A/N: Here we are, at the end of our tale. I will follow this with a two-part epilogue—you're not rid of me just yet—but for now, I sincerely hope you enjoy the end of the main story. For reference, the last chapter took place in June 1967.

For the disclaimer, please see the prologue.

Chapter Seventy: August 1967

Much to Minerva's chagrin, the summer had passed her by, and quickly. Ever since Dalton and Athena had made their announcement, she had woken up every day dreading the end of August. Albus had done his best to keep her head above water by planning numerous activities for the four of them.

They had done so much over their holidays, something for which Minerva was eternally grateful. The foursome had taken a short holiday to Ireland—not far from Scotland, certainly, but it made Albus feel infinitely better than Greece, which had been Athena's suggestion.

He didn't want his family anywhere near the continent now that he knew Tom Riddle was roaming about, doing Merlin knew what.

They had attended Quidditch matches together, spent time with their extended family, and simply enjoyed the comfort of each other's company.

On many of these occasions, Dalton sat quietly with his mother, wanting to learn all that he could about his father.

"I should have told you all of this sooner," Minerva admitted quietly one night after telling Dalton about one of Aidan's many pranks. "You deserved to have these memories."

"I have them now, Ma," Dalton said, "and that's enough for me." He grinned. "Although, it would have been nice to know about that prank Dad pulled on your birthday. I could have replicated it while I was still at school! I can't believe Albus' beard was charmed to have polka dots."

"Your father was quite the charming prankster," Albus added, entering the Manor library. He handed a fresh cup of tea to Minerva, who smiled at him gratefully. "Once we were away from the Great Hall—and the rest of my colleagues—I awarded Aidan twenty house points for his ingenuity. It was quite something to see the members of staff looking like students who had lost control of their magic."

"I didn't know you had done that!" Minerva exclaimed.

"I should hope not. I had sworn him to secrecy." Albus winked. "I'll leave you to it."

"Actually, Albus," Dalton said suddenly, "I want to talk to you two about something."

"Do you want me to get Athena?" Albus asked. He inclined his head towards the kitchen, where Athena was cooking happily with the Manor elves.

"No, this is something I want to discuss with just you two."

Minerva and Albus exchanged looks. Albus sat beside Minerva and asked, "Well, what is it, my boy?"

"I wanted to talk to you both about Scrimgeour Manor," Dalton explained. "As you know, Dad left it to the McGonagall family—"

"That was nonsense, and you know it," Minerva interjected firmly. "Albus and I said that to the Ministry so no one would be suspicious about our family. You know as well as I do that I instantly transferred ownership back over to you. You are the rightful Lord Scrimgeour, after all," Minerva added, some disdain in her voice.

"I know, Ma," Dalton said. "And I'm telling you now that I went to the Ministry and signed the ownership back to you."

"Dalton, why would you do that?" Minerva cried. "We did all of that for a good reason!"

"Because I don't want anyone laying claims to that house. You know as well as I do that Dad's family is more than a bit backwards. Right, Albus?" Dalton looked to Albus for confirmation.

"Your extended relatives hold a lot of Pureblooded ideals, yes. And," Albus considered, "you have a point. I'm sure that they would contest ownership upon hearing you were no longer here, and they would probably want to use the property for one nefarious reason or another."

"I don't want anyone going there," Dalton reiterated. "I haven't even been there. That's where it happened—that's where Dad died, right?"

Albus squeezed Minerva's hand as she uttered a simple, "Yes."

"Have you been back there since?" Dalton asked.

"No," Minerva answered. "Albus kindly went back for me once. I wanted to ensure that anything of Aidan's was retrieved and kept for you."

"I cast some charms on the grounds to ensure the house wouldn't collapse over the years," Albus said, almost nervously. He had not, over the intervening fifteen or so years, ever told Minerva about that. "I wanted to ensure that it would be in good condition for you if you ever wanted to go back there."

"Perfect." Dalton nodded, satisfied. "It's ready for you, Ma."

"Darling, I appreciate the sentiment. Truly, I do, but I don't have any desire to go back there. It holds a lot of terrible memories, and besides, Aidan didn't hold much fondness for the place."

