Today was the final day before I returned to Hogwarts. It has been nearly a month since the school term began, so it is due time that I continue teaching.

Currently, I was returning home after purchasing some much needed groceries. As I walked in the door I nearly tripped over a book that was lying on the floor. I sighed and set the groceries down to pick up the book.

After setting it back on the shelf, I turned to the rest of the room. I was shocked at the sight of books and papers all over the floor.

Cautiously, I turned the corner to see broken dishes on the floor in the kitchen. My worries grew as I then saw cracked picture frames at the bottom of the staircase.

As I rushed up to the second floor, I drew my wand.

Quickly but cautiously, I opened the door and searched for a disturbance.

"(Y/N)?"

The uneasy feeling in my chest increased as I noticed the broken window, the curtains fluttering in the wind.

I rushed over to Elora's crib in a panic, only to find it empty.

"(Y/N)!? Where is Elo-"

All color left my face, my breath hitched, and my eyes widened in horror at the sight. I saw (Y/N) lying unconscious on the floor near the bed.

"No no no.. Not again.." Rushing over to her, I fell to my knees and pulled (Y/N) up against my chest.

Her expression was frozen in a state of shock. Exactly the way Lily looked when she succumbed to..

"(Y/N).. Please.." I was unable to utter more than a few words before letting my emotions consume me.

'This must be a nightmare. This can't be real..'

I shut my eyes tightly as tears cascaded down my face and onto the floor, attempting to wake up from this nightmare. But nothing changed. Nothing at all. I was still in the dark bedroom, only the wind being heard from the broken window.

I gritted my teeth from the pain of having to go through this once more. I've not only lost the one woman I've learned to care so deeply for, but my own daughter as well..

Although I had no recollection of how much time had passed since I held my eyes shut, once I opened them, I was confused to say the least. (Y/N) had vanished.

I slowly rose from the floor, my eyes clouded with tears. Walking around to the front of the bed, I decided to sit down to cycle through my thoughts. Holding my head in my hands, I continued to let tears fall.

'How could this be..?'

Then, the mobile hanging over Elora's crib started spinning. The twinkling sounds of the lullaby gradually became louder. I looked up and nearly teared it off the wall, until I noticed something.

Elora was in the crib.

'This is a hallucination. This isn't real.'

I kept telling myself this as I walked over to it.

She was still there, staring up at me.

I desperately pulled her out and held her tightly against my chest as the tears that had welled up in my eyes finally fell.

She made little noises while her head rested on my shoulder.

'If Elora is truly here, then mustn't (Y/N) be..'

To my relief, (Y/N) was sleeping soundly in our bed.

My breathing, although still tremulous, eventually settled out of relief.

I noticed that the window was also intact and that there were no signs of breakage anymore.

Elora caught my attention once more as I felt her tug at my hair.

I removed her hands and let her hold my index finger instead. I smiled at this and felt relieved that she was safe.

"Severus.. Why are you up?"

I turned my head to face the source of the voice and was met with (Y/N)'s tired expression.

"Whoa, what happened to your eyes?" (Y/N)'s tired expression now turned into one of concern as she stood up from the bed.

I turned away and rid my eyes of the remaining tears,

"N-Nothing.. I'm alright, (Y/N).."

"That's a lie if I've ever heard one. You can tell me what's wrong, Sev. You know that.." (Y/N) reassured me as she placed her hand on my shoulder.

I sighed and set Elora back down into the crib before explaining my nightmare.

"I thought I'd lost you again. Both of you. And now.. I'm not sure if I should return to Hogwarts quite yet." I told her.

(Y/N) seemed confused,

"What? Nonsense. If it makes you feel any better we can put up some warding charms or anything that'll make us safer. But you really should get back to teaching."

Her idea was feasible, but I was still unsure.

"But what if-"

"Severus." (Y/N) gave me a look that led to me sighing and eventually agreeing.

After spending some time in the morning setting up warding charms and spells, Severus finally felt comfortable enough to return to Hogwarts.

Apparently Professor Dumbledore is allowing him to use the floo system into his office since the Hogwarts Express obviously wasn't running.

We stood at the fireplace in the living room where Severus had set his luggage down. Elora was currently in my arms and was impatiently reaching for Severus to take her from me.

Severus smiled and took her from me to say goodbye for now. Elora was smiling a toothless grin that could light up a whole room once he had her in his arms.

"Looks like she's a daddy's girl, Sev." I grinned at them.

"I believe you are correct." Severus replied with a chuckle as Elora tried to reach for his hair again.

"You really should tie your hair back sometime." I suggested once more.

Severus shook his head and handed Elora back over to me. She made a little whining noise in protest at this.

Severus walked up to me and said his farewell,

"I'll be returning for Halloween. But until then.."

Severus leant forward and gave me a kiss,

"Goodbye, Love."

I smiled at the gesture and replied,

"We'll be waiting."

As he stepped into the fireplace, he waved at Elora, who then began to wriggle around and giggle.

And just like that, the green flames consumed him. Elora's facial expression let me know that she was extremely confused as to what happened to him. But not long after, she was distracted by one of her toys, which sat on the sofa.