They do share some characteristics, don't they?Thanks for reading!

Glad you enjoyed it, especially Amelia. She's so much fun to write because it's nice to give Minerva a bit of a foil.Thank you so much for the beta and all the kind words!

Thanks!Will try to provide a bit more fluff soon.Hugs!

Many thanks, my dear, for your thoughtful remarks and for giving this a read earlier. It's a big help.I didn't intend to get so deeply into Riddle here, but JKR gives us so little that I seem to get caught up in backstory for him whenever I bring him into a scene.

Oh - I also forgot to mention - I really love the history you wove into the explanation of Riddle's ability to create the dark mark - I love how you wove actualy history into magical fiction - and the nod you provided, intentionally or unintentionally, toward a linquistic influence that we see even in Tolkien's work. When a writer can use actual history in a story, it adds a layer of credibility to the immersion - thus making the story more believable as well as adding more depth.

Poor Minerva. A wedding, of all things!We shall just have to see what Minerva does regarding Tom Riddle.Thanks for reading!

Ahhh, and more reason to hate Riddle, the filthy little toe rag of wizarding society... I so wish Minerva didn't fear him.

*snip*"Yes. Severe emotional upset can have an effect on one's magic," said Albus. "Thorfinn, I am sorry. I had no idea. If I had known, I would have tried to contact her while I was in hospital—""But of course ye didn't know. How could ye?"Another small stone of guilt dropped into Albus' belly. He had thought about Minerva during his convalescence in Dresden, but his thoughts had been completely selfish, mostly reminiscences about the time they had spent together. He hadn't really thought about how his ostensible disappearance might affect her.*snip*I really appreciate this - both that Thornfinn made Albus aware, if he wasn't already - of just how much Minerva loved him - which I'm not sure if he's doing conciously - or not - it seems he's trying to do it conciously - as if to say "you had better appreciate what you've got Albus - because my daughter loves you so very much - don't you dare hurt her"...And then we get a glimpse into Albus' mind, how he really had no understanding of what he had done to her... and his guilt is very approrpriate... that was well done. A good subtle look into both men.

*snip*"No," he said quietly. "I didn't know."*snip*And I think a brilliant man like Thornfinn - who is also a very observant man - knows right here that Albus did know - and that their relationship went back further than both would care to admit - I think Albus just told him through his denial.

*snip*"No more than the concerns any father has when his child chooses a mate, I think," said Thorfinn. After a few moments, he added, "She won't be an easy wife. I'm sure ye know that. But then I expect ye won't be an easy husband.""I only want to make her happy.""I know. But Minerva's responsible for her own happiness. I only ask that ye love her and that you're good to her."*snip*I loved Thornfinn before all this, and secretly wished I had a father like him - well hell, a father, grandfather, brother, mate, anything - but right here - he just gained 1000 points in my book - his brilliance, common sense and courage to speak his mind and lay the cards on the table - knowing that each of us is responsible for our own well being - and telling Albus exactly what he thinks/feels - well the man has completely won me over.... *sighs* He's a widow, can I have him? *makes puppy dog eyes* I promise I'd be really, really good!

*points to the last question and continues to make puppy dog eyes*Since Albus is already taken...

Widower... *coughs* my bad...

*snip*"Very sure, Minerva. My mother always intended to pass it on. She would want you to have it. Can you read the inscription?" he asked.She took the ring from the box and held it close to her face, then a bit farther away, saying, "I'm beginning to think I need glasses . . . is it Runic?""Yes. Can you make out what it says?""Is this a test, Professor Dumbledore?" she asked with a wry smile."You did score 'Outstanding' on your Ancient Runes N.E.W.T., Miss McGonagall. Surely you can translate a simple epigraph?""Hmm," she said, turning the ring several times. "Futhorc, isn't it?""Very good, my dear. Now what does it say?""Give me a light from your wand, Professor, and I'll try to suss it out."*snip**Just sits here grinning*

*snip*"It's true, my dear," said Albus. "The chapter you wrote with the Muggle-born scientist was among the best in the book, I thought. In fact, I must say that it helped frame my own opinions on the Statute and its limitations. It reinforced for me as I read it how much further advanced both our societies would be if there were greater opportunities for collaboration.""Yes, and I think the potential benefits are far greater for wizarding society than for Muggles," said Minerva, warming to the topic. "After all, Muggles are never going to have magic; they may benefit from new knowledge gleaned by magical means—if we are ever allowed to share it—but any practical applications that depend on magic will remain the province of wizards. Muggles will have to work out their own ways of exploiting our discoveries. Wizards and witches, on the other hand, can benefit from Muggle technology. Goodness knows we don't have magical applications for every problem, and until we can devise some, we are just as dependent on mundane technology as Muggles. It's only our inherent prejudices against non-magical methodologies that keep us from benefitting from what they've already developed. Just look at travel, for example. When I went to Salem, it took me five days on a ship—a Muggle ship, by the way; there aren't many wizarding ships making the crossing. We can't Apparate or Portkey over such a long distance, so mostly we don't go. But Muggles have come up with a way to cut that time to less than a day. They've been crossing the Atlantic in these sorts of flying boats since before their last war. It only takes them about fourteen hours to get from here to New York. I'd imagine, if we would only consider learning from their technology, that we could develop versions of these aircraft and enhance them with magic. But our laws largely prohibit that kind of collaboration."*snip*Throughout all your tales involving Minerva - which is most - you never fail to show us just what a brilliant woman she is, and often compassionate, kind, thoughtful and resilent, but this here truly shines as her amazing worth in the scientific field - AND offers up a rarely seen glimpse into the wizarding world's ideas of the Muggle world - giving us another aspect or, rather, opinion, other than the typical - wizarding kind are superior to Muggle kind - you get my meaning - its a brilliant way to show that these mages - this small sliver of wizarding society - is far more intelligent than the average witch or wizard... far more so - they're looking past the obvious, past the expected and into the infinite - and those who dare to look at infinity are usually among the top 1% of intelligence this world has to offer.

