The ADMM Collection

[furandfeathers]

LOL...

I still love it! ;D

[laundry basket]

*sniggers* that was great... I'm not sure if I reviewed it for the challenge, but it's hilarious

[childminerva]

Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last entry...here's another, also from the challenge section.
-----------------------------------
#24 Family
Albus Dumbledore had just entered his rooms after another long visit to London where he had been to meeting after meeting with the Minister of Magic as well as several sessions of the Wizengomet. He was physically and mentally exhausted and all he wanted was to enjoy the last week of August before the students arrived for the start of term.

His wife was waiting for him and she helped him unpack his bags and brought him a cup of hot chocolate as he sank down into his favorite chair with a sigh.

“Thank you, Minerva,” he told her as he accepted the mug filled with his favorite drink.

“Bad as ever?” she asked, her eyes filled with sympathy.

“I’m afraid my so,” Albus answered. “Everyone at the Ministry thinks that I can give them all the answers, just snap my fingers and make everything better.”

Minerva McGonagall kissed her husband’s cheek and massaged his shoulders gently.

“I know how much you hate that sort of thing,” she told him as she kneaded out the tension in his neck and shoulders. “So, I planned a little vacation for us to help you relax.”

Albus stopped his wife’s hands and twisted around in his chair to look at her.

“A vacation, Minerva? But school starts in just over a week.”

“All the more reason to get away while we can.”

Albus smiled.

“Alright then, where are we going?”

Minerva grinned and shook her head.

“I’m not telling. Just be ready to go tomorrow morning at eight. I’ve already packed everything you’ll need for the weekend.”

Minerva refused to tell him anything more and so Albus went to bed that night in a state of anticipation, his head buzzing with all the places Minerva could take him for a vacation.

The next morning Albus awoke to find a tray of breakfast on the bed beside him and a suitcase sitting by the bedroom door. As he ate, Albus was surprised to notice a muggle outfit draped across the chair next to the bed.

Albus grinned widely and jumped out of bed to try on the clothes. Minerva was clearly taking them to a muggles destination; something she knew Albus would love.

The clothes Albus put on fit perfectly. They were not as brightly colored as Albus would have liked, but the fact that they were muggle clothes made him extremely happy. The pants were dark blue and the button up shirt was a light blue that nearly matched his eyes. Albus hummed as he brushed his hair and beard.

“Albus? Are you ready?” Minerva walked into the bedroom and glanced at Albus’s outfit. “Hmm, it doesn’t look too bad, I suppose.”

Minerva was wearing very professional looking tailored black pants and a green blouse that matched her eyes. Her dark hair was only loosely pulled back; Albus thought she looked beautiful and told her so.

Minerva waved away this compliment and glanced down at her watch.

“I wanted to leave ten minutes ago,” she told Albus. “Finish up here and let’s go.”

“Won’t you just give me a hint about where we’re headed?” Albus asked hopefully. “Just a little hint?”

“I thought the muggle clothing was enough of a hint,” she told him. “I want this to be a surprise, so I’m not going to tell you anything more.”

No amount of pouting would make Minerva give anything away and so Albus was left to speculate. As it turned out, he did not have long to wait. Minerva led him out the front gates of the school and held out her arm to him.

“Side Along Apparation,” she told him. He complied and soon the two of them were standing in a quiet alleyway.

The buildings were unfamiliar but Minerva took Albus’s hand and led him out onto the street.

“Where are we?” Albus asked his wife, still uncertain.

The buildings were attractive and they were clearly in a downtown area, but Albus did not think he had ever been there before. Minerva did not answer him; she merely smiled and turned to walk uphill. Albus kept a firm hold on her hand as they walked and he gazed at the buildings as they passed.

Several people did a double take as they passed the well dressed couple carrying suitcases; Albus assumed they must be gawking at his wife’s beauty, but Minerva surmised, correctly, that they were curious about Albus’s long hair and beard.

Albus knew better than to ask his wife where they were once more, she had already made it clear that she was not going to tell him. But from the accents in brief snippets of conversation that Albus picked up from the people they passed, he decided they must be in America.

The streets were steep and Albus thought they would walk uphill forever, but Minerva finally stopped in front of an attractive building with vines growing up the side. The painted sign said it was a bed and breakfast.

“This is where we’ll be staying,” Minerva informed him. They entered the building and were directed to a small but charming bedroom with an adjoining bathroom. Minerva told Albus the unpacking could wait and led him back out onto the street.

