girl from Iceland: I love humor. It's one of my favorite things. I'm glad that you liked the last chapter. And of course she was close. The thing is…she doesn't want to let a good thing go. a pity it is…
esb: I like Miss Min being playful. It adds some complexity to her character. I truly believe everyone has some humor, even if they fail to show it. Minerva is such a character who rarely shows it…then again, maybe she just needed a push from Albus. wink wink, nudge nudge
bogus7: No comment. just read.
Silver Sorceress: Thank you for the compliment! It has been a while, hasn't it? I hope you had a nice vacation. Oh, what I wouldn't do to be out of town right this second!
kidarock: Of course he's picking up the clues…he's not that dense. What my readers fail to realize is that he hasn't had any SCENES where I could explain his thought process. Of course now, since everyone is getting on my case (not directed to you) I have many-a-scenes where he thinks about it. Oh yes, the knee! That was a last minute thing…I just thought that I needed some humor. I love it. thank you for being so loyal!
Questionablelight: Yes, believe it or not, eventually we shall get there. Albus will find out. Maddy will let it be known. We will get a conclusion. I dare you to guess it at the end of this chap.
Lady-jolly: Your reviews are so much fun to read! You always make me smile, have I told you that? Anywho, yes, the cat will come out of the bag. either in the next chapter or the one following that, depending on if I want to put two big events in the same chapter or not…hm…thinking…thinking…thinking…you'll know soon enough, I guess. Thanx for the lovely reviews!
Mellypoo622: Thank you! It's always nice to get a good word from someone. I'm ecstatic that you like the story. It's my favorite that I've written, but don't tell anyone. :)
Alesia G: I like rogue Albus too. In my brain, I've always imagined him to be sort of a dork, if you catch what I mean. I find him funny and smart at the same time…maybe even a bit of a trouble maker once upon a time. And no, he did not figure it out. He's not THAT slow as to not have thought anything, but he said nothing to Minerva. Hehe. This relationship obviously has a few kinks in it, nothing that can't be fixed…
TartanPhoenix: No, my friend, you Rock! You're awesome for reviewing. Thank you so much. I'm glad you like this story so much. It's my favorite thus far that I've written. And yes, Albus will eventually find out, but we can wait a while longer….
Hogwarts Duo: Well, people fail to realize how things are; I mean, in real life, and if this were a real situation (where she hinted at him being "the only one") he would have thought of it metaphorically. I mean…I probably would have too. Anywho, generally, I believe guys are missing a circuit or something in their brains half the time. lol. Thank you for the wonderful review. You're awesome!
Emutet: yup…it died, it always dies. But die no more! In a chapter or two, it shall not die…but I can't tell you what it will do, but die is certainly not the word. Albus will certainly find out…otherwise we have no story! Thanks for the luck. I'll need it. I DO NOT want to go back to school. :'( I think I'm gonna cry!
Leta McGotor: Well, of course there will be conflict. They're going to disagree on a hell of a lot of things soon (pardon my language, please) and there will be problems. There is one overriding problem in this story…one person is Albus and the other is Minerva. They're two different people with different reactions and feelings. They'll both try to save pain for the other, but not without thinking of themselves. You'll see that a lot in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it. I really do.
Quill of Minerva: Of course, Albus heard what Minerva said metaphorically. I mean…imagine it, you've spoken with Min for a long time about "maddy's father". Albus is certain that he exists and is some other man. When Min says "there's only been one person I've cared enough about to make love with" he takes the term love and applies it to him. Translated into Albus' brain, that sentence would read "I made love with you. I was 'with' some others." Of course, everyone is going to be more in-tune with the man's mind in this chap. I focus on him quite a bit. Hope you like the update! I love hearing from you.
Well, school starts tomorrow. It's just horrible! Anyhow, plan on an update in 2 weeks, but one never knows with school AND sports. ugh.
alright, I have a question if anyone is willing to answer it. I learned in English class that when an adjective has 5 or more letters and is comparing to a group of two or more that it has the word "more" infront of it. such as: she is the MORE clever of the two. He is the more strange of the three. I know in the English language, that's not how people talk, and the dumb computer is correcting me. so which way is it? She is the cleverer of the two. Or she is the more clever of the two. ? gr. I don't know if I should yell at the computer or my teachers…
please answer. My brain is being fried because of the dumb monitor which has squiggly green lines under the apparently miss written sentences. thanx.
I think I'm going to make myself cry! It's almost done, believe it or not. If all goes to plan, 2 chapters after this, MAYBE 3. Oh, isn't it sad!
Chapter Fourteen: Locked
Albus stared very carefully at the woman in the photograph. She was young—younger than he remembered. Her eyes were lit up, filled with life and happiness, looking the way only a girl in love could. He had always liked to pretend that the look of bliss was made by him. The man chose to believe that it was he who made her happy, that there was no one else in the world who could give her such an expression.
He had been proven wrong, however. The man was not the only thing which could bring her that look of love, no. There was one other…only one.
Her name was Madelyn. That little girl with the red hair and green eyes was where the love went. That wide smile and high pitched giggle was where the devotion went over the years. That curiosity and caring child was where that smile was sent. Maddy carried around with her something quite precious in the eyes of Albus; the love of another person.
Oh, how he knew his Min loved that child. She had never loved him the way she loved Madelyn. Minerva read stories to her at night, held her hand when she was scared, gave her medicine when she was sick—nothing she had ever done for him. The woman was a mother.
He caught himself thinking quite often how wonderful it would be to be a father…to give that sort of caring, soft-spoken love to someone so very much a part of him. How much he wanted to tuck a child in at night and hold their hand while they drifted to sleep…or to teach his own blood to ride a broom...perhaps help them clean up the china they spilled after a magical accident. Albus wanted to do all of these things, the same way Minerva had.
In his eyes, she had been lucky—blessed with someone to have and hold over time. He knew that Madelyn was no compensation for the love of a man, but he certainly realized that she kept Minerva alive. That little girl made a world bright, even on the gloomiest of days. He could see quite well why Minerva's love had indeed been converted towards the child.
