The Chosen One [#Wattys2016]

EPILOGUE

With the Death Eaters thwarted for the time being, dark activity across the nation has ceased. Ministry officials refused to comment on what led to the indictment of twenty suspected Death Eaters, some of them renowned members of the Wizarding Community. No details have been forthcoming, but insiders claim that Neville Longbottom and another Hogwarts student were caught up in the attack. There have been rumours that several bodies were removed in the aftermath of the attack. However, this fact has yet to be confirmed.

Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was unavailable for comment. Meanwhile, more rumours are ripe in the wizarding community concerning the Boy-Who-Lived. Whether it is correct that it was a failed attempt at bringing back He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named remains to be seen. There have been claims regarding –

"What a load of horse poop!" shouted Cyneburga as she threw the paper across the room. She was in a foul mood, although she hadn't taken the Polyjuice potion for a week, not since her and Sirius had had their worst argument, but the bitter taste lingered at the back of her tongue.

It hadn't been hard pretending to be Celine Black, but it was infinitely more difficult to keep her alive. She made too much noise and it was a pain to prevent Sirius from entering the basement. And now, after all she had done, Rudolphus had escaped and left her at the mercy of a couple of idiots. She couldn't stay here anymore. It was becoming harder.

She knew what she had to do.

When Lily went out into the garden, she found Sirius' house aflame. Running towards it, she threw various incantations, but to no avail. Burnt and blackened, the house became a ghost. When Sirius apparated at the Potter house that evening, Lily brewed him a cup of strong tea while James went to check the house, only to find Celine's body charred to a crisp.

They mourned, but what she failed to understand was why the corpse had been in the basement. If anything, Celine hated enclosed spaces. She never went into the basement. She had known her since James' Auror training days, and she had volunteered for the most dangerous tasks, but never once for those involving going underground.

And if James was right, the fire had been magical, but Celine's wand was nowhere to be found.

A woman's intuition is the most powerful problem solving device. Celine's death, while a terrible blow for Sirius, had engineered new questions in Lily's sharp mind. While Sirius was drowning in guilt about failing to keep her happy (he wouldn't adopt Neville), Lily's mind was working out the pieces that wouldn't fit the puzzle.

They drank to her memory, the kids being at the Burrow for the night, recollecting old stories like war legends. But Lily couldn't help but feel as though something was amiss.

But what was it?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Did you expect this? I hope not!

What a journey! Adios Amigos, for now!