Post by furandfeathers on Mar 3, 2007 22:36:55 GMT -5
that title makes it sound like my fic is horrendously boring. I don't think it's that bad.
Rating: T possibly for mentions of beer (now you're curious aren't you? LOL)
A/N: This turned out to be quite lengthy. Nothing belongs to me, characters are property of J.K Rowling except the original ones, all of which were based on real people, but the names have been changed to protect the sane and not. Happy reading! *Lizz
Albus woke bright and early one morning. He smiled when he realized it was Saturday. A whole day for him to spend with Minerva. He began humming to himself in the shower, still thinking about his best friend, and if he was lucky, maybe something more. He had loved her since she returned to Hogwarts some forty years before. He had never told her though, because they had rapidly developed a very strong friendship, and he didn’t want to risk losing what he had.
When he was dressed and ready for the day, he went to Minerva’s rooms to pick her up and walk her to breakfast, as he did every morning. He knocked and knocked and received no answer. He grew a little worried, and after knocking once more, he spoke the password, and went inside.
He found her on the sofa in her sitting room, still in the emerald green robes from the day before, her glasses balanced precariously on the end of her nose, and a stack of 2nd year essays which had fallen from her hands were now strewn about the floor in front of the fire. Albus collected the papers and staked them neatly on the end table before he turned to poke at the fire, until the flames burned brightly again. It was his attempt to remove her glasses though, that woke her with a start.
“Albus!” she cried, “I didn’t hear you come in!”
“Yes, I know. You were sound asleep,” he told her, then added as an afterthought, “I did knock.”
“I’m sure you did. Those essays were so dull, they put me to sleep.” She replied, stifling a yawn.
“Minerva, you should take a day off. You’re driving yourself to exhaustion.” He said, concerned.
“Albus, I’m quite all right.”
“Minerva,” he countered, “You slept in your clothes.”
“Fair point,” she conceded, getting off the sofa.
Minerva showered and dressed in record time, while Albus amused himself grading 2nd year essays and pondering a little idea he’d just had. They were on their way to breakfast when he sprung it on her.
“Min, let’s take a vacation.”
“What!” she cried, “Albus are you mad? It’s March…”
“The students will never miss us.” He stated matter-of-factly.
“Why can’t we just wait until summer?” she asked.
“By then it is entirely possible that you will have landed yourself in St. Mungo’s.” he told her, then added more gently, “I’m worried about you Min.”
How he convinced her to go with him, he wasn’t sure, but the next day Albus found himself packing for their mini-vacation to New York. They would only be going for about four days, but hopefully he could get Minerva to relax and take a break. He hadn’t told her exactly where they were going, just to a nice spot he knew of.
In her room, Minerva was a little anxious about this vacation. Sure, she and Albus were best friends, and spent a considerable amount of time together during the summer, away from the school, but they had never gone anywhere “together.” Add that to the fact that all he’d said was “New York” and to “bring muggle clothes, warm ones” and she was a little wary of this trip. However this was Albus, and she trusted him completely.
Albus and Minerva went to talk with Flitwick and Severus before they left, to make sure that they would be all right running the school and teaching Minerva’s classes while she was away. They were going on a Thursday and would return Sunday night. Minerva had agreed to this, feeling that her students’ educations wouldn’t suffer too much if they only had to read from the textbook for two days.
At last they reached the apparition spot. Traveling the muggle way would take far too long, and the place they were going to was owned by wizards, who had assured Albus that they could apparate right to the place and not be noticed at all. It would be dark still in the states, very early Thursday morning. They shrunk their luggage and tucked it into their pockets. Then, as Albus hadn’t told Minerva where they were going, he drew her close to him and prepared to apparate them both.
They landed in front of a large colonial house, and Minerva gave a startled shriek. She was knee deep in snow, and it was cold. Albus took her hand and helped her make her way across the yard to the path that had been shoveled from the front door to the mailbox at the edge of the road. When they could walk without picking up their feet like chickens, Minerva’s gaze returned to the house, her hand still in Albus’. The house was white, with black shutters, and two rows of windows, each with a candle burning brightly in it. Albus knocked on the door and it was soon answered by a middle-aged man who recognized them right away, and ushered them upstairs to their rooms.
Minerva changed her luggage back to its appropriate size and, after changing her wet socks and shoes, she set about unpacking. Albus knocked a few minutes later.
