"I am truly surprised," he said. "And may I know who that person is? And why did you not think yourself fit enough to train her?"
Dumbledore's gaze remained fixed on Minerva as he waited for an answer from Minerva.
"Antonio Olario," Minerva replied, truthfully, after a couple of moments of silence, and she felt Dumbledore's gaze tightening on her.
"Lord Olario," Dumbledore mumbled, an expression of surprise crossing his face. "I did not expect him to be the one whom you have found fit for training Lily over you."
"Why?" he questioned again. "And when did the two of you get so close?"
"I did not get close or anything like that with Lord Olario," she replied with a shake of her head. "We can be called acquaintances at best. And this was a favour I asked from him."
"Oh!" Dumbledore remarked. He understood the implications well enough. Favours were not something someone did for free. There was a price for it. And though Dumbledore was curious about what price Minerva had agreed to pay, he did not voice his curiosity immediately.
"And considering the fact," Minerva continued, "that all the trouble in Lily's life began when Lord Olario praised her in a gathering of pure-bloods, when he claimed that she would wipe the floor with all of them combined, it was almost an obligation on Lord Olario to accept my request. Being the man he is, he could not have run away from this."
"And I would have personally trained her," Minerva addressed the question Dumbledore had asked in the very beginning. "But it would have caused dissatisfaction among the rest of the students with many of them wanting the same privilege. And what use is it if I cannot pay special attention to Lily? Thus, it was better that I did choose to not train her myself and let Lord Olario take the responsibility."
"And as for Lord Olario's abilities and how he impressed me?" She remarked. "I do not think an answer is needed for this one. We have all seen what he is capable of."
Albus Dumbledore nodded, though he remained a bit skeptical. He knew Minerva well enough to be almost sure that she most probably would have checked Lord Olario's abilities herself. And it was not anything that worried Albus Dumbledore. It was just that he was curious about how Lord Olario had fared against a tier powerhouse like Minerva McGonagall.
"And what price did you agree to pay in return for the favour that he did for you?" Dumbledore finally questioned.
"It is something that I have a personal obligation to," she said with a shake of her head, her expression stern as usual. "It had nothing to do with Hogwarts, and in no way does it affect the school."
Basically, it was a polite way to say to Dumbledore. Do not poke your nose into other people's business. Dumbledore could only nod his head helplessly at this. If Minerva did not want to reveal anything, she would not.
Albus Dumbledore remained silent for a couple of moments as he framed his words.
"While I do not see anything wrong in what you are doing, and in fact, I appreciate your efforts, for going as far as this for Miss. Evans, she always had a better life ahead of her," Dumbledore said. Minerva raised her eyebrows in confusion, wondering where this was going. She could not comprehend in which direction Dumbledore was trying to steer this conversation.
"She and James were on the verge of a great relationship," he continued, almost shocking Minerva. "And if the relationship had continued, they would have surely gotten married. And Miss. Evans would not have been targeted by any obscure element of Wizarding Britain."
"Even if someone had that kind of thought, who would have had the guts to stand in front of the daughter-in-law of the Potter family?" He questioned with a small chuckle. "And with the Potter family magic supporting her, she herself might have been able to be a better witch than she might become now."
"But alas!" Dumbledore sighed. "In a matter of moments, everything came crashing down. Miss Evans complained out of irritation against James, and you, Minerva, forbade him from even going near her."
Minerva felt irritation bubbling inside her and she barely held herself from snapping out of anger.
"No, headmaster," she finally replied. It was rare for her to directly refute Albus Dumbledore on any matter. And even Dumbledore was directly surprised to hear a direct 'No' from Minerva.
"Lily and James were never on the verge of a great relationship. Both of them have nothing common between them. They were never compatible with each other. They were not suited for each other. They are polar opposite to each other and you know it as well as I do."
"It may seem so, Minerva," Dumbledore sighed. "But have you not heard that opposites always attract? They would have been a very great couple. Their squabbles would have surely turned into a lover's quarrel."
Minerva's irritation rose even higher. She too had once held this same view and had seen James and Lily graduating from Hogwarts as a couple. But now that she looked back, it all sounded so absurd.
In no scenario were they going to be a couple, let alone a great couple. Even if things had worked between them somehow, it would have been for a very short time. They could not have tolerated each other for the long term.
Meanwhile, for Dumbledore, the cutting off of James from Lily had been a blow to the traps he had been weaving. And thanks to all the events that had transpired in the past few days, he had not been able to weave his trap again. But now that he was a bit relaxed, it was time to try and put his trap back on track. And for anything to happen, Minerva must remove the restrictions she had placed on James from even approaching Lily.
"I have to disagree with this, Headmaster," Minerva remained firm. "No love would have developed between the two. To ever think like that was a fantasy on our side. A false fantasy. It was us who turned Lily's problems into a lover's irritation and quarrel. It was never meant to be."
Albus Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully and remained quiet for a couple of moments.
"Why do you not do one thing?" he asked. "Remove the restrictions you have placed on James. Let him approach Lily, of course, in a dignified manner. Let us see where this leads us to."
"Let the doubts of this old man be cleared," he continued. "I do not want an upcoming great relationship between them to be affected by insignificant things."
It was an order disguised in the veil of a request. Now it was not about James, but Dumbledore had made this about himself. Minerva understood the indirect deal. Dumbledore had not made a single remark about Lily going out of Hogwarts. It was clear that he would look the other way for it, and she would have to compromise on this issue.
Not that Minerva would back down on sending Lily for the training, but Dumbledore, being the Headmaster, could surely create problems.
"I will talk to Lily about this matter," she sighed.
"Good, good," Dumbledore beamed in joy. "I will hope for positive news."
Minerva nodded and took her cue for dismissal. Till the end, he had made no comment about Lily leaving Hogwarts two times a week. The message could not be more clear to Minerva.
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