Between Two Brothers

[Alesia]

Okay I swear I reviewed this when I read it the first time, but I don't see it so here goes one more time.

I really like the fact you have chosen have her not already be teaching at Hogwarts. Since it is obvious she doesn't know or now seem to like Albus he maybe in some serious trouble competing with Aberforth. Worse yet, I hope she can somehow tell them apart!

[QuillofMinerva]

Torn Between Brothers

A/n: Would like to say a huge thank you to all of you that took the time to read and review the previous chapter, I enjoy getting feedback from you and I am glad that you are enjoying the story. Hope you like this chapter, I apologise for it’s short length but this is a filler chapter….more Albus in the next chapter. Oh this chapter hasn't been beta read so I am posting it as it

Chapter Four: Stop Following Me!

Aberforth Dumbledore was strolling along one of the dirt tracks in Hogsmeade, lost in his own thoughts when he caught glimpse of the person who he had hoped to see that day. He watched with interest, as she turned around to look back and nearly bumped into someone. From where Aberforth was standing, he wasn’t able to see what she was looking at but he could see that her cheeks were slightly rosy and that made her look even more attractive to him than before.

She began walking swiftly onwards after her near miss encounter with another person and Aberforth quickened his step in hopes to catch up with her. Aberforth wondered if she had somewhere to be because she was walking so fast, she was able to dodge people with ease. There was a feline quality about her, which interested Aberforth greatly, she moved gracefully but was quick off the mark and seemed to be very aware of her surrounds. She turned a corner sharply and Aberforth nearly lost sight of her until he saw a flash of her robes enter a alleyway.

Aberforth was intrigued to why she had taken that route and so followed her, when he got to the alleyway he found that it was deserted. He walked along the alleyway and found that it was a dead end, he wondered if she had apparated away.

“Would you kindly stop following me!” came a voice from behind him

Aberforth turned around slowly at the sound of the voice and was surprised to find that witch that he had been following standing in front of him with her hands on her hips. She didn’t exactly look overjoyed to see him and she seemed to have rumbled him in his attempt to get to know her. Following her wasn’t exactly the greatest idea he had ever had, in fact Aberforth rarely had good ideas but this had been the only one he had, had.

“I wasn’t following,” began Aberforth “I erm well you see I was just happening to go the same way as you.”

Aberforth shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot as he felt her glaze upon him, he suddenly felt like a naughty schoolboy who had been caught playing pranks on fellow students. She was looking at him strangely, for one moment he thought that maybe she thought she had stopped the wrong person but then she straightened up and tapped her foot against the floor.

“You were following me,” she stated simply “I don’t know why you were but you were and let me tell you this, I do not take kindly to people who invade my personal space.”

“I am sorry to have offend,” began Aberforth again

“You seem to have a uncanny knack of offending,” she replied coldly “maybe you should work on that as well as your manners.”

Aberforth went to open his mouth, he was sure now that she must have him confused with someone else. He had only spoken to her briefly a few times and he had always made sure that he was on his best behaviour. He had no idea whom she was confusing him with, the only possible answer was Albus but Albus had impeccable manners, Albus was the perfect gentleman so it couldn’t be him. He thought back to his meetings with her and tried to remember if he had spoken out of turn or had done something wrong, nothing came to mind.

“Cat got your tongue?” she asked

“No,” replied Aberforth “I apologise for my behaviour. May I offer to buy you a drink?”

“No thank you,” she replied, “I must say that you do seem slightly different from how you were before but the difference is not vast enough to make me want to take up your offer.”

“Maybe I could convince you!” he said before flashing her, his most charming smile.

He was sure he saw her smile slightly but it was gone before he could be one hundred per cent sure. The Dumbledore smile usually had a greater effect on members of the opposite sex but the woman before him seemed immune to it, much to Aberforth’s disappointment.

“I am not convinced,” she replied, she was simply staring at him and Aberforth felt slight uncomfortable under her stony glare. “I really have to be going now, I have wasted so much time already today and I have things to get one.”

“It was nice talking to you,” said Aberforth, who still held out some hope that he might get her to change her mind and allow him to get to know her

“I wish I could say the same when it came to you,” she replied, Aberforth was definitely sure that he saw a playful smile appear quickly “please stay out of my way at least for today!”

