Hidden Friends

Thank you for reviews!! Would hope you continue to give them, as they encourage me to write and continue with my story. I’m getting very exited myself as the story goes, an I love how its turning out! And thank you to Apollina for your help! Much appreciated!

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Crumpling the paper in her fist, she scowled. What else could go wrong? Not only did she have to watch out for everyone, now she had to deal with problems herself on marriage of all things! Marriage! An utterly ludicrous idea if he ever heard one. Gabriel had never seen herself getting married, at least not yet. There had always been to much in the way, or if she did find a partner to share anything of an intimate nature at all, they usually ended badly.

Grimacing at her thoughts on her recently ended relationship, she turned and tossed the letter in the fire. ‘I should really visit Jess,’ she thought, placing a hand over her eyes. ‘At least she’d be someone to help settle my thoughts. Or at least some familiar company, even if she is unconscious.’ Gabriel felt a pang in her chest as her mind tried to go back to the incident. ‘So close to losing her. What would dad say?’ She scoffed out loud. She wouldn’t know, having very vague memories of that time. Anytime she tried to remember details, they turned out slightly blurred.

Letting out a sigh, she shook herself of her thoughts, and turned on her heel, immediately bumping straight into a wall of black. With a stifled ‘oof’ she staggered backwards before a warm hand grabbed hold of her arm to steady her. Confused, she glanced up to meet the fathomless eyes of Severus Snape. Why was he still here?

“Watch where you’re going,” he growled.

With a sneer, and raised eyebrow that unconsciously imitated his own, she spat, “Watch where I’m going? What the hell are you still doing here in the first place? You delivered the letter, now fuck off!”

Part of her brain was wondering were that had come from, that perhaps she had been a little too harsh. She hadn’t been this close to him in her human form for years. Any other time had been as the wolf, or an Animagus when needed for Order work, which was rare as they were not often paired together. When they were younger, she had had a small crush on the young Severus Snape. Although thin, and slightly awkward to begin with, she had found him endearing. He had a fondness for books, like her, and would squirrel away in a corner of the library or the castle to read to their hearts content.

This man standing in front of her had grown, matured and filled out into a forbidden, dark man. One that continued to set her emotions rampaging with a mere touch of his hand, like now. The firm grip of his long fingers sent a thrill through her, and no matter how many times she told herself that she had gotten over her childish crush, she had not. In fact, if anything, it had deepened into something she did not want to think too much about.

He leaned dangerously close to her, and his overwhelmingly, and intoxicating smell of sandalwood and mixed potions was making her brain slightly fuzzy. She felt uneasy, as if by simply allowing herself to relish this rare contact he would know her thoughts, and her desires. Even her secrets.

She was forced to meet his gaze as his grip tightened. She took a breath and looked up to meet the blackest eyes she had ever seen, with, surprisingly, a hint of hazel.

Gabriel held herself still, hoping to show that she would not be intimidated, but a part of her was also afraid she would still give herself away by trembling under this dark man’s touch.

“You should show some respect, you impertinent woman! Acting like a child will get you no sympathy from anyone.” His tone was low, bordering on a snarl. If she knew one thing about this man, was the lower the tone, the more angry he was. A barely coiled snake, ready to strike. It was frightening, yet the shiver running down her spine was decidedly not from fear. She also vaguely noted that his hand had still not released her.

Her face suddenly flushed in anger, and her jaw tightened as his words sunk in. Sympathy! She wasn’t looking for sympathy! The most she ever got was pity, and she never asked for it, nor anyone’s opinion on how she should act, or how her life is run. She has enough of that from her so-called relatives.

“I never ask for anything!’ she shouted, tearing her arm from his grip. “Anything I want I can never have. I’m either pushed away, or led onto another path to be controlled by someone else. I never look for pity, yet everywhere I look I see it!”

She was working herself up into a frenzy, feeling that she had burst through the damn holding her private thoughts back. Everything seemed to be rushing out of her mouth before she thought about it, leaving her with an onslaught of emotions to be set free on Severus.

“I don’t need your insults or sarcasm! I can’t take it anymore! I’ve put up with it for too long. All I’ve ever tried to be was your friend, a companion, even your bloody colleague, but no! You had to keep pushing me, didn’t you?”

She shoved him away harshly, and with a snarl she shot out the door. Her coat flew wildly in the artificial wind as she fled down the stairs two at a time, before rushing out the front door. The resounding bang echoed in the old house and woke Mrs. Black’s portrait, but she resolutely ignored it. Someone else would deal with it, she knew.

