Post by maritelske on Feb 14, 2006 18:21:20 GMT -5
Disclaimer: I own nothing - including the quote at the beginning.
AN: Thanks to Ginger Newts for the challenge - I hope this is an okay response!
Rating: PG (safe for all)
Minerva McGonagall was quite a stubborn woman when it suited her. As a child, she had blatantly refused to dress in pink and play with dolls. As a grown woman, she showed the same headstrong attitude in nearly everything she did. For her husband it was a constant source of anxiety – until he had realised it was the thing he loved the most about her. The way she fought so passionately for what she believed in and never backed down in an argument.
So when the Transfiguration Professor with the emerald green eyes decided not to tell her husband her great secret – there was no chance she would back down. It was, after all, February 10th and there were only four days to go until Valentine’s day.
“Good morning dearest” Albus Dumbledore presented his waking wife with a warm smile and a soft kiss before she had even had a chance to register her surroundings. She repaid him with a dazzling smile, curling her arms around his neck out of well-rehearsed instinct.
“Good morning”
Moments later, when they broke apart and Minerva was left breathless and flushed – he returned her smile.
“I trust you slept well?”
“Indeed” Her smile at that moment seemed to possess all the secrets of the world. It was both promising and filled with anticipation.
And it caused her husband of two years to grow hot under the collar. They were still a young couple – she had only left Hogwarts a mere seven years ago. Yet it felt an eternity go. She had only been a girl when she had first started – just eleven years old. Yet she had graduated as a young lady with a thirst for knowledge and heart of gold. Since then, she had only become more amazing in Albus’ eyes.
It wasn’t until after she had left school that he had truly appreciated her as a woman – rather than as a young girl determined to succeed. She had grown more beautiful, wittier, more intelligent, more stunning each time he had seen her since her graduation. Her laugh captivated him – her eyes bewitched him.
It had begun when he began helping Minerva in her auror training. It had ended with a searing, breath-taking kiss that rendered them both speechless.
They had married two years later and everything had seemed brighter from that day onwards.
“Would you mind Albus?” She indicated for him to move as she sat up in bed, brushing her hair off her face as she did so. She paled slightly in that moment and quickly rose from the bed, lifting her dressing gown up off the ground and wrapping it around her naked body.
“Where are you off to?”
“A woman has to freshen up you know” She shot him an almost-convincing smile as she walked into the bathroom and he was none the wiser.
- - -
It was a blissfully cold February day – the frosted windows only clearing in the mid-morning sunlight which bathed the Castle in a dull glow. And with Albus in his office, it gave Minerva the perfect opportunity to sit down and relax without being questioned. She sat in their chambers, starring idly down at her cold cup of tea, her mind racing with a thousand thoughts.
As a young bride, she was not sure what to make her of her present situation – and she had barely a moment to worry about the thought. Moments later, the clock struck two and she hurried down stairs for her next class.
The portraits began to speak in hush tones as soon as she had fled.
- - -
“Headmaster?” Professor Pomona Sprout looked honestly surprised to enter the great Albus Dumbledore’s office and see him competing with what looked like a roll of plastic, “What are you doing?”
“Ah, professor! I was just uh... wrapping... Minerva’s Valentines Day present”
“Oh, I see” Pomona stifled a laugh as she saw the red, brightly coloured package sitting on his desk – an array of what she now recognised to be Muggle sticky tape stuck to nearly every object in his possession.
“Headmaster, if you don’t mind me saying – perhaps you should ease off the cello tape?”
“It’s a perfectly useful invention, I’m sure. I wanted to do this the proper way”
“Minerva will never know how you wrapped it” He seemed to consider her thought for a brief moment, but then dismissed it.
“But I will know. I am going to finish this... even if it kills me”
“As you wish” The herbology professor grinned at his enthusiasm. She had been one of the select few to attend the couples wedding and could not have fathomed a more perfect day. Ever since then, she had watched them flourish and could not help but like each of them more with every passing day. Particularly as she watched such a great wizard battle with something as simple as cello tape.
“Was there something you wanted, Pomona?”
“Only to inform you that the roses are ready”
“Ah, brilliant! All in red?”
