The Course of True Love

Reflections of a Fool in Love

When he lay in bed that night, he looked back on the events of the evening. He'd been lucky, what he'd done had been risky and probably very foolish. And he hadn't planned on her seeing him the way she had. Out of control and weak. But living without at least telling her about the way he felt just hadn't been an opinion anymore.
Was it wrong? Maybe. But could he help it? Definitely not. The past year or so had been the most confusing time of his life. Ever since he'd met his former top student working as a hostess in the club some of his acquaintances and colleagues frequented, something had changed fundamentally. The way they had looked at her, despite her only serving drinks had disgusted him. And what a waste of talent and potential. Not that there was anything wrong with working in hospitality, not at all, but he knew that a job like that was not part of her plan. She was the brightest witch of her age, she had the potential to become one of the top researchers in the field of transfiguration. However , he also knew how hard it was to even get into that field, especially as a young graduate, so the next day he'd come back and offered her a job as his personal assistant. He'd always insisted he didn't need one before, so there was an open position and perfect opportunity. She took it, a way out of a menial job and a step closer to her dream, that's why she'd decided to go with him.
Of course in the beginning, it had been mostly pity and him looking out for a former student and fellow Gryffindor, but the evening he brought her back to Hogwarts, he'd noticed that she wasn't only smart, she was also unbelievably pretty. He hadn't really paid attention to her looks before, that would have been inappropriate, but that evening, he couldn't help it.
Her long black hair was tied loosely into a bun, strands of hair were falling from it, framing her face and she kept tucking them behind her ears but to no avail as they kept falling out whenever she moved her head. She had those piercing, emerald green eyes and ruby lips just the right size and shape for her face. He'd started showing her around the office and his laboratory and they started talking about science, transfiguration and a whole lot of other things. Her face lit up when they discussed new theories and he asked her to show some of her work, which by the way, was revolutionary. He couldn't help but fall head over heels for her. She was so witty, so passionate and he quietly suspected that she was brighter than he could ever be. Not that she would ever make a point of showing someone up, as he knew that she had a kind heart and would never make someone feel uncomfortable on purpose. He'd just listened to her talk and he could have listened all night, it wasn't so much what she said, but the sound of her voice, her excitement and her commitment to her craft.
It wasn't the first time that he'd fallen in love, far from it. But it was the first time that it hit him with such a force and all at once, butterflies, weak knees, his heart racing at almost the speed of light and being incredibly awkward around her.
In his more rational moments, he'd been more than aware of the fact that she'd never be interested in someone like him, way older and honestly, a little strange, if not full-blown eccentric. And all the rumours about him being on death lists? They were true. There really were a lot of people who didn't like him.
He'd almost made his move and asked her out about six months ago, but then the position as headmaster became available. He accepted and hired her as transfiguration teacher.
That way, she would still be around. She would be his deputy and somehow also his assistant, he was a little useless in everyday business without her. And he could be close to her and support her. His original plan had been to just love her from a distance, watch her find happiness and eventually move on from him. Thinking about it, he was suddenly very grateful for his lack of impulse control. Of course, things weren't going to be easy, he wasn't exactly supposed to have such a personal, intimate relationship with his staff and the Minister of Magic would be furious if he knew. But maybe, at least for now, nobody had to know. There were a lot of things he'd have to talk through with her, but they had time. It took a long time for Albus to finally fall asleep, but when he did, he wasn't plagued by nightmares for once and actually managed to get some very much needed rest.