Translation by Jessinthedungeons.


Chapter 10 - The Prophecy of the Three


Someone was by the bed. I noticed the presence long before I opened my eyes and slipped my hand discreetly under the pillow, reaching for my wand.

— That won't be necessary. — Said the man. I quickly rose as I recognized Regulus' voice. — And it would be ineffective anyway.

I felt my blood freeze at the sight of the shimmering specter of the youngest of the Black brothers. I tried to summon him, for days, through the medallion he left me. He never showed up. When I loosened my fingers around my wand and dropped it, he smiled at me.

— Hello, Miss Granger. — He said.

― Why didn't you show up before? — I asked in a low voice.

— You didn't call me correctly. — The figure of Regulus floated to where the medallion was resting on my bedside table. — You need to put it on.

— I'm not wearing it. I've had too many bad experiences with the original. — I spoke, uncertain if Regulus knew about my experience with Voldemort's horcrux.

Was I dreaming again? I strained my muscles, preparing my legs to jump out of bed, abandoning the idea afterwards, for Regulus' ghost was between me and the door.

— Can I help you with anything? ― I murmured.

— I just came to remind you about the mission we gave you. You need to unleash the magic.

— That's what I plan to do. And not because of you, or because of the order of the one who sent you here, but because that's what I promised I would do. — I completed, coldly. ― Do you have something relevant to say or are you just here to wake me up in the middle of the night? Who knows maybe you can tell me something more about the night I visited the tomb.

— I know as much as you do. — Regulus stated and I frowned at his evasive answer. ― You don't trust me yet, I understand, but believe it or not, we are on the same side. I'm here to serve you.

— Serve me? What does that mean?

This time, the ethereal figure looked out the window. From where I was, I could only have a glimpse of the sky punctuated with stars.

— Look outside. You will find the answers.

I got up from bed and walked until I reached the window. The school grounds were dark at this time of dawn. It was a moonless night, so there wasn't much I could see. I opened my mouth to say this to Regulus, but as I looked back at the place where he had floated seconds before, I saw that he had already disappeared.


The sun was rising, when I lifted my eyes from the old wizardry genealogy book to hear the door open and creak loud enough to wake me up in case I was asleep. My heart throbbed, and I forced myself to act naturally while, for the second time that morning, I closed my fingers around my wand.

The door opened completely and Cho walked in. She did not look at me, did not move, just stood there, stood on the doorstep. Her eyes stared at the ground and tears flowed down her cheeks.

— Cho? — I called, getting up in a rush. — What happened?

Cho's shoulders trembled. Slowly, she raised her head, exposing her swollen and reddened eyes.

— I... I didn't know where to go. — She said.

I felt difficulty breathing. Cho was a fortress, what could have happened to leave her in this state?

— What happened? ― I asked, and I noticed a piece of parchment in my friend's trembling hands.

— They were slaughtered. — She whispered, her eyes wide, and shook her head as if denying her own words.

I froze. — Who?

Cho sobbed desperately and I felt the agony of that sound on my skin.

— Relatives of two of the transferred girls. They were surrounded by fanatics hiding on the Surrey border. — More tears flowed down Cho's face, wetting the white sweater she was wearing. She crumpled the paper in one hand. — According to Sarah, her relatives were moving because they heard rumors about the approach of the fanatics, but there was no time. They could not apparate because they did not have powers, so they ran trying to escape, but the fanatics had muggle weapons and... ― Cho gasped, trying to expel the words stuck in his throat.

My own tears flowed down my eyes.

― What are we training for, if we cannot protect our own family? — Asked Cho. ― How can we be here every day, but our magic does not serve to protect the people we love?

— I'm sorry. ― I whispered.

As if these words broke the spell that held Cho at the door, she ran to hug me. Cho had lost her mother in our second year of training, also in an attack by the pure-blood fanatics. I made room in my bed and laid her head on my lap as she sobbed. Unable to speak, I only hugged her for the rest of the sunrise, until the sun's rays lit up my room and, who knows, managed to ease the pain she felt.


The next day's training was canceled. I decided to take a double shift at the hospital and try to forget for a few hours the horror of knowing that people were being killed again because of the magic that their relatives possessed. It seemed like the arrival of a new era of Voldemort, only the reverse.

— He has the worst batting skills I've ever seen. It's no joke. 1.80 meters high and totally useless. — Said Neville with a nod as he filed the file of the last patient of the day.