"I'm sure that both of you can think of something to do with the place," Dalton said, shrugging. "As I said, I wanted full control of it to be in your hands, and I didn't want anyone able to contest that. If you want to leave it to rot, or not rot," he continued with a nod in Albus' direction, "then that's fine. But I will not have the place where Dad grew up and then died handed over to Pureblood fanatics who would use the place for Merlin knows what."

"'All right," Minerva said. She smiled gently. "I understand. I can't promise I will ever go, but I promise that I won't let it fall into the wrong hands."

"That's all I ask," Dalton assured her. "I don't want Dad's family home to be desecrated by Riddle's thugs."

Minerva flinched, so Albus squeezed her hand again and replied on her behalf. "We'll make sure of it, Dalton."

"Thanks, Albus." Dalton stood. "Should we go and see where Athena is at with dinner?"

Albus helped Minerva stand, and then they walked towards the kitchen. "I hope she's not too mad at me. I was supposed to bring you that tea, and then come back to help her."

"There you are!" Athena exclaimed as she caught sight of them. "Honestly, Dad, you weren't much of a help."

"I'm sorry, but I was distracted," Albus protested. "Dalton needed to talk to me."

Athena smirked. "Is that so?"

"It is," Dalton promised. "Whatever you made smells fantastic."

"Pokey and the other elves helped," Athena said modestly, but there was a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. "Let's eat, shall we?"

After they had all eaten more than their fair share of a roast dinner, Athena began a conversation that Minerva had been dreading since they had informed her that they would be leaving this time.

"The Ministry finally gave us a date for our departure," Athena said. "Well, a range of dates. We asked for some options so you two could choose the date you wanted for your wedding."

Minerva closed her eyes. She knew that avoiding a thing didn't stop it from happening, but Merlin, this was one thing she didn't want to consider.

"What are the dates?" Albus asked. He unwrapped a lemon drop and popped it into his mouth.

"Don't be angry," Dalton began, "but they're a little sooner than we would have liked."

Minerva paled. "Why?"

"It's what they had available, and truthfully, it makes more sense than leaving right at the end of the month," Dalton said. "This way, if we leave mid to late August, you two will have a few weeks before the start of term to...handle the fallout."

"Plan your funerals, you mean," Minerva rasped, her throat tight. She had not reacted well when she had received that bit of news; the rest of the world would have to be told that Dalton and Athena had died.

Minerva knew it was the most likely possibility—she had said as much to Dalton and Athena—but she didn't like it.

Not one bit.

"You don't have to plan funerals for us," Athena said gently. "No one would expect that of you, especially not so close to the start of term."

Minerva bristled. "Our families would, in fact, expect funerals for you two. It would seem absolutely ridiculous if we didn't do something."

"Okay, that's fine. Do whatever you want, Ma," Dalton interjected quickly before Athena could retort. Most of the time, Athena and Minerva were back to their usual, loving mother-daughter selves, but whenever the conversation turned to Dalton and Athena's impending adventure, the women seemed to disagree more often than not.

It wasn't unexpected, per se, but Dalton and Albus often found themselves playing peacekeeper, and they didn't particularly enjoy it.

"The dates, Dalton?" Albus asked again. He patted Minerva's knee beneath the table to calm her.

"August eleventh through the sixteenth," Dalton answered.

"That's two weeks earlier than we expected!" Minerva exclaimed. "How could they change the date like that?"

"Something came up, I guess," Dalton said apologetically. "Who knows why the Ministry does what it does? But, as Athena said, it gives you both the ability to choose a wedding date."

"You have a point, Dalton," Albus mused. "We couldn't plausibly take a vacation two days before the start of term."

"We could take a short vacation," Minerva countered.

"We would need longer than two days to deal with the deaths of our children," Albus corrected softly. "Speaking of which, when do we find out how you...your manner of death?"

"Dalton and I will never know," Athena said. "The Ministry doesn't know that you know—we weren't supposed to tell anyone that we're leaving—so I presume they'll just show up at your doorstep and tell you the story they've concocted."

"And when they can't find you at Hogwarts, I'm sure they'll just tell Uncle Cal," Dalton said quickly. "We had to give emergency contacts, and for safety reasons, he's ours." He frowned. "In fact, I'm sure they'll just go to Uncle Cal and bypass you directly."

"When you say "safety reasons," do you mean the fact that the world doesn't know who your parents are?" Minerva asked.

