“Stay close.”

That’s what Theseus had told you before everything fell apart.

Spells flew like comets across the sky, crashing into the stone walls of the fortress. One second, you were running beside him—then the explosion hit.

The ground split. You were thrown backward, your ears ringing as you crashed into scattered stone. You scrambled up, coughing, yelling his name—but the smoke and dust swallowed everything.

Theseus was gone.

You searched. Through crumbling archways and broken staircases, calling out for him, dodging curses as you went. Every second tightened the knot in your chest. He was strong—an Auror—but he wasn’t invincible.

“Please be alive,” you whispered, voice hoarse, as a jet of green light flew past your head. You ducked behind a toppled statue, heart pounding. “Please…”

You kept moving, slipping between shattered columns and down wide stone walkways littered with fallen banners. Every now and then, you thought you saw him—broad shoulders, familiar stride—but it always vanished behind smoke or fleeing figures. The battlefield stretched in every direction, dizzying in its destruction.

You pushed forward, robes torn, ash clinging to your skin, calling his name into the chaos.

He had to be alive. He promised he’d come back. He always did.

You rounded a bend near a collapsed wall just as a spell struck you full-force. You hit the ground, pain shooting through your shoulder. Your wand slipped from your grasp, and panic surged—until another blast of magic soared overhead, hitting your attacker in the back. They dropped instantly.

You looked up, gasping—and froze.

A tall figure stood just ahead, wand raised, chest heaving.

Your breath caught.“Theseus?”

He didn’t answer right away. His wand dropped slightly. His eyes locked on you—wide with disbelief.

Then—he ran.

You were already on your feet, your legs moving before your mind caught up. He met you halfway, arms wrapping around you so tightly it hurt. But you never wanted him to let go.

“Merlin—” he choked out, his hand buried in your hair like he was terrified you’d disappear again. “I thought—bloody hell, I thought you were gone.”

You shook your head, gripping his coat, burying your face against his neck. “I was looking for you—I couldn’t find you—I thought the same—”

“I’m here. I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” he said again and again, like he needed to believe it himself.

The fortress was still crumbling. Shouts still echoed in the distance. But in that moment, all that mattered was that he was alive.

And you had found each other.