They walked up one more block until they were directly across the street from a group of cream colored buildings with columns. Two statues of dogs guarded what appeared to be the main entrance.

“What is this place?” Albus asked, but Minerva smiled mischievously and shook her head.

They crossed the street and walked around the building with the statues until they found a bench. Minerva sat down and gestured for Albus to do the same as she checked her watch.

“We’re a little early, I think,” she murmured.

“A little early for what?”

“Oh my, look at that squirrel,” Minerva ignored Albus’s question and pointed to a squirrel that was sitting on the sidewalk in front of them, gazing at the two humans with a curious expression.

“She did say they were nearly tame around here,” Minerva said softly, peering down at the little creature.

“Who did?”

Minerva was spared the trouble of answering as a loud shriek cut through the air.

“Nana! Pops!” A dark haired young woman in jeans and a dark sweatshirt was running towards them. Albus was on his feet in an instant to gather her into his arms.

“Grace!”

Minerva smiled as her husband and granddaughter embraced. When Albus finally released Grace Minerva hugged the young woman and kissed her on the forehead.

“I’m so happy you guys are here!” Grace said excitedly.

At nineteen, Grace Murray was tall and shockingly beautiful, with her father’s dark brown hair and her mother’s light blue eyes. Her mother, Evelyn Dumbledore, had married a man named William Murray and the two lived in Scotland, but their only daughter, Grace, had elected to attend college in the United States. Lacking magical powers, Grace was unable to attend Hogwarts, much to her grandparents’ dismay. Albus and Minerva tried to visit her as much as they could when she lived in Scotland, but since she moved to America, they had been unable to visit her until Minerva had planned this trip.

Minerva laughed at the matching expressions of glee on the faces of the two people before her.

“Were you surprised?” Grace asked Albus eagerly.

“Completely,” he assured her. “Your grandmother wouldn’t tell me a thing.”

Grace looped her arm through her grandfather’s and steered him down the hill.

“I have so much to show you,” she told him, “there are so many people for you to meet. First let’s go to The Mill for lunch, they have such wonderful food. Oh, Pops I’m so glad two were able to come!”

Grace did not have any classes that day and so the three were able to enjoy one another’s company for hours and hours. She led them around the campus and to the apartment she shared with two other girls. Then she took them to lunch and then to all her favorite bookstores, coffee shops and finally to a play at the local playhouse.

When Albus and Minerva finally hugged their only grandchild goodnight, it was nearly one in the morning. They walked back to the bed and breakfast in a comfortable silence, Album’s arm around his wife’s waist.

“Minerva,” Albus whispered softly as they strolled through the quite streets, “thank you for this.”

Minerva smiled and rested her head on his shoulder.

“You’re welcome, love.”

He pressed a gentle kiss to her temple as they walked on together through the night.

[jayejaye]

I already said I loved this... Albus would certainly get a few stares with that hair and beard....lol
Very original that their grandaughter is a squib too. :-)

[furandfeathers]

It took me a ridiculous amount of time to figure out where I'd read this before..definitely bedtime. But I couldn't go without saying again how ADORABLE it is!!!! I love it

[laundry basket]

oh, that was so sweet! I love Grace ;D

[osusprinks]

You know I love this story! It is so sweet. I love Grace.

[childminerva]

Thank you all for your lovely comments on the previous ficlets...here's another. Some of you may have read it already in the challenge section, but I'm just posting it here to hold you over until I post again, probably not until August. This would fit better under "Birthday" but I've already done that prompt sigh so I fudged a bit and put it under the prompt, "Fire".

*******************
#52 Fire
Minerva McGonagall cast a quick glance around her personal quarters to make sure that everything was ready for the party she was about to host. There were a lot of brightly colored balloons floating near the ceiling which made Minerva cringe, but she knew that Albus would love them, and as the party was for him, she had made sure to include them.

There was also a large lemon flavored cake with the words “Happy Birthday Albus” written in icing and surrounded by a dizzying amount of lemon drops. Besides cake, there was a huge bowl of muggle candy and several bottles of Madam Rosmerta’s mulled mead. There was even a Happy Birthday banner draped across the mantle.

All of this was part of the surprise birthday party that Minerva was throwing for Albus Dumbledore’s one hundred and eleventh birthday. Minerva had decided to throw this party as a way of reminding Albus how much she loved him. Things had been a bit tense between them lately as school business and Ministry problems had kept them both busy and on edge and Minerva hated how they had grown apart over the past few weeks.

