𝑭𝑳𝑶𝑾𝑬𝑹𝑺 𝑰𝑵 𝑯𝑬𝑹 𝑯𝑨𝑰𝑹 - Severus Snape

THIRTY

30|A GLOOMY DAY

Her eyes stared out at the gloomy weather, watching as the rain danced down the window, the wind flowing through the colourful leaves. August had arrived suddenly causing Severus to quickly leave his fiancée to teach Potions at Hogwarts. It was a miserable farewell, Willow unable to stop crying as he reluctantly left through the fireplace.

Willow sighed with exhaustion, stretching her legs as she wandered into the kitchen, pouring the hot water into a mug before filling in her tea leaves.

Her attention was quickly drawn to the fireplace, curious who was visiting her so early in the morning. She drew her wand, suddenly wishing Severus had stayed home for one more day. Her eyes widened as she spotted Lily stumble into her living room, dusting the ash from her shoulders as she looked around.

"Lily, what's wrong?" Willow jumped up with worry, quickly embracing the shaking girl. "Are you okay? Is James okay?"

"Wills, it's your parents." Lily pulled away, staring at Willow with a sympathetic stare as she glanced towards the fireplace. "You need to come home. Now."

"What's happened?" The ginger girl slipped her hand into Willows, dragging her towards the fireplace, not giving her time to grab her shoes.

The stench of death was strong as Willow stepped out of the fireplace, her eyes glancing around the room with confusion. Her stare landed on Sirius, watching as he held his head in his hands while Remus rubbed his back.

"Lily, what happened?" Willow demanded, turning to the silently crying girl. "Where are my parents? Where's James?"

"Follow me?" Peter stepped forwards, offering her his hand. She slowly placed her hand in his, letting him carefully drag her through the silent house.

His cries echoed down the dark corridor, her heart breaking as she ran forwards, bursting into her parents room. Her body stilled, tears gathering in her eyes as she stepped backwards in disbelief. Willow felt her back hit a soft wall, arms wrapping around her body as her weak legs collapsed beneath her.

Peter slowly let her drop to the floor, arms still wrapped around her as she screamed out in pain. He held her close, fingers stroking through her hair soothingly as he whispered apologies to her over and over.

Willow clung to Peter as helped her leave the room, Remus still sat holding Sirius while Lily stayed with James. Her expression was broken, eyes glossy as she sat beside Sirius, her hand searching for his. Her silence worried the others, all waiting for Dumbledore's appearance.

Two figures emerged from the fireplace, all wands raised in alarm before they lowered them. Willow raised to her feet, falling into his open arms as he ignored Dumbledore's orders.

"My parents, Sev." She cried, burying her face into his chest as he stroked her hair, peeling the strands from her wet cheeks. "They killed my parents."

"I'm here." He said lowly, holding her close to his chest as he glanced around at the other figures in the room.

His eyes snapped to Lily as she walked into the room, her arms wrapped around James as she helped him sit beside Sirius. He almost forgot about the woman in his arms, wanting to embrace his first love.

Grey clouds filled the sky, small drops of water bouncing off the stained glass windows mirroring the atmosphere inside the church. Willow almost laughed at the mundane tradition, something so strange to pureblood wizards.

Her hand reached for his, slipping into his warm grasp as their sad eyes stared blankly at the two caskets.

Willow was not a religious person, mocking her brother for planning their parents funeral to be in a church. She wanted to mourn, she wanted to believe they didn't suffer, that they were in a better place, but this was a war.

The reverend father began his speech, blessing the two corpses like he personally knew them. But he didn't. Half the people in the church didn't know them. They only knew of the Potter family.

She slipped her hand out of his, rising to her feet before walking out the church, ignoring her brothers worried stare. She sat on the stone steps, a cigarette between her lips as she watched the muggles walk by, going about their days with no clue about the war raging in the wizarding world.

A hand gently tapped her shoulder, their figure sitting down beside her while stealing the packet of cigarettes from her lap. She lit the end for him, leaning her head on his shoulder as the rain soaked through their black attire.

"I have rum." Remus wrapped his arm around her, stroking his fingers through her hair as he passed her his flask.

"Thank you." She placed a sad smile on her lips, chuckling at how well he knew her. She raised the small metal flask to her lips, grimacing as the liquid burned her throat.

"Drinking without me?" Sirius gasped as he spotted the pair, planting himself down beside Willow as he stole the flask from her.

"I want him dead." Willow stated harshly, breathing out the grey smoke. "I want Voldemort and all the Death Eaters dead."

"We all do."