They walked for hours through the trees, Moony keeping an ear out for any predators and snarling at even the fluttering leaf that dared jump out at the group. Hermione, Ron, and Harry laughed at his antics and explored where they could, pausing to observe fox tracks, horse tracks of some sort, and wolf tracks (other than Moony’s). Moony sniffed the wolf tracks, then howled, impressing the students, who smiled at each other before joining in.

               Severus lingered in the back, paying closer attention to his surroundings than the mighty guard wolf was doing. They snacked on the way but stopped at noon (according to the sun’s position in the sky) for a quick break and food, which Ron began pulling out of his bag: sandwiches, drinks in water bottles (pumpkin juice, mostly), pouches of crisps, and apples. After they had eaten, they continued following the dusty gold trail once more.

While Moony attacked a root that threatened to trip Harry, Severus watched as the children circled around a white flower sprouting in the middle of a burned patch of grass.

               “Look at this flower,” Hermione said as she dug through her bag and pulled out a book, quickly flipping through the pages. “A forest lotus—they grow where damage has occurred in the forest and quickly restore nutrients and strength so the land will grow back healthy once more. How beautiful!”  

               “Exceptionally rare,” Moony added. He sat next to Hermione, looking down at her book. “I am surprised this one has survived as long as it has. There are many creatures who’d love to eat it as it brings back strength and life to their body, almost like a . . . a youth spell or something.”

               “Wow,” Hermione said. “The book doesn’t say anything about that.”

               “Well, you can’t learn everything in a book.” Moony continued down the path, following the golden trail leading them to the wandering sphinx. Hermione ran to catch up to him, shoving her book back in her bag. Harry and Ron followed her, interested to learn something new as well. It was always wise to allow Hermione to lead in their learning—she knew all the right questions to ask.

               “Do you suppose it could be used in potions?”

               “It has been,” Moony answered. “For many years, even though a potion like that is illegal. That is why it is so rare now, bordering on extinct. I suppose being all the way out in this heavily guarded forest, that a few seeds have managed to spread around and survive.”

               “A few seeds? They don’t just appear in damage ground?”

               “Oh no. They were everywhere at one point, like another piece of the earth. Whenever ground was destroyed by fire, lightning, floods, or earthquakes, that is when the seeds are activated. With death brings new life, and that flower was a savior for many forests. It healed and restored. The flowers were sought after, dug up again and again for use in potions, rituals, or spells. You need the whole flower for the magic to work; not a single root left behind. And then the seeds were destroyed by advancements in agriculture. It is why they are illegal to harvest now.”

               Moony paused, his ears twitching and his head lowering. Severus froze as well, his head snapping to the left where he was sure he heard a twig snap. Withdrawing his wand, he moved closer to the kids and the snarling Moony, hackles raised.

               Something moved swiftly around the group, trotting and swinging its head. It slowed to a canter, then a trot, then came to a sudden halt behind a few trees, still hidden by some shadows. Severus lowered his wand. He slid it up his sleeve and slowly stepped forward, brushing aside the shrubs to reveal a pure white unicorn.

               Everyone gasped and Moony’s fur settled. He tilted his head curiously. No one moved save for Severus.

               “Easy,” Severus said, reaching a hand toward the unicorn, who swung its head away before Severus could touch his face. But Severus had a different target in mind, and he gently traced a long, straight scar on the unicorn’s neck. It flinched and nickered softly at Severus.

               “A severing charm,” Severus said aloud to himself as he admired the clean cut. If the spell had struck just an inch further down the neck, the unicorn would have bled out.

               “Who did this to you?” Severus asked softly, though he felt he had an idea of who.

               The unicorn snorted and walked around Severus, brushing shoulders with him as it walked toward the group. Moony lowered himself submissively while standing protectively in front of Harry, Hermione, and Ron. The unicorn flattened his ears, nose flaring, eyes locked on the compass Ron was holding. Ron glanced down at it, then back up at the unicorn. Slowly, he hid it behind his back and offered a smile.

               The unicorn reared with an angry noise, then charged for Ron.

               Moony lunged forward, barking and snarling at the unicorn while keeping in front of him, avoiding the sharp hooves as he moved to block the horse’s path. Ron backed up further, bumping into a tree. Hermione took the compass from him and shoved it in her bag, the gold trail still slipping out through the unzipped portion.

               The unicorn tried to move around Moony, but the wolf was persistent. Frustrated, it reared again with another squeal, then pawed the ground.