Tearing down the steps, and grabbing a nearby railing, she swung herself around and pelted down the street. Her boots felt abnormally heavy now, the added weight of her emotions pulling at her mind as she ran full sprint down the darkened street. She never noticed that it had begun to rain.

The heavy drops quickly soaking through her coat, puddles spraying up as she dashed through them without a care. Her lungs began to burn, her breathing harsh, but she was blinded, couldn’t think, only feel as she pushed and pushed herself to go faster, the harsh wind that had picked up in the sudden storm whipping her dark hair away from her face, her expression a mask of pain and concentration. She never noticed the extra warmth flowing down her cheeks as she silently cried, or the tingling of her hair as it lengthened, her eyes shifting colour to a strange silver. All she could do was run.

An primal instinct kicked in and she felt the familiar shiver of change, and she allowed it to sweep through her body, closing her eyes briefly as she put all her weight on one foot to launch in the air, her arms stretched forward, her form changing into her most familiar before landing gracefully with a small splash as the Dark Wolf, never missing a stride as she picked up her pace, the four legs carrying her faster, her lungs easing into the more fit animal. She continued running far into the night.

When Gabriel finally slowed, she found herself outside the large, familiar building of St. Mungo’s. If anyone were to look outside, they would see what looked like a foreboding Grim, her shining eyes and huffing breath releasing into the cool air as she panted from the exertion of her run, her dark fur plastered to her body. She looked positively wild.

She felt better, more calm then she had been in a long while, and she relished the feeling. Shaking herself gruffly, water sprayed out in a shower of its own. Then, carefully, she blended to the shadows, slinking up and in through a door, passing by the night staff of the wizarding hospital. Padding to the stairs, going up with quiet ease to the floor her grandmother was in, she left small drops of water in a trail on the floor.

Pausing before the open door, she glanced quickly around to make sure no one spotted her. She was grateful that her keen nose did not pick up any other scents nearby. Satisfied, she slipped in unnoticed and trotted up to the bed. Gamma was asleep, facing away from the door, and Gabriel walked around to check on her. She whined softly and propped herself up on her front paws onto the bedside and nuzzled the sleeping woman. A sleepy murmur was heard, before the old woman blinked lazily at the blurry dark form. Gabriel whined again, and nudged her nose against her Gamma’s chin, seeing the woman smile.

“Hello, doggy,” she crooned softly, reaching out a wrinkled hand to scratch behind Gabriel’s ears. “What are you doing here? You know, doggie’s aren’t supposed to be in the hospital, it’s against the rules.” She sighed softly, and stroked the wolf carefully, getting a tentative lick for her efforts. She smiled warmly. “My granddaughter would love you. You’d swear she was a child,” she laughed.

Inwardly Gabriel was smiling a little sadly at her grandmother. Today was not one of her good days. She would’ve recognised Gabriel in any form on a good day, especially the wolf as she had been the first to see it when she was five. Gamma had told her herself when she was older the amazing thing that a five year old could do that many grown Witches and Wizards couldn’t. She had been so proud.

Her grandmother continued, seeming to be off in her own thoughts. “I used to think she was just a child, you know. Just between you and me,” she whispered, “I could feel strange magic the day they brought her into our family. Strange, but good,” she affirmed.

Gabriel was unsure where this strange conversation was going to go, and she had a feeling there was something Gamma had never told her. She gazed at the old woman suspiciously, seeming innocent in her plain, white gown, and tucked neatly under the covers as if she was a child herself.

“Oh yes,” Gamma said, seeing the ‘dog’ look at her strangely. Anyone would not be surprised to find the old woman talking to herself, or indeed an animal, as she was often found mumbling similar things before, although nothing had ever been this coherent.

“The day we found her was strange indeed. She was disoriented, the poor woman, looking thin, exhausted and worse for wear in her tattered clothes. She looked as if she had been in a terrible fight. Well, the evidence of her wounds obviously suggested as such, especially a bleeding gash on her head, and a strange tattoo on her wrist. We brought her in of course, took care of her, but we knew nothing of her,” she mused thoughtfully.

