Chapter 3: I See Only You In The Midst Of Battle

For Albus Dumbledore time seemed to be at a stand still as she disappeared from sight. He carefully relived the sensation of holding her in his arms as they danced and the simple kiss on the cheek she had given him before being called away. He wondered when he would see her again and wondered what would come of this chance meeting.

His train of thought was interrupted by a firm pat on the back. Albus whirled around with a frown and came face to face with Winston Churchill. The frown on his face quickly disappeared and a friendly smile appeared instead.

"Mr. Churchill!" greeted Albus. "Enjoying the ball?"

"Please, call me Winston. There is no need for such formalities," answered Churchill as he rooted around in his tuxedo pocket and pulled out a cigar. "The ball is a pleasant distraction from what has been going on recently. You seemed to be enjoying yourself!"

"I only attend these events as a courtesy!" said Albus.

"So you danced with that enchanting woman out of courtesy?" questioned Churchill, with a raised eyebrow.

"Well erm...well I do make an exception now and then!" replied Albus, who was trying to fight a blush that was threatening to appear on his soft pale cheeks.

"I think I would make an exception when it came to her," said Churchill with a smile. "Shall we go out to the balcony? I can't hear myself think in here."

The two men made their way out to the balcony and were relived to be away from the crowd and the noise. Churchill pulled another cigar out of his pocket and offered it to Albus, who politely declined.

"Very wise of you," said Churchill as he lit his cigar. "Nasty habit if I do say so myself!"

Albus surveyed the view from the balcony but his mind couldn't have been further away. He was thinking about the auror mission and about one in particular. He hoped that they would be safe and that they returned soon unharmed.

"So who is she?" asked Churchill, as he leaned against the balcony and took another puff of his cigar.

"Minerva McGonagall!" answered Albus with a small smile. "She is an auror with the Alpha Hit Squad."

"Led by Alastor Moody," said Churchill with a nod of approval. "Fine man with a fine team. They were extremely helpful to me during our war. Though they would not involve themselves too much. She is the only woman in the squad isn't she?"

"The first and only woman Alastor has allowed in the group, or so I am led to believe," answered Albus.

"You're quite taken with her!" pointed out Churchill.

"Is it that obvious?" questioned Albus with a sigh.

"It's in your eyes," observed Churchill. "Of course I don't know you well enough to say this but it's written as clear as day in them."

"I have never really felt like this before," admitted Albus. "It's very strange and is unknown territory for me."

"Come now man," said Churchill straightening up. "You've faced Grindelwald alone. Don't tell me that you can't face a woman!"

"I may be old in years Winston," admitted Albus "but I am still beginner when it comes to the opposite sex. Ever since news spread about Grindelwald's downfall, I have become the most eligible bachelor. I have lost count of the number of wedding proposals I have received. I don't like the attention and it makes me feel uncomfortable. Minerva is the only woman who hasn't thrown herself at my feet. She seems to see me as a person, not as the wizard who saved our world."

"Ah Albus," said Winston patting him on the shoulder "I can see that you do not enjoy the attention. But I urge you not the let this Miss McGonagall slip through those long fingers of yours. People can wait a lifetime and still not find what you may have with her. No one should be alone Albus!"

"There you both are!" exclaimed Bagnold as she swept out on the balcony. "I have been looking for you both for some time. What are you doing out here when you could be celebrating in there?"

Bagnold came to a stop in front of the two men. Her robes continued to sway in the light breeze.

"What brings you out here?" she questioned again with a hint of annoyance.

"We are discussing women!" answered Winston as he pulled out another cigar.

"I fear, Winston, that Albus may not be the best man to speak to of such matters!" answered Bagnold with a lighthearted laugh "A life long bachelor!"

Albus looked away from Bagnold and peered out over the dimly lit grounds of the ministry. He wasn't a huge admirer of Bagnold, though he could not fault her for how she ran the ministry. She just spoke before thinking at times. Winston noticed the tense atmosphere that had arisen around them and took a long drag of his cigar.

"You're not married either are you, Miss Bagnold?" said Churchill.

"Well no," answered Bagnold honestly. "I chose that way of life for me. I didn't mean to imply anything Albus!"

"Quite alright!" answered Albus.

Luckily for the three, the tense feeling disappeared when an owl flew overhead and landed on the Minister's shoulder. Bagnold untied the roll of parchment from the large snowy owls' leg and opened it. She scanned the letter and let out a gasp.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed as she read the letter again to make sure that she was reading it right.

Both men were looking at her curiously and were waiting for some explanation. Bagnold felt their eyes upon her and she looked up and met their questioning eyes. She handed the letter to Albus, who held it so both he and Churchill could read the contents of it.

Bagnold,

Do not allow any Auror Groups to attend any call outs tonight, till further notice. Intelligence has informed us of traps being set up by the rogue followers of Grindelwald and we cannot risk our teams till it has been established that the attacks are real.

Marcus McTavish

Albus peered up from the letter. His heart was pumping fast and he could feel his blood rushing around his body. He screwed up the letter and threw it to the ground.

