Post by EloquentPhoenix on Apr 28, 2007 10:39:58 GMT -5
Hiccoughs
A/N: Thanks to my fabulous beta mmadshipper/childminerva/miss mcGonagle for sorting this one out. This little bit of fluff is for written for Sprinkles for three reasons. Firstly because I wanted to try to cheer her up *huggles*, secondly because she convinced me I could write a longer fic again (more than 1000 words, it’s been a while), and thirdly because I’m posting some angst today as well, so this is sorry in advance.
The rain lashed at the windows of the study creating a loud hammering sound and the muffled whistling of the wind around the tower could be heard over the crackle of the fire and the faint scratching of two quills. The rustling of sweet wrappers sounded frequently throughout the room. At one particular occurrence of this Minerva McGonagall paused in her marking and glanced across at the man opposite her. From her side of his desk she saw Albus Dumbledore pop a sherbet lemon into his mouth before returning his attention to the letter in front of him. Minerva smiled softly to herself as the familiar wave of fondness, affection and love washed over her. Disguising the emotions in her eyes she looked back down to the rather poor essay in front of her, sipping her cup of tea. Seconds later she felt her chest give a painful lurch as she started to hiccough, loud enough to be heard over the atrocious weather.
‘Hic,’
‘Hic,’
‘Hic,’
‘Minerva?’ Albus asked, raising his eyes to her. His facial features struggled between concern and mirth as he looked over at his flustered deputy.
‘Yes, hic, Albus?’ she asked in return, trying desperately to take deep, even breaths to cure herself of the hiccoughs.
‘Boo!’
‘That was not, hic, funny, hic,’ she snapped at him, wincing slightly. ‘And it really, hic, didn’t help at all.’ She glared at him, albeit slightly softened due to the merry twinkling of his eyes. The required effect of her glare, however, eluded her; not only because it had never to that day worked on Albus, but because it was broken every few seconds by her hiccoughs. Still striving to maintain her composure she sighed wearily before hiccoughing again. Albus only chuckled quietly.
‘Really, hic, Albus, you are not, hic, helping,’ she said irritably. ‘These hiccoughs are particularly painful.’
‘I’m sorry, my dear,’ he said, still chuckling but looking concerned, ‘Forgive this old man for his childishness.’
Minerva only glared again in reply before returning to her marking. A few minutes later as the hiccoughs continued Minerva wondered idly, again, the reason behind her recent bouts of hiccoughs. She’d never been particularly hiccough prone, so to speak, but recently she’d had hiccoughs too many times to count. And none of these hiccough attacks seemed to have an explanation. She always drank hot drinks with a meal, never cold; she didn’t drink too quickly; she’d never been fond of spicy foods so it wasn’t that and Xiomara hadn’t coerced her into getting horrendously drunk too recently. Perhaps there was no explanation at all. And she still had the hiccoughs. She scanned through the last week or so and realised on one occurrence laughter had been an explanation for her hiccoughs.
*~*~* Flashback *~*~*
‘… And therefore,’ Albus concluded, ‘sherbet lemons and hot chocolate are the best combination of tastes for winter.’
‘Not forgetting spring, summer and autumn,’ Minerva muttered under her breath, laughing slightly at his theory.
‘Well, those too,’ he considered, chuckling along with her as his eyes twinkled at her from his position across her couch.
It was seconds later again when her hiccoughs started.
*~*~* End Flashback *~*~*
‘You’re still hiccoughing, Min, are you all right?’ Albus questioned her softly, worry reflected in his eyes. ‘You’ve been getting hiccoughs a lot recently.’
‘Really, Albus,’ she replied acidly, ‘I hadn’t, hic, noticed at all. Hic. And don’t call me Min.’
She has been getting hiccoughs a lot, Albus thought to himself, thinking back to two days earlier when they had been playing chess in his rooms. He’d been studying her features during her turn, subtly as ever. He had watched as her face betrayed no emotion but that of concentration, a loose strand of hair playing about her face before she swiped it away impatiently. Suddenly, without any warning at all she’d glanced up, feeling his gaze upon her. Piercing sapphire and emerald eyes had locked, before she’d looked away again with the faintest of blushes upon her cheeks. Again not much later she had begun to hiccough. He had put it down to him making her uncomfortable at the time. Now he was less sure.
