The moment he finally kissed her, she couldn't help but think, it's about time.
After all, they'd known each other way before they started dating. The witch assumed this would speed things up. And yet, their prior acquaintanceship seemed to have an opposite effect. Even now, while snogging on her sofa, he was sure taking his time with her. She didn't expect an older wizard to be less experienced, so there must have been another reason. Trying to give him a push he evidently needed, she pulled him closer, moving his hands up her waist.
This seemed to do the trick. He leaned into her, deepening the kiss. Her arms found their way around his neck. She was really getting into it, barely even heard the nearby banging noise.
"What was that?" whispered a male voice into Augusta's ear.
"Dunno. Just ignore it," the witch mumbled against his neck, refusing to get distracted.
To her dismay, the wizard didn't react, listening instead to what now sounded like knocks. She sighed in frustration, slowly pulling away.
"Or I'd better go check."
A simple spell told Augusta the noise was coming from the front door. The witch tip-toed all the way, lighting the path with her wand. She stopped in the hallway and asked in a raised voice,
"Who is this?"
"Hey, it's me," someone shouted back with equal volume.
Oh, shit! thought Augusta. She hid her wand and turned on the lights. In haste, the witch checked herself in the mirror and readjusted her hair. Straightening her clothes, she opened the door.
"Hi," said Minerva from the doorstep. She briefly looked over Augusta's incomplete attire, drawing an appropriate conclusion. "Sorry I'm early."
In no time, Augusta undid the protective enchantments to let her friend in. With discrete wand-work, she attempted to cover what she'd been doing prior to Minerva's arrival. However, she forgot about the key evidence.
"Hello!" Augusta's man said his greetings, appearing right behind her. With arms around his woman, he pecked her on the cheek. "It seems my time's already up. Bye, sweetie."
The wizard walked past Minerva, offering her a brief nod. Once he was gone, she gave Augusta an intrigued look.
"Who's that?" Minerva asked in a hushed voice, pointing at the door.
"Monty," replied Augusta with a shrug. "Don't you recognize? Gryffindor, several years above us."
The other witch shook her head. No matter how hard she thought, she couldn't place his face.
"You seem happy together," Minerva pointed out.
Although it was supposed to sound casual, her comment betrayed evident traces of sadness, longing, maybe even jealousy. Augusta lowered her eyes in discomfort. This was exactly why she didn't want these two to meet.
"What? Nah, it's nothing serious," she replied with a wave of her hand. "You know me; I'm just having fun! – Come on, don't stand in the hall."
The witch walked her friend to the living room. To Minerva's indifference, there was barely any place to sit on. She watched Augusta move piles of books from the coffee table to the floor, so that there would be any space for drinks and food.
"It wouldn't kill you to clean once in a while."
Augusta loudly snorted, spilling some of the beverages she was summoning from the kitchen. If inviting men over couldn't make her learn how to Scourgify, then neither would Minerva.
"Not everyone's got an elf," she muttered under her breath, vanishing the pumpkin juice from the floor. "Besides, how should I know you'd be on time for once? Something's up?"
Lowering her gaze. Minerva bit her lip.
"I need your advice," she quietly stated.
This sounded serious. Augusta sat straight in her seat.
"Tell me what happened; I'm all ears."
Instinctively, Minerva leaned forward in her seat. She took a breath in, then a breath out – but not a single word came out. She tried again.
"I don't know where to start."
After such an intro, Augusta was fuming with impatience. Minerva rarely asked for advice. Last time they had a serious talk, the witch had nearly made the worst decision of her life. Luckily, she and Rolanda talked her out of it at the last moment. Anticipating news of equal magnitude, Augusta gave her friend time to collect her thoughts. Years of friendship with Minerva taught her that this was usually the best approach.
Sure enough, she soon learned what got the witch so agitated in the first place.
"Earlier that day, I met… with Elphinstone."
"You meet with him a lot lately," Augusta pointed out.
