Chapter 15
Immediately you feel your heart start to sink, as though every good and happy thing in the world has come to die right here in this meadow. Surely that’s why you’re here too, to curl up in the soft grass, to lay against the cool earth, and die.
“Expecto Patronum!” You hear your mother cry, raising her wand into the air, breaking you from your daze.
Dementors slowly descend on her, not at all phased by her futile attempt of a Patronus charm. The air is cold around you, the trees frosting over with ice as you look around for any possible chance of escape.
Every possible path is blocked, covered in the black and grey forms of the dementors.
You close your eyes tightly, trying to fight the overwhelming sense of dread as they draw closer and closer. Flitwick, what did he say about a Patronus charm?
Happy memories. No. Your happiest memories.
Your eyes open as you try to think of every happy memory you’ve ever had.
Playing with Charlie in the fields outside of The Burrow as a child. Kissing Severus for the first time. Going to Hogsmeade with Daisy.
“Expecto Patronum!” You shout, waving your wand with trembling fingers.
Your attempt is slightly more powerful than your mothers, but still nothing strong enough to ward off the swarm of darkness descending on you.
Think harder.
You think of the first night you’d spent with Severus. The night he asked you to marry him. When you told him you were pregnant. The first time you felt Nova move within you.
“Expecto Patronum!” You cry again, you breath coming with a burst of steam through the icy air.
Your Patronus, a graceful, deadly tigress explodes from your wand, swirling around you and your mother once before disappearing.
The dementors hiss in response, cowering back, only slightly.
“Think of something happy!” You shout to your mother as they shake off the attack, only growing angrier it seems.
She drops to her knees, looking up at them with wide eyes.
“I can’t.” She answers. “I have no more happy things to think of.”
Tears streak down her cheeks as they close in on her, her form blurring slightly as they pull her soul from her body.
“No!” You cry, using every ounce of strength in your body to hold onto your own happy thoughts.
Nova, think of Nova.
Even though you’ll probably never see her again.
Or Severus, or Daisy, or Charlie.
Your own tears begin to slip from your cheeks, turning icy in the frozen air as the dementors draw even nearer.
No. Severus pushes to you, his voice sounding louder and clearer than it has in days. Don’t give up.
You nod, wiping your face with the back of your hand.
You think of the first time Severus told you he loves you. You think of his beautiful, dark brown eyes. You think of his gentle, peppermint scent and his long, soft hair. You think of Nova, and the moment that Molly first set her into your arms. You think of her bubbly laugh and her wide green eyes.
“Expecto Patronum!” You call again, and this time, a deeper voice joins from somewhere behind you.
You turn on your heels as the tigress explodes from the tip of your wand, stronger and fiercer than before. Another Patronus joins yours, a tiger snarls as it circles through the dementors beside the tigress, their light creating a circle of protection around you and your mother, casting away the dark figures.
You search through the darkness, your eyes burning from the sudden bursts of white and blue light, until finally you see him.
Severus stands opposite you in the meadow, his eyes wide as he stares at you, his wand still raised from releasing the powerful Patronus still circling in the air beside yours.
You break into a sprint, running across the field to him as the sky begins to clear, a third Patronus, a Phoenix, clearing the dementors out as well.
Your body crashes into his, his arms immediately circling around you as he crushes you to him as tightly as he can. He slowly falls to his knees, taking you down to the grass with him, keeping you wrapped tightly to him as he brushes his fingers through your hair, whispering against your neck between frantic kisses.
“You’re alright.” He murmurs. “I’ve got you now, you’re alright.”
You nod, tears streaming from your face and soaking into his dark robes as he holds you, rocking you gently. You hear Dumbledore’s voice somewhere across the field, checking on your mother. She sounds okay, so you don’t dare to move from your place in Severus’ arms.
“You saved me.” You whisper, looking up into his perfect, dark eyes. “Your Patronus matches mine?”
He nods, looking down at you, brushing your hair and tears from your face with careful but trembling fingers.
“Darling, my very soul matches yours.” He breathes, his voice breaking as he speaks. “I’ll never let you go again.”
Your hands reach up to his face, pulling it down to your lips with passionate force. His lips meet yours, and every part of you that longed for him since you’d been gone falls apart in his arms. His hands grip you tightly, not daring to let you go as you pull away, resting your forehead against his.
“I love you.” You whisper, finally able to say it out loud.
He smiles, the most beautiful smile you’ve ever seen.
“I love you.” He whispers back. “So much.”
You stay in his arms for a moment longer before standing up, reaching down for his hands and pulling him up beside you. He loops his arm around your waist, keeping you as close to him as possible as you slowly walk together back towards the center of the meadow.
Dumbledore and your mother stand together, talking quietly as you approach them.
“Your mother is quite charming, despite all things.” Dumbledore says, looking at you with that knowing twinkle in his eye.
