Post by QuillofMinerva on Apr 9, 2005 13:40:01 GMT -5
A/n: This might not be what you expected but I consulted Ginger Newts and she is fine with how I wanted to take on this challenge response but I am nervous about it.
A Rock and a Hard Place.
A man with sandy coloured haired sat hunched over on a bar stool, staring into an empty glass. The Three Broomsticks was particularly busy on this uneventful Monday evening so the man was able to slip in unnoticed by the rowdy crowds that were having drinking contests and playing poker secretly. He had in the pub for half an hour now and had been nursing his drink for twenty-five minutes before downing it in one.
He was not known as a man who would brood about things but tonight, he was. Something had happened and it was completely unexpected, he didn’t know what to do. He had turned his back on love many years ago after a heart breaking experience left him a broken man. He had been happy, he had loved a beautiful woman and he had thought she loved him in return. He could still remember the day it happened, it was as clear as this mornings Daily Prophet. He had been about to propose then she then she discovered his secret and ran screaming from the house they had shared for five months. He had decided then, that a man such as himself could not be loved or be allowed to love.
Twenty years had drifted away faster than he had expected, they had been twenty lonely years, which he had managed to fill slightly with the existence of friends. Slowly his friends began to marry and have children and he became less and less involved with them. They knew of his secret and accepted it but he also saw how they would look at him when he was holding they’re first born. One friend had stayed extremely loyal and to that he was grateful, she had been his rock over the trying years and he admired her greatly. She had been his head of house when he had been a student at Hogwarts, she hadn’t treated him any differently to the other students she dealt with. Looking back at it, he now knew that he had always been a little bit in love with Minerva McGonagall.
He had been struggling to get this life back on track since the death of a fellow misfit, his best male friend. She had been there for him, making him look forward to life and not to live in the past. He had resisted her at first, tried to shut her out of his life but when he did that, his world seemed darker and lonelier. So he had opened the door to her and let her in, she had been his salvation and to her he was eternity grateful. He couldn’t pin point the exact day or place that he had fallen in love with her but he could tell you the moment he finally figured it out.
It had been a clear night, ideal for star gazing when the order had received word from Hogwarts that Dolores Umbridge had attacked Hagrid and the person that had rushed to his defence. He had fallen back in his chair as Alastor Moody announced that three stunners had struck his Minerva directly to her chest. He closed his eyes and Alastor explained that she had been transported to St Mungos where she was being closely monitored. He had rushed straight to her bedside and had sat with her all night, willing her to get better and cursing Dolores Umbridge. He had watched her sleeping; she looked so angelic laying on her back on the bed. The realisation had hit him when he had spoken the words ‘I love you!’ without realising.
“Wanna top up?” asked Rosmerta breaking into his thoughts.
“Sure!” he replied without even looking up from the glass, he heard her fill up his glass and he rooted around his worn pockets from the money. He laid it out on the bar and then placed his hands around the glass.
Rosmerta eyed him curiously and decided to leave him well known; it was well known to give him a wide birth when he was in one of his moods. She watched him take a sip of his drink before walking away and dealing with other customers who were a lot friendlier.
Placing his glass down on the bar mat, the man clenched his fists together and rested his forehead against them. He had two choices; he could tell how he felt about her or keep his feelings to himself. He didn’t even know if she was available, they all had secrets and they were secrets because they needed to be for safety reasons. His secret had been aired publicly and he had nearly been out-casted from the wizarding world.
“Hello my dear friend,” came a voice from behind him “may I join you?”
He knew that voice anywhere; the man who the voiced belonged to had been his father figure as he was going up. He was a fine man, the best of men. Intelligent, witty and slightly eccentric with a bold fashion sense.
“Sure pull up a stool Albus!” replied the man looking up from his glass for the first time since he had been given the glass.
“Can I get you a drink?” Albus Dumbledore asked.
“Got one!” he replied as he shook his glass to show his new drinking companion.
Albus ordered himself a butterbeer and stared at his friend, his eyes twinkling brightly. He had been concerned about the man before him for sometime and had finally been able to track him down at The Three Broomsticks.
“Something on your mind?” Albus asked
“Do you think that everyone has a right to be in love?” came the reply.
Albus hadn’t expected those words to tumble from his friend’s lips; he had thought it would have been something else. Getting over his shock, he thought for a moment.
“I believe that everyone has the right my friend,” answered Albus “why do you ask me such a question?”