There was a pause. "Yes. Well, anyway…"
Minerva's mind went back to today's afternoon. She was sitting in The Leaky Cauldron with Elphinstone Urquart, her former boss and good friend. As always, they discussed the recent Ministry news, talked about her fellow Auror teammates, their recent assignments. The witch listened to his stories with interest, sometimes wondering what kind of life she might have led, had she decided to stay.
"Don't you miss it?" asked Elphinstone, looking at her dreamy face. "The field work? You were a great Auror. One of our best."
"Thank you," replied Minerva, taking a long sip of butterbeer. "But I don't regret my decision. I enjoy being a professor."
"I bet you're great at this, too."
The wizard eyed her curiously, tapping his fingers on his stein. After seemingly pondering something in his head, he evidently concluded that she wouldn't mind him asking.
"Tell me, Minerva," he said conversationally. "How's it to work for the legend?"
The witch blinked, tilting her head to the side. Her green eyes stared blankly at him.
"Dumbledore?" Elphinstone clarified with an amused chuckle. "Last time, you said he got you involved in a new project. So you must have worked together. How did it go?"
"Good," she curtly replied, still not understanding where this was going. "Why?"
Minerva hoped that Elphinstone wouldn't think she was being difficult. She had truly no idea what he expected her to say. Surely, as the head of the Auror office, the wizard knew what a breach of confidentiality was. Whatever work-related things she'd discussed with Albus, they were not meant for anyone else to hear.
But apparently this wasn't what the wizard had in mind.
"Oh, you know – everyone says he's brilliant. But there are also many people who call Dumbledore unapproachable, stoic, hyper-professional –"
"Rubbish," the witch cut him off, not believing what she'd heard. She shook her head in disapproval. "I can't imagine anyone who's met Albus to get that impression."
Elphinstone rested his hand on the cheek, his index finger pointing upwards.
"What's your opinion?" he briskly asked.
"You already know it!" Minerva sat back in her chair. She was getting impatient. "We've worked together before. He was my Transfiguration teacher, taught me my cat form, co-authored my first publication…"
"It's all true," he said with a smile. "But he wasn't famous back then, was he?"
This statement gave Minerva a pause. She never looked at it this way – but what if Elphinstone was right? Could defeating Grindelwald really change that much in Albus's life? Change him?
She gave it a more in-depth thought.
"I don't think he's that much different, honestly," she stated with less certainty, regaining it all before her next statement. "But he's definitely not this – insensitive wizard on a pedestal – as you say people make him out to be. He's a great man. Kind, caring, easy to talk to…"
With every word she uttered, Elphinstone's face fell lower.
"You seem to know him well…" the wizard remarked in a distant voice.
"Naturally," replied Minerva, pushing her glasses up her nose. "He's a friend of mine."
For some reason, this seemed to cheer him up. With a benevolent smile, he nodded his understanding.
"I hope he treats you the way you deserve. Even though you're the only female teacher, not to mention the youngest."
In a hindsight, maybe Elphinstone was simply expressing his concern. Yet, Minerva didn't see it that way, not at that moment. Her nostrils flared.
"You can stop trying to win me over," she stated a little louder than intended, eyeing the wizard with mild defiance. "My place is at Hogwarts. I have no intentions of working for you."
He leaned back in his chair, looking her over from waist to head. His eyebrows furrowed in worry, Elphinstone asked in a low voice,
"You truly think that's why I asked you out? That's why I'm here right now?"
The witch felt even more confused.
"Why else?" she inquired with a straight face.
Elphinstone gave her his famous charming smile.
"I missed you, Minerva."
These four simple words caused a storm of conflicting thoughts in Minerva's head. Way too many to voice one in a coherent way.
However, nobody was waiting for her answer.
"Spending any amount of time with you is great, even if it's a few hours," the wizard went on, moving his chair a little closer. "But I need more. Since Christmas didn't work out, I've made some calls. We could spend a weekend together during your half-term. I could get a few days off. We'd have plenty of time, just the two of us. What do you say?"
