82. Unbroken

Minerva woke up thinking it must have all been a terribly bad dream. The other side of the bed was cold and empty, but that didn't worry her. It didn't mean that Albus was sick. It meant that he was still the same terrible sleeper and early riser he had always been. She hurried to get out of bed and got dressed.

But Albus wasn't waiting for her in the sitting room and his study was empty as well. Panic began to creep up on her again, even though Minerva tried to reason with herself. Albus couldn't be in serious distress as long as Fawkes was dozing peacefully on his perch in the corner. It was silly and yet Minerva envied him. She couldn't possibly be as calm and relaxed as the phoenix. After last night she felt out of touch with herself. Helpless, untethered.

The door opened and Albus walked in, balancing a breakfast tray in the air in front of him. "Ah, you're already awake. I thought we might have breakfast in bed, but we can have it anywhere you like." He shot her a smile as he directed the tray to sink slowly onto his desk.

Looking from the lavish breakfast up into Albus' face Minerva asked, "You were down in the kitchens?"

"Yes, I wanted to ask Dobby if he'd be willing to keep an eye on Kreacher. He was kind enough to agree and of course he wouldn't let me make breakfast for us myself. In fact, they all insisted on helping, so I hope you're hungry." Albus paused and took in her expression properly. "Are you all right?"

"I've never been further from all right," Minerva replied, her voice ringing. "I'm losing my mind here, Albus! I was worried that you could have dropped dead somewhere when you were really just busy arguing whether we would like our eggs poached or scrambled."

"Oh, always scrambled," Albus quipped. "Life is too short not to enjoy the small things even if they're a little unhealthy." He gave a low chuckle but stopped when he saw the way Minerva clenched her jaw in anger and hurt. "Ah, never mind. I was merely trying to add some levity to the situation."

"Levity?" she spat. "Do you really think it's appropriate to make light of your own death?"

"I think that if we keep talking about it every second of every day, I might just as well die right now because we won't actually do any living," Albus explained, any trace of humour gone. His sudden seriousness soothed some of Minerva's anger and she had to concede that he had a point. Albus' voice softened further. "I will do whatever you need me to do. If you need to talk about it, then we will talk about it. But for me, being with you is the only temporary remedy. And I want to make the most of it, especially since I can't have it as often as I would like."

He moved closer and reached out to touch her. Minerva flinched and jerked away from the blackened, dead skin of his hand that she wasn't used to seeing. The feel of it, usually so familiar, was now foreign to her. It reminded her that it had not been a bad dream after all.

"I'm sorry," Albus said quietly while he dropped his hand and took a step back from her. He couldn't hide the wounded expression in his eyes. He probably thought that she was still too upset to allow any intimacy between them or worse that she was repulsed by him.

Minerva realised that she had to make a decision. She couldn't run and hide from this, nor could she keep dwelling on it. That would only hurt them more in the long run. She had to at least try to accept this as their new reality. She had to be brave and find a way to laugh about Albus' jokes without fearing that they could be the last ones he would ever tell. And she absolutely could not let him think that withdrawing from her was the right answer.

Taking the step forward that Albus had just retreated, Minerva reached for his burned hand. She pressed a kiss to the back of it, then to his palm and slowly to each of his fingertips. At first it was hard for her to hold back the sting of tears as she felt the roughness, the wrongness of his shrivelled skin brush against her lips. But then she remembered that this hand and the man it belonged to had touched and comforted and loved her more times than she could count. How that made her feel hadn't changed one bit.

She saw a shudder pass through Albus and quickly looked up at him. "Am I hurting you?"

He smiled at her easily. "If you are, then this is truly the sweetest pain I have ever felt."

That answer didn't exactly ease her concerns and Minerva let go of his hand for now. "Seriously, Albus, how much pain are you in?"

"It's manageable, especially if I remember to use the other hand as much as possible. I guess I will have to switch wand arms," he said thoughtfully.

"Will that weaken your magic?" Minerva wondered.

"Excellent question. I suppose we better find out." He picked up his wand with his left hand and gave it a little wave. The old headmaster's desk transformed into a comfortable-looking porch swing that attached itself to the ceiling while the headmaster's chair grew into a small palm tree. A strip of beach sand spread across the office floor and a sudden breeze filled the room that brought the smell of the ocean with it. The breakfast tray that had stood on the desk now hovered in the air in front of the swing. It had righted itself just in time after tilting dangerously to one side for a moment. Albus shrugged his shoulders. "Close enough."

"Yes, clearly you need to practise more," Minerva said drily. "You spilled a few drops of tea on the scrambled eggs."

