Chapter Thirty-six

It's Over

Snape looked at Dumbledore and then at Florence.

"Something must be wrong. There wasn't any meeting scheduled for tonight." Snape said.

"I'll go to Godric's Hollow." said Florence, getting up from the chair.

"We don't need to worry, guys!" said Remus. "Sirius is here." he looked at his friend. "You didn't tell anybody where they live, right?"

"Of course not, but..." stuttered Sirius.

"But what?" shouted Florence.

"Black's not the secret-keeper." growled Snape still holding his left forearm.

"What are you talking about?" she looked at Sirius. "What is he talking about, Sirius? You told us you were the secret-keeper! They said they had chosen you!"

"We lied!" shouted Sirius.

"Who is the secret-keeper, Sirius?" asked Florence furiously.

"P-Peter." answered Sirius.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Florence looked at Dumbledore. "Put the protections down, we must Disapparate now!"

Dumbledore pointed his wand at the ceiling and murmured some words.

"Ok, it's done. You can go now!" said the Headmaster.

And Florence, Snape, Remus and Sirius Disapparated.

Godric´s Hollow

The gate was open and so was the front door of the Potter's house. Florence ran inside.

"Oh, no!" she covered her mouth with her hand when she saw James lying dead on the living room floor. "James..." she kneeled beside her friend.

Then a laugh could be heard, a cold evil sound. Florence got up and ran to the stairs. But Snape stopped her by holding her arm. "Let me go!" she ordered.

"I can't let you go up there." he said.

"As if you could stop me!" she touched the hand he wasn't holding on his chest and he flew backwards, falling on the sofa. Florence ran upstairs, her wand in hand. "Lily!" she called. When she reached Harry's bedroom door, it was locked, but she could hear voices from inside – apparently Lily was talking to Voldemort. "Bombarda Maxima." Florence cast trying to enter the room.

But at the same time she cast that, another spell was cast inside the room:

"Avada Kedavra."

And the nursery exploded in a green light. Florence was thrown against the corridor wall and everything went black.

Snape got up from the couch as fast as he could and ran upstairs after Florence. He had just reached the top of the stairs when everything exploded. He lay down on the floor trying to protect his head from the ceiling that was, apparently, falling down. Once it stopped, Snape got up and looked around; then he saw Florence. She was lying on the floor. He ran to her and kneeled down by her side, checking for a pulse. Don't die, please. Don't be dead. Don't be dead. He thought non stop. He found a pulse and sighed in relief. She was still alive. Snape took her into his arms and heard footsteps downstairs. He pointed his wand to the stairs.

"Severus?" called Remus from the bottom of the stairs.

"Up here." he answered, lowering his wand and walking to the stairs. But then he heard a small cry. "Lupin! Come up here! I think... I think Harry is still alive!"

Remus ran upstairs, stopping when he saw Snape with Florence in his arms.

"What happened to her?" he asked.

"The... killing curse, I don't know why, but it exploded the room and she was by the door." Snape answered.

"Is she...?"

"She's alive. I'll take her to the castle..." he looked inside the destroyed nursery. "I think Lily is dead... but Harry is crying."

Remus nodded and walked into the nursery.

Snape Disapparated to the castle.

Remus Disapparated right after him with baby Harry in his arms.

Hogwarts

Hospital Wing

Pomfrey passed her wand over Florence's body, murmuring:

"Not good... not good at all."

"Would you stop saying that and tell me what is wrong with her?" barked a nervous Snape.

"Apparently..." said Pomfrey, stopping her wand. "Florence is... was pregnant. About five weeks already..."

"Pregnant?" he sat down on the chair by her bed. "Five weeks..." he repeated. They had made love about five weeks ago. "And how is she? And the baby?" he quickly stood up.

"I'm afraid she's lost it, Severus."

Snape sat back down once more, his head on his hands; he fisted both his hands in his hair and his shoulders shook. Pomfrey knew he was silently crying; she felt like crying herself as she looked at the man in front of her, he looked devastated.