“Not even her name. The only thing to help us identify her had been an old necklace with a colourful stone. Her name had been engraved onto the back of it. ‘Gabriel’,’ she mused quietly. “Such a beautiful name. Apparently the poor woman didn’t remember a thing about herself, nothing at all. Then a most peculiar thing happened. After we had placed her into the spare bedroom, she had slept soundly, but the next morning she had changed. Shifted, we believe, into a form of a child of no more than five years old. We thought perhaps, she had been born with Metamorphmagus genes. We didn’t know what to do with her, and she was so frightened like a child would be. She had suddenly called my daughter-in-law, Grace, ‘Mommy’, and my son, Thomas, ‘Daddy’ as if she had lived with them all her life. We decided to raise her, and have been ever since, keeping it a secret, for we were not sure who to tell. The only person we did confide in was Albus Dumbledore. What a nice man,” she said, smiling fondly at her memories.

Gabriel blinked slowly, wondering if she had heard correctly. Gamma didn’t seem to notice the shocked wolf staring at her, eyes wide, and body shaking. It would have been comical, if it wasn’t so serious. ‘What the hell was that!?’ her mind cried. Her brain was not functioning properly, seeming stuck on trying to process this sudden information that had so casually sprouted out of her grandmothers mouth…no, not her grandmother. No, that was wrong, this was wrong! This couldn’t be true!

Trembling, she eased herself back onto four paws, seeing Gamma beginning to get tired and fall into a deep sleep once more. Quietly she padded out and down the hall towards were her sister was…was she even her sister?

Reaching the door, she sneaked inside and quickly approached the bed. Hopping up without preamble she whined and nudged at her, wishing she would wake up. The Healers had said she would wake soon, having checked her earlier. They had sent word briefly through Dumbledore, who had been checking up on the other injured people from the attack. So far he had found nothing to indicate what had been the plan by the strange men, only that they had been a mixture of rogue Death Eaters, and another strange group.

Gabriel was brought from her thoughts by a small moan, and shift of the person underneath the covers. Her tail wagged gently, as she watched Jess wake up.

A moan, and a muffled, “Gabriel?” reached her ears, and Gabriel huffed a quiet bark as she snuffled at her, whining softly and pawing the covers. “Wassrong?!” she slurred, reaching up sleepily to pet the unsettled wolf. Gabriel just whined more, before slumping down and burying her nose in Jess’s neck.

“Ah! Watch the cold nose, Gabe! And why the hell are so wet? Go on, go home to the others, I’m fine. Need some more sleep though,” she mumbled, turning her back on the agitated animal. Gabriel huffed out an anxious breath, and quickly scrambled off the bed, leaving slightly muddy marks on the sheet. Jogging out of the room, she spared a quick glance back at Jess, seeing the young woman was sleeping soundly again, before breaking out into a loping sprint along the hall, down the stairs and out the door.

It was dark out, the rain having eased off to a light drizzle as it soaked through her fur once more. She ran back the way she came, her tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth, her silver eyes bright and seeing any obstacle clearly. Her mind was blank, strangely enough, even though she knew her thoughts were dying to bombard her. She wouldn’t let them yet, not until she got back to Grimmauld Place. ‘Please! Please don’t let it be true!’

Quickly arriving at her destination, she shifted back to her own form, her chest heaving at the exertion. Gabriel noticed that her hand was shaking uncontrollably, and she gripped the handle tightly to stop the tremors before entering the Black Family House. Narrowly avoiding the umbrella stand that Tonks had numerously stumbled over, she moved down the hallway slowly, her body feeling a sudden tiredness despite her anxiety. The kitchen door was closed ahead of her, muffled voices engaging in what she assumed was the next Order Meeting. She had forgotten there was one tonight.

Gabriel scowled as she felt a headache coming on. This was not her day. Opening the door, she entered quietly, seeing that there was indeed a meeting. Looking around automatically for a seat, she spotted the only one available next to Severus. Sighing softly, she glanced around once more and saw that there were a few extra’s that she hadn’t seen in a good while, including her recent ex, one Michael Fletchly. ‘Oh, joy. No doubt he’d heard about the marriage news,’ she thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

The room fell silent as they recognized a dishevelled looking Gabriel at the doorway, and she noticed them giving her strange looks.

“Gabriel!” Molly cried. “Where have you been? And what happened to your hair?”

Gabriel had not expected the last question, and her mouth was left open in response while her eyebrow crept up her forehead. “Um…I…My hair?” Confused, she reached up and ran a hand through her short -- long hair? Long? When did it get long?

She ran her fingers through it. It went down to her shoulders! Perplexed, she looked at everyone in the room, looking slightly lost. “I don’t…I don’t know. I must not have realised I changed it.”

