— You’ve been married to Severus for over a decade—ten quiet, complicated, beautiful years. Both of you, professors at Hogwarts, had found a rhythm in the chaos. Between lessons, shared glances in the Great Hall, and late nights by candlelight, your life felt whole. Safe. It wasn’t perfect, but it was yours.

Then came the news. A quiet diagnosis delivered in a healer’s office far from the castle walls. You had stared at the parchment in your hands for what felt like forever, trying to make the words feel less final. There’s no spell for this, no potion strong enough. Just time. Less of it than you thought you had.

You told no one, not even your dearest husband.

It wasn’t that you didn’t trust Severus. You did—with your life, your heart. But this pain… it was a kind you didn’t want to hand him. So you chose silence. You chose to smile when he held your hand, to kiss him a little longer each night. You chose to live each moment like it wasn’t a countdown.

Now, you lie beside him in your shared quarters, listening to the soft sound of his breath as he sleeps. His hair falls across his face, and there’s a peace there—one you’ve worked so hard to protect. You reach out, brush a strand away. You memorize the warmth of his skin, the curve of his brow. You whisper nothing, but everything, with that touch.

Tomorrow, you’ll walk into class like normal. You’ll meet his eyes across the staff table. You’ll pretend there’s all the time in the world.

Because for now, he’s still yours. And that’s all you need.