"But you haven't given me my morning kiss either Min" I tease
She stalks over to me, and leans down and whispers "I don't think that would be a good idea, with the thoughts that are running through my head right now, we may never leave this room, clothed" She finishes and pecks my lips. I watch as she leaves the room, with the biggest grin on her face. Oh no, what have I started? I think I'm in a little over my head with this game, but now that I've started it I can't stop. I leave the room to go and get dressed. I make my way up to the first floor and the room I picked out as a pretence. Minerva and I both know I won't ever sleep in here. I grab a selection of muggle clothes and take them into the en-suite. I need to think of something to do for Minerva to show her how much what she's done for me and the kids the last few days has meant to me. As the water from the shower rushes over me a few ideas swim around my mind, but none of them are grand enough. What do you give the woman that has given you a chance of a future, one that you couldn't envisage even a few days ago? I need to ponder this over, it has to be something meaningful, something she can look back on with a smile.
I get out of the shower, cast a quick drying charm and slip on the clothes I'd chosen. I decide to forgo the need for a bra, let's ramp up the game a bit. See the look in Minerva's eyes when my nipples begin to poke through the thin material of my tank top. See if she can keep her hands to herself. Hell if the kids are distracted I may just steal a kiss or two myself. With that thought in my head l leave the en-suite and my room to go and find the kids and Minerva.
They are waiting for me, impatiently, in the entrance hall.
"Come on Mom, we've got a lotta exploring to do" Hugo whines, bouncing from foot to foot. Minerva has managed to procure, from somewhere, a couple of old scooters for the kids to use whilst we're on our walk.
"My brothers'" she informs me. "They have just been lying in the outhouse unused for far too long, I thought it might be nice for the kids"
I nod my head in agreement and then say "onwards Macduff" that gets a chuckle from Min, and I slip my arm into her elbow, so we can walk quietly together.
The kids are scooting ahead of us, looking around at their surroundings. It truly is beautiful and serene up here. I take a deep breath of the air, it's pristine, unlike the air back home that has been contaminated by all the cars and such. I lean my head on Minerva's shoulder and close my eyes to the sun's rays. I trust her not to let me walk into anything.
"I haven't told you how becoming you look today," she whispers.
I smile in response to the compliment "what, in these old things? I think you may need to start wearing your glasses full time Min" I joke. She stops us in our tracks, makes a note of where the children are and then turns towards me
"Truly, Hermione. Watching you walk towards me, down the stairs back at the manor, my heart stopped, and my throat got all tight, you look heavenly, delectable." I get lost in her gaze, her blue eyes seeming to go forever, almost like the loch we are traversing around. My breath hitches as her face comes closer to mine. It's only a peck, but it gets my heart racing. "Come, the picnic spot is just ahead" she says and she grabs my hand in hers and pulls me with her. The kids have stopped, dropped their scooters and have rushed to the edge of the loch. The water is crystal clear and you can see the fish glimmering as the sun catches their scales.
Minerva has put out the picnic blanket, and resized the basket from her pocket. She also pulls out Rose's notebook and hands it to her. I hear a quiet "thank you" and then she sits on the edge of the blanket, with a few sandwiches on a paper plate. I decide I need to have a chat with her and look over at Minerva. She's already in conversation with Hugo about what fish reside in the loch and whether she could take him fishing sometime. My eyes start to fill with tears at their conversation. Ron would have been the one to take him, and has done in the past. The reminder is like a slap across the face, how much the children are going to miss out on now that he's not here. I turn away and manage to keep the tears at bay and go and sit near my daughter.
"Everything okay Rosie?" I enquire. I take a bite of the salmon sandwiches Minerva had prepared for us, the kids have a mix of ham and cheese.
Rose is looking at the loch, eating slowly. I give her the chance to think about her words, like I've taught her and then finally she turns to me
"I'm overwhelmed" she begins "Minerva is ace, her home is amazing. I start at Hogwarts in a few weeks. I miss dad but find that my pain is lessened being here, maybe that's because he's never been here, so I have no memories to draw upon, but I also think Minerva may be a big part of it too. Since she's been with us, the last few days, I don't know, it just seems to hurt a lot less. I feel bad for not feeling sad all the time. He's only been gone a week and I'm already looking forward to my future. It looks different to a month ago as dad won't be here to see me off at Kings Cross but I find I'm not scared of the prospect of him not being around" she sighs "Are you and Minerva together now?" She asks, completely out of the blue. I choke on the sip of pumpkin juice I'd just taken. Minerva comes over and smacks my back until I can breathe normally again, "thanks" I say, still feeling breathless.
