LV: Return to Hogwarts

PART NINE

LV: Return to Hogwarts

Albus had slept well, eaten a big breakfast of eggs, fried bread, and grilled tomatoes, and was now searching one of Hogwarts many store rooms for just the right thing. He had noticed the lack of adornment in her bedroom and had an idea for a present that would be both decorative and practical. And it would give him an opportunity to offer her another gift without it seeming too awkward. Albus now had pulled out five different landscapes. Perhaps he should let her choose . . . he could tell her there were others, if she'd prefer something different. In the end, he chose one that showed a scene resembling the wild landscape near her childhood home, with a ruined castle in the background.

Humming, Albus let himself into Minerva's quarters, knocking on her bedroom door before entering, in case she'd returned early. He used a sticking charm to affix the landscape to the wall opposite her bed. If she liked it, he could connect it to the portrait network and place wards on it so that only her own portrait could enter it. Or perhaps just the dog. A witch probably wouldn't want to have a male portrait walking in on her, even though it's just some charmed paint and canvas. Albus smiled. The Silent Knight and his dog had been a good choice, then, since the dog could come and go. Of course, he could have chosen a female portrait. In fact, he'd been about to pick a rather nice portrait of Scáthach when the Silent Knight broke his silence and said, "I will serve the lady," and tried to offer Albus his sword. Since Albus had never heard the Silent Knight speak before, neither as a student nor later as a teacher, he took this as a sign that the Knight would be a reliable door warden for Minerva. Of course, the Knight hadn't spoken to Albus since then, but apparently he spoke to Minerva occasionally. But not for anything as mundane as announcing a visitor. He would ask Minerva if she would prefer a different portrait for her door, as well.

Albus wondered if he should wait here for Minerva. No, that would seem strange to her, and certainly a violation of her privacy to make himself at home in her rooms. He also didn't know when she would return, either. He could, however, just happen to be taking a walk on the grounds, and if she happened to return and walk up from the gates while he was getting some fresh air, well, that would be a convenient coincidence.

Forty-five minutes later, Albus was walking from the lake to the castle for the third time when he felt a slight shift in the wards. He looked toward the gates and saw Minerva as she turned and closed the gate behind her. He met her halfway between the gates and the castle.

"Good-morning, Professor McGonagall! Welcome back!" He smiled broadly at her.

"Good-morning, Albus. Were you waiting for me?" she said, smiling in greeting.

"No, not at all. Just taking a walk. Here, let me take that bag from you."

Minerva let go of her carpet bag, which she had carried in her right hand while Apparating, and Albus simultaneously waved his own hand, and the bag floated obediently behind them as they walked up to the castle.

"Did you have a pleasant week? How was the party last night?" Albus asked.

"It was an interesting week, and the party was also very interesting."

"Interesting? That sounds less than pleasant."

"Oh, it was fine, Albus. I'm rather tired, that's all. There were some pleasant moments interspersed by some less-than-pleasant ones." Minerva certainly didn't want to discuss the lovely Valerianna on their walk back up to the castle. She wanted to enjoy being back with Albus before she did that.

"You are all right, though?" he asked, with some concern in his voice.

"I'm fine, Albus." She stopped and smiled at him. "Especially now that I'm home."

Albus returned her smile and said, "Well, I have a small surprise for you, Minerva. Something to help make your rooms more homey. At least I hope it does."

"Really? Thank you, but you didn't need to do anything . . ."

"I wanted to, Minerva. And it's nothing special, really."

"I'm sure it is, Albus." She smiled happily. "Anything you would do is special, just because you're the one doing it." It was so good to be back at Hogwarts, back with Albus. It was all she could do to keep from throwing her arms around him in a big hug, she was so happy to see him.

"Well, wait until you see it, Minerva, and if you don't like it, you must tell me. Don't be afraid to be honest with me, all right?"

"I'm sure I'll love it," she said, then added, "but I'll tell you if I don't. I promise." She smiled again.

They reached Minerva's room, and the Silent Knight bowed before opening the door to them.

