Travelin' Soldier

[Nerweniel]

Author Note: Songfic for "Travelin' Soldier" by the Dixie Chicks. I have just found out this one's done before, by Isis Malfoy, and I sincerely apologize *blush* but I'd written more than half of this and ah- the more the merrier I think ;D...

Part One

Albus Dumbledore sighed and stretched his back. Well, so this was it, he guessed. He’d put it off long enough- time for duty had finally come and he had to accept it. They needed him, after all. The Dark Lord Grindelwald had been reigning the wizarding world with his iron fist for five years- and the time for the final fight had come. That was why the Aurors of the Ministry had called in his help. He, Transfiguration teacher and very powerful wizard indeed, could- and would- prove very useful on the battlefield.
And now it wasn’t that he did not want to fight for his country, for his people- far from it. No, the reason why he did not really look forward to his departure was a whole other thing. The mere, rather weak fact that he did not like to fight- to kill. He’d always been a relatively quiet, calm man, fond of listening to music and a muggle sweet from time to time- and of his subject, of course. Leaving his pupils behind in the care of a relatively inexperienced substitute had been nothing, though, to what he expected to see and what he did not want to see.
Death.

Two days past eighty,
He was waitin' for the bus in his army greens.
Sat down in a booth, in a cafe there,
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair.
He's a little shy but she give him a smile,
So he said: "Would you mind sittin' down for a while?"

He’d never spotted her before, Albus realized, as he asked that question. The café of his brother Aberforth- the Three Broomsticks- was almost empty, and she looked so strangely- young as she walked there, carrying that filled plate of empty glasses. Surely not over twenty, after all- and the emerald green bow holding back her long, black hair above the pale face with a slight blush on the cheeks, only made her look younger. The pair of intelligent green eyes, though, told him that she certainly was just another ordinary waitress.
“Would you mind?” the wizard repeated rather unsurely- after all, it had been a quite impertinent question, really. All she had done was smile at him- but for some reason, he wanted to know more about her. And he needed to talk.

“And talkin' to me. I'm feelin' a little low."
She said: "I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go."
So they went down and they sat on a bench,
He said: "I bet you got a boyfriend but I don't care,
"I got no one to send a letter to.
"Would you mind if I sent one back here to you?”

He studied her face as she rested her hands on her lap. The tartan cape around her shoulders slightly billowed behind her back in the February wind, as she smiled at him, then nodded in silence.
“Of course you can. And no, I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“You- live with your parents then?”
“My father and mother were killed in the war three years ago. I live on my own, above the Inn- work there to pay for my studies.”
All this had come out rather quickly, without any eye contact, and suddenly, Albus knew for whom he would fight. For this girl, this pretty little girl with a bow in her hair- who’d lost the two people who should be looking after her at a time when she, of that he was sure, had hardly been of age. And now this- wonderful young lady had to work as a waitress to pay for- yes, for what?
“What do you study then, Miss- um…?”
“Miss McGonagall, call me Minerva. I study Transfiguration.”
He gasped. A sign? Now he had never believed in Divination- was way too rational for that- but this was an extraordinary coincidence indeed. Noticing the surprised look in her radiant, green eyes he smiled.
“What a coincidence. I teach Transfiguration at Hogwarts, you see. My name’s Albus- Albus Dumbledore.”
Now it was her turn to gasp, and he smiled as she bit her lips.
“Mr Dumbledore- oh, I never believed- excuse me-“
He did not really know what for she was apologizing, but she was, and he did the only thing he could possibly do. He softly tilted up her chin with her fingertips.
“No Mr Dumbledore, Minerva. Albus. Always Albus.”

[Rikki]

Aaaaw, very sweet. Update soon, honey.

Love, Rikki

[QuillofMinerva]

oh please update soon l

Clayre xx

[ginger newts]

Wee, I love it so far! This is such a beautiful song and who cares if it's been done already, a good fic is always worth writing. Can't wait for the rest.