"Are you alright?" She questions, her hand still rubbing up and down my back. The motion of it calms me. "Yes I'm fine, the drink just went down the wrong way" she nods her head in acceptance of my explanation and goes back over to Hugo. They were in the middle of a game of chess. Minerva bought a travel board with her. I turn back to Rose slowly, she has a smirk on her lips and her eyebrow is raised. How on earth do I answer that? To give myself more time to think what I want her to know I ask "What makes you think that Rose?" I knew she was observant, but I didn't think we'd been that obvious about what was beginning to blossom between us.
"I woke up in the night, had a nightmare so I wanted to get in with you, but you weren't in your room. So I went downstairs to get a glass of water and the drawing room door was open, and you had just slipped your arms around Minerva's waist and" I raise my hand for her to stop. I'm fully aware of what happened next, what was said. I gulp. Well the cats out of the bag, at least with one of my children anyway.
"Is this why you were off at breakfast?" I still don't want to answer the original query so I ask another question.
"Sort of. I went back up to bed afterwards and I lay there for a while imagining what our lives would be like if you did get with Minerva" she stops and looks out over the loch again
"And?" I prompt. The suspense is killing me.
"Well I came to the conclusion that not much would change really. The only thing that will change is that you will be happy, which I find I'm more than willing to accept. Dad didn't make you happy, not like Minerva has the last few days" I can feel tears pressing against my eyelids, I closed them after she said she was willing to accept the relationship. If the kids weren't happy with this then I would have walked away, their happiness is my number one priority. "Besides" she adds "my room is bigger here than at home, and the views are amazing, I can't wait to draw them" I'm relieved that she is so accepting. I open my eyes, a tear slips down my cheek.
"Rose, you must know that you and your brother are my first priority. If neither of you are happy with the thought of me, moving on, either with Minerva or with someone else, then I wouldn't. You are both my life. I'm sorry I wasn't available to you last night after your nightmare. Do you want to talk about it?" I ask.
She shakes her head "I can't remember it now, Minerva is good for you, for us." She says in a tone of finality. She pulls her notebook out from under her leg and wanders off to a spot a few meters away so she can draw.
I sit there, dumbfounded. Rose has just given me permission to pursue things with Minerva. I can't quite get my head around her quick acceptance of this new development. I lie back on the picnic blanket, and stare up at the clouds. I have been blessed with such good children. Just Hugo to tell, I think he's too young to understand it all yet, so we can put that off for a bit I think. A shadow falls across me a few moments later, and then Minerva is lifting my head into her lap.
"You looked a million miles away" she says as she runs her fingers through my hair.
I sigh. "I was. Where's Hugo?" I ask.
"I showed him the fine art of stone skimming" she murmurs. "He's at the water's edge trying to beat my last attempt of 15 bounces. I have my eye on him, don't worry" she assures me. I grab her hand and settle it on my stomach, and rub my fingers over her palms and fingers . "I found out what was wrong with Rose" I whisper quietly. I don't want to break the tranquility of the area we're in.
"Hmm, anything I can help with?" She says just as quietly.
"She, erm, saw us last evening, in the drawing room" I confess. Her eyes darted down to mine, there is a look of worry and dread in her eyes.
"Oh, Hermione. No. That's not how I wanted them to find out, we're still hashing this out" I raise my hand to her face to calm her. She closes her mouth, the next words clipped off. I raise up on my elbows and give her a quick kiss. "She's fine with it, actually. She's basically given us her blessing Min" I reassure her, stroking my hand over her cheek. I see her look over to where Rose is sitting, her eyes solely focused on her. Rose must sense she's being watched as she looks up. She looks over at us, smiles and nods and then continues drawing in her notebook.
"I can't quite believe it" she mumbles.
"I don't think Hugo is aware yet, and I don't think he's old enough to understand what it would mean anyway, so I don't think we should worry about it just yet" I reaffirm my earlier thoughts out loud, I see her nod in my peripheral vision, and close my eyes again.
