Chapter 8: Christmas Confusion

It was three weeks till Christmas and Minerva was not finished with her shopping, so by agreeing to play Albus three nights in chess she was able to procure Saturday morning off to try and finish up. As she briskly set off down Hogsmeade's main thoroughfare she glanced down at her list. Albus would by far be the most difficult. Normally Minerva could find something for Albus in less than thirty minutes, and he always seemed to love whatever she found, but this year she was having a hard time deciding where to even look.

For awhile now Minerva had been noticing something different about the way Albus treated her. He was more solicitous, and she realized they spent virtually every evening together unless one had too much work to do. Minerva had decided to watch him closely for further indication that he seemed to be courting her, and it appeared that he was. Except that he had never made to ask her to dinner, or even kiss her cheek much less her lips. So teetering on the edge of disappointment, and excitement at the prospect of being courted by Albus Minerva had set off shopping.

Deciding to indulge his sweet tooth, Minerva popped into Honeydukes for a few treats to fill his stocking. Making a mental note to ask one of the house-elves to fill it for her on Christmas Eve Minerva left the over stimulated, sugar high crowd for a more peaceful atmosphere in a book store; however after only spending five minutes in there Minerva decided she simply could not give him another book. Merlin knows he complains enough about getting them, she thought as she looked down her list once more. Sighing softly Minerva continued the cycle of popping in and out of stores for much of the morning still finding nothing to give Albus, when she entered a rather peculiar shop that she had never remembered seeing before.

Quality Quirky Trinkets advertised having everything for everyone that was hard to shop for. "Well, might as well give it a try," Minerva mumbled to herself before entering the shop. There were gadgets of every shape and size sitting on every available surface, and some on the floor; not to mention all the spinning ones. Minerva knew she would have a headache when she left, and that Albus had better like his gift a lot if she had to stay long in this store. Running her finger over several of the tables Minerva surveyed the room quickly, before deciding it was worth the time to inspect it fully. Starting at the front most right corner she planned to make a circuit of the room.

At the back of the store Minerva was about ready to give up when something caught her eye. It looked like a ten pin bowling game only it was miniature in size, and a man would roll the ball and all the pins would fall down and then fix themselves again. The motion was repeated with the man knocking all of the pins down each time. Studying the object carefully Minerva decided it was just the perfect gift for Albus.

"Excuse me," she asked a salesman on the floor, "excuse me, but could this be charmed?"

"I don't see why not, ma'am. It is a great little gift, isn't it?"

"Yes, but does it cut off? I mean can you make it stop?"

"Of course; directions come with it that should have all the information on the up keep and operation of the set. Would you like me to take it for you?"

A few minutes later Minerva walked out of the store quite happy with her find, and anxious to see if she could work some charms on it. Returning back to Hogwarts an hour early, she set to work on the set immediately. This way it could be wrapped before Albus had time to see it. Simple charms allowed her to change the appearance of the man to look like Albus: he was wearing blue robes with silver moons on them, his trademark glasses, but she had tied his hair and beard. Twenty minutes later she had made the final alteration to the piece: Albus' set would allow him to knock every pin down every tenth turn, but on the eleventh he would miss one. Minerva wondered how long it would take Albus to notice her little change.

While Minerva had been gone, Albus had been sitting up in his office trying to think of the perfect gift to get her. He wanted to get her something that really showed how much he valued her friendship, and all she had done for him. Knowing he would only have a few spare moments to shop he wanted to plan everything out in order to get it done as fast as possible. Walking back to his desk from his designated pacing spot before his fire Albus read the piece of parchment his dicto-quill had been writing on.

There were many more items under "What Not To Get Minerva" than under "What To Get Her," in fact there were no items under the latter category. Cat figurines were out, as were books and no sweets…shopping for women was tough thought Albus. What does every woman like… Pacing again Albus stopped after a few moments: jewelry. Smiling Albus knew he had to get Minerva jewelry, now the he just had to narrow it down to what. He would go to the shop next weekend; surely this couldn't be that difficult.

The following Saturday Albus entered the best jewelry shop in Diagon Alley, and almost had a panic attack when he looked at all the counters. There were so many different pieces, and then different kinds. What would Minerva like? Albus had to take a deep breath before he peered through the glass again. Everything he was seeing was too big and gaudy, or if he saw something he didn't think it was appropriate considering they weren't seeing each other. It didn't take Albus long to realize he wanted to give her a bracelet, but he had no clue which kind to get her. Albus spent over an hour in the store before he found one he really loved. It was sterling silver, and a multi-wire seven inch bracelet. He thought it would go well with her robes, and it would fit under all of them, since her sleeves were always long; and he thought it was simple but elegant, very much how he saw Minerva. Walking out of the store with a twinge of arrogance in his gait, since he was able to pick out a beautiful Christmas gift for a beautiful witch, he stopped to get Minerva's favorite blend of tea for her stocking before returning to Hogwarts.

Exactly one week before Christmas found Minerva and Albus reading in her sitting room, which gave Albus the perfect opportunity to tease Minerva about her Christmas present.

"Albus I can wait until Christmas day, but if you keep this up you won't be getting a Christmas present at all. Now why don't you try reading the book in your lap?"

"Teasing is more fun, but you never play along," Albus replied pouting.

"Of course not; I prefer waiting, and what you are doing is borderline childish."

"Well if you feel that way about me I can just leave," and standing up Albus returned the book he had removed from her shelf, and made for the door.

Before he could open it a distinct Scottish accent hit his ears: "Albus Dumbledore sit back down now! That was not said intending for you to leave, and if you did I would just get bored and it would be too quiet. I do not think I can read any more unless I hear candy wrappers being opened. Please sit back down."

