Again: Deathly Hallows Spoilers Await!

Love,

Chi

Evangeline rose unsteadily to her feet and spread the ivory wings on her back as far as she could manage. With a single strong flap, the angel had vanished from the castle. The trip itself was short, but anticipation made each second tick off the clock with the speed of an eon. Dread, fear, and hope spurred her on until at last she was able to perch on the crumbling sill of the sole window in the particular room of the Shrieking Shack she had sought out.

The figures before her were clear as day. Two men and a snake in a bubble.

Bile rose in her throat as she locked eyes with the serpent, the only creature present who could see her in her current state. Evangeline could hide herself from human eyes at her discretion, but never from animals. Nagini seemed quite unperturbed by her presence though.

In fact, the snake barely noticed the angel once her master gave her the signal to attack.

Evangeline's blue-grey eyes widened in horror as she witnessed the snake strike and the spurt of blood that flew across the room in the same manner as a tiered fountain from Severus throat.

The next few moments rushed by in a blur in which a sole thing was clear to the angel's memory. Harry revealed himself once Voldemort had left and went to Severus' side. After a short exchange, Snape breathed his last. His final request was for Harry to look at him so he could see the boy's eyes.

Lily's eyes.

Harry left shortly after, leaving the Potions Professor's body laying in the pool of blood that grew wider and thicker in the pale beams of moonlight streaming in through the same window Evangeline sat in.

Her heart had stopped. She was sure of it. There was no pulse in her veins, the blood had stilled itself; she was as dead as the dark-haired man on the wood floor. Yet she could still breathe and move. She was still alive, but not really.

Slowly, she spread her wings again and glided gently into the room to face her worst fear.

There was a haze enveloping him, like the mists of the moors had seeped beneath his eyelids and settled on his eyeballs. Bit by bit the fog of his mind and sight was cleared by a strange light. It was an eerie, yet comforting, glow that warmed his cold body.

The glow began to take shape with the dissipation of the haze.

It was a woman. A woman with fiery red hair and…white wings that seemed to cradle his body as much as what her arms were. Had he died and actually made it to what the Muggles called Heaven?

"Lily?" he croaked almost inaudibly. His black eyes opened, but saw nothing more than shapes.

Severus' blood stained Evangeline's hands and feathers though she took no notice of it. She was distracted by the hoarse whisper that curled through the silence and cut off her tears before they could form. Severus was still alive.

"It's Evangeline, Severus," she whispered in response, her hand lifting to stroke his hair back from his face. Already the blood was congealing in the black locks.

Hearing her voice somehow helped clear his vision all the way, revealing the angel to be the one he had not expected to see.

"Evangeline?"

She nodded. "I'm here."

Though he was living, it was obvious that he was still in pain. "I'm alive?"

Again, the angel nodded.

"Why did you bring me back?" he inquired. The tone of voice was tired and frustrated.

Evangeline frowned a bit. "I didn't."

He seemed surprised by the revelation. "What?"

"Humans aren't plants or animals. I can't just bring them back on a whim," she said, still stroking his hair.

It was a bit shocking to her how he had yet to struggle against her embrace, but merely laid there and allowed it. He was regaining strength with each moment and could easily shove her away.

"Then why am I still here?"

"Your soul must have drawn on my energy to revive you."

A pause. "Why?"

Evangeline took in a deep breath and finally broke her gaze from his. Bringing the hand away from his hair, she rested her palm on the wound Nagini had caused. Almost instantly the flesh, veins, and muscles began to rebuild themselves.

"Evangeline…tell me," Severus said, looking up to her with what was as pleading an expression as he could manage, she imagined.

With a soft sigh, the angel reluctantly gave into him.

"There's something that ties you to this world."