Title: Maybe
Author: Tartan Lioness
Summary: Maybe this is what happened. ADMM.
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Maybe she'll sit in a corner of the Great Hall at her Graduation Ball. He'll be surrounded by students talking to him for the last time and professors discussing next year's lesson plans with him.
Maybe he'll look up and see her watching him through the crowd.
Maybe their eyes will lock and he'll make his excuses and join her in her secluded corner.
Maybe they'll watch the dancing couples in friendly silence for a while.
Maybe he'll ask her to dance. She'll say no and he'll persuade her, taking her hand in his, pulling her to the floor.
Maybe she'll enjoy it. No one will see the fond smiles they exchange or the conversation spoken with their eyes.
- Maybe she'll go out into the world with this memory.
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Maybe she'll be an adult woman, looking through the books in Flourish & Blotts.
Maybe she'll see him hiding in a quiet corner, leafing through a book, lost in thought. She'll watch him for a long time, noting the strong posture, the light in his long hair and the small particles of dust floating in the light around him.
Maybe she'll smile at his flamboyant choice of robes.
- Maybe she'll try to ignore her own fast heart-beat.
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Maybe she'll sit at the Staff Table in the Great Hall. It'll be the first evening she spends within the thick walls of Hogwarts since she graduated. She'll let her eyes sweep over the students eating their dinner.
Maybe she'll be nervous, thinking that she bit off more than she could chew.
Maybe she'll lean forward and look at him. She'll notice the twinkle in his blue eyes and she'll sit back in her chair, assured that she can do anything she wants to.
Maybe it'll be snowing and she'll walk outside in the cold, dark night.
Maybe she'll recognise the heat emitting from him.
- Maybe she'll turn around.
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Maybe she'll look up from their game of chess. She'll find him staring at her instead of the board.
Maybe she'll blush and look away.
Maybe he'll win the game for the first time in many years.
Maybe she'll watch him do a victory dance.
Maybe she'll tuck a stray strand of silver hair behind his ear.
- Maybe he'll put his hand on hers.
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Maybe she'll come to his room at night. He'll let her in, hiding his surprise.
Maybe she'll lose her composure, her mask of stone will break and she'll cry and rage about the unfairness of the universe.
Maybe she'll cry for herself, her students and the people she loves.
Maybe she'll cry of powerlessness in the shadow of the war.
Maybe she'll break a few of his trinkets. He won't care. He'll just hold her, listen to her and whisper to her than everything's going to be alright.
- Maybe she'll sleep in his bed that night.
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Maybe she'll awaken to the sound of him knocking on her door. She'll open it with drowsy eyes and a half-tied dressing gown.
Maybe she'll let him in wordlessly. She'll realise that something's wrong.
Maybe she'll take in his pained expression and the way he carefully holds his right hand to his chest protectively.
Maybe he'll doubt himself.
Maybe he'll feel repulsive.
Maybe he'll ask if she wouldn't be disgusted if he touched her.
Maybe she'll ask him the same question back. He'll answer that he could never be repulsed by her scars. She'd still be her.
Maybe she'll make him see.
Maybe she'll give him something to soothe the pain.
Maybe she'll make him sleep. She'll watch over him as she sleeps, contemplating the years they've shared.
- Maybe everything will be implied but never said.
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Maybe she'll be scared for him, seeing him walk away again.
Maybe her heart will hurt at the sight of the young black-haired boy following him.
Maybe she'll sit up and wait for him to come home. She'll wrap his favourite blanket around her.
Maybe she'll try to stay calm when chaos erupts, idly wondering where he is. They'll tell her what happened to him.
- Maybe she'll cry when she's alone.
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Maybe she'll think back over the years.
Maybe she'll wonder what could have been.
Maybe she'll curse her cowardice.
Maybe she'll curse him.
- Maybe she'll cry.
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THE END.
A/N: Yeah, I actually wrote something, unbelievable, huh? After being gone for so long. Oh well, just a ficlet.. Reviews are appreciated.