Minerva had asked her friends Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout and Poppy Pomfrey to help her plan and set up the party and they were to be the only other guests present. To keep it a surprise, Minerva had asked Albus to come up to her rooms for a birthday chess match. He had agreed and now it was only a matter of minutes before he arrived.

Poppy, Pomona and Filius had each found a place to hide and waited eagerly for Albus to knock on the door. Minerva smiled and shushed their whispers and giggles good-naturedly; she was just as excited about the party as her co-conspirators.

They were not expecting what happened next.

In a quick whoosh of flames, Albus’s head appeared in Minerva’s fireplace.

“Minerva, dear,” he said by way of greeting.

“Albus! Why are you in the fireplace, aren’t you going t-“

But Albus cut her off.

“I’m very sorry Minerva,” he told her, “but an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot has been called and I’m afraid I have to cancel our plans.”

Minerva stared at Albus silently.

“I’m terribly sorry,” he apologized again. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Of course,” even with the flames dancing around his ears, Albus did not miss the flat tone of her voice.

He sighed.

“Good night, Minerva.”

When Albus’s head had disappeared, the three other professors peeked out from their hiding spots and exchanged wary glances. Poppy was the first to speak.

“Min, I am so sorry,” the mediwitch voiced her sympathy, but did not dare to step any closer to her volatile friend. “Do you want us to help you put things away?”

Minerva waved a hand at her friends.

“No, just go. Thanks for helping me anyway.”

Pomona smiled sadly and hugged Minerva tightly before leaving with Poppy and Filius.

When they had gone, Minerva looked around at the party decorations and the food ruefully before sinking down onto the couch in an unhappy slump.



Several hours later, Albus Dumbledore made his way to Minerva McGonagall’s rooms, wanting to apologize. He knew it was late at night, but he also knew that she liked to stay up grading papers and that there was a good chance that he would find her awake.

Today had not been one of his better birthdays; in fact, it had been one of his worst, which was saying something considering how many birthdays he had lived through. The day had started well enough when Minerva had greeted him with a kiss and invited him to her rooms after dinner for a game of chess to quietly celebrate his birthday.

Albus had been looking forward to that time with her all day and had felt like throwing a tantrum when the summons from the Wizengamot appeared in his office. But he was now one hundred and eleven and tantrums were no longer acceptable so he had been forced to tell Minerva that he would not be able to join her. He knew she had been hurt and he was now heading to her chambers to so that he could apologize as soon as possible.

Minerva did not answer the door when he knocked so Albus gave the portrait guarding her chambers the password and let himself in. What he saw upon entering made tears spring into his eyes.

There were balloons of every possible color floating near the ceiling and a large banner hanging over the fireplace read “Happy Birthday”. Glancing to his left, Albus noticed a large cake bearing the words “Happy Birthday Albus” and also a bowl of his favorite muggle candies and some bottles that looked like his favorite mulled mead.

Finally, Albus noticed Minerva, curled up on the couch asleep, with an unhappy expression upon her face. He crept silently to her side and knelt down beside the couch. She stirred when he traced a gentle finger across her cheek and then opened her eyes.

“Albus,” she mumbled, still partly asleep.

“Yes, I came by to apologize for missing our chess game earlier, though now I see that it was a bit more than just a chess game.”

“The party,” Minerva said softly, remembering where she was and what had happened earlier. “I wanted to surprise you. Poppy and Mona and Filius were here too.”

“I am so sorry,” Albus whispered. “I hate that we haven’t seen much of each other lately, and that I ruined the party you had worked so hard on.”

Minerva sighed and smiled gently up at Albus.

“Me too,” she told him. “But it’s all right now, really.”

She sat up and patted the seat next to her on the couch. Albus settled himself beside her and then pulled her close to him, letting her rest her head upon his shoulder.

They sat like that for several minutes in a comfortable silence until Albus suddenly began to chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” Minerva demanded.

“I never thought I’d see so much muggle candy, or candy of any kind really, in your sitting room my dear,” he told her, still grinning.

Minerva glared at him a moment and then smiled and laughed softly.

“It’s all for you,” she told him, swatting at his chest playfully. “I won’t touch that sickly sweet stuff and none of the others seemed very interested either.”

“All the better for me then.”

