Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

A/N: I just wanted to say thank you to those who have reviewed my story. I love all my reviews and you, my reviewers. Thanks very much.

Chapter Nine: Comfort Food…

Minerva sighed as she once again forced herself to fight back tears. How could her father do such a thing? Forcing Albus to play a game of Quidditch with perhaps the most ruthless non-professional Quidditch players in the U.K. was not the kindest thing to do. She sat down softly next to Albus, who was lying upon the couch, his feet up and his right hand gingerly touching his nose.

"Here," she whispered. He looked at her and took his hand away as she placed an ice pack gently upon his nose. He winced slightly and she jumped, gasping somewhat. She frowned as he relaxed and placed a little more pressure onto his nose. "I'm so sorry, Albus. I should have insisted that Father not make you play." He smiled.

"It's alright, Min." He smiled. "At least my speech impediment is gone now." Minerva chuckled slightly as she shifted the pack so that it fit squarely upon his nose.

"No, it is not alright. He just does not know when to stop. He's done this to every one of my boyfriends." Albus' smile grew a little wider as he attempted to look at her from around the ice pack.

"Well, I guess I should be thankful that he has because then I would never have had the chance to have you for myself." Minerva smiled warmly at him as tears filled her eyes.

"Yes, well, I only hope he does not do the same with you," she replied. He reached out and took her free right hand.

"Oh no, my dear," he whispered. "I am not going anywhere." He moved his head slightly and she pulled the ice pack away from his face so he did not injure himself further. He pulled her hand closer to his face and he kissed it tenderly, wincing a bit as his nose brushed against her hand in the process.

"I am glad to hear it," she replied. "Lay back down." He did as he was instructed and she replaced the pack. They stayed that way for a few moments, just silently enjoying these few precious moments they had together. It was Albus who finally broke the silence.

"Does your father really dislike me so much that he wishes to be rid of me?" Minerva jumped at the sudden, though not wholly unexpected, question. The thing that scared her most about the question was the resigned sound in Albus' voice as he asked it. Was he giving up on her already? She immediately felt pain enter into her heart.

"Please don't ask that," she whispered. She looked to her lap as she tried to cover her tear-ridden eyes. Albus quickly moved a hand her hers.

"I did not mean it in the way it came out, Minerva," he said comfortingly. He half sat, half lounged, upon the couch, forcing her to move her hand away from his face, along with the pack. "I am sorry if it came out sounding cruel or unloving. I just want to make this weekend a special one. I want your father to like me for the man I am, and I want him to appreciate that I want nothing but the best for you. As your father, surly he cannot fault me that, can he?" She chuckled slightly, still looking at her lap.

"No, I suppose not," she replied. She had begun wringing her hands nervously. "I know you did not mean anything by it, but my father is always doing things like this. I just wish he would stop." Albus nodded. He reached over and lifted her chin so that she looked at him. "If I ever have a daughter, I beg of you to remind me of your father every time she brings a possible boyfriend over." They both laughed. Minerva leaned over and kissed him on the lips, but pulled back suddenly when she heard him mumble 'ouch' against her lips.

Ooooooooooo

"I told you, Hera, it was an accident," sighed Aires, huffing and rolling his eyes in exasperation. He was pacing at the foot of the bed as Hera talked to him from the bathroom. She was changing into her fourth outfit for the day.

"An accident which came compliments from one of your teammates," she called from the bathroom.

"Albus is a grown man, he knows what comes with playing Quidditch," frowned Aires. He finally stopped pacing, leaning against the bed somewhat, his back to the bathroom.

"Oh, Aires, must you antagonize him so?" Aires turned around as he heard his wife walking out of the bathroom, this time dressed in a pantsuit of a medium green. Aires mentally shook his head. He never knew what Hera found so fascinating about those bloody muggle pantsuits that some women wore. He did like muggle fashions; he had to admit, but honestly. Those pantsuits were bloody awful. But he decided she put enough of his strange muggle interests that he should simply let her have her interests. She did act with them, anyway.

"I don't antagonize him," he said haughtily. "I am merely making sure that Minerva receives a man, not a mouse. She deserves the best."

"And she will get the best, if you'd only give Albus half a chance," replied Hera as she now stood at her vanity mirror and, leaning into the mirror, checked her make-up.