“Yes, of course”
“Thankyou Pomona – you are a wonder”
“Thankyou” She smiled and chuckled to herself as she left his office, hearing him tear off yet another strip of tape, followed by an audible profanity.
- - -
At dinner that night, Pomona couldn’t help but grin at the mere sight of Albus. And Poppy Pomfrey couldn’t help but regard Minerva with a concerned expression.
But the students noticed nothing out of the ordinary and continued with their feast until they were instructed to return to their dormitories, leaving the staff alone once more.
“I shall see you later tonight then?” Albus questioned his wife as they reached the stairs.
“Where are you going?” For a moment, she looked thoroughly confused.
“To the Ministry of Magic, for my meeting. Don’t you remember? I did tell you twice this morning”
“Oh yes, of course. I’m sorry Albus. I must’ve woken up on the wrong side of the bed I believe” He looked at her with a vague look of concern, but she was determined – and she refused to accept his worry, “Go – I am fine. I just had a busy day. I will see you tonight”
“Are you sure you will be okay?”
“I will be fine – now go or you will be late” And, showing the same determination, she walked up the stairs without looking back.
- - -
As Albus entered their chambers that night after returning from the Ministry, he made not a sound. And he was pleased he didn’t. Because he found Minerva, fully clothed, curled up in bed – her transfiguration marking lying forgotten next to her. With a smile, he kissed her cheek softly and climbed into bed next to her.
She murmured and placed her hands over his almost instinctively. But she did not wake, and he left her to sleep peacefully in his arms for the remainder of the night.
- - -
Minerva’s present lay wrapped, hidden in Albus’ desk when the sun rose of Valentine’s Day in an array of bursting colour.
And Albus lay hidden under her desk on that same morning, now battling with more cello tape to finish adding the final red ribbon to his young wife’s present.
Minerva’s relaxing morning sleep was disturbed by her husband’s cries from the room next door and she sat bolt up right at the sound of his plea.
“HELP ME!”
Within moments, she was standing in his office in little more than a silk, green dressing gown.
All she could see was a flash of auburn hair sitting underneath a wooden desk.
“Albus Dumbledore – what on earth are you doing?” He appeared almost straight away, looking indignant.
“My dear, did I wake you?”
“You would’ve woken the dead with that racket you were making”
“I’m dreadfully sorry. I was calling for Fawkes. He was meant to bring the uh... the err... scissors”
“Whatever for?”
“Your present” And with a wave of his wand, he produced a not-so-perfectly, hand-wrapped present. But Minerva’s heart nearly exploded with love and admiration for her partner.
“Albus...” Her face spoke a thousand words as the present levitated into her open hands, “Thankyou” She smiled as she sat down beside him and began to open the present.
“Anything for you m’dear” Albus leant across to kiss her cheek softly as she opened the bright red wrapping to reveal a navy, felt box. And when she opened it to reveal its contents, words escaped her. For inside, the box held a glowing necklace – with a simple A and M interwoven on the end of the chain, a shining emerald encased between them.
“Thankyou” She whispered, her words barely audible. Her words were few, yet her eyes spoke a thousand more and betrayed all her thoughts of love and admiration.
“I would do anything for you” He whispered in return as he leant across to kiss her – a searing kiss that made his toes curl and her heart leap.
It was later – much, much later – when they finally arose and made their way into the magnificent Hogwarts Garden’s. Minerva slipped her hand into her husbands, his gift sparkling against the hollow of her neck as they walked beside the lake.
“You have not been yourself Minerva” Albus regarded her with the same concern as he had the night before as they stopped beside the lake.
“No” She agreed, but then offered him a brilliant smile, “But I am quite well”
“Are you sure? Perhaps you are working too hard”
“Yes, perhaps” Minerva agreed as they continued on their walk in silence. Only moments later, she stopped – suppressing a grin with her teeth in excitement, “Albus...”
“Yes?”
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you”
“Oh?”
“Yes” Her smile was wide as she took her husbands hand once more and placed it on the slight rounding of her stomach, “Happy Valentine’s Day Daddy"
AN: Thanks to Ginger Newts for the challenge - I hope this is an okay response!