Across the room, Severus watched the exchange quietly, wondering himself where she had gone. He wanted to berate her for leaving, blindly running away and into any unknown danger. The stupid chit could’ve been killed, and the incident with her sister should have been cause enough for her to think before acting. Scowling in her direction as the others began questioning her, he wondered why she had run off.

He had been taken aback with her sudden outburst, and he wondered where it had come from. Severus knew she had tried once to be his friend, perhaps even his colleague, but what was it that had her so upset? What had her lose control of her emotions enough to spark the small flicker of fear he had seen in her eyes just before she ran? What was that unknown emotion in her eyes that spoke if an nameless pain? He was interrupted from his musings, as the scrape of a chair alerted him to the conversation.

“Where have you been, dear?” Minerva asked, rising to approach her. As she went to check on the confused Gabriel, she sucked in a shocked gasp when she met the woman’s gaze. “Your eyes…” she whispered.

“Wotcher!” cried Tonks, cheerfully jumping up to come close to Gabriel. “I didn’t know you could change you’re characteristics like me! I thought you could just change into animals.”

‘That’s curious,’ Severus thought. Her hair of course had changed noticeably. You would have to blind not to see it. And she hadn’t noticed herself until someone pointed it out. Tonks did that often, but hers is mostly a conscious effort unless she’s…emotional. That’s what it was, it was emotional. Her appearance changes when she becomes overly emotional. Like back at the hospital. Severus remembered clearly what she had looked like, and it was very similar to this. It was like she had let go. She was completely different. Frightening, and not aware of what she was doing, only focusing on her goal of hurting those men no matter what. It had been like an instinct.

“What?”

“Your eyes, they’re silver. They used to be blue,” Hermione added.

“Um…right. Well, I was out for a run, and decided to go to St. Mungo’s to visit family.”
Gabriel felt confused, and tried to keep with the original question, but the conversation with her grandmother suddenly came back to her, and her head snapped to look into the curious gaze of the Headmaster. She scowled and stalked up to him, her silvers eyes flashing. “What the fuck haven’t you told me, old man?”

Shocked gasps went around the room but Gabriel studiously ignored them, never taking her eyes of him. “Ms. Crenning, please! Mind your language,” Minerva scolded.

“She is not a child Minerva,” Albus said gently, “but I am afraid that she has a right to be this way. I shall talk to you about it later after the meeting, for you would not want anyone else to hear I’m sure. Now, onto business then?”

Gabriel grumbled a curse that would have burned Mrs. Weasley’s ears, but knew she would not get answers so soon. It was a usual annoyance with this man, so she set it to the back of her mind for later.

“Ah, yes, as I was saying,” a familiar thick voice was saying. Gabriel turned to find Fletchly sitting comfortably in the old wooden chair, his attention focused on Albus.

He had a familiar haughty look, confident in anything he wished to achieve, arrogance radiating off him. He was wearing his usual dark blue robes, beneath which were muggle clothing, the vintage ripped jeans look, with a tight black t-shirt, and his wavy brown bangs falling lightly over his eyes.

The very sight of him set off a burn of anger and betrayal in Gabriel. Her mind was so flustered all her brain could think of calling him was an ass. “I would be happy to make the sacrifice for the Order. I’m positive I would meet the requirements and protect what’s mine, as they didn’t choose me for nothing of course,” he added with a smirk.

Gabriel didn’t like the sound of this, but silently took a chair next to Snape, who eyed her with curiosity. What had that been about? He knew the old fool kept secrets, but that was another sudden outburst from her today. She had found new information about something, and she didn’t seem to like it at all. ‘This could be interesting.’

Unfortunately it was across from Fletchly, and that spiteful woman he left her for, Michelle Mortuse. Gabriel hated the bitch with a vengeance! Every time they were near her, past hurts were always in the forefront of her mind.

Albus cleared his throat hesitantly, his eyes flicking towards Gabriel briefly, which made Gabriel very suspicious. Narrowing her eyes, she quickly thought about what Fletchly had said, and her eyes widened in realisation, for there was only one reason that would bring up this conversation, and bring Fletchly here to piss her off. He was going to willingly ‘sacrifice’ himself for the Order by marrying her!

‘That two-timing son-of-a-bitch!’ her mind shouted. Gabriel was lived, and she wanted to throttle him for being so presumptuous. ‘Willingly sacrifice, my ass!’ He just wanted to control her, and have her like a the good little wife she should be. Always using her, always. She growled low as she thought about the amount of times he’d cheated on her with that bitch, Mortuse. How many had he had? Woman after woman while she was worrying about him on missions, or when he was out or too long. To marry him would be suicide…or else bloody murder.