               Severus jumped in between Moony and the unicorn. He held up his hands and made soothing shushes.

               “It’s okay, easy, easy,” Severus said. “You’re all right, boy. No one wants to hurt you.”

               The unicorn reared again before it settled in front of Severus, breathing heavy, but this time, allowing Severus to gently stroke the side of the horse’s neck.

               “There,” Severus said. “Not so bad, is it?”

               The unicorn nickered softly, shaking his mane, and lifting his ears. He pushed his nose into Severus’s hand.

               Moony cautiously slinked over to Severus, watching the unicorn closely for any reaction before he sat at Severus’s side.

               “You’ve got quite a way with unicorns,” he said.

               Severus narrowed his eyes down at Moony before stroking the unicorn’s neck once more.

               Harry, Hermione, and Ron joined the two and admired the calmer horse, though it did snort and turn its head slightly to eye Hermione’s bag.

               “He’s beautiful,” Hermione awed, reaching out a hand to touch the unicorn’s withers. The skin quivered under her light touch, but the horse did not move, and Hermione gently stroked its fur. Ron followed her lead while Harry moved closer to Severus.

               “Do you think he knew what we had?” Harry asked.

               “Most definitely.”

               “He’s probably the one who broke the other compass,” Moony commented.

               Harry frowned at that, studying the unicorn, then his face lit up and he slowly shifted into Teucer, his red-furred horse animagus, white spots covering his hind quarters like a fawn’s. He glanced up at Severus, who only watched him curiously, before he stepped closer to the unicorn. He sniffed noses with the much larger horse while his friends stared amazed and excited, Hermione clasping her hands together.

               Teucer nickered and the unicorn did so back, flicking his mane slightly. Teucer neighed up at the horse, and they carried on a conversation, the unicorn glancing at everyone occasionally.

               “Can you understand them?” Moony asked.

               Severus cuffed the wolf. “I speak Centaur, not horse.”

               “Didn’t know there was a difference,” Moony said honestly, smirking at Severus.

               Finally, the unicorn stood tall once more while Teucer whinnied up at Severus. When all Severus did was quirk a brow, Teucer snorted and shifted back into Harry.

               “I told him what we we’re doing,” Harry said, “He says he saw a sphinx not far from here and he can show us the way. He says the compass’s magic unsettles many of the forest creatures here, and that we should stop using it.”

               Severus looked back at the unicorn. It gave a nod of his head. Sighing, Severus looked at Hermione and said, “I guess we should turn it off.”

               Hermione pulled out the compass, but froze when the unicorn squealed and turned on her, lowering its head to angle its horn at the device. Moving very slowly, Hermione shut off the hunting compass and slid it back into her bag. The unicorn waited until the bag was zipped completely before nickering at her and standing tall once more.   

               The golden trail slowly faded away, erasing the pathway to the sphinx. Severus really hoped Teucer translated correctly, and that the unicorn truly did know where the sphinx was.

               With a swing of its head, the horse began walking down the pathway the gold trail had originally been illuminating. Everyone shared a look before following the unicorn. Severus glanced up at the sky. The sun was slowly lowering more. It would probably be another hour or two before he changed back into Ajax. He sighed, hoping that somehow, they found this sphinx before then.

               “Ajax,” Harry asked, coming up next to Severus.

               “Hmm?” Severus noticed that he had fallen behind the group some, and while Moony, Ron and Hermione walked closer to the unicorn’s side, Harry and Himself were a few paces back.

               “Are you okay?” Harry asked.

               “I am fine. Merely thinking.”

               “Are you sure? You know, this could be the last time you turn into Ajax. Won’t you miss it?”

               “Miss the painful transformations? I don’t think so.”

               “Well, maybe not that, but what about being you?”

               “What do you mean?” Severus frowned at Harry.

               “I just mean, Ajax has kind of become a part of you. Being a centaur and all is kind of who you are. Like Teucer is now a part of me. I would miss it if I couldn’t turn into him, even if I’ve only been able to do it for a short while.”

               Severus bit his inner cheek as Harry’s words churned in his head. All his life, he resented what he became, but he had long ago accepted it as his way of life. What would he do with himself if he did not have to hide every night? That sense of freedom strengthened the urge to find the sphinx.

               And yet, he had learned so much about himself, the world, and even Harry by becoming Ajax each night. The centaurs, though they hunted him now, had taken him in as a foal and raised him in their ways. His mother had left his father to keep him safe when the curse activated. And Ajax had helped bring some happiness back into his grandfather’s life. Of course, there were also several advantages to turning into such a powerful creature. However, it all still came with a heavy price: pain and isolation.