“I told you, I can’t take you to the stone.” She spits, glaring between the rest of the group. Her face is pale, her hair sticking to the cool sweat along her brow.
Dumbledore laughs, raising one finger and pressing it to her forehead, right between her eyes. Her body goes limp as her eyes roll to the back of her head, and she falls backwards. You gasp, moving to catch her, but her body begins to float above the ground.
“So feisty.” Dumbledore says, looking at her. “I see where you get it from.”
He winks at you, turning his attention back to you and Severus.
“Are you alright, (Y/N)?” He asks, looking at you with his wise eyes.
You nod, tearing your eyes from your mother to look at him.
“What are we going to do now?” You ask, leaning against Severus, relishing in the way his body feels so close to yours again. "Is she okay?"
“She's quite alright, just resting. We’ll set camp here for the night.” Dumbledore says, looking around the meadow. “The dementors wouldn’t dare come back after the powerful Petronus’ you two managed to conjure.”
He smiles approvingly between you and Severus before reaching into his pocket and throwing two small rectangles onto the ground. They shudder once before springing up into tents, opposite each other.
“You two take that one.” He says, gesturing to the tent closer to you. “And I’ll take your mother to this one to keep an eye on her, if that’s alright with you.”
You nod, smiling and thanking him before Severus leads you towards the tent.
“We’ll leave at dawn to retrieve the stone.” Dumbledore calls, ducking into his own tent.
You follow Severus into your own tent, letting the flaps close behind you. This tent is far more furnished than the one you stayed in with your mother, and you look around at the small lights hanging from the ceiling above the bed in the center.
Severus stands near it, simply staring at you with a whisper of a smile playing across his lips. You return to his arms, tilting your chin up to look at him as his hands rest on your hips.
“Are you really okay?” He asks quietly, his thumb running a soft circle against your hip as he speaks.
You nod, sliding your hands up his chest.
“I am now.” You answer, looking up at him through your eyelashes.
He nods, his eyes flitting between your eyes and your lips as he shifts his weight.
****smut warning****
“Dumbledore is right outside.” You murmur, your lips brushing against his as you speak.
He chuckles lowly, his hands traveling along your side with a featherlight touch.
“Then you better be quiet.” He whispers back, gently biting your lower lip with his teeth.
Your fingers twist into his hair as he kisses you deeply, pulling your body tightly to his. His hands lift you by your waist, carrying you to the bed and laying you down before hovering over you. His lips move across your skin as his hands expertly remove your clothes.
Your hands slip under his clothes, pulling them from his body as his tongue slips along your breasts. You feel him hardening against you, his body pressing against yours as he moves his lips along your skin.
You push him away then, reaching for the waistband of his pants. He looks up at you with wide eyes as you pull the rest of his clothes away from his body. You lean down, looking into his eyes as you slowly take the entire length of him into your mouth.
He moans lowly in his chest, fighting to stay quiet. His hips move with you as you take him into your mouth again and again. Suddenly, he reaches out, grabbing you by your waist and pulling at you.
You look up, letting him position your body how he wants. He moves you over him, positioning your hips over his mouth. You sigh as he licks a stripe up the center of your core, sending shivers up your spine with his breath against the wetness.
Your mouth returns to his length as his tongue slips inside you. You moan softly around him, eliciting a sultry, low moan out of him. His tongue works against your body as yours works against his, the bond slipping open as you feel each other building.
I want to feel you. He breathes into your mind, his words almost enough to send you over the edge. I want to fuck you.
You move away from his face, turning to face him. He sits up, his eyes burning with lust and love as he stares back at you. You slowly lower yourself onto him, taking him into you inch by inch.
A moan spills from your lips as you find yourself fully seated on his lap, and his hand reaches up to cover your mouth.
“Shh.” He whispers. “Don’t look away.”
You shake your head, not daring to look away from his eyes as he begins to push himself in and out of you, faster and faster. He groans as he gets close, and you cover his mouth with your own hand, still staring directly into his eyes.
Your other hand twists into his hair, pulling at it as your body tenses around his, causing him to explode into you as you both breathe heavily in time. You drop your hand from his mouth, crushing your lips to his as he falls back against the bed, pulling you down with him.
****smut over****
“I’ve never heard you talk like that.” You breathe as you catch your breath, looking up at him with a small grin.
He smiles back shyly.
“I’ve never missed you like that.” He answers, his fingertips trailing up your spine. “I’ve never needed you like that.”
You roll closer, holding him tightly.
“Me either.” You whisper, twisting his hair between your fingers. “But maybe you should need me more often…”
He laughs lowly as you wink at him, and he pulls the blanket on the bed up over you both.
“I always need you.” He murmurs, tracing the outline of your lips with his finger. “Sleep my love, I’ll hold you all night.”
You nod, resting your head against his chest as you hold him as tightly as you can. You expect sleep to evade you, but your eyelids become heavy as you breathe in his familiar scent, and you fall asleep to the sound of his heart beating.