Albus grimaced. He knew Minerva would never admit it to him, but now that the children were leaving, she hated even more that their parentage was kept secret.

"Yes," Dalton answered his mother's question truthfully. "I gave Uncle Cal as my emergency contact when we initially applied for our jobs. The world knows that my Dad died, but no one knows who my mother is." He stopped to smile apologetically at Minerva. "The Ministry does, however, know that Dad was close to the McGonagall family. So, to be cautious, I listed Uncle Cal as my first contact, and then I put you as my second contact."

"I did the same," Athena said quickly. "D and I were engaged when they asked for the information, so it just made sense to keep everything the same."

"So you're telling me that Callum will find out about your...demise before we will?" Albus looked between them. "That's not especially fair to Callum, is it? Especially since he obviously knows who your parents are, and he'll have to be the one to break the news to us."

"We could ask to change it, but that would seem suspicious," Dalton argued. "The Unspeakables, by nature, are very inquisitive people. Besides, if they can't reach Uncle Cal, they'll look for Ma."

"They work with your uncle!" Minerva exploded. "Unless Callum has some vacation planned that I don't know about, they will inevitably find him first."

"I suppose that's true," Dalton said, faltering. "Do you want us to change it so that you're our emergency contact?"

"No," Albus responded firmly. "Minerva, I don't like it any more than you do, but it wouldn't do to draw extra attention to the situation. I wouldn't put it past the Ministry to Obliviate us and take away the knowledge we have of these two leaving. We would think they really have died, and that's not a chance I'm willing to take."

"Like the Ministry has a chance of Obliviating you." Minerva snorted. "Really, Albus."

"You're talented, too, Min," Athena added, and Minerva smiled at her kindly.

"The Ministry's ability is not the issue; rather, it's that the Unspeakables would know that we know. If we didn't submit ourselves to questioning, they could easily name us as Undesirables." Albus rolled his eyes. "You know how the Ministry is. They guard their research above all else."

Minerva pursed her lips. "You're telling me that we'd be arrested?"

"Do you doubt the possibility?" Albus raised an eyebrow.

"No." Minerva sighed wearily. "No, I suppose I don't. I doubt they'd catch us, mind you, but I don't much desire a life on the run. Remind me to never again trust the Ministry."

"Noted," Albus said, biting back a smile. "I can't say I blame you, my dear."

After a moment's pause, Athena said, "This is all well and good, but can you two choose a wedding date, please?"

"Right," Minerva said, shaking her head. "What did you say our options are? The eleventh through the...?"

"Sixteenth," Dalton finished. "Any date pop into mind?"

"I'd prefer a weekend. Al, what do you think?" Minerva thought. "A Saturday would be nice."

"The twelfth is a Saturday!" Athena piped up helpfully.

"That's a bit early...one of the earliest days you were offered." Minerva considered the day and bit her lip. "That gives us about three weeks."

"Ma." Dalton reached across the table and took his mother's hand. "If you want a Saturday wedding, you should have a Saturday wedding. It's better than getting married on the thirteenth."

Minerva snorted. "You know I don't place much stock in superstitions."

"He has a point, my dear," Albus said, his eyes twinkling. "You're already marrying me. You don't need any more bad luck."

"Oh, Al." Minerva rolled her eyes. "You're the least of my worries."

"Should I be offended?"

"Al," Minerva began, but Albus was laughing. "It's not funny!"

"Au contraire, my dear, it's quite funny to see you get all riled up. It reminds me of when you were a young student, frustrated by the Slytherin Quidditch team."

"Actually, Albus," Dalton said suddenly, "I just realized that you're the only person I know that knew Ma when she was a student!"

"That's a lie, and you know it, Dalton," Minerva admonished. "Ro, Poppy, and your aunt and uncle all knew me."

"Yeah, but Albus knew you as your professor. I've spent so much time talking to you about what I was like growing up, but I haven't heard many stories about what you were like."

Albus looked cautiously at Minerva, not knowing how she'd react, or how much information she wanted him to disclose. "Your uncle or aunt would perhaps have better stories. As you said, I knew your mother as a student—she had a flair for mischief, yes, but it certainly wasn't anything like your father's. She was bright, and had a knack for Transfiguration. I don't have that much more to tell, my boy."

Athena could see Dalton practically deflate in front of them, so she said, "D, you should ask Dad when Min isn't around. You might get a different answer."

