Severus held his left arm and looked at Dumbledore and then at Florence, "Something is wrong. There wasn't any meeting scheduled for tonight."
"I'll go after Lily and James," said Florence, getting up from the chair.
"Hey! We don't need to worry, guys!" said Remus, "Sirius is here," he looked at his friend, "You didn't tell anybody where they live, right?"
"Of course not, but..." stuttered Sirius, looking suddenly terrified.
"But what, Sirius?" asked Florence, frowning.
"Black's not the secret-keeper," Severus revealed between gritted teeth, the pain in his left arm not stopping.
"What are you talking about?" she looked from him to Sirius, "What is he talking about? You told us you were the secret-keeper! They said they had chosen YOU!"
"WE LIED!" shouted Sirius.
"WHO is the secret-keeper, Sirius?" asked Florence, furious.
"P-Peter," he whispered.
"WHAT?" she shouted, "You've got to be kidding me!" Florence looked at Dumbledore, "Put the protections down, we must disapparate now!"
Dumbledore pointed his wand at the ceiling and murmured some words.
"It's done. You can go now!" said the Headmaster.
And Florence, Severus, Remus and Sirius disapparated.
Godric´s Hollow
Florence appeared in front of the Potter's house and her heart skipped a beat: the front gate was wide-open and so was the front door.
"No no no," she whispered as she ran inside.
"No! James!" she gasped at the sight of her friend lying on the living room floor, his eyes open, staring lifeless at the ceiling.
Florence kneeled beside him, checking for a pulse but finding none. She fisted a hand in his shirt, not wanting to believe that was truly happening.
She checked for a pulse again and had the same result: James was gone.
She closed his lifeless eyes with her fingers and felt tears running down her face.
But the unexpected sound of laughter cut through her pain – it was a cold sound that she immediately recognized – and it was coming from upstairs.
Florence stood and ran upstairs, but on the third step someone held her arm; she turned around ready to attack whoever was holding her, but it was Severus, so she just whisper-shouted: "Let me go!"
"I can't let you go up there," he said, holding her arm firmly, "The Dark Lord is there, I can feel his presence."
"As if you could stop me!" she touched her other hand to his chest and cast: Depulso, making him let go of her arm as he flew away from her, falling onto the sofa.
Then Florence ran upstairs, her wand in hand, calling: "Lily!"
When she reached Harry's nursery door, she tried to open it, but it was locked; stopping for a moment to hear the voices from inside, Florence realized Lily was trying to reason with Voldemort.
"You don't have to do this! We'll stand down! I promise you! Not Harry, please! Have mercy!"
"Mercy?"
Florence held her breath as she heard her father ask.
"I can be merciful," he said, "Step aside and I'll not kill you- I'll show you mercy. But the boy must die."
"No! Not Harry!" Lily shouted desperately.
"Bombarda Maxima," Florence cast, deciding to enter that bedroom at all costs.
But at the same time another spell was cast inside the room:
"Avada Kedavra."
And the nursery exploded in a bright green light.
Florence was thrown against the corridor wall, falling onto the floor, unconscious.
Severus got up from the couch as fast as he could and ran upstairs after Florence.
He had just reached the top of the stairs, he could see her standing with her wand pointed at a door, but then everything exploded.
He threw himself down onto the floor, trying to protect his head from the ceiling that was, apparently, falling down.
After a few minutes, the house seemed to stop collapsing, so Severus got up, looking through the dust and the debris for Florence, finding her lying on the floor, unmoving.
"No, no no!" Severus exclaimed, his heart nearly stopping as he ran to her and kneeled by her side, checking for a pulse.
Don't be dead. Don't be dead. He thought nonstop as he touched her arm, searching for a pulse, sighing in relief when he found it: she was still alive.
Then he gathered her in his arms and stood up, focusing on taking her to Pomfrey fast.
But the unmistakable sound of footsteps downstairs had him stopping and pointing his wand to the stairs, ready to protect her and himself.
"Florence? Severus?" it was Remus calling them from the bottom of the stairs.
"Up here," Severus answered, lowering his wand and walking to the stairs but freezing before he had reached a step.
"Mama," he heard a baby cry.
"No- it can't be," he whispered, walking back down the corridor and into the destroyed nursery, still carrying Florence.
And there he was: baby Harry, crying in his crib for his mother – who lay on the carpet in front him, dead.
Severus swallowed the tears at the sight of his friend and cleared his throat, calling: "Lupin! Come up here! The boy is still alive!"