“Ah, yes, well, um…perhaps we will let Gabriel decide what would be the best course of action. After all, it is her choice to make.”

Gabriel opened her mouth to tell the bloody man exactly where he could shove his offer, but he had interrupted her. “Nonsense!” he scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. “I mean, she doesn’t know the others except myself and Snape,” at this he glance over at Snape as if he had stepped in something, a look of disdain and superiority on his face. He continued, “I would be the obvious choice considering I could easily meet the requirements mentioned in the letter. I could protect her, should any harm come to her, and the requirements of a child is easily met, for I could easily perform enough to ensure it’s conceived.”

Gabriel idly wondered, beneath her fury, was he aware that Snape could easily best him within five minutes of a duel. Even she had trouble sometimes against the snaky Potions Master.

Fletchly was digging himself a hole, and everyone knew it. With a flick of her eyes, Gabriel allowed a malicious smile cross her face as she spotted the horrified look Mortuse was giving Michael. Gabriel allowed her hate for the woman surface, as her thoughts dredged up the memories of finding out about his affair. He had been seeing the blonde bimbo from hell for months without Gabriel’s knowledge. It had been like a physical blow when Gabriel had walked in on them fucking in their own bed, and he didn’t seem to have a care in the world as he had casually explained that it was just a bit of fun, like their relationship was. A bit of fun!

Gabriel had stood there, her heart feeling like it had been torn out to be heedlessly stepped on, gripping the door handle like it was the only thing keeping her form collapsing or lashing out. Devastated, was only one word to describe how she felt. Humiliated, betrayed. The list went on.

Two years with this man! Two fucking years, and, according to him, he had never cared for her more than a casual fuck if he was around. Some semblance of control came back to her, as she saw the woman get out of bed and shamelessly walked over in all her glory to Fletchly. He had been lucky to escape alive after she had lost control of her temper and tried to hex his balls off. He had underestimated her, and apparently would continue to do so. The only reason he had survived a all, was because of Mortuse. She had spelled Gabriel’s wand across the room before any lasting damage was done, and had sniffed disdainfully, wrinkling her pretty little nose.

“Did you honestly think he loved you!?” She smiled cruelly. “How could he love a thing like you when he’s got me? I’m surprised he lasted this long without clawing his way out from you and running to the nearest pretty witch. Anything would have done better than you! You couldn’t even perform well enough for him in bed if he obviously came to me begging to be saved!”

The very next day after the fight, everyone had heard about what had happened in a surprising amount of detail, and she was utterly humiliated. Now, sitting across from this man, she gritted her teeth and gripped the table enough to cause splinters. Anything, to prevent her from leaping over the table to attack him.

“Michael!” Mortuse cried. “We’ve never discussed this! What about me?!”

Fletchly turned to the woman, and smiled indulgently. “Don’t worry dear,” he said in hushed tones, but it was quite enough to hear them clearly. “I don’t love her, and I’ll still have you. I don’t have to be with her all the time, and lord knows how much I’ll need you for meeting my requirements. I’m not sure she could keep up.”

In a flurry of movement, and a loud roar, Snape barely had time to grab and restrain a shifted Gabriel, as a large black panther tried to launch over the table. It was difficult to hold her back, and he growled with the effort of pulling her back by the waist, as she tried to claw her way over the table, leaving deep gashes in the wood.

With a sigh, Albus stood and aimed his wand at the animal, muttering a spell to change her back. A shocked cry was heard as Gabriel was suddenly lighter and both she and Snape fell backwards, falling rough with a thump onto his chair, her in his lap.

“Control that animal!” Mortuse shrieked, having hidden behind her ‘dear’ Michael. Gabriel winced at the pitch of the woman’s voice. God, her head hurt already. She was not in the mood for this. “She’s insane, trying to attack us! She should be locked up or something!”

Snape was once again tested of his strength as he wrapped his arms around a struggling Gabriel. He thanked whatever Gods that she had not thought of her wand yet. As if she could read his thoughts, she suddenly stilled and quickly reached in for her wand in her sleeve.

“Snape!” Moody shouted.

Not missing a beat, he took hold of her arms and pulled them against her body, holding her in a crushing embrace tight against his own body.

“Stop,” he murmured quietly, his voice oddly gentle. She started suddenly, forgetting it was even him holding her there. Her head tilted towards him. “You could hurt her seriously if I were to let you go, and you know that. If anything you know I would happily let you go, but this is ridiculous. If I wasn’t restraining you, you’d have to restrain me, for I would’ve hexed his bloody bollox off!”