Why, thank you.I'm so glad you're enjoying the story. It's been fun writing it, although it's turning out to be far longer than I originally envisioned, LOL!I have a new chapter in the works, and I hope to post it in a few days.

Thanks, hon.Yes, I was feeling quite sorry for our beareded wizard as I wrote this. I do think he has an outsized sense of responsibility, which often goes hand-in-hand with an outsized ego. I think, growing up "brilliant," he has come to expect others not to quite live up to expectation (which is one reason Minerva confounds him--she does) but he isn't prepared to forgive himself when he doesn't.I wanted the ring to be a symbol of the endless, pointless squabble between the brothers, and of how Albus is the luckier brother, not just in terms of finding love, but in being able to move forward from the past (albeit with difficulty), whereas Aberforth has stuck himself in a vault of his own choosing--anger and resentment. Aberforth's curse is that he sees many things more clearly than Albus does, but he's stuck just the same.Yes, I think Thorfinn and Morna know a bit more than they let on.

Its very sad that Aberforth is so stuck in his own pain - and its perfectly canon - as he never grew out of that in the novels - he held on to that anger until his dieing days - but I find it overwhealmingly sad that he is stuck there - when he has such potential to be happy - however - its extreamly realistic - how many people like him do you know? I know many.... and its just as you said - stuck in a "vault" - a vault where nothing changes - life is sterile and no growth can be allowed - that's a perfect analogy.

Thanks. I wanted to include a bit of angst-free fluff for our favorite couple for a change.And you're right: Mr. Squib is a wonderful guy (more Arthur Weasley than Albus Dumbledore, but then I'm probably more Molly than Minerva, so there you go.) I'm glad if the story perks you up a bit; that's often the point of reading fiction, I guess.There is healthy love out there--not perfect, of course, nothing is, but good and positive. I hope you find some outside of fiction, my dear.

Bah - no need looking - much easier to find it here in fanfiction... and much, much safer.And I like Arthur - really admired him for not being threatened by his extreamly dominant wife - in fact, he loves her all the more for her intensity. Not many men like that out there.(P.S. - though I hate to admit it, I am far more like Molly than anyone else in the movie - though if I didn't have kids, I think I'd be more like Alastor - which might be a bad thing - becoming a paranoid loon. My kids, seriously, keep me sane.)

Thanks. I spent quite a bit of time before I even began this fic trying to figure out how the dickens Albus Dumbledore could be well over one hundred and display the kind of agility (mental and physical) he does in the canon, while other canon characters are described as aging much like Muggles do.I want to go to Skye, too!

*snip*Minerva was delighted at the suggestion they spend a weekend away, but he quickly discovered that she wasn't especially keen on surprises."You'll just have to wait and see, my love," he said the third time she tried to wheedle their destination out of him."If I don't know where we're going," she asked, "how will I know what to wear? What to bring?""Bring warm, comfortable clothes and good walking shoes. But you needn't bother with a nightdress. I promise to keep you sufficiently warm in bed," he said, putting his arms around her waist, pulling her to him, and kissing her neck.That was particularly cute... Minerva trying to get information out of him and him, as usual, being coy and evasive... that's our Albus! I also loved that you explained magical aging - or rather, your version of how magic folk age - as well as you gave Minerva something she was better at than Albus - which we don't see very often - as Albus excells at everything - here, at least, Minerva can reign supreme on a broom - as well as animagi.Very relaxing and wonderful read - thank you for being so devoted to this piece!

I'm so glad you found the chapter a pleasant read. I thought they (and you) deserved a little fluff for a change.Yes, I'm sending them on a holiday I would like to take! This is where I envision them going.

*snip*"Oh, I will, Professor," replied the young man. "Better not keep Minerva waiting," he added with a smile that didn't quite reach his remaining eye.That line shows me that Alastor now knows the answer to his question... and the way you show this is so perfect - subtle hints are your thing - and that smile not reaching his eye shows just how much he regrets Minerva's love for another man - for Dumbledore.