Remus ran upstairs, freezing when he saw Lily on the floor and Severus with an unconscious Florence in his arms.
"What happened to her?" Remus asked, fearing the answer.
"The killing curse. I don't know why, but it exploded the room and she was by the door."
"Is she...?"
"She's alive," Severus breathed, relieved to be saying that. "I'll take her to the castle..." he looked around the destroyed nursery, glancing at his dear childhood friend once more and losing the battle against the tears that started to fall, "Lily is dead... but Harry clearly isn't."
Remus wiped his own face and nodded, walking into the nursery to pick up the crying baby.
Severus disapparated to the castle.
Remus disapparated right after him with baby Harry in his arms.
Hogwarts
Hospital Wing
"Pomfrey!" Severus shouted as he ran in and put Florence on a clean bed, "Madam Pomfrey!"
Florence stirred on the bed, moaning painfully.
"What happened to her?" asked the mediwitch, running towards the bed, barely seeing Remus suddenly walk in and transfigure a chair into a crib.
When Severus replied it was clear he was distraught, for he spoke fast and his voice sounded hoarse: "A killing curse exploded part of the Potter's house and I think it hit Florence."
"Fucking hell!" the mediwitch exclaimed, touching Florence's wrist and finding a pulse, then she tried to wake her up, "Flor. Dear."
Remus touched Severus' arm to get his attention: "I'll go check on Frank and Alice now."
He just nodded, never taking his eyes off Florence, and Remus left.
She started breathing faster and suddenly woke up, startled.
"Lily!" Florence shouted, sitting on the bed, looking around, slowly recognizing where she was, "Poppy?" Then she looked to her other side and saw Severus standing beside her bed, looking injured and covered in dust, "What happened? Is James really-" her voice broke, she couldn't finish that sentence, "and Lily?"
Severus shook his head.
Florence looked at him with a trembling chin and watery eyes, "Baby Harry?"
"No. He is- inexplicably- alive. Remus brought him in just a minute ago," Severus pointed to a crib near the window.
Florence dropped her head on her hands, the reality of what had happened in the last hour slowly hitting her: her friends were dead and sweet baby Harry was an orphan.
Poor Harry. He's just a baby. To lose both his parents at once...
Then she remembered: baby – her baby!
"Pomfrey!" Florence suddenly shouted, looking frantically around for her wand, not finding it and shouting: "Poppy! My baby! Check my baby!" she looked down at her own belly, "Pomfrey! My baby! Please!"
"Baby?" Pomfrey asked, looking at Severus for an explanation, but he looked as surprised as her.
Florence sounded desperate: "I found out this afternoon! I..." She looked at the blood stain on her dress and feared that the worst had happened, "No. Oh, no! Please, no!"
Severus stared at her in absolute shock; she was pregnant.
She had had a house fall on her head, and she was pregnant.
Part of a killing curse hit her, and she was pregnant.
Even he knew what that meant.
Pomfrey quickly moved her wand over Florence's body, shaking her head, visibly upset.
"I'm sorry, Flor," she whispered, mournfully.
Florence shook her head, touching her belly, "Oh, no, no..." she whispered, crying.
"You were just a little under two months," added Pomfrey, "I'm sorry, but the baby didn't make it."
But Florence wasn't listening to her anymore, she just cried quietly, shaking her head; she had spent the day dreaming of that baby, talking to him or her, just to have them die in her womb in less than twenty-four hours. She lay down and cried on the pillow, the deaths of her friends and the loss of her child just too much for her, the pain was overwhelming.
Severus was still standing by her bed, looking at her, in shock. He wanted to hold her, to comfort her, but part of him was wondering if he hadn't fallen in the middle of his worst nightmare once again: where Florence was pregnant, but he wasn't the father.
So he opened his mouth and asked the first thing that was in his mind: "Was it mine?"
"What?" Florence asked, confused by his question, trying to understand, through her pain, what he was asking her, "What do you mean?"
Then Severus explained: "You had dinner with the wolf the same night we had sex, about two months ago."
Florence sat up on the bed, blinking, not believing he could actually be saying what she thought he was saying, "What are you asking? I don't understand."
He continued: "How can you know who was the father of your baby?"
Then his words finally penetrated the fog of pain in her brain and she shouted: "How dare you say that? So you think that, that night, I fucked Remus, ran to the castle to save your life and then I fucked you!?"