Aberforth didn’t say a word as she walked away from him, perhaps the Dumbledore smile had worked after all.

TO BE CONTINUED

[ginger newts]

Poor Aberforth, suffering for Albus' bad behavior. haha I hope Minerva walks away from there and runs into the other brother again. Update soon.

[Alesia]

Oh, I love the fact you have her not able to tell them apart. This is going to make for great fun especially since no one knows anyone's name. I see we are going to have great fun watching Minerva distinguish between the two boys.

[TheGryffindorSeeker]

he he poor Aberforth, love how the story is going. Can't wait for more

[Miss Q]

Yay, update! I feel a little sorry for Aberforth!

Please continue with this lovely story!

M

[Jessabelle]

Another good post. Interesting that she got them confused. I feel sorry for Aberforth though. Post again soon!

[rogueinker]

Ooooh! Perfect setup. Nobody knows anybody. Curious how you're going to manage future encounters. Which brother is going to find out her name first? Or, will each brother have a "piece" of information - name, where she lives, works, interests, etc?

I can imagine the brothers having a "my girlfriend is better than yours' type discussion not realizing they are talking about the same person. Looking forward to the next update.

[Herzele]

I just read this story and all I can say is : Great !! Should really be funny ... Now please update soon so we can see what Albus does to win her heart ... ;D

[Kegan]

This is not what I was expecting and I'm glad its different than what I assumed. I like that Aberforth and Albus are so similar in appearance and he isn't too far off Albus it seems so Albus will have his work cut out for him.

[QuillofMinerva]

Torn Between Brothers

A/n: In answer to a few reviews, Minerva at the moment is unaware that Albus and Aberforth are not the same man. She notices subtle differences but doesn’t think too much about them at the time because she is annoyed. She will become aware very soon though so. Thanks for your reviews, I greatly appreciate the feedback.

Chapter Five: Bramstorm’s Books.

Half way back to Hogwarts, Albus had suddenly informed Armando that he hadn’t gotten enough sherbet lemons and that he needed to go back and get some more otherwise he would find it hard to sleep that night. Albus ignored the disbelieving look in his friend’s eye and simply smiled.

“Why don’t you just ask them to send a owl with some more!” suggested Armando, through he knew it would fall on deaf eyes

“They tend to end up broken when they arrive by owl,” replied Albus “nothing worse than a sherbet lemon without the sherbet in!”

Armando was sure that Albus had plenty of sherbet lemons in his honeydukes bag; he had seen him fill one bag up with just those sweets. The only reason Albus wanted to go back to Hogsmeade was to hopefully bump into the woman who he had managed to knock over and annoy. Armando couldn’t quite believe the change in his friend since the morning and he felt responsible for bringing him out in public. He also knew that there was no point into trying to argue with Albus because he had that determined glint in his eye. In the end, Armando simply let Albus do what he wanted; after all he was a grown man. Armando declined politely to accompany Albus back down to Hogsmeade, his feet were aching and he didn’t want to see his friend hexed by an angry witch who would probably turn on him once she had dealt with Albus. Albus didn’t seem to mind that Armando wouldn’t be coming with him and waved his friend goodbye before walking back the way he had just come.

Albus didn’t like people thinking badly of him, he had received bad press recently because of his ideas but he had simply let that wash over him because he knew he was right. What he didn’t like is people thinking he was rude and arrogant because he was neither and so he needed to settled things with that woman and maybe get to know her better in the process. He knew that it was probable that he wouldn’t see her again but at least he knew that he had tried to make amends with her.

She could be anywhere now, she might not even be in Hogsmeade but Albus decided it was best to head in the direction he had last seen her walking in. Thankfully Hogsmeade wasn’t as busy as it had been that morning so if she were still around then Albus would have better chance of finding her. He didn’t actually know what he was going to say to her but he hoped that it would come to mind when he saw her. He popped a sherbet lemon into his mouth and quietly sucked away on it as he wandered the past the shops and other people, all the while looking out for the witch he hoped to see.

An hour had passed and Albus had not come across her, he hadn’t bumped into anyone that he had known well. People knew him from Hogwarts and from what the Daily Prophet printed about him, they would nod their heads in his direction or flash brilliant smile. Albus found his fame uncomfortable, he hadn’t done what he had for fame and would much rather have more of a quieter life. He wondered if the witch he had bumped into, had known who he was.

