The Course of True Love

Settling In

Minerva went upstairs and got ready for bed soon afterwards. They both didn't really feel like sitting downstairs and pretending it was a normal Christmas with Cecily sleeping on the couch. They were both rather on edge, half expecting Cecily to have another nightmare. But nothing happened, in fact, the little girl was now very calm and slept soundly.
"Long may it last." Mina thought to herself. She waited for Albus, who was doing one last round through the house, checking the doors.  She just couldn't stop looking at the beautiful ring he'd given her. It was a perfect, the small golden band with the little rubies was more than fitting for a true Gryffindor. The stones were a deep, rich red and sparkled mysteriously in the light of Mina's lamp. She was mesmerised.
"Admiring your ring, love?" Albus' soft voice made her look up, she hadn't heard him come in. He smiled, obviously very pleased that she had accepted his proposal.
"It's beautiful. I didn't have the time to tell you yet, but I really love it." Albus kissed her hand, smiling warmly.
"I'm glad. I designed it myself. Something special for someone special." Mina returned his smile and he sat down on the bed, right next to her, clearing his throat. The signal that he was ready for the questions she was dying to ask.
"So tell me, Albus, how did you know what to do with Cecily? I didn't know what to do or what was happening and you just... It was incredible. You were wonderful, just wonderful, it made me love you even more." Albus blushed a little, he hadn't done it to impress her, he'd just wanted to make things better but her admiration meant a lot to him.
"It's what the muggles call PTSD, it happens when you had terrible stuff happen to you. You get flashbacks and such. " he said quietly. "My sister had it after...the thing happened. She had those terrible outbursts and panic attacks. Flashbacks, night terrors. And depressive episodes. I've seen it all before, that's why I know what to do. I really wish I didn't, but at least I can help the poor kid now. They have abused her in ways that... I don't want go into detail about to be honest. It hurt me seeing her there and seeing what happened and it will hurt you, my love. I don't want you to be hurt. Seeing us so close, touching and such must have triggered her, that's why she had such a big reaction. However I do have a theory where it stems from. She loves you a great deal, Mina. She  jumped in to protect you from a perceived threat despite her own fears, a Gryffindor through and through." Mina shook her head. She couldn't believe it. How could they? The poor girl.
"I'll kill them" she whispered, and she meant it. She was incredibly angry, she was outraged. And she was in disbelief, she couldn't figure out why someone would do this to a child. Their own child nonetheless. "They did that to her. To my darling Cecily. I'll make them pay." Albus squeezed her hand. Yes. It was good that he'd gone instead of her.
"They will be taken care of, dearest, I'll make sure of it. Just look after Cecily. She will need a lot of care and understanding." He got up and nervously paced around the room. He had a plan, but there was so much to do and bringing the case to a muggle court would require not only a great deal of work but also secrecy. Albus was ready to put in all that work, not just because the little girl was special to Mina, but because he finally admitted to himself that he cared about here. There you had it. Albus Dumbledore cared. It was terrifying and yet, truly loving and caring felt like an act of rebellion against all his worst fears. It felt good.
"Love and understanding? So I'm allowed to love her now? What happened to your almost unhealthy obsession with boundaries, love?." Mina lovingly teased him, seeing him care so much made her heart happy.
"We'll make an exception for her. I like her, you know? And not just because she reminds me of my sister and I'm projecting. She's wonderful and would be a good fit for us, just in case..." He sighed. Albus couldn't finish the sentence because of the heavy implications.
"...if she stays?" Mina ended his sentence for him. Quietly, almost apprehensive. She didn't dare to hope, knowing while it would make her very happy to have Cecily stay forever, it would also mean that the girl would lose her family. It wasn't easy, not at all. Albus simply nodded.
"I don't want to get your hopes up, dearest, but nobody in her family seems to be able to look after her at the moment or long term. They all seem to be more or less involved, it's sickening." He stopped at the window, looking out into the snow. Thoughts were still racing in his head.
"Let's take it one day at a time" Mina said gently. It was a lot to take in and she knew that they shouldn't underestimate the challenge they were taking on. Albus nodded in agreement. Minerva was wise. he continued pacing around the room in silence for a while.
"I guess we're parents now." he quipped when he noticed Mina watching him. He wanted to make her laugh, despite all the sadness they were witnessing.
"I guess we are" she replied lightly. The slight change of topic was more than welcome to her. "Our little Ariana will have a lovely big sister then." Albus stopped in his tracks and stared at her. Had she just...? He couldn't believe what he'd just heard.
"Ariana?" He whispered. "Who's our little Ariana." He quickly went back to the bed and sat down next to Mina.
"I went to see Poppy a few days ago and found out what the baby is going to be and well... We are going to have a little girl. I want to name her after your sister. Her aunt. Ariana and I thought you could choose the middle name... Oh Albus, darling, please don't cry." Albus said nothing, just squeezed her hand over and over again while tears streamed down his face. Oh dear, Mina hadn't thought it would upset him and she felt bad that she made him cry. "It's okay, Darling . We can also give her a different name if you are not happy with it or feel it's too soon..." she tried to comfort him.
"No." He whispered, his voice trembling. Albus didn't quite know what to feel. There was joy, pure, unadulterated joy about his perfect little girl and Mina's thoughtfulness. There was the sadness that came with thinking about Ariana. There was fear. But mostly, he was overwhelmed with joy he couldn't express and so he cried. "That's the most wonderful, thoughtful gift you could have given me. You have no idea how much this means to me..." He carefully touched her belly. "Hello Ariana. It's daddy..." Mina smiled and had to blink away a tear. How wonderful, almost too good to be true.
"Darling, calm down, it's okay. Please, please stop crying."
"Mina, I was so afraid of this. Of loving and caring so much, whether that be about you or the baby or Cecily. But I can't help it and this time I will not ruin it. I failed my sister but I won't fail you or the children, our baby and whatever Cecily will be to us." Minerva had to swallow hard and just hugged him, Albus didn't resist. He needed to be held and it felt good.
"You won't. You're dealing so well with all of this" Mina reassured him, caressing his back and he slowly calmed down. "I got you a baby related gift, can you manage or do you want it tomorrow?"
"Uhm... I can manage I guess?" Albus was very curious and so Mina handed him a little gift, she had carefully wrapped. He opened it and revealed an enchanted ultrasound picture. It was grainy, black and white but there was a moving heartbeat. An absolute miracle. "Meet your daughter Ariana" Mina whispered.
"She's beautiful." Albus replied and pressed the image to his chest. He had no words. For once, Albus Dumbledore had nothing to say. Mina smiled. She'd never seen him so vulnerable, so out of control. But she liked it. He was human after all. His vulnerable side was safe with her.
"Sleep well" she whispered, gave him a gentle peck on the cheek and then turned around to give him some privacy. She knew he wouldn't sleep much that night because he needed to get his thoughts in order, but that was alright.