               He would not miss that. Not one bit.

               “Ajax?” Harry questioned once more.    

               “I don’t know, Harry. You’re right, Ajax is very much a part of who I am.”

               “It brought us together,” Harry smiled.

               “Unfortunately,” Severus smirked, and Harry laughed.

               “I know I’ll miss it,” Harry said before running to catch up with his friends.

               Severus sighed. Here he was, finally faced with a chance to rid himself of the Prince curse, and he was having doubts. What in Merlin’s name was wrong with him?

               An hour or so must have passed before the unicorn paused at the top of a hill, nickering softly at Harry before peering down the hill pointedly. Harry followed the unicorn’s gaze, as did everyone else. Severus took in a deep breath.

               There it was, a lioness creature with a slightly humanoid face, covered in tawny fur with a long-tufted tail, and glazed over almond-shaped hazel eyes. She was lying on her side at the bottom of the hill, emaciated and groaning.

               Severus’s face fell. She was dying.

               The unicorn snorted and turned away, walking back in the direction he had come. He gave one last neigh to the group before galloping down the path at full speed, vanishing in a blink of an eye.

               “I don’t think I need to be a horse to translate that as “good luck,”” Moony said.

               The sun slowly disappeared behind the hills and Severus hissed as backed away from the group behind a tree, stripping off the robe and dropping it to the side. He took his cloak off as well as he was hot anyway and slipped out of his boots. As usual, slowly, and painfully he shifted back into a centaur. He stepped out from behind the trees and rejoined the group. Everyone had waited patiently, though Hermione and Ron seemed concerned at the painful sounds he had made.

               “Let’s go to her,” Severus said, “but don’t have too high of hopes.”

               Severus lowered himself to allow the three kids to clamor on his back. It would be safer that way for all of them in order to scale down the steep, rocky hillside rather than trying to keep on eye on all three stumbling their way down. Moony carefully began to jump from one ledge to another while Severus’s only option was to shuffle his way down as carefully as he could, scuffing his hooves in the process.

               Rocks crumbled and fell around his feet as he maneuvered down the hill, but he pushed himself along. Moony landed on an unstable ledge and it crumbled and slid down the hill some before colliding into another rock, catching there. Moony had lowered himself for the ride, clinging with his nails. As soon as it stopped, he leaped for another ledge.

               Severus took his time, carefully placing his hooves and allowing himself to slide most of the way down the hill. As he neared the bottom, he instructed everyone to hold on, and he leaped for the ground. It was a harsh landing, and he figured it would have been nicer to roll, but at least the kids were unharmed and down the hill with him. Moony joined him a second later.

               Severus lowered himself and the kids jumped off his back. Hermione was quick to run over to the sphinx, kneeling next to her head and placing a hand top of the cat’s head.

               “She’s not well,” Hermione said, tears welling in her eyes.

               “What do we do?” Moony asked.

               Severus gathered his legs under him, lying down so he could lean forward and cradle the sphinx’s head on his legs, gently stroking the fur. Hermione looked up at him hopefully while Ron and Harry stood on either side of him. Moony whined softly.

               “We’ll have to heal her,” Severus said. “I could perform a few diagnostics—”

               “That won’t be necessary,” a deep voice said.

Everyone jumped and looked back at the trees. A manticore stepped out of the shadows and into the slowly rising moon’s light, a large smile on his face. He purred as he swung his stinger happily, slowly walking in a wide radius around the group and dying sphinx.

               “What have I found myself here,” he purred. “Enough food for an entire family, perhaps?”

               Two more manticores stepped out from the shadows after him, snarling at the group. Severus stood up, ushering the kids behind him while Moony snarled with hackles raised.

               “A pity for the sphinx, really,” the manticore said. “I like it when the prey fights back.”

               “A sphinx might actually prove helpful here,” Severus muttered softly to Moony. “How quickly would that flower give her life back?”

               “A minute?” Moony guessed, snarling louder as a manticore took a step forward. “You’re not seriously thinking about feeding her an almost extinct flower?”

               “I don’t think we have any other choice here. We save her, she might get rid of these beasts for us. Run back and get the flower. I’ll hold them off.”

               Moony barked once angrily.

               “You can’t hold off three manticores. I’m not leaving your side. What’s Plan B?”

               “We have no clue why she’s dying, and we don’t have the time to figure it out. She probably came all this way for that flower. Go get it.”

