A New Place, A New Love

Author's Note: Since this story is focused on Minerva, I have left out the scene of Frodo and Arwen and skipped ahead a bit. Thank you to Karli1252 for your suggestion, which inspired this chapter. I hope you like this. Enjoy

Disclaimer: You already know what I am going to say. I have none of the talent or money that came with this series.

Chapter 5

Minerva can hear distant voices as she feels the darkness recede from around her. For a moment she thinks she can hear Dumbledore talking to Harry in a room next to hers, but something seems different with their voices. She couldn't remember being taken to the hospital wing or seeing Madame Pomphrey, but she had a feeling she was in a hospital bed of sorts. My classes! I have students that need me! She opened her eyes to see the bright light streaming in through the large openings throughout the room.

Everything washed over her as she remembered Dumbledore's death, Harry winning, her stumbling into a new world, Gandalf, Aragorn, and Frodo being attacked. She quickly tried to get out of bed as she realized that Frodo had been cornered by those creatures and she didn't know what had happened to him when she had passed out. She was stopped by a calming hand on her right shoulder. Gasping, Minerva turned to the person that she had yet to notice until now.

"You need to rest, my dear," Gandalf's soothing voice broke through her panic.

She couldn't help the grin that enveloped her face as she lay back to look at the man that had occupied her thoughts for the past couple days. He took a seat on the edge of her bed and let his hand trail down her arm to rest on her hand. She looked at their hands lying together on top of the sheets and she realized she was still smiling.

"What happened to you?" Minerva spoke quietly, noticing how dry her throat was, "We were worried that something had happened to you. I was even more worried when Aragorn told us that you had made plans for him to take us is something were to happen to you. Are you okay?"

He chuckled a little bit at the irony of the situation. Here she was lying in a bed after having passed out, and she was asking if he was okay. Gandalf noticed that some of the color was starting to return to her face now that she was awake. He turned to the bedside table where he found a pitcher of water and a glass. Filling the glass, he handed it to her as he noticed her try to swallow and the hoarse quality of her voice.

Mumbling a quick 'Thank You,' Minerva took the water from his hand and blushed as her fingers brushed his. Gandalf looks over her as he remembers being in this exact position a couple of days earlier when she had arrived with Aragorn.

2 Day Earlier

Gandalf had checked on Frodo for the second time that day, and he was wondering when he would wake up. Arwen had saved him from the wraiths and delivered him safely here, and when he had arrived, Gandalf had rushed to her for information. He had learned that Frodo was stabbed with a blade from one of the wraiths and Minerva had been unconscious when Arwen had found Aragorn and the others.

Gandalf had spent most of that day watching Frodo, but thinking about Minerva. If she had been unconscious, she must not have been seriously injured for Arwen to only take Frodo. Even though he knew that she must be alright, he couldn't help but think about what must have happened to her. He felt protective over her, and he knew why, he just was not ready to admit anything.

She was different from anybody that he had ever met. She relied on herself, and herself alone for whatever strength she drew upon and it seemed to make her even stronger because of that. It was because of this that he wondered if sending Aragorn was a good idea. He laughed to himself as he tried to imagine her reaction to meeting him, and he had a feeling that it would be an interesting story.

1 Day Earlier

Aragorn and the others arrived with Aragorn carrying a still unconscious Minerva in his arms. Gandalf rushed to his side and carefully took Minerva into his own arms and brought her to a room next to Frodo's. As he laid her gently on the bed, he couldn't help the sharp intake of breath as he really looks at her.

Her usually pale skin looks ghostly white compared to the pieces of dark, black hair that had escaped her bun. Her breathing and heart beat were normal, but that didn't help to ease his worry. Lifting her up a bit, he removed her heavy cloak and folded it over a nearby chair. Then, he lifted her into his arms again to place her under the sheets of the bed. With one last look at her prone form, he turns to go in search of the others and some answers.

He was distracted by a rustling of sheets in Frodo's room, and he realized that he was coming to. He greeted a still drowsy Frodo before he was interrupted by Sam, Merry, and Pippin as they come rushing through the door. Gandalf laughs at the scene in front of him and can see Aragorn resting against the door frame and Lord Elrond next to him. Gandalf excuses himself after telling Frodo about Elrond, and heads towards the two men.

"Lord Elrond, I have told Frodo who you are if you would like to talk to him now," Gandalf says as he receives a nod in return.

"Thank you Gandalf," Elrond says as he steps further into the room before turning back to speak to the wizard, "She will be alright. She just needs to rest for a while longer."