"Your surprise is in your bedroom. I hope you don't mind I took the liberty." He opened the door to the bedroom for her.

"Not at all, Albus. Not when it's you!" She thought her cheeks would burst, she was smiling so much.

Minerva walked in, looked around, and didn't see anything different about the room, then she started to turn to ask Albus where the surprise was and saw the painting hanging on the wall opposite her bed.

"Oh, Albus, it's lovely! It really is. Thank you!" She had to restrain herself from bouncing on her toes like Blampa.

"You're welcome. I thought that, if you approved of it, I could connect it to your portrait and allow the dog to access it. That way, the Knight can send the dog in to announce your visitors. If you like."

"That's a brilliant idea, Albus, thank you." Minerva was so happy; she was home and Albus was here, sweet and generous Albus. She turned to him, smiling. "It is so wonderful to be home!"

She couldn't contain herself as her happiness bubbled up in her, and seeing his pleased expression, she put her arms around him in a brief embrace, but when Albus's arms came up around her, she didn't pull away; instead, she leaned against him and closed her eyes. He felt wonderful.

"I'm glad you're happy to be back, Minerva." Albus patted her back, then let go of her and stepped away, smiling. "You'll have to tell me about the party. How is Robert?"

Minerva took a breath. "He's fine. We talked quite a bit yesterday. And I danced with him at the party last night. He seems very nice."

"He is. So is his wife. Did he say how Thea is?"

"She's on bed-rest, and I guess she's not happy about it, but she's doing well otherwise."

"Good, good." Albus looked around. "I can connect the landscape to your door portrait later today, if you like. It won't take long, but I thought we could have tea now and you could tell me about your holiday."

Minerva nodded. "That would be fine. Oh, before I completely forget, Gertie gave me a letter for you."

She opened her carpet bag, which had settled on her bed. "Her personal courier," she said, handing the letter to Albus. "She said that if you wanted to talk about it, most of the guests will be gone by the weekend, if you'd like to go down and see her."

Minerva was curious about the contents of the letter, but Albus just nodded and pocketed the letter.

"I see you have some family pictures here." He walked over to the vanity and picked up the photograph of Melina and her father. "The one of Melina and Murdoch is nice – taken in the park near the apothecary, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was," Minerva responded nervously, hoping he hadn't seen the small picture of himself. "What about that tea now? Albus?" Her stomach sunk to her toes. He had picked up the pathetic little newspaper photograph she'd framed a dozen years before.

"And one of me. Not my best side," he said with a grin.

"Yes, well, I've had it a while. It just . . . it seemed . . . I thought, with my other family photos . . . I thought it was a nice picture of you when I saw it. And then I just kept it . . ." Now she was babbling.

"Would you like a better one? I'm sure I could find one; in fact, I think that somewhere I may even have a photograph of us both . . . if you'd like it, of course. I don't normally go about handing out my photograph."

Minerva laughed nervously. "No, I wouldn't expect you would. But yes, that would be nice . . . I just, well, that would be nice. But how do you have a photograph of both of us?" she asked, wondering if it was the picture that Robert had told her about.

"Oh, something taken after your Challenge. I happened to speak with the photographer . . ." He shrugged. "I still have it somewhere, I'm sure."

"Yes, I would like that, Albus. Thank you."

Albus replaced the small framed picture of himself and said, "It's nothing, my dear, nothing at all. Now, what about that tea?" He rubbed his hands together. "Here? Or my office? Or yours?"

"Here would be fine, Albus. I am tired, as I said, and I promised Poppy that I would Floo over for tea this afternoon, so I may take a nap first."

"If you're too tired, my dear, we can do this some other time – tomorrow, or even next week, if you like. Please don't feel you must entertain an old man."

"I don't. And you're hardly old, Albus. Well, you are, I suppose," she said uncomfortably, realising how disingenuous she might sound to him, "but after seeing some of the guests at the Gamps, you seem quite youthful in comparison. And I never think of you as old."

"Very kind of you to say. But if you're tired . . ."

