A Wizard's Debt

A/N: Well, the condom chapter certainly went down well! I didn’t think it would get reviews like THAT!! I was blooming shocked at some of the responses! I will add future warnings for those readers who fell off chairs, woke munchkins, sprayed coffee over electrical goods or wet underwear! Lol.



I took your reviews into account, some points were brilliant and I’ll try to bring them in where I can – but now I must calm everyone down a little, and I give you the night before the wedding.



Hermione.



“Will you be alright tonight?” Severus asked me after we had finally got rid of the impromptu sex-ed students and completed the seating plan.



“I’ve always slept alone with the exception of the past three weeks; I’ll manage. I’ll probably have to use a warming charm though, my feet will be cold.” I smiled; I was a fan of pressing my ice-cold feet into Severus’s thighs on a night to keep them warm.



“You could wear socks, you know.” He grumbled.



“But that feels too strange to me.” I teased, reaching for the little overnight bag I’d packed.



“Still… will you be alright?” He asked, sitting down on the end of the bed and looking so lost.



“I’ll be fine – and so will you.” I said, leaving the room quickly and quietly as I noticed Severus getting a little down. He doesn’t like anyone to see weakness, so I gave him the privacy he craved at that moment. I don’t know what has suddenly changed to make him so tactile and needing of me.



I stepped through the floo to where I would be staying the night before the wedding; Minerva was my calm in all this chaos, the quiet in the madness, the peace in the lunacy of planning and executing a wedding in three weeks. I had jumped at her offer of a spare bed in her chambers, Molly’s fussing had escalated to a record level, and was quite frankly driving me mad.



“Hello, care for a cup of cocoa?” she asked from the sofa, her long grey hair plaited into two long braids hanging down at the sides of her face; and wrapped in a cosy-looking dressing gown.



“Please, I’ve had a rough day.” I replied, remembering the banana I had to magically destroy after Hermes tried to fish it out of the bin I had thrown it in.



“I heard about that!” she chuckled, pouring me a steaming mug of cocoa from a cauldron on the coffee table, “Though, I had to wait and hear from Poppy, after she healed the reaction Bill had.”



“We’ll be lucky if their wives don’t end up pregnant! I don’t think they truly understand what to do with them!” I complained, sinking into the ridiculously comfortable, Gryffindor-red leather sofa.



“The ministry are going about this the wrong way entirely. They’re practically forcing couples to have children, what happens when those people can’t afford to feed their families? What happens when they can’t afford to send their children to Hogwarts? We can’t afford too many scholarships – and the Ministry doesn’t have the money to provide them!”



“It was evidently a rash decision – and as soon as this Minister is voted out, then I think everything will return to normal.” I said, sipping at the hot drink.



“I have seventeen-year old girls not coming back to Hogwarts because they are married and expected to have children! They should be completing their education!” Minerva hissed, a dangerous expression on her face.



We sat in silence for a while, watching the dancing flames of the fire as we drank the sweet drink. The quiet was comforting, but didn’t last long.



“Are you all set for tomorrow?” the older witch asked, pushing a few stray strands of hair away.



“Yes, as ready as I’ll ever be.” I said, looking at a moving photograph above the mantelpiece, “Dumbledore looks strange without a beard.” I said, easily recognising the younger McGonagall.



“Indeed!” she smiled, standing and bringing the picture closer. “Don’t they both look handsome in their dress robes?” she smiled, a beaming smile that held a hint of sadness.



“Who’s the other man, if you don’t mind me asking?”



“That is Jack McGonagall, and that is a photo from a few weeks before my wedding – many years ago.” She said quietly, gently rubbing her thumb over the other man’s face.



“What happened?” I whispered, and I wondered weather she’d heard me as she was suddenly lost in memories.



“The time when V-Voldemort was still Tom Riddle, and gaining support quickly, Jack stood his ground and refused to be a part of his nonsense, I’d just completed my Master of Transfiguration at the time, we had a small cottage in the highlands… he was one of the first to be killed and given the name of ‘blood traitor’… I took the teaching job offered by Dumbledore and have never really left the castle.” She sighed, placing the photograph carefully next to the cauldron of cocoa.



“I’m sorry.” I said, reaching out to take one of her cold hands and squeezing gently.



“Nothing you can do.” She sighed again, looking into the flames. “It happened a long time ago…”



“Are the ministry making you re-marry?” I was dreading her answer.



“No, they’re having respect for widows and widowers, to re-marry is optional.” She picked up the photograph once more, “Albus does look odd without his beard, doesn’t he?”



“Yes! Though, there were some interesting rumours going around that you and Dumbledore…” And I’m not going to finish that sentence.



She laughed, a genuine light laugh that brought little tears of mirth to her eyes, “Oh no, goodness no! Albus was a dear friend and a wonderful colleague, bit never anything more – in fact, I was not his type.”



“What was his type?” The young McGonagall was stunningly beautiful with jet black hair and shimmering eyes, what wasn’t to like?



“Well, quite frankly, males were more his type.” She said.



“Ah.” I said, smiling a little as I sipped more cocoa. We talked a little longer, mundane subjects that had nothing to do with my impending nuptials; normal conversation that didn’t revolve around the correct care through pregnancy… calm, normality, peace and sanity. Minerva was my rock tonight, and she was a brilliantly stable foundation against the winds of change.