Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with Harry Potter and you should all know that by now.

A/N: Well, here is my next chapter and I hope that you all like it. I want to thank the following reviewers, as usual.

Quill of Minerva: I am glad you like it. You know, you are making it harder and harder for me to kill her off. It was hard in the beginning. Buries head in shame.

Bigkihap: You, also, are making it ten times harder for me to kill her off. Not that that is a bad think. LOL. Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to read this.

Rougueinker: It's good to see that you find the 'journey' exciting. I'm not really looking forward to the ending now, but I hope that you will keep on reading and find it interesting, no matter what happens.

TartanLioness: Well, you wanted another update, so here it is. Good to know that you find this story interesting.

Jennykim2007: Well, I know she doesn't cry a lot. But it's good to see her vulnerable side.

Girl from Iceland: Well, that certainly is a compliment, I must say. No one has ever admitted to being addicted to any of my stories before. I am very, very glad that you like this story.

La Belle Coeur: You have no worries. Minerva will not suffer a horrible death, nor will it be painful in any way. It'll be less painful than most deaths. It won't happen right away, cuz I want to give her a chance to say good bye to Albus, but it will be quick. And yes, Albus does get an A plus for proposing.

Mollisk: I'm sorry if I made you cry. I didn't mean to make anyone cry, I swear. wink

Minerva's Doubts…

The next morning, Minerva awoke in the arms of her beloved. They were still in her rooms, after spending a rather passionate night together. And though she still felt tired, she was happier than she had been in so long.

She noticed that Albus was still asleep, which seemed rather odd, but she figured he was still tired as well. Then, she looked at the clock and noticed that it was five-thirty in the morning. Of coarse he wouldn't be up yet. Although Minerva always woke up before six, Albus usually gave himself the pleasure of sleeping in whenever he was able to. So, Minerva quickly and silently slid out of her bed, careful not to wake him, and got dressed. She wanted to go for a quick walk before breakfast. Perhaps that would give her energy for the rest of the day, and she would be able to get some more work done.

After dressing and walking to the front door, she transformed into her cat form. She had discovered some years ago that she did some of her best thinking while she was in her animagus form, and that is exactly what she wanted to do now, think. So she sprinted across the grounds of Hogwarts and to the tall grass she had been the day she told Albus what was wrong. It had always been her favorite place to be, and now it was even more special than before.

So, she transformed back into her human form and walked to the waters edge. Sitting down, she stared first at her reflection, and then at her ring. She smiled as she enjoyed how it looked on her left ring finger. She was even more thrilled to know that it came from the one and only man she loved.

Then, terror flooded through her, her eyes growing fearful. She began to feel sick with not only herself, but with what she had done. She had accepted the proposal of a man whom she loved with all her being and whom she knew loved her just as much. And yet, she knew that it was too cruel to do so. She was going to die in just over a year. She couldn't marry him and then die, leaving him alone once again. That would be the cruelest thing for anyone to do. And now, she knew it.

Tears welled up inside of her as she thought of what she had to do. She didn't know when or even how, but she knew that she had to tell him that she could not marry him, no matter how it grieved either of them. She loved him far too much to make him a widower as soon as she made him a husband. Taking off the ring, she looked at it, the tears still in her eyes. Why did this always have to happen to her? Why did she always have to lose what she cared deeply about just when she had found it? It made her angry and hurt and confused all at the same time.

Placing the ring back on her finger, so she wouldn't lose it, she transformed back into her animagus form once again and walked back to the castle, not quite sure how she was going to tell Albus. She didn't want to hurt him, but in her mind, she was doing what was best for him in the long run. Sure, he might be angry or hurt for a little while, but he would thank her later for it.

She walked through the doors and once again transformed, only this time it was for the rest of the day. She was finding that when she transformed, she would have a temporary headache. Yes, she wasn't young anymore, but she also knew that it was partly because of being sick. She was starting to miss being young. It had never bothered her before, growing old. But now, she just wished that she could be a young teenager once again, so youthful and full of life and spirit. It would be nice to be able to eat anything she wanted and not have to worry about heartburn. Yes, even witches and wizards were subject to simple muggle problems, only their medication was stronger and better.

Minerva walked into the Great Hall and saw that the remaining teachers were already there, including Albus. Quickly blinking away any tears she had, she put on a smile. She had hoped that Albus would either be alone in the Great Hall or that he wouldn't be there yet, so she could go find him. But for now, she knew that she would just have to tell him to meet her later.