"Not too tired for a cup of tea with you." She smiled at him again, and as her happiness and relief at being back at Hogwarts with him washed over her, she forgot her discomfort with his discovery of the tiny picture of himself that she'd kept for so many years.

Back in the sitting room, Minerva called Blampa and requested tea for her and the Headmaster. It arrived, complete with a plate of ginger newts, within moments. Blampa, trying to be a good house-elf, appeared to have anticipated her request.

"Do you mind if I take a moment to freshen up, Albus?" she asked. "I Apparated straight here after breakfast."

"Take all the time you need, my dear!" he said, sitting at the small table by the window. "I'll be fine."

As Minerva washed her hands, she looked into the mirror. The Glamour she had cast earlier that morning had disappeared, but she didn't need to cast another one. The walk and breakfast that morning had cleared away the cobwebs in her head and the puffiness around her eyes; her happiness at being back at Hogwarts had added more colour to her cheeks. Her face relaxed into a smile. It was so nice of Albus to fix the surprise for her return to the castle, even if it had been embarrassing when he'd noticed her pathetic little photograph of him. Well, it wasn't as though she'd made a shrine to him, after all. She may have kept all of his letters, but they were sensibly stored in a wooden box at the bottom of her wardrobe, not out where he would have noticed them.

Minerva reentered the sitting room to find Albus smiling over his letter from Gertrude. He looked up at her and re-rolled the parchment, putting it back in his pocket.

"Nice letter?" Minerva asked. "She said she hadn't had much time to write you this week . . . something she'd said earlier made me think that she wouldn't write you until the weekend."

"Yes, quite, quite. She wrote it this morning," Albus said, reaching for the teapot. "Shall I be mother?"

Minerva nodded and sat down across from him. "Anything of note happen here while I was away?"

"No, although we have received a few responses to the first advertisement for a Care of Magical Creatures teacher. But tell me about your holiday, Minerva."

"Well, Gertrude was correct; the landscape is beautiful, and she was also correct in that not all of her relatives are particularly pleasant."

"You seemed to get to know Quin MacAirt, though, and he always struck me as a good wizard, if somewhat unconventional – which I do not think is a bad thing!"

"Yes, I did. I got to know him fairly well, if only out of a desire not to get to know some of the others any better than I had to," she said with a grin. "But he is nice, as you say, and it would be unfair to him to pretend that I didn't also enjoy his company. I think he could become a good friend, eventually."

"That's lovely, Minerva! I'm glad you went down, then. I've felt Hogwarts might keep you from potential beaus, so I'm happy you met someone so agreeable. You must take every opportunity to get away from the castle when you are able to, especially during the summer holidays. There is no requirement to stay here, after all. Get out, enjoy yourself!"

"It was nice to go away, but nicer to return, Albus. And Quin isn't a potential beau. He's a friend, that's all."

"Don't be so quick to dismiss the possibility, Minerva. He's successful, decent, clearly quite a catch."

"I doubt he would like to be thought of as a 'catch,' Albus," responded Minerva, not liking the turn the conversation had taken. "Besides, he has no intention of becoming involved with any witch right now. That was part of what made his company congenial; I didn't need to worry about his intentions toward me."

"Well, when the right witch comes along, he'll change his mind, I'm sure. He's young, yet –"

"Albus! However true that may be, Quin is not looking for a romantic relationship, and I have no desire to become one of the witches who annoys him with unwanted attentions, even if I were interested in him, which I am not. We were allies this weekend, and we enjoyed each other's company, but that is all."

Albus smiled at her. "All right, my dear, but perhaps he has a friend, and over the summer –"

"Perhaps he has many friends, Albus. That is neither here nor there. I am not interested in leaving Hogwarts in search of a beau. It almost sounds as though you want to be rid of me. If it is a problem for me to spend time at the castle over the summer, just say so. I can go to my parents'. I plan to visit them at some point, anyway." Her pleasure at returning to Hogwarts was evaporating.

"No, not at all. You are welcome to spend as much time here as you wish, of course. It's just that most of the staff look forward to the freedom they have during the summer."

