7. Realizations I
A/N: I struggled a little with this chapter, but I'm very happy with how it turned out. Thank you, Cielita, for your advice on the last scene.
"Lookit, Mr. Albus!" Harry exclaimed when that man appeared in Mum's rooms before dinner. Scrambling to his feet from where he'd been sprawled on the floor, Harry ran to him.
Mr. Albus caught the boy and easily lifted him into his arms, moving further into the room as the door closed behind him. "Look at what, m'boy? Hello, Minerva."
"Hello, Albus," Mum replied from where she sat on the sofa, reading a book to refresh her memory for a class she would teach the next day.
Harry presented Mr. Albus with a picture he'd drawn with his new crayons while Mum had been teaching. "It's Fawkes!"
"So I see," Mr. Albus commented, accepting the red and gold picture to look more closely at it. "I'm sure he'll like it as much I do. Thank you, m'boy." Mr. Albus kissed his forehead and Harry couldn't stifle a giggle. "Do I amuse you?"
Harry grinned at the man he considered his new father. "Your whiskers tickle!"
"Oh, do they?" Mr. Albus asked, his bright blue eyes twinkling with amusement.
Harry's eyes grew wide just before Mr. Albus began using his long beard to tickle Harry. "Ah! No! No! Hahaha!" Harry laughed helplessly, wriggling and squirming in Mr. Albus' arms. "Mum! Help!"
"You got yourself into it, Harry-lad," Mum answered calmly, not looking up from her book. "You get yourself out."
It turned out that Harry didn't need any help, as Mr. Albus stopped tickling Harry moments later. While the boy caught his breath, Mr. Albus whispered a suggestion in Harry's ear. Harry nodded eagerly. "Yeah!"
"Shh, quietly," Mr. Albus whispered, setting Harry on his feet.
Grinning conspiratorially, Harry and Albus crept over to the sofa, where Mum was curled up like a cat, still reading. With a mutual yell, Harry and Mr. Albus pounced.
Minerva knew Albus and Harry were planning something. It was obvious from their whispers and Harry's giggle. She was unprepared, however, to have them pounce on her from both sides and begin to tickle her mercilessly. As she laughed and struggled to escape their clutches, she fell from the sofa to the floor, with Albus and Harry following not long afterwards. Now sprawled on her back, her 'attackers' proceeded to tickle every part of her body that could possibly be ticklish.
When Albus' long fingers brushed over her right breast, however, she tensed, realizing that her hair had come loose from its bun and one of his legs was pinning her hips to the floor. Albus seemed to notice that Minerva was no longer struggling and stopped tickling her. Moments later, his bright blue eyes locked with her dark green ones, their faces only centimeters apart. Minerva could feel her heart pounding in her chest and wondered if Albus could hear it. There was movement by Minerva's feet and a timid voice asked, "Mum? Mr. Albus? Are you all right?"
"Yes, Harry-lad, we're fine," Minerva replied, looking away from Albus to reassure her adopted son, who brightened as Albus sat up.
The little boy bounded into her lap as soon as she sat up and she gladly wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his tousled hair. "Yay!"
"My apologies, Minerva," Albus murmured for her ears only as his hand touched her shoulder briefly.
She looked up from Harry, catching his eye. "Albus, was there a reason you came by?"
"I merely wished to see if you would like an escort for dinner," Albus explained, no sign of emotion on his face, which wasn't like him at all.
Minerva looked down at the little boy in her arms, who looked back with hope in his eyes. She forced a smile as she looked back at Albus, unsettled by the moment when their eyes had locked. It had felt as if the rest of the world gone away, leaving just the two of them. "Of course we would, Albus. Thank you for asking."
"You don't need to thank me for every little thing, Minerva," he answered quietly as Minerva sent Harry to the bathroom to wash up. "I enjoy doing things for you and Harry."
She rose to her feet with less than her usual grace, still flustered by what had passed between them, which she didn't quite understand. "I feel I must, Albus. I know you are very busy, with lots of important--"
"Minerva, please," Albus cut her off, gently gripping her shoulders to get his point across. "I don't do it for thanks. I do it because I want to."
Abruptly, Minerva realized their faces were very close again and the world began to fade, again, until Harry's voice interrupted them, "Mr. Albus, what are you doing to Mum?"
"Nothing, Harry," Albus replied, releasing Minerva and stepping back, putting space between himself and Minerva.
Minerva turned to Harry. "It's all right, Harry-lad. He wasn't trying to hurt me."
"Uncle Vernon used to hurt Aunt Petunia," Harry volunteered, his face somber. "He used to make her cry."
Startled, Minerva glanced at Albus. He looked very grave. "Thank you for telling us, m'boy. I assure you that I will never do anything to hurt your Mum." His eyes met hers as he added, "She's far too important to me."
"I'll go wash up now," Minerva answered, feeling her face heat up at the implication of Albus' words. She beat a hasty retreat to the bathroom, where she immediately splashed cold water on her face in an attempt to cool it down. He couldn't be saying what she thought he was saying, could he? They'd been friends since her days as a student at Hogwarts and she had dated before becoming a teacher over 29 years ago. Actually, it was because of an ex-lover that she'd accepted the post in the first place. She'd needed something to help her past the break-up and teaching had done that, as well as Albus' friendship. Now she wondered if Albus wanted more than friendship. She wondered if she wanted more than friendship.