“Albus?’

“Yes dear?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“And Albus?”

“Hmm?”

“Happy Birthday.”

[osusprinks]

So sweet. Poor Minerva. I felt so bad for her. He really could have been a bit nicer about blowing her off. I'm glad it all worked out though.

[childminerva]

And now I present, this fluffy concoction written especially for OSUSprinks' Secret Santa gift! Merry Christmas dear, and Happy Holidays to all!

***********************************************
#77 What?

“I have an idea; let’s play the word association game.”

“No.”

“Oh come on Min, it’s fun.”

“No, we have more important matters such as the school budget to go over and no, it is not fun.”

“Please?”

Minerva gritted her teeth and looked away.

“Oh all right. You start.”

“Honeyduke’s.”

“Sugar.”

“Candy.”

“Sweet.”

“Silly.”

“Game,” Minerva rolled her eyes as she spoke. Why had she agreed to play this again? Oh yes, those adorable blue eyes.

Albus only smiled.

“Quidditch.”

“Gryffindor.”

“Albus,” the headmaster responded brightly.

“Minerva,” she responded tartly.

“Love.”

“What?”

“Where.”

Minerva shook her head sharply.

“No, that wasn’t part of the game, it was a question. What do you mean, “love”? Why is that the first thing that comes to mind when you hear my name?”

Minerva glared at Albus over the top of her glasses, waiting for him to respond.

“Why wouldn’t it be, my dear?”

“You only did that so that I would keep playing the game,” Minerva retorted, averting her eyes from his twinkling gaze. “Well too bad your not so subtle flattery didn’t work. Game over.”

“No, I didn’t,” Albus assured her earnestly. “Love is exactly what I think of when I hear your name, especially when I hear it spoken so near my own.”

Minerva’s gaze softened as Albus captured her hand in his own and brought it to his lips where he gently kissed her fingertips.

“You are an incurable romantic,” she told him, her attempt to sound stern foiled by the smile tugging at her lips.

His eyes twinkled.

“I know,” he said cheekily. “And now it is your turn.”

Minerva made a sound of disgust and pulled her hand away.

“No!”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“That’s not how you play Minerva; you have to use a new word every time…”

“Albus Dumbledore, I am not playing your silly game anymore…”

“Oh, please.”

“No, Albus.”

“Please?”

Damn those eyes.

“Oh all right!”

[StormAngel]

lol! I love it. =)

[childminerva]

Thanks stormangel!
This is my secret santa gift for jayejaye...hope you like it! Sorry for the angst so near the holidays, but at least it's seasonal! The lyrics come from the song, "I Don't Miss You At All" by Norah Jones and I used all but two lines.


********************************************
#67 Snow

As I sit and watch the snow
Falling down
I don't miss you at all

Minerva McGonagall sat at her desk; busying herself with correspondence, lesson plans and anything else she could come up with, trying not to look out the window at the snow. Too many nights she had sat up at her window, gazing out at the falling snow, tears slipping down her cheeks. But not tonight, tonight she was determined to keep her mind away from the snow. Away from him.

I hear children playing laughing so loud
I don't think of your smile

The sound of students playing in the snow drifted in through the window, though she had closed it hours ago. The laughter haunted her, reminded her of times when it was his laughter she heard. He loved the snow and would frolic about for hours, his laughter warming her heart and bringing forth peals of mirth from her own lips. But that laughter was gone. He was gone.

So if you never come to me
You'll stay a distant memory

Most days Minerva managed to block out the most vibrant memories of him, though his presence still lingered in every corner of the castle. But winter, that was different. He had loved the winter, and she had loved him.

And then I wonder who I am
Without the warm touch of your hand

She dropped the quill and turned her head to look at the window, now dark with the night sky, the students finally inside. Minerva’s fingers twitched involuntarily as she imagined him taking his hands in hers in an attempt to warm them after a long day outside. He should be here now, watching her from across the desk, sipping a large mug of hot chocolate and making her smile. But he wasn’t.

As I sit and watch the snow
Falling down

Tears welled up in her eyes and she looked away from the window, shaking her head and blinking back the tears stubbornly. She wanted a night free of tears, free of missing him and she would have it. Minerva picked up her quill and resumed her writing, ignoring the snow, ignoring the starry sky outside her window. Ignoring him.

I don’t miss you at all

[mmadforever]

awww this is so sad *sniff* but the writing was great