The man blinked to himself, took his eyes away from the smiling woman of seventeen, and his gaze fell on his bed. It had been made earlier in the day by the house elves. They came by at some point and de-wrinkled the sheets, fluffed the pillows, and spread out the red comforter. Albus didn't care at all whether his bed was made or not, that was the truth.
Another truth that he cared to think of quite fondly was the way she looked next to him under those sheets. His particular memory was when she was sleeping. Her hair had been lying gently over her body and there was the most spectacular expression on the woman's lips—happiness. Minerva had been happy with him.
He always wondered why she had not ever called upon him, if she was so very happy. But now he certainly knew. The answer was quite simply…Madelyn. It was funny the way life went. He lost the love of her and it went towards her daughter, the remains of some careless man. Secretly, Albus really wanted to know who could have given Minerva such a joy—while taking away his happiness—and not stayed around for it. And further more, he wished to know how smart, thoughtful, careful Minerva could have ever gotten mixed up in a man who had not loved her back.
He could have loved her. Oh, Merlin how he could have loved her and Madelyn at the same time if only she would have told him, spoken to him. She could have run to him, he would have taken her, married her, maybe even have had more children. They could have made a life together. Madelyn could have passed as his child, they looked plenty alike. She had red hair, elfish ears, and a rather large mouth, both figuratively and not. Certainly she could have come off as his child.
But what did that matter anyhow? Minerva didn't come to him. She stayed where she was and gave everything she had to Maddy, not relying on any man to help her. That was his Min, though. She was independent, wouldn't take anything from anyone.
Minerva watched her daughter poke at the fire, sending sparks here and there. Over and over again she did it, not ceasing to find fascination in such a thing. The child had the most thoughtful look on her face, as if she were in such a harsh battle that she could never be pulled from it.
The woman wondered to herself exactly what it was that little Maddy could be thinking about. Maybe it was her dolls, or perhaps Darcy. One never knew what was flowing in that girl's head. Madelyn's thoughts were random—a trait she came by quite honestly. She thought of one thing one moment and then something else the next—never on the same subject unless it was truly that interesting. Of course, that explained quite clearly her mother's curiosity to the child. It was very obvious that there was only one thought on the top of her head.
"What are you thinking about, Maddy?"
The child looked up at her with big green eyes and a quite innocent look on her face. "He's my father, isn't he?"
She could have sworn that her heart stopped in that second, just flat out quit beating; how it started again she had no clue. The woman stared at her daughter with surprise—though she had no real reason to be so shocked. Then Minerva swallowed as a long, drawn out moment passed and then nodded, that's all she could do. There were no words, none at all. Indeed, he was the father. It was amazing to her how such a child could ask such a question so directly, innocently as only little people seemed to.
Madelyn sensed her mother's slight distress at her revelation; she walked to the settee and sat next to the woman. Then she spoke quite gently. "Why didn't you tell me? He's been right here the whole time, and you never told me."
Minerva bit her lip tightly. No, she never told Madelyn…hell, she never even told Albus. It was eating at her more and more as the time flew by. She felt that it would not be long at all before she was nothing but a quaking mess of bones.
She didn't know quite honestly why she harbored the secret inside of her for so long. There was no reason at all for her to keep it locked up inside of her. The woman bent down her head and put it to her hands. She didn't want to look anywhere, just wanted to see darkness.
Maddy waited patiently for her mother to say something, not moving a muscle as the endless minutes passed. The child just stared straight on at the woman. Certainly Minerva could feel the child's stare—it was not anything that could possibly go unnoticed. She knew quite well that her daughter would give her all the time in the world, simply because she wanted an answer.
And so that was why she finally decided to lift her head. The woman opened up her arms and allowed the child to crawl into them, resting her head on her mother's chest. Gently, she wrapped her limbs around Maddy. "Did you find it out yourself?"
"Yes. I could tell…we look like each other and you love him. I know you were mad at me for reading the letter, but that's how I knew."
She nodded her head slowly. Of course it was a bad omen when Maddy read the letter, not just for her sake, but Madelyn was a child who liked to think. The girl could only benefit from the letter and the knowledge it gave her. "I see. You haven't said anything to Albus, have you?"
"No. Have you?"
Minerva blinked to herself. Damn her child, sometimes. Maddy had been reading between the lines for days, if her story was true. She had possession of the note for several days and then there was the rest of the week that she had time to see the interaction between her mother and father. Madelyn could tell that Albus did not know simply because nothing seemed to change at all from day one.
Oh, she wasn't meaning to press so much on her mother's anguish by asking if she had told, but the only motive she had for saying it was confirmation. Little Madelyn needed to know if her assumptions had been true—with warrant, mind you. A vigilant child like her always needed to know if she was right. After all, she was very much like her mother, daring to outwit everyone around her.
She spoke back with the slightest bit of a knot in her throat, causing her voice to sound rather strained. "No, I haven't."
"You should, you know. I think he'd be happy to know that he's my daddy—we are really good friends."
Minerva swallowed. Yes, certainly they were good friends. Madelyn and Albus, Albus and Madelyn, they were two of a kind. Their mannerisms were the same, humor, hair, smile, you name it; it was almost identical between the two. But he would not be happy to know that he was the father, no. Albus trusted Minerva. She'd broken that trust by never telling him, or rather, she'd shattered it.
"I don't doubt that," she whispered back gently, "but things…they won't be the same once I tell him that you are related to him."
"What do you mean?"
"Well," she sighed, trying to find the right words, "he may not like me anymore, for waiting to tell him. Or he may not talk to either of us. Or maybe he would not change at all, I suppose. I don't really know, Madelyn…that's why I've waited so long to tell him—and I was going to wait to tell you. I don't know what's going to happen, and I really have no desire for such a good thing to go to waste."
"Do you think he'd marry you?"