"That's not entirely—" Albus began, but Athena interrupted.

"We need to plan a wedding, people! Let's stop focusing on the past, and focus on this very big event that we need to plan. Min," Athena continued, "did you have anything special that you wanted?"

"No," Minerva said firmly. "I do not want a fuss. I had a fuss of a small wedding my first time up the altar, and it caused a great deal of consternation. I was under the impression that this was already decided. Callum will officiate, and you two will be the mandated—and only—witnesses. We will be married in the back garden of the Manor. There's not much else to plan, darling."

"But this is Dad's first wedding!" Athena cried. She paused and looked at her father. "I think."

"Yes, Athena. This is my first wedding. And with any luck, it will be my only wedding," Albus said, winking at his daughter. "But, in this, I defer all planning—or lack thereof—to Minerva. If she is content simply with a clean yard, I'm certainly not going to argue with her."

"Isn't there anything I can do?" Athena looked between Minerva and Albus. "Can't I, oh, I don't know, help with flowers? Or food?"

"There's no point in much food if it's just Albus, Callum and I, is there?" Minerva asked gently. "That reminds me: at which point will you be leaving?"

Athena and Dalton exchanged nervous glances. "Well, Ma," Dalton said hesitantly, "we thought we'd leave when you two kiss. We can just Apparate away, and Uncle Cal will think it's funny—like we don't want to see our parents kiss."

"All right." Minerva inhaled deeply. "So there's no need for food, then." Seeing Athena practically crumple, Minerva added, "But, Athena, if you wish to get ready together beforehand, you're more than welcome to help me with my hair."

Athena beamed. "I'd love that. I also had one more idea."

"What is it?" Albus asked. "Do we want to know?"

"Well, Dalton and I were talking about how we'd love one last party with our entire family together. The perfect excuse for a party is your engagement."

"You want us to have an engagement party?" Minerva's voice was incredulous. "You can't be serious."

"Ma, it would be fun!"

"For you, maybe. I hate being the centre of attention." Minerva met Albus' gaze and sighed, knowing she wouldn't win this one. Albus would agree with Athena while he still could, so she said, "Fine. I'll concede that this is a good way for you to see the rest of the family. I don't want any ridiculous, adolescent party games, though. Do you understand me?"

Athena nodded happily. "Yes, Min. And don't worry—I'll arrange it all!"

Two weeks later, Minerva found herself annoyed. Athena had needed her help, and to Minerva's displeasure, planning an engagement party was as frustrating as planning her first wedding. It was so unpleasant a task that she found herself unwilling to attend, stalling before Flooing from Hogwarts to the Manor.

"Albus, I thought that such a small wedding would be easy to plan," Minerva complained. "It'll quite literally be us, our children, and Cal. Why is this turning into such a disaster? I don't want an engagement party. I want a nice wedding with our children. That's it."

"It's turning into a disaster because Athena wants to give you a party and a lovely wedding experience," Albus reminded her gently. "I know you're not one for attention, but it will be one afternoon. Yes, we'll have to endure some potentially embarrassing speeches, but there will be cake and good company. And," he said, swallowing down the sudden emotion, "this is the last opportunity we'll have for a family party. Please, try to enjoy it?"

"This means a lot to you, doesn't it?" Minerva asked softly. "I'm sorry, Albus. I've been a terrible fiancée lately. I should have realized that this would mean more to you."

She chastised herself inwardly. It would, of course, mean more to Albus than to herself. Despite her somewhat rocky childhood, Minerva had had plenty of happy family events to make her smile over the years. Such events were a rarity for Albus, if they had even happened at all. As this would be his last chance at a family gathering with his daughter, Minerva could understand why he was so anxious for this to go well.

"Not a terrible fiancée," Albus said teasingly. "You've been stressed lately. I know that, and I want to take care of you."

"Yes," Minerva said, sliding her arms around his neck, "but love and care go both ways, my love. I adore you for doing your best to help me through this, but if you need me, lean on me. I promise I won't break."

"I know you won't," Albus told her, and he kissed her forehead. "Remember, this engagement party is only for our family. Well, and Lavinia."

