Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed my first installment and added this to their favourites and put it on alert. I made a mistake in the previous part, which has been pointed out. I forgot that when Severus overheard Trelawny make the prophecy it was at her interview for her post, so she hadn't taught him when he was a pupil.
In this part, we skip on to the death of the Potters. This is my own take on it, so Minerva is all too aware of their deaths before they take Harry to the Dursley's. This is a longish one too. I hope the portrayal of Snape doesn't ring too OOC for anyone, but he has just lost Lily.
Minerva's panic increased as she ran down the corridor to Dumbledore's office, having passed a clearly distraught Hagrid sometime back, who took off in the direction of the school gates. Her shoes clattered on the floor as she reached the stone gargoyle, only to find it swing open violently to reveal an unusually emotional Severus Snape who hurtled past her and out of sight. Sparing a moment's glance over her shoulder for her colleague, to find him gone already, she hurried up the stairs and burst into Dumbledore's office without knocking.
"Is it true Albus?" She demanded, clutching the door frame, her voice wavering as her old friend looked up with a deeply sad expression.
"I'm afraid so Minerva. Lily and James Potter are dead." She felt her legs give out beneath her, and Albus took her arm and guided her into the chair opposite his desk.
"I...I didn't, don't want to believe it." She sniffed, dabbing her streaming eyes with a handkerchief. She felt numb, she had loved Lily almost like a daughter and had had a soft spot for James too. To hear of their death felt like someone had ripped her heart out.
"Their son, Harry survived though." Albus told her gently, not releasing his comforting grip on her arm. "I sent Hagrid to retrieve him and take him to his aunt and uncle's." Minerva's eyes widened in shock.
"But how?" Was all she managed. How could a little baby survive the killing curse?
Dumbledore shook his head. They spent a long moment in silence, during which Minerva stared into nothing blankly, while Dumbledore watched her in concern. Eventually, he spoke again.
"I am sorry to have to ask this of you, but I believe Severus may have gone to Godric's Hollow, he blames himself for their deaths and he will do himself no good by being there. I would ask you to go after him, talk to him and bring him back."
Minerva stared at him dumbfounded, she had no desire to go there and see the devestation. "But Albus I..." She began, "Why don't you go?" She asked sharply.
"My dear Minerva, I would, but I have urgent matters to attend to in the wake of this tragedy. There are several people I must liaise with and I really should be taking my leave as I speak with you now."
Minerva stood up, glaring piercingly at the headmaster, who looked at her imploringly.
"Please Minerva, Severus needs you." She stared at him for a moment longer, lips pursed, then turned on her heel and hurried out of his office, choking back a sob.
Severus had fled the cottage when he heard Hagrid arriving to take the baby away, he did not want to be found there. He had watched from the shadows as if in a trance, the shock of having found Lily's body lying there, motionless had been too much. He ignored the fact that he was standing in a large tangle of thorns, not feeling them piecing his legs as he watched Hagrid rushing out with the baby in his arms, huge tears streaming down his bearded face. After he had thundered away, Severus slowly made his way back into the wrecked cottage. He was not ready to leave her yet.
Ignoring, as he had the first time, the lifeless body of James near the doorway, he swept straight up the stairs back to Lily. He had thought he had sobbed himself dry, but as lowered himself down to the floor beside her once more, he felt fresh tears fall. She was gone. Severus sat on the floor, leaning against the now empty crib, and cradled her cold body in his lap. He was glad he was alone now, he could pour his heart out without the cries of a young baby behind him. He let out another howl of pain, then simply sat and stroked her beautiful hair and repeated over and over again how sorry he was.
Minerva felt all sensation run from her body as she surveyed the sight before her. The cottage was almost in ruins, windows blown through, the door hung off its hinges, splintered wood lay everywhere. She noticed with a sickening feeling that the dark mark still hung ominously above in the blackened sky. The wind blew through the hollow, whistling eerily, and she suppressed a shudder as she picked her way up the path towards the obliterated door.
Nothing could have prepared her for the shock of finding James lying stiff on the floor, his dead eyes gazing up to the sky. She felt a fist clench round her heart and a sob came out of her slightly parted lips. "Oh James." She whispered, crouching down beside him, hot tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry." Leaning over to close his eyes, she clutched her stomach, she shouldn't have come here, she didn't want her last memory of the pair of them to be their cold, lifeless, staring corpses. She wanted to turn round and leave now, she couldn't bear to continue and find Lily, but then, she heard a noise from upstairs. It sounded like someone sobbing. Severus was indeed here too.