"Well, I am sure I will enjoy coming and going, but . . . well, I'd looked forward to spending time here, that's all." A sudden thought struck her. "Are you going away, Albus?"

"I will make a few short trips, I am sure, but I have responsibilities here, which is why I was unable to attend the party yesterday, as I explained to Gertie. I had made no provisions for my absence."

"I see . . . so you don't mind if I stay? I won't be in the way?"

"My word, no, Minerva, I hadn't meant to give that impression at all. You couldn't be 'in the way' – it's a large castle, after all! You'd hardly be underfoot."

What remained of Minerva's joy at her return to the castle seemed to evaporate completely. "I see." She took a sip of her tea and tried to swallow her disappointment with it. She had hoped that she would be far from "underfoot," that she might actually be a welcome presence in the castle. They had such a nice time in the days before she'd left for Cornwall, but, after all, that was only a few days, a few days out of several months of living side-by-side in the castle with Albus and hardly seeing him at all. Why should that have changed?

Albus sensed Minerva's change in mood. "Besides, Minerva, we had planned on spending more time together this summer, perhaps attend a concert or two. We could do that even if you went to your parents, I suppose, but it would be nice if you were here."

Minerva looked up at him. "Are you sure, Albus?"

"Of course! I missed you these last few days, Minerva. But I don't want to be selfish, keep you here in the castle, to myself."

"That's not selfish!" Minerva let out a sigh of relief. "I missed you, too. I was busy, of course, but I kept wishing you were there. And it's nice to be back home – well, at Hogwarts."

"I'm glad." Albus smiled. "You were going to tell me about your holiday before I changed the topic."

"Yes, well, Gertie showed me the hill fort the first morning I was there, and I found that quite impressive. And Quin gave me a partial tour of the gardens. His wife had been an Herbologist, so he knew a surprising amount about them."

"Ah, yes, poor Aileen. How are the children? I haven't seen them in a few years."

"They seem fine, like very nice children. Aine is a little shy, I think, but she may be overshadowed by her older brother." Minerva laughed. "Would you believe that Alroy had the courage to ask me to dance last night?"

Albus grinned. "Did he, now? Well, perhaps he's your future beau – in a dozen years or so!"

They both laughed. "He is quite the little charmer, Albus. We will all have to be careful to make sure that he doesn't use that charm to wriggle his way out of trouble."

"I'm sure that we will manage. I'm more concerned that he will find it difficult to adapt to his lessons. I remember how difficult it was to discipline myself to use my wand when it would have been so much simpler to just flick my fingers at something."

"Flick your fingers? You mean you did wandless magic as a child, too?"

"Oh, yes, indeed. It was much more common when I was a child. Particularly in certain families and in certain regions. It's still considered quite normal in Ireland, although the Irish Ministry is becoming stronger and issuing more regulations, under pressure from our Ministry. And as more Irish children accept their places at Hogwarts, the more the traditional ways will fade."

"When I saw Alroy using wandless magic, I rather upset Quin by taking him to task for it, I'm afraid."

"Yes, well, Quin has encountered some prejudice because of his unconventional training – unconventional by modern British standards, at any rate. He has overcome it, for the most part, but he was likely afraid that, as Alroy's teacher, you would hold it against his son, as well."

"I wouldn't have done that, though Quin had no way of knowing that, of course. And we straightened out the misunderstanding. However, Albus, there is one rather . . . unusual talent that Alroy has, and of which Quin was ignorant. Not ignorant, disbelieving. We will need to take that into consideration in his education."

Albus raised his eyebrows. "And what talent would that be?"

Minerva took a sip of tea. "He can understand animals. He talks to them and they answer. I actually believe he only vocalises because he thinks he must, but there is no question that he can communicate with them."

"Really? What sorts of animals? Is he . . . a Parselmouth?"

"I don't know. He did say that he can only communicate with certain animals, not all, and I discovered this after I demonstrated my Animagus form for him, and he heard my thoughts in the same way as I've found other animals are able to."

"That is an interesting bit of news. We will have to make sure that someone works with him on that talent. Perhaps you could be in charge of that?"