"Good thing I didn't add any seagulls then, huh? I thought Fawkes wouldn't appreciate the intrusion."

Minerva couldn't help herself. She snorted with laughter. It made Albus look happier than he had done at any time in the last 24 hours.

They settled on the swing together. It wasn't very practical for eating breakfast, but Minerva didn't care. She decided to indulge Albus' sudden whim, took off her shoes and buried her feet in the sand as though that wasn't a strange thing to do in an office. Before long they had finished eating and were simply swaying back and forth, holding hands (Albus' good hand).

"What did you mean earlier when you said that we can't be together as much as you'd like?" Minerva remembered to ask. "You don't think the curse will spread faster, do you?"

"My outlook hasn't changed," Albus replied, squeezing her hand. "But there are things I need to take care of before it's too late and that means I'll have to leave Hogwarts at times."

"What things?" Minerva asked, wondering if he would let her do them for him and already guessing that the answer was no.

"First of all, I want Harry to stay at the Burrow for the summer and so I need to talk to Molly and Arthur. I know they will agree in a heartbeat, but they should know that it will inconvenience them to some degree. And then I must speak with Rufus, if he'll consent to meet with me again, so we can arrange the necessary protection for Harry. We may not see eye to eye on many things, but Harry's security status will probably be the exception. And of course I shall send Harry an owl, asking if he'd like me to come and collect him by the end of the week."

Surprised but pleasantly so (she had hated it when Albus had forced himself to stay away from Potter), Minerva said, "I don't think you even have to ask. He'll be more than happy to leave."

"His happiness is the idea, yes. He's still grieving and his aunt and uncle have made it very clear that they won't give him the love and support he needs to heal." Albus sighed. "He'll have to return to them one more time next summer but not before then, I think."

"Would you like someone from the Order to accompany you when you get him?" Minerva offered.

Albus smiled at her softly. "I see you no longer trust me to be safe."

"That is not what I said." Minerva bit her lip. "But you're not exactly the picture of health right now."

"Harry and I will be fine. We have some important matters to discuss. More than we can fit into one evening, so I'll be giving him private lessons this year. I don't want that to be common knowledge, but you should know, of course."

"More Occlumency lessons?" Minerva guessed.

"No." That was all Albus said until Minerva huffed impatiently and gave him the side-eye. "Since I now know that I won't be here as long as I thought I would, I want Harry to have all the information about Voldemort he will need," he elaborated vaguely.

"Information he will need to do what?" Minerva pressed the matter further.

"Survive," Albus said simply.

It was enough for Minerva to fall silent, torn between shock and hope.

"But," Albus continued brightly, "we're getting ahead of ourselves. The first thing I want Harry to help me with – another reason why it's best if we're alone – is to persuade an old friend of ours to return to Hogwarts. I'm afraid asking nicely won't be enough to convince Horace Slughorn to take up teaching again."

Minerva's brows shot up. Clearly, Albus had done a lot of thinking last night. "Horace? You want Horace to come out of retirement?"

"Yes. I happen to know that he's leading a rather uncomfortable life now that Voldemort has returned to power. I have a feeling that the idea of staying somewhere safe and restarting his little Slug Club will be very tempting."

"Oh no," Minerva groaned. "I don't want to make up excuses again why I can't come to his silly parties."

Albus guffawed and patted her leg. "I hate to tell you this, my dear, but I don't think we'll even get invited. Not when there are much younger, more exciting and a lot more famous people for him to collect."

"You're using Potter as bait!" Minerva finally understood. "Oh Albus, that poor boy has no idea what you're getting him into!"

"Perhaps not, but I have the utmost faith in Harry that he'll be able to withstand Horace's attempts to corrupt him – just like you once did. And the fact remains that we desperately need a teacher, so I must hope that Harry will be understanding."

Minerva wasn't so sure, but at least Horace was the devil they knew and compared to Umbridge he was perfectly harmless. "If Horace really does come back then... you're giving Severus the Defence Against the Dark Arts job!" Albus nodded, eyeing her almost apprehensively. After thinking about it for a moment, Minerva grinned. "That's unexpectedly good timing."

"I have to admit I expected a different reaction. Less, um, pleased." Albus leaned in. "Care to explain?"

"Can't I just be happy for a colleague?"

"You could, but that just now was not a smile I have ever seen you give Severus Snape."

That much was certainly true. "If you must know, I promised Potter that I would help him become an Auror," Minerva confessed.

Albus' face did not show any particular reaction just yet. "You did?"