Sternly pushing those thoughts away, she finished freshening up and left the bathroom. Albus and Harry were talking quietly and looked around when Minerva emerged from the bathroom. "Are we ready now?"
"Yep!" Harry answered, grinning broadly. Obviously, Albus had managed to allay the boy's fears.
Minerva nodded, forcing herself to meet Albus' gaze. "Yes, Albus."
With that, they headed down to dinner together.
"Aunt Poppy!" Harry dashed down the hall to the school nurse, a big smile on his face.
She smiled as she caught him and scooped him into her arms. "Hello, Harry, how was your day?"
"It was great!" Harry replied as Aunt Poppy carried him to the staff table, leaving Mum and Mr. Albus to follow in their wake. "I got to fly with Aunt Ro this morning, then I sat and colored while Mum taught and I drew you a picture!" Harry produced said picture and presented it to Aunt Poppy. As she examined it, he pointed out the important parts. "I drew you with Uncle Al and your kitty, Minna."
Aunt Poppy hugged Harry tightly, obviously touched. "Thank you, Harry, it's beautiful."
"You're welcome, Aunt Poppy," Harry replied, hugging her back, resting his cheek against hers.
Aunt Poppy set Harry in his chair while Aunt Ro came over. "Hiya, Harry. How was your afternoon?"
"It was great, Aunt Ro," Harry told her as Aunt Ro sat down in Mum's chair and Aunt Poppy left for her own seat at the table. "I drew a picture for you."
She grinned, resting her chin in her hands. "Did you now?"
"Yep!" Harry nodded, and then his face fell. "It got wet when I washed my hands and Mum had to throw it away."
Aunt Ro blinked, a grin slowly spreading across her face. "That's all right, Harry. It's the thought that counts."
"I guess, but you can't hold a thought, can you?" Harry asked, looking up at her soberly.
She laughed, ruffling his hair. "No, you can't."
"A-hem." Mum had arrived. "May I have seat, Rolanda?"
Aunt Ro grinned, appearing to make herself comfortable. "Nah, I think I'll stay here."
"I believe your seat is by Poppy, Rolanda," Mum answered, her arms folded across her chest.
Aunt Ro grinned, winking at Harry. "Fine, fine, you can have your seat, Min."
"I've told you not to call me that." Mum looked exasperated, but Harry could already tell when she was just faking and this was one of those times.
Aunt Ro bounced up out of the seat. "When have I ever listened?"
"Never." Mum sighed as she sat down.
Aunt Ro grinned, patting Mum's head. "Exactly!"
With that, she bounded for her seat by Aunt Poppy. "Well, now, Harry, you've given pictures to myself, Poppy, and Rolanda. Did you draw any others?"
"Yep!" Harry answered Mr. Albus cheerfully as Mum scooped food onto his plate. "I drew a picture of a black and silver kitty with square markings around its eyes."
Mr. Albus chuckled. "Who was that one for?"
"Mum, of course." It was only obvious!
Mr. Albus chuckled as he handed a plate of food to Mum. "Of course."
"Th--" Mum stopped in the middle of what she was saying and started eating instead.
Puzzled, Harry tugged on Mum's sleeve. "Mum?"
"Yes, Harry?" Mum asked after swallowing the food in her mouth.
"Why didn't you finish your sentence?" Harry asked, curious. "You've always told me I should finish mine."
Mum looked uncomfortable for a moment. "Sometimes, it's better not to finish your sentences."
"Oh." Deciding to drop the subject, no matter how puzzling it was, Harry began to eat.
That night, after Harry had gone to bed, Minerva prepared for bed herself, pondering what had happened earlier. Ever since Harry had asked her whether she liked Albus the way "Mummy liked Daddy", she'd contemplated her feelings for Albus off and on. They hadn't been too terribly close when she'd first arrived at Hogwarts to teach. Yet, whenever she'd felt overwhelmed by the responsibilities of teaching, Albus had never hesitated to sit and listen to her and just spend time with her when she needed to just sit and relax.
As she reviewed her memories from the years before she became Head of Gryffindor and Deputy Headmistress, Minerva couldn't recall thinking of Albus as anything more than a friend at the time. It wasn't until after Albus had been appointed Headmaster and Minerva Deputy Headmistress that her feelings had begun to change in any way. Working so closely with Albus, she began learning his habits and preferences, how to spot the subtle signs that told what was going on behind the eccentric façade Albus presented to the wizarding world. She began to do little things for Albus that helped him bear his burdens as the Headmaster of the most prominent wizarding school in Europe and the greatest wizard of their time.
Brushing out her hair at this point, Minerva froze and stared at her reflection. Slowly, realization dawned on the face of her reflection: he did the same for her. He always seemed to know what to do for her when she was tired, worn out, sad, or angry. He was always willing to join in when she was happy, excited, joyful, and jubilant. Through good times and bad, they had stood by each other and supported each other. The joys they had shared over the last fifteen years had been doubled and the griefs had been halved. Even now, Albus was supporting her with his assistance in raising Harry.
She slowly braided her hair, very shaken by what she'd realized. In many ways, she and Albus were the typical married couple, except she wasn't sure if she wanted that. Her luck with men in the past hadn't been very good and she wasn't sure she wanted to risk her heart again. Sighing, she went to bed and lay awake for several hours before finally falling asleep.