"I'm sorry... but she lost too much blood, there's nothing I can do. I believe some part of the killing curse hit her as it exploded the nursery..." she paused. "I'll medicate her... would you have any Abortive Potion?"

Snape raised his head staring at Pomfrey with a frown.

"Why on Earth do you need that?" he asked.

"I must clean her womb, Severus, otherwise she may get an infection and even become sterile. Would you prepare some?"

"Don't ask me to prepare an Abortive Potion to use against my own child, Poppy." he said in a pain-filled voice.

Pomfrey hesitated.

"He's already dead, Severus." she said softly. The look on his face was breaking her heart.

The grief-stricken man in front of her took a deep breath and stood up.

"I think I sent you some last month." he said.

"Oh, yes, I think you did. I normally use it to help girls with long periods, you know..." and Pomfrey walked into her stock room.

Snape pulled the chair closer to Florence's bed and held one of her hands in his. He couldn't stop the tears that rolled down his face.

A few minutes after Pomfrey had given her some Anesthetic Potion, Florence started to wake up. She opened her eyes slowly, feeling nauseous.

"Wh-what...? Where am I?" she asked.

"Oh, my dear." said Pomfrey. "You finally woke up."

Florence looked to her left and saw a teary-eyed Snape holding her hand.

"But..." she had never seen him crying before. "What happened?"

"How are you feeling, Florence?" asked Pomfrey.

"A little dizzy and... nauseous." she said trying to sit up. She looked at Snape who no longer held her hand. "Lily and James?"

"Both dead." he said, not looking at her.

Florence closed her eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again.

"I hope you're satisfied now." she accused him. "This is all your fault!"

"Don't blame him, Florence." ordered Dumbledore walking into the room. He stopped by her bed. "Sirius is the guilty one. He lied to us. He made us all believe that he was the secret-keeper."

"Where is he?" Florence asked.

"He is being accused of murder and will probably be condemned to Azkaban."

"But he wasn't the secret-keeper!" she exclaimed, feeling the nausea increasing.

"I know that..." Dumbledore sighed. "But there's more... some people are saying that Sirius killed Peter Pettigrew."

"And Harry?" Florence asked, fearing the answer.

"Unbelievably alive." answered Snape, pointing to a small crib near the window. "Only a cut on his forehead, nothing else."

Florence looked at the crib and then at Dumbledore.

"And my... what about Voldemort?" she asked.

"Gone." said Snape.

"Gone how? Dead?" Florence asked.

"Some say he's dead but I don't think so." answered Dumbledore. "He's just weak and it'll probably take him a long time to get back. Or so I hope. But one day he'll find a way to come back..."

"How did Harry survive?" Florence asked.

"Lily threw herself in front of her son. She gave her life to protect him. Her love for her son saved him." said Dumbledore.

"I can understand that. I'd give my life for my boys too..." and for their father as well. She thought. After a while, she said: "Harry is going to live with me from now on. I'm his godmother; I'll take care of him."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Florence." said Dumbledore shaking his head.

"What do you mean? I'm his legal guardian now! I love that boy!" Florence said, not liking what the Headmaster was saying.

"When Lily gave her life to protect him she gave him so much more, Florence... her blood now protects him. He must live with those of her blood." said Dumbledore.

"I think I may have misunderstood you, Headmaster but... did you just say that Harry must be given to the Dursleys?" asked Snape.

"Yes, Severus. That's the right thing to do." confirmed Dumbledore.

"You're insane!" shouted Florence. "I won't allow it! Petunia will torture him!"

"I agree with Florence, Headmaster." said Snape.

"That woman is full of hate, Dumbledore. Petunia hates everything magical and Harry has already shown signs of possessing magical powers... she'll hurt him because he is something she isn't." Florence said.

"You'll be forcing the boy to live a miserable life, Dumbledore." said Snape.

"I'd love nothing more than to be able to give him to you, Florence... but this blood protection will only work if he lives near someone who has Lily's blood. And Petunia Dursley is our only option." he looked at the others in the room. "We'll keep an eye on him. If this blood protection doesn't work, he'll go straight to your house, Florence. Otherwise he'll live with the Dursleys until he's eleven and then we'll have him here in the castle."