“Are you finished unpacking already?” she asked in surprise after she let him in.
“You’re not? Oh, you’re doing it the hard way.”
“The hard way? If you mean by hand, then yes I guess I am.” She replied.
He sat on the bed, watching her with an expectant expression, reminding her of a child at Christmas. Finally, he asked, “what are we going to do today?”
“Albus, it’s three in the morning, and I don’t even have the slightest idea where we are! I thought you said we were going to New York.”
Albus laughed. “We’re in New York, Min. There’s more to the state than that overpopulated few square miles that they call New York City. We’re upstate, in a little town, affectionately known as ‘Deadwell’ by the locals, as its population is slightly less than 200 people and half of them move to Florida for the winter.”
“You know the locals? How often have you come here?” Minerva was completely surprised by this.
“I try to manage one weekend per year. It’s lovely and quiet in the winter time, and the people are very nice.” He told her.
“It sounds nice. I’d like to explore a little,” she said.
“Let’s go!” he said standing, and heading for the door. She grabbed his hand and pulled him back.
“Albus, it’s three in the morning.”
“I’m not tired,” he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She had to laugh.
“Yes dear,” she said patiently, “but we’ll have to wait for this sleepy little town of yours to wake up. Until then, how about a game of Chess?”
And so they sat on the floor in front of her fire, leaning on the bed, and played Chess. It was wonderfully relaxing to spend the peaceful early morning hours playing a game with your best friend. The only sounds in the room were the crackling of the fire, and their voices as they talked quietly with each other. The rest of the world lay silent, sleeping under its blanket of white.
The following morning, they went downstairs for breakfast. There was a rather large variety of things to choose from for a small bed and breakfast, but apparently, they were not the only guests, and the man who had met them at the door that morning really liked to cook. They met Morgan and Josh, and chatted briefly before going out to explore the town.
Their hostess, Joan, gave them a lift into town, and let them off at Barlow’s General Store, on the corner of the town’s one and only intersection. Albus took Minerva’s hand, and they went inside. Albus was immediately drawn to the shelves of penny candy and other assorted sweets at the front.
“Look, Min! Candy cigarettes!” he exclaimed. She laughed, letting go of his hand and wandering in the direction of the shelves that held the used books. She had never heard of a lot of the authors, who were Danielle Steel and Stephen King? She looked up to find Albus had disappeared. She went to the back, past the hardware section and the breads and ice cream. She found him in the back corner, with the dairy products and fresh deli meats.
“Albus?” she asked, “Are you ready to go?”
”Yes, my dear. What should we do today?” he asked her, as they walked to the front of the store.
“What is there to do?” she replied.
A boy at the counter buying stamps, bacon, and beer turned to look at the older couple. His eyes held a mischievous glint. “Have you ever been snowmobiling?”
“Albus, are you sure you understand what he told you?” Minerva asked, eyeing the odd-looking machine warily.
“Of course,” he replied, his voice muffled by the helmet he had just put on, “That’s the gas, that’s the brake, and you steer with those,” he continued pointing to each in turn. “How hard could it be?”
Minerva just gave him a skeptical look.
“Don’t you trust me?”
“Albus that isn’t the issue. Clearly, I trust you completely, otherwise I wouldn’t be standing here at all.”
“Please, come with me,” he pouted, “I’ll drive slow, I promise.”
“Oh all right!” she gave in, climbing on behind him.
When he thought she was ready, Albus pushed down on the throttle. Minerva gave a yelp of surprise as the snowmobile lurched forward, nearly throwing her off the back. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, holding on for dear life as they took off across the field.
Upon reaching the end of the field, Albus slowed down and carefully turned the sled around. Minerva felt herself slide sideways, and she had to hook her leg around Albus’ in order to stay on. He had gained confidence in his driving abilities now, and took off faster back across the field. Minerva nearly screamed; this snowmobiling thing was absolutely terrifying. Instead, she shut her eyes and buried her face against Albus’ back, trusting him to get them back in one piece.
He hadn’t been paying attention, and nearly ran over the boy who had brought them there, slamming on the brakes just in time. Minerva was shaking when she got off, and it wasn’t from the cold.
“Are you all right, Min?” he asked, as he handed the boy his helmet back. She was pale and quivering quite violently. He went to her, and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry, Min. I wouldn’t have gone so fast if I’d known you were afraid.”
