Post by ginger newts on Nov 9, 2004 0:18:36 GMT -5
A response to the Drowning Challenge:
The students had left the morning before and even though she had gone to bed early, Minerva couldn’t remember ever feeling this tired in her life. She hadn’t even taught a full school year, how would she make it through the next one? She stumbled sleepily into the Great Hall for breakfast, eyes half closed she overfilled her tea cup and more than a little ended up on the table. Her limbs felt too heavy and she could hardly lift her arm to pour the milk onto her cereal. All around her people were talking, but Minerva could take in none of their excited chatter about summer holidays and proposed new research, it felt as if she was surrounded by some distant buzzing.
She hardly felt the hand that Albus laid on her shoulder in greeting when he too entered the hall and was completely unaware that her eyes had closed until the same hand was pulling her upright again. Minerva opened her eyes slowly and realized that the entire Hogwarts staff was gathering around her chair and Albus was looking down on her with concern evident in the blue eyes she loved so much. That was also when she realized her face was covered in milk.
As she picked up a napkin to clean herself up, Minerva vaguely heard someone make a joke about cats and bowls of milk, but didn’t even have the energy to get upset about it. “What happened?” she asked.
Now that it was apparent that she was going to be alright, there was amusement in Albus’ voice when he told her, “You were about to drown yourself in your cereal, my dear.”
“What?” she asked groggily.
“You fell asleep,” someone said, “and fell face first into your breakfast.”
“We told you that you had been working too hard,” said another voice.
Minerva was fighting to keep her eyes open when she felt a strong pair of arms lift her out of her chair. “I think you should go back to bed, Professor,” her husband said quietly.
She didn’t have the strength to disagree with him and instead leaned her head against his shoulder and quickly fell back asleep as Albus walked toward the rooms they shared (albeit illegally during term time). He placed her gently on the bed and sat down next to her, brushing a strand of hair back off her face and Minerva’s eyes opened halfway.
“You really did work too hard this year,” he said sternly. “I insist that you spend the first two weeks of the holiday just resting.”
Minerva opened her mouth to argue, to insist she had a great deal of work to do before the next school year. She was still trying to overhaul the lesson plans left by the previous professor so that they would better suit her own style of teaching and her own expertise.
Albus, however, was not finished speaking and he cut her off by raising his hand, “Minerva you almost drowned in your breakfast, I do believe that is a sign that you need to rest.” He grinned and his eyes took on that familiar mischievous twinkle that Minerva both loved and dreaded. “Speaking of drowning,” he continued, “perhaps a little mouth-to-mouth resuscitation might be necessary.”
“Mouth-to-mouth resusci-what?” the half asleep Minerva asked.
Leaning in closer, Albus explained, “It’s a muggle emergency method of treatment for someone who has been the victim of drowning or other respiratory distress. The rescuer, that would be me, places his mouth over that of the victim, you, and breathes air into her lungs.”
“Albus, I don’t need that,” Minerva said with confusion, struggling to open her eyes and give him an exasperated look. She failed.
“True,” he said quietly, his mouth mere inches from hers, “but do you object to having this old man’s lips on yours.”
A sleepy chuckle escaped Minerva’s lips as she started to say “of course not,” but her words were cut off when Albus finally closed the distance between them and kissed her lovingly. Pulling back, he whispered, “Sleep love.”
He moved to get up but a slender hand wrapped around his wrist and a small almost asleep voice said simply “stay,” so he did. Albus crawled back into bed and wrapped his arms around Minerva, who snuggled up against him with a contented sigh and finally drifted off into what promised to be a very long nap.
A/N: This is a shorter version of what I had originally written, the reasons why she is so tired spawned a whole new plot bunny that has given me the opportunity to incorporate a few other little bunnies. So, look for a new longer fic sometime in the near future encompassing the months just prior to this fic (in other words her first half-year as a professor).
The students had left the morning before and even though she had gone to bed early, Minerva couldn’t remember ever feeling this tired in her life. She hadn’t even taught a full school year, how would she make it through the next one? She stumbled sleepily into the Great Hall for breakfast, eyes half closed she overfilled her tea cup and more than a little ended up on the table. Her limbs felt too heavy and she could hardly lift her arm to pour the milk onto her cereal. All around her people were talking, but Minerva could take in none of their excited chatter about summer holidays and proposed new research, it felt as if she was surrounded by some distant buzzing.
She hardly felt the hand that Albus laid on her shoulder in greeting when he too entered the hall and was completely unaware that her eyes had closed until the same hand was pulling her upright again. Minerva opened her eyes slowly and realized that the entire Hogwarts staff was gathering around her chair and Albus was looking down on her with concern evident in the blue eyes she loved so much. That was also when she realized her face was covered in milk.
As she picked up a napkin to clean herself up, Minerva vaguely heard someone make a joke about cats and bowls of milk, but didn’t even have the energy to get upset about it. “What happened?” she asked.
Now that it was apparent that she was going to be alright, there was amusement in Albus’ voice when he told her, “You were about to drown yourself in your cereal, my dear.”
“What?” she asked groggily.
“You fell asleep,” someone said, “and fell face first into your breakfast.”
“We told you that you had been working too hard,” said another voice.
Minerva was fighting to keep her eyes open when she felt a strong pair of arms lift her out of her chair. “I think you should go back to bed, Professor,” her husband said quietly.
She didn’t have the strength to disagree with him and instead leaned her head against his shoulder and quickly fell back asleep as Albus walked toward the rooms they shared (albeit illegally during term time). He placed her gently on the bed and sat down next to her, brushing a strand of hair back off her face and Minerva’s eyes opened halfway.
“You really did work too hard this year,” he said sternly. “I insist that you spend the first two weeks of the holiday just resting.”
Minerva opened her mouth to argue, to insist she had a great deal of work to do before the next school year. She was still trying to overhaul the lesson plans left by the previous professor so that they would better suit her own style of teaching and her own expertise.
Albus, however, was not finished speaking and he cut her off by raising his hand, “Minerva you almost drowned in your breakfast, I do believe that is a sign that you need to rest.” He grinned and his eyes took on that familiar mischievous twinkle that Minerva both loved and dreaded. “Speaking of drowning,” he continued, “perhaps a little mouth-to-mouth resuscitation might be necessary.”
“Mouth-to-mouth resusci-what?” the half asleep Minerva asked.
Leaning in closer, Albus explained, “It’s a muggle emergency method of treatment for someone who has been the victim of drowning or other respiratory distress. The rescuer, that would be me, places his mouth over that of the victim, you, and breathes air into her lungs.”
“Albus, I don’t need that,” Minerva said with confusion, struggling to open her eyes and give him an exasperated look. She failed.
“True,” he said quietly, his mouth mere inches from hers, “but do you object to having this old man’s lips on yours.”
A sleepy chuckle escaped Minerva’s lips as she started to say “of course not,” but her words were cut off when Albus finally closed the distance between them and kissed her lovingly. Pulling back, he whispered, “Sleep love.”
He moved to get up but a slender hand wrapped around his wrist and a small almost asleep voice said simply “stay,” so he did. Albus crawled back into bed and wrapped his arms around Minerva, who snuggled up against him with a contented sigh and finally drifted off into what promised to be a very long nap.
A/N: This is a shorter version of what I had originally written, the reasons why she is so tired spawned a whole new plot bunny that has given me the opportunity to incorporate a few other little bunnies. So, look for a new longer fic sometime in the near future encompassing the months just prior to this fic (in other words her first half-year as a professor).
