Word Count: 681
Hannah doesn't smile much anymore. Susan understands, of course. Ever since the Carrows gained control of Hogwarts, no one really smiles aside from the particularly sadistic Slytherins. It had been hard for Susan to find her smile again after losing Aunt Amelia.
But this is different. Susan can easily handle her own sadness. Seeing Hannah like this, so sad and broken and breaking a little more with each passing day, is too much. Susan has to fix things. Well, as fixed as things can be. Merlin knows there's a shadow of hopelessness hanging over them all these days.
And that's why Susan finds herself in their common room long after most of the others have gone to bed. Hannah had detention, and the Carrows like to make sure detentions last as long as possible. Susan can easily imagine the pain Hannah will be in when she returns. How many times has she found herself in that exact position, limping to the common room, her muscles still burning from curses, an invisible blame still aching long after the damage is done.
It's just before midnight when Hannah makes it. She doesn't get far before collapsing. Susan is there in an instant, making soothing sounds as she helps her girlfriend to her feet.
"I'm fine," Hannah groans.
But she isn't. No one in their right mind would mistake Hannah for fine. Even with Susan's support, she still shakes and trembles, so unsteady on her feet. Once, Hannah would have let Susan help her without complaint. This war is taking its toll, changing them all; to the untrained eye, the changes may seem small and insignificant, but Susan can feel their weight. She wonders if things will ever go back to normal, or if this is just the way the world is now.
"Susan!"
"Look, I know things suck," Susan says, and even she is surprised by her sharp tone. "I know. I hate it too. But we're in this together, okay? I love you, and that means you're stuck with me."
In the back of her mind, she thinks that maybe Hannah isn't actually stuck with her. With all the changes going on, what's really there to keep them from breaking up? It would be just another tragedy, smaller and seemingly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. But Susan doesn't want to think about that. Maybe the world is dark, but that doesn't mean she has to let go of hope.
"You're right."
Susan breathes an audible breath of relief.
"I'm sorry," Hannah adds as Susan helps her onto the couch.
"Don't be."
This is just part of the war. She can't remember the last time she actually felt young and innocent. Everyone is changing, and maybe there's no point in fighting it. She isn't the same girl she was last year. Neither of them are. Just like this isn't the same world from two years ago.
"I'm a mess." Hannah laughs and shakes her head, reaching up and pulling one elastic from her hair, then the other. Her hair falls like a cascade of golden blonde waves. A soft blush stains her cheeks. "I know, I know. We all are. But I have to be responsible for myself, right?"
At least this still feels normal. Sure, so much has changed, and it's never going to stop shifting and twisting into things she no longer recognizes. But that doesn't matter. Not really. Not in this moment. For just a flicker of a second, they can pretend to be safe in their common room. The war is so far away, and nothing can touch them.
Susan reaches into her pocket and pulls out a Chocolate Frog. "I thought you might need this," she says.
Hannah smiles, that twist of her lips melting Susan's heart. "You thought right."
Smiles are too few and far between, and normalcy seems like a distant memory. But for now, if only just for the night, they can pretend. Maybe one day, when all of this is over, they will re-learn what it means to truly be happy again.