After another half an hour, Albus decided that she was long gone and that he might as well pop into one or two shops so the his journey back into Hogsmeade wasn’t a complete waste of time. There was a quiet little bookshop that not many people knew about on the outskirts of the village, it specialised in books about charms and transfiguration. Albus had stumbled upon it accidentally when he had been a Hogwarts student and over the years, he had become their best customer. There was a book he had been after for sometime and today, he decided to check if they had the book in stock. He had been a couple of times all ready but it hadn’t been available to him at those times but he had told David Bramstorm that he would pop by regularly and check on the status of the book.

Albus made his way to ‘Bramstorm’s Books’ and smiled as he approached the worn around the edges shop, the outside had seen better days but it also added character to the little shop. He opened the door and the tiny bell above the door, signalled his arrival. A man with wild grey hair appeared from out of nowhere and greeted Albus with a friendly smile.

“Albus,” he said, “nice to see you back again!”

“Hello David,” replied Albus “my visit has been long over due!”

David Bramstorm nodded his head and then pressed his fingers together, he always did this when he was thinking about something. Albus was almost certain that he could hear the clogs turning in the elderly gentleman’s head.

“Until ten minutes ago Albus,” he revealed, “I had the book you have been waiting for in.”

“Now that doesn’t sound promising!” said Albus, cursing himself for not coming to the shop before now.

“No,” replied David “but your luck may change because the person who brought the book is still here.”

“Perhaps I could convince him to part with the book,” Albus wondered out loud “offer him a fine price.”

“It isn’t a he Albus,” corrected David “but a she!”

Albus had to admit that he was surprised to hear that a woman had brought such a book; it wasn’t that he had anything against women but the men dominated the subject of transfiguration and so it had been a pleasant surprise to find that a woman had beaten him to the book.

David informed Albus that the woman was sat down in the far right corner of the shop with the book, she had asked if she could stay a while because she was hoping to avoid someone and the shop was also peaceful. Albus wondered if she would mind his intrusion but David seemed to think that she wouldn’t mind and that they would probably strike up a wonderful conversation.

Albus made his way the right side of the shop and stuck his head around a bookshelf, he was amazed and delighted to find the woman he had been looking for. She was curled up on a large, tatty but comfortable oversized couch, her feet tucked up under her and she looked completely engrossed in the book she was reading. Her outer robe was hung over the back of the couch and she was wearing a black fitted dress that seemed to stop just above her knee, it was hard to tell though because she was sitting down. Around her neck, she wore a pendant made from silver with a jagged emerald stone as the detail.

“Sorry,” she suddenly said without looking up from the book “did you want to sit here?”

Albus couldn’t help but enjoy the sound of her sweet voice, her Scottish accent caressed with word lovingly. He had never been the type of person who had been overly aware of other people’s accents but to him, her’s was the most beautiful one he had come across.

“No,” he replied “I actually came by to have a word with you about that book you are reading!”

“Oh,” came the reply as she looked up from her book and saw who she was talking too, she noticed that his robes had changed again and she felt irritation sweep through her “I don’t believe this!”

“What do you not believe my dear?” he asked with a smile

“Do you never listen?” she questioned as she shut the book and placed it one side.

TO BE CONTINUED….

[palanfanaiel]

Exciting, exciting... Poor Alb and Abe though... Lol

[Miss Q]

Wonderful, another chapter to this funny story ;D! I must say that I like Albus' excuse to go back and look for his "mystery woman"!

M

[Alesia]

Minerva is definately in for a shock when she finds out there are TWO of them and they VERY different. Great chapter.

[JKMcGonagall]

Normally you have to hit Ron with a clue-by-four, namely Hermione, but you would think that Min would have a clue that Albus and Aberforth are different people, she seems to have noticed that 'he' changes clothes between sightings.

I just knew Min would have that book he wanted even before he went in Bramstorms. Now if she will just let him get a word in edgewise, maybe they will become friends.

Your story is very funny. I am looking forward to the next chapter. Update soon, please.

Kay

[Kacie]

I'm a little worried that Minerva will not like either of them but I'm sure something will lighten her up when she realizes there are two of them. I like this story.

[ginger newts]

Oh man, poor Albus this is not going to go well. How long's it going to take her to figure out she's dealing with two people? This is too funny, update soon.

