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50. Christmas Dreams

While singing to the tune of Harold, the red-beaked Hippogriff, Filius decorated a tree with baubles in Ravenclaw colours. They even had little eagles on them that spread their wings. It was very pretty, if a little one-sided.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Minerva asked him pointedly.

"Ah, right you are." Filius turned on the stool he was standing on and pointed his wand at another tree. More baubles shot out of the tip of his wand, this time in the colours of the other three houses. Except they weren't nearly as nice and they all had to share a tree.

"That hardly seems fair either," Minerva observed.

"Well, you have to admit that Slytherin colours simply don't look as good on a green tree." Filius winked at her.

Minerva laughed. "But you know what does make for a perfect fit?" She focused on a tree to her right and decorated it with crimson baubles, golden icicles and a lion's head on the treetop that roared when it surveyed the hall. It made the eagles on Filius' baubles flap their wings in fear.

"Challenge accepted," the small Charms master said, rolling up his sleeves.

And then he showed her what excellent and incredibly fast wandwork really looked like. Both the man and the wand were a blur and Minerva had a hard time keeping up. She had studied many different areas of magic. Decorating spells were most definitely not one of them. Still, it was fun to give in to the silliness of it all. In the end, the Great Hall looked festive, to say the least.

Filius climbed down from his stool with a grin. "Good game," he said, offering her a handshake while the most beautiful little birds made from sparkling icicles circled around Minerva's head.

"Peace offering," she replied smiling. "Fancy having a drink later?"

"I'd love to. But I'm leaving the castle tonight for some… holiday festivities. Rain check?"

"Of course."

So it was only Pomona, Poppy and Minerva sitting together later that evening. They met in one of the greenhouses, which sounded like a strange choice of venue. But they had discovered that they were least likely to be disturbed in here. They even had more room than usual because Peppers, Pomona's Devil's Snare, had disappeared. Minerva had a pretty good idea where it must have relocated to.

"Filius isn't coming tonight?" Poppy asked, pouring three glasses for them.

"No, he said he would be out of the castle," Minerva told her.

Pomona smirked.

"What's so funny about that?" Poppy wondered.

"Nothing. I'm just pretty sure that he has a girlfriend."

Minerva paused before she reached for her drink. "Why are you saying that as though he's a lovesick young lad?"

Poppy snickered while Pomona rolled her eyes. "Blimey, I didn't mean it like that. I just think it's cute that he's so giddy and… glowy."

"Glowy?" Poppy repeated, confused.

"You know, that glow of new love," Pomona tried to explain her word choice.

The matron shrugged. "I don't think I even remember what that feels like anymore."

"Don't sell yourself short, Poppy. You're a catch," Pomona said, nudging her shoulder. "And you could meet someone new as early as tomorrow."

"But I already know everyone in Hogwarts," Poppy pointed out.

"Well, that is true." Pomona sipped from her glass. "Perhaps we should go on the prowl during the holidays."

Minerva nearly choked on her drink. "Most definitely not!"

While Poppy patted her back sympathetically, Pomona grinned. "Obviously you don't need to. But you could be our wingman, er, wingwoman."

"What do you mean 'I obviously don't need to'?" Minerva asked, sobering quickly.

Pomona and Poppy exchanged a furtive glance. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Yes, I really think I do."

"All right. I'd feel pretty sorry for the poor bloke brave enough to chat you up. Personally, I wouldn't want the greatest wizard of all time coming after me for intruding on his territory."

Under different circumstances Minerva would have laughed in her face. The notion of Albus acting in a fit of jealousy after having been together this long was utterly ridiculous. He would probably think it was hilarious if Minerva were to go out. But it wasn't funny to hear Pomona talk about them in that way.

"If you're referring to Professor Dumbledore…"

"Professor Dumbledore?" Pomona interrupted her, which wasn't such a bad thing because Minerva hadn't really known what she wanted to say exactly. "Now you're laying it on a bit thick, aren't you? But yes, we know, you're just colleagues and good friends." She shook her head. "Guess I would have needed to become your sister-in-law to learn the truth."

Minerva had hoped to change the subject, but she hadn't seen that one coming. "My what now?"

