Minerva sighed as she finished the seventh year essays. She removed all the hairpins from her tight bun and as her hair unwound down her back, she ran her fingers through it. She was exhausted and she didn't know how much longer she could mark without falling asleep. She has no idea what time it is and has decided that Albus deciding to come get her for dinner was not such a bad idea. She always lost track of time when she marked papers and she'd done it again. She was stiff from sitting for so long and she stood and walked to the window and looked down on the grounds of Hogwarts.

It was damp and consequently none of the students were outside. Everyone was waiting for a beautiful spring, but it was not as forthcoming as it had been in previous years. Even so, Hagrid was out in his garden tilling the soil and planting what she assumed were pumpkins for next year. She smiled. Hagrid was so dedicated and they got along well despite all the insinuations that she wasn't friendly. Hagrid was like a son to Albus and so Minerva respected the half-giant and in fact quite liked him. Minerva wrapped her arms around herself; it was chilly outside and the cold was permeating the small window she was leaning against. She was still trying to figure out what time it was and judging by the darkness it couldn't have been any later than five o'clock. Damn Minerva thought. I thought I could wrap up for the evening, but since I have an hour and a half, I should at least get going on the fifth year essays. Why do I have to be so efficient at marking? I'm too bored to be here any more, but where am I going to go? If I go Albus' office, I'll never get anything done and we definitely won't ever get to dinner. Maybe I should go for a walk through the grounds and go visit Hagrid. Minerva decided that that was a good idea and picked up her cloak of the coat rack before she exited her office.

She walked across the lawn down towards the lake and was surprised to see Severus sitting under a tree with a sketchbook on his knees. Since the downfall of Voldemort Minerva and Severus had been on much better terms. Severus didn't even realize that Minerva was there watching him which was so surprising considering he was hyper vigilant before the downfall of Voldemort. "Severus, what are you doing?" Minerva asked as she went to sit beside the man she taught once.

"Well, I was drawing, but every time I started something it always turned into a picture of Xiomara. I've been thinking that maybe it's time for me to propose to her, but I don't know how. Can you help me? I know you didn't propose to Albus, but you have to know what works and what doesn't and besides, you know Xiomara almost better than anyone else. Please, Minerva help me. Xiomara makes me so happy, but I don't want her to feel like this will ever be anything more than a fling for me. I can't let her go now; she's too important." Severus sighed. His hair was wet because he went for a swim in the lake to try and relieve some of his stress and the rain was adding to the dampness.

"Of course I'll help you. I'd be foolish not to. Xiomara's temper is almost as bad as mine is and she is beginning to get impatient with this relationship. She wants this to be more; she loves you, Severus. She desperately wants to marry you, but I understand why you're so worried. She's stubborn enough that if you don't propose soon she'll say no just to spite you. She's not a girly girl but she wants the white dress and the cake, and the guests and you. There isn't another person in the world that she would marry. For what ever reason, one that quite escapes me, she wants you Severus and trust me I've heard all the details so you don't have to tell me that she's already had you, but she wants to be able to publicly say that you're together and she wants to not have to escape after you've been together so that no one figures it out. I'm tired of seeing her coming to me in tears. I know you love her I see it in your eyes every time you look at her, but how are you going to ask her? Where do you want to take her?" Minerva smiled at her colleague. She knew he was insecure with himself especially because he wasn't sure how people would react to him being a former Death Eater, but she knew that Xiomara didn't care about that and that all she wanted was to be able to be seen together as a couple in public.

"Well, we have a favourite Chinese restaurant that I was thinking of taking her to. I was going to put the ring in her fortune cookie. I can make my own fortune cookie and slip the ring inside, but now that I've said it it sounds really corny and that's not how I want this to be. How do I make it perfect for her the way she deserves?" Severus was frustrated and he ran his fingers through his hair which didn't help his already ghastly wet appearance.

"All you have to do is say what comes from your heart. I do have a recommendation for a lovely little French restaurant in Hogsmeade that Xiomara, Poppy and I often go to for lunch. They have the most divine crème brulée for two. Xiomara will love you forever." Minerva smiled; she was thrilled that she was doing something nice for her friend.

"But I don't know anything about French food. You'd need to teach me all about French food before I could go. Maybe that's not such a good idea. I'm going to be nervous enough without having to really think about what I'm going to order for dinner." Severus was stressing already and he hadn't even bought the ring yet.

"French food is easy to learn about. Do you have any idea what kind of ring you think you want to get? I might be able to help more with that. Xiomara has talked to me a lot about that sort of thing." Minerva smiled at Severus and wondered if Albus was this stressed when he was planning to propose to her. She can imagine he was. "Did Albus talk to you about how he was going to propose before he proposed to me?"

"Yes, Albus practically drove the male staff members nuts and made the female members of staff green with envy. I think a lot of couples will be getting married now that Voldemort is really gone. They feel safer now. I know that Hagrid and Olympe are talking about it as are Irma and Argus, Poppy and Alastor and Pomona and Filius. I was thinking of getting Xiomara a ruby and diamond ring. What do you think?" Severus asked as he closed his sketchbook and placed it on the grass next to him. He wants his girlfriend's best friend's opinion. He doesn't want to do anything wrong to ruin all of this happiness.

"I think Albus and I better get dibs on the wedding date we want after all we were the first couple to get engaged. I also happen to know that Harry and Ginny and Hermione and Ron are considering getting married. I happen to know that Xiomara's favourite gemstone is a ruby. Maybe you should design a ring for her and use rubies as the main stone in the ring. She would be thrilled if you did that for her, but she doesn't like yellow gold so the band would have to be white gold or platinum." Minerva said teasing Severus, something she'd been able to do only recently.

"Thank Merlin Xiomara's best friend works here or I'd be in big trouble. I have no idea what I'm doing to be honest. Thank you for the suggestion and the help. I never thought I'd get such help from you. Of course you and Albus will get first choice of wedding dates. You've been waiting far longer than I have to get married."

"You think things over and you may come up with some more concrete ideas. Don't overthink it though. Xiomara likes to keep things simple. She doesn't like a big fuss to made of things." Minerva said as she stood up. There was a large wet spot on the back of her robes that was seeping through to her other layers. She hated that feeling, but at least her feet were dry. "I don't know if that helped or not. I hope it did."

"I'm not so sure either." Severus mumbled as Minerva walked away. Half the time he wondered if she was doing more harm than good with her suggestions.