Rating: PG (safe for all)
Esto Perpetua
‘There are moments when, no matter the posture of the body,
The soul is on its knees’.
[Les Miserables]
The soul is on its knees’.
[Les Miserables]
Minerva McGonagall was quite a stubborn woman when it suited her. As a child, she had blatantly refused to dress in pink and play with dolls. As a grown woman, she showed the same headstrong attitude in nearly everything she did. For her husband it was a constant source of anxiety – until he had realised it was the thing he loved the most about her. The way she fought so passionately for what she believed in and never backed down in an argument.
So when the Transfiguration Professor with the emerald green eyes decided not to tell her husband her great secret – there was no chance she would back down. It was, after all, February 10th and there were only four days to go until Valentine’s day.
“Good morning dearest” Albus Dumbledore presented his waking wife with a warm smile and a soft kiss before she had even had a chance to register her surroundings. She repaid him with a dazzling smile, curling her arms around his neck out of well-rehearsed instinct.
“Good morning”
Moments later, when they broke apart and Minerva was left breathless and flushed – he returned her smile.
“I trust you slept well?”
“Indeed” Her smile at that moment seemed to possess all the secrets of the world. It was both promising and filled with anticipation.
And it caused her husband of two years to grow hot under the collar. They were still a young couple – she had only left Hogwarts a mere seven years ago. Yet it felt an eternity go. She had only been a girl when she had first started – just eleven years old. Yet she had graduated as a young lady with a thirst for knowledge and heart of gold. Since then, she had only become more amazing in Albus’ eyes.
It wasn’t until after she had left school that he had truly appreciated her as a woman – rather than as a young girl determined to succeed. She had grown more beautiful, wittier, more intelligent, more stunning each time he had seen her since her graduation. Her laugh captivated him – her eyes bewitched him.
It had begun when he began helping Minerva in her auror training. It had ended with a searing, breath-taking kiss that rendered them both speechless.
They had married two years later and everything had seemed brighter from that day onwards.
“Would you mind Albus?” She indicated for him to move as she sat up in bed, brushing her hair off her face as she did so. She paled slightly in that moment and quickly rose from the bed, lifting her dressing gown up off the ground and wrapping it around her naked body.
“Where are you off to?”
“A woman has to freshen up you know” She shot him an almost-convincing smile as she walked into the bathroom and he was none the wiser.
- - -
It was a blissfully cold February day – the frosted windows only clearing in the mid-morning sunlight which bathed the Castle in a dull glow. And with Albus in his office, it gave Minerva the perfect opportunity to sit down and relax without being questioned. She sat in their chambers, starring idly down at her cold cup of tea, her mind racing with a thousand thoughts.
As a young bride, she was not sure what to make her of her present situation – and she had barely a moment to worry about the thought. Moments later, the clock struck two and she hurried down stairs for her next class.
The portraits began to speak in hush tones as soon as she had fled.
- - -
“Headmaster?” Professor Pomona Sprout looked honestly surprised to enter the great Albus Dumbledore’s office and see him competing with what looked like a roll of plastic, “What are you doing?”
“Ah, professor! I was just uh... wrapping... Minerva’s Valentines Day present”
“Oh, I see” Pomona stifled a laugh as she saw the red, brightly coloured package sitting on his desk – an array of what she now recognised to be Muggle sticky tape stuck to nearly every object in his possession.
“Headmaster, if you don’t mind me saying – perhaps you should ease off the cello tape?”
“It’s a perfectly useful invention, I’m sure. I wanted to do this the proper way”
“Minerva will never know how you wrapped it” He seemed to consider her thought for a brief moment, but then dismissed it.
“But I will know. I am going to finish this... even if it kills me”
“As you wish” The herbology professor grinned at his enthusiasm. She had been one of the select few to attend the couples wedding and could not have fathomed a more perfect day. Ever since then, she had watched them flourish and could not help but like each of them more with every passing day. Particularly as she watched such a great wizard battle with something as simple as cello tape.
“Was there something you wanted, Pomona?”