"Did I never tell you that I fancied Malcolm for the longest time when we went to school together?" Pomona said cheerfully. "We even snogged once when we were supposed to be studying. But it never went any further than that."

"Even if it had, I don't think I'd want to hear about that." Minerva made a face.

"Of course not, you McGonagalls don't like to overshare, do you?"

Minerva sighed. "It's not even about that. It's… complicated."

"I understand," Poppy came to her rescue. "At least I think I do. I couldn't imagine being with a man who has to take on so much responsibility. I like it when they have broad shoulders, but not so they can carry the weight of the world on them."

Minerva smiled at her, feeling the urge to hug her best friend.

Pomona looked from one to the other. "How about Hagrid then? He's an open book and he's got very big shoulders."

Poppy's brow furrowed. "I'd like to be able to reach them, though, without needing a levitation charm, mind you."

There was another reason for meeting in the greenhouses. No one could hear them laughing out here.

"You really were in love with Malcolm?" Minerva had to ask one more time.

"Sure was," Pomona nodded. "But he always knew that he wanted a family, and I could never picture myself being up the duff."

"Why not?" asked Poppy.

"Can't really say. But I've got my children right here." Pomona smiled at the plants surrounding them.

"Speaking of which, I'll be needing fresh herbs soon with the flu season still in full swing," Poppy told her.

Pomona scowled. "Oy, no talking shop!"

"You just referred to them as your children."

"Good point. And I did take excellent care of them for you, so you'll be able to cure those sniffles in no time."

And off they were, talking about different herbs. Minerva didn't mind the short reprieve and finished her drink, lost in thought.

Later that night she decided not to go into too much detail when Albus asked if she'd had a good time. He didn't expect her to anyway, and he seemed more interested in something else entirely.

"Are all the Christmas presents for the Gryffindor students ready to be sent up on Christmas morning?" he asked.

"Of course," Minerva nodded. She didn't have to do much in that regard. Family and friends sent the presents in and she only had to make sure that they were clearly marked and waiting in the right place, so the Hogwarts Christmas magic could deliver them to the correct students.

"Excellent. I just have one more parcel to add."

Usually, Minerva would have been curious about that, but tonight she was rather too tired and perhaps a little bit tipsy.

Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

Pensive, but cautiously optimistic, Albus looked at the familiar inscription of the Mirror of Erised. Harry had just left the room and so Albus had risen from the floor and returned to the desk he had sat on while he had waited for Harry to show up. It was just far enough away that Albus couldn't actually see inside the mirror.

He thought Harry had understood why the power of the Mirror of Erised was both great and terrible – as power so often turned out to be. Harry had behaved rather insightful, almost too much so, forcing Albus to lie to him. Then again, when it came to what the mirror would show him if he were to take a couple more steps towards it, he had lied to so many people in his life, even if only by omission sometimes, it had become second nature to him.

Nevertheless, he felt more appreciative of the mirror now that it actually proved to be useful to him for the first time ever. Also, he had enjoyed talking to Harry a lot more than he should have. In any case, he was rather pleased with himself. Everything he had planned for the Christmas holidays – from giving Harry the Invisibility Cloak to helping him discover the mirror – had worked out the way he had hoped it would.

Of course, there was one person he had not taken into account in all this.

Albus suddenly had a strong feeling that he was being watched, which was ironic since he had been the one doing the watching these past few nights. He turned his head and was torn between a grimace and a chuckle. Harry had left the door ajar and a cat had snuck inside on small paws that would never make a sound.

In the dark all cats were grey. But this one had eyes as green as the Scottish hills she hailed from.

"Out for a little midnight stroll, Minerva?"

In the blink of an eye, she stood before him. "This is the third night in a row you snuck out. I was worried there might be something wrong," were the first words out of her mouth to defend her actions.

He sighed. "Everything is as it should be, except that you're losing sleep over nothing."

"This doesn't look like nothing." Minerva glanced at the mirror, but she kept her back turned to it.

"Actually, that's exactly what it is. Usually. I admit right now it's of a little more importance."

"I didn't even know the Mirror of Erised actually existed, let alone that it's here in Hogwarts," Minerva said, a little stunned.

