The Course of True Love

Coming Home

Albus traveled across the country for almost a week, trying to calm down and get his thoughts in order. He didn't eat, barely slept, he was miserable but he felt like that's exactly what he deserved for once again running from his demons instead of facing them. In addition to feeling guilty, Albus worried about Mina and the baby, this kind of stress couldn't be good for them.
His restless journey took him from North to South, East to West, he couldn't stand being in the same place for more than a few hours. He stopped by in Godric's Hollow to visit his family's grave, but even there he couldn't escape the thoughts that were haunting him. At the same time he felt so numb, he couldn't even cry. On Thursday, Albus travelled through a tiny muggle village in Wales. It was very pretty, small cottages lined the main street which led towards a gothic church. The area around the church seemed rather busy, so Albus decided to investigate. It turned out that the local girl scouts had organised a craft fair for charity, selling handmade ornaments, knitted accessories, jewellery and anything the other villagers had donated. Albus couldn't help it, he was drawn to the excited atmosphere of the event, it reminded him of his childhood, when his mother used to help at this type of event, he remembered running around with the other children, he remembered sharing a treat with his siblings. Life had been so easy and carefree before... Albus couldn't bring himself to finish this thought.
He distractedly looked through the items on the tables. Regular muggle things, nothing really caught his eye until he noticed a pair of handmade baby socks and a matching hat. They were a pale green, like a spring meadow and so tiny. There was no particular reason for them to stand out the way they did to him, but in that moment, something just clicked and Albus was sure that it was a sign. He bought the set and gave a more than generous donation on top. Suddenly everything was clear to him, he knew it was time to go home and make things right.
After seeing the rest of the fair, Albus returned to the pub where he had rented a room. He needed to calm down a little before planning his course of action. In the evening he had figured everything out. Albus quickly packed his bags, he didn't have many things anyway, but he was especially careful when packing the baby set. Then, finally, he left the pub. Darkness surrounded him, but he didn't want to take any risks, so he walked until he reached the fields surrounding the village. From there, he travelled to Hogwarts. It was late, the castle was dark and quiet, the corridors empty. Not even a ghost crossed his way. Albus fought back his urge to go straight to Minerva, he knew it wasn't that easy and he needed to apologise properly. Instead, went to his apartment, even though it felt cold, lifeless and very, very lonely. Albus put down his suitcase, he didn't even bother unpacking it but went to his desk where he sat down. After a deep breath, he chose one of his very best quills and took out some parchment before starting to write. It took him almost all night and many pieces of parchment, but shortly before dawn, Albus finally put his writings into an envelope, sealed it and pushed it through the slot in her door. Afterwards, he fetched a snack from the kitchen and went to get a few hours of rest, Merlin knew he needed them for whatever this day would bring.

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Minerva was about to go to breakfast when she noticed the envelope that had been pushed through her door. It had her name on it in an awfully familiar handwriting and was surprisingly heavy. So he was back. Oh dear.
She opened it, half expecting a court order, proposal for hush money or some other atrocity designed to hurt her and punish her for something that he was just as much to blame for. To her surprise, it wasn't either of those things, instead she found two simple pages with his handwriting. Minerva sat down and started reading.

"My darling Mina. My precious child.
I can't say how sorry I am for the way I acted and for the things I said. They were wrong and I certainly didn't mean them. I acknowledge that this won't make my words go away but I certainly regret saying them. It was a reaction out of fear, due to some issues that I have. These issues are my problem to deal with and mine alone. I promise to work on myself, be better and make sure my past experiences never cloud my judgement again.
I will try to be the best father I can be. I want to be involved. My darling child, you will want for nothing. I swear."
Albus/Dad."