The Course of True Love

A Not so Merry Christmas

The days before Christmas were filled with the usual hustle and bustle that you experience before the holidays. The students left the castle on Wednesday except for a few who, for various reasons, couldn't travel home that year. Christmas was on a Sunday that year, so there was still enough time for Minerva to wind down, get some things done she had neglected and most importantly wind down a little. She really needed to get more rest. Sometimes she felt the baby, not like actual kicks or anything, it was much too early for that. It rather felt like there were butterflies in her stomach, not the proverbial ones, but the actual ones. Sometimes there was this fluttering, tickling sensation that almost made her heart burst with joy. This was her baby, showing her that it was alive and growing big and strong, getting ready to finally meet her. She couldn't wait. Neither could Albus by the way, he was now very involved and prepared religiously to become a doting dad for their baby. They still weren't living together but Minerva wanted to change that during the winter break so they would both have time to adjust. It seemed like a good and solid plan and there were few things she appreciated more than a good and solid plan. So she invited Albus over for the holidays and when he came to the cottage on Christmas Eve, she asked him to move in. Her sudden urge to move him in took Albus by surprise, but it was a rather pleasant one and so he agreed.
"It's not Christmas yet and still you've given me a wonderful gift, dearest." Mina just shook her head and smiled.
"It's about time and the house is so empty without you. And there's still so much to do, we need to paint the nursery and build the furniture and..." Albus laughed and kissed her to shut her up. She worried too much. He would take care of everything and provide. He had brought a bag as he'd expected to stay over night anyway, so they decided to just enjoy their first evening of actually living together. It felt right and that was all that mattered, wasn't it?

On Christmas morning, Minerva woke up early. She looked around, expecting to see something unusual that would explain waking up at this ungodly hour. Albus was still sleeping soundly next to her, his hand on her pillow, snoring lightly but she was used to that. Tap tap. A tapping noise that came from the window. Yes, there was something jumping up and down, so she put on her glasses to get a better view. Outside the window was little owl she recognised as Cecily's, desperately trying to get her attention. She jumped up as fast as she could, which made her feel a little dizzy, and opened the window to let the bird in. It was cold and windy outside and the little owl snuggled up to her immediately.
"What news have you got for me?" The owl gave her a letter. It looked like a normal Christmas card with a snowy scene and stars. Mina opened it and was surprised that it didn't have much text and even more surprised that the one line Cecily had written was riddled with spelling mistakes. That didn't seem like her at all.
DeaHr Professor McGonagall, Merry ChristmEs and thank you for Looking aPhter me. Love, Cecily".
But something felt wrong. Very wrong. First of all, Cecily had started calling her Minerva a while ago when they were alone, something she definitely encouraged. And secondly, those errors just didn't make any sense. She read the text over and over again until she realised that they were deliberately placed and spelled out a word. She read, shook her head as she couldn't believe her eyes and read again. But there it was, clear as day. "H-E-L-P". Mina was right and had been all along, something was wrong. But she needed more, more information, so she started a series of enchantments to wake the paper's memory and see what it had seen. Soon, Minerva had conjured up a bunch of images that were as mysterious as they were scary and Minerva had to sit down on the chair next to her dressing table. She saw Cecily and tall man, more like an eerie shadow than a person. She saw words that formed in the air and seemed to have a green glow. "Wicked", "evil child", "monster" and many more. In the end she saw how the shadowman repeatedly hit Cecily and took her to a different room. With that, the sequence ended. Mina was sick to her stomach from what she had seen and then felt a pang of guilt. How had she missed this? So much of Cecily's behaviour made sense now but she hadn't connected the dots, she too had failed to protect her.
She obsessively watched the pictures, over and over again, to find a hint of who the man could be or where Cecily was, but nothing. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she bolted. It was Albus, of course.
"What are you watching, kitten?" he asked gently. He had watched her for a while and worried that she was getting too worked up.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" She tried to smile but just couldn't He shook his head and gestured to the paper in her hand.
"What's that, dearest?" He sounded worried and Mina knew she could trust him. Maybe he could help.
"It's Cecily's Christmas card. Something was off, there were some things, it spells "help", so I did some further digging and I found this. These are the things the paper has seen. I...Albus, terrible things are happening to her. You need to get Cecily, please." She had expected him to laugh or at least challenge her, it was Christmas morning after all and he was a stickler for professional distance. But Albus just nodded. While he hadn't found out anything about Cecily Sunderland at the ministry, the urgency in her voice told him that this was more than serious. He trusted her judgement on this.
"May I see what I'll be getting into?" Was all he asked, so Mina showed him. His jaw clenched while watching and he was obviously uncomfortable. The images were shocking after all.
"I'll get her." He said, Mina had rarely seen him look so determined. "I don't know how much I can do in terms of involving law enforcement because they are muggles, but I'll get her here, don't worry. She will be safe with us." Mina just nodded and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She couldn't tell him how grateful she was, for everything he did. He was stepping up, not just for his own child but also for someone he didn't really have a connection with. This was the man she'd fallen in love with, it felt like all their problems had just been a bad dream.
"You know, I think I...like her, very much. Almost, maybe... love her in a way" she said quietly. It wasn't easy admitting it, because she knew that this wasn't how things were supposed to be, but sometimes life happened. "I don't want her to spend Christmas there." Albus didn't lecture her, he understood.
"I know, my sweet. She's a lovely girl and deserves better. So much better than that. I wouldn't mind her staying with us long term if necessary." She looked at him, perplexed. When had he changed his mind on this?
"You mean it?" she asked carefully.
"Oh I knew that sooner or later she would stay with us for a while." He smiled warmly while packing some supplies he might need, just in case. "See, we're both making sure it's not impacting our work and I feel like she could be wonderful with the baby when it's here." Mina smiled a little. The fact that he considered these little things made her so happy. She'd known he'd come around and like Cecily.
"Please just go and get her out of there. I'd go myself but..." She gestured to her bump which prompted Albus to give her another kiss.
"I understand. We'll make it a nice Christmas for her." He kissed her forehead and then disapparated.
Minerva took a deep breath. Not a very Merry start to Christmas. She felt bad about making Albus sacrifice his Christmas morning, there hadn't even been time to unwrap the gifts she'd gotten for him. But there was no time to ponder about this, Mina had to get the guest room ready for Cecily. And probably long term, the whole affair seemed dreadfully serious. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty because the thought that Cecily could maybe maybe stay for longer excited her. No, no. Minerva wouldn't want Cecily to lose her family unless it was really the only way to protect her. So she got to work, making the bed, laying out some towels and generally making sure the room would feel homely and welcoming. It didn't take long and soon was done and there was nothing left for her to do but wait, which nearly drove her mad.