With that, Elrond continues over to Frodo and begins to explain everything to him. Gandalf stares at his old friend for a while before turning back towards Aragorn.

"I need to know what happened," he said as Aragorn angled himself towards the hallway in a silent gesture.

"Of course," Aragorn replied, "When I first saw them, they were at the pub and they seemed okay. I could tell that I was unsettling them while I was watching them, but I had a bad feeling about the bartender. He was giving Minerva a look that I didn't like, and I didn't trust him. Then Merry and Pippin hade to get drunk and start talking about Frodo and everything exploded. Frodo somehow managed to get the ring on his finger and my only thought was to get him out of there.

"I remember seeing the Bartender holding Minerva against him, but before I could act she had taken care of him and was chasing after Frodo and me. We had a bit of a misunderstanding when they caught up to us, but it was settled quickly. We spent the night before we headed out like you instructed. We had just reached the ruins of the watchtower and Minerva and I went to scout out the path ahead, when we heard screaming.

"We rushed over to where we had left Frodo and the others to find wraiths attacking them. I ran towards Frodo and heard an explosion of sorts, but when I turned around I could tell Minerva had been the source of it by the way the wraiths were heading towards her. I went back to fighting off the wraiths that had gone after the hobbits when there was fire erupting all around us.

"The fire only seemed to be directed towards the wraiths and there were heads of three kinds of beast coming from the flames. It was surrounding us and I felt as if it wanted to kill us, but something was holding it back. I turned to look at Minerva and saw that she was somehow controlling it. I rushed towards her when I saw the color drain from her face, but she was already fading when she retracted the flames," Aragorn paused as the stood in the doorway to Minerva's room, "It was amazing to witness, and before I knew it I was carrying her over to the others so that I could keep an eye on both her and Frodo."

Gandalf hummed for a moment and then looked at the sleeping form that seemed to blend with the sheets. He could tell from the moment that he met her that she was powerful, and if the description was anything to go by, she might even be more powerful than him. He smiled as he thought about the idea of flames that held creatures within them that he used, but he was pretty sure she didn't use fireworks. He gave his thanks to Aragorn and headed into the room to take a seat on the edge of her bed.

Lightly, he stroked her cheek and pressed the softest of kisses on her forehead. He wished that he had been there to help her, to see her, to catch her. He would have tried to help her stop the wraiths so that she didn't have to use all of her energy to stop the ongoing attack. Even now, as weak as she was, Gandalf couldn't deny that she was beautiful.

Present Day

After she finished her water, she handed him the glass back for him to place on the table. He looked back at her after he set the cup down and smiled at her. He felt her hand intertwine with his and her hand squeeze. He saw a piece of her hair had fallen into her face and before she could do anything about it, his long fingers were brushing it out of her face and tucking it behind her ear.

"I am fine," he finally spoke, "I just realized that sometimes the people you trust can change with the times."

"I'm sorry," She said as she placed her other hand on top of their intertwined ones, "I understand exactly what you are talking about," she finished as a thoughts of Peter Pettigrew flew through her mind.

"I heard what you did for everyone and how you ended up unconscious," he said barely above a whisper, "Thank you for helping them. I might need you to teach me that bit of magic."

Minerva smiled at him as she noticed a familiar but different twinkle in his eyes. Albus had always held a twinkle in his eyes, but where his held mystery, Gandalf's held affection. There was a comfort in his eyes that made her forget about anything that may have been ailing her and want to fall into his strong embrace. As if he read her mind, he let go of her hand to open his arms to her, which she quickly reacted to.

"Thank you for protecting them," Gandalf whispered into her ear.

"Thank you for coming back in one piece," Minerva laughed back as she snuggled deeper into his embrace.

They had only just met, but there seemed to be a level of trust between them that rivaled that between her and Albus. She felt his lips touch the top of her head in a comforting gesture that soothed her even further. Relaxing in his embrace, Minerva realized how tired she still was, but she was perfectly content to stay in his arms for the rest of his life.

"You should get some rest, Minerva," he said with another kiss to her head.

"Can you just stay here for a while?" she asks without really thinking.

"Of course," he replied without hesitation.

Minerva lay back down on the pillows with Gandalf sitting on the bed, stroking her hand. Soon, Minerva was fast asleep and Gandalf decided to stay a little longer and just watch her.

TBC…

f Arwen had found Aragorn and the others. unconsious safely here,and when he had arrived, Gandalf had rushed to her for info