Five years had passed since the Battle of Hogwarts. Five years since you last saw the love of your life—Blaise Zabini.

To the rest of the world, Blaise had been cold, distant, sharp-tongued. But not with you. Never with you. You had seen the gentler side of him, the warmth beneath the surface that he rarely let anyone else witness. You brought that out in him. Loved him through it.

And when the final battle came, he sacrificed himself—for you and for Hermione.

A muggle-born he’d never particularly liked.

But he had known how much she meant to you. That she was your closest friend. And though he didn’t always understand your compassion, he admired it. Respected it. Loved you for it.

He’d given his life so the two of you could live.

Tonight, you met with Hermione and a few of your old classmates at a quiet pub in Diagon Alley, as you did every year. None of you ever let the anniversary pass without remembrance. So many lives had been lost. So many futures stolen. You owed it to them to remember—and to each other to hold on to what remained.

It had been a lovely evening, full of soft laughter and shared memories. But now that it was over, and the goodbyes had been said, the weight returned. That dull ache in your chest that never really went away. Blaise had been gone for five years, and still, you hadn’t moved on. You couldn’t.

Yes, you were living. You smiled. You worked. You laughed. But a piece of you still belonged to him. Always would.

Back home, you went straight to the kitchen and poured yourself another glass of wine. You knew sleep would be elusive tonight. It always was on this day. You curled up on the couch, the TV flickering quietly in the background as you stared into nothing, sipping slowly.

Then—

The hair on the back of your neck stood up.

The air shifted. It thickened, charged with something that made your skin prickle. You set your wine down, your eyes narrowing as you glanced around the room. Maybe it was just the wine. Maybe it was exhaustion. Maybe you were imagining it.

But then, suddenly, the entire room lit up.

A blinding, white-gold light filled the space, forcing you to shield your eyes. The brilliance pulsed for a moment, and then began to fade, leaving soft glimmers behind like dust in the air. You blinked, breath caught in your chest, trying to make sense of what you were seeing.

And then you saw him.

Blaise.

But not as you remembered him. No… this was something more. His dark skin seemed to glow softly in the dim light, radiant and ethereal. Behind him were two enormous black wings, stretched out like shadowed silk, each feather edged with a faint shimmer. He looked otherworldly. Powerful. But still him.

Your heart lodged itself in your throat as you stared, frozen in disbelief.

“Blaise?” you whispered, voice trembling. Your eyes burned with the tears you didn’t know you were holding.

He smiled softly, that same rare, gentle smile that had always been just for you.

“Yes, it’s me, my love,” he said, his voice low and filled with warmth—a voice you hadn’t heard in five years but had never once forgotten.