4. Leaps and Bounds
Albus and Minerva's ten-year anniversary had arrived. The twins were two years old now, almost three, and being watched by Alastor and Poppy at their home near Liddell. Albus and Minerva were looking forward to having the day to themselves. It was nearly twelve when they finally got up and dressed, mainly because their stomachs were rather empty and demanding sustenance. They descended the stairs hand-in-hand and glanced at each other often, exchanging smiles when their eyes met. After several pauses to exchange kisses, they finally reached the kitchen and spotted the envelopes waiting for them on the kitchen table. While Minerva walked over to the refrigerator to gather items for sandwiches, Albus walked over to the table to look through the post. One envelope bore the Hogwarts crest and, since the twins were most definitely too young to be receiving their Hogwarts letters yet, Albus opened that envelope first. Albus had taken an indefinite leave of absence right before the twins were born so he could help Minerva while they were young. Upon reading the letter, Albus sat rather heavily at the table. "Albus? What is it?"
"Read this, my dear," Albus told his wife, offering the letter to her.
Puzzled, she took the letter and read it herself. Her eyes were wide with surprise by the time she finished. "Why does Icarus want you to take over as the Deputy? You haven't been on staff for two years."
"I've no idea, Minerva," he confessed, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his cheek against her stomach. "It is quite an honor, though."
She stroked his hair, absently noticing that silver had begun to thread its way through the auburn. "Yes, it is. Are you going to accept?"
"Do you think I should?" he answered her question with one of his own as he leaned back to look up at her.
She thought for a moment, studying the letter still in her hand. "I really do not know what to say, my love. It is quite an honor, but the twins and I would miss you when you are gone."
"I would miss you as well, Minerva, I can assure you of that." His eyes were twinkling as he gently tugged her down onto his lap.
She smiled, looping her arms around his neck. "Does this mean you will accept, Albus?"
"Yes, I suppose it does," he replied, rubbing his nose against hers.
She smiled and kissed him warmly. "Perhaps we should store up some memories in preparation for the lonely nights to come?"
"Perhaps we should."
Albus left for Hogwarts two weeks before the start of the new term so he would have time to prepare. During the term, he spent as many weekends as he could with Minerva and the twins, but being the Deputy made it difficult at times. One Saturday, early in December, Minerva received a letter from Icarus Diggle (the Headmaster) that made her most anxious to see her husband. She waited until the twins had been put to bed and they were cuddled together on the sofa in front of the fire, each with their drink of choice, before speaking of what had been weighing heavily on her mind all day. "Albus, what happened to Timothy Spalding?"
"As you know, the Muggle Studies classroom has been specially designed to allow the students the opportunity to use Muggle objects," he began quietly. She nodded and encouraged him to continue. "Well, Tim was demonstrating proper safety around a Muggle toaster and accidentally stuck a fork in the toaster."
Minerva closed her eyes and sighed. "I gather that he has decided he is better off not teaching anymore?"
"Yes, you gather correctly," Albus confirmed.
Minerva considered that for a few moments. "Why me, though? Why not someone like Stewart?" Stewart had excelled in Muggle Studies while he was a student at Hogwarts.
"My dear, we have missed each other terribly these past few months," Albus explained. "I have tried to get away on weekends, but it does not work. By having you come teach, we will not have to worry about finding time for each other."
She stared into the fire, absently stroking his hand where it rested on her stomach. "What of the twins? What will we do with them?"
"Bring them with us, of course," he replied, as if it was the obvious answer. "They would not be the first to grow up at Hogwarts."
Minerva blinked at this news. "You mean, other staff members have raised their children while at Hogwarts?"
"Yes." He nodded. "In fact, Icarus raised his son, Dedalus, there until he was eleven."
Minerva absorbed this information with a frown. "What about primary school? Will we still be able to do that while at Hogwarts?"
"It will be even easier at Hogwarts," Albus explained. "The teachers' schedules have always been arranged in such a way that their free hours do not overlap. That way, the professors can take some time to tutor younger children if there are any at the school. If there are none, then they still have the free hour."