— Worse than you in Potions? ― I asked, trying to distract myself from my dark thoughts.

The grave look Neville gave in response said it all. If he was saying that the non-magical Quidditch player was worse than him in our early potions days, God help everyone on the team.

— Merlin.

— Yes, Mione. It's that bad. I think he's afraid of balls coming at him. ― We both look at each other for a second and realize the double meaning of the words that were used. — Not that kind of balls! — Neville blushed as I laughed. — There's no excuse for him being that bad.

— That happens. — I watched, getting serious again. ― I'm good at the non-magical Quidditch, whereas in the original Quidditch, I was terrible.

— Just because you hate flying. — He noted and continued with his story about the new player who recently joined his weekly recreational team. — I don't know how to tell you how terrible he is. Hannah said she would say something, but if she does, he will leave, and most of the time, there are barely enough people to split into two teams. — He concluded by looking at me.

So subtle, Neville.

In the last two years, I sometimes played with him, when I had time. And often I liked it, it was kind of a way to interact with wizards without magical gifts and get closer to them. I didn't use magic in any of the times we were playing. The Golden Snitch and the Bludger were robots that George developed. When he lost his powers, he and Mr. Weasley used all the muggle trinkets they kept in the family shed and studied muggle technologies to repair them. George studied robotics in Bristol and was an expert on the subject.

— When's the next game? — I asked with a sigh.

Neville's eyes shone.

— Tomorrow night. — He answered excited.

— It's not a promise. It's just a maybe.

Neville picked up the backpack and put it on his shoulder as he approached to hug me.

— I heard about the attack. I'm sorry. Show up there, playing for a few hours will be a good distraction. — He told me before he let me go and leave.

I swallowed the quiet noise that tried to escape from within me, and looked out the window toward muggle London, whose pale stones shone under the last light of the setting sun. I took my hand to the pocket of the lime green coat, closing my fingers around the cold metal of Regulus ' medallion. Look outside. You will find the answers. I tried to think of those words with a thread of hope inside me, but, if at the very dawn that he told me this, the devastating news of the death of Sarah's family members arrived, how much time have I left?

I knew it was a matter of time before new murders began to happen, but it didn't diminish the horror of reliving the dark days of before and the pain I feel about something like this happening again.

I felt a blow in my stomach when I remembered Minerva's words telling me that the fanatics were pressing the Ministry for our delay in finding some kind of solution to Magic. I need to do something. I cannot continue in the uncertainty of what is to come.

The cold locket in my hand also reminded me of the ghost of Regulus telling about the evil that can make magic disappear forever. Evil that, which was, most likely, rooted in the castle itself. I need to go down that tomb. I need to look for answers.

I would prepare myself mentally and do it in exactly two days, on Friday night; and this time, I would be wide awake.


The next day, my body was sore due to all the tension of the previous day and the sleepless night triggered by my anxiety about the impending trip to the insides of the castle. I had to resort to a pain relief potion that Dean handed me as soon as he saw my condition. Luckily, today we would only make potions, although my confused thoughts and tired state were not a good combination for working with volatile ingredients.

I said this to Dean and he told me to just focus on reviewing his research and trying to find some error, while he was in charge of preparing all the ingredients we would need.

— Granger, come to my table. — I heard Severus call me and wanted to hit my head on the stone wall behind me. Patience, Hermione. Patience.

I went to where he was and bowed my head back, ignoring the fact that two months ago I had not been able to speak to him a full sentence.

— Yes? ― I asked.

― Don't you have ingredients to prepare?

― No. Dean took over mine while I'm reviewing his research.

Those black eyes slid from me to the point where I knew the bench Dean worked on our ingredients was. Then he looked around the room checking the entire space, until he again found my eyes, lowered his voice to almost a whisper and asked:

— Want to duel today?

I felt like I had spotlights and a dozen cameras on me. My veins pulsed in nervous anticipation. Severus Snape, my advisor, which means he may require that I train with him at any time, and that is the same man who will go on a teaching mission with me, was wondering if I wanted duel with him? Did I hear well? I struggled to keep my face neutral, even though my insides were in a frenzy. I almost forgot the pain in my body and all my fears from last night when I answered it.

— Is it safe? ― I asked him and a slight confusion permeated his gaze. — You almost killed me the other day. Maybe it's better on the weekend? So, I can get here whole on Monday.

That's if I survived my raid on the tomb of the founders, but he didn't need to know that part.

