Sleep did not come for Lily that night. She spent the night in a guest bedroom in Dumbledore's quarters but spent her night staring at the ceiling, or her son.

Harry's scar had stopped bleeding, but she was right in her assumption that it would remain on his forehead forever. Oddly enough, it was shaped like a bolt of lightning. She grazed her finger over it once in the night, but when Harry's face scrunched up in his face, she left it alone.

Morning came, and Lily had not slept a wink. One look in the morning broadcasted the dark bags under her eyes. Just yesterday she had been in the bathroom back home, brushing her hair. James had snuck up behind her to kiss her…

Tears bubbled up before she could stop them.

"Mama?" she heard Harry say from his crib. (It had been transfigured from a dresser)

Lily took a breath to calm herself and walked over to her little boy. He looked up at her with his big green eyes, and she couldn't help but smile.

"Hi, sweetheart. Mama's here." she said, picking him up. Harry smiled, but then looked worried.

"Dada?" he asked. Lily felt her heart break. Would he understand it? Would he even remember James when he was older? How unfair could this world be than to rob a child of their father?

"Dada's not here…" she said. Harry looked confused. No wonder, they had been in hiding together for months, he wasn't used to not having James around….

Him and her both…..

A few tears rolled down her face as she said, "Dada's in a better place now. We'll learn how to be without him for now, together. Alright, sweetie?"

Even though he was only a year old and a few months, Harry seemed to understand.

A little while after that, Dumbledore came to check on them.

"We're doing as well as we can, sir. But, if I may, could I ask you for a favor?" Lily asked.

"Of course. Whatever you need, Lily." Dumbledore promised.

"Could you or Professor McGonagall please watch Harry for a few hours? I'd like to go back to my house. Collect what I can… and see them." Lily asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "I will be delighted to watch Harry, and I'm sure Minerva would be happy to help." he agreed.

And so, Lily donned her cloak, walked off the grounds of Hogwarts, and apparated back to Godric's Hollow. Once she arrived, she cast an invisibility spell on herself. She was not in a state where she would be questioned over what happened. Not when she was going back to where it all happened, just a few short hours ago.

She journeyed through the town, and nearly had to force herself to walk up the path to her home. Dumbledore said that he placed an enchantment over it to repel anyone who passed by it, to protect the home until Order members could come.

Her home was destroyed. Well, not all of it. But much of it was in shambles. The living room was demolished, but Lily persisted.

That was where she found James.

Lily felt like she couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe. James…. He was dead. Really, truly, dead.

She broke down crying over him, even holding him in her arms, similar to how James would tackle her and hug her when her defenses were down. She sobbed into his sweater until she was out of tears. Shakingly, she positioned him on the floor to look like he was sleeping. She adjusted his glasses correctly on his face, but after a moment, decided to keep them. James had had them since they were eleven, he had just enlarged them and tweaked them as the need arose. They were a vital part of him.

As she walked through the house, she discovered his wand lying on the couch. He didn't even have his wand to defend himself…. Yet he still stood up to Voldemort….

She kept his wand as well. It was custom for a witch or wizard to keep their fallen spouses wand unless they were buried with it.

The rest of the first floor was the same, except for the damage from all the spellwork done the night before. Lily took what felt like her thousandth calming breath of the day, and proceeded to go upstairs.

The hallway was in disarray. Lily felt the urge to fix it, restore it to what it used to be, but she didn't. It felt like intruding on sacred ground.

She arrived in Harry's bedroom. She gasped.

Severus's body was lying on the ground, but she had not realized how broken it was. His head was bent at an odd angle, that must have been where Voldemort struck…

She sat down beside him. The air felt heavy. With James, she could not bear to talk. It was too painful. But with Severus…. There were so many things between their friendship that were left unsaid.

She needed to say them.

"Hi, Severus." she said quietly, her throat feeling thick.

"This must be the first time in six years that I've said a word to you."

"It's hard. Seeing you like this. I didn't think much of you after we graduated and stopped seeing each other every week, but if I had, I don't think I would have realized how bad it hurts to see you here beside me, so broken."

"I don't think I was the same after our fight. I blocked you from my head, I tried to never give you a second thought. Because it hurt to remember how badly you hurt me."

"I was never in love with you. But I did love you. You were the best friend I had ever had until we split. You introduced me to magic. You made me feel like I belonged in our world."

"You're clever. You must have understood just how bad it pains me to think of what you called me."

"But, I'm also so relieved, and so proud of you, Sev. You changed so much, you did something I can never repay. You are one of the best people I've ever known. I'll never forget what you did for me, and for Harry."

"I'm so sorry that I never realized your feelings for me. If I had, I think I would have given you a second chance after the incident. On a trial basis with conditions, maybe, but I don't believe I would have turned you away."

"I'm sorry, Sev."

"Thank you for everything you did for me. I'll always honor your memory, and I'll make sure Harry knows who you are. It's the least I can do."

Lily was crying by the end. To distract herself, she collected Harry's remaining clothes, and his favorite stuffed animal dog, wolf, and especially his stag. She would never get rid of it.

Then, she turned back to Severus. Like James, she arranged him in a more peaceful way. As she was doing so, something slipped from Severus's sleeve.

It was a lily. With a note tied to it.

Dear Lily,

I'm taking the weight.

More tears welled in her eyes, and Lily leaned down to kiss her departed, dear childhood friend on the cheek. She had done that once before when they were in their second year on Valentine's Day after James made fun of him for being too ugly to have a Valentine. She could still remember the look on Severus's face afterward. Like he had died and gone to heaven.

"Goodbye, Sev." she whispered and left the room.

Lily collected a few more clothes for herself, and the silly sweater with a stag on it that had belonged to James, and walked back downstairs.

Taking one last look at her husband, Lily kissed him.

"I love you, James."

She apparated away just as she saw Mad-Eye Moody approaching her house, prepared to collect the bodies of the noblest men she knew.

I know it seems like all she does in this chapter is cry, but keep in mind that she is going through a lot.