Unfortunately, Armando Dippet had passed away in the intervening months between Aoife and Alice's engagement party and their own. Both Albus and Minerva held great affection for Lavinia, and considered the woman a dear friend. They had thusly decided to tell Lavinia about their engagement—she already knew they were back together, anyway—and they had invited her to their engagement party.

Athena was thrilled to have another guest to host, and Alice was delighted that her aunt would be included in the McGonagall-Dumbledore event.

After all, being involved in Minerva's private life meant keeping secrets, and Minerva felt guilty about that. She liked Alice, so she wanted her niece's fiancée to have another person to confide in about her future in-laws.

"I can't believe everyone is coming for this," Minerva admitted. "Lavinia makes sense, of course; I'm happy that she'll be leaving the house after Armando's death. But I must admit that I'm surprised Iolanthe, Charlus, and Esmé are making the journey."

"They were angry about missing the last engagement party," Albus chuckled. Iolanthe had been livid with Aoife after not receiving an invitation to the latter's engagement party, and the two hadn't spoken until Lucy had intervened.

"I'm happy Dalton and Athena are finally comfortable meeting little Esmé." Minerva smiled sadly. "I'm happy they'll meet her before..."

"I know." Albus wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. "I know."

"I don't know how I'll manage to endure this party without crying," Minerva confessed.

"The good news is that everyone will think you're crying about marrying me," Albus joked. He softened. "Min, crying at events like these is expected."

"You're right," Minerva said, "as usual."

He released her and took her hand, leading her to the Floo. "Remember, this small wedding is our excuse to get the wedding done before the new school year starts."

"Otherwise, we'd be waiting for another year." Minerva squeezed his hand. "I know."

At the party, after enduring several speeches that made her blush, Minerva excused herself from the main room under the guise of helping Athena with the elves in the kitchen.

She was twirling her wine glass around in her hand, watching the wine swirl, when Athena interrupted her.

"Min, why are you hiding?" Athena asked, her hands on her hips. "You know perfectly well that I don't need any help in here. Pokey and I have everything under control."

"I had to endure Ro's speech," Minerva said. She looked up from her wine glass. "You too would feel embarrassed if your best friend told everyone that she was happy you finally were having sex after a long drought."

"Ew." Athena wrinkled her nose. "She said that?"

Minerva waved her hand. "Something to that effect. My ears started ringing after I heard the words "Min's sex life" come out of her mouth. I love Ro, but I'm more private than she is." She pursed her lips. "Your father is capable of laughing that sort of thing off, but I find it to be..."

"A violation of your privacy." Athena smiled. "I get it."

Looking at Athena's face, Minerva saw her as the young, exuberant girl she had adored, and she suddenly felt the need to clear the air before she lost the chance to do so forever.

"Athena, can we talk?" Minerva asked. "Would you come up to my room with me?"

Athena frowned, but nodded. "Sure."

As they walked up the stairs, Athena asked, "You're going to Dad's cottage for your honeymoon, right?"

"Yes." Minerva nodded. "It made the most sense. It's secluded, and everyone else will think you and Dalton are here at home."

"That makes sense," Athena said quietly, echoing Minerva. "Is this your room?"

Minerva opened the door to her childhood room and sighed. "Yes. Come on in. We can sit on the window seat."

"It's pretty," Athena whispered, looking around. "I've never been in here before. Dalton and I have tried to leave everything as it was. We only go into his childhood room."

"You sleep in there?" Minerva asked, surprised. She sat down. "Why don't you use the master bedroom?"

"Because he still thinks that room belongs to his grandparents?" Athena laughed. "That's my guess. Honestly, I don't know, but it made Dalton happy, so..." She trailed off. "Min, why are we up here? Is something wrong with the party? I know you didn't want it, but I was hoping that—"

"Hush, darling. I wanted to speak to you about the party, but not like that." Minerva inhaled deeply. "I wanted to apologize. I know I haven't been the most effusive nor engaged bride, and I appreciate your efforts to plan this. It means the world to your father, and it means a lot to me, too."

Athena blushed. "Min, you don't have to say that if you don't mean it."

"I do mean it, Athena. I haven't told you how much I appreciate your efforts, and that was a mistake." To her horror, Minerva found herself overcome with emotion. "I know that we may disagree on the choice you and Dalton have made, but that will never overshadow how much I love you."

"Min," Athena uttered gently. "You know I love you, right? I know I had a mother for a while, but you...you've been my mum in every sense of the word."

