White Heather for Protection

Beginning of the End

"Severus!"

Heather leapt forward, throwing herself into his arms, tightening her grip when she felt him stagger back at the impact. She laughed, mood irrepressible. His lips stilled in surprise when she kissed him, but it didn't take long before he responded, sending shivers down her spine.

She didn't linger too long. She soon broke off the kiss, licking her moist lips as she leaned back. Severus's eyes tracked her movements. The look he gave her was almost enough to tempt her again, but she had news to share first.

"It worked!" she gasped. She didn't bother to fight the smile that was stretching across her face, not even knowing that she probably looked demented with how wide it was. "The venom worked! The horcrux is gone!" She slapped a hand over her mouth at having spoken the word aloud, but even that wasn't enough to stifle her grin.

Absolutely nothing could ruin her mood right now. The fear that had been hanging over her head for months now had just been resolved. Her brother wasn't going to have to sacrifice himself for Riddle to be killed. Bloody Dumbledore. She had the strange urge to confront the old man's portrait and gloat about it.

A callused hand stroked her cheek, making her sigh and lean into the contact. She looked up at Severus, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed by her...exuberant greeting.

"I'm glad. How did he take the news?"

"Not too well at first, but I think he's not really that angry at me. We'll be fine." She shrugged.

"And is he well? Any lingering effects?"

She hummed when the hand moved to comb through her hair, eyes falling shut at the soothing gesture. "He was healthy when I left, just tired. Hermione and Ron will contact me if anything changes."

Hearing him sigh, she went easily when she was tugged closer into his embrace. With both of them standing like this, she fit nicely under his chin, her face tucked into the nape of his neck. Severus' calm, steady heartbeat resonated through her own chest, allowing hers to slow down to match. She had been equal parts ecstatic and jittery with the destruction of the horcrux, the latter stemming from her sky-high levels of adrenaline and anxiety about Hadrian's welfare.

Severus seemed to understand how she was feeling, however. He always seemed to know exactly what to do to make her feel better. Gradually, her hands stopped trembling and her mind calmed. It was just the two of them, enjoying the tranquillity of the moment, rare as it was these days.

She had probably jinxed the moment with that thought, because not a second later, a house elf appeared and warned them of a conflict between the Carrows and some students.

Her eyes widened as she shared a glance with Severus. "I don't have the magic to fight them off. Not after what happened with Hadrian." That meant it was up to Severus to try and divert their attention somehow, without letting too much harm fall upon the students.

Nodding once, Severus went with the elf to the scene of the confrontation. Heather almost bit her lip through with worry. She fervently hoped that he would be able to de-escalate the situation. Thus far, Poppy had already had to heal a few broken bones and burns. It was only luck that nothing else more permanent or debilitating had been inflicted.

Azkaban, dementors and all, was the least of what the Carrows and Mulciber deserved. And Heather would relish it when they finally answered for their crimes.

It didn't take long for Severus to return. He was in a relatively even mood when he did so, so it was likely none of the students had been severely injured.