"There you are, Minerva," smiled Sylvia. "We were wondering where you were hiding." Minerva sat down in her usual chair, then began to lace a few things on her plate. She was certainly hungry. 'Ironic,' she thought to herself. 'The cancer has affected my ability to do my usual routine, but it somehow has not managed to touch on my appetite.'

"Well, Sylvia, I must admit that I have not played that game that young children play, more commonly known as hide and seek, in quite a long time, but I believe I am still the best hider out of you, me, and Poppy." Minerva smiled and Sylvia rolled her eyes.

"You always did cheat, Min," she sighed. "No matter how many times we said it was against the rules, you always used your animagus form to fit into smaller spaces." Minerva chuckled.

"Yes, well, you made it easy because you were always hiding among your precious flowers while you," looking at Poppy, "always seemed to find a way to weasel your way into some odd place in the infirmary." Albus chuckled at their banter.

"Honestly, you all cheated," smirked Xiomara.

"Hold on a minute, Xio," frowned Poppy. "I seem to recall a certain friend of ours who, no matter what, always seemed to use her broom to use her broom to hide up where none of us could reach without the use of our brooms." Xiomara looked down.

"Okay, you make your point, we were all cheaters," she said, more, it seemed, to her food that to her best friend. They all were laughing now, until the doors burst open and in walked a frantic woman in her forties. She rushed as fast as she could, considering she was pregnant and close to her due date.

"Professor McGonagall," she said, rushing to the staff table. Behind her came Severus, a bewildered look on his face.

"I'm sorry, Minerva, but she insisted that we come," he said, apologetically.

"It's alright, Severus," she smiled. She stood up and walked around the table, hugging the pregnant as best she could. "How are you, Crystal?" Tears were pouring down the woman's face as they pulled back. Her beautiful green eyes were soaked with tears and her short, brown hair hung just short of her shoulders.

"Please, professor, tell me it is not true," she begged. "Tell me that it was all a lie and that Severus was just playing a cruel joke on me. You're not really dying, are you?"

"How many times must I ask you to call me Minerva?" asked Minerva, trying her best not to cry. "And yes, it is true. I am dying." Crystal held onto Severus for support just as a loud cry could be hear.

"No!" cried another young girl, rushing through the Great Hall and hugging Minerva. "Please, professor, please tell me it's not true," she begged. This girl had chocolate, curly hair and brown hair. She was half Mexican, having lived in the states for most of her life with Crystal. But as soon as they both discovered they were witches, they were sent to Hogwarts for their education, only to stay in England after their education was done.

"Ssshh, its okay, T'ari," she whispered. "Do not worry. I am not sad, and neither should you be." T'ari Luinwe looked into the eyes of her former teacher. Even though it had been nearly thirty years since she had been in her class, T'ari still remembered every lesson she taught her. She and Crystal had absolutely adored Minerva. She was their favorite teacher and though she would never admit to ever having favorites when it came to her students, Minerva had loved these two in particular as if they were her own children.

"Oh, Professor," she cried. She had never been really comfortable with calling any of her previous professors by their first names. It just didn't seem right to her, even now in her mid forties.

"T'ari, please call me Minerva," she said. T'ari just smiled through her tears. Even now, her professor tried to downplay her illness. As if reading her thoughts, she hugged her again and smiled. "You two are so overprotective about me when you should be worrying about yourself." She looked at Crystal. "You're baby is due any day now. And T'ari, aren't you getting married?" T'ari blushed and looked down, nodding.

"He couldn't come because he has business to do with some of his business partners," she said. It shocked everyone in the room when Albus walked up and placed his arm around Minerva, saying, "And you're not the only one getting married."

Everyone gasped and all the staff went down to where they were.

"What?" asked Poppy, a smile on her face. Minerva began to pale. Now that it was all out there, it would be harder for her to talk to Albus. She could only smile and nod. Albus was just too happy.

"Yes, Poppy, we are getting married," replied Albus. There was a loud cheer from the gathering that was there. When all settled down, T'ari and Crystal went up to one of the spare bedrooms to unpack. They were staying there for a few weeks to help out Minerva. Only, now Minerva just had to talk to Albus. She wasn't quite sure what she wanted to tell him, all she knew was that she had to tell him. She only hoped that he would understand.

To be continued…

A/N2: Okay, there we go. I hope you liked it. I'm sorry if you don't like new characters. But I thought that it would add more emotion to the chapter. Sorry if you do not like it! Always Hopeful