Minerva released a half-sob, half-laugh. "Oh, come here." She pulled Athena in for a hug. "You're the closest thing to a daughter I've ever had, and I'm so glad I had you in my life."

"I wish it didn't have to be this way," Athena whispered into Minerva's shoulder.

"Darling." Minerva pulled back and looked earnestly at Athena. "It didn't have to be this way. I wish you could see that. But you are so much like your father." Minerva laughed morosely. "Once you get an idea in your head, you can't let it go. You're like a dog with a bone."

"That's unfortunate for you, seeing as you're a cat," Athena commented, and this time, Minerva really did laugh.

"Perhaps." Minerva wiped at her eyes and sighed. "I'm glad we had the chance to talk. I didn't want you to leave without me saying that. I love you, my darling."

"Min?"

"Mhmm?"

"I don't want you to give up on life once we leave, no matter how much you feel like you need to," Athena said earnestly. "This is your chance at a new life, too."

"Darling, it really won't feel like that," Minerva replied. She wished she could make Athena see how much hurt she would be leaving in her wake. "In fact, I don't particularly want a new life."

"But you can do it all over again!" Athena protested. She took hold of Minerva's hands. "Min, listen to me. You can be married, have kids with Dad—the way it should have been! You two are destined to be together, and you deserve to be happy."

"I could have married him without you leaving," Minerva commented drily. "Besides, darling, I don't want any more kids. I can't go through this kind of heartbreak again."

"I highly doubt your next children will make the same decision."

"I didn't expect you two to make this decision, but you have." Minerva's tone put an end to that discussion.

Athena nodded. "Can I change the subject?"

Minerva was happy to move to safer ground. "Please."

"There's just one thing I want clarification on before we go," Athena said. "I'd ask Dad, but, well...you know Dad."

Minerva raised an eyebrow. "Something tells me this is going to be an invasive question."

Athena laughed. "Perhaps." She gathered her courage and then said, "I know I've asked you this before, but I need to try one more time: is Dad the person with whom you have a soul bond?"

"Athena..."

"Min, I get why you didn't want to tell me before, but you can tell me now. It won't matter—I won't remember what you tell me after we leave, but I would like to know before we go. I'd like the truth."

Minerva found that while she genuinely—and somewhat surprisingly—wanted to tell Athena the truth, Albus' words were at the forefront of her mind. Minerva knew nothing about this time travel magic, not really, and she had no way of knowing if one small secret could transcend time and cause problems for her and Albus later.

So, Minerva settled on a half-truth.

"Your father and I were lovers, during the war," Minerva admitted. "But I can't confirm that we are bonded, darling. I'm sorry."

"Can't confirm isn't the same as denying, Min," Athena said softly.

"I can't confirm it, Athena. Please don't ask me about it again."

"All right." Athena nodded. She was intelligent enough to read between the lines, and she didn't want to further upset her mother-in-law. "Shall we go back down to the party?"

"If we must," Minerva groaned, and Athena giggled.

"We can't have Dad thinking you ran away on him," Athena teased. "You know he'd search the world ten times over for you."

Minerva didn't say anything, letting her reddening cheeks speak for her.

After the party was—blessedly—over, and Minerva and Albus had returned to Hogwarts, Minerva watched Albus as he prepared for bed.

"Something on your mind, Tabby?" Albus quipped, catching Minerva's eyes in the bathroom mirror. He smiled. "Thank you for enduring tonight."

"Other than Ro's speech, there wasn't all much to endure," Minerva admitted. She hesitated. "I had a nice chat with Athena."

"So that's where you two disappeared to," Albus replied. His eyes twinkled with understanding. "Do you want to talk about it, or is it a secret conversation?"

Minerva scoffed. "I wouldn't say it was a secret conversation, no. I apologized to her—Athena is clearly making an effort with this wedding, and I hadn't thanked her. In fact, I made her life harder.

"Then, when I returned to the party and saw you with our family and friends," Minerva continued, "it made me realize that I haven't adequately thanked you, either."

"Me?" Albus turned around so he could look at her, and not her reflection. "What on earth do you have to thank me for?"