[AthenaDumbledore]

oooooooooh, so sweet! How can you make it so wonderful with so few words? I already adore this little fic of yours. A nice something else... it seems completely different from any other fic I read. A brilliant idea.

Sara

[Nerweniel]

I cried: "Never gonna hold the hand of another guy."
"Too young for him," they told her.
Waitin' for the love of the travellin' soldier.
"Our love will never end."
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter says,
My soldier's comin' home.

Minerva leant her forehead against the window. It was raining outside, and it was raining on her cheeks as well. Big, salty tear drops stained her robes as she closed her eyes and sighed. She hardly knew why, or what for, she was crying.
“For Albus…” part of her said, and she knew that it was true- but why? Why would she cry for a man whom she had only met once- she, who had never really cared much about a man after all. Her friends at Hogwarts used to be in love with tons of boys at the same time- but not Minerva. Minerva had always concentrated on her studies- had looked for a job immediately after graduating, so as to be able to pay for the expensive courses she knew she would need, if she ever wanted to be a Transfiguration teacher. For that had been her dream all along- and her old Transfiguration teacher, Professor Sermonem, had always supported her too. He’d retired, though, in the year she’d graduated.
And now this Albus had come.
And left again. Taking her heart with him.
A warm smile enfolded her lips as she stared through the window, gazing at that crowded London street over which he had left her life just two days earlier. She did not even need to close her eyes to see his face again- his face, with the compassionate, kind, twinkling blue eyes which had convinced her to smile at him in the first place.

The letters came from an army camp,
In Great Britain, then Germany.
He told her of his heart, it might be love,
And all of the things he was so scared of.
He said: "When it's gettin' kinda rough over here,
"I think of that day, sittin' down at the bench.
"And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile.
"Don't worry, but I won't be able to write for a while."

“My dear Minerva,
I am very glad to hear both you and your boss, my brother, are fine. I honestly wished he’d finally learn to write properly, but ah, I guess one cannot expect too much. I do hope he treats you right and pays you enough, my dear- for I really believe you’ll make a very fine Transfiguration teacher one day. And a fine woman, too- but no, that you already are.
Things are not easy here, you know. The Lord Grindelwald has more followers than anyone ever suspected, the mightiest of which is a muggle called Hitler of whom you have supposedly heard. We all try our best, but it’s a hard fight. Some of us are getting desperate, but I know for sure I never will. And that doesn’t have anything to do with any sort of bravery I may perhaps possess- but it has everything to do with you.
Every time I feel as if I can’t go on, I remember us sitting down on that bench, and whenever I see your pretty face, I know what for I am fighting. For you, Minerva- and for all those other, innocent victims of the war. But most of all for you.
I know will most probably never even be able to like a man who is your senior by so many years- but I believe that somehow I have fallen in love with you, Minerva. I have always been somewhat frightened to love, because- well, because it’s so fragile, so… unearthly- and for a long time I have believed that it was simply not my cup of tea.
Until I saw you- until my eyes met yours, my pretty little girl with a bow in her hair…
I do love you, you know.
Albus”
Minerva couldn’t keep a smile off her face as she pressed the letter to her heart in a fashion which she would certainly have deemed “ridiculous” under any other circumstances- and yet she felt so irrelevantly happy, all of a sudden.
How could it be? How could he ever love her?
And yet he did.

[angeldust]

Poor Minerva but Albus to the resue hopefully

[AthenaDumbledore]

Awww, it turns sad... but still their love is cute...

I does seem a bit unlikely to me, for her to love him after just seeing him once... but then it is ADMM... They're born to be together. I hope he returns, to her... no matter when and how, but they need to be together.

Sara

[ginger newts]

Awww, that letter is so sweet. Funny, even knowing the song and having talked to you about this, I'm dying to know where you take it. I hope there's more soon, you're doing a great job with this.

[QuillofMinerva]

awwww i am a true romantic and loved the fact that they have fallen for each other so soon ;D (though that seldoms happens in real life)

i am looking forward to your next update which i hope is soon

clayre xx

[griseldalafey]

wow I must try and find this song on Mediaplayer. Wonderful story, although I feel sorry for Minerva now.

