warning: may contain graphic description of a dead body
"Have you seen Sirius?"
It was the morning of 23rd May, and James Potter was seriously worried of his best friend's whereabouts. Not to mention it had been the third day since his disappearance. He first thought Sirius simply walked around to hang out with some chicks (who barely tolerated him after the mutt fiasco in their sixth year), but his search had amounted to nothing so far.
The Ravenclaw students all shook their heads. "Sorry, Potter. Though, aren't you guys good in finding stuff?" one of them spoke, and the others chimed in their agreement.
At that, James clicked his tongue in disappointment. If only he still had the Marauders' Map, this wouldn't happen. He absent-mindedly thanked the Ravens and was about to ask other students when his narrowed eyes fell onto Severus Snape, who was at the Slytherin table with his friends.
Ever since the Slytherin boy returned to Hogwarts, he wondered what exactly had happened. Didn't they all say Snape only fell down the stairs due to being scared of his Boggart? Why would he need a new room close to Professor Slughorn's chambers? And that wheelchair, too! If his leg was broken, why didn't he consult Madam Pomfrey to heal it?
No, there was certainly something fishy going on with Snape, and he was determined to find out what it was. With that in mind, James marched toward the Snakes' table and slammed his hand down, causing the students nearby to jump in their seats, including Snape.
Regulus Black turned to him sourly, "What do you want, Potter?"
"I have the authority to ask questions, and right now I demand of Sirius' whereabouts," James huffed, "Where is he, Snape?"
"Why are you asking me?" Snape said weakly. "I barely saw him ever since I got here, now do I?"
James scanned Snape's visage, which was gaunt and almost pale as a ghost. His high cheekbones seemed more pronounced than before, and from a closer look it did seem like Snape was really sick. But surely it was all an act. Yes, that must be it; he had heard tales that Slytherins were so good at deceiving people, and this must be one of those times.
"Stand up."
Snape merely blinked.
"Don't make me repeat myself, Snape. Get up."
"Oi, Potter," the muscular one among Snape's friends, Alaric Mulciber spoke fiercely, "Get out of here, will you?"
"Can't you see what he's on?" Evan Rosier added, frowning in distaste at him.
"It seemed to me, that he was faking his injuries in order to gain some sympathy!" James shouted, barely minding where he was.
Gasps reverberated through the Great Hall, with the students in green and silver all shared a look while Snape had his eyes widened and uttered in disbelief, "Faking…? W- Why would I…?"
"Stubborn, aren't you?" James snarled, "Well in that case, I'll just make you to!" He then grabbed Snape's shirt collar and dragged the boy from his wheelchair a few feet away before harshly letting him go.
For a moment, his theory was proven correct. But merely seconds later, it crumbled to ashes as Snape lost his balance and was about to land on the floor when his Slytherin friends luckily caught him in time.
"What was that for?!" Regulus shouted.
James looked around in utter disbelief as the rest of the students in the Great Hall gave him deadly glares before staring back at Snape who had sat back on his wheelchair, currently being tended by his friends. The boy's face was deathly white and his body was shaking heavily in fright as he held the wheels in a tight grip, and even a moron knew well that was not a fake expression.
It seemed that Severus Snape's injury was something that magic could not heal, and James felt like the worst person ever existed at the moment.
"You monster!" someone spoke throughout the chaos.
The catcalls and boos that entered his ears afterward were maddening, and James ran out of the hall with clasped ears; not stopping until he passed by the greenhouses for Herbology classes. It was not until moments later did he realize he was nearby the Whomping Willow, which led to the Shrieking Shack where his other friend Remus Lupin would hide himself in during the full moon, which happened last night.
Surely the Ministry of Magic's officer who guarded the place was gone by now. Grimacing, James went to the Whomping Willow and picked up a long stick to poke the bump on one of the living tree's roots so he could get in there. He avoided the swinging branches with his Quidditch reflexes and smiled when the usually ballistic plant froze and crouched into the tunnel at its base.
Had it been over a year since he entered the place? It sure was nostalgic, and James wanted to remember the place where only the Marauders (and Severus Snape) knew well. He took out his wand and muttered, "Lumos," to see his path better within the darkness when he saw something nearby the Shrieking Shack's entrance.
His curiosity won over, and James held his wand high to see the item more clearly before he tripped over his own feet and let out an ear-splitting shriek.
Lying on the wooden floor was the mangled, bloodied corpse of Sirius Black.
It seemed that Albus Dumbledore's wish for the school year to be a peaceful one didn't come true.
The incident that befell Severus Snape back in early March was terrible, but the Slytherin boy still managed to return albeit now heavily depended on his friends to move around. Albus mourned the fact that one of his students were gravely injured within Hogwarts, and hoped that Snape would get the best treatment after his graduation.
The great wizened wizard was enjoying his breakfast in his room when James Potter barged in with teary eyes, telling him that Sirius Black was killed by Remus Lupin. All of the sudden, his face went pale and he called the other teachers to see the proof by themselves.
Suffice to say, it was a bleak day for Hogwarts. The magical school had had many deaths over the years, with the one before that day was about thirty-five years ago. Back then, Albus actually had the reason to suspect Tom Riddle as the actual culprit but not this time.
Sirius Black's body was almost torn to shreds, with his grey eyes remained open wide as if in disbelief that his own friend had attacked him. The restrictive Animagus collar Bartemius Crouch Sr. had put on him since last school year was still around his neck though marred with claw marks, and Albus lamented that such incident could've been avoided if only the boy had kept quiet about his ability.