The boy spoke up. “If you want, I can take you and your wife back to the B&B in my truck.”
“Oh, we’re not ma…” Albus began, but was interrupted by Minerva’s quiet,
“Yes, please.”
The boy turned out to be no better a driver than Albus, and Minerva was extremely grateful when they finally reached the house.
Minerva was sitting on the bed, staring into the fire when Albus knocked softly. She told him to come in, and he sat beside her.
“I’m sorry…” he began, but she again interrupted him.
“It’s all right, Albus. I guess I just don’t have your sense of adventure.” She said softly.
“Minerva,” he said hesitantly, “Why did you…?” he stopped.
“Why did I not let you tell him that we aren’t married?” she sighed, knowing he would ask about that eventually. Should she tell him the truth, that she’d been in love with him for close to forty years, or lie? She settled on half-truth. “I didn’t want to go into the lengthy explanations, I just wanted to get back here and change into some warm, dry clothes. I didn’t mean to offend you…”
“You didn’t!” he exclaimed. “I mean, what man in their right mind would be offended by the thought of being married to you?”
“A lot,” she said softly, turning her face away.
“You don’t honestly believe that?” She didn’t look at him, so he gently took her chin in his hand and turned her to face him. “Minerva, that isn’t true. You’re so smart, and wise, you have a wonderful sense of humor even though you hide it, and you’re kind and loving.”
“That might all be true, but no one ever looks twice because I’m not the stereotypical dumb blonde that all the men go for. I’m not pretty.” She said, wishing he would let her go.
“No, you’re not,” he said simply, and tears flooded her eyes against her will, “Minerva, you’re beautiful,” he continued, “You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met, inside and out.”
Her tears spilled over, and she collapsed against him. He held her tightly, stroking her hair and murmuring nonsense words to soothe her. As she clung to him, he found the courage to say the words that he’d held in for forty years. “Minerva, I love you.”
She raised her head off his chest to look up into his face. His eyes told her he was sincere, which brought on a fresh wave of tears. She cursed herself for being a simpering sap, and aloud said, “I love you, too.”
He pulled her up, and handed her his handkerchief. “Come on, I’m taking you out to dinner tonight.” He said, and with a wave of his wand, their clothes had changed. He was wearing a bright yellow shirt, and black pants (which actually matched, she noted), and she was now wearing a blood red dress, with thick straps that crossed in the back, and a full skirt that ended mid-calf. He conjured a black, wool cape for her and a jacket for himself, then apparated them to a place he knew of in the next town over.
“Jay’s Place,” she read aloud as they walked towards the red front door. They were shown to their seats by a tiny little woman with a big smile. Albus helped Minerva with her coat as she took in the room. It was wood paneled, with landscape paintings here and there. The chairs and tables were of a dark wood, and the booths, like the one they had, were brown. It was definitely a man’s room, but it was cozy, and she liked it.
The waitress soon came to take their orders. Albus ordered a steak, and Minerva opted for the special, stuffed flounder, and she heard Albus mutter something teasing about “felines and fish.” He wasn’t particularly fond of seafood himself.
The food was delicious, and the couple thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Their favorite activity had always been spending a quiet evening talking about everything and nothing, and this was made better by the love they had discovered.
It was nearly ten by the time they returned to the house, and they were exhausted, having been awake for almost a full 24 hours. They said goodnight in her room, and it took much longer than it usually did, as Albus simply would not stop kissing her.
She smiled happily to herself as she prepared for bed, but when she at last climbed under the covers, Minerva found that she couldn’t sleep. Getting up, she padded across the hall, and knocking softly, entered Albus’ room. He sat up in bed when he heard her, and turned on the lamp.
She looked at him shyly. “I couldn’t sleep. I know this is really new, but…would it be all right if I stayed here tonight? With you?” she asked.
Albus smiled. “I don’t think it’s new, I’ve loved you for decades. I have a feeling that I’ll sleep much better if you stay as well.”
She crossed the room, and slid under the covers beside him. He turned out the light once more, and gathered her close to him. She was amazed at how perfectly they fit together. This felt completely right. Minerva gave a happy sigh, and snuggled closer, her face coming to rest where his neck met his shoulder. Albus kissed her softly, and laid his cheek against her hair, quite happy and comfortable.
He was nearly asleep when she spoke. “Albus, this town is lovely, but it’s horrendously boring, do you think we can sneak back into Hogwarts tomorrow?”