An undetermined amount of time later I hear a splash not too far away. I roll onto my side and open my eyes and see Minerva, Hugo and Rose all in swimwear splashing in the loch. I must have fallen asleep. Hugo and Rose and working together to splash Minerva, they've got quite a good system going, not giving Min a moment to retaliate. I sit there and watch them playing. My heart soars as I hear the laughter from my children. It's not a sound I thought I would hear again. Minerva falls back into the water, the kids stop splashing as they have no one to aim for. Then suddenly Hugo is squealing as Minerva has picked him up and is tickling him mercilessly. Rose redoubles her efforts at splashing Minerva, trying to get her to release Hugo. In between the giggles I hear "Mom, Mom, help" I raise myself from my position and transfigure my clothes into a tasteful one piece and rush to the aid of my children. Too late I realise it was an ambush as all three of them turn in unison and begin to splash me. I'm drenched before I even get waist deep. I reach over and grab Rose and throw her sideways away from us, then I go for Hugo but he's on Minerva's back, he looks like he's won this little battle before I see Rose has managed to swim up behind them. She starts to tickle Hugos feet and as he writhes on Mins back she loses her balance and topples over. Thankfully both my children know how to swim, thanks to my parents, and they make their way back to the shallower water so they can stand up. Minerva and I half heartedly splash each other, I'm invigorated from seeing her bond with both of my children and I really want to show her my appreciation. I look over my shoulder and Rose has distracted Hugo with something, so I lunge at Minerva and push her under the water and find her lips. She is surprised but kisses me back, just as passionately. It didn't last long, as I didn't want to scare the children, but it was long enough for me to convey my feelings. As we both stand up I take her hand in mine, kiss the palm and say "Thank you for today it's been perfect."
"It's not over yet, love. Let's head back to the manor. I have something special planned" she says, her eyes glistening from the water drops on her skin, and the happiness that seems to permeate the air around us.
Minerva dries us all off with a wave of her wand and I transfigure our clothes back to what they were. My nipples are now showing through the tank top as the temperature has dropped and Minerva's gaze is on me. She looks over my shoulder momentarily, and then she steps closer to me so that our bodies are touching. She reaches her hand up and grazes her thumb across the knot. I groan and feel a gush of wetness at the apex of my thighs. Her gaze is heated as her eyes stare into mine. Endless pools of azure, with a slight hint of green on the edge. She leans forward, I close my eyes in anticipation but instead of a kiss she whispers in my ear "You little lady, are a tease" and she kisses and bites my ear lobe then walks off.
I stand there, completely unable to move. I can't believe she just did that. Once I manage to shake myself out of the haze my mind is in. I turn and follow my family back to the manor. By the time we get back, the sun is just beginning to set. We are all sat in the kitchen. The kids are slowly making their way through the salad, ham, boiled eggs and baked potatoes that has been provided for them, but a plate isn't placed in front of me. I look over at Minerva and she just winks at me.
The kids have gone quiet, whether from being tired or realising it's their dad's funeral tomorrow I'm not sure. I'm trying to think of something to say or do when Minerva resolves this for me
"So, I thought we could spend an hour or so in the music room, before your bedtime kids, what do you think?"
She gets a round of nods from the kids who are just finishing their meals.
Ten minutes or so later we make our way into the music room. In the centre is a huge grand piano, black with the top already open and the seat positioned just waiting for someone to come tickle it's ivories. There is also a harp, violin, guitar, flute and saxophone laid out around the edges. "Do any of you play?" Min asks.
"I started to learn the flute at school" Rose pipes up. "I thought I'd have to stop when I go to Hogwarts" she informs looking lovingly at the flute.
"Please, play us something" Min encourages, taking a seat on the sofa beneath the window. Hugo walks over and sits on her lap and I sit next to her waiting to see what Rose will play for us. She starts off playing a few notes, getting reacquainted with the fingering and then she leads into happy birthday. We all laugh and smile and applaud. "Sorry, I don't know much. I only started lessons last year" she apologised.