Minerva's muscles tensed. She didn't like where this was going. Her temples were pulsing in pain. She'd been nervously chewing on a pumpkin pasty without realizing it.
"Elphinstone…" She coughed into her fist, clearing her dry throat. "It's a very kind offer. Thank you. I just – I don't think this is the best time for me to date."
"I know, I know." The wizard held out his hands in a defensive manner, trying to calm her nerves. "You're probably thinking that I'm just some guy who wants to spend the night with you and nothing more."
She attempted to oppose, but he interrupted her.
"Let me assure you, dear, that what we have –" He slowly gestured between them. "– isn't just a fling. I have every intention of marrying you."
He reached out for her hand.
She jumped up to her feet.
The quiet sounds of the pub became deafening. Soon, they were drowned out by Minerva's thumping heart. She felt lightheaded, almost out of breath.
"Excuse me," she muttered.
This was too much.
She needed air.
Minerva didn't remember what she said to him – what excuse she used. Whatever that was, he did not follow her.
"… And then, I ran outside."
Augusta whistled at the story. She was impressed but not nearly as shocked. Finishing her bowl of crisps, the witch put it away and asked,
"Why did you, though? I thought you liked him."
"I don't want to give him false hope," said Minerva curtly. "That's not okay."
I cannot break another heart.
They sat together in a comfortable silence. After some time, Augusta leaned back against the backrest, Minerva's reasoning dawning on her at last.
"You're still not over your guy, are you?"
Her silence spoke volumes.
"Don't you think it's time to move on?" inquired Augusta in a soft voice. "It's been so long."
"You think I don't want to?" replied Minerva in exasperation, directed less towards her friend and more towards herself. "But I can't. I'm trying over and over, but I'm stuck in this… void. Sometimes I think – that it will never go away."
Her lower lip shook dangerously. The witch sounded like she was about to cry. With a sympathetic look, Augusta rubbed her shoulder.
"At least try, alright? It doesn't have to be Urquart. Just…" She let out a deep sigh. "Don't close yourself out completely. I bet Rolanda told you the same."
"I… haven't talked to her yet."
Minerva pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling mentally exhausted. She needed a break.
"But enough about me," she stated with finality, clapping her hands together. "Tell me how you're doing."
Without mincing her words, her friend talked about important things that had happened since they last spoke. Most considered her social life, which was very busy compared to Minerva's. They discussed recent play and movie premieres, but also complained about Rolanda's lack of time. After they reached job-related subjects, Augusta suddenly exclaimed,
"I forgot to ask! How's work? All good now?"
"Oh yes, much better," Minerva readily admitted, glad to share some good news for a change. "I haven't had a class observer in weeks, and everyone is behaving well. No more comments out of place, no more disruptions. I start to think they're afraid of me."
"My friend, the terror of the school!" her friend said in an excessively dramatic tone. "Good job, keep it up."
Minerva appreciated the compliment. Although, she didn't believe she should take all the credit.
"It's all thanks to Albus. Nothing I did worked, and he… I wish I came to him sooner. We're starting to get along again, you know? We play chess, talk about students, transfiguration…" Minerva snorted in amusement, gazing off into the distance. "I forgot how much I missed all that."
It took her months to get in terms with never recreating the relationship they'd once had. Who could have guessed that Dumbledore would once again play an important part in her life?
"I still can't get over it." Augusta shook her head, which gained her a questioning look. "You – calling our teachers by their first names!"
Her friend's exaggerated indignation made Minerva smirk – the first smile she produced since her arrival.
"Not as strange," she stated, catching Augusta's mood, "as calling Pringle Appolyon!"
Augusta burst out laughing. "No, you don't!"
For the rest of the evening, the witches sat together and drank butterbeer, fondly reminiscing about the good old school days. When life was simpler, relationships tighter, and the end-year exams were the top of their worries.