She looked at him with murder in her eyes, which were the lightest shade of green he had ever seen, her anger and pain for all that night's losses making her control over her veela's power snap, the mythical being taking over her body to protect her, and a sudden gust of wind rushed through the infirmary, forcing all the windows open.
Severus stared at her in awe, shocked to be seeing her like that.
Veelas have power and ability over storms. He remembered reading somewhere.
"Florence, control yourself!" shouted Pomfrey, trying to make her stop, as a stronger wind started to blow, "Stop! You will hurt baby Harry!"
Severus took a few steps back, away from the bed, regretting having asked her anything.
He'd been stupid and irrational, he didn't really think she'd fuck Remus and then him, but he was full of fear of the fact that she could be pregnant of another man's baby again.
"I just need to know," he said softly, trying to make her understand his reasoning: "I saw how Lupin held you, and whispered in your ear at the Halloween party! I saw you dancing with him. And the several dinners and breakfasts..." he kept on trying justify his question, part of him telling his mouth to shut up, for he was fucking up royally, but his lips weren't listening and they kept on moving: "How can you be sure it was mine?"
Florence jumped off the bed and punched his jaw hard.
"Of course this baby was yours, you jerk!" she shouted, "I can't believe you thought that I- that I fucked two men in the same night and-" her heart breaking at his lack of sensitivity.
And the tragedies of that night were finally too much for her to bear, Florence felt the room spin and reached out for the bed but she wasn't close enough, falling onto her knees, the wind showing no signs of stopping as she sobbed.
"Get out of here, Severus," she continued, "Take your childish jealousy and get out of my life," she closed her hand around the imperial jade and pulled the necklace from her neck, throwing it at his feet, before she saw everything turn black.
And the wind suddenly stopped, the sounds of clattering and rustling as things and papers fell onto the floor preceding a heavy silence.
Pomfrey stood watching that heart-breaking scene with a hand over her mouth, in shock.
"How could you say that, Severus?" she whispered.
He shook his head, looking (and feeling) like a broken man as he walked to where Florence had fallen.
"I shouldn't have-" he whispered, the words dying in his throat as he picked Florence up from the floor, putting her on the bed again.
He touched her face, knowing he should've kept his mouth shut; their friends had just died, she had cuts and bruises all over her body, had just lost a baby, and, on top of it, he had accused her of not knowing who had fathered said baby.
Severus shook his head, "I- I don't really think she'd do that I..." he felt his chest constricting, the lump in his throat making it hard to breathe, "I just needed to know."
He touched her lower belly, thinking that his biggest dream had lain under the palm of his hand just a couple of hours ago – and now it had been taken from him.
"She won't forgive you. Not this time," Pomfrey whispered.
Severus closed his eyes, knowing she was right, and silently nodded.
After touching Florence's face one more time, he turned to leave.
"Don't forget the necklace," said Pomfrey.
He stopped, picking up the jade necklace from the floor, putting it inside his pocket, and walking to the dungeons.
Severus entered his private quarters and closed the door, just going through motions, so emotionally broken he felt numb, his mind filled by the image of Florence sobbing on the infirmary floor.
He sat on the armchair in front of the crackling fire; that night, he had done even worse than simply ruining his relationship with the woman he loved.
I killed my own child.
An innocent baby had died due to his stupid choices and another had been orphaned.
He raised his wand to put out all the lights in the room, retrieving the jade necklace from his pocket and holding it in his hand, letting the darkness embrace him
He couldn't see the heart-shaped gem, but he knew its colour, that beautiful green shade that he loved so much.
Florence had looked at him with those eyes just a few minutes ago – but it had been fury and heartbreak that had awakened her veela, not love and passion.
And she is right to hate me.
He closed his eyes and allowed himself to cry then.
Voldemort's presence in Godric's Hollow that night was Severus's fault – all that had happened that night was his fault: he had been the one to tell the Dark Lord about the Prophecy; he had been the one to tell him about Lily and Alice being pregnant.
Alice.
He held his breath, staring into the darkness, hoping Remus found the Longbottoms alive and safe.
Leaving the jade necklace on the small table beside the armchair, Severus got up and left. He had work to do for the Order before he succumbed to the darkness he had created.
Two hours later, Dumbledore walked into the Hospital Wing and Pomfrey told him what had taken place between Severus and Florence.
"He just made things much more difficult for them now," whispered he.
"She was so hurt, Headmaster. And with reason-" Pomfrey stopped talking when she saw the woman stirring on the bed.
