Post by ginger newts on Oct 6, 2004 13:22:38 GMT -5
A Cure for Sleepwalking
It was three o’clock in the morning and in a dark and gloomy house in a rundown part of London, the only sounds to be heard were the soft even breathing of five children and six adults and the occasional muffled scurrying of something behind the walls. Eleven tired people were tucked warmly into bed, having eaten a large supper and discussed their plans for the week earlier in the evening. One man rose from his bed, not because he heard a noise or even because he needed to use the loo, in fact, this man was still asleep. He rose slowly and quietly from his bed and stumbled toward the door, in his sleep he wandered about the upstairs corridor until another doorknob met his outstretched hand. Whether he went in because it was an automatic reaction to open a door or because something in his dream told him to enter that room we may never know. We know only that he did open the door and, leaving it open, he walked soundlessly across the room and slipped into another bed without ever waking up.
Albus Dumbledore had not sleepwalked in years. When he was a child, his parents often found him sleeping in the strangest places in the morning, during his years as a student at Hogwarts he was occasionally found in the greenhouses or the owlery, having no idea how he came to be there. As an adult, the sleepwalking had left him, except in times of great distress. When he was worried and the events of their world were pressing heavily on his mind, Albus would often wake to find himself in unusual places. Perhaps none so unusual, however, as the place he found himself upon waking this morning.
When the sun first peeked through the window and fell across his face, Albus stirred, still half asleep, and he felt a warm soft body in his arms. Having dreamt for years of this exact situation, he assumed he was still dreaming and did the same thing he always did in these dreams. Albus bent his head forward and pressed a tender kiss to the shoulder of the woman in his arms. Except unlike in his dreams, she did not sigh and snuggle in closer or turn around and kiss his lips, she jumped and suddenly sat up with a force that almost knocked Albus out of the bed.
He awoke fully when he heard his name fall from her sweet lips, only it wasn’t in the manner he hoped to hear her say it. Her tone was full of confusion and accusation, “Albus?! Wh-what are you doing?!”
Sitting up quickly and opening his eyes, the sleep cleared itself away in an instant when he looked upon the face of Minerva McGonagall. “Minerva? What are you doing in my bed?”
“Your bed? Albus, this is MY room. What are YOU doing here?”
Looking around in confusion, Albus realized that indeed he was not in his room. “Ah, yes,” he said. “Well…”
“Explain yourself,” she demanded.
“My dear, please calm down. I assure you I meant no offense,” he said calmly, still not getting out of bed. “You see, Minerva, I – well, I have a tendency to sleep walk when things are getting a bit stressful. I must have wandered in here in my sleep and crawled into bed. I do apologize.”
She studied him for a moment, concern written on her face, “I had no idea you were a sleep walker, Albus. I’m sorry. That still does not explain, however, why you kissed me.”
He looked sheepish, “Yes, well, about that…” How did he explain this one? “It must have been an instinctive action, you see I was still half asleep.”
“So then you are accustomed to waking up with strange women in your bed?” she countered.
“No,” he said firmly, not wanting her to think that at all. “But when you have dreamed of waking up with the same woman in your arms everyday for nearly forty years and then suddenly she is there, I just…” there were no words for what he just, Albus hadn’t been thinking at all simply acting out his dream.
Minerva opened her mouth to argue, shut it again, studied his eyes carefully, and then asked, “What did you just say?”
This was it, he had put his foot in it this time, there was nothing for it now but to confess. “I said that I have been dreaming about you for as long as I have known you, Minerva. Nearly every night you come to me in my sleep and in my dreams I get to call you mine and hold you while you dream and wake you with a kiss each morning. I never meant for you to find out and I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you.”
Albus moved to get up, but her small hand on his shoulder stopped him. Turning back to look at her, he saw that Minerva was looking down at her other hand, which was playing with a fold in the sheet, a nervous gesture.