Minerva smiled up at her husband, the last of her concerns addressed. "I suppose we should start packing, then."
"Wonderful!" He smiled down at her, bright blue eyes twinkling. "It is too late to start tonight, but I can think of something else to occupy our time."
She raised her eyebrows, smirking. "What might that be?"
"Come to bed with me and I will show you," he suggested, smoothing a hand over her hip.
She rose to her feet and held her hand out to her husband. "Gladly."
A week before the spring term began, Minerva went to Liddell to do something she had been looking forward to for some time: collect her children. The twins were a handful, yes, but they were still her babies and both she and Albus missed them sorely. The wind blew Minerva's hood back as she walked along the gently worn road that led to Alastor and Poppy's cozy cottage, Fernside. When she looked up, Poppy was standing at the open front door and two little people came running, despite Poppy's ardent pleas to be careful and not run. Minerva dropped to her knees as they grew nearer and the twins nearly knocked her over as they plowed into her, squealing and giggling. "I missed you, Mommy!" cried Molly. "I missed you too, Mommy!" Quentin cried. Molly and Quentin, though they were indeed twins, did not look identical. Molly's hair was bright red and she lacked freckles, where as Quentin, much like his father, had darker, auburn hair and a light dusting of freckles. What they did have in common, was the familiar twinkle that Minerva knew all too well that her children received from their father. "I love you both so much! Mommy and Daddy have missed you! Oh, my, we've missed you!" Minerva wept, kissing her children and holding them tight. By the time Minerva stood, Poppy had caught up with them and demanded a hug of her own. "Spoil your children with all these kisses and hugs and not even a glance to me!" Poppy teased. Minerva dusted off her skirt and enveloped her best friend in a warm embrace.
"Oh, Poppy, I've missed you too!" Minerva chuckled, "How can I ever repay you and Alastor for all you've done? And as for spoiling them, I'm sure your husband did a good enough job of that for us!" Poppy blushed.
"Oh, all right, so we have spoiled them a bit," Poppy confessed, "but nothing you and Albus would not have done in our stead." Minerva laughed, and a very cheerful Alastor met them at the door where he picked Minerva up and swung her in a circle. After demanding that he put her down, Minerva demanded to know what his fuss was about.
"Poppy hasn't told you?" Alastor exclaimed.
"No! What?" asked Minerva, whirling to face her friend. Poppy just smiled vividly and blushed, trying to find something interesting in the area of her shoes. Minerva looked at Alastor, whose handsome face had gone scarlet. She looked back at Poppy and finally found her voice.
"You're pregnant!" cried Minerva. Poppy and Alastor both shyly nodded and Minerva threw herself into each of their arms again.
"We've had such fun caring for you and Albus' dear ones that we decided it was high time we had one of our own," Poppy said happily scooping Molly into her arms and holding her.
After gathering the twins' things, Minerva, Molly and Quentin left Fernside and headed for home. The carriage ride seemed to take forever, but when they finally arrived home, Albus was waiting for them at the door.
"Daddy!" squealed Molly, jumping down out of the carriage and running for the house.
"Don't run!" shouted Minerva, but the twins were already yards from her and nearly to Albus' side. Minerva shook her head. It didn't matter what she said; no ocean or mountain range on earth could have separated Albus from his children today. Minerva nearly wept happy tears as she watched Albus stoop to his knees and fold the twins into his arms.
"My children," he murmured. "Oh, you're home! I've missed you so much!" Molly only giggled.
"Daddy your beard tickles!" she laughed. Albus proceeded to make the twins laugh and screech with joy as he tickled them both with his whiskers. Minerva made her way to the door and Albus quietly stood, allowing the twins to chase off into the house. Albus and Minerva stood and stared at each other for a moment before they reached for each other in a passionate kiss. The twins watched this kiss from around the corner of the doorframe and laughed out loud. Albus and Minerva broke the kiss and shared a long embrace before entering the house, every inch happier than they had been all week.
