Current mood:	creative
Entry tags:	aberforth dumbledore, fic

Abe Fic
Another little Abe fic that came to mind from one of the many Ian McKellen photos I have.

“Margo? What’s wrong?”

They were standing close, foreheads nearly touching, her hands clenched into his vest, one of his curled around the back of her neck, the other just brushing along her jaw tenderly. But she was looking away, towards the door, towards the chaos she had escaped from.

“Are we safe here?” she asked, turning to look at Abe, her eyes wide with worry and fear.

“Yes, perfectly safe,” Abe replied earnestly, not quite willing to believe she was actually here. “He can’t get in here, I promise.”

Margo gave a small, slightly disbelieving laugh. “You can’t say that, Abe.”

“Yes, I can,” he replied. “I know it sounds absurd but he can’t get in here. Not if I don’t want him to.”

Margo stared at him for a long, long moment then abruptly melted against him, her entire body shaking as she sobbed silently. Abe wrapped his arms around her and just held her, murmuring quiet words of comfort and reassurance.

He didn’t know how long it had been when she suddenly spoke, so quiet he almost didn’t hear, the words muffled in his chest.

“Why, Abe? Why have you been so patient? Waited so long?”

He drew in a deep shuddering breath. It had taken him months to work out why he cared so much about Margo’s hideous situation, why he’d wanted to do all he could to help. Not that he hadn’t known the answer from the first; he just hadn’t wanted to face it. Feelings got him hurt, got others hurt; he wasn’t good at this, no matter how many times he tried. He wished he could turn off his feelings, stop doing this again and again but it never worked. But maybe… just maybe this time it would be different.

“I…” He hesitated and gave a shaky laugh. “I love you, Margo.”

She raised her head sharply, staring at him with surprise and disbelief. Whatever she was looking for in his face, his eyes, she seemed to find and Abe had to catch his breath at her sudden glorious smile.

“Oh, Abe,” she breathed. “I’d hoped… but I never let myself believe…”

He gave a choked laugh. “Believe it, Margo. I… just…” He broke off and pulled her into a fierce embrace. He kissed her, letting her feel how he felt. To his utter delight, she returned the kiss with the same fervour and he slowly shifted them backwards, groping behind him with one hand until he found his armchair then sinking down into it and pulling her into his lap.

“Margo,” he said with longing and desire when they finally broke apart and she laughed, a throaty, delighted sound that made his heart soar.

“Abe,” she said in reply, her eyes slight with mischief and love, and she repositioned herself so that she was straddling his lap. Abe slid his hands down to her hips then up her back again, pulling her close.

“Please… Margo?” he said, trying not to beg.

Her smile became gentle and loving. “I love you. I left him for you. I want to be here with you… forever.”

Abe smiled and laughed and pulled her into another long and fervent kiss, moaning into her mouth when she started to roll her hips in his lap. He pulled away and laughed, stilling her hips with his hands.

“Bedroom,” he said, his face alight with joy.

Margo laughed and shimmied her way off his lap. She paused for a moment then darted off towards his bedroom, her laughing, teasing “Catch me!” trailing behind her. Abe laughed and launched himself after her, his heart and mind light and full of happiness for the first time in far too many years.

**********************************************************

Abe woke with a small gasp, unable to work out precisely what it was that had woken him. For a moment he was confused by the body that was pressed so close to his then his memories of the previous night flooded back into his mind and he smiled and sighed softly, pressing a kiss to Margo’s forehead.

“And here I thought the brother of Albus Dumbledore would be smarter.” The voice was sardonic and snide, drifting quietly through the darkened room. Abe started to move then he heard movement and felt the distinctive press of a wand tip at his throat. “Uh-uh. Stay where you are.” The voice was menacing now and Abe swallowed hard and nodded.

The wand left his throat and a moment later the lights in the room came up. Abe blinked and squinted in the sudden brightness and looked down at Margo, wondering why she hadn’t woken. He knew the answer the moment he saw her. Her eyes staring blankly into nothing, the limpness of her body in his arms spoke of her death more than anything else.

“Margo,” he whispered, feeling like his heart was shattering.

“Yes,” the man said harshly, his voice full of hatred. “My Margo. Always my Margo. Never yours.”

Abe turned his head just enough to see who this was. He had never met Margo’s possessive, violent lover. She had never allowed it. And when he saw who it was, it was as though the world dropped out from underneath him.

“You” His voice was hoarse and shaking, full of grief and anger and disbelief.

The man laughed, a harsh, triumphant sound. “Yes, me. Goodbye, Aberforth Dumbledore. Enjoy your long and lonely life.”

The man twirled his wand around his fingers then stalked out of the room. Only then did Abe realised his wards had been breached so subtly that he hadn’t even felt it. He drew in several gasping breaths as he turned back to Margo, wrapping his arms around her tightly and resting his forehead against hers. Tears flowed silently as he held her close.

He felt it when his wards were breached again an indeterminate amount of time later but he didn’t move, not even when his brother walked into the room.

Albus stared at the pitiful sight in front of him and sighed sadly. The anonymous note in a very familiar handwriting had gotten him moving faster than he had in some time but it seemed that he was still too late.

“Oh, Abe,” he said wearily as he walked over to the bed and sat down on the side. He gently pulled his brother away from the body of the young woman. For a moment Abe resisted then he went willingly, curling up in his brother’s embrace and sobbing freely.

Albus gently rocked his weeping brother back and forth as he looked down at the young woman. He didn’t need to ask to know what had happened here... or at least to have a fair idea of what had happened. Abe had mentioned a young woman in terms and tones that’d had Albus smiling indulgently, well aware of what they meant even if Abe hadn’t been aware of his own feelings at the time. Combine that with the writer of the note and... well, some things didn’t need explanation.

Eventually Abe went limp against him. He was still awake but Albus could easily tell that he was at the limits of his ability to cope. Seeing the young lady again wouldn’t help matters. He summoned a robe from Abe’s wardrobe and bundled him into it, much as he had once done when Abe had been little. His brother was mute and obedient, moving where Albus directed, his attention almost wholly directed inwards.

Once Abe was dressed, Albus picked up the glass that was sitting on the bedside table and made a portkey out of it. He wrapped Abe’s hand around it and activated it, taking them both back to Hogwarts. He tucked his still unresponsive brother into his own bed and brushed his hair away from his face then kissing him on the forehead.

“Sleep, little brother,” he said softly and waited until Abe’s eyes closed before leaving the room and returning to Abe’s home to take care of things there. Perhaps it was time that he suggested to his brother that he stay closer to Hogwarts. Gellert had been captured and neutralised but many of his people were still out there. Albus had no desire to be the last of the Dumbledores.