Long Away

III- Fortune Plango Vulnera

" I bemoan the wounds of Fortune

with weeping eyes

for the gifts she made me

she perversly takes away."

Titania Snape expected a lot of things coming from Sirius Black in the past but it never crossed her mind how awful he actually could be. She felt extremely foolish for trusting him with all her heart and part of her still couldn't believe he was actually capable of betraying James Potter, who he always said was like a brother to him.

She felt as if inside a twisted nightmare, with the difference that everything was true, written in the Daily Prophet she received by owl that morning. Her best friend Lily and her husband were murdered, leaving an orphan child behind and her fiancee was imprisoned in Azkaban. Titania felt as if her heart was ripped apart from her body and squashed in front of her. These past few months Sirius made her feel the happiest person walking on Earth only to take all her joy away in one strike.

Titania dropped on her knees in the middle of her kitchen, her breath faltering, feeling physical pain as if being backstabbed by an invisible knife. After a while she curled herself in fetal position, crying her heart out there on the kitchen floor, the world suddenly void of meaning. Of course guilt also washed over her like a furious torrent. How could she be so stupid to believe in Sirius Black?

She just wanted to disappear and end all this suffering.

Then she remembered Harry Potter, Lily's son and the only one who survived at Voldemort's attack. He was still a baby and lost everything too. With his parents dead and his godfather in jail, the only family the boy had left was Lily's sister, Petunia, and Titania knew how much the woman was resentful about people who could use magic. Her intuition screamed the woman wouldn't treat well the boy and she had to do something about it. She had to pull herself together because there was still someone important who remained and was worth fighting for.

In an impulsive act she wrote a letter and owled Albus Dumbledore, trying to arrange an urgent meeting with him.

By the time she received an answer from him, her heart softened a little and she was in denial about Sirius' betrayal. The fact he was found laughing after exploding the street, killing muggles and his friend Peter Pettigrew made absolutely no sense to her.

Dumbledore agreed to meet her at the Hog's Head after sunset the next day and she was sure he only accepted it because he was intrigued by her request.

Titania was more unsure than ever about Sirius, her heart divided about believing or not in everything she read in The Prophet. However she decided to speak about Harry first and how much she wanted to take care of him, showing him the letter written by Lily expressing her will of Titania being Harry's Godmother as soon as the war ended.

The Headmaster kept still as a statue as Titania spoke, staring her in silence. When she finally finished Albus Dumbledore declared that 'unfortunately' a letter expressing the mother's will wasn't strong enough as a bond between blood, so it was safer for the boy to be with his own family. His expression was cold and Titania knew it was a lost battle, but she had to try anyway, so she expressed her concerns about Petunia, who always resented the fact Lily was able to use magic while she couldn't and the possibility of Harry being raised in a place full of prejudice against people like him.

Dumbledore didn't look surprised by what Titania said and she was sure he was already full aware about the whole situation.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Snape, there's nothing I can do for you. I understand you two were very close, however you have no bond with the boy, by blood or by law."