It only took him a single second to respond.

― Alright.

Was it disappointment in his eyes? Oh, hell! I think it was. It was noticeable the displeasure on his face when I suggested it not be today. Neville's words reached me when Severus had already lowered his gaze. Show up, it will be nice to have a distraction.

― I have some friends who play recreational non-magical Quidditch. They are wizards who have lost their powers, so it's a way to revive the sport, even without magic. They are really good and sometimes I play with them. There will be a game today, we can go. — I let go the words nervously.

He looked back at me and seemed to meditate for a minute. I convinced myself that he was going to send me to hell, but suddenly he nodded his head.

— Send me a message with the address and time. — He answered in the same low tone that he used to ask me about the duel.

Excuse me? Was he accepting? Is that serious?

— Via owl-mail? I don't have your address. Do you have a cellphone? ― I asked.

He scribbled the numbers on a parchment and a split second later handed it to me, nodding his head.

— Don't pass it on to anyone. — He ordered.

Obviously, I wouldn't do that. Why does Snape need to be so annoying with such obvious things? I should have torn that scroll right there and canceled the invitation to the game. But my brain didn't recover and left me too stunned to do anything, because: ONE - I had Severus Snape's phone number; TWO - I was going to text him. But fact THREE was the only thing that really warmed my heart: he asked me if I wanted to duel. In fact, he practically asked me to duel him. And instead, my co-supervisor was going to play non-magical Quidditch with me and some of my friends. I sighed when those damn butterflies made a flurry in my stomach.


7 pm at Trossachs. I will wait for you in front of the visitor center, next to the parking lot.

I checked my phone one more time to make sure the message had actually been sent, as I received nothing in response. With my stick in one hand and water bottle in the other, I waited nervously as I looked around. It was five minutes before seven, and Severus had not yet appeared.

The realization hit me as hard as the first time: Severus Snape was going to play Quidditch, after asking me to duel him. Why didn't he ask anyone else? Maybe one of the other advisors? Well, I'm the most powerful witch of all, it's a fact. So really, who else would he duel with?

When we did this last week, I noticed how much my style is similar to his, and there is still the fact that the bastard liked to beat me. So, he calling me for a dueling workout is no big deal. I was the obvious choice. Also, maybe he could still have asked someone else? I doubted it, because Minerva and I trained alone for a while and she confessed how fascinating it is to duel with someone of a higher magical level.

Another minute passed, I looked around the parking lot again, anxiety eating away at me. I was nervous because of Severus, as I wasn't sure how everyone would react, especially Neville and Ivan. I decided that I would ask him to use a glamour to disguise his features so that he would not feel under a microscope from the very beginning of the game. I was going to say that he was a friend of the Department of Mysteries, who appeared little in public.

Headlights from a car illuminated my body for a split second, before the vehicle parked. I smiled at myself as a tall body came out of it through the passenger door, slamming it to close it before going back and picking up a bag in the recently opened trunk. His thin and tall body looked even more imposing without his wizard robes.

He was still all black, but the coat he was wearing perfectly outlined the smooth lines of muscles that delineated his shoulders and arms in the shade of the setting sun. But what I really thought was the most beautiful of that vision, was the tightly fastened bun that left in sight the wide band of short hair and made him look like a different person. He would still kill me with that haircut.

Severus saw me almost immediately and lowered his chin in recognition.

― Hello. — I greeted and he mumbled his greeting, looking around the place and in the direction of the golf course we used for the game. — Come on, before we get stuck in a bad team.

He gave me a lazy nod and followed behind me. I took him around the parking lot towards the field.

— Some of them were your students. — I commented nervously. — And everyone is good people, nice, but I think we should keep your identity a secret.

Severus shrugged and didn't say a word, but I saw him take his wand and mutter a spell with it pointed at his face. I still saw him exactly as he was, but figured his identity would be glamourized for anyone other than the two of us. As we approached what I quickly counted as thirteen people, I waved to those I knew and headed toward Neville and Ivan, who were with their backs to me.

— Hey, guys.

Neville turned first, frowning until he realized it was me.

— You could have confirmed to me that you would come, Mione.

— It was a last-minute decision. — Smile at him.

I went towards Ivan, who gave a big smile before pulling me into a full-frontal hug, which made it look like he hadn't seen me in weeks when, in fact, I had collapsed on his boyfriend's lap a few days ago.

— I'm glad you came, Hermione. We need you.

