Disclaimer: I own nothing dealing with Harry Potter and I do hope that everyone knows about that!

A/N: Okay, the idea for this story came to me yesterday when I was role playing with someone I met online. The only difference was the coupling. I liked the idea so much that I decided to use it for Minerva and Albus. I hope you like it.

Chapter One: Who Am I?

The final war with Voldemort had been raging for the past several hours, and everyone was exhausted. But that did not stop them, for they knew that they all had to keep going. Both sides had experienced horrible losses, but there was no time for grievances right now. There was a war going on and they needed to finish it.

Albus Dumbledore was fighting with all his might, which was harder than it had been when he was fighting Grindlewald; for he was younger in that war and his reflexes were quicker than they were now. But no one seemed to notice, for he was still very quick and despite his age he handled himself better than most would on the battlefield. He called out spell after spell, hitting as many Death Eaters as he possibly could. He hardly noticed anything other than who he hit and who he still needed to hit. It wasn't until near the very end of the battle that he saw what had happened.

He had turned around just in time to see Minerva McGonagall, his deputy headmistress, transfiguration professor, and head of Gryffindor house, fighting as hard as he was. Sweat ran down her forehead, mixing with dirt and a little bit of blood. Next to her was Gildroy Lockhart, the man who was so full of himself that he did nothing but smile at anyone stupid enough to believe his stories of success. He had regained his memory at St. Mungo's hospital and was back to his usual, arrogant self. The only reason Albus had allowed him to keep the credit for everything that he had supposedly done was because all the other wizards whose memories he had erased were already dead due to the war with Voldemort.

A Death Eater had appeared and was about to strike when Gildroy pulled back his wand and cried, "Obliviate!" Poor fool that was the only spell he could effectively do. The spell flew to the Death Eater, who effectively put up a shield, causing the spell to ricochet off of him and hit…

"Minerva!" cried Albus. He saw her fly back, hit her head against a huge rock, and fall unconscious on the field. He wanted so much to run to her, to help her, and to comfort her. But he was not able to, because a spell flew within an inch of his nose. He looked to his right and saw a Death Eater looking at him. He knew that he had to continue fighting, otherwise he, too, would be either hurt or killed, and therefore would be unable to help Minerva at all.

About half an hour later, Harry Potter had finally defeated Voldemort, bringing down the darkest lord ever to cross the wizard work since Grindlewald in 1945. It was tiring, and he sure felt sore in every place on his body, but he stood triumphantly as he looked at everyone and smiled, holding up Voldemort's wand in evidence of what he had done. Everyone cheered when they saw the wand, which was brother only to Harry's wand. They cheered, whistled, and clapped loudly, causing Harry's heart to swell with pride. He frowned when he noticed Albus, who had cheered a little bit; make his way to the back of the crowd in quite a hurry.

He saw Albus crouch in down to the ground over a body. He couldn't tell who it was exactly at first, but then he thought of something. He scanned the crowd for evidence that his transfiguration professor was still there, but she was nowhere in sight. He looked back up to see Poppy Pomfrey making her way to where Albus was. Harry felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach when he thought of what might have happened. If she were dead, he would feel a great sense of loss, one which he hadn't felt since the death of his godfather, Sirius Black. True, Professor McGonagall was stern, but he always knew that she cared for him and that she always cared about what happened to him.

When Albus had bent over Minerva's body, his heart shriveling up at the very sight of her lying there. Her eyes were closed, and he wasn't sure if she was breathing or not. He brushed aside a few stray strands of her ebony black hair, which had long since fallen out of its constricting bun she had always kept it in. When Poppy came up behind him, he looked at her with questioning eyes.

"Poppy, is she…?" He couldn't bring himself to say the last word. He was so scared that she was, in fact, dead. Poppy bent forward and checked her pulse. Then, she lay her head to her best friends chest and listened. She sat back up and looked at Albus, worried.

"She still has a pulse, but it's not as fast as it should be, and she is still breathing, but not at a normal pace." She looked at Minerva's head and gasped. There was a lot of blood around her head. "Oh dear, she has lost a lot of blood. Help me, Albus. Take her to the hospital wing. She is too weak to be apperated, so you'll have to carry her." Albus nodded and quickly scooped Minerva up into his arms. He hurried as fast as he could to Hogwarts, not wanting to lose a most trusted friend, and the only woman he ever loved.

Ooooooooooo

Albus placed Minerva on the cot gently, then quickly stepped out of Poppy's way. He did not want to be a nuisance, but he also didn't want to leave Minerva behind. So he took a few steps back and watched as Poppy began to administer several tests and force down numerous potions. She had wrapped Minerva's head into a bandage after she had stopped the bleeding. Minerva now looked paler than he had ever seen her in all their years of knowing each other. Even when she was a student, and so intent on concentrating on her schoolwork and sometimes missing meals because she was so busy studying for a test, she never looked as pale as she did now.

"Excuse me, Albus," came a man's voice from the infirmary door. It was Gildroy Lockhart, and he was very nervous about talking with Albus. Albus turned around and looked at the young man, his anger rising slightly. He had to remind himself that it was not his fault, but that of the Death Eaters. Gildroy was only trying to help, after all.

