Past Lives

Chapter Three: Don't Let Them Scare You

Albus Dumbledore sat up in his bed, sweating, as he emerged from the worst nightmare he'd ever had. What if it wasn't really a dream? He hoped it was just a dream, but to confirm it, he had to go check on her. He hurriedly Flooed to the Hospital Wing and Conjured up a chair next to the sole occupied bed.

"Oh, Minerva," he murmured, "this is all my fault. I shouldn't have allowed this to begin, no matter how much I love you. I can't stand to see you like this..."

He moved his chintz armchair closer to her bed, still grasping her pale, delicate hand.

"I had a nightmare tonight. These past two weeks hadn't happened, and we weren't yet together, but somehow I knew that you were going to be poisoned anyway. You came into my office and told me you loved me - but..." his sobs grew ragged as he attempted to carry on, "...but I fired you and denied my feelings. You went to Aberforth... and.... And made love with him..."

Digging through his robe pockets with one hand, holding onto her hand with the other, Albus managed to retrieve a large purple handkerchief. Minerva had bought it for him at Christmas last year. He remembered the laughter in her eyes when she gave it to him... "Now you'll finally have a handkerchief to match your favourite robes," she'd said, before giving him a kiss on the cheek. Whoever had poisoned Minerva had taken away their happiness, but he knew that if Minerva ever woke up from her coma, he would never let her go. There was too much sorrow in the world - in their lives - to deny themselves any love and joy...

Where was Fawkes? Albus thought for the thousandth time in the past two weeks. He had tried hundreds of times to call him, but he hadn't returned to Hogwarts. And Albus had exhausted his store of phoenix tears defeating Grindelwald. If anything would get Minerva out of her coma, it would be Fawkes's tears, he'd thought, and he's not here...

Albus buried his head in his hands and sobbed.

Aberforth sat on his bed in his lonely rooms, looking at the crescent moon through the dirty glass panes of his bedroom window. He thought back to the night before he had poisoned Minerva...

Minerva and Aberforth were waiting up in Albus's office anticipating his return from a trial of one of Grindelwald's followers. The man on trial, Cygnus Black, had been a neighbour of the Dumbledores' in Godric's Hollow, and had been Grindelwald's right-hand man. He was the one who cast the Cruciatus curse on Ariana, which led to her death... Aberforth still blamed Albus for letting Grindelwald and Black into their house, and for Ariana's death. A dusty, tired Albus stepping out of the fireplace interrupted Aberforth's musings.

"He was acquitted," Albus said heavily.

Aberforth clenched his fists in rage. How could that bastard not be punished for killing his sister? He knew that it was always a very slim chance that Black would be convicted - after all, he was a wealthy pureblood with many connections in the Ministry.

Minerva left the room to notify the other Heads of Houses to Albus's return. Aberforth rummaged around his brother's office, looking for Albus's secret stash of firewhiskey. Albus had gone into his bedroom to weep. Minerva returned to a grieving Albus and an extremely inebriated Aberforth. He asked her to make him up a bed on the couch, knowing he couldn't bear to face the portrait of Ariana in his room. She complied, and then helped him into his bed. Kneeling beside him, she held his hand until he fell asleep.

He woke up later that night, feeling nauseous, and stumbled to the bathroom - or what he thought was the bathroom. He accidentally opened the door to Albus's bedroom - seeing double made it very difficult to navigate. But what he saw in Albus's bedroom was a heartbreaking image that he viewed in startling clarity.

Albus and Minerva were making love.

Aberforth was - stunned, shocked, speechless - to say the very least. He couldn't move - it was as though he was Petrified. As Albus and Minerva drifted down from their climaxes, Albus finally noticed his brother standing in the doorway. As Albus leapt out of bed and lunged towards him, the spell was broken.

"Merlin - bloody hell, Albus! What did you do? What in Merlin's name did you do?" Aberforth cried.

"Shut up, Aberforth! Get the hell out of Hogwarts!" Albus growled threateningly, approaching Aberforth, wand tightly gripped in his hand, ignoring the fact that he was still naked.

"I love her, Albus! You know that! How could you sleep with her when you knew that?"

Minerva had been sitting still in the middle of the bed, clutching the bedding tightly around her.

"I love her, too, Aberforth! We've been together for almost a year!"

With that, Minerva finally broke out of her trance. "I'm sorry Aberforth, but I love Albus. I've been in love with him for years..."

Aberforth had left the room before she could finish her sentence, and he fled to the Hog's Head.

The next day after breakfast, Minerva had taken ill. Only ten minutes into her first-period class, she had blacked out and fallen to the floor, unconscious. Madame Worthdall, the Hogwarts nurse, was unable to help her at all, and Minerva was too unstable to be moved to St. Mungo's. Albus Flooed the top Healers in Europe, but none of them could determine what caused Minerva's sudden illness. Only a day after passing out in her class, she slipped into a coma.

Meanwhile, Aberforth Banished the vial that had contained the diluted basilisk's venom he'd dipped the lemons Minerva used for her morning tea in. That way, he wouldn't run the risk of accidentally poisoning Albus - although his brother loved lemons, he detested them in his tea, because he believed that tea was too bitter anyway. He didn't want to poison Albus. He wanted Albus to know what it felt like to have a broken heart...

A sharp squawk emitted from a golden cage in the corner. Standing up from his bed, Aberforth made his way over to the enchanted cage that was currently imprisoning Fawkes - both magically and physically. Casting a silencing charm, Aberforth threw a few mouldy owl treats in the cage and sat down in his previous position.

Oh, Minerva...