Florence had heard the teo of them whispering nearby, but her exhausted mind struggled to make sense of what they were saying.
She sat up slowly on the bed, the memory of Severus's accusation coming back to her, explaining the weight she felt in her chest.
Fucking stupid jealous twat.
Feeling her mouth as dry as the desert and a pulsating pain in her temples – both sure signs of dehydration, her medical-trained mind quickly warned her – Florence reached for the glass of water on the bedside table, drinking all of it before looking around the room.
And he left.
She realised with a heavy heart – a small part of her wishing Severus had stayed there by her bedside, waiting for her to wake up so that he could apologise, tell her how wrong he was and that he had acted like an idiot and would never do that again.
Right.
Florence snorted at her own foolishness, for the reality apparently was that he'd never fully trusted her and he'd rather break her heart by being a dickhead instead of talking to her like an adult.
"This is all Severus's fault," she whispered, wiping a tear and touching her hand to the place where her jade necklace should be, finding nothing there and quickly remembering that she had thrown it at him.
Shouldn't have done that.
A sudden wave of nausea let her know she had drunk the water too fast and her stomach wanted to send it back up.
"Don't blame it all on him, Florence," said Dumbledore, "Sirius is guilty too; he lied to us. He made us all believe that he was the secret-keeper."
"Where is he by the way? Where's Sirius?" Florence asked, breathing fast to distract herself from the need to vomit.
"He is either hiding or fighting, I'm not really sure," replied the headmaster, "But he's being accused of murder and will probably be taken to Azkaban once the aurors get him."
"But he wasn't the secret-keeper!" she exclaimed, feeling the nausea wasn't relenting.
"Here, have this, dear," said Pomfrey, giving her an antiemetic potion that she quickly drank.
Florence closed her eyes momentarily, waiting for the potion to start taking effect.
"We know that Sirius wasn't the Potters' Keeper," Dumbledore continued, "But some people are saying that they saw him kill not only Peter Pettigrew but also twelve muggles."
"That's preposterous!" Florence shook her head, "If he killed Pettigrew, I can understand, but why would Sirius kill muggles?"
"Because he was an undercover Death Eater," said Dumbledore.
"What?" Florence made a face at that absurdity. "But that's not true!"
"We know that! But things are not looking good for him..." said the Headmaster, sorrowfully.
Pomfrey got close to Florence's bed again, with another vial, "Here, Flor, you must drink this now."
"What is this?" Florence smelled it, recognizing its scent, "Abortive potion..." she whispered, her medical training coming forth to remind her of why she had to take that, "To avoid an infection," she continued to whisper, hesitating on bringing it to her lips though; her brain knew why she had to take that, but her heart felt it was wrong. She loved her baby, she shouldn't take that potion!
Florence took her wand from the bedside table, casting: "Vide utero," and looked at the projection of the amniotic sac inside of her womb, the peanut-like shadow inside of it didn't look any different than when she had last seen it hours earlier – however, there was no heartbeat, not anymore.
"The baby's gone, Flor," whispered Pomfrey, understanding her hesitation, respecting her need to check if a miracle hadn't happened.
"I know," she replied, stopping the spell, "But I heard his little heartbeat hours ago," she finally brought the vial to her lips and drank it all in one gulp, more tears falling down as soon as she handed the glass back to Pomfrey.
Then the doors of the Hospital Wing were slammed open and Severus walked in, carrying an unconscious Remus in his arms and putting him on a clean bed.
"What happened?" asked Pomfrey, going towards them.
"He was tortured," briefly explained Severus, "He just needs time to recover. I gave him potions already, he'll be fine. Just let him sleep."
Then he turned and his eyes met Florence's for a moment.
She looked at him expectantly, through her tears, wishing he would run towards her bed and ask her for forgiveness.
She knew that if they talked, she'd be able to forgive him, all he had to do was apologise and admit that he had been a jealous dumbass.
But he just glanced at her and then turned to Dumbledore, saying: "The aurors have captured Black and..." he hesitated, "Bellatrix found the Longbottoms. She tortured them with the help of her husband and Crouch Jr."
"But Frank and Alice are alive?" asked Florence, her voice small, as if she already knew the answer to her question.
"Yes. But... they've been transferred to the Janus Thickey Ward," said Severus with a grimace.
"Oh, no..." she inhaled sharply, fully aware of what that meant.
"According to Healer Smethwyck, there's nothing that can bring them back," Severus finished.
