A/N: I've been getting back into the Harry Potter fan community so much more, and I have to say that it really lifts my heart being back among you all. I have a long list of stories that I have to start creating after this. I am very excited! If anybody has plot bunnies that need babysitting, I am more than happy to oblige!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
The week was not as long as Albus supposed. With Minerva in her current physical state, there were only about nine or ten hours in the day where she was awake to spend time with Albus. Healer Doughan had returned to St. Mungo's confident in Minerva's recovery and Albus was left with only a little soreness when he awoke that morning. Poppy agreed to drop in once a day to check in on her. She also insisted on Minerva having a nap every afternoon. She talked to Bempy, a house elf who had known her well during her visits to the McGonagall mansion, and convinced her to supervise these required naps. Minerva seemed back on a healthy road to recovering her former self. She came down to breakfast the morning after Albus' return. And the entire room froze when Minerva laughed at Albus clumsily spilled chocolate milk on himself. Poppy was so overjoyed, she dabbed her eyes with her napkin, and the entire table was a bit misty eyed.
There were many discussions the couple had queued up. Albus started the first day very simply. Man and wife sat in the back garden of the estate and had a deep, healing discussion. Minerva insisted on walking down herself, despite the fact that it so clearly exhausted her to navigate the long halls of the old house. Never the less, an hour after breakfast they were seated in the garden, on a comfortable lawn-couch under a small pavilion Albus had conjured for the occasion. Albus decided to let Minerva have free reign of the conversation initially. He was simply glad to have her talking and actively interested in something. The first question was rather easy to answer:
"Albus, why were you gone so long on your press tour?" She sighed, leaning against his chest as they sat on a couch he had conjured. She looked as if she had wanted to ask something else.
"We had to cover a lot of ground, Minerva. England wasn't the only place that had been disheartened by the war." His eyes twinkled as he added. "And according to my public relations managers, I was very popular with middle-aged witches in America." He noticed her hesitation, "But that's not want you really want to ask is it?" Minerva shook her head. "Minerva, I'm your husband, your partner for life. You don't have to employ pretense with me. I understand that I have treated you terribly recently, and I deserve any sort of harsh question you might throw my way. Please, don't hold back. Today is your day alone. You say or ask whatever you need to quiet your mind and heart."
"Were these press conferences and tours more important than your wife?" She pushed up on her elbow, boldly staring him down. "You know, there were days when Neptune would listen to your broadcasts on the wireless and he be so angry, he would shatter and repair the same glass over and over again. I used to listen to them as well. One day, I was so upset with him, we got in a fight. He said I should leave you, and that you had abandoned me. I didn't believe. But you were gone at the ministry so frequently for that week after mother and father's deaths, and you left on a three week press tour. After the second week in America, I started to doubt. Why did you leave me alone so long, Albus?" there was no mistaking the chiding tone in her voice.
Albus looked for a moment as if he would cry. "Minerva, before I give my explanation (And I realize that no explanation could ever make up for my errors), I would like to apologize. I am so sorry I left you to feel abandoned. You needed me far more than I realized at that moment. I was so worried about your bodily safety; I forgot my emotional duties as a spouse." Minerva pulled close to his body, rubbing his chest to soothe him. "After that night, the Ministry contacted me, instantly. They demanded press, and floods of attention. They thought the story of your parent's death and our marriage and pregnancy would be the perfect cover page for every newspaper in the magical world. They saw it as a way to bring home the victory we had achieved. But I refused to let them in. I bargained with them. If I agreed to one solid month of any publicity engagements they could book, they must surrender all legal evidence of our marriage, and quash any rumors so that we could live in peace. In addition, no person from any media is permitted on these grounds for the next fifty years, and you are both to receive an Order of Merlin third class for your services to the magical world. I did this to protect you, to protect us from the prying of the media."
"But why didn't you at least owl?" Minerva glared, sitting up again.
"If the owl fell into the wrong hands, someone outside the Ministry, all my work would have been in vain. Any kind of international correspondence is monitored. Flooing you would have drawn attention to you at a time when you needed privacy. As it stands, my publicity team counted at least five newspaper articles speculating I was marrying five different witches. Some of them, they put out themselves, to help take the focus off of our relationship. What happened to your parents helped me realize the urgency of keeping this relationship private. Are you all right with this? I'm sorry if you're not comfortable with this level of secrecy, but I would understand."
"It's not your day to ask questions, Albus. I'll think about it, and let you know on your day to receive answers." Minerva was both playful and lightly admonishing. She was not entirely satisfied with his reasoning behind not sending owls.
"Ah! Speaking of receiving, I did not forget to write to you my love. There is a chest of letters in my trunk upstairs. They are all for you. I wrote one each day of my time away from you. I know it's not the same as receiving daily reassurance of my affection. But please keep them as a lasting reminder of my love." He smiled as Minerva dipped in for a tender kiss. This was the first time she had kissed him since his return. It was soft, tentative and he treasured it. They lay in each other's arms for quite a while, both losing track of the time. Neptune and Deirdre walked by, arm in arm, and smiled as they passed. Minerva regained more of her color by the hour.
Shortly, a house-elf popped in to ask them what they would like for lunch. This roused them from their silent reveries. Albus helped Minerva sit up. While they waited for lunch, Albus dared to help Minerva on a turn around the garden with her brother and sister-in-law. When they got back, they eagerly dove into lunch, and chatted about wedding plans. Neptune and Deirdre departed for a visit to Deirdre's family, leaving Minerva to her final question of the day.
"Darling, what happened after Gellert apparated with you? Where did he take you?" She was back at his side, her arms around him as they lay together on the couch. Albus felt her arms wrap tighter, protectively around him.
And Albus told her everything: the duels, his subsequent injury and recovery. He told her of the wonders in Grindelwald's underground palace. He even mentioned the room of the world, where he would often look down on a lonely little stretch of Scottish copse. He would stare at the same place with the stream running through the trees for days off and on, and could never remember why it was so important. He was crying by this point. Minerva would reach up frequently to wipe his tears, all the while, rubbing his chest soothingly. And he began to speak of Grindelwald's tenderness. Minerva could sense the waves of agony rolling off of him, having a former lover, now so very depraved, want him so desperately. He admitted, his face burning with shame, he had almost entirely forgotten about everything, except the occasional remembrance of Minerva. And then he told her of that night. He described the pull in the back of his mind that made him wake up and realize he had to return to the rest of the world. By this point, they were both sobbing in earnest. Minerva was alarmed, and moved by the power of their connection, and Albus was pained by the destruction of the man he had once loved. But together, they completed the story.
When it was over, Minerva sat up, tears still running down her cheeks. "Albus Dumbledore, I have never loved you more than I do at this moment. You are absolutely the most powerful wizard alive. And I am completely content that you will not abuse that power. You also have my heart. And Albus Dumbledore, you left your first true love, and broke out of one of the most impregnable forces in the entire wizard world just to return to that heart. I have never been so charmed, thrilled, or flabbergasted as I am now."
"Darling, I would do it again, to have you safe in my arms. When Gellert told me of our child, I was so worried. I knew he was not lying, but I was terrified that something had happened to you since leaving his captivity." He wiped tears from his eyes. "You have no idea how thrilled I am to know the child is still with us."
As the afternoon tea arrived, Albus noticed a twinge in his left side. But it soon passed. He and Minerva squirreled away to an afternoon siesta, and spent a subdued evening playing chess.
A/N: So much more to come! I am excited for where this story is headed!