*snip*Albus wanted to keep his life—what he thought of as his solemn obligation—fighting the Dark entirely separate from his other life, the one he had made at Hogwarts, and that included teaching and Minerva and everything else that was good, but he knew it wasn't possible. All he could do was fight this new threat as best he could and hope he could keep Minerva out of it. If he couldn't . . . well, he supposed he'd burn that bridge when he came to it. For the moment, he just wanted to be lost in her for as long as circumstances—and Minerva herself—would allow it.*sniff* That's so sad.... but also, I'm starting to see a pattern - Albus is terribly afraid of commitment - I think he's terrified to love her - and keeps trying to destroy or derail his love FOR her...

I'm glad Alastor's perceptiveness came through. We hear in canon what a great Auror he was, but we never get to see what made him so, so I wanted to put just a bit of that in this story. He's such a wonderful character--and I can't wait to see what you do with him!Oh, poor Albus. He carries the weight of the world on his broad shoulders. I guess it doesn't leave him much room to enjoy life. I think he'll get better at it, though, with a bit of help from Minerva.

OH - one more thing - BRILLIANT explanation on where Albus got his scar and Minerva labeling it - the London Underground - that was really cute!

Glad you liked the scar. To tell the truth, I'd been planning on incorporating that bit since the very beginning of the fic. It just fit here, so I'm glad I got it in.

*cheers*!

Thanks. I love writing Amelia, and doing a scene between her and Alastor was a blast. I'm hoping to do a bit more with their friendship--if not in this fic (it might not fit), then in a stand-alone.Yes, Alastor slipped up. Unusual for him, I think, but there you have it. He's a tough fellow, though, and a sharp one, so I think he'll land on his feet.

Of COURSE he'll land on his FEET! *snorts* That's our Alastor! Super Moody! He needs a cape!

Well, blame JKR, not me, LOL!It took them a while, didn't it?

I also love the interaction Minerva had with Slughorn - I think you do a marvelous job describing the Slytherin Head of House and make him human with his small confidence to Minerva - and its cute that he has a wee crush on our Transfiguration professor - I really, really enjoyed that. I also enjoyed that Minerva, though she's not wild about him, is kind and considerate of him. That shows her compassion, which is good to see since she's such a severe and intense person, generally.

You know I adore Albus Dumbledore - always have, always will, that said, I do like how you illustrate the way he can manipulate people - though for the better, true, but its subtle and you offer it up in a very realistic way - I still wish he didn't manipulate people intentionally, but as intelligent as he is, we know this doesn't fall below his sight, or understanding - and even if I don't particularly like it, I like the way you describe it - subtle but there - and his very considerable talent for it.

I do love to insert some 3rd-party POVs at odd points.I think Filius, as a teacher himself, and around Albus' age, would have to see any sexual relationship between Albus and a student as a seduction on his part--or at least a terrible abuse of power.Yes, Albus is self-flagellating. We'll find out why  in the next chapter or two.

I can't wait to see... hopefully it will allow Albus to let some of it go, and heal... I hope!

I do love banter. I couldn't write (or have) a relationship without some.I hadn't considered the pistachios, but it certainly could work.

*snip*Albus gave a mirthless laugh. "Dishonour. I have gone far past dishonour, my friend."Filius was acutely uncomfortable, but he willed himself to speak. "Do you want to tell me about it, Albus?"Woah! That little man has some minerals! DAMN! I am glad that Albus didn't even attempt to lie... tired of his lies, though quiet they are... so tired of it... glad he didn't, glad he at least, respects Filius.

*snip*What he did say, finally, was that, whatever had happened between them in the past, they had to live in the present, and that Albus deserved a bit of happiness, whatever mistakes he had made. He was fairly certain he still believed that."Do I?" Albus had asked sharply."Of course. So does she.""She does. I just don't think I can give it to her," Albus had said."Why don't you let her determine that? I adore that wee, little wizard.

*snip*Finally, Minerva said irritably, "If you're so keen on research, Einar, why don't you do some yourself?" She crooned at the baby, "Your daddie's being a right prat . . . yes he is . . ." Morrigan gave a happy squeal at her aunt's observation.SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEe I LOVE this image of Minerva - your Minerva, the hard, calous, calculating, guarded and severe Minerva is all gooey over her niece - and rightly so! *grins* I just love that!

Glad you liked these moments.I see Filius as a brave character, but one who prefers to pick his battles. That's why he ended up in Ravenclaw rather than Gryffindor in the end. He cares a lot about Albus, so he's motivated to speak up about what he sees.I enjoy putting a little sister-brother banter into the story. They sort of revert to adolescents around one another.

*snip*Author's Note: The book chapter Einar refers to in this chapter is: McGonagall, M. S., and Franklin, R. E., "At the Crossroads: The Interaction of Magical and Muggle Science in the 20^th Century" in: A Common Destiny: The Future of Magical and Muggle Relations, T. D. McGonagall, ed., London: Diagon Press, 1955.Well damn woman, aren't you thorough!

I can't help it. I love footnotes.