"That would be fine, Albus. I'll work with Wilhelmina and the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher."

"And, other than your dance with Alroy, which I assume was amusing, did you have a nice time at the party?"

"I suppose so, for the most part." Minerva hesitated only a moment. "I must say that if I never see Valerianna Yaxley again in my life, I will not be unhappy."

Albus's face didn't alter its expression one whit, and he said nothing.

"She has a peculiar notion of appropriate behaviour," Minerva continued, watching for any reaction from Albus. "She took a dislike to me from the moment she met me on Monday, although I hadn't heard of her until that day. But she seemed only . . . unpleasant, until the party." Albus still made no comment and gazed calmly at Minerva. "While Gropius was congratulating Walburga and Orion, Valerianna interrupted to announce her own engagement to Francis Flint. It was not well-received."

"No, I imagine it would not have been." Albus broke his silence, but reacted in no other way.

"I understand you know her. Was she the witch you referred to in your letter?"

"Yes. She is the widow of a friend, a wizard I worked with during the war. She was also briefly on the Hogwarts Board of Governors."

"So you know her well?" Minerva fished.

"I thought I did. I knew her husband better. And what of the rest of the party?"

"It was fine . . ." Minerva hesitated. No point in telling Albus about Valerianna's nastiness on the balcony. Not when he was so clearly unwilling to discuss her. "I danced with a few other wizards, including Minister Tapper."

"How is Alfred? I haven't seen him in a while."

"He seemed fine. I don't really know him well. His granddaughter danced with Alroy, who was quite a polite little gentleman." Minerva smiled. "He reminded me of Carson. Alroy, not Minister Tapper."

"Yes, that's right. Carson is related to the MacAirts. Was, I should say." Albus looked uncomfortable.

"Yes, I hadn't known that, myself. Alroy was Seeker yesterday morning during a pick-up game of Quidditch. I don't know if he will have the talent that Carson did, but he showed promise, for his age." Minerva shook her head. "It was an awful game, Albus."

"Your team lost?" Albus asked with a slight smile.

"No," she answered with a chuckle. "We won, surprisingly enough, but only because Alroy caught the Snitch. Gertie played Beater, and she was dreadful at it. She'd just fly between the Bludger and its intended target, and the few times her bat made contact with it, she had no ability to aim it. She was a danger to herself and everyone else, but she wouldn't hear of relinquishing her position." Minerva shook her head.

"She's all right, isn't she? She mentioned nothing of that in her letter." Albus looked worried.

"She's fine, now, no thanks to Druella, who played with more zeal than appropriate in a friendly game. Gertie broke her arm, and I don't doubt she was bruised all over, but she rested all afternoon and I'm sure that Columbine took care of her and gave her the appropriate potions. Gertie seemed to enjoy herself at the party, so she must have been feeling well."

"Good, good." He smiled. "She dances well, so I am glad she was not so injured that she was unable to attend and enjoy herself."

"Quin mentioned that he enjoys dancing with her. She looked lovely, as well."

"Were you able to spend much time with her over the last few days?"

"Some – far more than I had over the previous six months, certainly. She is . . . an interesting witch." Minerva thought of their conversation in the garden, when she felt that Gertrude had been lecturing her about loyalty and Gryffindor backbone. "I don't know as I understand her very well, but I do feel as though I know her somewhat better." Minerva looked at Albus. "She's very loyal to you, from what I have been able to discern."

"Yes, as I told you, much to your disbelief," Albus said with a smile.

"Well, she doesn't say much, does she? Here at school, anyway."

"She is reserved, and she is careful whom she chooses to talk to."

"I suppose so . . . I'm not particularly out-going, myself, so I suppose that didn't help us become better acquainted earlier. Gertie is very protective of you . . ."

"Yes, she is," Albus said softly. He smiled gently at Minerva. "You are warming to her, then?" He echoed words that Quin had uttered not long ago.

"Why would you say that?" Minerva asked.

"Other than the fact that you have admitted that she is loyal and protective, you have called her 'Gertie' several times, something that was rare before now."