[Nerweniel]

Part Three

I cried: "Never gonna hold the hand of another guy."
"Too young for him," they told her.
Waitin' for the love of the travellin' soldier.
"Our love will never end."
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter says,
My soldier's comin' home.

Now Minerva absolutely hadn’t got a clue so as for how she could ever have fallen in love with a man after but one meeting. In fact she couldn’t remember ever seriously having fallen in love with someone before- and for some reason, that only made matters worse. For she, who had never fallen before, had finally fallen- and fallen hard.
The only thing more surprising to her that her own unexplainable love for him, was the even more unexplainable love he apparently felt for her. It radiated from every single letter she received, and though she thought it wonderful, she still did not understand it. She knew she was not pretty. Her face was not ill-formed and not ugly, but she was very pale indeed and had always deemed her thick, black hair to be the hair of a vampire. And that combined with her big, emerald-green eyes…
Minerva shook her head. No, a beauty she certainly was not. And yet somehow she had made this- wonderful man fall in love with her, for which she was only grateful.
And yet she could not but worry as one day, a letter arrived.
“My beloved Minerva- please don’t worry, but I won’t be able to write for a while.” was the last line- and the girl could not keep her jaw from dropping Was this it, then- would the final fight, the battle she’d both anticipated and feared, then finally come?
“Minerva, what is wrong?”
She turned her head, only to see her boss, Albus’s brother, standing behind her, a worried look in his blue eyes.
“The last battle- I think.”
She handed the letter to the older man without thinking- and though he stared at it as if he’d never seen such curious symbols before, apparently the word “love” was understandable to him, for he looked up- fatherly worry obvious in his blue eyes.
“Minerva- you- Albus- love?”
She nodded.
“I am glad, of course- but isn’t he a bit too old for you?”

One Friday night at a Quidditch game,
The Lord's Prayer said, and the anthem sang,
A man said: "Folks would you bow your head,
"For the list of local Grindelwald dead."
Cryin' all alone under the stands,
Was the piccolo player in the marching band.
And one name read and nobody really cared,
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair.

Minerva smiled and inwardly thanked her employer for the Quidditch ticket he’d given her. Aberforth had originally planned on going himself but- and this quite ruined her relative happiness- since it had been two months since they’d last heard anything from Albus, he’d decided he’d perhaps better stay at home, should any news arrive.
When he’d offered her the ticket, she’d refused at first, of course- but he had kind of forced her into going, and in the end, quite sick of fighting, she’d agreed. And actually she was quite glad she had. Quidditch had always quite fascinated her, and the Chudley Cannons against the Montrose Magpies- well honestly, which Quidditch fan would ever want to miss that?
So she found herself cheering and laughing- but deep down, a strange feeling of worry did not leave her alone.
“Attention- attention.”
Her head snapped up. She noticed the teams had stopped playing- and everybody was staring at a wizard wearing bright red coloured robes, sitting on a broom, floating right in front of the tribunes. The look on his face was one of triumph mixed with grief- and she knew…
“I would like to announce that the Dark Lord Grindelwald has just been defeated by Mr. Albus Dumbledore- who has unfortunately passed away during the fight.”
The cheers sounded so convincing. People started hugging each other- they laughed- bottles of champagne were summoned- Grindelwald was dead and no-one, no-one really cared about the rest…
Except for a pretty little crying girl- with a bow in her hair.

[QuillofMinerva]

oh my...you cant leave it there

please, please you must update soon

Clayre

[griseldalafey]

Alright, *now* I feel sorry for Minerva. But he can't be dead, he just c-a-n-n-o-t be dead. I will go looking for the song now. please don't let him be dead

[Rikki]

Hey, you never said anything about killing Albus off. Don't leave it there, please...

Hugs, Rikki

P.S. Otherwise wonderful as always.

