Post by ginger newts on Oct 17, 2004 0:33:11 GMT -5
With a little help from the issuer herself, I bring you a response to Christy's challenge. Just for you, Pal!
Sleeping Arrangements
During the meeting, Albus said that he had a report of Death Eater activity in a small town in Wales. Quite a number of them were to be gathering there starting the next day and he had reason to believe that Voldemort would be joining them before the week was over, he said he was putting together a special team to go and spy, to take action if necessary. He asked Minerva, Sirius Black, James and Lily Potter, and Frank and Alice Longbottom to remain behind after the meeting for instructions.
“The town we are going to is entirely populated by muggles and because of that as well as the presence of the Death Eaters, I’m afraid we will not be able to use much magic. It is important that we remain undetected. A friend of mine owns a small cottage on the edge of the town and has given us the use of it for the week. We will need to travel tonight, under the cover of darkness. Can you all meet back here in one hour with the supplies you will need for a week?”
Everyone said that they could and Albus asked Minerva to also pack enough food for them for the first day or two, they would be able to shop in the village but only sporadically and as he said it was best to be prepared for anything. She agreed and they apparated back to Hogwarts to pack. Her mother had asked her to come and visit that week so Minerva took a few minutes to call her through the floo network and explain that she had some urgent business to attend to and would be unable to make it.
“You do far too much for that man, you know,” her mother said, assuming this urgent business had something to do with Albus. “He’ll never appreciate you if you continue to put yourself at his beck and call. What you need to do is find a nice man and settle down, maybe even leave that school. No decent man would want his wife away from him for ten months out of the year.”
Minerva sighed, “Mother, I don’t have time to discuss this right now. I have many things to do before I leave. Besides, Albus does appreciate me and I don’t want to get married and leave Hogwarts. I like it here, this is my home. Why would you just assume that whatever I’m doing has to do with Albus anyway?”
“Because everything you have done for the last thirty years has to do with that man,” her mother sniffed.
“I really have to go now, mother. I’m sorry I won’t be able to visit you, maybe next week.”
Minerva pulled her head out of the fire before her mother had a chance to respond and hurriedly packed a week’s worth of clothes into her tartan carpet bag before rushing down to the kitchens, where the house elves were happy to provide her with more than enough food for seven people for a few days. Then she rushed off to the entrance hall and met Albus so they could apparate back to the meeting point.
The others were already there when Albus and Minerva arrived and they were able to take a portkey to a wooded area not far from the village they would be staying in, but they had to walk from there to the cottage which was why Albus wanted to go at night. He gave them all directions and let them go in small groups. Sirius, Lily, and James went first and after fifteen minutes Albus gave Frank and Alice a signal to follow them. He and Minerva waited another thirty minutes and then took an entirely different path to the cottage, walking most of the way through the dense woods. They had to cross a small stream and Minerva lost her footing when she stepped on a slippery rock and fell over into the freezing cold water, she landed hard on another rock and decided she would probably have an enormous bruise on her bottom. Albus helped her up and inquired whether she was alright, Minerva just shot him a ‘what do you think’ sort of look and wrenched her hand out of his with a bit more force than was necessary.
When they finally arrived at the cottage, Minerva was unprepared to have her bag seized and searched for food before anyone even greeted her. It seemed none of them had eaten dinner and the long walk had made everyone hungry, everyone except Minerva who suddenly found she didn’t even want to look at the food. She made a cup of tea just to have something to do and sat alone in a corner of the small kitchen, watching the others light a fire in the fireplace before gathering around it to eat. Even though they were on a potentially dangerous mission and a confrontation with a large group of Death Eaters and the most feared dark wizard of modern times seemed likely, everyone else seemed to be in high spirits. Minerva watched her former students laughing and joking with each other, recalling stories from their student days they sounded like they were having a reunion rather than going on a spying mission. When Albus joined their conversation, Minerva found herself feeling truly left out. Although she had separated herself from the group, none of them seemed to remember she was there – not even Albus. It was not the first time in her life Minerva had felt lonely while in a crowd, but that didn’t make it any easier.
It had been late already when they arrived and Albus soon stood and suggested they all get some sleep. Lily spoke up to say that they had already looked over the house when they arrived, there were four doors upstairs which they assumed were all bedrooms. Sirius offered to sleep on the couch in the sitting room and everyone else went upstairs together, except Minerva who said she wanted another cup of tea first. The truth was she just wanted a few minutes alone before going to bed, as she knew sleep would not come easily tonight. A few minutes later, she poured the full contents of her first cup of tea, now stone cold, down the drain and slowly climbed the stairs, bidding goodnight to Sirius as she went. There were four doors off the tiny hallway and Minerva wondered which had already been taken. She knocked on the first door and Lily answered.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know if this room was taken or not,” Minerva said quickly. “I didn’t mean to disturb you, good night.”
Lily smiled, “That’s alright, I think Frank and Alice are next door and Dumbledore went into the room across from theirs.”
“Thank you,” Minerva said and walked away.
She heard Lily close the door behind her and her shoulders slumped when she thought about the two young couples in the house and how she wished for someone to share her bed with, especially on cold nights like this one. Minerva went to the only door Lily hadn’t said was an occupied room and knocked, receiving no answer she cautiously opened the door and came face to face with a sink. It was the bathroom. Minerva looked around the hallway as if an answer would suddenly fall out of the air. Where was she supposed to sleep? She went back downstairs, thinking maybe there was another couch, but there wasn’t and since she wasn’t allowed to use magic she couldn’t transfigure one. Minerva stood at the bottom of the stairs for a while, thinking. She couldn’t ask Sirius to share the couch, that would be most inappropriate, there was no way she was going to barge in on either of the married couples upstairs and she refused to sleep in a chair all night. Sighing, she decided she would just have to ask Albus if she could share his room, maybe he wouldn’t mind a cat in the bed.