"I may have said that I will help him even if it's the last thing I ever do."

A muscle in Albus' cheek twitched. "What possessed you to make such a promise?"

"Well, Dolores Umbridge insisted on butting in during Potter's career advice..." Minerva began to explain, but Albus held up a hand.

"Enough said."

"Anyway, it was never going to happen as long as Severus was teaching Potions. He probably would have refused to let Potter into his NEWT class even if he got an Outstanding, which I'm pretty sure he didn't. Horace, on the other hand, I'm sure will be delighted to teach him."

Albus' face finally split into a smile. "Then it's not such a bad idea if Horace becomes fond of Harry, now is it?" Leaning closer still, he went on, "And have I told you yet this morning how incredibly fond I am of you?"

She opened her mouth to respond, but Albus used that opportunity to kiss her. They hadn't kissed since last night's life-altering news. The kiss itself didn't feel different, but it made Minerva more reluctant to let go again.

"I have to leave soon, I'm afraid," Albus said regretfully.

"I know. It's okay." It really was because Minerva had something she wanted to do, too, and she didn't want Albus around for it.

He looked suspicious, but he didn't ask.

As soon as Albus was gone, Minerva headed down to the dungeons to see if Severus was still there, but he must have left the castle immediately after helping Albus yesterday. She was hesitant about sending him a Patronus and was careful to make her message short and vague, using 'urgent Hogwarts business' as an excuse.

Severus didn't keep her waiting long. Once he had made sure that it was just her and that she didn't appear to be at death's door, he greeted her accordingly. "What is it this time? The more you summon me here, the more questions the Dark Lord asks. I know you haven't been interrogated by him yet, but I can assure you it's not pleasant."

"He's not watching you every minute of every day, is he?" Minerva countered.

"No, but he has given me a house guest, so make it quick."

"You know what this is about," Minerva said curtly. She had no interest in dragging out this conversation either. "You've had a night to think about what happened. Is there anything else we can do?"

"No." There was something unfamiliar in his voice. Was it regret? She could never tell with Severus Snape.

"Are you sure?" she urged him to think again.

"Asked and answered," he replied, his patience slipping fast.

Minerva knew that edge in his voice only too well. She responded with a question that was as offensive as it was pointless, since she was talking to such a proficient Occlumens. "You wouldn't lie about this?"

Severus' eyes flashed. "If I wanted him dead, there'd be easier ways for me to do it."

That answer wasn't very reassuring, but Minerva was used to that kind of behaviour from the Potions master when he got angry. It didn't faze her. Nothing fazed her anymore. Not after being told that her greatest fear would come true in less than a year. "And you couldn't have warned him? About the curse?"

"The Dark Lord didn't mention it to me and Dumbledore didn't tell me what he was doing. He only called me after it had already happened."

That last part Minerva could believe easily enough and she also believed that Severus' other answers had been genuine. She hadn't really expected anything to come of this conversation, but she couldn't leave any stone unturned. "I'm sorry I made you come here. I just had to ask."

Instead of giving her a nasty response, Severus simply turned to leave. Before he did, he stopped and said, "I don't know what he told you, but he brought this on himself."

He might have actually meant that in a nice 'don't beat yourself up about it' sort of way. But blaming Albus could never make Minerva feel better. "That doesn't mean he deserves to suffer."

Severus reached into the pocket of his robes and handed her a vial. "You can give him this for the pain. It'll be more effective than anything he could get at St Mungo's."

In other words, Severus had brewed it himself. "Does it have any side effects?" Minerva thought it prudent to ask. "Will it make him loopy?"

"Knowing Dumbledore," Severus replied with a smirk, "you probably won't be able to tell the difference."

After Severus had left, Minerva returned to Albus' study. She sat on the swing again, lost in thought, until she heard an ominous noise that gave her a split-second warning. The swing began to detach itself from the ceiling. Minerva got out of the way just in time before the office returned to its previous state. A jolt of panic went through her as she watched Albus' magic disappear. She knew perfectly well that it depended on a number of different factors how long a Transfiguration lasted, but the most obvious one was whether the wizard who had cast the spell was still alive and well.

She glanced at Fawkes as though he was her only touchstone in this nightmare she found herself trapped in. He met her gaze calmly and opened his beak, asking if it was time for some food again. Minerva shook her head and managed a little half-smile.

Albus returned looking tired but otherwise unchanged. Unharmed was obviously not the right word because his hand looked as painful as before. Nevertheless, he was the one asking her if she was all right.