"Oh! I suppose I have done." Minerva shrugged. "I do feel better acquainted with her."

"Good! I'm very glad, Minerva. Now I suppose you would like your nap. Will you be taking lunch here?"

"I'm not sure – I may sleep through it. Last night went quite late, then I got up early for breakfast. I'm sure Poppy will have something for me this afternoon."

Albus stood. "Very well, then. I won't worry if I don't see you at lunch, and with your permission, I will connect the landscape with your door portrait this afternoon while you are visiting Poppy."

Minerva smiled. "Good, thank you again, Albus. It's not only lovely, but it will be nice to have it connected with the portrait."

"Speaking of your portrait, if you are unhappy with the Silent Knight, I could find another one for you. You could pick out something for yourself, if you wish."

"Oh, no, he irritates me a little, I suppose, but I've become used to him and Fidelio – that's the dog."

"All right, my dear, but if you should change your mind –"

"Thank you, Albus. I'll remember that."

Albus took his leave with a smile and a wave, telling her it was good to have her back at the castle, and Minerva closed the door behind him. Once he was gone, Minerva felt suddenly very tired. The last few days had been stressful, and she'd not really had time to process everything. What she'd learned about Albus, about Valerianna, even about Gertie. It was all rather much all at once.

Minerva quickly stripped off her robes and underwear and pulled a clean batiste nightgown on, then cast a Tempus alarm to wake her in an hour and a half. She would wait to unpack. She was exhausted. As she lay there, though, she was unable to fall asleep. Of all that she and Albus had spoken of that morning, she could only think of his apparent desire to have her away from Hogwarts for the summer. He had said, of course, that he only didn't want to keep her in the castle to himself. But she still felt hurt by his use of the word "underfoot." Minerva reminded herself that Albus had later said he wanted to spend time with her, perhaps attend a concert together. She lifted her head and looked at the landscape. And he had given her a gift to welcome her home, and was going to give her a picture of the two of them. If he remembered. She hoped he would.

Minerva sighed, thinking of how it had been only a week ago that she had lain on this bed and wept desperately, believing that she had utterly ruined her friendship with Albus with her foolish and ill-chosen words in Poppy's office. She wouldn't endanger their friendship again by making demands on him or expecting more from him than he could give her. And he was going to such efforts to demonstrate his friendship for her, she couldn't let herself take offence if he thought she should be off entertaining herself somewhere other than Hogwarts. She wouldn't let herself become a nuisance, but she would appreciate everything he did for her . . . although she did hope that she saw him more than she had during term-time.

Minerva had come to feel that she would have seen more of him if she had stayed in London. Not literally, of course, but at least when she was working for the Ministry, they had occasionally had lunch or dinner together, just the two of them, yet from the night of the party Poppy had held for her up until last Thursday evening, she'd scarcely spent more than ten or fifteen minutes alone with him that wasn't consumed entirely by Hogwarts business. She really had begun to wonder whether he regretted hiring her, he seemed so distant and businesslike all of the time. But then their dinner in his sitting room had been so lovely, and he had been so kind, and then the next few days they had spent so much time together, that she had almost forgotten the way he had held her at a distance for so long, until he said what he did about the castle being large and her not being underfoot. It reminded Minerva uncomfortably of the nightmare she'd woken up from in the early hours of the morning, in which she had been searching a deserted Hogwarts for Albus and been unable to find him, then seen her reflection as a wretched old hag.

Dwelling on such gloomy thoughts was no good, Minerva realised. Instead, she should think of all the nice things Albus had done for her lately, and of how very sweet of him it had been to take the time and effort to hang the landscape in her room for her. Minerva rolled over and closed her eyes. As she tried to relax, she remembered how good it had been to see him when she walked up the path to the castle. Smiling at the memory, Minerva wondered if perhaps he hadn't really been out waiting for her to return, despite his declaration that he just happened to be taking a walk. It sounded like something she would do in order to keep him from thinking she had gone out of her way for him. But, of course, it was different for Albus. Nonetheless, the memory of his warm greeting helped her to relax, and she drifted to sleep.