“Only to inform you that the roses are ready”
“Ah, brilliant! All in red?”
“Yes, of course”
“Thankyou Pomona – you are a wonder”
“Thankyou” She smiled and chuckled to herself as she left his office, hearing him tear off yet another strip of tape, followed by an audible profanity.
- - -
At dinner that night, Pomona couldn’t help but grin at the mere sight of Albus. And Poppy Pomfrey couldn’t help but regard Minerva with a concerned expression.
But the students noticed nothing out of the ordinary and continued with their feast until they were instructed to return to their dormitories, leaving the staff alone once more.
“I shall see you later tonight then?” Albus questioned his wife as they reached the stairs.
“Where are you going?” For a moment, she looked thoroughly confused.
“To the Ministry of Magic, for my meeting. Don’t you remember? I did tell you twice this morning”
“Oh yes, of course. I’m sorry Albus. I must’ve woken up on the wrong side of the bed I believe” He looked at her with a vague look of concern, but she was determined – and she refused to accept his worry, “Go – I am fine. I just had a busy day. I will see you tonight”
“Are you sure you will be okay?”
“I will be fine – now go or you will be late” And, showing the same determination, she walked up the stairs without looking back.
- - -
As Albus entered their chambers that night after returning from the Ministry, he made not a sound. And he was pleased he didn’t. Because he found Minerva, fully clothed, curled up in bed – her transfiguration marking lying forgotten next to her. With a smile, he kissed her cheek softly and climbed into bed next to her.
She murmured and placed her hands over his almost instinctively. But she did not wake, and he left her to sleep peacefully in his arms for the remainder of the night.
- - -
Minerva’s present lay wrapped, hidden in Albus’ desk when the sun rose of Valentine’s Day in an array of bursting colour.
And Albus lay hidden under her desk on that same morning, now battling with more cello tape to finish adding the final red ribbon to his young wife’s present.
Minerva’s relaxing morning sleep was disturbed by her husband’s cries from the room next door and she sat bolt up right at the sound of his plea.
“HELP ME!”
Within moments, she was standing in his office in little more than a silk, green dressing gown.
All she could see was a flash of auburn hair sitting underneath a wooden desk.
“Albus Dumbledore – what on earth are you doing?” He appeared almost straight away, looking indignant.
“My dear, did I wake you?”
“You would’ve woken the dead with that racket you were making”
“I’m dreadfully sorry. I was calling for Fawkes. He was meant to bring the uh... the err... scissors”
“Whatever for?”
“Your present” And with a wave of his wand, he produced a not-so-perfectly, hand-wrapped present. But Minerva’s heart nearly exploded with love and admiration for her partner.
“Albus...” Her face spoke a thousand words as the present levitated into her open hands, “Thankyou” She smiled as she sat down beside him and began to open the present.
“Anything for you m’dear” Albus leant across to kiss her cheek softly as she opened the bright red wrapping to reveal a navy, felt box. And when she opened it to reveal its contents, words escaped her. For inside, the box held a glowing necklace – with a simple A and M interwoven on the end of the chain, a shining emerald encased between them.
“Thankyou” She whispered, her words barely audible. Her words were few, yet her eyes spoke a thousand more and betrayed all her thoughts of love and admiration.
“I would do anything for you” He whispered in return as he leant across to kiss her – a searing kiss that made his toes curl and her heart leap.
It was later – much, much later – when they finally arose and made their way into the magnificent Hogwarts Garden’s. Minerva slipped her hand into her husbands, his gift sparkling against the hollow of her neck as they walked beside the lake.
“You have not been yourself Minerva” Albus regarded her with the same concern as he had the night before as they stopped beside the lake.
“No” She agreed, but then offered him a brilliant smile, “But I am quite well”
“Are you sure? Perhaps you are working too hard”
“Yes, perhaps” Minerva agreed as they continued on their walk in silence. Only moments later, she stopped – suppressing a grin with her teeth in excitement, “Albus...”
“Yes?”
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you”
“Oh?”
“Yes” Her smile was wide as she took her husbands hand once more and placed it on the slight rounding of her stomach, “Happy Valentine’s Day Daddy"