“I’ve dreamt about that too,” she finally said, looking up to meet his gaze on the last words. “I didn’t mean to yell at you, Albus, I was just so afraid that you hadn’t meant that kiss for me.”
“I could never mean a kiss for anyone else,” he said quietly, leaning down until their noses were almost touching.
For a moment, they shared the same breath and then his lips met hers and the rest of the world melted away as their arms wrapped around each other and the kiss grew in passion and intensity. When Albus deepened the kiss, Minerva gladly gave herself up to it, moaning softly into his mouth. He pulled her body as close to his as he possibly could, as if he wanted them to meld into one. So involved in each other, they never noticed the rest of the occupants of the house gathering slowly outside the still open door and staring, open mouthed, at what they saw. When the kiss finally broke, Albus leaned his forehead against Minerva’s, their eyes still locked, both of them breathing hard, no one existed but the two of them. After a few moments, Minerva moved to rest her head against his shoulder and gasped when her head turned toward the door. Albus turned his head sharply to find out the cause and saw nine people looking back at him with expressions varying from shock, to amusement, to embarrassment, and everything in between. Slowly, they turned as one to leave and Molly Weasley reached forward and closed the door, giving the two professors some much needed privacy.
Albus and Minerva never did come down to breakfast that morning and by the time they reappeared no one said anything to them about what had happened that morning, for which they were very grateful. Minerva suspected that was Molly’s doing and she made a mental note to thank the younger woman at some point. After the Order meeting that afternoon, Albus and Minerva excused themselves from Grimmauld Place, saying they had urgent business back at the school. Everybody had a pretty good idea of what that urgent business was, but they held their jokes until the couple had left.
That was the last time Albus Dumbledore ever woke up in a strange place, for every night after that he got to fall asleep holding the love of his life and nothing could take him away from her, not even his sleep walking. Some might say he never walked in his sleep again because he had someone to unload his burdens to and to help him relax, but Albus would swear for the rest of his days that it was because only a great fool would walk away from any bed upon which rested Minerva McGonagall.
It was three o’clock in the morning and in a dark and gloomy house in a rundown part of London, the only sounds to be heard were the soft even breathing of five children and six adults and the occasional muffled scurrying of something behind the walls. Eleven tired people were tucked warmly into bed, having eaten a large supper and discussed their plans for the week earlier in the evening. One man rose from his bed, not because he heard a noise or even because he needed to use the loo, in fact, this man was still asleep. He rose slowly and quietly from his bed and stumbled toward the door, in his sleep he wandered about the upstairs corridor until another doorknob met his outstretched hand. Whether he went in because it was an automatic reaction to open a door or because something in his dream told him to enter that room we may never know. We know only that he did open the door and, leaving it open, he walked soundlessly across the room and slipped into another bed without ever waking up.
Albus Dumbledore had not sleepwalked in years. When he was a child, his parents often found him sleeping in the strangest places in the morning, during his years as a student at Hogwarts he was occasionally found in the greenhouses or the owlery, having no idea how he came to be there. As an adult, the sleepwalking had left him, except in times of great distress. When he was worried and the events of their world were pressing heavily on his mind, Albus would often wake to find himself in unusual places. Perhaps none so unusual, however, as the place he found himself upon waking this morning.
When the sun first peeked through the window and fell across his face, Albus stirred, still half asleep, and he felt a warm soft body in his arms. Having dreamt for years of this exact situation, he assumed he was still dreaming and did the same thing he always did in these dreams. Albus bent his head forward and pressed a tender kiss to the shoulder of the woman in his arms. Except unlike in his dreams, she did not sigh and snuggle in closer or turn around and kiss his lips, she jumped and suddenly sat up with a force that almost knocked Albus out of the bed.
He awoke fully when he heard his name fall from her sweet lips, only it wasn’t in the manner he hoped to hear her say it. Her tone was full of confusion and accusation, “Albus?! Wh-what are you doing?!”