No one said a word for a while. Pomfrey got closer to Florence's bed and gave her a vial.

"Here, dear, you must drink this."

"What is this?" Florence smelled it, recognizing its scent. "Why are you giving me this?" she was horrified.

"You were pregnant." answered Snape, not looking at her.

"Pregnant..." Florence murmured touching her flat stomach.

"Yes..." intervened Pomfrey. "But you lost the baby because of the killing curse and now you must drink this potion to clean up your womb; we have to make sure you won't get an infection."

"That's why I'm having cramps..." Florence said looking at the vial in her hands.

"Yes. Now drink it, dear." said Pomfrey.

Florence drank it all. And as soon as the vial left her lips, she started to cry. Snape held her in his arms and she cried against his chest.

"This is all your fault." she murmured.

"I know." he replied.

"If you hadn't joined them... everything would have been different." she pushed him away and lay down, crying herself to sleep.

Snape watched her sleep for a while and then left the Hospital Wing.

He walked to his cold dark dungeons. One single thought in his head: he had killed his own child. It was his fault even if it hadn't been him who cast the curse. The Lord went to Godric's Hollow that night only because Snape had told him about the Prophecy. And now my only child is dead. My only chance at having a family with Florence. He reached his private quarters and closed the door. All the candles were off. He walked to his favorite armchair in front of the unlit fireplace and sat there, letting the darkness embrace him. And death had never sounded sweeter.

November 1st, 1981

Privet Drive

Little Whinging

The streets were dark, thanks to Professor Dumbledore. He was waiting for Hagrid in front of the house number four.

The Headmaster saw a cat sitting on a wall looking at him angrily.

"Fancy seeing you here, Minerva."

And the cat transformed into Professor McGonagall.

"You've got to be kidding, Albus! Will you really leave little Harry here, with these muggles?"

"Yes. I must."

"This boy could leave in a loving home and you're condemning him to live with these people. They're the worst kind of muggles I've ever seen, Albus! They are..."

"The only family he has." interrupted Dumbledore.

Hagrid arrived with the baby.

"Good night. Professor Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall." he gave the little baby to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore walked to the Dursleys's front porch and put the baby there on the floor in front of the door.

"Please, Albus, take him to Florence..." begged McGonagall.

"You know why I can't do that, Minerva." he put a letter on the baby's blanket. "Florence will marry Severus in the near future, we all know that. Voldemort will come back someday and we can't have the boy-who-lived being raised as a son by Voldemort's most prized Death Eater."

McGonagall didn't reply. She just turned around and Disapparated without a word.

Hagrid left on his flying bike while Dumbledore restored the street lights and Disapparated too.

Florence's House

Florence walked out of the fireplace and stared at her silent living room. Pomfrey had let her go home on the condition that she would rest for a few days.

Florence slowly walked upstairs, entered her sons' bedroom and watched the twins sleep for a while. Then she took a deep breath and left their room, going to her own. She took a long hot shower trying not to think of the earlier events; she saw the remaining traces of blood on her thighs and the tears came. Florence left the shower, put on some comfortable pajamas and lay down on her bed; but she couldn't sleep. She tried to read but she had too many thoughts in her head.

She walked downstairs, maybe some tea could help her sleep. She found Melody in the kitchen and asked the young elf for some calming tea. Florence sipped it as she stared at the flames in the fireplace. Some minutes or maybe hours later - she wouldn't know - she heard loud noises and screams outside. Florence closed her eyes; she knew why the world was celebrating, but she just couldn't join them, she couldn't find it in herself to feel happy.

Eileen appeared on the top of the stairs.

"Flor... what's happening?" she walked downstairs. "Why are you here in the living room, sitting on the floor?" Eileen sat on the couch, yawning. "Are those fireworks I hear?"

"Yes, Eileen. Voldemort has been defeated."

"What? Really? That's amazing! Who killed him?" exclaimed Eileen.