He chuckled. “Yes, I think so, my love.”
Rating: T possibly for mentions of beer (now you're curious aren't you? LOL)
Horrendously Boring
A/N: This turned out to be quite lengthy. Nothing belongs to me, characters are property of J.K Rowling except the original ones, all of which were based on real people, but the names have been changed to protect the sane and not. Happy reading! *Lizz
Albus woke bright and early one morning. He smiled when he realized it was Saturday. A whole day for him to spend with Minerva. He began humming to himself in the shower, still thinking about his best friend, and if he was lucky, maybe something more. He had loved her since she returned to Hogwarts some forty years before. He had never told her though, because they had rapidly developed a very strong friendship, and he didn’t want to risk losing what he had.
When he was dressed and ready for the day, he went to Minerva’s rooms to pick her up and walk her to breakfast, as he did every morning. He knocked and knocked and received no answer. He grew a little worried, and after knocking once more, he spoke the password, and went inside.
He found her on the sofa in her sitting room, still in the emerald green robes from the day before, her glasses balanced precariously on the end of her nose, and a stack of 2nd year essays which had fallen from her hands were now strewn about the floor in front of the fire. Albus collected the papers and staked them neatly on the end table before he turned to poke at the fire, until the flames burned brightly again. It was his attempt to remove her glasses though, that woke her with a start.
“Albus!” she cried, “I didn’t hear you come in!”
“Yes, I know. You were sound asleep,” he told her, then added as an afterthought, “I did knock.”
“I’m sure you did. Those essays were so dull, they put me to sleep.” She replied, stifling a yawn.
“Minerva, you should take a day off. You’re driving yourself to exhaustion.” He said, concerned.
“Albus, I’m quite all right.”
“Minerva,” he countered, “You slept in your clothes.”
“Fair point,” she conceded, getting off the sofa.
Minerva showered and dressed in record time, while Albus amused himself grading 2nd year essays and pondering a little idea he’d just had. They were on their way to breakfast when he sprung it on her.
“Min, let’s take a vacation.”
“What!” she cried, “Albus are you mad? It’s March…”
“The students will never miss us.” He stated matter-of-factly.
“Why can’t we just wait until summer?” she asked.
“By then it is entirely possible that you will have landed yourself in St. Mungo’s.” he told her, then added more gently, “I’m worried about you Min.”
How he convinced her to go with him, he wasn’t sure, but the next day Albus found himself packing for their mini-vacation to New York. They would only be going for about four days, but hopefully he could get Minerva to relax and take a break. He hadn’t told her exactly where they were going, just to a nice spot he knew of.
In her room, Minerva was a little anxious about this vacation. Sure, she and Albus were best friends, and spent a considerable amount of time together during the summer, away from the school, but they had never gone anywhere “together.” Add that to the fact that all he’d said was “New York” and to “bring muggle clothes, warm ones” and she was a little wary of this trip. However this was Albus, and she trusted him completely.
Albus and Minerva went to talk with Flitwick and Severus before they left, to make sure that they would be all right running the school and teaching Minerva’s classes while she was away. They were going on a Thursday and would return Sunday night. Minerva had agreed to this, feeling that her students’ educations wouldn’t suffer too much if they only had to read from the textbook for two days.
At last they reached the apparition spot. Traveling the muggle way would take far too long, and the place they were going to was owned by wizards, who had assured Albus that they could apparate right to the place and not be noticed at all. It would be dark still in the states, very early Thursday morning. They shrunk their luggage and tucked it into their pockets. Then, as Albus hadn’t told Minerva where they were going, he drew her close to him and prepared to apparate them both.
They landed in front of a large colonial house, and Minerva gave a startled shriek. She was knee deep in snow, and it was cold. Albus took her hand and helped her make her way across the yard to the path that had been shoveled from the front door to the mailbox at the edge of the road. When they could walk without picking up their feet like chickens, Minerva’s gaze returned to the house, her hand still in Albus’. The house was white, with black shutters, and two rows of windows, each with a candle burning brightly in it. Albus knocked on the door and it was soon answered by a middle-aged man who recognized them right away, and ushered them upstairs to their rooms.
Minerva changed her luggage back to its appropriate size and, after changing her wet socks and shoes, she set about unpacking. Albus knocked a few minutes later.
“Are you finished unpacking already?” she asked in surprise after she let him in.