Albus knew he merely delayed the inevitable when he dismissed Severus Snape's claim for Remus Lupin to be detained about three years ago, and now he reaped what he had sown. He no longer could hide the incident under the rug, and the others knew it too.
"Why, Padfoot?" James cried out in pure anguish, "We're just weeks away from N.E.W.Ts and our freedom!" Beside him, Lily Evans had her mouth covered, green eyes widened in utmost terror.
"Should we let the children to go home early?" Pomona Sprout asked timidly.
His confidant, Minerva McGonagall frowned, "But the fifth-years and seventh-years… what about their exams? Albus…?"
Albus could only sigh before sending out his phoenix Patronus to Harold Minchum to inform him about the tragedy, all the while wondering how the future would fare without his presence.
Remus Lupin had hoped it was merely a dream.
When he woke up after the night of his greatest fear came to life, he had run away in utmost fright, convincing himself that the dead body lying there was simply an illusion or a hallucination, or even a product of his exhaustion due to being a wild, uncontrolled werewolf.
But as the day-off he had gone by, he knew it was not the case.
By the time he woke up nearly in noon, he saw the headmaster, Professor McGonagall, James Potter, Lily Evans and Peter Pettigrew all stood by his bed with steely eyes.
"Mr. Lupin," Albus Dumbledore spoke gravely, "We'll need to talk."
Dread began to fill in Remus' heart and tears started pooling over his eyes. All he could think of was that he wanted to run away. He had to. It was not his fault; how was he supposed to know Sirius was hiding himself in the Shack?! What did the boy even do in there in the first place?
It was a shame that there were no such spells that could tell other people about someone's last memory as a form of evidence.
The hearing of Sirius Black's murder was set up the next day, and Remus tried hard to plead that he was not guilty of doing such act. Since he was already an adult by the wizarding law, his parents made no attempt to attend to the Wizengamot court in defense of their only child.
"James!" Remus called out in tears, "James, I'd… I'd never do such thing! Please, just listen to me!"
But what else could he prove? The evidences all showed that he was the one who did it; and right after the judge slammed the gavel down, confirming Remus' punishment to serve a life sentence in Azkaban, two Dementors appeared to take him away to the dreaded magical prison.
Remus was utterly paralyzed in his seat as the whole courtroom turned cold, feeling his joyful moments were sucked by the hooded creatures. He turned to the crowd for the last time in hopes that someone would rescue him when he made eye contact with James, who mouthed out a word that pierced through his heart, "Murderer."
And Remus screamed.
Regulus Black had not expected the news at all.
After Sirius ran away from Grimmauld Place in his fourth year, he had hoped that his parents still would let the boy possess some wealth since he was the Black family's heir. Though, the incident with the Muggle authorities had stripped such privileges from him and Regulus tried his best to be the new head of the family since both Orion and Walburga had grown old.
He never thought Sirius would end up dying in the process of defying their parents' teaching about blood purity.
Most students had expressed their thoughts about his older brother fondly, with the exception of the Slytherin students of course.
"It truly was a shame to lose such young blood," Professor Slughorn had told the Snakes after Remus Lupin's hearing was concluded, "I'd think that Albus had thought about that matter seriously when he first told us about Mr. Lupin's entry, but as you all can see; only the opposite happened."
"Will the school let other half-breed students to come into Hogwarts next year, sir?" one of the students asked.
At that, the stout professor frowned, "Who knows, Mr. Maddock. Though, I sure hope Minerva won't do the same mistakes as Albus'. That man sure was naïve."
And as Regulus stood in front of the tombstone etched nearby the Forbidden Forest, he wondered of what could have been if Sirius was in Slytherin as their parents wished.
June arrived, and with that came the N.E.W.Ts. The seventh-year students all scrambled around to be with their friends; trying hard to memorize whatever it was that might appear in the question papers and such. Now, one might say getting the students to simply live on as if nothing had happened merely a week ago was insensitive, but what else could be done?
Ignorance was bliss, after all.
Meanwhile, Death had been the spectator of what had occurred.
It watched from the shadows as the supposed Master weaved his way through the hardships of life with grit and determination, not willing to let his phantom raven's sacrifice to be in vain.
When summer break came, the boy went home through the help from his family's house-elves since his magical core was still weak to be able using the Portkey pendant. The Grim Reaper observed as the moving portraits of the Prince family greeted their heir kindly, while the only ghost in the manor was glad of his decision to stay behind.
It remained invisible when the boy and his basilisk made eye contact with knowing smiles during dinnertime.
"Severus, do you need to go to bed now, or…?" Septimus Prince said after bringing the boy to his room.
Severus shook his head, "I can do it on my own. Thanks again, Septimus."
After the ghost closed the door, Death quickly put up a silencing spell around the place and watched as Severus moved his wheelchair to the mirror and carefully took out the contact lenses he wore before putting them into the capsule. He then opened one of his school trunks, his orange eyes were fixed onto a glass jar in which inside of it was a translucent grey cloud akin to a spirit's form.
"Are you going to punish me?" he broke the silence.
The Grim Reaper considered its choice of answers. It knew the boy will do as it was if it said the words, but did it want to?
"…No."
The boy lowered his head in gratitude, "Thank you."
As Severus Prince's maniacal laughter echoed across the silenced room, even Death couldn't help but to smile at him.
A/N: I'd like to talk more of what happened in the Chamber of Secrets in Ch. 39, but perhaps it's best for the next chapter
And thus, this concluded the arc of Severus' seventh-year; do tell what are your thoughts in the comments!