One shot

Minerva sat in her office, her eyes bloodshot and swollen from crying. She was exhausted, since she hadn't had any sleep to speak of. How could she sleep? Her mentor and best friend was dead. A man whom he had trusted had killed him.

How would they win the war with Albus gone? How was she going to run the school in his absence? True, she had run it for short periods of time when he'd been away, but this was different. This time he wasn't coming back.

As the hands of the clock crept closer to dawn, she felt herself succumbing to the exhaustion which had settled over her body. Her eyes drooping, she fell asleep in her chair at her desk, sitting beneath the portrait of Albus Dumbledore. Her sleep was troubled, and at times a moan or a gasp would escape her lips.

Minerva, wake up.

She startled awake. She did not know how long she had been asleep, and she wasn't sure at first what had woke her up. As she came awake, she noticed that her office wasn't quite as dark as it was before she fell asleep.

Standing up, she walked over to the window and opened the draperies. The sun was just coming up over the horizon and the sky was painted with hues of pink, lavender and orange.

A tear came to her eyes, but it was not the same tears she had cried the night before. It was a tear of joy and thanksgiving because at that moment she knew that everything was going to be okay. There was still beauty in the world.