The Last Enemy

For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity

The weight of the sword that was hanging from on the inside of his cloak caused him to walk slightly lopsided, and the weight of the task he was given caused him to arch his back. After several weeks of searching for Lily's son without any luck, Severus Snape no longer recognised himself in the mirror. His long hair was greasier than ever, a black beard adorned his usually clean shaven face, and the Muggle clothes he worn as a poor attempt to remain undercover had long been tossed and replaced by his familiar frock coat.

With a guttural growl, Severus swung a flowery backpack that had once belonged to his mother over his shoulders. Every single day, he approached people while simultaneously prodding inside theirs minds in the hope of catching a glimpse of either a Potter, a Weasley, or a Granger's face. With each passing face, knowing that the Carrows were having free reign to indoctrinate the students, his desire to just stick Godric's sword into a stone and leave it there for all eternity grew at an exponential rate.

But he couldn't disobey an order from Dumbledore, even if the old man had turned into nothing more than a blueprint on a canvas. Tossing some Muggle money on the counter of the rickety hotel he had been staying in Merlin-knows-where, he fought his way outside into the cold night.

Wandering aimlessly in order to trigger some sort of direction to Apparate to, he had suddenly found himself inside a pub with a beer in his hands. 'Broke up with your girlfriend, ey?' said an annoying voice from behind him. 'I can always tell on a bloke's face when that 'appened. Those birds suck the life right outta ye!'

The slap on his shoulder was enough for his fingers to reach out for his wand, and he shot the man who had approached him a glare so angry it could've scared a dementor away. 'Didn't mean to scare ye, mate!' said the man with a tone that was far too happy for a sober man. 'But really, what's causing you to hunch like a sad sod?'

'I'm armed, with a w – sword,' mumbled Severus. 'Do yourself a favour and take several steps back if your limbs are dear to you.'

The drunk man took a step back but seemed rather unconcerned about Severus's threat. 'A sword, ey? Gotta see it before I ken believe it.'

With a swift motion Severus showed the shimmering handle of the sword dangling inside his coat to the stunned man. 'Woah,' the man said in astonishment. 'Probably worth a lot of dough, innit? Where d'you get that?'

'It belonged to a man named Godric Gryffindor,' said Severus. 'Ever heard of him?'

No longer fearing Severus's empty threat, the man took a step forward and leaned in closer. 'You're an odd bloke, but claiming ye own the sword of Gryffindor makes ye even weirder than ye look.'

Severus's deadly glare quickly turned into a suspicious frown. 'You are familiar with Gryffindor?' he asked carefully. 'Are you a wizard?'

The man suddenly burst out in a fit of laughter. 'A wizard,' he spat between gasps of air. 'A wizard. Nah mate, I'm just talking about that wee town South from 'ere. I think that Gryffindor bloke founded it or something. Not that many people called Gryffindor, ey?'

'Godric's Hollow you mean?' asked Severus, his voice growing dark. 'Are we close to Godric's Hollow?'

'Yer odd,' repeated the drunk man. 'Nice sword though. I'll keep my mouth shut if ye promise not to hack my limbs.'

Without bothering to finish his beer or pay for it, Severus sprinted outside and faced the night's cold air again and cursed to himself that he hadn't thought about it before, even though the clue had been dangling on the inside of his cloak all along. If Lily's son had any spark of brightness inherited from her, he must've gone to Godric's Hollow in order to find a trail to whatever it was that he was looking for. To find and understand anything about the Dark Lord, he must've gone straight to the source of their story.

Perhaps it had been a mental block, refusing to acknowledge the very existence of Lily's final resting place, and now it had turned into the first lead he's had since the start of his journey. He looked around to see if he could find any onlookers, and closed his eyes when he was certain he was alone and safe. With a soft pop he Disapparated while focussing on the small town a few miles South from his location. A place he had hoped to never see again.

...o0o...

Unlike the town he had just left, the ground of Godric's Hollow was covered in a gentle layer of snow. The silence cut like a knife through the cold air, and it was quickly evident that the town was split between both Muggle and magic folks.

'Perhaps it's better if you went home, deary,' said a lady's voice from behind. 'Poor old miss Bagshot's been murdered little further down the road. Who knows the killer might still be on a loose.'

'How come you're still out so late at night?' asked Severus with a look of suspicion on his face.

