Post by Isabelle on Dec 29, 2004 19:58:40 GMT -5
Challenge #16--Ways of Knitting
A/N: Inspired by a conversation with a German friend of mine.
"Minerva, dear, what you do find so interesting about knitting without magic?" Albus Dumbledore asked his wife as they sat in front of the fire on a chilly November evening.
"Well, Albus _dear_, I happen to find it a stimulating and realxing task, besides where is the challenge in it, if I use magic?"
"But that's exactly the point. You wouldn't have to worry about a challenge"
"Albus, how long have you known me?"
"Let's see..." He scratched his head. "It has to be..."
"Shall I give you a hint?"
"No. No hints are necessary. I'll figure it out....Oh yes, fifty-four years, come January, right?"
"Yes, and how long have you been married to me?"
"Since 1945."
"Precisely, and you've known since then, that I do not back down from a challenge."
They sat in slience for a while. The only sounds heard were the soft scraping of the needles against each other as Minerva threaded them through the yarn and wrapped more around it, pulling them out again. Albus sat, watching as Minerva moved the needles in succession with each stitch.
"I could do that, easily," he announced after a few minutes.
"You think so, do you?" Minerva said raising an eyebrow. "All right, then, let's see you do it." He reached for the sweater she was working on now. "NO! Not this. You take these... and this." She handed him two other, smaller needles and a different ball of yarn from the basket beside her.
"You mean, you're not going to show me how to start it?" He looked at the needles and yarn she'd placed in his hands helplessly.
"What happened to your "I can that easily" attitude? Come on, show me." Minerva sat back in her chair and looked at her husband with an amused twinkle in her eye.
"I didn't say I could start it, only that I could do the stitching after it was started."
"You should clarify what you mean then, Professor Dumbledore." She was teasing him, and having a jolly good time doing it too, he knew. She took the needles and yarn from him and threaded a few stitches. She handed it back to him. "Now you try it."
Albus spent the next several minutes attempting to thread a few stitches under the scrutiny of his wife. With her help he managed to finish one row.
"I think I've got it Minerva!" he exclaimed in way that reminded her of a small boy.
She decided to tease him once more for a good measure. "Why, that's very good, Albus! Just wait till I give you a pattern."
"A what?"
"A pattern, dear. If you didn't have a pattern, you'd sit there knitting scarves all the time."
"Oh."
*A few weeks later*
"Albus, are coming to bed?" Minerva called.
"Yes, dear, I've just got to finish this row," Dumbledore called back.
Minerva waited for a few minutes before going out into their common room to make him come to bed. She saw him sitting in her chair by the fire, intently working on the scarf she'd started him on. She noticed he had the yarn wrapped around his finger and was having a difficult time getting the stitches loose enough.
"Albus, why are you knitting the German way?"
He jumped, not expecting her to come get him. "Oh! Well, I saw you doing it this way so I thought I'd try it to. You taught me without wrapping the yarn around my finger, but I wanted to try it too. I didn't know there was a difference in knitting styles."
"There isn't, really, but that's how I was taught by my German friend, when she saw me doing it without wrapping it around my finger. I guess it's kind of stuck with me, you could say." She came to sit on the arm of the chair next to him. She looked at the scarf he'd been working on for the last few weeks. "It's really coming along, isn't it?"
He looked up at her and smiled. "Oh yes, I think I may be ready for a pattern now."
"We'll see about that later. Come to bed?" She asked rather seductively as she traced her finger along his jawline. It was all the further persuasion he needed before setting the scarf down and scooping Minerva into his arms to her surpirse.
"Albus Dumbledore put me down!" He ignored her. "By the way, you missed a stitch on your scarf."
He looked at her and unceremoniously dropped her on the bed. "I'll be back in a flash darling!" he said before racing out of the room.
"Albus!"
A/N: Inspired by a conversation with a German friend of mine.
"Minerva, dear, what you do find so interesting about knitting without magic?" Albus Dumbledore asked his wife as they sat in front of the fire on a chilly November evening.
"Well, Albus _dear_, I happen to find it a stimulating and realxing task, besides where is the challenge in it, if I use magic?"
"But that's exactly the point. You wouldn't have to worry about a challenge"
"Albus, how long have you known me?"
"Let's see..." He scratched his head. "It has to be..."
"Shall I give you a hint?"
"No. No hints are necessary. I'll figure it out....Oh yes, fifty-four years, come January, right?"
"Yes, and how long have you been married to me?"
"Since 1945."
"Precisely, and you've known since then, that I do not back down from a challenge."
They sat in slience for a while. The only sounds heard were the soft scraping of the needles against each other as Minerva threaded them through the yarn and wrapped more around it, pulling them out again. Albus sat, watching as Minerva moved the needles in succession with each stitch.
"I could do that, easily," he announced after a few minutes.
"You think so, do you?" Minerva said raising an eyebrow. "All right, then, let's see you do it." He reached for the sweater she was working on now. "NO! Not this. You take these... and this." She handed him two other, smaller needles and a different ball of yarn from the basket beside her.
"You mean, you're not going to show me how to start it?" He looked at the needles and yarn she'd placed in his hands helplessly.
"What happened to your "I can that easily" attitude? Come on, show me." Minerva sat back in her chair and looked at her husband with an amused twinkle in her eye.
"I didn't say I could start it, only that I could do the stitching after it was started."
"You should clarify what you mean then, Professor Dumbledore." She was teasing him, and having a jolly good time doing it too, he knew. She took the needles and yarn from him and threaded a few stitches. She handed it back to him. "Now you try it."
Albus spent the next several minutes attempting to thread a few stitches under the scrutiny of his wife. With her help he managed to finish one row.
"I think I've got it Minerva!" he exclaimed in way that reminded her of a small boy.
She decided to tease him once more for a good measure. "Why, that's very good, Albus! Just wait till I give you a pattern."
"A what?"
"A pattern, dear. If you didn't have a pattern, you'd sit there knitting scarves all the time."
"Oh."
*A few weeks later*
"Albus, are coming to bed?" Minerva called.
"Yes, dear, I've just got to finish this row," Dumbledore called back.
Minerva waited for a few minutes before going out into their common room to make him come to bed. She saw him sitting in her chair by the fire, intently working on the scarf she'd started him on. She noticed he had the yarn wrapped around his finger and was having a difficult time getting the stitches loose enough.
"Albus, why are you knitting the German way?"
He jumped, not expecting her to come get him. "Oh! Well, I saw you doing it this way so I thought I'd try it to. You taught me without wrapping the yarn around my finger, but I wanted to try it too. I didn't know there was a difference in knitting styles."
"There isn't, really, but that's how I was taught by my German friend, when she saw me doing it without wrapping it around my finger. I guess it's kind of stuck with me, you could say." She came to sit on the arm of the chair next to him. She looked at the scarf he'd been working on for the last few weeks. "It's really coming along, isn't it?"
He looked up at her and smiled. "Oh yes, I think I may be ready for a pattern now."
"We'll see about that later. Come to bed?" She asked rather seductively as she traced her finger along his jawline. It was all the further persuasion he needed before setting the scarf down and scooping Minerva into his arms to her surpirse.
"Albus Dumbledore put me down!" He ignored her. "By the way, you missed a stitch on your scarf."
He looked at her and unceremoniously dropped her on the bed. "I'll be back in a flash darling!" he said before racing out of the room.
"Albus!"
Lovely little fic, made me smile.