"But I only have two lemon drops left how will I ever entertain you for the next two or so hours?"

"Think of something. Surprise me," returned Minerva with a smile.

Albus sat back on the couch, and allowed Minerva to continue her reading for a short time. Minutes later Minerva lifted her eyes from her book, and gave her full attention to Albus. He had started to sing very softly an old folk ballad as he played a sitar. Minerva smiled as his smooth baritone voice filled her sitting room. She allowed a hand to fall into her lap as her head fell back against the chair, and she smiled softly through the song. Seeing she enjoyed it Albus decided to keep playing for Minerva until he noticed she had fallen asleep; he picked her up and carried her into her bedroom where he undid her hair, took off her shoes, and covered her in two blankets in case she got cold, then with a soft kiss to her forehead he left her to her dreams. The next morning at breakfast several staff members heard Minerva thanking the Headmaster for a wonderful evening, which prompted many looks and many more conclusions to be discussed in the staff room later.

On Christmas Eve, Albus and Minerva stayed up late playing chess in her sitting room. Her remaining charges in Gryffindor Tower could be heard partying late into the night; Minerva's first instinct was to go send them to bed, but Albus stopped her.

"It's Christmas," he said. "Let them have their fun. It's not hurting anything and they can sleep late other days to make up for it."

"I guess you're right," she said with a tired smile. "I don't really want to go up there anyway."

"You look a little tired, my dear," Albus said with concern. "Why don't we finish the game tomorrow?"

Minerva glared at him, "In other words, I look like hell. Thank you, Albus. The game is almost over, we can finish it now and then tomorrow I'll sleep until nearly lunch time."

He shook his head and mumbled, "Stubborn."

The game was over quickly, with Albus only just beating Minerva. Before he left, they made arrangements to exchange their gifts after lunch the next day in his rooms. Minerva walked him to the door and then sighed with relief as she realized the noise in the tower had died down in the last fifteen minutes.

Christmas lunch the next day was a cheerful affair. The vast majority of Hogwarts' students had gone home to be with their families, but enough had stayed behind to make the castle seem full and lively. The usual dozen trees around the Great Hall had been decorated marvelously and the ceiling, charmed to show the outdoor sky, was filled with bright winter sunlight that would have been almost blinding if there had been any snow for it to reflect off of. As it was, it filled the room with a bright happy atmosphere. Everyone at far too much of the rich wonderful food the house elves had prepared and the meal was punctuated with the sound of the Christmas crackers being pulled.

Up at the head table, all the staff were in high spirits just like their students. Albus had coerced Minerva into pulling a cracker with him, but she refused to put on the ridiculous paper hat that came out of it and so he donned it himself. They waited until the hall was nearly empty and then walked together toward Albus' rooms. Minerva had shrunk his present before lunch and had it secured in the pocket of her robes, she couldn't wait to see his face when he opened it. She had a very difficult time not laughing at Albus' open and childlike excitement, he was positively

beaming and Minerva wouldn't have been surprised to see him start bouncing up and down.

"By the way, Albus, thank you so much for the treat I found in my stocking this morning," she said as they walked.

"You're quite welcome, my dear," he replied, eyes twinkling. "If I'm not mistaken there was a contribution from you in my own stocking. Thank you very much. Now," he added as he opened the door, "on with the real presents."

Minerva took pity on him and gave Albus his gift first. "Happy Christmas," she said with a smile as she haded him the gold wrapped package.

Albus grinned and ripped open the wrapping, before lifting out the bowling game and examining it. "Why, he looks like me!" he exclaimed happily. He sat the toy on a small table and looked at the instruction sheet for the incantation to start the little man bowling. "Wonderful!" he cried, clapping his hands like a small boy when all the pins fell down.

He was so enthralled with watching the bowling and trying to figure out the charms that made it work, that he nearly forgot to give Minerva her own gift. She was also watching the game, counting the number of bowls and waiting for the time when the little Albus would miss. As she watched, her hand drifted over to rest on Albus' shoulder where he was crouched before the table. The contact shook him out of his reverie and he stood up suddenly with a huge smile, opening his arms to hug her.

"That's the most wonderful gift anyone has ever given me," he said brightly. "Thank you so much, Minerva, I love it. How ever did you find it?"

She saw the bowling man miss and smiled secretly as Albus released her from the hug. "I visited a new shop in Hogsmeade that I think you will probably have bought out by the end of the year," she told him.

"Well, you'll have to take me some time," he said with a smile. "But first, I believe you're in need of a Christmas present of your own."

Albus walked over to his couch and picked up the small box containing the bracelet he had bought Minerva. She took her time in carefully pealing back and folding up the paper that had several small kittens chasing balls of yarn and removed the square box. Her stomach started to flutter when she recognized it as a jeweler's box and her hands shook as she opened it. She couldn't believe how beautiful the bracelet was and how tasteful.

"Albus?" she asked looking up at him, wondering why he had selected something so expensive and personal for her.

He took the bracelet out of the box and put it on her wrist. "I wanted to get you something nice this year, and when I saw this it made me think of you: simple, but elegant."

"It's beautiful," she said in a shaky voice. "I never expected anything so nice. Thank you so much."

Minerva spent several moments staring at the silver on her wrist, unsure what it meant that her friend had given her jewelry. Her face must have shown her confusion because after a while Albus lifted her chin to look her in the eyes.

"Are you alright, my dear?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said quietly. Then she smiled, "This may be the nicest thing anyone has ever given me for Christmas. I'm not sure I deserve it."

He knew she had made that comment in an attempt at a joke, but Albus took it seriously. "You deserve all the nicest things in life, Minerva. You're a very special woman."

She blushed and looked at her hands. "Thank you, Albus," she whispered.