Sitting up quickly and opening his eyes, the sleep cleared itself away in an instant when he looked upon the face of Minerva McGonagall. “Minerva? What are you doing in my bed?”
“Your bed? Albus, this is MY room. What are YOU doing here?”
Looking around in confusion, Albus realized that indeed he was not in his room. “Ah, yes,” he said. “Well…”
“Explain yourself,” she demanded.
“My dear, please calm down. I assure you I meant no offense,” he said calmly, still not getting out of bed. “You see, Minerva, I – well, I have a tendency to sleep walk when things are getting a bit stressful. I must have wandered in here in my sleep and crawled into bed. I do apologize.”
She studied him for a moment, concern written on her face, “I had no idea you were a sleep walker, Albus. I’m sorry. That still does not explain, however, why you kissed me.”
He looked sheepish, “Yes, well, about that…” How did he explain this one? “It must have been an instinctive action, you see I was still half asleep.”
“So then you are accustomed to waking up with strange women in your bed?” she countered.
“No,” he said firmly, not wanting her to think that at all. “But when you have dreamed of waking up with the same woman in your arms everyday for nearly forty years and then suddenly she is there, I just…” there were no words for what he just, Albus hadn’t been thinking at all simply acting out his dream.
Minerva opened her mouth to argue, shut it again, studied his eyes carefully, and then asked, “What did you just say?”
This was it, he had put his foot in it this time, there was nothing for it now but to confess. “I said that I have been dreaming about you for as long as I have known you, Minerva. Nearly every night you come to me in my sleep and in my dreams I get to call you mine and hold you while you dream and wake you with a kiss each morning. I never meant for you to find out and I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you.”
Albus moved to get up, but her small hand on his shoulder stopped him. Turning back to look at her, he saw that Minerva was looking down at her other hand, which was playing with a fold in the sheet, a nervous gesture.
“I’ve dreamt about that too,” she finally said, looking up to meet his gaze on the last words. “I didn’t mean to yell at you, Albus, I was just so afraid that you hadn’t meant that kiss for me.”
“I could never mean a kiss for anyone else,” he said quietly, leaning down until their noses were almost touching.
For a moment, they shared the same breath and then his lips met hers and the rest of the world melted away as their arms wrapped around each other and the kiss grew in passion and intensity. When Albus deepened the kiss, Minerva gladly gave herself up to it, moaning softly into his mouth. He pulled her body as close to his as he possibly could, as if he wanted them to meld into one. So involved in each other, they never noticed the rest of the occupants of the house gathering slowly outside the still open door and staring, open mouthed, at what they saw. When the kiss finally broke, Albus leaned his forehead against Minerva’s, their eyes still locked, both of them breathing hard, no one existed but the two of them. After a few moments, Minerva moved to rest her head against his shoulder and gasped when her head turned toward the door. Albus turned his head sharply to find out the cause and saw nine people looking back at him with expressions varying from shock, to amusement, to embarrassment, and everything in between. Slowly, they turned as one to leave and Molly Weasley reached forward and closed the door, giving the two professors some much needed privacy.
Albus and Minerva never did come down to breakfast that morning and by the time they reappeared no one said anything to them about what had happened that morning, for which they were very grateful. Minerva suspected that was Molly’s doing and she made a mental note to thank the younger woman at some point. After the Order meeting that afternoon, Albus and Minerva excused themselves from Grimmauld Place, saying they had urgent business back at the school. Everybody had a pretty good idea of what that urgent business was, but they held their jokes until the couple had left.
That was the last time Albus Dumbledore ever woke up in a strange place, for every night after that he got to fall asleep holding the love of his life and nothing could take him away from her, not even his sleep walking. Some might say he never walked in his sleep again because he had someone to unload his burdens to and to help him relax, but Albus would swear for the rest of his days that it was because only a great fool would walk away from any bed upon which rested Minerva McGonagall.