The woman looked down at her daughter, sweet little Madelyn, always looking for the bright side of a situation. The thought of marriage had never really occurred to Minerva, not in any situation. It was true that he had mentioned it when they were first coming back together, but the thought was a fleeting one. Well, what did it matter anyhow? He would have perhaps taken her if she harbored no secret of such magnitude, but that was not the case. In her heart she held something very precious to him, and he could only be hurt by her tardiness in telling it. "No," she shook her head slowly, "I don't think he would."
"But he loves you…and you love him back…and you loved each other before enough to have me. Don't you get married once you have children?"
Minerva stared down at her innocent child. On one hand, she felt like laughing at the conversation she was having; Maddy was able to make such a complicated thing seem so incredibly simple, it made her sick. On the other hand, however, she wanted to cry. The simplicity of it made it seem like such a possible thing, though Minerva knew it wasn't; she'd never marry Albus, not once it was too late.
"Oh Maddy," she sighed. The woman ran her hands along her daughter's auburn hair for nothing else other than comfort. She found solace in the fact that in her lap there stood something that could never be taken away from her—the one gift of her life. No one could take away her child. The world was capable of taking away her feelings, rights, and privileges, but never could they take away Madelyn…never. "How do you make things so simple?"
"I don't know…I just do."
"What a gift it is, to be a child." She spoke it aloud, though not really to the child in her lap; it was meant really for her and her own thoughts. It was wonderful to be a child. She'd been one once, about ten years before then. Things had been simple back then too, she remembered. All that mattered was that she was in love with her Transfiguration Professor. It didn't matter that she had been a student or that he was a teacher, they simply were.
She glanced down at her daughter who was still looking at her, waiting for an answer. Minerva blinked. "Sometimes things get in the way of marriage. Love…isn't always enough I'm afraid."
Madelyn persisted again. "But he should ask you." The child knew what was right and wrong, Minerva could give her that. Maddy was quite certain that her parents should be together, that was the way it was supposed to come out. What she failed to realize was the simple fact that their relationship was ultimately lacking one thing; trust.
The woman just nodded slowly. "He should, in the name of love, I suppose. Albus loves you very much. I think…he would like being your father. But he may not be so in love with me." Her stomach churned at the last of her words, hitting her rather hard. She'd held the crucial fact inside to save herself; she realized only too late that the longer she waited the better chance there was of losing him.
"Oh yes he will. He thinks you're perfect for him. Remember the letter?"
Minerva bobbed her head slowly. Certainly she remembered the letter. How could she possibly forget it? She had hated him and loved him for years because of it. "I wish I could explain it to you," she whispered, "but it's so much more complicated than you realize. That letter that you read was written ten years ago…before you were even born. Things were different; he was different, I was different. Things aren't the same as they were back then. He won't just accept what I say about you, dear. Albus will accept that he's your father, but he will not accept the fact that I never told him. Try, try to understand."
"I do." It was a simple statement, perfectly frank. And in truth, it was all the child had to say because she had the other end of the horrid plot. She did proceed, however, only because the little one needed to explain herself. "You never told me about Mr. Albus. It's been my whole life and you never told me about my father. I still love you though."
She smiled at her daughter. Though she warmed up her heart, Maddy wouldn't understand for quite some time. The girl didn't quite realize the value of ten years. She didn't even understand the value of love—at least in the sense of a man and a woman. No matter how hard Minerva tried to explain, Madelyn would not comprehend the degree of importance that such a little matter had on two people.
"I'm glad you still love me," she said gently, "because I'll always love you…please don't forget that. Someday I'll say or do something that will make you angry or hurt, but you can't forget that I did it because I love you."
Then there was silence, a very long, drawn out silence. It seemed to have no point at all until the child's doll came floating to her arms. Maddy had summoned it, as she liked to do when no one was around. She'd really gotten quite good at levitating things over the past few months; she could make anything that weighed less than a dictionary fly.
The child looked at the doll and then back up at her mother. A smile crossed her sweet face while her green eyes had gotten really quite large. She spoke softly to her mother, almost softly enough to choke up the woman. "I won't forget. Mr. Albus won't forget that you love each other, either."
Minerva swallowed down the tears that had found their way to her system and nodded slowly. She waited for great words of wisdom to come to her, anything for her to tell her darling child. Alas, nothing did come. So instead, the woman said the only plausible thing for the conversation: "No, he won't forget."
It was the truth. Minerva did believe in her words; Albus would never forget that they loved each other. But she was not fearful of him forgetting, she was fearful of him leaving. The pain dwelled in her stomach as the minutes ticked by. Could he ever forgive her?
It had begun raining outside during dinner. The ceiling in the great hall teemed down an illusion of falling water, but all around the castle there was truly a downpour. Albus knew this simply because he could hear it. It sounded like thousands of marbles hitting the floor; click, click, ping, ping, thump, thump, click.
Albus looked beside himself at Minerva who had changed back into her usual attire for the school year. She had the blankest expression on her face. Her eyes looked nowhere and did not blink, lips did not move for words, chest barely even moved for air.
The man moved his hand gently below the table and onto her knee. She turned quickly to look at him, her face becoming alive again. "Did you say something?"
He shook his head slowly. "No, I haven't said a word. Coincidentally, neither have you." He put his elbows on the table, soon following by a head on his hands. The man continued with a raised eyebrow. "Tell me, is there a reason for you to have such a pensive look on your face?"
She smiled sweetly at him. Albus was slightly surprised to see her pale cheeks grow noticeably pink. "I was just thinking about something that happened some time ago." She stared at him right in the eye when she said it. For a moment, he was reminded of the old Minerva that he knew and loved. She was flirtatious and very much aware of the fact that he was looking at her not as a friend, but as a man. Perhaps it was simply because of the subject matter which she was referring to.
Albus believed that he knew what she was thinking about. After all, there were only so many thoughts that could pass through the woman's mind and make her blush. Though, the man did wonder exactly what she had been seeing in her thoughts. Given by the clues, he was sure she was thinking about them, but he could only imagine what was actually running through her usually meticulous mind. "Which might be what?" he grinned knowingly at her.
"You'll know soon enough," she whispered back.