Quentin and Molly loved Hogwarts from the moment they arrived. The big, rambling castle had plenty of nooks and crannies for them to explore and the staff was more than willing to keep an eye on the twins if Albus and Minerva couldn't. Well, Apollyon Pringle, the caretaker, grumbled about the two being underfoot while he was working, but he really was rather fond of the twins.
He became rather protective of Molly in particular when she went missing at the age of six and the entire staff combed the castle for her.
"Molly!" Minerva screamed into the open air of the courtyard. Where could her precocious six-year-old daughter have gotten herself lost? At that point, Minerva felt her heart could beat no harder. The sun was setting, the air was gaining a distinct chill and Minerva shuddered at the thought that her child could potentially be somewhere in the forest. Suppressing these horrors in her mind, Minerva flinched as Albus wrapped his hands around her shoulders and gently tugged her back toward the castle where the voices of those who were aiding in the search echoed off the ancient stone walls.
Minerva was surveying the frenzied searchers charging up and down the one hundred forty-two staircases in Hogwarts' castle when she started to lose hope. The castle was huge; how would they ever find her? She leaned into Albus' embrace and rested her head on his shoulder. There was no denying that he was fearful as she was, but he was just better at hiding it. Minerva and Albus ignored the sadistic cackle of Peeves as he floated through the corridor. Seconds later, the anguished sobs of a little girl filled the open area. Albus and Minerva rushed toward the sound and Apollyon came quickly toward them carrying a wailing Molly clutched in his arms. She clung to him as though her life depended on it and cried big, wet, tears onto his suit coat.
She had been trapped in a distant, out of the way broom closet by Peeves, who'd thought it would be amusing to lock her in. Since the locks were magical, poor Molly had had no way to free herself and been stuck for hours before Apollyon found her. Molly kept her eyes tight shut as she sobbed; letting Apollyon murmur that everything was okay now. Minerva very nearly pulled Molly out of his arms and held her, kissing her little head and hugging her tight.
Many people patted Apollyon on the back and congratulated him on finding the tot but only seconds later, the adrenaline still thinning in his blood, Apollyon found himself standing alone in the corridor. While the rest of the school seemed to have forgotten his heroic deed, Molly never did, still calling him "Uncle Appo" long into her 20's.
At long last, Quentin and Molly were old enough to be Sorted. They'd been looking forward to it for years and were particularly rambunctious when they visited Diagon Alley to get their school things. As Minerva and Molly glanced over the supply list and discussed the different school things the twins needed as they walked, young Quentin dropped surreptitiously behind them. When they finally noticed that he was not with them, Minerva looked about frantically for only seconds before Quentin ran up behind her and surprised her. Minerva nearly had a heart attack at this prank and swore that Quentin was grounded until school started.
"Oh, mum, come off it now. It was just a joke!" Quentin pleaded.
"A joke, Quentin Lancelot McGonagall, that could have gotten you kidnapped, hurt, or worse!" Minerva fired back.
"That's another thing. Why is our last name McGonagall and dad's name is Dumbledore?" Quentin continued, to the irritation of his mother.
"Because our marriage is not common knowledge, Quentin. We prefer that it stay that way," Minerva replied more gently.
"Why wouldn't you want anyone to know about your marriage, mum?" asked Molly as they sat down in their room at the Leaky Cauldron.
"I'm afraid, my love, that that is a delicate subject for your father and I," Minerva sighed. "You may not be aware of it, but your father is the most powerful wizard in the world."
"We know that, mum!" Quentin laughed, "We grew up believing that all along!" Minerva shook her head.
"It's true, Quentin," Minerva said gravely. "He really is the most powerful wizard there is, and his blood courses through your veins. There are many wizards in this world that would seek to use a man's family as a means to destroy him. Your father could never stand the thought of that, so the only way to protect us was to discreetly hide us by not making it common knowledge that Albus Dumbledore indeed has a wife and not one, but two children at Hogwarts."
Molly and Quentin were awed. They never realized that their father was such a powerful man or that they would be expected to keep up the charade of concealing their parents' marriage. They both promised their mother that they would keep the secret before they went to bed that night.