"What would you have me do, Hera?" he asked. "Hand her over to the first greasy man who claims to love her as he mentally imagines her without her robes on? Don't think I haven't forgotten about that-that-that 'derriere' man." Hera smiled at Aires' reflection.

"Yes, he was rather pitiful, wasn't he?" she laughed. She turned to look at him. "But Albus is not like that. I can tell. And perhaps you should give him the chance. I know it might be painful to let her go, especially to a man older than yourself, but who knows? Perhaps that means he is more grown up than you are."

"I-," Aires stopped as Hera's words had their full impact. He scowled at her and she smiled, making a grab for the green feathered fan he was holding out for her. He pulled it back.

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"What do you think it means?" she asked, that smile never leaving her face. She snapped her fingers and the fan flew out of his right hand and into her left one. "Now come, Aires, it is time we headed for the lake. We promised the kids we'd go out there for a swim, did we not?" And in one fluid movement, she opened the fan and fanned herself, walking out of the room. Aires stood there a moment, thinking. Then, he frowned as he looked after her.

"Did you mean to say that I was a kid?" he asked. Then, he nodded somewhat before he followed her. "Well, I suppose I am when you compare our ages…" And with that, their bedroom door closed, Aires not fully able to let go of his wife's comment.

Ooooooooooo

Swimming in the McGonagall Lake went surprisingly smooth, with the exception of the brief ten seconds when everyone panicked because they had lost sight of little T'ari. But then she surfaced and spit water everywhere, giggling about how long she could stay under water for so long. This earned her some laughs from most of the family, followed closely by two lectures from her father, one about how she should never scare him like that again and one about how she should not take any water from the lake into her mouth lest she swallow some on accident. Although she knew what she had done scared everyone, she could not help the smile spreading upon her face.

By the time everyone reached the house again a few hours later, dusk had fallen and everyone had claimed to be incredibly hungry. So, the all agreed to go and change into their evening clothes and go to the surprise Aires had arranged with a few of their neighbors.

Ooooooooooo

"Albus?" Minerva knocked timidly knocked upon his door.

"Come in," he called out. She entered and smiled as she saw he had donned on some sensible dark blue robes.

"Alright, who are you and what have you done with Albus Dumbledore?" she joked as she walked up to him.

"It is I, my dear," he laughed as he placed his hands upon her waist and she rested her arms around his neck.

"Are you sure? If you were the real Albus Dumbledore, you would no doubt be wearing bright yellow or a ghastly puke green."

"Alright, ask me something only Albus Dumbledore would know," he dared her. She thought a minute before smiling.

"Alright, you imposter, answer me this: Where did we go on our first date?" He chuckled.

"Lapideux's in Paris," he replied. She nodded.

"Alright, I suppose it is you, since we went incognito and there is no way anyone else would know of it."

"So glad I could prove it to you," he replied. They laughed.

"How is your nose?" she asked. He touched it gently.

"It is better, I suppose, if not a bit sore," he replied. "I thank your father's healer friend who came and fixed it. I am a bit sad, though, that it could not be fixed completely." Minerva felt bad for him. She placed a loud kiss upon his nose.

"I don't mind at all," she replied. "The nose does not make the man."

"I am glad you think so," he said. He leaned down and they kissed. It started out innocently enough, but began to grow in intensity. Another knock broke the enchantment.

"Are you ready, Albus?" Aires called from the other side. Albus was about to answer when he heard Hera's voice berating her husband.

"Dear, if he was ready, he would be out here by now."

"Are you sure?" he asked. Then, as if by some added thought, he asked, "Have you seen Minerva?"

"Stop implying, Aires, and let's go. Perhaps Minerva is already waiting for us. Or perhaps she is not ready yet. Wherever she is, let us go and allow Albus to finish getting ready, if he's even in there still. I noticed he hasn't answered. Albus went to say something when Minerva pressed one hand to his mouth, stopping him, and then pressing one finger to her lips, silencing him further. There were a few moments of silence before Aires was heard again.

"Albus?" He knocked on the door once again.