"Al, I want to thank you for everything you've done this summer. I haven't been feeling like myself lately, for obvious reasons. I wasn't in a position to organize anything, and you've stepped up to the plate. You made it so that we could spend these last few months together as a family." Minerva wrung her hands together nervously. "Normally, I am able to compartmentalize my emotions, but I find in this one instance, my grief has kept me from being altogether productive."

"Come here," Albus said, opening his arms. "What's that speech you gave me the night you won the Triwizard Tournament?"

Minerva smiled against his chest. "Albus, I know you remember."

"Jog my memory, my dear. I've no desire to use the Pensieve tonight."

"Hmmm," she said playfully, pretending to think about it. "It was hardly a speech, Al."

"But what did you say?" Albus poked her side.

"I believe I said that I had said yes, I was saying yes, and that I would always say yes to you."

"Now that time has passed, I wouldn't say that you have always said yes," Albus said, chuckling. "But you eventually said yes, and do you remember what happened after you said that?"

"I certainly remember going to bed with you," Minerva responded dryly.

"Not that, Tabby. Although I am happy to hear that you haven't forgotten our first night together." He tilted her chin so that she was looking at him. "You said I would always catch you, and while I haven't always done that, I'm here now. Catching you in whatever way you need me."

Minerva kissed him. "I knew there was a reason I agreed to marry you."

"And in a week, we'll be doing just that. I know that the day won't be as happy as we may have wished, but it will be ours, and I am very excited to say I do, Minerva McGonagall."

"Would you like to join me in bed, Albus Dumbledore?" Minerva asked, her voice taking on a different tone. "I did just endure an engagement party, after all. I think I deserve some compensation."

"Would I like to join you?" Albus repeated. He grinned at her. "My dear, I believe I do."

As Athena pinned a flower crown onto Minerva's head, Minerva felt like she wanted to be sick. She was nervous about marrying Albus, but after her first wedding, she had known to expect pre-wedding jitters. What she didn't like, however, was the heavy feeling of dread pooling in her stomach at the thought that this would be her last afternoon with her son.

If their bond was any indication, Albus was feeling the exact same way, which didn't much help matters.

"There!" Athena pronounced proudly. "You look beautiful."

Minerva looked in the mirror and had to admit that Athena had done a wonderful job. Her hair was in its signature bun, but it was much looser, and Athena had selected a few pieces to hang loose around Minerva's face. Her daughter-in-law had also done her make-up. Minerva had objected—she usually wasn't a fan of anything more than a quick swipe of coloured lip balm and perhaps some mascara—but even she had to admit that Athena had transformed her into a picture out of a bridal catalogue.

"Thank you, Athena," Minerva said softly. "I couldn't have done this myself."

"That's why I'm here!" Athena scoffed good-naturedly. "To ensure you have a beautiful wedding despite your best efforts to minimize the occasion. A wedding can be small and still be classy, Min."

"I suppose you're right. And I do so look forward to seeing the garden."

"You'll love it," Athena promised. "Now, I must go and see Dad. You'll be all right here?"

"Dalton will be along in a moment," Minerva responded, nodding. "Go and see your father."

Athena left, and Minerva was struck with a new heartache, one that accompanied the memory of Athena and Dalton's wedding just one year ago.

Everything had seemed so promising back then.

A knock on the door kept Minerva from reminiscing for too long. "Yes?"

Dalton entered the room. "Just me." His eyes widened as he saw his mother. "Ma, you look beautiful."

"Thank you," she whispered. She was overwhelmed by a sudden urge to hex her son and hide him away where no one could find him. "Athena is quite adept at these beauty spells. I never bothered to learn, but now that I'm about to be a married woman, perhaps I should look into them." Minerva smiled wryly. "I can't have my husband leaving me for a younger woman, after all."

"Ma, you are Albus' younger woman," Dalton replied, laughing. "Any younger, and I'd seriously have to consider Albus' intentions."

"Play nice, now," Minerva admonished, but her smile betrayed her. "Thank you for walking me down the aisle."

"Thank you for letting me. It was important to me—that we get one final walk together."

Minerva swallowed. Dalton had first approached her about escorting her down the aisle at the engagement party, and while she had initially scoffed—"What aisle? There won't be any guests!" had been her response—Albus had explained to her that this meant something to Dalton.

He wanted to see his mother happy, and if this is what he wanted to do, who was she to stop him?