“You’re not? Oh, you’re doing it the hard way.”
“The hard way? If you mean by hand, then yes I guess I am.” She replied.
He sat on the bed, watching her with an expectant expression, reminding her of a child at Christmas. Finally, he asked, “what are we going to do today?”
“Albus, it’s three in the morning, and I don’t even have the slightest idea where we are! I thought you said we were going to New York.”
Albus laughed. “We’re in New York, Min. There’s more to the state than that overpopulated few square miles that they call New York City. We’re upstate, in a little town, affectionately known as ‘Deadwell’ by the locals, as its population is slightly less than 200 people and half of them move to Florida for the winter.”
“You know the locals? How often have you come here?” Minerva was completely surprised by this.
“I try to manage one weekend per year. It’s lovely and quiet in the winter time, and the people are very nice.” He told her.
“It sounds nice. I’d like to explore a little,” she said.
“Let’s go!” he said standing, and heading for the door. She grabbed his hand and pulled him back.
“Albus, it’s three in the morning.”
“I’m not tired,” he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She had to laugh.
“Yes dear,” she said patiently, “but we’ll have to wait for this sleepy little town of yours to wake up. Until then, how about a game of Chess?”
And so they sat on the floor in front of her fire, leaning on the bed, and played Chess. It was wonderfully relaxing to spend the peaceful early morning hours playing a game with your best friend. The only sounds in the room were the crackling of the fire, and their voices as they talked quietly with each other. The rest of the world lay silent, sleeping under its blanket of white.
The following morning, they went downstairs for breakfast. There was a rather large variety of things to choose from for a small bed and breakfast, but apparently, they were not the only guests, and the man who had met them at the door that morning really liked to cook. They met Morgan and Josh, and chatted briefly before going out to explore the town.
Their hostess, Joan, gave them a lift into town, and let them off at Barlow’s General Store, on the corner of the town’s one and only intersection. Albus took Minerva’s hand, and they went inside. Albus was immediately drawn to the shelves of penny candy and other assorted sweets at the front.
“Look, Min! Candy cigarettes!” he exclaimed. She laughed, letting go of his hand and wandering in the direction of the shelves that held the used books. She had never heard of a lot of the authors, who were Danielle Steel and Stephen King? She looked up to find Albus had disappeared. She went to the back, past the hardware section and the breads and ice cream. She found him in the back corner, with the dairy products and fresh deli meats.
“Albus?” she asked, “Are you ready to go?”
”Yes, my dear. What should we do today?” he asked her, as they walked to the front of the store.
“What is there to do?” she replied.
A boy at the counter buying stamps, bacon, and beer turned to look at the older couple. His eyes held a mischievous glint. “Have you ever been snowmobiling?”
“Albus, are you sure you understand what he told you?” Minerva asked, eyeing the odd-looking machine warily.
“Of course,” he replied, his voice muffled by the helmet he had just put on, “That’s the gas, that’s the brake, and you steer with those,” he continued pointing to each in turn. “How hard could it be?”
Minerva just gave him a skeptical look.
“Don’t you trust me?”
“Albus that isn’t the issue. Clearly, I trust you completely, otherwise I wouldn’t be standing here at all.”
“Please, come with me,” he pouted, “I’ll drive slow, I promise.”
“Oh all right!” she gave in, climbing on behind him.
When he thought she was ready, Albus pushed down on the throttle. Minerva gave a yelp of surprise as the snowmobile lurched forward, nearly throwing her off the back. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, holding on for dear life as they took off across the field.
Upon reaching the end of the field, Albus slowed down and carefully turned the sled around. Minerva felt herself slide sideways, and she had to hook her leg around Albus’ in order to stay on. He had gained confidence in his driving abilities now, and took off faster back across the field. Minerva nearly screamed; this snowmobiling thing was absolutely terrifying. Instead, she shut her eyes and buried her face against Albus’ back, trusting him to get them back in one piece.
He hadn’t been paying attention, and nearly ran over the boy who had brought them there, slamming on the brakes just in time. Minerva was shaking when she got off, and it wasn’t from the cold.
“Are you all right, Min?” he asked, as he handed the boy his helmet back. She was pale and quivering quite violently. He went to her, and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry, Min. I wouldn’t have gone so fast if I’d known you were afraid.”
The boy spoke up. “If you want, I can take you and your wife back to the B&B in my truck.”