"Harry.

"Harry? Harry who?" asked Eileen confused.

"Harry Potter."

"But he's just a baby!"

"Yes... but Voldemort tried to kill him and Lily protected her son... the killing curse destroyed half of the Potter's house and killed Lily. But Harry survived. My father, apparently, died."

"That's... crazy."

"Yes..." Florence stared at the flames for a bit and resumed talking. "Now Lily and James are dead, Sirius is locked up in Azkaban because he killed Peter Pettigrew – who was, believe it or not, the true secret-keeper. Remus is in Hogwarts, severely hurt, because, after he had helped taking Harry to the castle, he went to help the Longbottoms; Frank and Alice were tortured by Bellatrix and Barty Crouch Jr. They are both in St. Mungus now, with permanent damage. Little baby Neville is going to be raised by his grandmother. And Harry is going to live with the Dursleys."

"This is... what a crazy story, Flor."

"Yes. And I lost the baby I didn't know I was carrying." Florence murmured, staring at the empty tea cup in her hands.

"What?" exclaimed Eileen.

"Pomfrey told me I was pregnant... but when the Killing Curse destroyed the Potter's house, it hit me too. I've trained to survive one killing curse but the baby didn't make it." and Florence felt the tears rolling down her face again. She pulled her legs to her chest and let her head fall on her knees.

"Oh, my dear..." Eileen kneeled beside her, hugging her.

"I feel so... empty, godmother. I lost a child..." Florence was sobbing.

"Does Severus know?"

"Yes. He was there, he was the one who took me to the castle..." Florence didn't want to think about him. She knew he would probably be as desperate as she was, it wasn't difficult to realize that the baby she had lost was his child.

"I can't believe this..." murmured Eileen. "James and Lily are dead... sweet Lily. And Sirius is in Azkaban!"

"He's innocent... he shouldn't be there. If he murdered Pettigrew he was only avenging his friends."

"But that's not how our laws work, right, my dear? If he killed Peter he must go to Azkaban..."

"It's just not fair."

After a few moments a big brown owl entered the house by the window. It left a Daily Prophet on the table and left as quickly as it had entered.

Florence picked the newspaper up and started to read the front page headlines:

THE BOY-WHO-LIVED

On this Halloween night we celebrated the Dark Lord's downfall. During a duel against aurors James and Lily Potter, You-Know-Who's lost his powers and vanished. Before he died, he tried to kill the couple's one-year-old son, Harry Potter. No one knows how the baby boy survived. The Killing Curse cast by You-Know-Who only left a small lightning-shaped scar on the boy's forehead. We're sad to announce that the Potter couple is dead. James and Lily gave their life for their only son. Read more about Harry, the Boy-Who-Lived, on page 9.

"And here they mention Severus..." said Florence, reading:

DUMBLEDORE REITERATES: SNAPE IS INNOCENT

Against all the evidences, Hogwarts' Headmaster Albus Dumbledore keeps saying Severus Snape is innocent. Snape's a known Death Eater and he's been teaching Potions in the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since last year. Headmaster Dumbledore says Snape no longer supports You-Know-Who. His words were: "Severus Snape was indeed a Death Eater. However, he rejoined our side and turned spy for us, at great personal risk. He is now no more a Death Eater than I am."

Our new columnist, Rita Skeeter, wrote a small note about Hogwarts Headmaster: "Albus Dumbledore is known from trusting the wrong people, having distasteful friendships and no respect at all for our laws."

Read more about Snape and Dumbledore on page 14.

Florence let the newspaper fall on the coffee table.

"What will you do now, Florence?" Eileen asked.

"I'll focus on helping Remus to get better... and I'll keep making the Wolfsbane Potion for him..." Florence sighed. "As for the future... right now, I have no idea what I'll do, godmother. I'll just live one day at a time."

Author's note: and here, November, 1981, ends the First Part of this fanfic. Gosh, this chapter was really difficult to review and upgrade. This is not the end, this fanfic has 87 chapters, so there are still lots of things to happen, don't worry.