The sound of her feet pounding the pavement was the only thing Lily heard as she crossed the bridge that connected the two sides of the riverbank. From somewhere behind her she knew her family was following, but whether it was to stop her or to see what had occurred she had no idea.
The closer she got to Severus's house, the slower she moved until she was just another face in the slowly gathering around the emergency vehicles. She had made her way to the front of the crowd as the man she recognized to be Severus's father was being carried out of the house by two burly police irate man kicked, screamed, and cussed as they shoved him into the back of one of their cars.
"It's all clear in there now." The police officer closest to Lily stated as he stared at the paramedic. "The Victim is in the sitting room off the hall." Lily's heart pounded as those words hit her ears. The officer said there was one victim yet there were two ambulances.
Does that mean someone is dead? Lily thought as she watched one set of paramedics carry a gurney into the dark house.
Her heart began to pound as she pondered which one of the occupants had been killed. Maybe it was Severus. Would she feel bad if it was? Maybe it was his mother. That would make him happy. Maybe it was his sister? That would kill him. Her heart plummeted at the thought of the second set of paramedics taking away the lifeless body of Avielle Snape. Avielle- or Ella as Severus tended to call her- was the one and only reason he came back to Spinners End every summer. She was just a year younger than he was but he defended, protected, and loved her fiercely from what she had seen. And he would be devastated if she had died at the hands of the man who was currently pounding his head against one of the car windows.
"Jonas" one of the first paramedics called from the door, his shirt and gloves were covered with nearly black blood. "Can you examine this young lady please?"
Slowly emerging from the shadows behind the nameless paramedic was Avielle. Her green shirt and black faded jeans were torn in places and some blood oozed from the cuts in her legs and arms. Bruises were forming on her neck and a rather large contusion married the right side of her face, but relief filtered through Lily for a second. The Paramedic names Jonas moved to aid Avielle as she made her way to the second ambulance were she was treated.
Five minutes lat6er, the emergency personal emerged from the house with the wounded in the gurney. At first Lily couldn't tell who it was until they placed it on the ground and preceded to wheel it to the waiting vehicle. For a second Lily's heart stopped as her eyes captured the scene: laying in the gurney was a battered and bleeding Severus. Blood had seeped into his usual greasy hair, making it appear worse than it actually was. Bruises and small welts married his arms and face, but nothing deterred her eyes from the various bags of fluid that were connected to the tubes running into his veins or the oxygen mask secured to his face.
Slowly the two paramedics lifted up the gurney into the back of the waiting vehicle. Lily leaned forward to get one last glimpse at her one time friend before the doors were shut and the ambulance drove away. Seconds later a large warm hand rested on her shoulder as she watched Severus being taken away. She had no idea when the police car departed or when the other ambulance returned to the station, all she knew was everything had gone dark and silent. The crowd around them was dispersing. Once everyone returned to their normal everyday lives, Lily finally noticed who had put their hand on her shoulder: Her usually strong brave man had tears in his eyes as he too stared off in the direction the ambulance went.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw movement and turned her head just a fraction. Just a few feet from them was Avielle. Severus's little sister's body was stiff as she too watched the spot where the vehicle that carried her brother away disappeared. From the lights coming from the house, Lily could see the glistening tears in her eyes.
"It was nice of you to show Lily." Avielle's voice was hoarse from held back tears and blatant choking she had received." I wasn't expecting to see you amongst the spectators"
Before anything else could be said, the last occupant from the Snape house. Lily had only seen Severus's mother once or twice and this was the only time she had seen the woman up too had bruises but none as bad as she saw developing on the pale canvas that was Severus. Her long black hair was pulled back revealing her black eyes and hooked nose.
"Ella" She stated as she stood on the last step to the house. "Ella, come inside so I can treat you properly"
"Mrs. Snape?" Lily heard her father speak for the first time since petunia had told them the news." I am Jonathan Evans, your son is friends with my daughter, if there is anything the two of you need, you let us know, alright?"
Lily caught the swift play of emotions that danced in Avielle's eyes and Mrs. Snape's, face.
"Yes of course." Mrs. Snape replied as she ushered her daughter into the house, leaving them in the street alone.