There she was, her thin graceful figure leaning against the doorway, her head resting on her hand, her flowing black hair cascading down her back.
She looked in at her sleeping boys. They were handsome even so young. They would make her and Albus proud some day, she knew it, if only… but he couldn't, he had owed too much to his country, his kind. He owed it to Jonny and Poppy.
He couldn't see her face, but she was beautiful still. He embraced her from behind and smoothed the hair away from her ear.
"Minerva darling, what are you thinking about?" He whispered gently. She sniffed and shuddered for a second.
"My darling, you've not been crying again have you?"
"No," came the reply, but it was shaky and more than a little unconvincing.
"What's wrong, love?"
"You can't go again," she said softly looking up.
Her look nearly broke his heart, her green eyes pleading wordlessly. He looked up to break her soulful gaze.
"Please…"
"I'm going with you," she said softly, looking back at the sleeping children. She said it as a fact.
He looked at her incredulously. He searched her face to see if this was just a whim or if she was serious. But her face was stern, she had meant it.
She took a shuddering breath and walked away from the door leaving his arms empty and him staring in the doorway at the boys.
He turned and watched she walked into their bedroom and shut the door.
"Minerva," he started, following her into the bedroom and shutting the door behind him.
She sat on the bed, removing her house slippers.
"You can't do this…"
"Can't do what?"
"You can't come with me!"
"Why not?" she said still calmly although he could see her jaw grinding.
"You can't… leave the… the home and the children alone,"
"They," she said sitting erect, "Will not be alone."
"My dear woman…"
"My mind is made up, Albus," she said softly.
"Alright," he said grabbing her hand, "Why?"
"Why what?" she said shrugging and avoiding his gaze.
"Don't play dumb with me," he said cupping her cheek and turning her face back to him, but her eyes looked at her hands, "You're much too smart for that,"
"I don't…"
"Minerva, look at me when you're talking to me,"
But she didn't look up.
"Why are you coming with me?" he asked again.
"I…" she turned her head away from him.
He sighed heavily.
"It's just…" she tried again.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Remember…" she stopped again.
He was getting exasperated, "Yes Minerva, I always remember… What was it that I always remember again…? I daresay I've quite forgotten,"
She looked up finally at his laughing blue eyes, but her lips stayed in a tight line. She quickly diverted her eyes back to her palms. Her nails needed trimming, they were getting too long, but then again, cats never do like their nails short.
"Albus… I'm trying…"
"Not very hard, you're not,"
"Really!"
"What is it, Minerva?" he said getting serious again.
"Remember… it wasn't… but a few months ago when you… when you were gone so long… remember?"
"To war?"
"That was years ago darling, I'm talking about all the time spent at the ministry and I accused you of… Oh Merlin! I accused you of… seeing another woman? You don't know… you… How I felt… I… It could have killed me, the anguish I was in over the mere thought… I'm not jealous now, and I never will be again… I swear it… but it wasn't so much the thought of an affair as the fact that… well, if it was, I may never… have… been close to you… I wouldn't see you again every day… And yes! The War? Remember? I couldn't stand being away from you so much that my subconscious disapparated me to you?
"And then… we are connected, you know… emotionally… psychologically… I saw him too… you know… I saw him fall to the ground… I don't know how… some magical… connection thing… well, of course it's magical… I don't think I could stand it again… and what if… what if it happens again? What if I go to you or something and challenge the mission even further or… maybe they capture you and I see… well, let's not think of that… and maybe all this is a trap… a trap to get you, to get others to…"
"I know that, Min…"
"After all these years… don't CALL me that!"
He shrank back, "sorry."
She was getting irritable and he could tell.
Please, please calm down he prayed silently.
She took a deep breath.
"I must come with you, don't you understand…"
"Alright, alright, you may come with me. I don't know why I'm conceding to this. It's going to be terribly dangerous."
She didn't smile, but merely nodded. He kissed her forehead and she tucked her feet up into bed and rolled over but did not go to sleep, not for a long while, too many doubts played themselves over and over again in her head.
"Albus?" she said, long after he was asleep, "Albus, I love you."
"Together?" asked Harold Drake, the Minister of Magic at the time, "Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall? Both of you?"
"What's wrong with that? We both have Auror training," Albus said placidly.
"Yes, but, but, but…"
"What?"
"Well, let's face it, you two have not always gotten along in the best of terms… are you sure that…?"
Minerva suppressed a smile, "Sir, this will be dangerous. I'm sure that the Professor will need accompaniment."
"I will not!" he said, his eyes twinkling with merriment.
"There you go again," she said crossing her arms, "Behaving childishly!"
"I am not!" he said, his eyebrows furrowed and frown on face.
"Honestly… See, Mr. Drake? He could never take this mission alone… he's too much of a child at heart.Those Germans would have him in two seconds, he needs someone serious to..."
"I do not! I'm perfectly capable of…"
"Albus! Minerva! See? You can't go a minute without fighting, are you sure…?"
"Not anymore I'm not! I'm not even sure I want to go! I'm not mature enough!"
"Honestly!" she repeated, "You're making it sound as if you can't even cross the street without someone holding your hand,"
"Miss McGonagall, Dumbledore, are you two sure you want to go together?"
"I don't need anyone else with me," he said crossing his arms, "I can do this by myself!"
"See how self-assured he is? You know what they say; pride comes before a fall,"
Mr. Drake looked uncertainly from one to the other, unsure what to say, "I think," he started uneasily, "That maybe you had better go with him Minerva, he is behaving strangely,"
"That's good, someone has to keep their head in the chaos," she said smiling victoriously. But Dumbledore remained sulky, protesting, "I can do it by myself,"
"Now, now, Dumbledore, come along, how about we go out and get a nice butterbeer and discuss our plans," she said, her eyes now smiling.
"Oh! Yes! Your plans! Here are your passports for international apparation and ah yes, your tickets for traveling… you'll be, quite unfortunately, taking a muggle train when you reach German boarders, I hope you've bought some Dr. Doolittle's Automatic Mental Translators, if not, you'll need to buy some if you don't already know German and French…"
"I know French, and he knows German,"
"Good then, you start next week,"
"Ha!" he said as they exited the building, "I knew my plan would work,"
"Yes, dear, it was very smart. I can't imagine how people haven't guessed we're married yet," she said happily.
"Well, you are a very good actress, why didn't you go into theatrics?"
"I married you, remember?"
"Ah yes, I seem to remember that day quite well,"
"That's dramatic enough, don't you think?"
"Yes, HEY!"