Dark Magic

A Night of Death

As Severus Snape stood outside the silent house in Godrick's Hollow, his thoughts succumbed to the inevitability of what awaited him inside. The gate swung open without as much as an incantation, the front door ajar from whomever had broken inside. Windows were shattered, and it looked similar to a haunted house attraction, than a home that a family could live inside. Curtains blew through the windows, beckoning him to come inside. But the house was colder inside than it was outside. Shards of wood scattered across the floor where the front door had almost been blown from its hinges. The Professor caught a small cry sounding from the upstairs bedroom, from which the only visible light emitted. He could feel the world beginning to warp around him as his mind distorted into dread and fear. His perfectly polished shoes silent against the blood-stained carpet. He began to walk the stairs, each moment his dread growing at what he might find. On the landing, as though it were some sort of contorted creature, laid his childhood enemy; James Potter. Motionless. Dead.

He picked up his pace, following the cries as a storm began to brew outside. At the end of the hallway, the nursery door waited for him, open just a crack, as the bursts of lightening illuminated the hallway and guided his path further. "Lily?" His voice broke, as though he had not spoken a single word in over a decade. He had hoped, with every ounce of strength within him, that he would hear a moan - a woman's cry. Anything. Any sign of life other than a screaming baby's.

Nothing.

A gust of wind blew the door open, but was stopped by a foot. And as Severus rounded the corner, he caught glimpse of the woman he held dearer than any other being in the world on the ground; her head twisted the wrong way as though it had been broken as she fell. And his heart gave way with his legs as he collapsed to the ground; a strangled cry emitting from his chest as he crawled over to her body and took her in his arms. The babe cried with him, watching as the stranger held his mother in his arms, unable to understand what was happening.

A scamper of footsteps sounded from up the stairs, stopping at the first body and continuing towards the nursery, their wand outstretched in the case of an intruder. As they followed the Professor's cries, they too fell to the floor beside him. "Severus..."It was Remus Lupin, who had heard the news of Voldemort finding the Potter family.

"He killed her." Snape cried uncontrollably. "He killed them both!" His words were hard to decipher through his tears. But Remus stayed strong, shaking his head adamantly. "No, Lily was pregnant. We can still save their child." He took Lily from Snape's arms and laid her corpse on the ground. Her stomach was not nearly large enough, as she could not have been further along than five months. But her baby could still be saved.

Severus pushed his grief as far as he could, to the back of his mind. His potions knowledge would prove useful. Remus used his wand as a blade, cutting open Lily's stomach and taking the baby from inside. As Severus removed his cloak and wrapped the small baby inside. It was breathing, to their surprise. And as Snape held the little child in his arms, he thought only of its auburn hair, to match Lily's. "A girl." Lupin spoke simply, causing the immense hole in Snape's heart to become only a fraction filled again. She was so tiny, he questioned her survival. As Remus' bloodied hands reached into the crib, he took the crying toddler into his arms, beginning to shush his cries. But the little girl remained quiet, not a cry escaping her lips and she laid in Severus' arms, sleeping quietly.

Within a few minutes, the rest of the Order of the Phoenix arrived, along with Professor Dumbledore. "We need to take them back to Grimmauld Place. It is not safe for any of us here." Dumbledore spoke as calmly as ever, even in this moment of complete and utter disarray.

"What about Lily and James?" Remus questioned as Molly Weasley took the young, Harry Potter from his arms, trying to rock him to sleep. "Tom Riddle has been vanquished. But he will return in years to come. Harry has relations with whom he can stay. We will need to take little, Miss Potter to the hospital at Hogwarts for now. Their safety is imperative at this moment in time. Severus..." The wise man trailed away, as a path was made for them to leave the house. He could not take his eyes from the body on the floor, shock consuming him entirely.

Dumbledore place his hand softly on the Professor's arm, "We will look after her." He promised. Severus nodded slightly, a final tear streaming down his cheek as he disappeared in a cloud of black smoke, taking the small and premature baby with him...