh, Albus. I was just coming for you." She held out her hand to him and he went and took it, allowing their fingers to interlace. "You never said how funny your brother is."

Joining her in front of the fireplace, the first words he heard from his brother that day were, "Well, I'm sure there are many other things Albus would prefer to speak with you about."

Despite his embarrassment, Albus quipped, "And things I'd rather be doing with her than talking with my brother."

As he smiled at Minerva who had playfully slapped his arm, his brother concurred, "I won't keep you. I just called to confirm that my brother really does have a woman in his house."

"I most certainly am here, and we'll be in touch to ask you to come visit in a couple of weeks."

"Okay. Have fun. And remember that he's a frail, old man." Aberforth quickly winked and disappeared.

The remainder of their afternoon was spent quietly enjoying each other's company and the freedom to express their feelings for each other whenever and however they pleased. Evening found them cooking, dining, and cleaning together again, and it was only then that Albus realized what he hadn't seen since coming home. "Minerva, my dear. Where are your cats?"

Raising her eyebrows and shoulders, she explained, "They got out the first day I was here. I would imagine that they are under some hedge, possibly snacking on your rabbits and birds." A frown creased her brow as she continued, "And where is Fawkes?"

"Ah, Fawkes. Phoenixes tend to become quite attached to one person. At present, Fawkes seems to prefer solitude at Hogwarts to your company. That may change. Or not. His burning day is coming quite soon, and it might be better for him to be here. It makes him quite unhappy when the house elves at school clean up his ashes too soon." As they were speaking of the phoenix, he led her to the study, to Fawkes's perch. "Fawkes!" he called.

A second later, the air burst into flame and Fawkes flew once around the room before settling on his perch. Albus immediately reached out to stroke him. "There you are. You remember Minerva, do you not?" He thought the phoenix's eyes looked reproachful and wondered whether it was for casting aspersions on his memory or because of some way Minerva had offended him when they first met. "Go on, Minerva. I think he may let you pet him."

Tentatively, she reached out and ran her fingers down Fawkes's neck. "He's so smooth. Like satin." Fawkes seemed to approve of this attention and sang briefly.

"Well, Minerva. When he is here, this is what we feed him," he explained, indicating a nearby box as he opened it and removed some food. "He will let us know if we have not given him enough to eat."

Even though it was not late, they soon opted to retire to their bedroom.

Sunday was much the same as Saturday until Albus decided it would be best to talk through a difficult situation sooner rather than later. And he would probably be away for the week, so if Minerva was very angry, she'd have a few days to cool down.

"Minerva, my dear." She looked up from his shoulder, setting aside her book and moving so they were in even closer contact. "We need to talk about the dueling practice."

"Would you like to practice now?"

"Well, perhaps. But I wanted to talk about practicing dueling at school." After a pause during which he recognized nothing but confusion in her eyes, he continued, "I don't think we should, at least not for much longer in front of the students."

"Because of that pair of students who tried to duel?"

"No, dear. Because I think anyone who has paid attention to our duels realizes that you are quite powerful."

"Nonsense."

"Minerva, I'm not saying this either to flatter or to anger you: you are quite strong and have become rather proficient at dueling, and it would be better for you and me and everyone else if we kept that a secret for as long as possible." The daggers in her eyes were cutting him up as he endured her silence.

At last she calmly stated, "I understand why it would be better for you and me. Why would it be best for everyone?"

"If no one knows of your power, then the next time darkness rises, you could be like a secret weapon. They would not be expecting you, they would not be prepared for you, and that element of surprise might turn the tide of war."

She seemed to consider this for a long time before agreeing, "I doubt that I could do anything of the sort, but it is a reasonable request. However, if we stop publicly practicing dueling at school, won't people suspect something?"

Albus shifted uncomfortably. She had already agreed to one thing he'd known she would hate, and now he had to ask her to do another. "I thought that back at school this fall we could stage an argument." Seeing that she did not yet have an objection, he continued, "An argument in which you accuse me of holding back during duels."

"You hold back when we duel?" He wasn't sure whether that was anger in her voice or she was feigning it.

"Minerva, I always hold back in duels. The one time I didn't…"

"You don't want to kill anyone else," she whispered.

Silently he nodded.

Minerva nodded and took a few deep breaths before suggesting, "And so, soon after we return to school, we should be overheard quarreling because I've realized that you hold back during duels and resent it?" She seemed to consider this for a moment. "I suppose it would be more convincing if I went so far as to insist that you not hold back at what would be our last public duel, which I would lose."

Albus was relieved not only that Minerva didn't sound angry, but also that she had suggested it herself. "I confess those were my thoughts, as well. In addition, I would like to go on practicing dueling with you. Privately. So we can both be less reserved. It really had been far too long since I had a worthy dueling partner."

Minerva agreed, and they practiced for what would be their final public duel before turning to some serious dueling practice.

Later, as he felt Minerva relax into sleep in his arms in their bed, he mused that he had never been as glad to be at home as he was this summer.