"No no no," Florence kept whispering through her tears; anger beginning to rise as she thought of all that had been lost that night.
Severus looked at her, his heart clenching at the sight of her despair.
"Go to her, Severus," whispered Dumbledore, "She needs you."
He shook his head, "She hates me. I said things..."
Then Florence asked: "What about my..." she stopped herself before revealing too much, "What about Voldemort?"
Dumbledore looked at Severus and he showed her his left forearm, where the Dark Mark had turned grey instead of its usual black, "He's gone."
"Gone how? Dead?" Florence asked, feeling a little hopeful.
"Some people say he's dead but I don't think so," answered Dumbledore, "He's just weak, and it'll probably take him a long time to return, but one day he'll find a way to come back, of that I have no doubt."
Florence nodded, looking at the crib by the window.
"How did Harry survive?" she asked.
"Lily threw herself in front of her son. She gave her life to protect him," explained Dumbledore, smiling softly, "Voldemort underestimated the power of the love of a mother."
Florence nodded, "I'd give my life for my boys too..." and for the jealous dunderhead moron they have for a father as well. She thought angrily.
Pomfrey checked on Remus, confirming that he'd be fine, just like Severus had said.
And Dumbledore pulled Severus to a corner, discussing something with him in hushed tones.
Florence couldn't care less about what they were so covertly talking about; she was too angry at Severus, and too sad for all the people she'd lost, to give a fuck right then.
Instead, she got up from the bed and walked slowly to Harry's crib, looking at him as he slept peacefully; she touched his warm chubby cheek, noticing the rectangular bandage on his forehead.
"Harry is going to live with me from now on," Florence said out loud, "I'm his godmother; I'll take care of him."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Florence," said Dumbledore, shaking his head and walking closer to her.
She glared at him, "What are you talking about? I'm his legal guardian now! I love this boy!" she said, not liking what the Headmaster was saying.
"Well, you see... when Lily gave her life to protect him, she gave him so much more – her blood now protects him. Therefore he must live with those of her blood," said Dumbledore.
"What?" asked Florence looking at him, outraged.
"I think I may have misunderstood you, Headmaster," said Severus, walking closer to them, "You're not saying that Harry must be given to the Dursleys, are you?"
"Yes, Severus. That's the right thing to do," confirmed Dumbledore.
"You're insane!" hissed Florence, walking towards him, "I won't allow it! Petunia will torture him!"
"I agree with Florence, Headmaster," said Severus, concerned.
"That woman is full of hate!" Florence continued, her fury creating a whirlwind around the three of them, "Petunia hates everything magical, and Harry has already shown signs of possessing magical powers. She'll hurt him because he is something that she isn't!"
"You'll be forcing the boy to live a miserable life, Dumbledore," added Severus.
"I'd love nothing more than to be able to give him to you, Florence," continued Dumbledore in a soft voice, "But this blood protection will only work if he lives near someone who has Lily's blood. And Petunia Dursley is our only option. We'll keep an eye on him; if this blood protection doesn't work, he'll go straight to your house. Otherwise, he'll live with the Dursleys until he's eleven and then we'll have him here in the castle – where, I trust, his godmother will send him to study," he paused, looking at Florence.
She glared intently at him, "I swear, right now I'm considering sending him to Ilvermorny!"
Dumbledore chuckled, "Rest now, Flor," then he glanced at Severus, before leaving the infirmary.
The whirlwind ceased and Severus just looked at Florence, expecting to see her hatred, but her emerald eyes were just deeply sad and angry.
She stared at him expectantly in return, but he just turned and left after Dumbledore.
Florence watched him go and shook her head, more tears falling, her hands touching her collarbone, missing her necklace.
"You know that Severus was just jealous, Flor," said Pomfrey, helping her get back to bed.
"I know. It just makes me so furious that he would ever think that I'd sleep with Remus and just fall into bed with him hours later," Florence said, exasperated, "I've never had any other man touch me, and he just... uggh! He's so frustrating!" she fisted her hands in the duvet covering her legs.
"Would you forgive him if he apologised?"
Florence let out a deep breath before answering: "Yes, I would. He's been growling in jealousy because of Remus for a while now. I love Severus, Pomfrey, more than he's deserving at the moment."
She paused, remembering Dumbledore saying that her father wasn't dead, "But maybe it's better this way," she laid her hand on her lower belly; that night her baby had joined Lily and James in the list of loved ones her father had taken from her – and she'd make him pay for each one of them.