"I was a little concerned because your spell lifted and I wasn't sure if you hadn't meant it to last or if it was something else," Minerva admitted.

"You need to stop worrying so much," Albus said. He reached for her and then stopped with a grimace. "And I need to remember not to use this hand for a while. It seems we both have our work cut out for us."

Minerva retrieved Severus' vial from her pocket. "Take this. But only a few drops at a time. It's very potent."

"Where did you get that?" Albus asked in surprise.

"I have my ways."

"Oh, I know you do." He didn't make a move to take the vial from her.

Minerva huffed. "You asked for my forgiveness yesterday. I still haven't given it to you."

"Let me guess. It has something to do with drinking this?"

"It would be a start," she nodded.

Albus accepted the vial and peered at it over his half-moon spectacles. "Will sugar make it useless, do you think?"

Upon seeing Minerva's withering glare, he poured three drops on his tongue and swallowed.

"How do you feel?" she asked and tried not to sound too anxious. She was not the one in this relationship who was good at trusting Severus Snape.

Albus opened his eyes and smiled at her. "I'd say good as new, but under the circumstances that would probably be a bit too much of a euphemism." He shrugged. "Good enough for us to go."

"Where to?"

"To where I promised to be yours forever. It seems we should make the most of that while we still can, does it not?"

He was talking, of course, about the Isle of Skye. It was misty and windy and wild when they got there and, as always, ruggedly, breathtakingly beautiful, even with the storm clouds in the distance. Minerva wondered if she would ever be able to come here again after...

"You never really told me what happened," she said, bracing herself for a gust of wind and Albus' reply. "Why did you pick up that ring? How did that help us win this war? And what did your past have to do with any of it?"

He pondered his response as they walked and she didn't push him. "The ring belonged to Voldemort's ancestor. I ventured a guess that it was very important to him and therefore very important to the outcome of this war. But it was an even more powerful magical item than I had thought. Powerful enough to make me hope that I could use it to see and talk to Ariana again." Albus heaved a sigh. The wind carried it away immediately. If only it could have carried away the underlying sorrow as well. "I wish I could explain better. You deserve better. Obviously I was foolish. Such magic doesn't really exist. In any case I shouldn't have tried. I should have chosen you. I should have chosen us. I will, well, not always be sorry for that but for as a long as I can still form a coherent thought."

For the longest time Minerva didn't know what to say and now it was Albus who didn't push her. Walking in silence had never been uncomfortable for them. They knew the other would talk when they were ready.

"You thought you could talk to your sister?" she asked eventually.

Albus nodded gravely. "Foolish, like I said."

"No, it isn't," Minerva said quietly. What would she be willing to do once Albus was gone? Anything, she imagined.

"That you're being so understanding proves how wrong it was. I could try to defend myself and say that I wanted the chance to be a better man and brother. I wanted the chance to apologise. But really, I just lost my head. After all these years..." He looked at her sadly as the first drops of rain landed on his nose. The wind had quickly brought the storm clouds nearer. "You must be so tired of this. Of me."

"If anything, I'm tired of seeing you in pain," Minerva corrected him. "And perhaps I'm wondering why I could never make it better."

When Albus took her hands in his, he really didn't seem to be hurting. Either Severus' potion worked or he was just too focused on her. "Your love is the reason why I ever got to be more than a shadow of myself again. I may be living with demons, but I am living and I would've never been this alive if it hadn't been for you. You were always the beauty in my pain. You've kept me young and happy for longer than I could have hoped for."

They were standing in more than a light drizzle by now. The air smelled heavily of summer rain. Scottish summer rain. For Minerva that smell was so strongly connected to being with Albus that it made her feel lightheaded and giddy. "You said that to me once when we got caught in the rain like this. That you had a feeling I would keep you young." It had been a lifetime ago. Before they had been in love, or before they had allowed themselves to see that it could be love. He probably didn't even remember.

Except, the memory was clear as day in Albus' light-blue eyes. "We didn't get caught in the rain. You decided that rather than to allow me to gallantly shield you from the rain you'd prefer to run right through it."

Minerva laughed. For the second time today she laughed. Perhaps there would be days when she could stop counting. "Through the rain, yes. Through a thunderstorm? Not so much." She blinked at the sudden flash of a lightning strike in the distance. "Should we go home?"

"That depends," Albus said, standing perfectly still. "Can you find it in your heart to trust me again?"