               “Do you have any idea how long a trip that is? You’ll all be slaughtered when I get back.”

               The manticores chuckled as they all stepped closer to the group, then half circled again, enjoying the mind games and suspense they put their prey in.

               “I told you I’d find you at your weakest, centaur,” the manticore snarled. “I can’t wait for the feast. To tear into centaur flesh. You know which song I love to sing as I feast?” The manticore hummed softly before singing in a slow, haunting way: “There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins. And sinners, plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains.”

               Severus felt a shiver run down his spine at that, unsure whether to be surprised that the manticore even knew that hymn, or if he should be terrified that that was the song the manticore sang after slaughter. He pawed the earth and flattened his ears as the beasts took intimidating steps closer.

               “Moony,” Severus growled between his teeth. “The flower.”

               “We’ll get it!” Hermione said.

               “Absolutely not,” Severus snapped, looking back at Hermione.

               “You need that flower. When met again, his fate will depend on who he helps revive. If you save the sphinx, you break the curse, and she could stop the manticores with a simple curse of her own. If you let her die . . .” Hermione shook her head as she couldn’t fathom the idea of the poor sphinx dying. “We need that flower; we can get it while you two keep the manticores away.”

               “We can do it, Ajax,” Harry said.

               “There are a thousand other predators out there and its over an hour’s trip there and back,” Severus said. “Moony could cut that time in half if he runs.”

               “As I said, I’m not leaving,” Moony snapped.

               “You kids will remain here with the sphinx. Give her some comfort. It’s all we can offer.”

               “The last thing you can offer,” the manticore roared before charging for the group. Severus reared and charged the manticore, raising hooves and bringing them down harshly. Moony ran for another manticore that tried to pounce on Severus while he was preoccupied with another.

               Moony closed his jaws around its throat before it could attack Severus. The manticore yowled and tried swatting at the wolf, who climbed on the beast’s back and bit down on the back of it’s neck once more, clawing at it. Severus used his wand to send a cutting hex at one manticore and then at the one Moony was dealing with.

               Harry, Ron, and Hermione kneeled next to the sphinx, which gave a sad mew as she tried to lift her head.

               “It’s okay, put your head down,” Ron said, pushing on her cheek slightly.

               Hermione looked back, startled, then jumped to her feet with her wand out.

               “Petrificus Totalus!” she shouted at the manticore running for her.

               The spell missed, but it startled the manticore enough that it jumped back, pausing to snarl at the children. Hermione kept her wand on the manticore, Harry and Ron standing and pulling out their wands. The manticore tilted its head as if debating how serious of a threat the kids were before lowering itself to pounce, its stinger swinging.

               Howling made everyone freeze, including the manticores. Everyone looked up to the top of the hill. Moony barked in a pleading manner.

               Alpha and her pack stood at the top of the hill, answering Moony’s howl from earlier. Alpha snarled down at the manticores as she listened to Moony’s barks, understanding the situation. She barked twice to her left and then to her right, and her wolves descended around her, snarling, and barking at the manticores.

               The manticore facing the kids turned and swatted at the wolves, but it was quickly overwhelmed by the numbers and retreated away from the kids and sphinx. A few wolves charged for the one Moony was attacking and helped him.

               “We still have power over you, wand-wielding centaur,” the lead manticore snarled at Severus, raising his stinger and jabbing it at one of the wolves. The wolf wisely jumped away from the manticore with a whimper, rethinking its attack. “We will kill you all.”

               Severus fired a cutting a curse at the manticore’s tail, but the manticore swung it out of the way and lunged with open jaws for Severus.

               Meanwhile, Alpha descended from the hill and paused in front of the kids.

               “Whoa, big wolf,” Ron said, surprised. “Almost as big as Moony.”

               “They’re not normal wolves,” Hermione explained, stepping closer to Alpha. “Please, we need your help. There’s a rare flower out there that we have to get for this sphinx, or she’ll die. We have to help her. Can you take us to the flower?”

               Alpha didn’t blink for a long moment. Her ears were erect and her stare unwavering. Finally, she turned around, facing the hill once more before lowering herself. She barked at Hermione.

               Hermione smiled and quickly climbed on the wolf’s back.

               “We’ll be right back,” Hermione said. The wolf stood up and looked at the boys. “Stay with the sphinx.”

               Harry and Ron nodded and kneeled next to the sphinx.

