Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with Harry Potter and if you think for one second that I am ever going to… Can you please write to JK Rowling and tell her? LOL!

A/N: Okay, today is the last day of my two weeks so I am in a rush to write this. Please forgive me if it is not good. Peace out.

Chapter Six: A Nightly Stroll and More…

Minerva walked alongside the great lake which made its residency upon the land of the McGonagall clan. She rarely came out to the lake by herself, especially at night. It seemed as though her animagus form had given her an unnatural fear of large bodies of water. But she needed to think, and this was the best place to do so. She had walked halfway around and stared across the vast body of water. She looked past the lake, up the hill and at the large McGonagall estate, where her father was undoubtedly still giving Albus the third degree. She sighed. How was she going to get through this weekend? She had thought that perhaps her father would have liked the idea of his only daughter being matched with such a powerful wizard. But it seemed as though she had been seriously wrong.

She leaned against the great oak tree and looked up. Many summers of her childhood had been spent underneath the large, green canopy of leaves which now sheltered her from the night sky. Reading, playing, laughing, and swinging on the swing which was big enough for two had always been her favorite things to do as a kid, especially with her father. They had been as thick as thieves from the time she was born. To think that after all these years he no longer trusted her judgment really hurt her. How could he not think that she knew what she wanted?

She pushed herself up from the tree rather un-ladylike and walked to the water's edge. The warm summer air could be seen dancing through the blades of grass which surrounded the lake while the sweet smell of summer assaulted her nostrils. She couldn't help the small, sad smile which spread across her lips. She closed her eyes and allowed her senses to be taken over. Summer was her favorite season, there was no doubt about that. Everything about it made her feel happy, warm, and alive. Swimming in the lake… Reading anywhere and everywhere she pleased, as long as it was in the sun… Spending time wither her brothers… Her mother and all her melodramatic ways… Her father…

The small smile soon died as she was once again brought back to the present. Opening her eyes, she could feel the tears threatening once again. She had never before doubted her father's ability to be fair and just, like he had always been. That is, until now. She had always thought that since she was his daughter he would be much more generous with his word and ten times more apt to take her side. But why, then, did it seem that just when she wanted his approval the most he seemed to turn from her and ignore her pleas for fairness? Perhaps she couldn't really complain. He was, after all, giving Albus a chance to prove his love. That was a start!

She jumped when she felt a hand upon the small of her back and a pair of lips grazing the sensitive spot beneath her ear.

"Sickle for your thoughts, my love?" She looked up into the sparkling blue eyes of the man she loved. She relaxed and smiled at him.

"I'm just wondering why you have not run away screaming," she replied as she looked back at the water. She walked a few feet away, leaving his gentle touch behind. She did not think she could hold her composure for too much longer if she were to speak her feelings while he held her. She did not want to cry in front of him.

"Is that what you want me to do?" Albus joked back as he remained rooted to his spot. He knew she just needed a little space. She stopped and stared at her reflection for a few seconds before speaking, not once looking back at him.

"Of course not, Albus," she replied. "I suppose I am just surprised, that's all. Any boyfriend I have brought home thus far has not been able to stand my family, least of all my father."

"I find them to be quite… charming," Albus replied. Minerva looked over her shoulder at him and smiled before looking back at her own reflection.

"I figured you would," she teased back. By now, she had begun to wring her hands together and Albus could sense her nervousness. He walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Are you worried I will not pass your father's test?" he asked, knowing perfectly well that was the reason for the way she was acting. Minerva turned and faced him.

"I have no doubt of your abilities to win over my father," she replied. "I am merely worried about my father's ability to admit defeat." Albus nodded.

"Anything else?" he asked. Minerva looked down at her hands and thought about lying until he lifted her chin with his right hand and looked her square in the eyes. She could never lie to him. Especially not when she loved him so. They had promised each other at the start of their courtship to be absolutely honest with one another… No exceptions. Her bottom lip quivered.

"I am worried that my father will never allow me to live my own life. I fear that I am doomed to be bound to him for the rest of my life, or at least, for the rest of his life. But even after he dies, I fear he will find some way to control what I do and how I think. And I don't like it one bit, Albus." Tears began to leak from the corners of her eyes as Albus cupped her face in both his hands and gently wiped them away. "I love my father and always have, but I want the chance to live my own life and make my own choices. But my father has this annoying way of making his presence in my life known. I am so scared that he will find some way to drive you away and it hurts me to think that he will if he can." She placed both her hands over his and pulled them from her face before kissing each of his palms and looking back up to him.

"I just want to say I am sorry for anything he may say or do ahead of time. He is not the easiest man to get along with and I know this better than anyone. I get my stubbornness from him, as well as my temper. If I know him, he's already done or said something to make you rethink your decision to be with me." It was at this point that she had dropped her head and stepped back. As she turned to walk away, he grabbed her right hand and stopped her. Minerva looked at him with a confused look upon her face. Her heart beat faster as he pulled her closer to him and placed his right hand upon her waist, keeping his left hand in hers.