"That was wonderful, Rose" I pipe up. Minerva is nodding her head in agreement. "I'll see if I can find a tutor for you, if you would like to keep up with the lessons" she offers. Rose's eyes widen in gratitude, she places the flute back in its case and rushes over to give Minerva a hug "oh thank you. That would be amazing"
"Anybody else?" She asks looking over at Hugo and me. I shake my head and Hugo shrugs and says "I always wanted to play the drums, but you don't have any of those"
"I'll see what I can do Hugo" she says sincerely. "How about I play something on the piano for you?" She gets a round of nods from us all. She passes Hugo over to me and rises from the sofa and walks over to the piano. She sits down and begins to play you are my sunshine. I know why she's chosen that song, as it was the one I used to sing to the babies when they were nursing. I feel a tear run down my cheek, but I also have a smile on my face. She then begins to play a classical piece. Watching her hands move over the keys, and the rocking motion she has as she plays is mesmerising. The children and I sit there in silence, listening to the music reverberate through the strings and around the room. Minerva plays with her eyes closed, her brows pulled together in concentration, her foot pumping the pedal with ease. If she plays me as well as she plays the piano I'll surely sing too. I blush as that thought enters my mind, but watching her fingers move so fluidly across the keys is making me all hot and bothered. She closes the piece with a flourish and then for good measure she finishes with happy birthday. The kids and I stand and applaud and cheer. Minerva rises from the piano stool and bows to each of us in turn.
I take a look at the time, and realise it's time for the kids to get to bed. I usher them upstairs and settle them down for the evening. After our nightly routine I make my way back downstairs to find Minerva. I find her in the drawing room, pouring each of us a glass of wine. I go to make my way over but she turns and shakes her head at me. "Follow me, please" she says mysteriously. She leads me round to the back of the house where a table had been set for two, a candle in the middle and a little fire burning in the fire pit. There is also a rose across the plate where she is indicating I sit. I lift the rose to my nose and smell it's delicate fragrance. I'm blown away by the effort this must have taken. She places the glass next to the plate and then sits across from me.
"Min, this is, is" I'm lost for words. "Amazing" I settled for. "Thank you so much." I gushed.
"You are more than welcome, my love. I thought a meal just for the two of us would see the day out right" she explains.
Rhona pops in and clicks her fingers, and suddenly our plates are filled with spaghetti and meatballs, there is a side dish of garlic bread and the rest of the bottle of wine also appears in a cooler. Rhona bows at us and then pops out again.
"Well, tuck in. Whilst it's still hot" she encourages. Hmm, it's delicious. We give each other moon eyes over the meal, and our hands have met on top of the table. Discussion is kept to light topics, what we've both been up to in the last 10 years, getting caught up with each other properly. The wine has been finished and Minerva summoned another from her stores. Once we're both replete we make our way to go and sit on the swing on the decking. Minerva places her arm over the back and lightly runs the tips of her fingers over my shoulder.
"Hermione, I just wanted to thank you. For being willing to take a chance on me. I've been alone for a very long time, and I just wanted you to know that having you here fills my heart with so much love. I know tomorrow is going to be difficult for you and the children, but I'll be there with you, for support, whatever you need. I'll get you through this I promise you" I snuggle into her side "I know Min, I know." I sigh.
We sit outside in the dark, in a comfortable silence for a while. Her fingers are still drawing maddening patterns on my shoulder, and I've started running my fingers across her thigh. We're playing a dangerous game, trying to see who will break first.
She eventually grabs my wandering fingers in her other hand, I think I get a little closer than she or I intended. She kisses my fingers and then rises from the swing
"Come on love, let's get to bed" she husks. We walk into the house together, our arms around each other. As we get to the first floor, I break away. "I'm just going to check on the kids" I tell her.
"Okay love, I'll see you upstairs" I watch her go and then make my way quietly down the hall. Hugo is asleep, snoring lightly. I pull his door closed and then check in on Rose. It's quiet in the room, but the breathing is a little too even. I move further into the room and whisper "Rose, you ok?" I get a sob in reply.
"Oh Rose, sweetheart" I say as I clamber into bed with her and hug her to me. "It'll be okay love, I promise" she snuggles her head under my chin, and I feel the tears land on my collar bone. I stay until she's finally fallen to sleep. I kiss her forehead and slip off the bed silently. I watch her for a while longer to make sure she stays asleep and then leave the room. I make my way dejectedly up to Minerva's room. She's fallen asleep waiting for me. I sigh and make my way into the en-suite. I wash my face and brush my teeth and get into my shorts and tank top. As I slide into the bed next to Minerva, she wakes enough to pull me into her arms and kiss my cheek, I let the tears fall silently down my cheeks as I think of tomorrow and what's to come. Minerva's arms are comforting. And I soon fall into a fitful sleep.