He nodded his head. It wouldn't be long at all before he knew what she had been thinking about. Dinner was nearly over and their next destination was Minerva's quarters. Maddy had invited him over.
The man looked past Minerva and onto the bold Madelyn. She certainly realized what she was, but he knew the child had hoped that his mother and he were not clever enough to find out. Maddy was a match maker. She had an immediate liking to Albus and as a result, she did everything in her power to get the two of them together. It was a jolly good idea, it seemed, on account of the fact that he was trying really quite hard to get Minerva back in his arms at the same time. They seemed to be very much on the same wave length—and side—a majority of the time, which created a very helpful bond.
He smiled both to himself and to the woman that sat to his right. Albus had never imagined that Minerva would have a child the next time he met her, but as it seemed, that little girl was the thing that tied them together. Madelyn was the key which opened the door to the other. And for what it was worth, he loved her dearly.
It was not long at all before students started leaving to their dormitories for the evening. He glanced at the two girls who were obviously ready to leave also. He nodded his head in agreement and the three of them left to Minerva's quarters. Maddy held his hand as they walked and Minerva was on the other side of the child (as usual).
When they reached her quarters, the three of them went inside together. Minerva immediately took charge and told her daughter to get into her sleeping attire. The child moved quickly to her room and closed the door behind her. Albus watched with a smile as she nearly ran while her red hair flailed. What could he say? He found her enthusiasm quite entertaining.
Once the child was safe behind the door of her room, he turned to see the woman of the household sitting on the settee, just staring at him. The woman's face somehow looked more gentle than it had seemed in the past, even in those first few days that she let tears fall along her face. She did not look as if she was going to cry, but her eyes seemed to shine in the firelight like they never had before.
He pondered this newfound look on the woman for a fair few seconds. He could not quite make out what exact emotion she was trying to—or not to—display. But of course, he realized he was being silly. They called it emotion because there really never was a way to figure its meaning or characteristics.
The man walked over towards her and slid his fingers through her hand gently. It was Minerva who squeezed the opposite hand, not him, as was the usual custom in their relationship. A rare thing it was for her to be making such an obvious, loving gesture so quickly. But once he thought about, he realized that the entire day seemed to have been a strange one in itself, at least in the sense of Minerva and him. The woman had kissed him outside, not long after she lectured him on the concept of them staying away from romance while her daughter was flying. He had thought it strange at the moment, but nothing came of it. Now as he stared at the woman who held his hand, he realized something for really the first time.
It was a truth he had always known, but he had not been faced with it for reassurance. He'd never asked the woman to explain her position on the subject; he simply knew that she felt what she felt for him. He now knew for certain that she loved him.
"When was the last time I told you that you're perfect?" he whispered gently.
The woman smiled. "I don't believe you've told me that for a decade."
"Really now?" he blinked. He could have sworn that he said it once or twice since they had become a couple; it had been one of his favorite phrases during their first affair. But that would be something his Minerva would remember…apparently he had not uttered the renowned words. "Then I suppose it's about time I said it. You're perfect, my dear."
She stared up at him as she pulled her hand away from his. "I can't say that I agree with you, Albus. I'm nowhere near perfect."
He wasn't as surprised by her statement as one might think. You see, he had a very knowledgeable idea of how the woman reacted to certain things. She never had liked compliments; she was far too modest. She would never take a positive note from anyone—even him. "Yes you are. You're beautiful, intelligent, humorous, peculiar, unflawed, all of that. I think that would constitute perfection."
She shook her head slowly. "There's no such thing as perfection. And I'm not all that. I lie and do horrible things."
He was about to reply when he heard the door from the corridor shut with a click. Albus turned slowly to see a Madelyn walking towards them in her usual nightgown. The child had a smile on her face, the regular grin that only a child of that size could possibly possess. The man grinned back at her. "Ready for bed?"
"No," she shook her head. "I want to stay out here with you and mum."
Albus looked down at Minerva for approval; she nodded her head slowly. He turned back to Maddy who was standing at the edge of the hall, waiting. "Come on over. We could use the light of a little one."
Madelyn made her way to the settee and then next to her mother, laying her head on the woman's shoulder. Minerva responded by putting her arm around the child. All that was left, Albus decided, was for him to join the two girls—his girls. He too, circled around the couch and put himself on the other side of Min.
There was silence for a little while; all of them were in very deep thought. Or, perhaps they were all being plenty entertained by the fire whose flames had not stopped dancing. Then again, maybe one of them was listening to the storm outside—Albus knew he heard hail, if not hard rain on the window. Then Maddy broke the silence.
"You lied to me, Albus."
He blinked. He was really quite lost in the statement. The man never lied—not if he could help it, anyway. "What about?"
"You and Mum. I saw you kissing her. You promised you'd be good while Darcy was around and you weren't. You should get sent to your room like me when I lie."
He couldn't quite help himself as a smile crossed his face. It was true…he had lied to the child. He did in fact kiss her mother in broad daylight for more than was really necessary anyhow. The man did deserve to be sent to his room. "I know," he sighed, "but what if I apologized? Would it make my sentence go away?"
"No," the child said slowly, "but we can change it."
An eyebrow rose on the man. "Change it to what?"
"Mum, what do you think?"
Albus looked up at Minerva who had a rather impish grin on her face. For the first time, he felt really quite scared of what was to come. The man recognized that look on the woman and it could only mean terror. Something really quite devious was being concocted in her mind. "Go and grab some of your bows."
A spark ignited the child's eyes and an evil smile crossed her face. She ran quickly to the spot where her bows were.
The man stared Minerva in the face. "What on Earth are you going to do?"
She shrugged. "You'll see."
Minerva tried her best to cover her mouth as she watched the scene unfold. Maddy was still on the settee, Albus on the floor. She was brushing his hair at the moment, preparing for a really quite harmless (though amusing) head transplant so to speak. An array of bows, all different colors, sat next to the child, just waiting to be implemented on the man's red streaks.