— I said weeks ago that she should come, but someone is too good for us normal people. — Neville added Just for fun.

— You, shut up. I'm here and I brought backup. — I finally pointed out Severus, who had stopped a few meters behind me. — My friend and I wanted to play, so I decided to come and find out if you have a place for us.

Neville and Ivan looked at the glamoured version of Snape and neither of them said anything for so long, that I began to think that they recognized him. It was Neville who raised an eyebrow, moving his mouth silently "friend?". But Ivan, who doesn't have a filter on his big tongue, was the one who asked:

— Do you finally have a new boyfriend?

― Friend. ― I insisted and looked at Snape to have some clue as to what I was going to call him, but he didn't understand the question in my voice. — Prince? These are Neville and Ivan. Guys, This Is... Prince.

Saying his mother's maiden name was weird. I could almost feel like I was going to get in trouble for saying it out loud, but I didn't get too attached to it. It was the only surname I could think of and associate with it, reminding me of the book of The Half-Blood Prince that was in Harry's possession, in our sixth year.

Each of my friends made a point of shaking Severus' hand before settling into place. Ivan did not look at him twice, but I noticed Neville staring at him a little more intently. I decided that later I would tell him the truth, after I was sure that Neville would not lose his head.

— So, do you have space? I think I counted thirteen people, right? ― I asked, swinging back on my heels, keeping a constant look at Neville.

Ivan let out a hiss when he looked at the people who had gathered.

― I'll see if anyone wants to sit in this round and play only the next one. — He commented

— Okay, if no one is willing, I'll sit out and see if someone trades with me in the next game. — I offered, still looking at Neville.

Ivan rolled his eyes and grimaced.

― You know you can ask that to the half of them who will let you play and will still fight over who will give up the place.

I snorted and watched him move towards the group, leaving me with Severus and Neville. Neville looked at the other man as if he wanted to see his soul and frowned a second later, looking in my direction as the confusion deepened.

— Hey, Mione? — he asked slowly, raising his head to the side.

Severus was busy looking around, thanks to Merlin, and I gave Neville a look that clearly said shut up.

— Later. ― I whisper.

— Now, please. ― He insisted in a low voice, his eyes narrowing a little more.

Fortunately, Ivan chose that instant to call everyone together to choose the teams, so I turned away and followed with my advisor-slash-friend on one side and a confused Neville Longbottom on the other, we made our way towards Ivan. But Neville did not give up and leaned towards me.

— Mione, he is…

― Yes. — Confirm.

— Holy Merlin!

— Be quiet about it. — I muttered under my breath so Severus wouldn't hear me.

Neville stopped walking. His face turned white.

— Are you kidding?

― No.

I dragged him by the arm to start walking again and when we reached the others, Ivan had already climbed who the team captains were going to be by a process of guessing numbers. The winners were Charlles, one of the Honeydukes salesmen with whom I had played a few times before, and the other was a former wizard whom I did not know. Charlles had to choose first and immediately looked and waved at me.

— I'll take Granger first.

— A fan of the only witch with powers among us. — Ivan said, as I walked past him with a smile on my face. — Make no mistake Hermione, if we had to fly like in real Quidditch, I would never choose you.

I let out a laugh when Ivan patted my shoulder.

The other captain called Ivan's name and each person was chosen until the only outsiders were Severus and a girl I had also played with before. Neville had also been chosen for Charlles' team, and I saw him grimacing, tilting his head toward Severus not too subtly. Finally understanding what was happening, Charlles pointed to the man in black. It would remain forever the fact that he had been almost the last chosen one, which had to be the first time in his life.

— I'll take him.

I couldn't help but laugh when I caught Neville's attention and he slid me a shy shrug, which indicated to me that he thought it best not to be on a team against Severus. But as far as I knew, Snape could be as bad at non-magical Quidditch as I was at flying.

As we climbed together, once the other girl had been chosen, we picked up the gear and got ready to play. I looked at Severus and said in a low voice:

― I should have asked before, but do you know how to play?

From the expression on his face, anyone would think that I asked him if he knew what a potion was. I raised my hands in a peace offering.

— Just asking... — But there was one more thing, in case he forgot that all the others were wizards with no power. — That's for fun, ok? None of them have magic, so we can't use it during the game, okay?

His little satisfied smile said it all, and he finally nodded in acceptance.

— We're going to win anyway. — He grumbled.