Cautiously, she crept up the stairs, a feeling of dread pricking at her chest. When she reached the door of the nursery, the sight she found before her incited a feeling akin to being stabbed through the heart. Severus Snape sat on the floor, cradling Lily's limp body in his arms. He was whispering into her hair and sobbing uncontrollably. The last words she heard him utter served to twist the invisible knife in her chest.
"I'm so sorry, I'll always love you..." he muttered, before dissolving into tears once more. Minerva felt more tears spring up in her own eyes and was unable to stop herself from announcing her presence.
"Oh Severus." She whispered gently. He started, not having noticed she was here, and brought his pale, haunted face up to look at her.
"Minerva." He croaked, slightly shocked at her use of his first name, the only time she had called him anything else but Professor Snape was when she had been screaming at him for cursing furiously at a second year student.
"She's gone..." He wailed, unable to control himself for even a second, the pain he felt was so overwhelming.
Minerva came over to crouch beside the trembling man and placed a hand gently on his heaving shoulder. "I'm so sorry," She whispered. "I never knew."
True, she had known they had been very close friends at school, but she hadn't known he had loved her this deeply. That explained the huge wedge that was driven between them when she fell in love with James.
The cries of anguish emanating from the distraught man beside her and the sight of Lily's corpse in his arms were so unbearable that it was all Minerva could do to not dissolve into a sobbing wreck on the floor beside them too. Taking a great shuddering breath, she gripped Severus's shoulder tighter, trying desperately to avoid looking at Lily again.
"He said he'd protect her...them." He whispered. "It's all my fault." The pure tone of despair in his voice scared her more than anything. She never thought she would see him like this, he was completely broken.
"It's not your fault." She said at last. "No one thought he'd find them."
Severus buried his head in Lily's hair, and Minerva felt a wave of nausea rise in her stomach. She hid her face in her hands and they sat like that for what seemed like for ever, but was probably only a few minutes. When Minerva brought her gaze back to Severus, he was gazing into Lily's blank, green eyes.
She sniffed, drying her face with her sleeve.
"Severus."
He brought his dark, red rimmed eyes to meet her live, green ones. The pain she saw reflected there paled in comparison to what she felt. He had lost the love of his life. She extended a hand to stroke the side of his face.
"I thought I could help protect them. There's no point in carrying on now." He croaked.
"Don't you dare say that Severus Snape!" Minerva hissed. "There is every reason to carry on. Lily wouldn't want to hear you say that." She added in a softer voice. They both dropped their gaze to the brave young woman, who's body was curled against Severus in such a way that if her eyes had been closed she'd have simply looked like she was sleeping. Minerva leant over and gently closed Lily's eyelids as she had done for James.
"Come Severus." She whispered, standing up, clutching the cot for support, she held her hand out for him. He took one last look at his beloved Lily, placed a kiss on her forehead and laid her down gently on the floor. He took another shuddering breath, trying to regain control of his breathing and took Minerva's outstretched hand. She helped haul him up, but his legs gave way and he threw his arms out wildly to grab hold of the cot and Minerva's arm. Minerva surprised herself by wrapping her arms around him and they stood in an awkward embrace, leaning against the cot for a long time. Severus took comfort in the heat of her body against his. They were sharing in each other's grief and Minerva didn't feel it was inappropriate until the sensation of his breath against her ear elicited an involuntary shiver down the back of her neck. She sniffed loudly and broke the contact. Severus now simply had an empty expression on his face and she lead him to the door.
They made their way out of the house slowly, as bits of wood and rubble toppled around them. Once they were outside, Severus noticed for the first time that the Dark Mark still hung in the air. With a low guttural roar that made Minerva jump, he took out his wand and aimed at the offending image. A burst of red light shot out from the end, destroying the image, but Severus still wasn't satisfied. Whipping around in anger, he shot at the nearest tree, making it burst into flames. Nearby, a pile of debris exploaded, showering them with splinters.
"Severus!" Minerva cried. He jumped, he seemed to have forgotten she was there, so overcome had he been with rage. She stepped in front of him, grasping his wand arm which he had been holding aloft.
"That's enough." She told him firmly, her watery eyes wide with shock. This sight seemed to shame him and he brought his arm down. She drew her wand out to hose down the flaming tree, and brushed some debris out from her dark hair.
"Let's go home." Minerva said softly and, maintaining a firm hold on the broken man, apparated out of Godric's Hollow.