Warning: Contains implied Pottermore spoilers about Minerva's past. But it is a happy ending, I assure you.

"Good evening, Minerva. Please shut the door behind you."

"Of course. Good evening, Albus."

Albus stood up and offered a seat across from him for Minerva.

"Thank you for coming tonight. Can I offer you something to drink? Tea? Coffee?...Eggnog?"

Albus flicked his wand once every time he spoke. Goblets of tantalizing drink hovered over his desk.

"Since this is the holiday season, I think eggnog would be suitable, thank you." Minerva gracefully accepted the creamy drink. Albus smiled lightly and a glass appeared for himself. He watched her as she lifted the crystal goblet to her thin lips and took a sip.

"Minerva…I…"

"Yes, Albus?"

"Well…I…er…I will be quite frank with you. I wanted to ask you why you declined my offer the first time I asked you."

Minerva was silent for a moment, though Albus knew she understood what he meant.

"I have told you my reasons, Albus," she replied eventually in an even tone.

"But that was not all, was it, Minerva?" Albus peered at her shrewdly over his half moon spectacles.

"You can tell me, Minerva. Are we not friends? I trust you, and I hope you trust my confidence."

Minerva laced her fingers around her goblet and a small frown puckered her smooth forehead. The longest pause permeated the serene surroundings of the office.

"Yes, Albus," she whispered at last. "I trust you…and your trust in me is so valuable to me…that I cannot bear to hurt you."

"Go on," he urged her gently.

"Deceit would only hurt you and I both. You see, I…Albus, when I was very young, I fell in love with a Muggle boy."

"Yes?"

"He…had no idea what I was."

"What you…?"

"A filthy, despicable witch," she spat, her expression crumpling slightly.

"He loved me so innocently, so irrevocably, that I knew I could not deceive him. He…proposed to me in a field of daises, and looked at me so trustingly, his large brown eyes begging me to accept him. But before I could do so, I had to tell him the truth about myself. I deliberated…and finally screwed up my courage one day to knock on his door and break the ice."

"Surely he understood?"

Minerva gave a brittle laugh and shook her head.

"No. He sl-slammed the door in my face and crushed my hope that he c-could have ever loved me."

"Oh Minerva," Albus spoke, softly.

"Please do not say my name like that. It is in the past…and as you say: 'Never look back.'"

"You have astounding courage, my dear. I commend you for that. But do you think I would do the same to you?"

"I am a fool, Albus. I am afraid to love again, to risk heart break again."

"But do you?" Albus pressed.

Minerva set her glass down and clasped her hands quietly in her lap.

"No," she finally whispered, gazing up at him.

"I have had over half a century to ascertain my conviction that I truly, truly love you, Minerva. If you are not ready…I can wait. But please…please do consider…"

"Could we keep this secret then, Albus?"

"I…of course, if you so desire. But does this mean…?"

"Yes, Albus. I do love you. But I do not want to hurt you."

"You can never really hurt the people who love you the most."

"But…just to be sure…"

"Marry me, Minerva."

"It…It's yes, darling."