I smiled, raising my hand and pushing his shoulder before realizing what I was doing. I froze and I'm sure my cheeks were bright red when I pushed my hand away.

― Sorry. — I muttered embarrassed by the strangeness of the situation.

I don't know what I expected him to do, but seeing him smile at me in a way that made my heart stop was not something I imagined. All I did was silently look back at him for a moment, long enough to look like a complete idiot, until I forced myself to react and smiled back at him.

— Hermione! We don't have all night, come here! — Ivan called from somewhere behind me.

I looked at Severus once more and showed a genuine smile now, like the one he had just given me and made my way towards the rest of the group. Neville was looking back and forth between me and our former potions teacher. It wasn't until he swallowed it dry that I realized he was dying inside and rethinking whether it was better to have Severus playing against him than on the same team. When my friend's dead eyes came upon me, I confirmed his fear.

Charlles, the team captain for the game, announced that he was going to play as a top scorer. Two other men then spoke that they would take the remaining two positions in the artillery, as they thought they were very good attackers. This made me roll my eyes. Why does everyone feel so good in a position that consists only of running and shooting? It always happened, but I wasn't impatient, all I did was nod and smile, I didn't mind playing in the other positions.

Charlles looked at the four of us: Severus, Neville, another girl I didn't know, and me, and asked:

— You guys stay as a seeker, a beater and a keeper?

I was a little surprised when Severus did not begin to comment and express his opinion and quietly agreed to play in whatever position it was. Two seconds later, we were positioned across the field. I was placed as a keeper, and he as a seeker. Approximately ten minutes later, Ivan was shouting: "What a big shit!" after I defended the third goal, and in the sequence, Severus captured the Golden Snitch. Who knew we'd be a good team?

In the second match, we were both raised to the position of beaters, but the result was not changed. Severus hit a swing so far, that the ball almost fell on the opposite side of the field, while I hit mine in the direction where the scorer of the opposite team ran, he had to dodge the race and it was enough for the girl who was now the beater of our team, steal the quaffle and score one more goal. Forty-five minutes later, the captain of the opposite team was practically foaming at the mouth and yelling at our captain about him being lucky to have picked the best players. He pointed to Severus and I, who played as if we had been teammates for years, and said, "they both can't be on the same team!"

Maybe it was a little unfair that the only two wizards with powers stayed on the same team, but we didn't even use magic. It was pure luck that I was a good player. I think what ruins Quidditch for me, is just the flight. And it just so happened that Severus was great at picking up snitches and hitting balls. I never fully played during recreational games; after all, I was fully aware that the people who played did it to relax. They didn't need my crazy competitiveness to ruin them. And, Severus, even if he had not been as fast as the younger ones, was still better than everyone else. I noticed that he really tried to give the other people opportunity. But the point was that he did not like to lose. I don't like to lose. So, if people weren't taking advantage of the opportunities that opened up to them, well, one of us was going to do something. And for some reason, I was fully aware of where he was on the field constantly.

Charlles gave in to pressure from the opposite captain and decided to move "Prince" to the other team, I found those determined eyes from our positions now on opposite sides of the field. He didn't have to say anything, neither did I. This was going to be me against him. That burning fire I felt in my chest lit up even more inside me as we looked at each other and I managed to smile at him in defiance, although I was slightly suspicious that he was going to make me eat grass.

— Son of a bitch. — I muttered to myself when Severus scored another point, seconds before Neville captured the snitch. Even with the score of one hundred and fifty points, we lost by ten points difference.

An hour later, Neville trotted near me with a shocked face.

— Have we lost three matches in a row? — He asked disbelieving.

I nodded slowly, halfway into a stupor.

― Yes.

— How? — He asked, as he turned off the button of the robotic golden snitch and made it stop flapping its tiny wings.

— He did it. ― I answered.

There was no need to point out, we both knew who I was referring to and we just silently looked at each other and cringed in our disappointment. I let go of my stick to stretch my body. I glimpsed a pair of black sneakers settling on the ground near me and knew it was Severus. When he didn't say anything, I felt my frustration, but I didn't find anything to say, I wasn't going to congratulate him for beating me again.

Eventually he looked at me and kept his expression blank when he spoke:

— A master of mine used to say that no one likes a bad loser.

— I find it hard to believe that you listened. — I answered acidly.

His eyebrows rose in amusement and a hint of an angelic and serene look took over his features.

— I didn't hear him. I'm just telling you what he said, brat.

What an asshole.