It had only recently occurred to Minerva that he would obviously do anything for her. There was no other household that he would willingly be covered in girls' bows, no other family he'd be made a fool by, no other girls he'd let be so close to him. He did love the both of them, Minerva realized. It was not only herself that he had fallen in love with, but Maddy too. Of course, she reminded herself, he had every right to love Madelyn.
But she tried not to think about it for she knew that it could very well be their last evening together. Her and Madelyn had decided together to tell him the following morning. They would have chosen to do it while he was in the company of their home, but Minerva made it very clear to her daughter the effect it could have on him and his decision to be a part of their lives. It was decided to let there be one more night, just one, where they all were happy and carefree. If there were more to come, then that was wonderful, if not, then they had their rightful time together.
It seemed little Madelyn had taken advantage of her rights, however. She started putting in one after another the bows, making his head look something of an animal with rainbow colored horns.
Albus kept his head perfectly straight as the girl pinned and moved around his hair, cringing every once in a while as she pulled a strand or two. All in all, however, he almost looked as if he enjoyed the pampering. He had closed eyes with vaguely dreamy look on his face.
"Are you enjoying this, or just tired?" she said gently.
"Wouldn't you like to know," he replied, perhaps even softer than she had spoken. "Maddy, I say we do your mother next. After all she kissed me."
"I did nothing of the sort," she snapped back, "you were the one who kissed. I just stood there and let you do it." She smiled to herself. Of course she was lying, but it was not a serious lie, no, it was all fun and games. Besides that, it made Albus into quite a comically infuriated man.
"Liar. You were the one who started it."
She giggled softly to herself. "Say what you want Albus. It doesn't matter. I was not the one who promised I'd keep my hands off."
"Aren't you a spiteful one? Madelyn, I would like you to know here and now that your mother is not nearly as saintly as she pretends to be. She's insidious and malicious."
Maddy responded gently, with that childlike air that she always carried with her. "You know Mr. Albus, you need a smaller vocabulary. I don't know what you just said."
"Oh." He paused. "Well, she likes to do things to get other people into trouble, namely me."
The child looked over at her mother with a grin. She pointed at his finished head. Bows were everywhere. Some were pinned tightly to his head and others were at the end of his shoulder length hair. Minerva was about to nod in approval when she saw the stray hair piece. She pointed at its place, next to the fireplace. How it had gotten there she did not know.
The bow floated back to Maddy's hand. She'd summoned it. Of course Albus noticed this, how could he not? But he said nothing, though Minerva saw it in his eyes; he knew what had just happened. He hadn't put the pieces together yet, but the wheels inside his mind were turning.
"There. All finished."
Albus turned his head to face Minerva. "How do I look?"
She smiled a weak smile. "Lovely, darling. I think you're ready to go to the ball now."
He stood up and walked to Minerva. He put his arms on her elbows and raised an eyebrow. "I'm so glad I'm beautiful again." Then Albus turned back to Maddy who had red cheeks and a smile. "Thank you. Your enchantment has done me wonders, I'm sure." He said it happily, not sarcastically (which would have been well deserved). He played a wonderful part. Then Albus darted out of the room to find a mirror.
Maddy looked up at her mother with a smile. "He's funny. He knows it looks bad."
"I know," she nodded her head, "but that's the thing about your father," she whispered, "He can make fun of just about anything."
"Goodnight, darling."
Albus watched from the threshold as Minerva kissed her daughter goodnight. It was a nice, heartwarming scene for him with little Madelyn hugging her mother and having that happy smile on her face. Somehow he knew that the two girls would stay quite good friends just from the plot that was strewn before him. Their love was a good type; the trustful, family kind.
"I love you," Min whispered gently to her daughter.
"I love you too."
Then the woman left the room, making sure she closed the door behind her. Albus took her hand in his own while he stood in place. The man smiled at her. "There's something that I need to tell you, my dear. I don't believe I've said it to you."
She smiled sweetly. "What might that be?"
"I'm proud of you." It was the absolute truth. He was impressed by the hold she seemed to have on life. The woman had a little girl who adored her, nice things, a good heart still, and on a day where her world wasn't crashing down, a smile.
"Thank you," she whispered back.
He nodded. Next on the agenda was sleep. He'd gotten into the habit of being there until Minerva fell to slumber; they all found that it helped her. It was not a nuisance in the case of Albus either—he rather liked being so close to her. "Now go and get ready," he said gently. "I'll be on the settee, waiting for you. We can have our usual talk."
The woman bobbed her head up and down slowly and then made her way across the hall to her own room. Albus watched her cross, but only that. He walked back towards the settee and the fire, thinking methodically to himself.
Quite honestly, he was noticing little peculiarities in Maddy that he hadn't seen before, or in any case acknowledged. It all started with the tomatoes. She'd had the allergy that he had, but the man didn't take real notice of it; any type of allergy was fairly common. But then she did something really quite remarkable. Little Madelyn, nine year old, thoughtful, Madelyn caused an object to just float across the room into her wee hand. How could that be?
He knew something of genealogy, particularly in wizarding families—he'd done a study on it as a young man—and could not help but put the pieces together to relate to himself. Magic like that…levitation…invisibility…transfiguration…those were all common magical mutations, if you will, in a child. One was able to do any of them if the right alleles were paired up between magical parents. He knew Minerva was a powerful witch, even if she didn't care to say so, but it would take an equally, if not more powerful wizard to give Maddy such a gift. He would not have related the given subject to himself, however, had there not been a wee kink in the chain. Albus had been given such a gift. Levitation and invisibility both were magical events that he could do at the drop of a hat.
He blinked to himself. Madelyn couldn't be his though. She had many things in common with him, yes, but there was one ultimate reason why she was not his; Minerva loved and trusted him. Hypothetically of course, if she had gotten pregnant by him, she would have fled to him. It could not have been so soon that she would have lost faith in him, therefore she would have shown up on his door, knowing that he would take her, love her, and marry her. No, certainly she wasn't his daughter…it was hardly even logical for him to jump to such a conclusion.
"What are you thinking about?" the woman whispered softly into his ears.