"There are probably hundreds of powerful magical objects in this castle no one knows about," Albus replied wryly. "Some of them useful, some not at all. And some can serve a very specific purpose when the sudden need for some additional protection arises."

Her eyes widened. "I'm not sure I want to know if you're saying what I think you're saying. Because then I'd have to ask you why in the name of Godric Gryffindor it's just sitting here?"

"Because it needed to. But it's done all it was supposed to do tonight." Albus slipped off the table and hesitated. "Unless, of course, you'd want to take a look? Since you're here now."

Minerva's answer was quick. "No."

"No?" Albus repeated more slowly.

"Why are you so surprised?"

"Because most people find it quite irresistible."

"Then most people are idiots," Minerva snapped. "Why would I want to look at something I can't actually have?"

Albus smiled at her sadly. Her words made it clear that she didn't expect to look into the mirror and see only her true reflection. Then again, he didn't think he had ever met anyone who could say that. "Sometimes I forget how very wise you are," he said quietly. "But would you like to talk about whatever it is you'd see?"

The same answer as before. "No."

There was a faint miaow from somewhere down the corridor, followed by Filch muttering either to himself or his cat.

"I'll deal with him," Albus said and swiftly left the room to intercept the caretaker. It hadn't been his intention to show the mirror to anyone but Harry. Minerva had acted in a way that was frustratingly and wonderfully out of his control. But that's where he was about to draw the line.

It didn't take long to send Filch on his way. When Albus returned to the room, he closed the door behind him and then stopped in his tracks.

Minerva had moved from her previous spot. She was now staring into the mirror. Her face was a mask of shock. The line between sheer joy and excruciating pain as thin as a sheet of parchment.

Albus heaved a sigh. Irresistible, indeed.

He just stood there for a moment, unable to decide if he should approach her and pull her away or not.

Apparently, Minerva was still aware enough of her surroundings that she had noticed him re-enter the room because she was the one who spoke first. "I thought… I would see my father. When he died so unexpectedly last year, I never got to say goodbye to him."

Slowly Albus walked closer. "There was no need," he told her softly. "With the kind of love the two of you shared, you were in each other's thoughts regardless. You wouldn't have needed a goodbye that is always fleeting anyway."

She didn't respond and just kept staring.

He should have left her to it. And he definitely shouldn't have asked her to tell him what she was seeing if she didn't want to. But he found that he absolutely could not bear it any longer.

Albus stepped up to the mirror and wrapped his arms around Minerva from behind, breaking the spell and shattering the mirror's vision. Minerva slumped in his arms, thankful for his embrace, or so he chose to believe. Then he felt how she struggled to pull herself together and to straighten up again. But he wouldn't let her.

"Please," he whispered into her ear. He didn't need to explain what he was asking for.

Minerva drew a shaky breath. "I saw… our daughter. She was… magnificent. Smart as a whip, talented beyond measure and so very kind and generous. And beautiful. Those blue eyes…" She turned around in his arms, looked up at his eyes and then burrowed her head into his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," he said, kissing the top of her head, feeling a familiar guilt creep up on him. "For taking her away from you."

Minerva pulled away to be able to face him. "But you gave her to me in the first place."

"I gave you an idea. Sometimes an idea can be even more powerful – and painful – than reality. Which is why this mirror is more dangerous than it looks and why I didn't mean for you to come here tonight."

She shook her head and raised a hand to caress his cheek. "I'm all right. No one can have everything, and all things considered, I gained more than I lost."

He marvelled at her, as he had done countless of times and would likely never stop doing. "You were always made of sterner stuff than me."

"I don't know about that. But let's go before I have the chance to prove you wrong." Minerva took his hand and headed towards the door.

He followed her willingly. It was Minerva who stopped one more time. He was ready to nudge her gently forward when she said, "What about you? Don't you want to see her?"

They both knew that she was talking about a different 'her'. While Minerva saw life, he saw death. One of the many reasons why she was so much better than him.

"No. I would rather make up for sneaking out these past couple of nights, as you've called it," he replied, mustering a rueful smile. "If you don't mind."

Minerva's grip on his hand tightened and she pulled him away with her.