Sleeping Arrangements
During the meeting, Albus said that he had a report of Death Eater activity in a small town in Wales. Quite a number of them were to be gathering there starting the next day and he had reason to believe that Voldemort would be joining them before the week was over, he said he was putting together a special team to go and spy, to take action if necessary. He asked Minerva, Sirius Black, James and Lily Potter, and Frank and Alice Longbottom to remain behind after the meeting for instructions.
“The town we are going to is entirely populated by muggles and because of that as well as the presence of the Death Eaters, I’m afraid we will not be able to use much magic. It is important that we remain undetected. A friend of mine owns a small cottage on the edge of the town and has given us the use of it for the week. We will need to travel tonight, under the cover of darkness. Can you all meet back here in one hour with the supplies you will need for a week?”
Everyone said that they could and Albus asked Minerva to also pack enough food for them for the first day or two, they would be able to shop in the village but only sporadically and as he said it was best to be prepared for anything. She agreed and they apparated back to Hogwarts to pack. Her mother had asked her to come and visit that week so Minerva took a few minutes to call her through the floo network and explain that she had some urgent business to attend to and would be unable to make it.
“You do far too much for that man, you know,” her mother said, assuming this urgent business had something to do with Albus. “He’ll never appreciate you if you continue to put yourself at his beck and call. What you need to do is find a nice man and settle down, maybe even leave that school. No decent man would want his wife away from him for ten months out of the year.”
Minerva sighed, “Mother, I don’t have time to discuss this right now. I have many things to do before I leave. Besides, Albus does appreciate me and I don’t want to get married and leave Hogwarts. I like it here, this is my home. Why would you just assume that whatever I’m doing has to do with Albus anyway?”
“Because everything you have done for the last thirty years has to do with that man,” her mother sniffed.
“I really have to go now, mother. I’m sorry I won’t be able to visit you, maybe next week.”
Minerva pulled her head out of the fire before her mother had a chance to respond and hurriedly packed a week’s worth of clothes into her tartan carpet bag before rushing down to the kitchens, where the house elves were happy to provide her with more than enough food for seven people for a few days. Then she rushed off to the entrance hall and met Albus so they could apparate back to the meeting point.
The others were already there when Albus and Minerva arrived and they were able to take a portkey to a wooded area not far from the village they would be staying in, but they had to walk from there to the cottage which was why Albus wanted to go at night. He gave them all directions and let them go in small groups. Sirius, Lily, and James went first and after fifteen minutes Albus gave Frank and Alice a signal to follow them. He and Minerva waited another thirty minutes and then took an entirely different path to the cottage, walking most of the way through the dense woods. They had to cross a small stream and Minerva lost her footing when she stepped on a slippery rock and fell over into the freezing cold water, she landed hard on another rock and decided she would probably have an enormous bruise on her bottom. Albus helped her up and inquired whether she was alright, Minerva just shot him a ‘what do you think’ sort of look and wrenched her hand out of his with a bit more force than was necessary.
When they finally arrived at the cottage, Minerva was unprepared to have her bag seized and searched for food before anyone even greeted her. It seemed none of them had eaten dinner and the long walk had made everyone hungry, everyone except Minerva who suddenly found she didn’t even want to look at the food. She made a cup of tea just to have something to do and sat alone in a corner of the small kitchen, watching the others light a fire in the fireplace before gathering around it to eat. Even though they were on a potentially dangerous mission and a confrontation with a large group of Death Eaters and the most feared dark wizard of modern times seemed likely, everyone else seemed to be in high spirits. Minerva watched her former students laughing and joking with each other, recalling stories from their student days they sounded like they were having a reunion rather than going on a spying mission. When Albus joined their conversation, Minerva found herself feeling truly left out. Although she had separated herself from the group, none of them seemed to remember she was there – not even Albus. It was not the first time in her life Minerva had felt lonely while in a crowd, but that didn’t make it any easier.
It had been late already when they arrived and Albus soon stood and suggested they all get some sleep. Lily spoke up to say that they had already looked over the house when they arrived, there were four doors upstairs which they assumed were all bedrooms. Sirius offered to sleep on the couch in the sitting room and everyone else went upstairs together, except Minerva who said she wanted another cup of tea first. The truth was she just wanted a few minutes alone before going to bed, as she knew sleep would not come easily tonight. A few minutes later, she poured the full contents of her first cup of tea, now stone cold, down the drain and slowly climbed the stairs, bidding goodnight to Sirius as she went. There were four doors off the tiny hallway and Minerva wondered which had already been taken. She knocked on the first door and Lily answered.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know if this room was taken or not,” Minerva said quickly. “I didn’t mean to disturb you, good night.”
Lily smiled, “That’s alright, I think Frank and Alice are next door and Dumbledore went into the room across from theirs.”
“Thank you,” Minerva said and walked away.
She heard Lily close the door behind her and her shoulders slumped when she thought about the two young couples in the house and how she wished for someone to share her bed with, especially on cold nights like this one. Minerva went to the only door Lily hadn’t said was an occupied room and knocked, receiving no answer she cautiously opened the door and came face to face with a sink. It was the bathroom. Minerva looked around the hallway as if an answer would suddenly fall out of the air. Where was she supposed to sleep? She went back downstairs, thinking maybe there was another couch, but there wasn’t and since she wasn’t allowed to use magic she couldn’t transfigure one. Minerva stood at the bottom of the stairs for a while, thinking. She couldn’t ask Sirius to share the couch, that would be most inappropriate, there was no way she was going to barge in on either of the married couples upstairs and she refused to sleep in a chair all night. Sighing, she decided she would just have to ask Albus if she could share his room, maybe he wouldn’t mind a cat in the bed.
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