Blessings and Heartache.
A/n: I will say that I am glad that most of you did not see that coming, I had three ideas for his explanation and that one was the one I chose. A couple of you have already guessed Albus' motives for saying what he did but that doesn't stop him for being a first class igit. I now present, the latest chapter and things don't get much better for Minerva (I hate hurting her like I am).
Oh in answer to a couple of questions, I am not aware of Hooch's official house so I used my artistic license to put her in Slytherin and also used when I made up the local Hogsmeade paper. Hope that clears it up for you! Thank you for your questions.
Once again, this chapter hasn't been beta read but if there are any major problems let me know and I will edit them.
Chapter Four: Crumbling Around Her.
Jokes were only funny when both parties found it amusing, jokes were not funny when they picked up on someone's insecurities and publicly humiliate them. Minerva was speechless as she stood leaning against the wall, his words playing over and over in her mind. She was trying to make sense of them, she thought she had known Albus but never in all her years as his friend, had she heard him be so cruel. She felt as though the man in front of her was a stranger, someone she did not know and certainly did not want to get to know.
She had to control her feelings, her tears; she refused to let him see her cry because of him. She was strong; she knew she could control herself for a few moments before her heartache overwhelmed her. She knew she needed to break the silence that had descended on the room; she needed to do it now before he picked up on something.
"A good joke Albus" she made herself say, the words didn't feel right coming from her mouth but they had to be said "a good experiment to see how gossip spreads, I am sure the corridors of the ministry of magic will be very much alive this morning with such juicy gossip."
"I am glad we share the same sense of humour!" he told with a chuckle.
"No we don't Albus," she replied as she made her way to the door, she hadn't meant to let him know about the hurt she was feeling "we differ quite considerably! Now I have to be getting on with some paperwork."
She walked from the office with her head held up high; she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of him seeing her crumble. She wasn't the type of woman who would crumble in public, there had been a few times when she had nearly lost control but she had managed to rein in her emotions before she lost control of them. She had always felt that as a teacher, it was wrong to let the pupils in her care, see her as her most weak because they would bound to play on it and then she wouldn't gain their respect and they wouldn't learn anything from her. She had fought hard to remain detached but the children she taught especially her lions, crept into her heart and overwhelmed but that was nothing to how Albus Dumbledore overwhelmed her.
She had known for years and had loved him nearly as long; he had been her teacher and then her mentor. They had stayed in contact while she worked as an auror at the ministry and then he had offered her a job at Hogwarts, she had grabbed the chance to work along side him with both hands and they had settled into a wonderful friendship. She wasn't quite sure when she had fallen in love him but she certainly remembered when it suddenly became clear to her. He had brought a woman to the school and was giving her a tour of the grounds when she had bumped into them. She had felt the green eyed monster take her over as she watched the woman touch Albus, lay her hand on his arm and flirt openly with him. Albus for his part had seemed to be enjoying the woman's attention and almost encouraged it. Her feelings had hit her like a ton of bricks and she had made her excuses, she had swept back to the school and had locked herself in her rooms for the rest of the day. Since she had discovered her feelings for him, they had only grown in strength but she had decided that she couldn't reveal such feelings for him because it could ruin everything.
She walked down the corridor; unaware of the looks she was getting from the portraits that hung on the walls. She walked right through Nearly Headless Nick and didn't even shudder when she did; the ghost looked after her in confusion and then floated away mumbling under his breath. She was still composed; she had to be until she reached the safety of her rooms. Only then, would she let herself crumble to the floor and pour her feelings out in the privacy of her own rooms. Her rooms seemed further away than before, she would usually be there by now and she was walking faster than usual but it was taking her longer. Had he moved them as one last joke? Was the castle playing cruel tricks on her? Wasn't she suffering enough?
Finally her rooms were in sight, the portrait of Godric Gryffindor had never been so welcoming and she quickly gave the password and practically ran into her rooms. The doors locking automatically behind her, strong silencing charms being activated. She didn't even reach her bedroom before she felt herself stumble and she fell to the floor. She didn't have the energy to rise from the floor; she gave into her emotions and sobbed her heart out. Her body shaking with her heartfelt sobs, the salty tears falling from her emerald green eyes and landing on the rug beneath her.
His cruel words echoed in her head, they were driving her to the brink of madness. They were taunting her as she cried harder, her body ached for her crying but her tears showed no sign of ending anytime soon. The floodgates had been opened and years of unrequited love hit her head on, she saw how she had wasted her life on loving a man that could never love her. She had loved a man who thought of her as a joke, her friendship to him had been a joke; she amused him for all the wrong reasons. She had never felt so weak before, the rug she had been standing on for years but been pulled from under her and she felt broken.
She never thought she would think of Albus Dumbledore as a cruel man but she did now, she felt cheated and used by him. How could he of thought that something like that would be funny, did he not know how cruel the Daily Prophet and people like Rita Skeeta could be. He hadn't given any thought to her feelings when he had decided to say such a thing to one of the malicious women, she had ever known. She was about to be made the laughing stock of the whole wizarding community just because Albus Dumbledore, one of the most respected wizards of recent age had made a passing comment. He would have to at some stage announced that he had only been joking and then she would just imagine the headlines that would dominate the paper.
Her sobs subsided and she managed to pull herself into a sitting position, she looked around her orderly room and sniffed loudly. Her life was so ordered, she was usually so in control of situations but this one, she felt powerless and that unnerved her. Her eyes fell upon a picture of Albus and her at a ministry function a few years ago, they both looked so happy and they looked like they were enjoying one another's company. Minerva remembered clearly that she had thoroughly enjoyed that evening out because Albus had been so attentive and they had danced so many times, he had turned other prettier witches away because he had promised that he would not leave her side throughout the whole function. He had kept to his word and for a short time Minerva had felt what it would have been like to have Albus Dumbledore as a partner, she had hoped that it had meant something. Gossip had been ripe the day after with the Daily Prophet once again printing a story about them both and her friends teasing her about it.
The picture taunted her like his words had done when she had been sobbing her heard out on the floor, she managed to get to her feet though her body still felt tired from the crying she had done. She walked over to the mantle piece and picked up the gold innate frame, she looked at the picture closely and fought back a sob. His blue eyes were twinkling brightly in the picture and for a while she had hoped that she had put that twinkle in his eye but now she knew that he saw her as a joke. The twinkle in his eye hadn't been put there by his love for her but out of amusement. Her long, slim fingers traced over his face before she threw the frame with the picture across the room. It hit the wall and smashed, the sound of the glass breaking gave her some satisfaction but it wasn't enough to fill the pit in her heart. The worse thing about the whole situation was that he didn't even seem to realise how his words had hurt her, he was oblivious to it and that showed that he obviously didn't care about her as she thought he had. Her world had just crumbled around her and he didn't even know.
TBC