"What is it?" he asked. Gildroy walked up nervously to the headmaster, making sure to stop at least three feet away from him. He pondered just what to say to him, though he was not quite sure what to say. He finally looked at Albus and took a deep breath.

"Look, Albus, I am so sorry for what happened. I did not mean for Minerva to be harmed. Please forgive me." Albus couldn't believe his ears. He had never expected this young man to be so thoughtful. Gildroy had spent the better part of his life making people adore him to boost his huge ego. He always strutted around like some sort of peacock, displaying all colors, except for his true color, that is. He was the sort of man whom, as Albus' mother would say, "If you've been to the moon, he's been there twice". He was always trying to outdo everyone, and it was truly amazing to see him so humble, as he was now. It took Albus quite by surprise.

"Well, Gildroy, do not worry too much about it," said Albus, placing his hand on the man's shoulder. "It was only an unfortunate event. We just have to hope now that nothing is seriously wrong with her." Gildroy nodded and sighed. Just then, a nosy reporter burst through the room.

"And here is the famous Albus Dumbledore, talking with Gildroy Lockhart," he said in his Irish accent. He was speaking to a pen, which was floating behind him and marking down everything that he said on a piece of paper. "What could they be discussing, I wonder?" Albus looked at Gildroy, smiled, and nodded in the direction of the reporter. Gildroy nodded and once again became the Gildroy Lockhart everyone knew. He walked over to the reporter, turned him around, and placed his arm around his shoulders.

"Did I ever tell you about the time when I fought in a great battle, much like this one? You see, it all started some years ago, just after Voldemort had begun terrorizing the wizard world…" The door shut behind them and the pen and paper, which was scribbling quicker than ever.

Albus smiled slightly, then turned his attention back to Minerva and Poppy. He was so worried about what would happen, and he knew that he could not handle it if Minerva did not make it through. He watched for about another fifteen minutes before a wave of exhaustion hit him and he collapsed into a chair, which he himself conjured up. Just before he fell asleep, Harry Potter entered the hospital wing and came up to him.

"Professor Dumbledore?" he asked. Albus looked at the young man.

"Yes, Harry?" he asked. Harry looked from him, to Minerva, to Poppy, and back to Albus.

"Is she going to be okay?" he asked. Albus looked at the boy with a twinge of sadness in his eyes.

"I do hope so," he said. "She is too important to all of us to lose now." Harry nodded. They had lost too many to be losing someone as meaningful as Minerva. Albus seemed to know what he was thinking, and therefore stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know you see her as a mother figure, and I know how important she is in your life. I promise to you, Harry, that either Poppy or I will inform you the moment we know what is wrong. Now, go to sleep. You need your rest." Harry nodded and, smiling at Albus, left the hospital wing. Albus then turned back to Minerva and walked over to the bed.

"I've completed all I can do," said Poppy. "The best we can do now is just wait until she wakes up." Albus nodded, never taking his eyes off of Minerva's face. Poppy placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, squeezed it, and then left the infirmary. Albus sat on the edge of the cot and grabbed her hand.

"Oh, Minerva," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "You have got to come through this. You are much too dear to all of us and we don't want to lose you right now; especially after losing so many already. Please, Minerva, grow stronger for all of us; for Harry, for Poppy, for Sylvia, for Xiomara… and for me." He kissed her hand and leaned in to whisper next to her ear. "I love you, Minerva. Stay with me." With that, he went over to another cot and laid down. He was tired and he was in need of some sleep.

Ooooooooooo

The next morning, Albus felt someone shake his shoulder, and a soft voice urging him to get up. He opened his eyes and blinked several times before they cleared up. He saw the eyes of Poppy Pomfrey, a small smile playing on her lips.

"She's awake, Albus," she whispered. He looked immediately over to Minerva's cot and saw the not only were the bandages off, but her eyes here wide open. Oh, how happy he was to see those beautiful green eyes again. He jumped up and went swiftly over to the cot.

"Goodness, Minerva, you had us all scared to death," he smiled. "Young Harry came in, and even Gildroy came to check up on you, and…" Minerva held up her hand to stop him. She looked from him, to Poppy, and back again. She had a frightened look upon her face, and she pulled her feet up to her chest and began to cry.

"What's wrong, Minerva?" asked Poppy, who had now become extremely concerned. She had thought that Minerva was all better now, and she knew Minerva could not have had any nightmares about the war which took place the day before because she had been given a dreamless sleep draught. Poppy knew that any horrible nightmare would only increase the chances of headache the next morning. Minerva looked up, tears falling from her eyes. She looked directly into Albus' eyes and whispered so low,

"Who are you? And more importantly… who am I?" Not waiting for an answer, Minerva stood and ran out of the infirmary, still in her nightgown and not wholly sure of where she was going. Albus and Poppy looked at each other, frightened, before following Minerva.

To Be Contiued…

A/N2: I was not sure if I should add that last part in or not. You know, where she runs out of the infirmary. But I figure she is distressed and does not know who she is, nor does she know who anyone else is. So of course she is scared out of her mind, and what do you do when you're scared? A lot of the time, we tend to run, unless you're not scared of anything at all! And I know Lockhart is a bit out of character, but I figure I should give him SOME sort of feelings. He's not a complete machine, after all. Peace out! Always Hopeful