               The wolf huffed before leaping up the mountain side with practiced ease. Hermione clung to her fur as tightly as she could. The wolf ran at full speed through the trees, Hermione pointing the way when needed.

               A manticore bit a wolf and threw it aside before leaping up the hill, throwing several wolves off its back as it ran up the hill after Alpha.

The wolves snarled up the hill, but they turned on the other manticore Severus was struggling to keep back away from Harry and Ron. As much as Severus would love to use the killing curse, the manticores were nimble, and he could easily miss and hit one of the wolves, or worse: Moony and the kids.

               He was glad for the extra assistance from some of the more daring wolves. Out of the three, this was the largest manticore. With their tough, scorpion like hide and thick manes, it was hard to cause any real damage. All they managed to do was prove to be a nuisance to the manticores.

               Severus looked back at the kids, and his eyes widened when he realized Hermione was missing. There was nothing he could do about it now except pray she’d be all right.

               Ron and Harry had watched the manticore run after Alpha and Hermione. They shared a look, praying as well that the manticore did not catch them.

               Hermione saw the manticore’s form deep in the trees, sprinting quickly and moving in closer.

               “Wolf,” she whispered to Alpha, patting her shoulder on the side she could see the manticore.

               Alpha glanced to her right before paying attention to ahead of her. Her ears flattened, however, and she narrowed her eyes at a bend coming up. Glancing back and forth between the curve and the nearing manticore, she timed her turn perfectly, and avoided the manticore’s leap as it landed in front of her. She darted around the manticore’s paw as it swatted at her.

               “Merlin, that was close,” Hermione yelled, looking back. “He’s still coming after us.”

               Alpha glanced back, her ears flattening once more as she studied what was ahead of her. Her eyes saw something white and she tilted her head. Something else was moving through the trees, matching her stride. She howled to it. The creature moved even faster, gaining further and further distance ahead of the wolf until it could no longer be seen.

               “What is it?” Hermione asked, looking through the trees. She had missed whatever the wolf had seen.

               Alpha barked once at her. She glanced back at the manticore and snarled at it.

               The manticore hissed back and swatted at her tail, hoping to unsteady the wolf.

               Alpha shook out her fur, feeling Hermione clutch her tighter. She focused on what was ahead, panting heavily.

               “Wolf, he’s gaining on us,” Hermione said, hoping it might incite the wolf to turn or do something. Alpha did not respond or react to her, instead, her ears flattened even more against her head.

               Alpha suddenly allowed herself to slide along the forest floor, slowing her down.

               The manticore leaped.

               In that same second, the white unicorn leaped out of the trees from the side, piercing the manticore’s chest with its long, sharp horn.

The manticore and the unicorn tumbled to the ground, the manticore crying out before falling silent on the forest floor.

               Hermione panted as she stared wide-eyed at the unicorn as it walked toward them, its horn and mane bloody. The unicorn snorted and shook itself, and the blood flew off magically.

               Alpha bowed her head. Hermione blinked and did the same.

               The unicorn dipped his head in return before galloping away at full speed, vanishing quickly.

               Alpha took off again without much warning, forcing Hermione to grip tightly. A while later, they found the forest lotus still standing. Hermione jumped off the wolf and started digging up the flower. Taking the hint, Alpha dug at the base as well.

               Just as Severus swung his wand at the Manticore’s tail, finally managing to cut the stinger off, the manticore swung his head and bit down on Severus’s wand, crushing it to pieces in one bite. Severus stumbled back before tripping over his own feet while the manticore collapsed to the ground. Severus panted as he rolled to a sternal position, staring at the pieces of his wand on the ground.

               The manticore panted as well, his tail bleeding. He gathered his massive paws under himself and pushed up weakly.

               “No wand,” he growled at Severus. “No herd. No fight left. No sphinx to cure whatever you’re after. What do you have left, centaur?”

               Severus glanced at the wolves gathering around him. Though scratched up and bruised, they snarled at the manticore. He looked over at the wolves helping Moony chase off the other manticore deep into the trees. The third was nowhere to be seen. He didn’t know how long they had been at it, but these manticores did not tire easily. He shakily stood up, the wolves watching him closely to make the first move. He had three long scratches down his hide where the manticore had managed to catch him earlier, and he was feeling weary and beat, physically and magically. But he had to finish this.

               Summoning his bow and arrows, he readied an arrow and pivoted it at the manticore’s head.

               “I have all I am, manticore,” Severus said, “and that’s all I need.”