Albus and Minerva's ten-year anniversary had arrived. The twins were two years old now, almost three, and being watched by Alastor and Poppy at their home near Liddell. Albus and Minerva were looking forward to having the day to themselves. It was nearly twelve when they finally got up and dressed, mainly because their stomachs were rather empty and demanding sustenance. They descended the stairs hand-in-hand and glanced at each other often, exchanging smiles when their eyes met. After several pauses to exchange kisses, they finally reached the kitchen and spotted the envelopes waiting for them on the kitchen table. While Minerva walked over to the refrigerator to gather items for sandwiches, Albus walked over to the table to look through the post. One envelope bore the Hogwarts crest and, since the twins were most definitely too young to be receiving their Hogwarts letters yet, Albus opened that envelope first. Albus had taken an indefinite leave of absence right before the twins were born so he could help Minerva while they were young. Upon reading the letter, Albus sat rather heavily at the table. "Albus? What is it?"
"Read this, my dear," Albus told his wife, offering the letter to her.
Puzzled, she took the letter and read it herself. Her eyes were wide with surprise by the time she finished. "Why does Icarus want you to take over as the Deputy? You haven't been on staff for two years."
"I've no idea, Minerva," he confessed, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his cheek against her stomach. "It is quite an honor, though."
She stroked his hair, absently noticing that silver had begun to thread its way through the auburn. "Yes, it is. Are you going to accept?"
"Do you think I should?" he answered her question with one of his own as he leaned back to look up at her.
She thought for a moment, studying the letter still in her hand. "I really do not know what to say, my love. It is quite an honor, but the twins and I would miss you when you are gone."
"I would miss you as well, Minerva, I can assure you of that." His eyes were twinkling as he gently tugged her down onto his lap.
She smiled, looping her arms around his neck. "Does this mean you will accept, Albus?"
"Yes, I suppose it does," he replied, rubbing his nose against hers.
She smiled and kissed him warmly. "Perhaps we should store up some memories in preparation for the lonely nights to come?"
"Perhaps we should."
Albus left for Hogwarts two weeks before the start of the new term so he would have time to prepare. During the term, he spent as many weekends as he could with Minerva and the twins, but being the Deputy made it difficult at times. One Saturday, early in December, Minerva received a letter from Icarus Diggle (the Headmaster) that made her most anxious to see her husband. She waited until the twins had been put to bed and they were cuddled together on the sofa in front of the fire, each with their drink of choice, before speaking of what had been weighing heavily on her mind all day. "Albus, what happened to Timothy Spalding?"
"As you know, the Muggle Studies classroom has been specially designed to allow the students the opportunity to use Muggle objects," he began quietly. She nodded and encouraged him to continue. "Well, Tim was demonstrating proper safety around a Muggle toaster and accidentally stuck a fork in the toaster."
Minerva closed her eyes and sighed. "I gather that he has decided he is better off not teaching anymore?"
"Yes, you gather correctly," Albus confirmed.
Minerva considered that for a few moments. "Why me, though? Why not someone like Stewart?" Stewart had excelled in Muggle Studies while he was a student at Hogwarts.
"My dear, we have missed each other terribly these past few months," Albus explained. "I have tried to get away on weekends, but it does not work. By having you come teach, we will not have to worry about finding time for each other."
She stared into the fire, absently stroking his hand where it rested on her stomach. "What of the twins? What will we do with them?"
"Bring them with us, of course," he replied, as if it was the obvious answer. "They would not be the first to grow up at Hogwarts."
Minerva blinked at this news. "You mean, other staff members have raised their children while at Hogwarts?"
"Yes." He nodded. "In fact, Icarus raised his son, Dedalus, there until he was eleven."
Minerva absorbed this information with a frown. "What about primary school? Will we still be able to do that while at Hogwarts?"
"It will be even easier at Hogwarts," Albus explained. "The teachers' schedules have always been arranged in such a way that their free hours do not overlap. That way, the professors can take some time to tutor younger children if there are any at the school. If there are none, then they still have the free hour."