Minerva, lost in the same memory, remembered the way he had looked at her, and how she had almost believed, if only for a second, that he felt for her what she felt for him. She again dismissed the notion, focussing upon the problem in hand.
‘Maybe you should go to see Poppy, Minerva,’ Albus suggested, his tone of voice indicating the response he expected.
Minerva’s head snapped up, he quill falling from her hand to lie motionlessly on the desk, she looked at Albus is disbelief, either over his suggestion or his stupidity, she wasn’t even sure herself.
‘Go to, hic, see Poppy?! Hic. And be poked, hic, and prodded before she, hic, tries to force some evil, hic, smelling and vile tasting, hic, potion down my throat. Hic. No thank you Albus. Hic. Besides this is all, hic, your fault,’ Minerva cringed at her final words. She really hadn’t meant to reveal that, though she had come to that conclusion. All of her recent hiccoughing episodes could be pinpointed to being in Albus’ presence. He’d made her laugh, or even done nothing but share a glance and she’d had the hiccoughs for a while afterwards.
‘My fault? How on earth have you come to that conclusion, my dear professor?’
‘Because, hic, you’re always around when I, hic, get hiccoughs,’ she sighed defeated, worried where this discussion could lead.
In a whirlwind of movement Minerva found herself being lead by her arm through to Albus’ private quarters, their work long forgotten and being seated on his bright orange (with purple cushions) couch.
‘Well, my dear, if it is my fault then I must certainly help you to find the solution. Would “boo” help this time do you think?’ he asked, laughing.
She merely glared in response.
‘All right,’ he said, ‘All right, I know a few cures. Have you tried deep, even breathing?’
Again her response was a glare accompanied by, ‘Of course I, hic, have, Albus, honestly.’
‘Concentrating on something?’
‘I was, hic, concentrating on marking essays,’ she snapped.
‘Holding your breath?’
She dutifully held her breath, counting backwards from thirty before releasing her breath with a hiccough.
‘No, then. Erm, oh! I have an idea,’ he exclaimed, producing a galleon from inside his robes. ‘Minerva, if you hiccough once more I’ll give you this galleon.’
‘Hic.’
‘Damn, that was supposed to work,’ he said, before answering her questioning look with, ‘If you really want to hiccough again more than anything else it’s supposed to stop you.’
‘Well it, hic, obviously doesn’t work,’
‘Indeed. I only know one more cure, my dear, if you are willing,’ he said carefully, judging her reaction.
‘Well get on with it Albus I’m hardly very comfortable,’ she said tiredly.
He took a deep breath and leaned closer to her. It was a split second before his lips met hers that she realised his intentions. Warm lips covered her own and she couldn’t help but respond. Her eyes fluttered closed, her arms linked around his neck and buried themselves in his hair. His tongue stroked hers softly, one arm around her waist, the other hand pulling pins from her bun. Breathless moments later they broke apart, faces close together. Albus smiled nervously at her.
‘You, ahem, you seemed to be cured, my dear.’
She nodded briefly in reply, her eyes still locked with his, waiting for an explanation.
‘It’s a common home remedy,’ he said quietly lowering his eyes, ‘Kissing is said to cure hiccoughs, I heard some of the students discussing it once.’
At her delighted laugh, his eyes shot back up to hers.
‘I’ll just have to get hiccoughs more often then.’
Finite
A/N: Because the first AN was getting quite long. This idea came to me nearly a year ago, I never wrote it at the time, but I got into again recently. It was, at the time, inspired by my own hiccoughs. Which were painful if I recall. Thanks to all of you who responded to my thread on the boards when I asked you what causes you hiccoughs. Oh and kissing/making out is actually listed on wikipedia as a home remedy for curing hiccoughs. And when I read that the ending rather just wrote itself.