“I do not believe that I am worthy of being loved,” answered the sandy coloured haired man “there is much darkness within me and I can not escape that, it is part of who I am.”
“You are worthy,” said Albus who was still trying to get over the fact that they were talking about love and not the death of Sirius Black “a woman who is worthy of you will accept you for what you are.
“I am in love Albus,” he declared “but there is no future in it. If I tell her, she will avoid me and that would make working for the order harder than it already is.”
“I am sure Tonks would not refuse you!”
“I am not speaking of Tonks but of Minerva,” he admitted.
Albus felt the wind being knocked out of him; he really hadn’t expected that name to be spoken from the younger man’s lips. Albus coughed and tried to regain his usual composure and smooth voice.
“Minerva?” he asked
“Yes,” replied the younger wizard “Minerva. I finally understand my feelings for her and I am unsure what to do. She is beautiful, witty and intelligent. She has a smile that could light up the darkest of nights”
“If you are unsure then perhaps it is not wise to reveal them to her.” Suggested Albus who hoped his friend would take his advice.
“Albus, you know her better than any of us. Is she seeing anyone?"
Albus had no idea how to answer this question. The younger wizard’s eyes were pleading for him to give him answers but Albus couldn’t divulge any. They were in a crowded pub, many people could overhear them and Albus wasn’t going to risk telling a secret even if he wanted to put his friend out of misery.
“Minerva is private,” answered Albus, who chose his words carefully “her personal life is private and she doesn’t talk about it.”
“Well there is one way to find out,” said the man “tell her how I feel and see what happens.”
“Are you sure?” questioned Albus “You don’t sound sure.”
Albus felt that he was between a rock and a hard place, he had been in many situations but this had to be one of the worst. He could understand his younger friends feelings for Minerva, they were exactly the same even. Albus loved Minerva and he knew that Minerva loved him back because she had married him forty-two years ago. Albus knew that Minerva had taken the man before him under her wing; she had helped him through tough times and loved him as a mother would love a son. He had no idea that he had been developing feelings for his wife and Albus was sure that Minerva was also unaware of the situation, as she would have mentioned it to him.
“She must feel something for me,” exclaimed the younger wizard.
“Maybe you are reading too much into it!” suggested Albus
“My instincts tell me I am not and do you know what else they are telling me?” he snapped
“What?” asked Albus with curiosity
“That you are trying to put me off from telling her!”
A Rock and a Hard Place.
A man with sandy coloured haired sat hunched over on a bar stool, staring into an empty glass. The Three Broomsticks was particularly busy on this uneventful Monday evening so the man was able to slip in unnoticed by the rowdy crowds that were having drinking contests and playing poker secretly. He had in the pub for half an hour now and had been nursing his drink for twenty-five minutes before downing it in one.
He was not known as a man who would brood about things but tonight, he was. Something had happened and it was completely unexpected, he didn’t know what to do. He had turned his back on love many years ago after a heart breaking experience left him a broken man. He had been happy, he had loved a beautiful woman and he had thought she loved him in return. He could still remember the day it happened, it was as clear as this mornings Daily Prophet. He had been about to propose then she then she discovered his secret and ran screaming from the house they had shared for five months. He had decided then, that a man such as himself could not be loved or be allowed to love.
Twenty years had drifted away faster than he had expected, they had been twenty lonely years, which he had managed to fill slightly with the existence of friends. Slowly his friends began to marry and have children and he became less and less involved with them. They knew of his secret and accepted it but he also saw how they would look at him when he was holding they’re first born. One friend had stayed extremely loyal and to that he was grateful, she had been his rock over the trying years and he admired her greatly. She had been his head of house when he had been a student at Hogwarts, she hadn’t treated him any differently to the other students she dealt with. Looking back at it, he now knew that he had always been a little bit in love with Minerva McGonagall.
He had been struggling to get this life back on track since the death of a fellow misfit, his best male friend. She had been there for him, making him look forward to life and not to live in the past. He had resisted her at first, tried to shut her out of his life but when he did that, his world seemed darker and lonelier. So he had opened the door to her and let her in, she had been his salvation and to her he was eternity grateful. He couldn’t pin point the exact day or place that he had fallen in love with her but he could tell you the moment he finally figured it out.
