Disclaimer; I do not own Harry Potter, I'm just playing in J.K. Rowling's sandbox.
"Albus, perhaps it is time to consider that fact that Potter, Malfoy, Weasley, and Lovegood are not returning." Severus Snape softly to the owner of the office he was in.
"No, not yet. We still haven't-"
"Albus, listen to yourself. You are chucking at straws. You need to accept that they won't be coming back. You know that is true. You need to focus on the war. Not on four students who disappeared leaving no hints of where they might have gone. There are people who need you attention here." Snape venomously spat out, cutting off Dumbledore.
"Severus, we have to find them. We need-" But Dumbledore was once again cut off by Snape.
"We don't need to rely on children to win a war. After the war is won, we can try to find them again."
"But won by who, Severus? The prophecy says that only Harry can defeat Voldemort." Dumbledore said quietly looking Snape in the eye.
"You know, when I was a student here, you didn't believe in Divination or prophecies," Snape said evenly, staring the Headmaster in the eye. "And the prophecy doesn't say that he is or was the only one who can vanquish the Dark Lord."
Dumbledore sighed and, for a brief moment, he looked old. And… and Snape couldn't handle that. Albus Dumbledore was suppose to be the strong, unshakable leader of the Light. He wasn't suppose to crack when four students disappear into seemly nothing. He was suppose to offer wisdom and advice and know when it was time to give up and how to continue on afterwards. Snape wasn't suppose to have to argue with him that it was likely too late for the four students.
That they were probably dead. His godson. Lily's son. Two of his students. He was suppose to protect them but he failed. He always fails. He failed Lily. He failed his mother. He failed to protect four of his students.
Albus was suppose to offer guidance and help him focus on his job. But he had to focus Albus. He had to focus everyone in the Order because Albus wasn't. Why him? He wasn't good. He wasn't a good guy. He was a bad guy trying make amends and failing miserably. He wasn't a leader. He was a spy and a liar. Those were the only things he was good at. And now he seemed to be the only one who saw that they needed to focus on the war and not the children.
Suddenly a knock at the door interrupted Severus' thoughts.
"Come in, Minerva." Albus called, looking up from the spot on his desk that he was staring at.
"Hello, Albus, Severus. I hope I'm not interrupting." Minerva McGonagall said as she entering the office, closing the door behind her. Albus looked like he was about to said something but was cut off when Severus said,
"No, not at all. I was just on my way out. Good day, Minerva, Albus." Severus strode quickly out of the office and down the stairs towards his dungeons.
Remus Lupin had lost everything.
There was no question. He had lost James, lost Lily, then Sirius and now Harry. Just when he thought his life might be coming together again, he lost everything again. What point was there to life now? What point was there to living? Why continue going through this pain? Why not just end it all?
"Dad, I don't know what to do. I can't stand by and watch Remus fall apart but I don't know how to help him." Nymphadora Tonks said to her father while trying to hold back tears of frustration and anger and- something else she couldn't name.
"Dora, I don't know what to tell you." Ted Tonks said softly to her. He wanted to help her but what could he say to help her? Anything he thought of just sounded so flat and unhelpful.
"He's lost so most and I want to help him but I don't know how to deal with what he's going through. He's lost all his friends and he doesn't have any family left and now he- Harry was all he had left really and I- I don't know what to do"
"Honey, I think the best thing you can do for is to just be there. If he's lost as much as you say, then he needs someone to be there." Ted said, laying a hand on his daughter's shoulder to try to offer some comfort.
"I- I- okay, Dad." Tonks sighed.
Most people probably doubt their grief over Draco's disappearance. Those people probably think it's all a act and they're only upset over losing their heir and not having someone to carry on the line.
Bellatrix knows better though. She knows that her sister and her husband truly miss their son. Why, she doesn't know. He wasn't very fit to the heir to the Malfoy and Black lines [even though technically Harry Potter, the precious Boy-Who-Lived, was the Black heir, thanks to her blood-traitor cousin]. Draco wasn't strong enough.
But Narcissa and Lucius were too sure of their son and didn't have another. Narcissa should have known better. She had seen their blood-traitor cousin abandon their family and run away to the blood-traitors. And now she and Lucius were desperately searching for Draco, when in all likelihood he was already dead.
Bellatrix didn't know why they still held out hope that he was still alive. And she didn't know why Narcissa cared so much. He was just a boy. She could still have another one to carry on the line. Why did a boy that was probably dead matter so much?
"Pansy, are you coming down to dinner?" Selene Moon asked her roommate Pansy Parkinson.
"No." Pansy replied, not looking up from the book she had in her hands and was staring blankly at. Selene sighed and sat down by Pansy's feet on the couch she was laying on.
"Are you sure? I didn't see you at lunch today."
"Yes, I'm sure." Pansy replied in a calm, controlled voice. She lifted the book up higher as if to hide behind it.
"Pansy-"
"Why do you care, Moon? You aren't my friend." Pansy almost-yelled, causing the few students left in the common room to look up in alarm. Pansy threw her book down on the floor, making a loud bang echo in the room. Pansy glared at the other students still looking at her and they quickly stopped staring at the two sixteen year olds. Selene bent down, picked up the book, and calmly placed it on the coffee table in front of them before turning back to Pansy.
"Pansy, I just want to make sure you're o-"
"Stop it. Don't pretend you care. Before he disappeared, you never talked to me. We were just roommates, and that was it."
"You never let me talk to you. You spent all your time with Draco Malfoy. And Blaise Zabini. And Crabbe. And Goyle and Theodore Nott. You only had time for the rest of us girls when you needed something. And now you need someone and until now I was willing to be the person. But not anymore. Good luck with the rest of your life." Selene snapped at Pansy, finally losing her cool. She had tried to help to Pansy but you can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped.
"Fine. I didn't ask you to keep bothering me everyday anyway." Pansy snapped back. She watched Selene stand up and walk out of the room, uncaring. She didn't need anyone. She was strong. She didn't need Selene to make sure she ate or slept or anything else Selene was trying to control about her life. She was just fine.
A/N; Terribly sorry about the long wait. Last chapter was where I ran out of chapters that just needed editing and I couldn't get motived to write this chapter until recently. Seriously folks, if you want faster updates, just leave any sort of review you want because that helps remind me to write the next chapter. Honestly, I do forget about my stories and review help remind me to focus on them.
