When the Roses Bloom Again by TheBlack'sResurgence

Chapter 34

Meeting Without Diplomacy

His breathing was laboured as he took in the destruction around him. The furniture within the room had been upturned, and some even broken. Shattered glass littered the floor, and amongst the debris lay a single form.

She was unmoving, not fatally wounded, but certainly having been on the worse end of the injuries both had sustained.

Harry was bleeding from a deep cut in his shoulder, and he was certain a rib or two were not in their natural position.

With a hiss and a groan, he righted them before knitting the laceration that would undoubtedly leave a scar for him to remember this confrontation by.

He snorted as he tapped the woman with his wand.

"Enervate."

Her brown eyes fluttered open, confusion filling them, and then a moment of irritation before she sat up and nodded satisfactorily.

"Well, I suppose that will teach me," she muttered, wincing as Harry helped her to her feet. "You've certainly surpassed me now, Evans."

Harry felt a mixture of pride and loss at Rosalina's declaration.

For the past few years, this woman had taken him under her wing, taught him how to duel and shared her expertise with him.

She may think that he had bettered her on his journey, but he didn't feel like it. Perhaps it was that he had come to respect her so much and enjoyed her company that he didn't want to admit that there was little else she could show him.

"Don't look at me like that," Rosalina chastised. "We both knew this day would come. Now, if you could fix my leg, I'd really appreciate it."

She wasn't angry, nor even irritated with him. She looked at him with the same pride that he knew he should be feeling, something he expected when he could defeat her without resorting to Parselmagic to do so.

It was absent.

If anything, beating her in a duel was rather bittersweet and Harry didn't care for it much.

With a nod, he complied with her wishes, and Rosalina stumbled as she put her weight on the leg.

Harry caught her to prevent her fall and she chuckled as she cupped his cheek affectionately.

"You're a good boy, Harry. I think I might need to sit down for a few minutes."

Harry helped her towards a broken chair, repairing it with a flick of his wand before sitting her in it.

Rosalina stretched out the injured leg and nodded satisfactorily.

"It will be fine," she assured him when he looked at her worriedly.

Harry gave the woman a sceptical look but said nothing.

Rosalina was as stubborn as they came, and she wouldn't admit if she was suffering more than was apparent.