[KayleeTonksLupin]

*throws herself into the fray, tartan banner with a scarlet and gold lion on it flying* Oh no you don't kill Grand-pere off! You Wouldn't! You COULDN'T! Unless you want to have the wrath of a Gryffindor half-werewolf petite-fille directed at you...

*breathes* No, I know you wouldn't kill him, Grand-mere. It would be way OOC for you.

Je t'aime toujours,

Kaylee, who is still crying uncontrollably whether she assures herself of Grand-pere's safety or not.

[Nerweniel]

I cried: "Never gonna hold the hand of another guy."
"Too young for him," they told her.
Waitin' for the love of the travellin' soldier.
"Our love will never end."
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter says,
my soldier's coming home...

Minerva did not know how she ever managed to get home again, after this announcement- but somehow, through the blur of her tears and the shattered pieces of her heart, she managed to drag her feet towards the inn- and even up the stairs.
The sound of the door closing behind her back sounded so final- and somehow, she still did not cry out loud. Yet the tears kept running down her stained cheeks as she fell down in front of her writing table. His letters all lay atop of it- the silent tokens of a love unspoken- and something cracked.
Her own, desperate sobs tore her heart apart as her forehead touched her crossed arms. Though she had never really forgotten about this possibility, of course, it still shocked her.
For could life then really be this cruel?
The muffled sounds outside her room hardly reached her ears- she was not interested in them and after all, did it matter? Did it then really matter?
Did anything matter?
A knock on the door and she looked up- a cold, new twitch playing around the corners of her mouth. Life was hard- well then she would be hard as well. Who could it be, after all, but another person telling her that she was too young for him anyway…
And then he stood in front of her.
It was him- she could never be mistaken- and the silence was strange. They had written love letters to each other for months now- and yet, now they met in person again, they were both so very uncertain again. Not of their own love, no- but of the other’s…
“Minerva?”
He- both of them- sensed that her reaction now was crucial. Would she ask questions, would she wonder, would she gasp- or would she simply grab her chance?
And the next moment, she was in his arms- her tears staining his cheek- and there he had his answer. Yes, Albus, I do love you. Yes, Albus, I will always love you. No, Albus, I don’t understand it either- but yes, Albus, I am sure.
“A mistake-“ she heard him say, and “Misinformed-“ and “I am sorry-“ but it all did not matter anymore. Taking in his scent, she snuggled closer to his chest, his cheek still resting against hers in sheer bliss.
When she finally gathered her strength and looked straight into his eyes, she read no fatigue anymore- no sadness and no fear. Only love.
“I love you, my pretty little girl with a bow in her hair…” he whispered, tracing her features with a tender finger, almost afraid he would break her- she looked so very frail…
“That bow-“ she hiccupped- tears and laughter mixed in a daze of happiness. “How can you possibly love me with that *hideous* thing on my head?”
A faint, uncharacteristic giggle followed- and his blue eyes were glimmering with mischief as he honestly answered her question.
“I don’t mind you wearing it, my dear- as long as it is the only thing you’re wearing…”
And to finish- let’s just say that any strange noises coming from upstairs that night had *absolutely nothing* to do with muggle air-raid warnings…

~The End~

[KayleeTonksLupin]

MUCH better! Haha, lemon time...and I can't believe I'M the first one to say so, not Max Just kidding, of course.

Je t'aime toujours,

Kaylee

[griseldalafey]

*chants* He's alive, he's alive, he's alive lalalalala....

I'm very glad you let him live and a great ending to the story.

[ginger newts]

Yay, he came home! This was fabby, missy. I'm glad you wrote it and shared it with us.

[Kassandra]

Wonderful. Just marvelous.

[Desdemona]

SQUEEEEEE! i do luuurvvve this song so much it is teh perfect song and incredibly well written I wish i could write this sort of stuff *poutyface*
Oh and thanks to you my mum has got in earplugs coz i keep singin it at really odd moments like in the middle of German and such .Ah well fanks again...

[Mandy McGonagall-Dumbledore]

I love it!!!!!