He didn't turn around to look at her, just continued staring at the flames as the rain poured outside. "Madelyn…and you…and me." He was very bland about it on purpose. Albus didn't want Minerva to find out about the horrible thoughts that were going through his head. She would think that he thought her a liar; that was the last thing that he considered the woman.
She walked around and sat next to him on the cushion.
This time he moved his gaze away from the flames to take a glance at the woman. Truth be told, his eyes had to have gone to the size of a very large marble. She was in a nightgown as she always was…but…well, maybe it was the color that taunted him so, but she looked nothing like a respectable woman, if one would like to stay away from a crude description. It was a cream gown which he was able to see through in several key spots, with extremely thin straps.
Minerva didn't seem as though she meant to taunt him though. What it looked like was that she had just grabbed the first thing in her bureau. She sat next to him casually and pressed on with the conversation. Albus tried his best to look at her face, but there was something about the rest of her that was calling to him.
"What about us?"
He blinked. "Which us are we talking about?"
"You…Me…Maddy…us. Are you alright, Albus?" she whispered gently as concern crossed her face. She brought her hand up to his chin, turned it to face her, and raised an eyebrow.
Albus swallowed and then nodded his head. "Oh yes…that us. I was just pondering something. It's unimportant."
The woman nodded slowly. "Very well then. What shall we talk about, then? You don't seem like you want to share whatever it was that you were pondering." She stopped and then continued on, just rambling like she happened to every once in a while. "What sort of a word is ponder anyhow? It's silly."
A smile crossed his face. Minerva thought far too much and he was about to make that quite apparent to the woman. "Does your mind ever stop working, Min? It's like a train that's blasting along the tracks; it will eventually go off the path."
"At least the ride was worth it," she cooed back. "I'd rather go full speed and then hit a halt than move slow all of my life and go half the distance. It isn't worth it."
He nodded. "That's one way to look at it." She did have a very intuitive point. Or in any case, he'd picked the wrong situation to relate her to. It wasn't worth it, he knew, not to him or her. She'd rather go farther than everyone and run herself into the ground than go just as far as and lose power. Deep down, her quick mind was merely a reflection of her competitive nature.
"In a good way or bad way?"
The man shrugged. "Neither. It's your way."
A simple smile fell on her face. She stared at him for a few seconds and then she pecked him quite gently on the lips. "You looked handsome today. That's why I kissed you. I didn't mean to have your hair invaded by bows because of it."
He chuckled a little at the thought of him in bows again. He'd found entertainment in the concept—only because Maddy was doing it—but prayed that it would never happen again. He was warmed, however, by the sentiment that Minerva had just proved to him.
"I don't mind. It was worth the humiliation I felt today. I'd do anything for a kiss from you, you know that." He brought his hand to her face and cradled her chin softly. The man ran his thumb over her skin, her smooth, enticing skin. Then he looked into the woman's eyes which were really quite large. "You know, you really are quite beautiful."
"Thank you," she whispered.
He stood and stared at her for a few seconds. He wanted to kiss her, taste her, but she wouldn't let him do it, he knew. Minerva was very conscientious and therefore would let no kiss be taken too far while her daughter was so close…and the both of them knew that the kiss would infact be taken to a very long extent. So Albus, being the man he was, decided to take it the other way. "Are you tense?" he asked.
"Excuse me?"
He shrugged. "I could rub your back for you, get the knots out. I know you don't always wake up in the best position."
She blinked and thought it over. She was about to say no when he added on the last of his thoughtful statement.
"Or are you beyond having a man's hands on you?" It was a little bit straightforward, even for him, but it was a way of making her see her silliness. It was not quite innocent to be touching her as he would be, but it certainly was not in the wrong. He had every right to ease the tension out…not that he saw that as the only result.
"You're cruel, I hope you know that." She stared at him for a few seconds more and then turned around.
Albus was faced with the flawless skin of Minerva's. Merlin, it was beautiful. He ran his hand down it once, only to feel the protrusions of her perfect spine and the softness of her skin. His heart sped up in his chest. He wanted the woman desperately.
The man began kneading at the tender spots, hearing the occasional moan from Minerva. She would deny it in the morning, but she rather enjoyed the contact, he knew. The woman had always liked the contact of another human, this was a fact that he had never forgotten. And what was more…he was really yearning to touch her, and not just her back. Albus wanted very much to know her every curve, groove, and indent again, as he once had. He wanted to know Minerva from the inside out.
He leaned up to her and ran his hands beneath her thin straps, moving them to the side of her arms. Then he brought his lips to her tantalizing neck and ran them up and down. He could hear her whispering to someone, but Merlin knows it couldn't have been him. The words he heard were "Stop." He knew well that she didn't want him to stop—he could tell by her voice.
Albus continued trailing his lips down her neck until she finally had the nerve to turn her head—and body—to look at him. The light of the fire cast perfect shadows by her features, bringing out the little peculiarities that he had always loved. The woman's green eyes reflected the bright light of the flames, her long lashes were entirely too obvious, and her lips somehow seemed fuller than they ever had.
He tilted forward to kiss her, but was really quite surprised to see her put a hand to his mouth and shake her head. The man blinked. She couldn't really be refusing him. "Is something wrong?"
She shook her head again slowly. The woman spoke back to him very gently, almost emotionally, "We can't. It—it can't happen."
The man frowned. "If you're playing hard to get, I daresay it's a little bit too late, Min. You can't honestly tell me that you don't want to make love."
Minerva blinked. "It's more complicated than that."
He didn't believe her. Albus did not believe what she was saying or that she even had the nerve to say anything at all. There was nothing complicated about them being together, nothing. He loved her. She loved him. That's all there was to it. What was possibly in the way of them being with one another? "Complicated?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," she whispered, "complicated. I don't know how to explain any better."
It was her conscience that was eating at her. Something deep down was bothering the woman. It couldn't have been him that much was obvious. She'd allowed him to touch her and kiss her numerous times…no, it was not him. It was something else. "Are you afraid?" he asked gently.
"No," she shook her head, "I'm terrified."