"Oh, come now, Aires, let us go. Perhaps they are already downstairs. Let's go." With that, Albus and Minerva could hear the shuffling of feet as Aires, no doubt being pulled away by Hera, walked away. Minerva smiled and nodded towards the closet.

"Come on," she said. "I know a shortcut." She pulled Albus into the closet, pushed aside the two or three other robes Albus had brought with him, and rapping on the back wall three times with her right hand. Before Albus could ask, the wall slid to the left and a stairway appeared. Minerva looked at him and smiled again before she pulled on his hand.

"Hogwarts is not the only place with secrets…"

Ooooooooooo

Albus could not believe the intricate stairways which lay in the McGonagall Manor. When Minerva had dragged him down the stairs, there suddenly appeared a great circular room, with at least twelve or fifteen stairways going up and down in different directions, plus the one they had just vacated. Albus looked around in awe.

"Where do all these lead to?" he asked.

"There are about fifteen in all. Twelve of them lead to each of the rooms. One leads to an emergency escape route, which leads all the way to the main road. That escape route was built during Grindlewald's reign, in case we needed to make an escape and get off the grounds completely. The last two lead outside as well, but we're still on McGonagall land. One leads to the McGonagall Lake. When you get to the end, you are underneath the Great Lake itself. Once there, you cast the appropriate spells and a protective bubble surrounds you. The bottom opens up and you levitate through the lake and onto the surface. The bubble then leads you to the edge where you can safely, and dryly, set foot on land."

"That is ingenious," smiled Albus as he looked around. "How do you stop the tunnel from flooding when the bubble sized hole opens up?"

"A simple levitation spell that keeps the water up just long enough for the bubble and its passengers to get through." Albus nodded.

"So where does the last one lead to? You said you come out on the McGonagall lands as well, right?" Minerva nodded.

"The last one comes out to the center of the McGonagall maze," she said. Albus looked at her and frowned. "We only created that one so if anyone we did not like were to find out about these passages, they would be led to the maze. You see?" She pointed to two signs, one right next to each other. Albus hadn't noticed any signs on any of the others. One sign said "To Maze" and the other one said "Exit". "We switched them. We took down the other ones during the war so any intruders or unwanted visitors were to come, they could not tell whose room was where. Once inside the maze, the person cannot retreat back to the tunnel for a barricading spell is cast and the person is then suspended in mid air as though an invisible rope were holding around his or her middle. It the person thinks of escaping, a giant lion will find its way to the center and guard the person from escaping."

"That is the smartest things I've seen in a private home," Albus praised. Minerva winked.

"Yes, well, my father is a smart man. At least about some things." She jumped. "Father… Let's go, Albus." She tugged at his hand and pulled him hurriedly along the corridor that was just to the left of the stairway which lay straight ahead of the one they had come out of.

It would later be speculated that it was the fastest either one had run.

Ooooooooooo

Albus and Minerva had just made it before Hera and Aires entered the room. Though Aires suspected something, he did not say anything, if not for lack of proof than for lack of willingness to start a row with the McGonagall women.

So, it was with the arrival of Hermes, Mercury, and T'ari that they all set off to the picnic, which Aires would later deny he had anything to do with as far as plans were concerned. But Hera knew her husband and, choosing not to say anything, merely smiled. Albus smiled as he looked at four wooden tables, each set for people to eat. There were also many people already there, all sitting around and laughing together. T'ari immediately took off to play with the other children.

"Hey, Aires is here," someone called out and there were immediate cheers. Aires smiled warmly and waved to everyone. Albus smiled at the sight. Aires was obviously a well loved man. He looked over at the food table. Wow, it all looked so good, and so very comforting.

"Hello, everyone!" Aires called out. Everyone continued to shout hello at each other.

"Albus, if you would rather-," Minerva did not have time to finish her sentence. Before she knew what was happening, she felt two strong arms grab her from behind and carry her bridal style to the front of the McGonagall group. The man, whom Albus did not know at all, set her down and shouted, "Hi, Minnie," and, without another word, kissed her squarely upon the mouth. Minerva opened her mouth to scream, but this only allowed for the unknown man to deepen the kiss.

A/N2: AND… SCENE! (bows). I shall now leave before you all stampede out of my computer and attempt to kill me… Exit stage right…. (runs away). Read long and prosper. Always Hopeful