Disclaimer: The world of Hogwarts and its characters belong to JK Rowling and JK Rowling only. A few things are of my own fantasies, but everything you can recall having heard/read about elsewhere, is not mine.
Author's Note: This is my first HP fanfic, so take that into account before you feel the need to trash this story completely...
ANOTHER SHADE OF BLACK
Prologue
Her first thought was purely selfish – He is gone.
The most evil, the most powerful, the most dangerous wizard of all time was gone. She closed her eyes in relief and smiled weakly, knowing that finally, she would be able to feel at ease again.
He was gone, and gone with him where all the fears that she and everyone else of the magical community had held those past years. He was gone, and gone with him was the inability to ever feel true happiness. He was gone, and gone with him was the deepest darkness of her soul. He was gone, and gone with him was – Oh, no!
Thus came her second thought, which went to the two people who were the last to die of his evil power. The murdered couple. Lily and James Potter. Also gone.
She didn't cry. She didn't cry, because immense grief doesn't come with tears. Immense grief only presents endless emptiness.
Later, she would remember that nor had Remus Lupin been crying when he had told her what had happened, but that his eyes had been sore and tired and that he had had an air of... endless emptiness about him. She would remember that he had looked concerned. Concerned about her. About how she would react. Not how she would react when she learnt about the death of their friends. But when she Realised.
And that was her third thought. One of Realisation. When she understood who had caused their death. When she Realised who had betrayed them. A young animagus with blazing, grey eyes and an infectious laugh.
And then she knew that, no, she wouldn't be able to feel at ease again.
Just a couple of days later, Sirius Black, best friend and traitor of the Potters, would be captured by the ministry when murdering thirteen people, with one single curse.
Just a couple of days later, a young witch would leave the United Kingdom and its magical community, with the intention of never returning.