A smile crossed his lips. He hit it right on the button, though he was not very sure what she had to be afraid of. They'd made love before…she hadn't been afraid then. But she had taken several steps back mentally as the years passed. Little Miss Minerva McGonagall hadn't fallen in love with anyone for somewhere near ten years. Maybe she was just simply frightened at being in—and making—love. If that were the case, he saw no reason at all to not love her.
"Don't be," he spoke softly. "You want this just as bad as I do. Please," he cupped her cheek gently, "let me make love to you."
She didn't say anything. He didn't let her. The man leaned forward and claimed her lips with his own. At first she didn't respond, didn't do anything. But then he slid his hands very gently up her thigh. All at once the kiss grew hungry; the woman wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her body up to him, and drew her mouth open for him.
Intrusion, that's what it was; sweet, careless intrusion. He wasn't entirely aware of what he was doing as he kissed her hot, open mouth, not until she drew her mouth away from his. He looked down at her flawless, uncovered waist and then back up at her eyes; they had fire in them, not just the glare either. Albus ran his hands up the side of her. He smiled to himself as he heard her moaning his name.
Then he kissed her again, pressing her back on the settee in the meantime. One of his hands knotted itself in her long hair while the other continued roaming the curves of the woman's waist. Soon after, he trailed off. The man's lips drifted to her neck, then her collar bone, then to lower means.
Her voice filled the air. "Albus, Albus, Albus," she hissed, trying to get his attention.
He looked up at her. "Yes?"
She shook her head. "Not here. Maddy. We can't…Maddy is here."
He blinked. Madelyn! It was true that the child could come out at any moment and see them, Merlin forbid. That would not be a pretty scene for anyone. But he wasn't about to leave Minerva while they were in such a wonderful alliance on the settee. "Alright then," he raised an eyebrow, "I believe you have a room here. We can lock the door."
The woman swallowed. Minerva didn't very much care for the idea. "But…no, it's not safe. She—she'll hear…she'll see, something."
He pecked her softly on the lips. "I refuse to go all the way to my quarters. I'll end up making love to you in a corridor. What if I put a charm on the room, so she can't hear us? Will that make you feel better?"
Again, the woman swallowed. No, it didn't make her feel better, but there was no other option. "Alright," she whispered.
Albus smiled to himself while he sat up from the woman. He slid his arms beneath Minerva and carried her as one would a small child—at the head and knees, cradling. She wrapped her arms around his neck. The man carried his soon-to-be lover into her room and quite literally threw her on the bed. Then he locked the door.
He went back to the bed where the woman was waiting, but she shook her head slowly. "The charm?"
The man nodded his head slowly. Of course, the charm was a must. It wasn't as if he was expecting their affair to be a loud one, but Madelyn was, in fact, just across the corridor. Rumor had it that she was just as light of a sleeper as her mother, meaning that the drop of a pin could wake her. Of course the charm was necessary. He pulled out his wand and muttered some words.
Then he walked back to Minerva. She hadn't moved from the position that he put her in. Her irresistibly long legs were very blatantly exposed, along with the majority of her stomach. The woman's long hair was flung everywhere on the bed, intensifying the enigma that is the female. Her eyes, full and wide, were staring at him with a look of desire. Slightly bent everywhere, she was a thing of sexual ecstasy.
He allowed his robes to fall from his shoulders and then approached her. Very carefully, the man leaned forward to kiss her. It was a soft kiss with no hidden desire; they both knew what he needed from her. But of course, he also knew what she needed from him. The woman wrapped first her arms, soon followed by her legs around him.
The man ran his hands up her front and grasped the top of the nightgown. He slid it off of her thin figure. Albus didn't dare look at her newly revealed flesh though; there would be plenty of time for that. Instead, he looked up at her eyes, large and wanting. "I do love you, Minerva McGonagall," he said gently.
"I love you too, Albus Dumbledore."
That was all he needed. Albus kissed her again.
"Come back to bed," he said.
Minerva didn't turn to face him though. She stared out the window at the falling rain instead. The large drops of water were falling quite heavily now, creating thump after thump as they hit the ground. Even several flights up, she could hear the tremendous roar that the rain was making. Amazing, wasn't it?
The truth was that her mind was not at all in its right sorts; she didn't know what to think about anything anymore. They made love. That was the end of that. Her point…her little shred of hope that he would accept her had fluttered out the window and, coincidentally, had been beaten down by rain and was plummeting to the sopping ground. She didn't expect him to forgive her anymore. He'd find out in the morning about Madelyn and he'd leave her. Albus Dumbledore would leave her for good.
That oh too familiar feeling of heartache befell in her system. It felt like her chest was shouting out to the world, crying for a remedy to the pain it was suffering. On and off it would throb violently, but it always throbbed, ached. What was worse is that she knew it wouldn't stop. She'd been fighting the heartache for most of her life. It only took one man to give it to her for eternity.
It was impulsive to go with him. He was touching her, moving his knowing hands all across her skin; it was only natural that she couldn't say no. Merlin knows she wanted to for her sanity, her integrity, but she seemed to run out of both the second he started kissing her. With his lips trailing down her neck and hands playing with her silly straps, the both of them knew that she was not immune to seduction.
She was weak. Minerva was strong for everyone but Albus. She just crumbled at the touch of his hand or a kind word of his mouth. He liked to use both types of weapons to break down her walls. What a fine job he had done, too. She still wanted him to be there, making love to her.
A long, hard shiver ran through her system as an ever so slight breeze flew into her ear. The woman brought her shoulder up to the place of discomfort, but was not surprised at all to feel some warm hands wind around her naked waist. "Albus!"
He chuckled behind her. "I still get amusement from that."
"It's not very kind of you, you know." She spoke gently to him, almost in the same manner that she spoke with Madelyn. The woman was merely trying her best to stay sweet, keep her anxieties from his knowledge. Minerva slid her fingers through his hands.
"I suppose not. But it's not very nice of you to be out here while I'm in bed. Whatever are you looking at?"
She blinked. "It's raining."
"I can see that. Do you know how often it rains here, my dear?"
