New Year, New Start

A/N: Many thanks once again to all my reviewers. Your comments are greatly appreciated and spur me on to write the next chapter. Thank you to my wonderful friend and beta, Ang.

Chapter Eight: The Next Step

It had been two days since Minerva and spoken to him about the chocolates and she now seemed to be over the initial hurt feelings. She was carrying on with her lessons and seemed to be her usual self at the staff table but he wasn't sure what she was like when she was locked away in her office or rooms.

Albus had been devastated when she had told him that the chocolates hurt her feelings. It had made all his hard work seem like nothing. He knew that she had received them from him and if he had put his name on even one of the bits of parchment, she wouldn't have felt that way most likely. She might have hexed him and broken their friendship but that would have been better than having her hurting as she was now.

Albus had decided that he was going to make it up to her and this time she would know it was from him because he would give her a clue. He didn't want to come straight out with his name as she may think he was only doing it to make her feel better. So, he left an important clue so that she could figure it out. He wasn't going to send her chocolates anymore as she may question their origin and throw them away again. He racked his brain as he tired to think about what else to send her. He wanted it to be perfect but he had no ideas.

After sitting on his bottom for several hours, Albus decided to go for a walk and that might offer some inspiration. He got to his feet and made his way over to his wardrobe, pulled out a brightly colored winter cloak and made his way out of his rooms. A while later, he stepped out into the crisp winter air and shuddered as the wind whipped around his body.

Albus adored the winter weather. The wind seemed so strong and masterful as it blew leaves through the air. He walked slowly around the grounds and ended up outside one of Professor Sprout's greenhouses. He had always enjoyed Herbolgy as a student and that had carried on through his maturing years. He pushed the door open and was met with the heat designed specifically for the flowers. Sprout would always grow flowers regardless of the time of year. She had a passion for roses and kept several varieties in the greenhouse. None of the students knew about the roses, though. She was afraid that some spiteful Slytherin would come by under cover of darkness and trash them.

"Headmaster, is that you?" came a voice from the corner of the greenhouse.

Albus whirled around to see Professor Sprout, looking rather grubby with her wand in her hand. She looked ready to pounce on any intruder that trespassed in her roses' greenhouse. Once she was certain it was the Headmaster, she placed her wand back inside her robes and smiled at him.

"I wouldn't have used it," she said innocently. "I just use it to scare people off."

Albus raised an eyebrow at her. He wasn't sure if she was telling the truth. He remembered Phyllis Sprout from her school days and she hadn't been terribly gifted at charms or anything else that required the use of her wand. She would probably cause more damage than she had intended if she cast a spell from her wand and it backfired.

"Maybe you should just put a strong locking charm on it," said Albus and then he had second thoughts. "Actually, I could put one on for you and it could only be broken by you."

"Oh Headmaster that would fantastic," she said beaming at him. "As you know I have never been good with the wand waving!"

"Consider it done!" he said with a smile, as he looked around at the roses. "These are wonderful. How do you cope with so many varieties under one roof?"

"Simple, when you know how, Headmaster," she answered. "I only have fourteen varieties here. Oh, I must show you the new one. I bred it myself and plan to take it to be registered next week."

Albus wasn't a green-fingered wizard and had no idea that you could cross breed roses. She explained to him as they walked that you could do so by using complex methods but only if one had the time, patience, and love to do them properly. Albus had to admit that the new roses she showed him were stunning. He had never seen such a colour before and it intrigued him. The bud on one of them was opened and the petals were full but delicate looking. It was a sky blue rose with white flecks on the petals.

"Aren't they beautiful?" enthused Professor Sprout as she looked proudly at the flowers she held dear to her heart.

"Stunning!" answered Albus as he reached out and traced the delicate petals with a long finger.

"You can have one," she told him. "They are charmed to never die and that would look lovely on your desk. I'm sure of it!"

"I have another use for it Phyllis but I can assure that it will be well looked after," he told her. He had found the perfect gift for Minerva.

Professor Sprout smiled and cut him a rose from the bush. She handed it to him and didn't let him go until she had told how to care for it and what the rose needed to keep it happy. Albus couldn't help but think that he was buying an owl or another type of animal. He remembered getting a talk like this when he had gone with his father to buy an owl many, many years ago.

He bid her farewell and swept back into the school and he walked quickly to his rooms, glad that he met no one along the way. He got into his office and sat behind the chair, sitting the rose aside and pulling out a piece of parchment. Fawkes, who had been sitting on his perch, peered over the Headmasters shoulder as he scribbled away.

"Perfect!" he announced a few minutes later and he reread the letter, making sure everything that needed to be included was in the note. Albus leaned back in his chair and smiled. He now had the perfect gift and the letter explaining everything, plus a clue to who her admirer was. It would be the early hours of the morning before he could deliver this to Minerva and he was already growing impatient.

to be continued!