It seemed silly to say that the day she almost died was the best day of her life, but it was true. If not for that day, everything would be different. If not for that day, she wouldn't have them. She wouldn't have him.
But she did, and things were good. They were there for her with every twist and turn, and even when they fought she always knew they'd come back to each other. They were her knights in shining armor, the arms she ran to when she cried, the only two people she trusted with every secret she'd kept so carefully locked away. They were her best friends, the only ones in the world who truly understood her.
So when her heart skipped a beat in Hogsmeade third year, she ignored it. She blocked out the taste of blood when she nearly bit clean through her lip watching the water in fourth year. Fifth year's devastation made her cry in the infirmary, but she wasn't the only one. Then she nearly snapped her wand in half in sixth year. And she couldn't put it away anymore.
But there were other, bigger, things to focus on at all times. Worrying about being killed, or expelled, and keeping her friends alive took precedence over her OWLs, so of course she let it mask her feelings. She wasn't denying that they were there, not anymore. She just didn't feel the need to let them change her actions.
And then it happened. He left. And her two best friends became her best friend and the guy who fed her tears every night as she chased a sleep that never came. Only her adeptness at magic masked the dark circles under her eyes, worse than when she was living double days in third year. Because it was supposed to be the three of them against the world, against everything, but now she felt more alone than ever.
The other did his best to ease her pain, but he was hurting too. They were nothing without their third piece, making stupid mistakes and nearly killing each other as they fought towards an end that felt pointless without him to remind her why they were fighting. The isolation would do her in, she thought. It would be the end of her.
And then in one night, as she lay in fitful sleep, it changed all over again. Because when she opened her eyes to find the other gone, they were returning together. And their two became three, as it was always meant to be. As it was supposed to be. But it was wrong. Because he'd left and he couldn't just act like nothing happened. It wasn't fair. He'd done this to her, ripped her to pieces and left her a shell, left her a broken mess, and he wanted to return with fanfare, like a mighty hero.
He told the story like a knight of old, just like fourth year, and it was so endearing, such a glimpse of the past, that she almost forgave him immediately. But the ache in her bones, the weariness of her body, held her back. She couldn't trust him anymore. Couldn't be sure he'd stay.
But he stayed. And he made an effort to be better. And she noticed. Even when she pretended not to. And while she hated that he supported all her ideas just to make her good graces, she was hiding secret smiles. Whatever he'd done, he was still him. And there was a reason he'd made her heart hurt so.
But her good idea turned to a trap, and the other's easy words turned to a beacon, and they were running, then captured, in a blink. And she was laid there under a knife, and his screams were echoing, and her heart near tore in two. Because how could she have ever doubted him? And now they may never have a chance to reconcile.
But they are saved, and she is shaking, and he is there. And they are all, the three of them, safe and together and alive. And she has a plan.
Her eyes flick to him too often to be normal and she cares for his safety more than her own but they make it out all the same, and with what she is beginning to consider minimal damage. And they have places to be, and it is all moving so quickly, and the only thing she stops to think is that he's looking at her a lot, too.
Because then it's his turn for an idea, and their turn for an adventure, without the other, and he's showing off the smarts he tends to hide and she just wants to grab him by the face and it's a fucking war so she does. But it's a fucking war, the other reminds them, and there will be time later. And she clasps her boy's hand and prays to God, or the universe, or whoever is listening, that there will be a later for them.
She didn't spend all that time wasting away just to lose the best thing that's ever happened to her right when she finally got it. And she doesn't.
He tastes like amortentia smells, and she doesn't know if soulmates are real but if they are she thinks they must be like this. And dressed in white, seeing her two best friends before her, she is indescribably grateful for the day she almost died.