"You know, Dalton, for the first time in my life, I find myself wanting to believe in Divination," Minerva confessed. "I wish that I could know that you would end up safe and happy, and living the life you want."

"Ma—"

"And while I don't admire this decision, I admire your bravery and your loyalty." Minerva paused to blink back tears. "It takes real courage to follow someone with nothing but love to hold on to. I haven't always been able to do the same."

"I love you, Ma," Dalton said, his own voice wobbly with emotion, and he pulled her into a hug. "I know we won't remember you specifically, and I don't know how young we'll be de-aged, but I doubt it will be so young that I will forget that I had a wonderful, loving childhood."

Minerva said nothing, instead choosing to memorize the feel of her son's embrace. She never wanted to forget what it felt like to hold her baby boy, and while she could relive this moment in Albus' Pensieve, it would never do justice to the real thing.

"Ma?" Dalton asked after a few moments of silence. "Are you all right?"

"Not quite," Minerva answered honestly, "but I am doing what I can to remember this moment forever."

"Well, come on," Dalton said. He withdrew from the hug and took her hand instead. "It's about that time for you to get married."

"What will I do without you?" Minerva asked, shaking her head as she allowed her son to lead her toward the garden.

"Keep Albus from going insane, I expect," Dalton said, laughing. "Are you ready?"

Minerva nodded, and Dalton took her arm and led her through the open doors. Athena had truly outdone herself. The altar was simple but beautiful, and there was an arch covered in ivy. Beneath it, Minerva caught sight of her brother, and of Athena standing by Albus.

It was all special, but she knew she'd never forget Albus' face as he first clapped eyes on her.

Despite the bittersweet nature of the day, Minerva found herself grinning as Dalton propelled her to the altar. Minerva wasn't a woman prone to daydreams or romantic fancies, but marrying Albus felt, well, like a dream come true.

"Hi," Albus whispered as she reached him. "You look perfect."

"As do you," Minerva replied, smirking. She reached out and ran her hand down the length of his arm. "In fact, you look rather sexy in that suit."

Athena and Dalton made moues of annoyance, but Albus laughed heartily.

"Enough of that," Callum said, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. "I know it's your wedding, but I won't endure any more romantic insinuations than I have to. You're still my little sister, Minnie."

"Get on with it then, Cal," Minerva said, raising an eyebrow. "I can keep talking, you know."

"Dalton and Athena, come here," Callum said. "Put your hands over theirs, just like this."

Minerva and Albus had chosen their children to oversee the magical bonding part of the ceremony, much like they had done for Athena and Dalton a year ago. They decided to do this part first, then have Callum give his speech.

As Callum spoke, Minerva knew instantly that she'd have to revisit the surprisingly thoughtful tribute he gave in Albus' Pensieve. Her mind was torn between watching Albus—who truly had never seemed more attractive to her—and watching Dalton and Athena, who were hovering just on the edge of the altar that Athena had created.

Finally—or perhaps suddenly, Minerva couldn't tell—Callum said, "Albus, Minerva—you are officially wed." He smirked. "You know what to do, but remember, Albus, she's my sister. Keep the snogging to a minimum. For my sake and your children's."

Minerva rolled her eyes. She felt Albus squeeze her hands, and they both looked at their children one last time.

Dalton had his arm looped around Athena, who was crying, but she didn't seem too upset. In fact, Athena appeared to be truly happy for the first time in almost a year. Minerva caught Dalton's eye, and he nodded, so Minerva turned tearfully back to Albus.

Her husband.

Wearing a watery smile of his own, Albus leaned in to kiss her, and Minerva clutched at his shoulders, hoping to drown herself in sensation and avoid hearing the sounds of their children Disapparating. After all, she knew that when she opened her eyes, Dalton and Athena would be gone.

Minerva pressed her lips to Albus' more fervently in an attempt to delay the inevitable, causing Callum to eventually cough, "Ahem."

Eventually, the newlyweds broke apart in order to breathe. "We'll be all right," Albus whispered against her lips. He kept his forehead against Minerva's, and she knew that he, too, hadn't opened his eyes.

"We'll be together," Minerva murmured. She wouldn't be all right, not for a long time, but she had her husband, and that had to be enough.

Instead of opening her eyes just yet, Minerva gripped his neck a little more tightly and repeated softly, "We'll be together."