               Alpha ran up to Severus and her pack, Hermione on her back holding the white flower. Alpha snarled at the manticore, her wolves taking a step closer with her encouragement.  

               The manticore took a step back, his tail still bleeding, and his muscles aching.

               “I’m giving you the chance to run away like your friend did,” Severus said. “Leave. And don’t ever come after me or mine.”

               The manticore snarled as he turned away slightly. He hummed softly.

               “All you are,” he said, glancing back at Severus, “is all you’ll ever be.”

               With a roar, he lunged for Hermione and the flower, jaws wide open. Alpha jumped on two legs, throwing Hermione off. However, Alpha fell victim to the manticore’s teeth, and he crushed hard.

               Moony made a strange guttural snarl as he ran from the trees and to the manticore, leading the other wolves as they pounced on the manticore, biting, thrashing, and clawing. The wolves behind Severus charged and jumped on the manticore, many going for the throat. Severus let an arrow fly, piercing the manticore in the side of the head, not deep enough to kill.

               The manticore dropped Alpha as he was overwhelmed by the pack, and he snarled at Severus when the arrow pierced.

               Severus struck him with another, right in the eye this time.

               The manticore shook off what wolves he could and fled with some wolves still clinging on, the rest chasing him. They disappeared into the trees.

               “Oh no,” Hermione cried, crawling over to Alpha, who took in slow, crackling, and shaky breaths. Hermione ran her free hand through the wolf’s fur, tears trailing down her cheeks. Harry and Ron ran over to them, both resting a hand on Hermione’s shoulder.

Severus laid down next to Alpha, running his hand over her, feeling the broken ribs, but finding no blood on his hands. All of her damage appeared to be internal. He summoned a bone repair potion and a pain reliever. He stroked the wolf’s head as he put the vials to her mouth.

“Here,” he said. “It’s all I have, I’m afraid.”

Moony and the wolves returned, all with lowered heads and whimpers.

Severus managed to pour what he could of the potions into her mouth without accidentally drowning her. She weakly swallowed, then allowed her head to fall back to the ground. Everyone waited, some of the wolves’ ears perking slightly.

Still, Alpha did not move. Her breathing did not change though Severus could feel her bones had been repaired after a few moments. If her lung was punctured, Severus did not know the magical cure for that. He sighed, and the wolves whimpered and lowered their heads more.

“Ajax,” Harry said.

Severus looked at Harry, who pointed at the dying sphinx.

Hermione held out the flower, and Severus accepted it, moving away from Alpha to give the wolves a chance to nuzzle her, Moony quick to do so first.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron followed him to the sphinx, who groaned at them.

“It’ll be all right,” Severus said, lying down next to her and offering the flower. “This will cure you. It is probably why you’ve come all this way.”

The sphinx pulled her head away, spotting Alpha and her pack. She chuffed gently at them.

Severus looked back at the wolves, then down at the sphinx.

“There’s nothing that can be done. Please, you don’t want to die, do you?”

The sphinx chuffed again, lifting her head as much as she could. Then in whispery words, said:

“I am old. I’ve lived a great life.” She dropped her head again, her eyes finding Alpha. “She is young. Fought bravely. Give it to her.”

The sphinx closed her eyes as she took slow, deep breaths.

Severus swallowed dryly, closed his eyes tightly, and nodded. He knew there was nothing he could do to make the sphinx eat the flower. She would refuse. He gave the sphinx a gentle stroke up the bridge of her nose.

Leaning down and resting his head against hers, he whispered, “May you find peace.”

Severus moved back to Alpha, the kids staying with the sphinx. They watched curiously as he carefully shoved the flower in her mouth. Alpha chewed as he pushed more of the stem and then the roots into her mouth. She swallowed the plant with disgust and put her head back down, closing her eyes once more.

Tension thickened the air. The wolves perked their ears and stepped closer. Moony stared at Severus in disbelief before turning his attention back to Alpha.

Suddenly, Alpha opened her eyes and lifted her head. She barked.

The wolves howled and leaped around, licking, and nosing their alpha. Alpha took a minute to push up sternal, then another few seconds before she was standing and allowing everyone to nuzzle her. Even Moony joined the jumping and nuzzling, howling every so often.

               Severus smiled at the joyful moment. He glanced back at the sphinx.

               She was motionless. Hermione was sobbing into her hands, kneeling next to the sphinx. Ron patted her shoulder while wiping at his own eyes. Harry, teary-eyed, met Severus’s, and the boy shook his head sadly.

               She was gone.

               And Severus was still a centaur.