"The Alpha Hit Squad has gone to attend to a situation," said Albus. "It could be a trap!"

"I'll gather a team together," announced Bagnold. "I do hope that they are okay. They are my best team."

"I want to come along!" voiced Albus as he transfigured his tuxedo into his usual wear, deep purple robes with a gold trim.

"Very well Dumbledore," agreed Bagnold. "I have things to attend to Winston. I am sorry that it must end like this."

"I understand," replied Churchill who grabbed Albus' sleeve before her had chance to follow Bagnold inside. "Albus think with you head and once she is safe, think with your heart!"

"Thank you Winston!" said Albus with a smile before rushing from the balcony.

When Albus caught up with Bagnold, he found that she had assembled a small team of aurors who all looked ready for action. That came as no surprise to Albus as he knew that the aurors always looked after their own. Bagnold explained to them where Moody's team had gone and told them to be careful and to assess the situation before rushing in with wands firing. Albus, and the group of eight aurors, apparated to the spot and looked around searching for their fellow aurors. The scene before them was of destruction. Trees were on fire and the air was tainted with the smell of blood and burning skin. They moved forward slowly with their wands at the ready. They couldn't see anyone, not even the Dolor Mortis. Albus felt a sick feeling in his stomach as they moved forward. They were nearing the top of a hill when they heard shouting.

"Stick together team," cried a familiar Scottish voice that seemed to have become stronger and hardened. "Wands at the ready! Cast at will!"

Albus peered over the top of the hill to see that the Alpha squad was surrounded by a group of masked witches and wizards. Albus could make out Minerva, who was standing at the front of the small group of aurors with her wand pointing out at their attackers. The group of aurors stood in a small circle, their backs to each other. Albus could see that they were covering a fallen member of their group. A flash of bright purple flew towards Minerva and she quickly blocked the spell and sent a stream of yellow towards the masked wizard that had attacked her. Suddenly spells exploded backwards and forwards between the two sides, with the dark forces pushing forward. Albus watched as Minerva stood her ground and he admired her for that. He could hear her encouraging her team members.

"Professor Dumbledore!" came a voice from his right side. "We are going to attack in a circle formation. They won't be expecting backup. You're with me and Fletcher."

"Let's go!" said Albus as he crept forward.

As they crept up on the dark forces, they could see that several members had fallen and that the fighting was fierce. Albus dodged a jet of green light that was heading towards him and he pointed his wand at the group. He waited anxiously for the signal, which was to be given once they were all in position. The back up team joined their fellow aurors in attack mode, catching the dark army completely unaware. The Alpha Hit Squad began to push forward and soon the two ministry teams were joined and fighting side by side.

Albus lost sight of Minerva as the battle raged. Spells were being thrown around the field and bodies fell to the grass. A flash of green and black caught his attention and he noticed that Minerva had been tackled to the ground by one of the masked wizards. He didn't see what happened after that because he became engaged in a one to one battle with Grindelwald's former deputy, who was just as powerful as his former master and who bore a grudge against Albus for killing his master.

Albus fought bitterly with Andrew McFadden. He could feel his body weakening with ever spell cast and he still wasn't back to full strength after dealing with Grindelwald. And it was showing. Albus was bleeding heavily from deep wounds that had been inflicted on him by McFadden. But he kept going because he could see that McFadden was also weakening. The men were unaware of the battle going on around them. They were locked in combat and nothing else seemed to matter. The rest of the aurors had managed to overpower the rest of the Dolor Mortis and were dealing with them as Minerva stared in horror at the scene in front of her. She could tell that both men were weakening and she was looking for some way to help Albus. However, she couldn't cast any spells because the two men were fighting too closely and she may hit Albus.

Minerva could taste the metallic taste of her own blood in her mouth. She had sustained minor cuts and knew that she would be very bruised. Her emerald green robes were ripped and parts of her skin were exposed to the air. She kept her wand at the ready as she watched for the chance to join in the fight. Her chance came when McFadden stumbled to the ground. She swept forward and stood beside a weakened Albus as she fired a series of stunning spells at McFadden. Most of them were deflected but several got through his defenses. She cast again hoping to put a stop to him but as she did this, she failed to notice that a jet of red light was fired towards Albus, who wasn't prepared for it. McFadden stiffened up and his wand fell to the floor beside him as the spell hit Albus squarely in the chest. Minerva turned to look at Albus who was clutching his chest and gasping for air. He fell to the ground like a leaf falling from a branch. Minerva immediately dropped by his side, propping his head up on her lap and brushing a strand of auburn hair from his face as she called for assistance.

"Albus!" she said forcefully "Come on stay with us! This isn't you time to go!"

Albus tried to keep his eyes open. He locked eyes with her and tried to smile but he was so tired and all he wanted to do was sleep. He couldn't stay awake no matter how much he wanted to. As his eyes closed, he heard her call out his name in desperation. He tried to reply but everything went black.