Title: Don't Look Back Pairing: Severus/Minerva Rating: G Warnings: Canon compliant, including canonical character death Summary: On Halloween night, Minerva seeks the company she lost. Notes: This draws on Halloween folklore that says if you hear footsteps behind you on Halloween night, you shouldn't turn and look back because it might be the dead following you.
The celebration in the Great Hall was subdued, perhaps because the memory of the dead was too fresh for merriment over pumpkins and sweets.
Even still, Minerva found it too much. She walked, alone and aimless, with a candlestick in her hand, stopping when the flame flickered even though the air was still. The faint sound of footsteps behind her made her heart lurch, but with anticipation rather than fear.
"Ne'er turn to look if you hear someone walking behind you on Halloween, girl, for it might be the dead following." Minerva remembered her mother's words and hoped they were true.
She turned, and he was there, a pale, glimmering shadow of himself.
"How could you?" She demanded. "How dare you go to the Shack and meet him without a word of warning to me, you stupid man?"
"It was a mistake," he admitted. "I paid dearly for it."
"As did I," she retorted tartly, but then her haughtiness melted away. "I tried to get there in timeĆ" Her voice broke.
"I know."
He drifted closer and bent to kiss her, leaving her lips numb with cold. Her candle went out, and only silence followed her back to the Hall.