It had been a clear night, ideal for star gazing when the order had received word from Hogwarts that Dolores Umbridge had attacked Hagrid and the person that had rushed to his defence. He had fallen back in his chair as Alastor Moody announced that three stunners had struck his Minerva directly to her chest. He closed his eyes and Alastor explained that she had been transported to St Mungos where she was being closely monitored. He had rushed straight to her bedside and had sat with her all night, willing her to get better and cursing Dolores Umbridge. He had watched her sleeping; she looked so angelic laying on her back on the bed. The realisation had hit him when he had spoken the words ‘I love you!’ without realising.
“Wanna top up?” asked Rosmerta breaking into his thoughts.
“Sure!” he replied without even looking up from the glass, he heard her fill up his glass and he rooted around his worn pockets from the money. He laid it out on the bar and then placed his hands around the glass.
Rosmerta eyed him curiously and decided to leave him well known; it was well known to give him a wide birth when he was in one of his moods. She watched him take a sip of his drink before walking away and dealing with other customers who were a lot friendlier.
Placing his glass down on the bar mat, the man clenched his fists together and rested his forehead against them. He had two choices; he could tell how he felt about her or keep his feelings to himself. He didn’t even know if she was available, they all had secrets and they were secrets because they needed to be for safety reasons. His secret had been aired publicly and he had nearly been out-casted from the wizarding world.
“Hello my dear friend,” came a voice from behind him “may I join you?”
He knew that voice anywhere; the man who the voiced belonged to had been his father figure as he was going up. He was a fine man, the best of men. Intelligent, witty and slightly eccentric with a bold fashion sense.
“Sure pull up a stool Albus!” replied the man looking up from his glass for the first time since he had been given the glass.
“Can I get you a drink?” Albus Dumbledore asked.
“Got one!” he replied as he shook his glass to show his new drinking companion.
Albus ordered himself a butterbeer and stared at his friend, his eyes twinkling brightly. He had been concerned about the man before him for sometime and had finally been able to track him down at The Three Broomsticks.
“Something on your mind?” Albus asked
“Do you think that everyone has a right to be in love?” came the reply.
Albus hadn’t expected those words to tumble from his friend’s lips; he had thought it would have been something else. Getting over his shock, he thought for a moment.
“I believe that everyone has the right my friend,” answered Albus “why do you ask me such a question?”
“I do not believe that I am worthy of being loved,” answered the sandy coloured haired man “there is much darkness within me and I can not escape that, it is part of who I am.”
“You are worthy,” said Albus who was still trying to get over the fact that they were talking about love and not the death of Sirius Black “a woman who is worthy of you will accept you for what you are.
“I am in love Albus,” he declared “but there is no future in it. If I tell her, she will avoid me and that would make working for the order harder than it already is.”
“I am sure Tonks would not refuse you!”
“I am not speaking of Tonks but of Minerva,” he admitted.
Albus felt the wind being knocked out of him; he really hadn’t expected that name to be spoken from the younger man’s lips. Albus coughed and tried to regain his usual composure and smooth voice.
“Minerva?” he asked
“Yes,” replied the younger wizard “Minerva. I finally understand my feelings for her and I am unsure what to do. She is beautiful, witty and intelligent. She has a smile that could light up the darkest of nights”
“If you are unsure then perhaps it is not wise to reveal them to her.” Suggested Albus who hoped his friend would take his advice.
“Albus, you know her better than any of us. Is she seeing anyone?"
Albus had no idea how to answer this question. The younger wizard’s eyes were pleading for him to give him answers but Albus couldn’t divulge any. They were in a crowded pub, many people could overhear them and Albus wasn’t going to risk telling a secret even if he wanted to put his friend out of misery.
“Minerva is private,” answered Albus, who chose his words carefully “her personal life is private and she doesn’t talk about it.”
“Well there is one way to find out,” said the man “tell her how I feel and see what happens.”
“Are you sure?” questioned Albus “You don’t sound sure.”
Albus felt that he was between a rock and a hard place, he had been in many situations but this had to be one of the worst. He could understand his younger friends feelings for Minerva, they were exactly the same even. Albus loved Minerva and he knew that Minerva loved him back because she had married him forty-two years ago. Albus knew that Minerva had taken the man before him under her wing; she had helped him through tough times and loved him as a mother would love a son. He had no idea that he had been developing feelings for his wife and Albus was sure that Minerva was also unaware of the situation, as she would have mentioned it to him.
“She must feel something for me,” exclaimed the younger wizard.
“Maybe you are reading too much into it!” suggested Albus
“My instincts tell me I am not and do you know what else they are telling me?” he snapped
“What?” asked Albus with curiosity
“That you are trying to put me off from telling her!”
great responce.