"I do," she nodded. As usual, she wanted to say more, anything more, but the words would simply not come from her mouth. It was not so much her anxieties, as it was her mind which refused to think more things to speak.
There was a deep, long, thoughtful silence which fell on the room as quickly as the storm let its rain drops plunge to the floor. Minerva was in her own little world and Albus was in his. But of course her Albie was the one who spoke next. He was the intelligent one between the two of them; somehow he knew that she needed his voice to comfort her. The subject matter, however, was not something she would have picked out herself.
"Min?"
"Hmmm?"
"Do you still want children?"
First a deep breath, then a sigh; Minerva turned around on his embrace and looked up at him. She was bent on being honest. Oh, the time to tell him about Madelyn was not then, not while they were standing naked by the window, holding each other, that would come some other time, but everything else…anything of importance was to be honest when it came from her mouth.
Minerva looked hard up at him. He was more a shadow than a person, really. It was dark outside and the only light in the room was a single candle at the opposite side of them. So she stared at her silhouette of a lover. "No. I'm happy with what I have."
Albus nodded slowly, solemnly. His smile had faded and eyes held little trace of that glimmer that was so often there. He was heartbroken at her response. "And you couldn't be happy with more?"
She sighed. Of course she could be happy with another child. Part of her even wanted one; Merlin knows she missed the outfits and story readings. But the other part of her…the sensible one knew that she wasn't at all fit to be an infants mother again. Besides that, she had no business getting either of their hopes up. Their relationship would be terminated in the morning; it did no good to fantasize in the last fleeting moments of happiness. "Albus," her voice cracked ever so slightly, "I just don't think it's the right time."
"Ah," he bobbed his head again. "When is the right time, then?"
Her stomach turned quickly. That was disappointment in his voice. Had he not been holding her, Albus would have folded his arms at his chest and stared at her with hard eyes. She swallowed. He wouldn't understand unless she elaborated. He didn't know what it was like to never be there with someone to love at home. "Never," she whispered back softly.
The both of them realized what she was saying. It fractured his heart, she knew. There was only a little crack, but it was enough to cause a massive amount of pain. Minerva reached up to his face with her hand and ran her thumb along his whiskered cheeks. He looked hurt, but not as if he wanted to shed any tears. Minerva wanted to cry though. It hurt her to be telling him something so meaningful and yet not meaningful at all. There would be no more children for them, none.
"I wasn't there," she spoke gently, "for Madelyn's first step…or first word…or even first run in with a table. It hurts, you know, to come home and find the nanny playing with your daughter, telling you that her first word had been spoken. It hurts even more when you find out that the word was "mum". I don't want that again."
"But it wouldn't be like that. You could stay home. I could hire someone to fill your position here. You would be free to stay and watch him or her."
She shook her head slowly. What he said had some truth to it, but it wasn't what she wanted. She couldn't stay at her quarters all day with a baby, it didn't suit her. The woman had spent so long moving and working that she couldn't imagine herself staying at home to watch a child. Granted, it was work, but it wasn't vigorous and exciting like she wanted things to be. "But that's not what I want," she whispered. "I need to work. I need to be challenged. I wouldn't be happy doing that…and neither would you. I like to think that you like me being the independent person that I am."
He nodded his head slowly. "I suppose I must succumb to your wishes." And that was the end of that. He kissed her gently on the forehead, soon followed by a peck on the lips. "We both can be happy with Madelyn."
The man had said the words, but Minerva knew he didn't mean it. There was that undetectable but detectable thing in his voice that was never meant to be heard. It had only been a subtle change in tone, but it was there. Sometimes the most subtle things were the ones that hurt the most.
She looked up at him as the rain beat upon the window behind her. She couldn't smile, couldn't be happy anymore while he had that sad facial expression. So Minerva said the only thing that she could think of. "I'm sorry."
It looked real, the smile he put on, but Minerva was smarter than that. He was being beaten inside for what she had said. "It's alright, Min. I suppose I ought to be sorry too, for putting you on the spot. I didn't mean to."
The woman shook her head. She didn't want to hear that sadness in his voice anymore. She liked him much better when he was romantic or humorous. And since he was neither, she took it upon herself to play the role. Minerva glanced over at the bed which had no order to it at all anymore—the sheets were slung this way and that; there was no trace of pillows at all. Then she looked beside it. Her bureau was there…
A sweet smile crossed her face. "Stay here," she whispered.
Minerva walked quickly towards her dresser, opened a drawer, and pulled out a very special piece of parchment. Then she went to sit on the bed, making sure that, if anything, her face spoke of seduction. "You can come over now."
He walked slowly and sat next to her. "What is it that you've got?" he asked curiously.
"Your letter," she grinned. "Now, I want you to lay down, either on or under the sheets, it doesn't matter, and just listen. Don't say anything until I am finished."
Albus blinked a few seconds; probably wondering what the hell she was doing, but did as he was told.
Minerva clutched the parchment tightly and then began reading slowly. "Dearest Minerva, It feels like years since I have laid eyes on your beautiful face or heard your voice. I find it hard to understand that it has only been ten days, but I suppose that's my craving speaking. I think we've spoiled ourselves with how much time we have spent together for I am in dire need of you. I need to see you again." She stopped and stared at the man. He looked thoughtful, pensive, reminiscent.
She crawled the entire length of the bed and put her head next to his. She continued reading. "My list in support of this statement is below: No one laughs like you do, your eyes dance when you laugh, only you can argue with me and make it fun, no one kisses like you do, you smell good, you move gracefully when you dance, you are smarter than you have any right to be, I must blow into your ears because it gives you gooseflesh, you'll listen to me ramble on about nothing, you're perfect."
The woman stopped reading. He'd always thought she was perfect, at least for him. Minerva quite agreed with him. They were very perfect for one another; everything from the mind, to the spirit, to the curves of their bodies was fit to perfection. She kissed him gently on the lips. Maybe it was her, maybe it was him. The child business was completely forgotten.
They made love for the last time that evening.
I hope you enjoyed.
—minni