'Just closed my pub,' said the lady with a wave to the pub behind her and winked at him. 'I may not be magical but I've lived long enough in this town to know. You're not from around here, are you?'

'No,' said Severus while shaking his head. 'I'm here for Lily Ev – Potter. I'm looking for Lily Potter.'

The kind looking lady suddenly shot Severus an angry glare. 'She's been long dead, you know? What exactly brings you here in the middle of the night?'

'I meant her grave,' said Severus as he looked around aimlessly. 'She's buried here somewhere. She's an old friend.'

'Old friend,' said the old lady with a nod. 'Old friend...from that Hogwarts place?'

'From before that time,' said Severus. 'She was the first witch I ever met when we were still children living in Cokeworth.'

The old lady took a step forward and touched him on the shoulder much more subtly than the drunken man had only moments ago. 'I think I know who you are,' she said with a gentle pad. 'She's told me all about her first friend. I remember her telling me he had a funny name. I can take you to her, if you'd like.'

'Yes, please,' said Severus, a jolt of sorrow flashing through his body as he learned that Lily had never forgotten about him in her final days. In silence they walked their way up to the only church that was towering over the entire town. 'Right behind the church is St Jerome's graveyard,' said the lady. 'It's a normal graveyard to me, but I'm sure it'll transform for you once you enter it. Best of luck, deary.'

'Thank you,' mumbled Severus. The words feeling foreign on his tongue, and yet he felt grateful for her help and somewhat morally obliged to make sure the old lady would make it home safe in the same way she had wished that for him, but the prospect of finding Lily buried here made him unable to expose any emotions.

With a nod of understanding, the old lady left him standing at the gate and disappeared from sight. Harbouring all of the Gryffindor courage that Lily had once instilled in him, he entered the graveyard and watched it transform into the burial ground all the witches and wizards of this town had been buried in.

Severus looked around and wondered where he could possibly start, as all the graves were covered in a layer of snow, but it didn't take long for him to figure it out. One particular grave was sticking out like a sore thumb between all the white, as the snow had already been wiped off from the headstone. With lead filling his shoes he dragged himself to the grave, and found exactly what he had expected to find.

Lily and James Potter, buried together, along with their dates of birth and the day they died. He knew for certain that their son had been here, and it can't have been long ago judging by the flowers that were still blooming. Severus had expected to burst out in tears at the mere sight of the grave, but instead, he found serenity wash over him. He sat down on the ground right in front of the grave and read the line that was carved into the headstone: "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death".

The quote seemed rather dramatic for someone like Lily, and though the hatred for the man still lingered deep, even for James Potter. There was something about sitting in the snow in the dark, surrounded by nothing but the sound of the wind. Knowing that the one person who had been the source of light on his darkened path was near him for the first time since the breaking of their bond made him feel content beyond belief.

He reached out and touched the cold stone that separated his life from the dead. The quote on the destruction of death echoed inside his mind, as he tried hard to figure out its meaning. It took a while before he noticed the tears that were rolling down to the tip of his nose.

'I wonder what you would've done, if you knew your son had gotten lost,' he mumbled under his breath. 'I depended on you the way the entire wizarding world is now depending on him. I can't even imagine the burden.'

Severus pulled Gryffindor's sword out from underneath his cloak and held it in front of him. 'Wielding a sword would suit you much better than me, I must admit,' he said, feeling the corners of his mouth involuntarily curl into a grin. 'But alas, I am but a mere Slytherin. If only you could tell me what the purpose is in all of this.'

From behind the headstone a small light lit up the entrance to the graveyard. For a brief moment Severus thought his voice had been answered from beyond the grave, but quickly came to the realisation that the light was coming closer and someone must have entered the graveyard in search of something. As soon as the light came closer, it suddenly sped off in another direction followed by someone running behind him.

Staying as close to the ground as possible, he watched the shadow of a man pass him by, who was panting loudly as he ran after the light. 'Bloody hell!' yelled the voice. 'There's no way I can find Harry and Hermione if you keep floating off like that!'

The voice unmistakably belonged to the youngest Weasley boy. Whatever the light was, it was searching for the exact same people. As soon as there was enough safe distance between him and Weasley, Severus shoved the sword back in his cloak and stood up from the ground. 'I think I understand now,' he said out loud in Lily's direction, 'that I must embrace death in order to face what is about to come. Until we meet again.'