Chapter 24

Hogwarts - June 28

James Potter didn't know how much he would get along with Lily Evans. He would be seeing her more often over the next few weeks than he had in the last school year. He felt ashamed of rejecting the girl he had previously been interested in so quickly. Sirius tried to persuade him to mend his relationship with this fiery griffon, but he didn't have the heart for it. Something broke between them in the day he realized he had hurt someone he should worship in his pursuit.

- Mr. Potter, I see you more and more often spending time alone. - James turned to see Albus Dumbledore standing over him. The headmaster of the school after a while sat down next to him. - It is unheard of for such a young person to spend the break between class studying the books alone. Especially when this young wizard previously spent almost all his free time in the company of his friends and beloved girl.

James knew there was no point in arguing with the Headmaster. He was helpful to them in many situations, but according to his mother, he should move away from him. It was hard for him to believe that this good old man could be a manipulator. Only recently had he realized that this was the truth. He needed the Marauders. That's why he covered up the werewolf incident.

- Headmaster, I'm writing a letter to my friend. I'll meet my roommates later. What about my beloved girl. I don't have one.

He didn't want to talk to him anymore. So he gathered his things and went on without saying a word.

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Nowhere - June 28

The first time Kate saw Regan, she knew she would have to find out why he had ended up in the orphanage. She asked herself many questions. Was he there because he was in fact an orphan? Or was he just the child of a girl who was too weak to assume the responsibilities of being a mother? She hoped there wasn't something she never wanted to see behind his stay.

That's why she was furious when she found out why Regan had been given up.

- I'm sorry. I'm sorry. - the muffled voice of the man she was holding by the throat reached her ears. With every breath he took, she dug her nails deeper and deeper into his skin.

- What are you apologizing for? For when your wife gave birth to twins, you tried to kill both of them as soon as they showed a little magical ability? Or maybe for the fact that, after the death of your daughter, you gave the boy to an orphanage that dealt with "serious cases"?

After a while, she realized that the blonde couldn't speak. She tossed him on the floor like a broken doll. She waved her fingers in the air, and his body was immobilized by her magic. He desperately tried to catch his breath. As if he was breathing in reserve.

- Speak. - she said in a calm voice. She no longer had the strength to be angry. She knew that no matter what he said, it would end one way. Death.

- We gave him away ... because this ... Yes, the creature ... He was too strong. Several times I have tried to remove this genetic error from the face of the earth. Never… - He coughed when he finally could add something, he said. - He should never have been born.

She walked over to him and crouched down. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him towards her. As her mouth approached his ear, she whispered - You too. However, I must thank you for a wonderful son. - At the sight of his frightened eyes she said – Yes, he is still alive. And he is doing very well for what he has survived. Let me give you a gift now. You won't have to associate with people like me anymore.

The last thing this man saw was a flash of pain as Kate Bennet ended his life.

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Durmstrang - June 28

Lucius felt a severe headache. It took a moment to realize that he must have passed out. He wondered how long he had been unconscious. Shreds of sentences reached his consciousness.

- Why is he still not waking up?

He knew that voice. He didn't even care that he couldn't remember why he was actually unconscious. What was important is that the voice he heard belonged to the only woman he had ever called a mother in his life. His own wasn't too interested in him. He was more of a fulfillment of an obligation to provide an heir than the fruit of something that perhaps tied his parents.

- He hit the side of Evan's desk in the fall. - someone was clearly irritated - But the healer doesn't think it's serious. How were we to know the boy would react like that?

- Mom … - he whispered. Almost at the same moment he felt the warmth of his hand on his forearms. These hands were larger than those of Jean Granger.

- Only slowly. We don't know if you have any permanent injuries.

- Richard, is she always like this?

- As for her children? Always. - Lucius smiled. He didn't ask himself why two of the people closest to him were next to him. He calmed down. After all, he knew they were fine.

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Ice Tower, In the Middle of the Wasteland - June 28

Each time he was amused by their reaction to the next task they were about to complete. There was nothing difficult in the plans today. After yesterday's experiences, he thought, he would let them do something that wouldn't require so much energy.

- What don't you understand this time? - He asked seeing how irritated Helen was.

The girl with a nervous gesture pushed back the hair that fell on her face and snorted. - Why should I have my hair loose? They interfere with my free swimming.

- It is supposed to be an exercise in reacting to a given situation. Do you think you'll have time to make a perfect braid during the fight? You came in loose hair and you will swim in loose hair. Your today's task is to collect the ingredients for the Recovery Elixir. Just be careful. There are sirens at the bottom of this Sea. However, not as those seen in fairy tales.

xxx

Severus preferred to be alone that day. While wandering around the ruins of the Ice Fortress, he found the entrance to the tunnel. He wanted to investigate it before inquiring about their host's location.

He paid no attention to it. It was only recently that he realized that he was no longer the boy who left Hogwarts. He isn't so petite or so small anymore. Every time he looked in the mirror, he no longer saw Snivellus, as Sirius Black used to call him, or a half-bastard as some Slytherins called him. He saw a man his mother would be proud of.

- Why? - He sighed as tears flowed from his eyes.

He still hadn't in pain because both of his parents were dead. His father Tobias Snape died on the spot. His mother fought for a few more days. There was hope but… It was only hope. Hope died at the time of Eileen Snape's death.

It was the moment he realized he wasn't safe at school. Albus Dumbledore didn't care about his family situation. He didn't let him out of Hogwarts so that he could spend the last days of his mother's life with her. Severus had the impression that the older wizards hadn't paid attention to his words at all, and if someone had asked him about the situation at that moment, he would probably not even remember it.

Each step down the tunnel caused a pain in the chest of the black-haired wizard. However, he was determined to move on. The tunnel ceiling was covered with runes that he didn't know They were glowing in the dark. The tunnel began to narrow. The young wizard was afraid that he would come across a fragment which, due to his physique, he wouldn't be able to pass through. He wasn't completely wrong. He was partially wrong.

After more than three hours of walking, he realized that this tunnel was a dead end. Sore and tired, he knelt down, rested his forehead against the wall and began to cry.

He realized that something had changed when the wall disappeared and he fell into a vast underground cave with a clear lake in the middle.

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Helen struggled to get ashore once more. The white seaweed was tightly protected by creatures that looked like transparent mermaids. Were it not for their unusual blood-red heart and eyes, they would be virtually unnoticeable underwater.

- What happened? - she heard their teacher scream. - Who hurt you!?

Helen Granger didn't know what was going on. She felt herself losing strength. When her head fell on the snow, she saw blood oozing from her stomach. Moments before her eyes closed, she knew Severus was in danger.

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Hogwarts - June 28

Sirius Black watched Remus nibble on his quill. He had had this habit from the middle of his freshman year at Hogwarts.

- James! - Lupin's concerned voice reached Sirius. - Holy shit, Sirius, go get the nurse.

He looked at his friends. James slowly slipped from his chair to the floor in the library. He felt sick. There was a hole in Potter's stomach so big it looked like someone was trying to rip his insides out.

Before he ran out of the library, he heard the desperate voice of his crush. - Don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes ...

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Ice Tower, In the Middle of the Wasteland - June 28

Severus Snape thought these were the last moments of his life. A stalactite from the cave ceiling stuck into his belly. When he lost consciousness, he dreamed of saying goodbye to his love Helen, friends Lucius, Regulus ... And forgive someone who wasn't worth holding onto a grudge. James Potter ...

xxx

How do you like this chapter? I wasn't sure about this chapter but I hope you will like it. Regards, katie-krum