Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Rainforest Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter 9 - A
Nauseous Quidditch Game
Albus and Minerva had talked long into the evening but due to the time change this meant they had actually not slept for almost twenty-four hours. They were lucky it was actually a Saturday and there was only a Quidditch match on which wasn't starting until eleven. So after attending breakfast both retired to their rooms and slept until it was time to get up for the match.
When Minerva got up however she found that when she moved she felt the urge to be sick. She barely made it to the bathroom before the contents of her stomach came up. For the next ten minutes Minerva knelt in front of the toilet bowl before she was finally able to stand up, leaning heavily against the wall.
She staggered over to the basin and gripped it tightly as she stared into the mirror. Minerva sighed as she looked at her reflection. It was hard to believe that she could look so sick when she had only been throwing up. She was so pale it was as if any colour that had been her face was now gone, even her normally emerald green eyes somehow seemed lighter and unhealthy.
Minerva washed her face before staggering out to her bedroom and finding her wand. She quickly cast a glamour charm over herself which gave her cheeks a little more color. However the real problem was a sickness for her cure, luckily Minerva had a few vials of health potion in her bedside table.
After downing one and feeling some relief Minerva began to dress for the Quidditch match. As she was winding her Gryffindor scarf around her neck there was a knock on her door which could be none other then Albus. Minerva quickly finished and tucked another vial of the potion into her pocket before leaving.
She smiled at Albus as she left her room and quickly took his arm saying, "We'll be late."
He nodded and they hastily walked down to the pitch. The game was ready to begin so they took their seats just before Rolonda Hooch called for the customary handshake. It was Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw so there was no real animosity between the two teams. Within minutes the game had started and the quaffle was flying through the air between players.
Through the cheers as goals were scored could be heard the voice of one Colin Creevey. With much enthusiasm he had taken over Lee Jordan's old job of commentating. There was no doubt in Minerva's mind that he would be exactly the same as Lee, and he had proved this, but no one else wanted the job as eagerly nor did they know all the moves.
This was why Minerva committed herself to once again spending her time trying to drag the megaphone away from him when he went off topic, was prejudiced or when he used profane language. However during today's match Minerva could not bring herself to do so. Her body refused to move that quickly and there was not all that much damage being done, at least he did not swear as much as Lee had. So Minerva did her best trying to ignore the cries of 'Go Ginny! Look at my beautiful girlfriend folks, isn't she just the absolute best Quidditch player you have ever seen?'
This however attracted much attention as no one could hear Minerva's voice in the background yelling for him to concentrate on the game. Albus was also glancing at his now fiancé throughout the game, curious and a little worried by her lack of movement and cheering not to mention her lack of rebuking Colin.
Albus knew however that he should wait to voice his concerns; Minerva was not the type to share any personal feelings or shortcomings in public, particularly with the students nearby. He did however think. His thoughts whirled around Minerva's behavior from the beginning of the year.
When he arrived at her rooms each morning to pick her up she had slowly taken longer to get ready, maybe she was sleeping in. However she seemed to tire easily and yet always went to bed reasonably early. So if she went to bed early why would she sleep in?
And now here she was, so obviously sick. Perhaps he should get her to see Poppy? No, she would not appreciate that in the slightest, if anything it would only serve to make her angry and defensive. It would probably be best to just pretend it is a 24-hour sickness, Minerva would not object to that surely.
As Albus' thoughts drew to a close so did the Quidditch game, there was a loud and raucous cheer as Harry Potter claimed the snitch just before the Ravenclaw seeker did. Happy with the results Albus stood and held his hand out for Minerva to take. He helped her stand and leaned forward slightly so as to whisper in her ear.
"Let's get you to bed my dear. I believe you need your rest, you appear sick."
Minerva was really too exhausted, both from the night before and her sickness to protest so she just nodded and they together walked to her rooms. Albus talked the whole way about mundane topics but as they neared her rooms he quickly turned the topic to their engagement.
"Minerva would you be welcome to announcing our engagement Monday morning? I know I would like to share this with the students but if you do not wish it to be so that I won't." Albus anxiously waited for an answer, he really did hope she would agree.
Minerva thought for a moment before saying yes, there was no need t hide anything from he students and Minerva wanted everyone to know her as Mrs. Dumbledore. She did not wish to hide her love.
Albus smiled and after leading her into her rooms he lovingly kissed her soft lips before leaving her for the night. Hoping she would indeed be better by the next morning.
A/N: Okay so a little bit of a change in this chapter. No doubt many of you have realized where this is heading but I am not going to give you any specific details.
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