Hearts are Blind (Severus Snape X OC)

And The Truths Come Out

Death comes for all.

As an unwelcome guest or a longed-for old friend, it comes. Sometimes it's kept at bay, but it cannot be avoided indefinitely. It comes for all. It bends for no one. You may hide from it, trick it, but in the end, it will find you. Ordinarily, no one knows when the silhouette of the Taker Of Life will be seen there in the doorway, with the darkness behind him. Death is a surprise for most. The bad omens exist and the future is skewed and unclear, but no one knows for sure. No one really knows when they are going to die.

Except for Lucinda Morgan.

She knew it the moment her eyes met the crystal, blue ones across the room. They looked back at her with a finality and a sadness in them. She saw the forming of an apology in their relaxed pupils. What was most alarming was the complete acceptance she saw in his gaze. He'd already known there was no hope the moment the room was destroyed. A man of constant thought and realizations, he'd already worked out her tragic end. But he didn't say anything. He spoke calmly to the man who worked desperately to save her. He would wait until she was gone. He would allow the Potions Master to believe that there was hope, until that hope had faded with the light in the girl's eyes.

So, now of course, Lucinda was gone; and it was as natural as anything that existed in this world. She'd been cursed at birth and perhaps long before that. She was of the few that had been hiding from Death for far longer than Fate had wanted her to and now they were just collecting on their debt: that she never should have existed in the first place. She'd escaped her fate several times (and more times than she even knew), but... you cannot hide from Death.

And Lucinda knew it the moment her heartbeat felt faint in her chest, that she was finally doing what was expected of her: to die.

It was alright, because he was there. She felt at peace, because there was trust and compassion in his gaze. He was there with her and if she was going to die, she was happy that it was going to be in his arms, as selfish as it was; because, even in that moment, if she was completely honest with herself... she knew he'd be alright. She'd die and he'd feel responsible, but there wouldn't be lasting damage. She wasn't that significant in his life. Not anymore... This was something he'd be able to move on from and she guessed that was also a comfort to her.

So, with that contentment, she was happy to fade away right there; while his soft touch was on her and he was full of concern and affection. She closed her eyes, a slight smile on her lips, her heart full. And Death did take her...

At least... she thought it had.

So, you can imagine her complete surprise at waking up in what appeared to be an ordinary bed. Not drifting between realms of limbo or the ethereal plains, but absolutely alive and staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. For a moment, she couldn't tell if it was early dawn or the tail-end of some winter day, because the light was so dim. Before anything else, she had to get a hold of her reality again, because for the first moments she was conscious, she couldn't remember anything. She didn't know what had happened or why she was in a foreign place.

She blinked slowly, as her eyes adjusted, but she still had no idea where she was. The first thing her mind latched onto was sitting at dinner in the Great Hall with Rorie... Or was it breakfast? Had she gone to sleep that night? She imagined she had, but she couldn't recall for sure. Had she served her last detention? What had she done in that last hour?

Then the light in her subconscious blinked on and she felt her mind tugging towards potions. Something about that was important, but it was like it was on the edge of her vision, just out of reach. Her mind raced to find meaning, but at the sound of someone's sudden whisper, it started to come back to her.