“Oh, we’re not ma…” Albus began, but was interrupted by Minerva’s quiet,
“Yes, please.”
The boy turned out to be no better a driver than Albus, and Minerva was extremely grateful when they finally reached the house.
Minerva was sitting on the bed, staring into the fire when Albus knocked softly. She told him to come in, and he sat beside her.
“I’m sorry…” he began, but she again interrupted him.
“It’s all right, Albus. I guess I just don’t have your sense of adventure.” She said softly.
“Minerva,” he said hesitantly, “Why did you…?” he stopped.
“Why did I not let you tell him that we aren’t married?” she sighed, knowing he would ask about that eventually. Should she tell him the truth, that she’d been in love with him for close to forty years, or lie? She settled on half-truth. “I didn’t want to go into the lengthy explanations, I just wanted to get back here and change into some warm, dry clothes. I didn’t mean to offend you…”
“You didn’t!” he exclaimed. “I mean, what man in their right mind would be offended by the thought of being married to you?”
“A lot,” she said softly, turning her face away.
“You don’t honestly believe that?” She didn’t look at him, so he gently took her chin in his hand and turned her to face him. “Minerva, that isn’t true. You’re so smart, and wise, you have a wonderful sense of humor even though you hide it, and you’re kind and loving.”
“That might all be true, but no one ever looks twice because I’m not the stereotypical dumb blonde that all the men go for. I’m not pretty.” She said, wishing he would let her go.
“No, you’re not,” he said simply, and tears flooded her eyes against her will, “Minerva, you’re beautiful,” he continued, “You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met, inside and out.”
Her tears spilled over, and she collapsed against him. He held her tightly, stroking her hair and murmuring nonsense words to soothe her. As she clung to him, he found the courage to say the words that he’d held in for forty years. “Minerva, I love you.”
She raised her head off his chest to look up into his face. His eyes told her he was sincere, which brought on a fresh wave of tears. She cursed herself for being a simpering sap, and aloud said, “I love you, too.”
He pulled her up, and handed her his handkerchief. “Come on, I’m taking you out to dinner tonight.” He said, and with a wave of his wand, their clothes had changed. He was wearing a bright yellow shirt, and black pants (which actually matched, she noted), and she was now wearing a blood red dress, with thick straps that crossed in the back, and a full skirt that ended mid-calf. He conjured a black, wool cape for her and a jacket for himself, then apparated them to a place he knew of in the next town over.
“Jay’s Place,” she read aloud as they walked towards the red front door. They were shown to their seats by a tiny little woman with a big smile. Albus helped Minerva with her coat as she took in the room. It was wood paneled, with landscape paintings here and there. The chairs and tables were of a dark wood, and the booths, like the one they had, were brown. It was definitely a man’s room, but it was cozy, and she liked it.
The waitress soon came to take their orders. Albus ordered a steak, and Minerva opted for the special, stuffed flounder, and she heard Albus mutter something teasing about “felines and fish.” He wasn’t particularly fond of seafood himself.
The food was delicious, and the couple thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Their favorite activity had always been spending a quiet evening talking about everything and nothing, and this was made better by the love they had discovered.
It was nearly ten by the time they returned to the house, and they were exhausted, having been awake for almost a full 24 hours. They said goodnight in her room, and it took much longer than it usually did, as Albus simply would not stop kissing her.
She smiled happily to herself as she prepared for bed, but when she at last climbed under the covers, Minerva found that she couldn’t sleep. Getting up, she padded across the hall, and knocking softly, entered Albus’ room. He sat up in bed when he heard her, and turned on the lamp.
She looked at him shyly. “I couldn’t sleep. I know this is really new, but…would it be all right if I stayed here tonight? With you?” she asked.
Albus smiled. “I don’t think it’s new, I’ve loved you for decades. I have a feeling that I’ll sleep much better if you stay as well.”
She crossed the room, and slid under the covers beside him. He turned out the light once more, and gathered her close to him. She was amazed at how perfectly they fit together. This felt completely right. Minerva gave a happy sigh, and snuggled closer, her face coming to rest where his neck met his shoulder. Albus kissed her softly, and laid his cheek against her hair, quite happy and comfortable.
He was nearly asleep when she spoke. “Albus, this town is lovely, but it’s horrendously boring, do you think we can sneak back into Hogwarts tomorrow?”
He chuckled. “Yes, I think so, my love.”
