𝔖𝔫𝔞𝔭𝔢'𝔰 ℜ𝔢𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔫 (ℭ𝔬𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔢𝔱𝔢, 18+)

๑۞ 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔱𝔢 ۞๑

     The cold air bit into my skin as soon as I stepped outside the door of Zofia's tavern. Fog had settled over the small town, significantly reducing visibility.

     Breathe in, one - two - three. Breathe out, one - two -three.

     My heart was racing. Not from the cold air that was numbing my skin, nor from the fact that my parents might be rescued tonight. It was attempting to break free of my chest because where Severus's large hand had recently covered my thigh was now mad skin, screaming in protest as it felt colder than the rest of me from his missing warmth. He smelled good - edible in fact, and his dark eyes had wandered appreciatively over my body since picking me up from 12 Grimmauld, making me giddy. 

     To top off being near the man I'd been dreaming about for close to a year, Zofia's encouraging words were still ringing in my ears, "Don't worry, Ron Weasley will heal. Severus, on the other hand, well, I've never seen him in love with someone else before. It's nice."

     With that bit of knowledge, I instantly decided the first thing I was going to do when I was done with this trip was dump Ron and the second thing I'd do was the sexy man standing in front of me. 

     "Before we go," Severus's voice broke into my thoughts as he waved his wand over me, and the darkened beach became visible. Abdelaziz's Byzantium hijab was more lifelike and deeper purple than it had previously been and Markus's dark brown duster and matching cowboy hat were richer in color.

     "Is this a cat eye spell?"

     "Yes, it is," Severus's eyes locked on mine before touching my right ear, and a tingle worked through my whole body. "And that's a communications spell. Just touch your ear to activate it, and the three of us will hear you as long as you're within a quarter miles range."

     Footsteps could be heard walking away from us, but I couldn't stop staring into his deep grey-black Crookshank looking eyes. Eventually, Severus gave me a small smile and waved his arm to follow the rest of the party.

     The four of us walked along the cold, dark Petrification Bay beachfront for fifteen minutes. At some point, Markus had chattered on about the various creatures found in the Tasmanian Sea with Abdelaziz chiming in on occasion.

     Sulfur tinged the air, stopping me in my tracks at the same time as the dark-clad wizard at my side.

     "Spread out," His deep voice instructed.

     The other two Aurors broke off and began casing the area while I stuck close to the nicely spiced smelling wizard. 

     There was an old burnt out campfire pit, a few empty beer bottles, and footprints wandering in all directions.

     "Here we are," Abdelaziz kicked at a small area in the sand. "It's melted into glass," She waved her wand, and a cloud of sparkling dust poofed in the air.

     A silent image of Greyback yelling at two people scuffling in the sand appeared. A moment later the giant werewolf said something else and a thin and unwell looking person came into view with their wand raised.

     "Dad!?" The air was knocked out of me at seeing him after all this time and at the poor state he was in. I'd begun trembling and was near tears just before Severus's calming presence surrounded me, and he gently squeezed my shoulder.

     My father sent bolts of light at the quarrel and broke up the fight. I was in shock and disbelief at having seen him behaving like that. To make matters worse, my mothers' frail form came into view looking far worse than my father, as they gathered together before heading further down the beachfront.