Minerva smiled up at her husband, the last of her concerns addressed. "I suppose we should start packing, then."
"Wonderful!" He smiled down at her, bright blue eyes twinkling. "It is too late to start tonight, but I can think of something else to occupy our time."
She raised her eyebrows, smirking. "What might that be?"
"Come to bed with me and I will show you," he suggested, smoothing a hand over her hip.
She rose to her feet and held her hand out to her husband. "Gladly."
A week before the spring term began, Minerva went to Liddell to do something she had been looking forward to for some time: collect her children. The twins were a handful, yes, but they were still her babies and both she and Albus missed them sorely. The wind blew Minerva's hood back as she walked along the gently worn road that led to Alastor and Poppy's cozy cottage, Fernside. When she looked up, Poppy was standing at the open front door and two little people came running, despite Poppy's ardent pleas to be careful and not run. Minerva dropped to her knees as they grew nearer and the twins nearly knocked her over as they plowed into her, squealing and giggling. "I missed you, Mommy!" cried Molly. "I missed you too, Mommy!" Quentin cried. Molly and Quentin, though they were indeed twins, did not look identical. Molly's hair was bright red and she lacked freckles, where as Quentin, much like his father, had darker, auburn hair and a light dusting of freckles. What they did have in common, was the familiar twinkle that Minerva knew all too well that her children received from their father. "I love you both so much! Mommy and Daddy have missed you! Oh, my, we've missed you!" Minerva wept, kissing her children and holding them tight. By the time Minerva stood, Poppy had caught up with them and demanded a hug of her own. "Spoil your children with all these kisses and hugs and not even a glance to me!" Poppy teased. Minerva dusted off her skirt and enveloped her best friend in a warm embrace.
"Oh, Poppy, I've missed you too!" Minerva chuckled, "How can I ever repay you and Alastor for all you've done? And as for spoiling them, I'm sure your husband did a good enough job of that for us!" Poppy blushed.
"Oh, all right, so we have spoiled them a bit," Poppy confessed, "but nothing you and Albus would not have done in our stead." Minerva laughed, and a very cheerful Alastor met them at the door where he picked Minerva up and swung her in a circle. After demanding that he put her down, Minerva demanded to know what his fuss was about.
"Poppy hasn't told you?" Alastor exclaimed.
"No! What?" asked Minerva, whirling to face her friend. Poppy just smiled vividly and blushed, trying to find something interesting in the area of her shoes. Minerva looked at Alastor, whose handsome face had gone scarlet. She looked back at Poppy and finally found her voice.
"You're pregnant!" cried Minerva. Poppy and Alastor both shyly nodded and Minerva threw herself into each of their arms again.
"We've had such fun caring for you and Albus' dear ones that we decided it was high time we had one of our own," Poppy said happily scooping Molly into her arms and holding her.
After gathering the twins' things, Minerva, Molly and Quentin left Fernside and headed for home. The carriage ride seemed to take forever, but when they finally arrived home, Albus was waiting for them at the door.
"Daddy!" squealed Molly, jumping down out of the carriage and running for the house.
"Don't run!" shouted Minerva, but the twins were already yards from her and nearly to Albus' side. Minerva shook her head. It didn't matter what she said; no ocean or mountain range on earth could have separated Albus from his children today. Minerva nearly wept happy tears as she watched Albus stoop to his knees and fold the twins into his arms.
"My children," he murmured. "Oh, you're home! I've missed you so much!" Molly only giggled.
"Daddy your beard tickles!" she laughed. Albus proceeded to make the twins laugh and screech with joy as he tickled them both with his whiskers. Minerva made her way to the door and Albus quietly stood, allowing the twins to chase off into the house. Albus and Minerva stood and stared at each other for a moment before they reached for each other in a passionate kiss. The twins watched this kiss from around the corner of the doorframe and laughed out loud. Albus and Minerva broke the kiss and shared a long embrace before entering the house, every inch happier than they had been all week.