On Saturday night, I looked from my book at the portrait of Rowena Ravenclaw on the wall. I had checked if the spell I cast was still locking the passage and made sure that yes, it was. Where was my courage from two days earlier? Why did I lose it as soon as I walked in here and faced the image of the founder of the school? I used to be braver when I was younger. What happened to that girl?

I pride myself on the courage I had years ago, but if I'm really honest with myself, something inside me broke during the war. And then, when I saw so many who fought on the good side lose their powers, part of the certainty and confidence that I carried, they were also gone.

I shook my head and went back to my book, although I ran my eyes through the lines without even registering what I read. What did Regulus mean by "the first two"?

I gave up reading, my mind was full of thoughts and reading would be useless. I know I need to go down there if I want to find answers, but I'm scared. I want to find the evil in the castle and unleash magic, but I don't want to do it alone. I know what I went through when we fought in the war and I wasn't even alone. I was cursed mudblood all my academic life, I was cursed, tortured and almost killed, and that when I was with my group of friends who were also wizards and who protected each other.

What chance did I have if I decided to face something unknown on my own? Probably none. Even the ghost of Regulus himself told me that he was being helped by the four founders, so why was I contemplating going down to that dark place with no one with me? Actually... Why am I listening to a dead person? By the way five dead people.

A door closed somewhere in the hallway and I jumped in fright, causing the book to fall with a thud. I grabbed my wand and prepared to jump out of bed, but supported it again on the table as Winky's whistle went through the bedroom doors. I moaned as I got out of the hot covers to get down and grab my book that had ended up under the bed. I knelt on the cold stone floor and stretched out to reach it. I took my wand again and whispered a Lumus, but when my fingers groped through the cover, the light from the wand highlighted a white line on the floor under the bed. I pulled my book and stood up in amazement. It was a drawing of a rune.

My hands trembled as I pointed the wand at the bed and made it float. Everything inside me became ice. Drawn on the floor below my bed was a sentence written in the runic alphabet. I was fluent enough to read it.

When the lion fall

The snake crawl

And a constellation presents itself

The pause will come to an end.

I staggered back and crashed into the dressing table. What did that mean? I ran my trembling hand through my hair, looking at the runes on the ground. I ran to my bedside table and grabbed my phone. Minerva didn't answer me. Nor Vector. Neither did Dean. Still at a fast pace, I put on pants and a robe and left the room, descending in accelerated steps to my safe place: the Hogwarts library. I walked across the shelves towards the restricted session, fear still rolling over my stomach.

Was that a prophecy? If so, what did it mean? And why was it written under my bed? When I turned into a corner, about ten shelves from the entrance to the restricted session, I suddenly stopped Severus sat at a small desk and looked at me with narrowed eyes in distrust.

— People are expected to be subtle and quiet in a library, Granger.

The adrenaline rush in my heart triggered by the phrase carved into the stone below my bed left me no room for subtleties. I leaned over to the table where he was and held on to the edge of it to balance and allow myself to breathe deeply.

― What are you doing here? — He asked me when he noticed the tremor in my hands.

I did not answer, I closed my eyes trying to control the fear that still dominated my chest. I knew I was pale, I could feel it through the coldness that sprang from my pores and through my broken breath.

— Did something happen? — He asked me in a low voice.

― Nightmare. ― I lied, my voice came out strangely hoarse.

I didn't stare at him, but I could almost feel his eyes watching my face.

— How often do they happen? — That was his question, but I didn't answer it again. I wouldn't go that far with a lie. ― What did you dream about?

I swallowed it dry and denied it with my head, lowering my eyes to the floor. I didn't want to say anything. I couldn't say anything. "I don't know what's going on and I need help", that's what I would like to say, but Severus and I had this troubled relationship that I don't even know if it will get worse again when we have to leave together, because I would ask for help from him when I didn't even know what the future held for us?

I heard him scrape off his chair when he got up. I continued my contemplation of the stone under my feet, with thoughts too messy to react to his closeness. I thought I felt a rubbing of fingers near my elbow as it passed me towards the exit. But it was something so subtle that I'm sure it was pure imagination of mine.

— When you want to talk, let me know.

His voice filled the silence of the library and I was surprised that he was offering me his attention for when I wanted to vent. I lifted my gaze to find his, but he had already disappeared at the corner of the next bookcase.


Final Notes


Someone is better, right? Cheers!

Translation by Jessinthedungeons.