[TheGryffindorSeeker]

*He he* i like where this is going...dying for more. update soon pleassseeee. Great fic

[Lady Lavendar]

Great update! Can't wait for more.

[Jessabelle]

Ohhhhhhh don't stop there! Very good post .. post again soon! I cannot wait to se what happens .. are Albus and Aberforth going to figure out that they are after the same witch soon?

[Karmin]

I can't wait until Minerva discovers there are two of them but I don't know if its going to influence her all that much.

[Jessabelle]

her discovering that there are two of them may just annnoy her more!! .. lol

[QuillofMinerva]

Between Two Brothers

A/n: Thank you so much for all your great reviews. It¡¦s great to know that you are enjoying the story and finding the situation amusing unlike poor Minerva ƒº. There is quite a bit of dialogue in this chapter. I hope no one minds! I am making the chapters three pages or so because I don¡¦t want to bog them down with too much and it also means I can update every couple of days, which I am sure people like. Thanks to Ang for beta reading this chapter for me, you're a star!

Chapter Six: Two to Contend With.

Albus watched as she rose elegantly from the couch. He watched as she smoothed down the creases in her dress and then placed her hands on her hips. He was aware that she was staring at him. The stare seemed to go through him and sent a shiver down his spine.

"Why do you persist in following me when I have asked you not to?" she asked coolly.

"Following you?¨ he questioned.

"lease do not try and act all innocent,¨ she cut in briskly. "You knock me flying in the street, I catch you following me along the street and now you just so happen to be in this bookshop and after the book I have!¨

"It is purely by coincidence that we are here in this bookshop,¨ he began. He wasn't going to lose his temper or raise his voice. "I am sorry about the incident outside Honeydukes but I have not been following you.¨

He watched as her nostrils flared with annoyance. Her right foot began to tap against the wooden floorboards and Albus could tell that she was trying to keep her temper under wraps.

"You think,¨ she said "that changing your robes would fool me?¨

Albus looked at her. Confusion had settled firmly into his brain and he had no idea what she was talking about. He hadn¡¦t changed his robes today at all, well apart from this morning when he couldn¡¦t decide whether to wear his purple or his bright lime green robes. He had only been to Honeydukes that day before heading back to Hogwarts before deciding to go after the woman in front of him. He had seen her on his second trip into the village till now.

"My dear,¨ he said with a raised eyebrow "I can assure you that I have not changed my robes since I bumped into you this morning!¨

"Would you kindly stop calling me that,¨ she bit back. "You were wearing robes of burnt orange an hour ago.¨

Albus had only ever worn a pair of burnt orange robes once in his life. They had been a gift from his Aunt Ethel and had worn them on Christmas day to appease her. Burnt orange had never been a colour that had suited him. It was too dull and boring for him and he preferred bright orange. His mind wandered off as he thought about what had ever happened to those robes, he remembered that Aberforth had taken a liking to him. Albus was sure that he had actually given the robes to Aberforth, the day after Ethel had left Dumbledore Manor and from what he could remember. Aberforth had been wearing those robes today in town.

"I think you might have stumbled across my brother,¨ said Albus with a small chuckle. "I know he was wearing robes of that colour today.¨

"You expect me to believe that?¨ she asked, her arms folded across her chest now and her foot still tapping.

¨Why would I lie to you?¨ he asked. "I have a picture of us both!"

Albus rooted around in one of the inside pockets of his robes and pulled out a small book. He flicked through the faded pages until he found one of him and his younger brother. It has been taken at last year¡¦s family New Years¡¦ Eve celebration. He and Aberforth were standing shoulder to shoulder with a glass of firewhiskey in their hands. They were smiling and chatting away. He handed the picture to her and watched as her pretty porcelain face turned a shade of pink as realisation dawned upon her.

"So there are two of you?" she said softly. She looked down at her feet because she didn¡¦t want to look at him after making a fool of herself. "You look alike so I just assumed..."

"Easy mistake to make," he said trying to lighten the atmosphere around them. "Many people do."

"I am not accustomed to making mistakes!" she replied, still refusing to look at him.

"Nor am I," he added. "That is why I needed to seek you out and apologise for my behaviour this morning."

"So you were following me!" she said. Her head bolted upright and she looked him in the eye.

Albus cursed himself for his use of words. He should have used another term and because he had said what he had she was now even more suspicious of him.

