"He'll be here soon." The tall man shoved his glasses higher and wrapped a comforting arm around his two companions. He looked toward the door anxiously, his entire body tensed. As the woman sagged against his chest, she let out a small whimper.
"James, I always imagined… It was supposed to be different."
He pulled her tight against him and absorbed her helpless sounds with a soothing kiss. As they broke away, he ran a finger gently down her cheek, chasing a lone tear away. So many thoughts and emotions were running rampant in his head and he had to learn to rein them in. He needed to be their strength and voice of reason, even though the situation defied it.
"Padfoot? You all right, mate?"
James was quite worried about their old friend. He had taken the news especially hard and he was so new to this existence. His first instinct had been white-hot rage and James had a devil of a time helping him to calm down.
"All right is a word for the living, James. Not…us."
James nodded, setting his jaw in grim determination. Their mentor had been murdered in cold blood, deceived by the man they had hated most of their lives and loathed in death. He was well and truly gone and couldn't help Harry any longer.
"If I'd only been there. Maybe I could have stopped it." Sirius' voice broke into James' thoughts.
James nodded, still cradling and comforting Lily. "It isn't much, Sirius, but we can do this. We'll offer what we can and band together to help the living."
"Ever so wise," Sirius responded, but his words were without emotion. They all knew that it wasn't enough, that they wanted to be warriors in this final battle instead of the earliest casualties.
The mist before them shimmered and they all tensed. Lily put her shoulders back and stood as resolutely as her husband and dear friend.
"Remember, I'm the one who welcomes him."
It took several minutes until the mist fully parted and a man stepped slowly into view. Lily Potter slowly disentangled herself from her husband's embrace and walked slowly to the man, slapping him soundly across the face.
"Severus Snape. What a surprise. I gather your Dark Lord didn't appreciate the sacrifices you made, since he did away with you so quickly. He's used the same curse on you as you did on the man you murdered. Welcome to the afterlife, or in your case, your own private Hell. Having you here is a true delight."