"I am still here, am I not?" With that, he leaned in and placed a chaste kiss upon her lips. When he pulled back, he could see the tears streaking from her eyes, though he knew they were tears of joy. Before he knew it, she leaned up and kissed him passionately upon the lips. She pulled back only slightly to tell him that she loved him, and his only response was to kiss her back. The kiss spoke volumes and afterward they just held onto each other, his chin resting upon the top of her head.

"Please don't give up on my, Albus," she pleaded after a long pause. "No matter what happens this weekend, please promise me that you will not give up on me." He smiled as he rubbed her back with one hand and rubbed the back of her head with the other.

"I would never give up on you, my love," he said. "Let your father do what he will. He can't keep me away from you."

"And what if he disapproves of you?" she asked as she looked up at him with sorrowful eyes. He smiled down at her as he took the hand which had previously been on the back of her head and placed it on her cheek.

"Then I shall whisk you away to a place where we can be together forever and no one can say anything about us." He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"You do realize that if we did my father would hunt us down, right?" she asked, though she was smiling. He chuckled.

"Let him try," was Albus' response. They stood there in utter silence, neither one saying a word. They just wanted to be together, in this moment, without any interruptions.

And yet, through it all, Minerva could not stop the nagging feeling she felt that something horribly wrong was going to happen this weekend. She mentally shook her mind as she forced such thoughts from her mind. Right now, she would just enjoy what little time she had with Albus, the only man she had ever loved.

Ooooooooooo

Aires entered the bedroom he shared with Hera. He sighed as he closed and locked the door, a habit he had gotten into some time ago for reasons which he had forgotten. He saw Hera sitting at her vanity mirror, rubbing lotion upon her hands. This was a nightly ritual for her, in an attempt to keep her skin 'youthful', as she put it. The look of annoyance she gave him in the reflection of the mirror was enough to tell him that she had seen and heard a good deal of the conversation in the study. His face flushed, but the frown remained.

"I did the right thing, asking him those questions," he frowned as he moved towards the adjoining bathroom and switched on the light. He had always enjoyed muggle electricity and preferred it to candles. This way, no wax was needed.

"Oh, of course you did, dear," responded Hera, not once getting up from her spot. She picked up a powder puff and began to powder her shoulders what was exposed of her chest. "It's most important to ask our daughter's boyfriend if he's bedded her yet." She powdered the puff even more and moved on to her neck. Aires continued to talk from the bathroom as he proceeded to change into his nightwear.

"Please, do not speak to me in that condescending tone," he sighed. He came out, donned in a pair of tartan pajama pants and a bathrobe over, though it was not tied. He turned the light off and made his way to his side of the bed, which was the one closest to the door and the bathroom. As he turned down his side, Hera placed the powder back upon the table and moved on to a white cream which she used to rub upon her face.

"I was not speaking to you in a condescending tone, Aires," she replied. "I was merely saying that it was rude of you to ask about his and Minerva's relationship on the first night. Besides, it is not our business whether or not he and Minerva have been together. She is a grown woman who can make her own decisions and if she chooses to partake in such activities before she is married, then that is all on her."

"And what if she turns up pregnant and Albus does not wish to help her with it? What of it then, Hera?" Aires was all but hissing as he came to stand behind his wife. Hera glared at his reflection.

"Then we help her and hope that she has learned her lesson," she replied. Aires let out a disgusted grunt as he rolled his eyes. "Oh, Aires, stop it. Albus seems like a good man who would not harm our darling Minerva in any way. You can see it in his eyes that he loves her and wants nothing but to be with her." She turned around in her seat and stared at him. "Why don't you give him a chance, Aires? You might be surprised." He stared at her, his gaze boring into hers.

"Or I may be right in my assumption that he will not love her in the way she deserves to be loved," he replied.

"But you do not know until you give him a chance," responded Hera. She stood and placed her left hand on his right cheek. "Give him a chance, dear. And who knows? Perhaps you two can be good friends by the time this weekend is over." Aires sighed and turned his head to kiss the palm of his wife's hand.

"It will be hard, but if you ask me to, I suppose I could try." Hera smiled.

"Now there's the man I know and love," she replied, kissing him on the lips. She pulled back. "Come, let's go to bed." She turned and walked seductively towards the bed and Aires smiled. He knew that walk. But despite this, he could not help the nagging feeling that perhaps something wrong was going to happen. But he decided that, at least for now, he would push those thoughts aside and follow his wife to bed.

A/N2: Okay, so I am sorry if this sucks but like I said, I just did this off the top of my head and am in kind of a hurry to get it posted so that I don't go past my two week notice. Oh, and I now have a job working at the local old folks home, so if I don't make it in two weeks or less please forgive me. Peace out. Read long and prosper. Always Hopeful