She simply squeezed his left hand in answer. He smiled at her and suddenly it was as though they were wrapped in an invisible bubble of perfect safety. They didn't leave for another hour. They counted the number of seconds between the flashes of lightning and the sounds of thunder and marvelled at the ferociousness of the dark clouds as they came ever closer. They slipped on the wet grass every now and then but saved each other from falling. And they kept walking through the storm.

Albus distracted himself from the dull pain in his hand by staring at the ring on his finger. He had put it on whenever he had left Hogwarts lately because he wanted to know it was safe. Or maybe wearing it was simply an act of defiance. The headmaster's office would be a safe enough place to store the ring, though no long-term solution. The Horcrux itself was worthless now, but the stone... What to do about the stone?

The knock on his office door and the visitor that entered surprised Albus. It was late and he had only just returned from dropping Harry off at the Burrow. "Severus, I thought you didn't want to be seen coming back to Hogwarts before the start of term?"

"I wasn't seen. I made sure Wormtail was asleep before I left," Severus explained. "Something happened that you ought to be aware of."

Albus sighed. "Why do I get the feeling that this can't possibly be good news for a change?"

"That depends. I may have convinced Bellatrix to trust me a little more."

"Oh?" Albus lifted a brow. "How did you manage that?"

"By promising to kill you," Severus said bluntly. "For the second time this week."

"Well, isn't that a happy coincidence." With a wry smile Albus laced his fingers together and suppressed a wince when the curse made itself known.

Severus shook his head. "Not many people would think of being killed as something to be happy about."

"True, but I much prefer being killed when I'm already dying to being killed when I could have lived."

"You'll get your wish then," Severus sneered. "I had to make the Unbreakable Vow."

Albus leaned forward in his chair. "Oh, Severus, why would you do that? Your word would have been good enough."

"For you maybe, but not for Bellatrix. And not for Narcissa. She's the one who came to me. She's afraid for Draco."

"As any mother would be. What exactly did you swear?"

"That I would watch and protect Draco as he attempts to do what the Dark Lord has asked of him and that I would do it for him if he is unable to," Severus recounted the vow he had made.

Weighing the significance of this, Albus said, "That certainly complicates matters."

"Not really," Severus defended his actions. "I only swore to do what you wanted me to do anyway."

"But I don't want you to drop dead should you fail," Albus pointed out.

Severus gave a disbelieving snort. "Oh, now you care what happens to me, Dumbledore? After you've made sure that the only thing I'll be remembered for is killing you?"

His tone quiet and subdued, Albus said, "I do care, Severus. I'm sorry that this is the part you have to play. That we can't risk Voldemort losing faith in you. If we're successful, there'll come a time when that will no longer be necessary. I won't get to see it, but I really hope you do." Severus refused to respond while Albus looked at him sadly. "Perhaps now would be a good time to talk about the upcoming school year. I have decided to make a few changes that will be of interest to you."

"I'm not giving Potter private lessons again!" Severus hissed.

"No, I should think not. I have amply demonstrated that I make plenty of mistakes, but I rarely make the same mistake twice," Albus said coolly. "Thankfully, there's no need for more Occlumency lessons as Voldemort is now employing it against Harry himself. Therefore, I won't ask this of you again, but I must ask you to vacate the Potions classroom. Horace Slughorn will take back his old department."

Severus seemed completely nonplussed by this. "You're throwing me out?"

"Yes, I suppose so." Albus paused, perhaps deliberately, for a few seconds. "Out of the dungeons, that is. I'm moving you up to the Defence Against the Dark Arts Department."

Stunned into speechlessness was not a look Albus had seen on Severus very often – or possibly ever.

"Why now?" he asked eventually.

"The easiest and most obvious answer is that we need a qualified teacher more than ever and you're without a doubt extremely capable. Also, there comes a time when it's unwise to put things off any longer. Or, simply put, I believe I owe you this much." Albus reached for a scroll of parchment with his burned fingers and held it out to Severus. "Your new contract. You can sign it at your convenience."

Severus ripped the scroll out of his hand, conjured a quill and signed the parchment with a flourish. "Anything else?"

"I thought you might want to negotiate a raise, but since you've already signed..." Albus chuckled.

"What I want is to keep my office."

"Horace will be happy to hear that. He was never quite as fond of the dungeons as you seem to be," Albus agreed. When it became clear that Severus had nothing else to add, he said, "I shall see you on the first of September then, barring any more catastrophes."

With a nod Severus briskly walked out of his office.

"I guess a 'thank you' was too much to hope for," Albus muttered as he watched him leave.

A/N: I'm not Severus, so I would never forget to thank you all. Thanks for reading and thanks for not quitting on me and this story after last week's drama.