The Dark Lady (Severus x OC)

13. The beginning of something else

Professors McGonagall and Sprout patrolled the corridors together, trying to document the appearance of new runes and prevent students from approaching them.

Professor Flitwick had developed a charm to temporarily cover the runes with a magical veil, but it was not a perfect solution, since after a few hours the spell had to be renewed. And because of that, Hogwarts now looked like the infirmary, with all the walls covered in magical fabrics.

"Do you think the Lady was serious? When she said she would search through the entire country," Sprout asked, refreshing one of the spells.

"I don't know."

"Sinistra thinks she and Severus work together. She has seen them talking in secret, and this morning the ghosts saw her leaving the dungeons, trying to hide where she came from."

"I guess they are spying on each other. Only Merlin knows what they're up to."

"Do you think they are lying to us? What if Vaitiare is right?"

"I'm not inclined to defend Severus, Pomona, you know this very well, but I can't imagine him kidnapping students," she reprimanded her, looking at her colleague over her glasses. But before Sprout could reply, she was interrupted by a scream coming from the girls' restroom.

"Help! Help!"

The professors ran in and saw Lavender desperately trying to open the door to one of the cubicles.

"Miss Brown, what is happening?"

"Professor McGonagall, it's Parvatil. She is being attacked by the runes and cannot get out."

There was a strange light glowing under the door. McGonagall waved her wand, muttering an incantation, but the door resisted. Frowning and rolling up her sleeves, the professor repeated her incantation, with more force, and finally the door disintegrated.

However, there was no longer a trace of Parvatil, and on one of the walls, the last light of the magical oval disappeared.

***

Summer had come to an end, and with it, the holidays. Severus returned to Hogwarts, and for the first time, he wished he didn't.

He had spent the last few weeks with Hellen, and what had started as a simple physical attraction seemed to have turned into something more.

In some way that he didn't understand, he missed her, even though there was nothing to justify it. He wasn't looking for her anymore, and he didn't have to worry about brewing healing potions for her either. In theory, he could allow himself to forget about her, perhaps preserving the memory of their most intimate moments for his personal pleasure.

And yet, he couldn't forget her.

Confused, he hoped that the passing of the days and weeks would make him forget that feeling. It wasn't normal for him to obsess like that.

He felt like he was betraying the memory of his first love. He had promised himself that there would be no one like Lily, that no other woman would take her place. But the passage of time and routine only made the memories of the moments lived with Hellen become more precious, and the desire to see her again stronger.

If it had only been about physical desire, he would have understood it, after all, Hellen was a very attractive woman who knew what she wanted, both in her daily life and in bed. The problem was that instead of remembering her kisses and caresses, what he missed most was her smile, the sound of her voice, and the conversations they shared at dusk.

After weeks of fighting that feeling of emptiness, he decided to write her a letter. It was short and concise, but he asked about her and offered the chance to stay in touch.