"Not following," he answered. "I hoped to see you again but after an hour of looking I gave up and came here to pick up a book."

He was telling her the truth but he could see from the look in her eyes that she was not convinced. Her frosty demeanour had returned with vengeance and Albus sighed inwardly.

"The book I am reading!" she asked.

"Yes." answered Albus "You beat me to it!¡¨

"So it seems," she answered. "I am sure there will be another available if you enquire!"

Albus was finding it hard to communicate with her. She kept her guard up all the time and when he thought he was making headway, he would say something and she would stiffen up. He had to admit that trying to get her to smile was like getting blood from a stone and if he had been a man who gave up easily, he would have been out of the shop ten minutes ago. He had a feeling that there was more to the woman than a frosty and standoffish attitude. He couldn¡¦t quite put his finger on it but he knew there was more to her and he wanted to bring that out. It wouldn¡¦t be as easy as he originally thought. He knew that the Dumbledore smile would probably not work on her.

He was curious as to why Aberforth had been following her. It didn¡¦t register that the woman before him was also the woman Aberforth claimed to be in love with. Albus supposed that Aberforth had been making a nuisance of himself in the village and she had presumed it was him because of the incident in that morning.

Albus had hoped that she might have suggested that they share the book, once she had read it, she could have sent it to him but he guessed that suggesting such a thing would be met with opposition.

"It is not a matter of life or death that I have the book today," he said. "I am sure I can order another one."

Albus looked at her and smiled softly. His keen eyesight caught sight of a small tear in her black dress. It was jagged and obviously fresh, not overly neat and would be a pain to mend if done by hand.

"You have a tear." he said pointing to her dress.

He watched her as she looked down at her dress. He heard her sigh with annoyance as she reached for her wand.

"Let me do it," he suggested as he pulled out his own wand and pointed at the tear.

"Least you can do," she replied. "Must have happened when I was knocked to the ground."

Albus felt himself smile. She was still annoyed about that incident. She was probably more embarrassed than anything. Falling over in a street full of people wasn¡¦t exactly a great thing to do. Albus, himself, would have been rather embarrassed at doing such a thing so he could understand why she was acting strangely with him.

Albus mumbled a few choice words under his breath and two golden sparks flew out the end of his wand and on to the fabric. It fabric quickly repaired itself but instead of returning to its original state. There was now an intricate pattern sewn on to the fabric. Albus smiled to himself. He wasn¡¦t a dressmaker or anything like that but he had to admit that he had done a fine job. The pattern was made up of dozen little swirls that all connected to each other. They were made of fine silver thread and added some elegance to the plain dress she was wearing. There was nothing wrong with the dress she was wearing but Albus had taken it on himself to alter it without her agreement.

"If I wasn¡¦t still annoyed with you," she said softly "I would have told you that I like what you did to the dress. I really must be going!"

With that she wrapped her outer robe around her and handed him the book.

"Enjoy!"

To be continued

[Miss Q]

Wonderful chapter! And the dialogue-style is hard to write, at least I think it is, but you do it absolutely wonderful!!

Good to see that the mistakes about identities is cleared! But I fear that poor Albus is in for a tough time!!! And I must admit that I'm very curious about what'll happen once the brothers realize they're in love with the same woman!!!

Please keep on writing!

M

[TheGryffindorSeeker]

great chapter, keep them coming

[ginger newts]

I liked Minerva's comment about the dress, seems like Albus just might be able to get back on track. Update soon.

[TartanPhoenix]

Ohh, this is going to be good. I'm so glad she finally found out there are two of them

"If I wasn¡¦t still annoyed with you," she said softly "I would have told you that I like what you did to the dress. I really must be going!"

That was priceless. Update soon.

[tayryn]

oh, she's already so falling for him!

she's done it literally... so she just needs to continue on doing so! *g*

very nice chapter!

[Jessabelle]

really good chapter!! .. and i do agree that she is already falling for him .. poor aberforth when he finds out tho .. will he end up mad a albus?? .. hmmm i wonder .. can't wait to see what happens next!

[Jaya]

Oh heavens... Can't believe I didn't respond to the last update!

It was very nice... I'm glad we have the mistaken identity all straightened out.... I guess that now Minerva gets to experience Aberforth!?!?

Looking forward to the next post...

Jaya ;D