She snorted in amusement, rolling her eyes, but she finally settled some. He didn’t release her, knowing that if he did, she would probably start after the stupid pillock again. He could still feel her tension.

“Gabriel, if you cannot control yourself, I will have to. You can’t marry me if you going to act like that. Think of what people would say if I could not handle my own wife.”

“I suggest you shut the hell up, Fletchly. You’re only making it worse,” Harry groused, having stood with Moody when Gabriel had reached for her wand.

Snape risked a quick glance at the boy. He grudgingly had to admit the boy had grown and matured the last few years after having defeated the Voldemort. He had gone on to train be an Auror under Moody along with his friends, the other two thirds of the Golden Trio. They still annoyed the hell out of him on occasion, but they were adults now, and he respected them. Even if he only admitted that to himself.

“What am I making worse?” Fletchly asked, his brow furrowed in puzzlement. Was the man really this dense? Maybe he was well matched to Mortuse after all. He had gone out with Gabriel for two years and he still didn’t know her?

‘You don’t know anything about her either, you dolt! And you went to school with her!’ said the voice again. Bloody hell, even his conscience was against him lately. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only part of his body that was against him. He groaned internally, letting his head fall forward to rest on her shoulder. In the back of his mind he picked up a familiar comforting smell. His eyes snapped open, and he pulled his head back up to look at the back of her. His eyes narrowed, and his brow furrowed in puzzlement. Leaning forward once more, he inhaled her scent, his sensitive potions nose picking up an earthy smell…

No.

No way.

That…no, it can’t be her. He’d never seen her as a wolf. Any other form, yes, but never a wolf. It can’t be true. Maybe she picked up the scent from somewhere else, she was outside obviously. Anyone can pick up an earthy smell.

It was a denial, he knew, but he would have to find out. That small piece of doubt had now wedged itself in his mind, and he would not be satisfied until he found out.

Without realising it, his grip had increased around her waist, his thoughts suspicious as he pondered this new development. He was brought quickly out of his thoughts as he felt her tense again. It looked like he was going to have to hold her once more when she tried to launch across the table again.

“--and if you think for one minute that I’m going to marry you, you’ve got another thing coming! How dare you treat me like that! I’ve had enough of your fucking attitude, I put up with it for two years and I’m not going put up with it for the rest of my life. I’ll end up in bloody Azkaban for murder before a week is up!”

Fletchly let out a disbelieving laugh, and sneered at her. “You’ve got no other choice, love. It’s either me, or the Ministry will choose for you. Why not make it easier on yourself, as I’m sure the ministry would choose me anyway.”

Severus noted that everyone in the kitchen were standing and preparing to do something if it got out of hand. He watched as Fletchly had said his piece, standing much like the others, thinking he would be intimidating to the restrained Gabriel.

Severus smirked and rectified the situation by standing as well, yet keeping a firm arm around her middle, pressing himself into her back. His little problem that had started with her on his lap, had disappeared during his puzzled thoughts, thank god.

He could feel the energy build in her, crackling in the air around them, as she in turn gripped his robes in her clenched fists, trying to regain some semblance of control before she seriously hurt the man.

Gabriel was about to respond, but a quick look at Michael and his smug smirk led her to believe that he would try to influence the Ministry that somehow he was the best choice for Gabriel. So if she didn’t choose, either way she would get stuck with him, as she didn’t know the others enough to be safe with them.

She couldn’t afford to have to watch a stranger at the moment, let alone never knowing whether or not she was married to a Dark Wizard the rest of her life. The only other option was Severus, but even she knew he would not --

“She’ll be marrying me,” said a deep voice. It took her a minute to realise, quite unbelievably, that Severus had just spoken. If he hadn’t been holding her, she thought she would have collapsed into a nearby chair, or onto the floor, whichever came first.

She turned her head to look at the man, her silver eyes meeting his black ones. She caught a glimmer of something in them, before they became unreadable once more. He was looking at her intently, trying to judge her reaction. The entire room was silent and waiting.

Severus wrapped his other arm, that had been ready with his wand, around her waist to join the other, pulling her close so he could whisper in her ear.

“Will you marry me?”

Her mind was blank, the only word echoing in her brain was what she answered with. Simply, “Yes.”

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Phew, I liked writing this chapter a lot. And I hope to get more reviews.

Wolfsoul xxx