Quentin and Molly loved Hogwarts from the moment they arrived. The big, rambling castle had plenty of nooks and crannies for them to explore and the staff was more than willing to keep an eye on the twins if Albus and Minerva couldn't. Well, Apollyon Pringle, the caretaker, grumbled about the two being underfoot while he was working, but he really was rather fond of the twins.
He became rather protective of Molly in particular when she went missing at the age of six and the entire staff combed the castle for her.
"Molly!" Minerva screamed into the open air of the courtyard. Where could her precocious six-year-old daughter have gotten herself lost? At that point, Minerva felt her heart could beat no harder. The sun was setting, the air was gaining a distinct chill and Minerva shuddered at the thought that her child could potentially be somewhere in the forest. Suppressing these horrors in her mind, Minerva flinched as Albus wrapped his hands around her shoulders and gently tugged her back toward the castle where the voices of those who were aiding in the search echoed off the ancient stone walls.
Minerva was surveying the frenzied searchers charging up and down the one hundred forty-two staircases in Hogwarts' castle when she started to lose hope. The castle was huge; how would they ever find her? She leaned into Albus' embrace and rested her head on his shoulder. There was no denying that he was fearful as she was, but he was just better at hiding it. Minerva and Albus ignored the sadistic cackle of Peeves as he floated through the corridor. Seconds later, the anguished sobs of a little girl filled the open area. Albus and Minerva rushed toward the sound and Apollyon came quickly toward them carrying a wailing Molly clutched in his arms. She clung to him as though her life depended on it and cried big, wet, tears onto his suit coat.
She had been trapped in a distant, out of the way broom closet by Peeves, who'd thought it would be amusing to lock her in. Since the locks were magical, poor Molly had had no way to free herself and been stuck for hours before Apollyon found her. Molly kept her eyes tight shut as she sobbed; letting Apollyon murmur that everything was okay now. Minerva very nearly pulled Molly out of his arms and held her, kissing her little head and hugging her tight.
Many people patted Apollyon on the back and congratulated him on finding the tot but only seconds later, the adrenaline still thinning in his blood, Apollyon found himself standing alone in the corridor. While the rest of the school seemed to have forgotten his heroic deed, Molly never did, still calling him "Uncle Appo" long into her 20's.
At long last, Quentin and Molly were old enough to be Sorted. They'd been looking forward to it for years and were particularly rambunctious when they visited Diagon Alley to get their school things. As Minerva and Molly glanced over the supply list and discussed the different school things the twins needed as they walked, young Quentin dropped surreptitiously behind them. When they finally noticed that he was not with them, Minerva looked about frantically for only seconds before Quentin ran up behind her and surprised her. Minerva nearly had a heart attack at this prank and swore that Quentin was grounded until school started.
"Oh, mum, come off it now. It was just a joke!" Quentin pleaded.
"A joke, Quentin Lancelot McGonagall, that could have gotten you kidnapped, hurt, or worse!" Minerva fired back.
"That's another thing. Why is our last name McGonagall and dad's name is Dumbledore?" Quentin continued, to the irritation of his mother.
"Because our marriage is not common knowledge, Quentin. We prefer that it stay that way," Minerva replied more gently.
"Why wouldn't you want anyone to know about your marriage, mum?" asked Molly as they sat down in their room at the Leaky Cauldron.
"I'm afraid, my love, that that is a delicate subject for your father and I," Minerva sighed. "You may not be aware of it, but your father is the most powerful wizard in the world."
"We know that, mum!" Quentin laughed, "We grew up believing that all along!" Minerva shook her head.
"It's true, Quentin," Minerva said gravely. "He really is the most powerful wizard there is, and his blood courses through your veins. There are many wizards in this world that would seek to use a man's family as a means to destroy him. Your father could never stand the thought of that, so the only way to protect us was to discreetly hide us by not making it common knowledge that Albus Dumbledore indeed has a wife and not one, but two children at Hogwarts."
Molly and Quentin were awed. They never realized that their father was such a powerful man or that they would be expected to keep up the charade of concealing their parents' marriage. They both promised their mother that they would keep the secret before they went to bed that night.