The Death Eaters all thought over one thing: that Lord Voldemort had a new favorite and he was now awfully close with that other person.
Of course, it came to no surprise that Severus Snape had caught the Dark Lord's eyes especially due to the Fiendfyre incident in his seventh year, but even with Snape's wondrous potions skills and great dueling lessons they still wondered what made the powerful man to not give Snape the Dark Mark despite having mingled with the Death Eaters on a regular basis. Did the Dark Lord have something else planned for him?
However, all of them agreed that Snape was in no danger, considering how Lord Voldemort often had Snape sat by his left side and the two were openly holding hands with small smiles whenever there was a meeting. When asked though, both men only gave them subtle answers, such as:
"What happened back then was between me and him only."
"The Dark Lord gave me an important task, and I intend to execute it as swift as possible."
"I have no reason to doubt Severus."
"The Dark Lord had earned my utmost trust, and I want to keep it that way."
The Death Eaters didn't know much what had happened after the supposed party back in early April, but Snape now looked different than when they last saw him; he looked gaunter than usual and got tired easily, though they assumed it was due to his weakened body caused by the Fiendfyre. He was also more paranoid, eyes glancing around in fear of hearing loud noises as Lord Voldemort once warned them while practicing duels before going to the skirmishes with the Light side.
Through it all, they collectively agreed that Severus Snape was full of mysteries, and only Lord Voldemort was lucky enough to uncover them all.
Peter Pettigrew couldn't help but to wonder what had happened to Severus Snape.
He was in the cottage behind the British Library alongside Snape's friend Mortimer, who was currently reading a book on the couch. The dour Potions Master opposite Peter had always looked pale, but what he saw at the moment was rather unsettling especially with his unhealthy pallor and sallow skin, and Peter almost jumped in fright when he noticed Snape's disguised eyes were scrutinizing him as he asked, "How's the Order these days?"
Peter gulped silently. "Just the usual stuff," he shrugged, "Dumbledore was holding out meetings on different days with different people. I don't know much, but perhaps it was a safety measure."
"And does he suspect you?"
At that, Peter shook his head. He was still glad of Snape's suggestion to put his desire of getting into the Death Eaters on hold for a while, at least until he was fully cleared of any suspicion from the Light side. James too, had never told anyone about Peter was an unregistered Animagus, keeping up the act that he was the dumbest among the Marauders.
Speaking of the Marauders, he wondered what happened to Remus Lupin after hearing about his escape from Azkaban back in December 1979.
Snape only hummed. "Are there anyone in the Order who may expect a child somewhere at end of July or early August?"
Peter blinked, "Uh, if I remember well, the Longbottoms will have their first son around that time."
"What of the Potters? Do they let you visit them?"
"I- I don't think Lily had given birth just yet, quite curious really but… I don't know where they live now," Peter squeaked, wondering why Snape asked such bizarre questions.
Snape narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean?"
From the corner of his eyes, Peter could see Mortimer was slightly leaning in to listen to their conversation. "Y- You know, with the war spreading to other wizarding communities… they must had fled to the Muggle world. James, h- he never shared his location to me either; only sending me letters so…"
Snape furrowed his dark brows and tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I suppose so," he finally said after a while, "Thank you for your time." When he gave him a small pouch, Peter simply took it and thanked the two men with a polite bow before leaving.
There were two figures in her dreams.
One had orange eyes and looked as if he got terribly burnt, while the other's eyes were red and was ghostly pale.
The figures were barely there at first, but as her pregnancy progressed they were getting clearer, bony hands stretching out to reach her with wide crazed eyes. The one with orange eyes was especially frightening her with his slender and skinny limbs, making her wonder what had happened to it and why it looked rather vicious and grotesque.
And they were haunting Lily Evans-Potter's mind.
It was mid-July, and she had just woken up from another nightmare featuring the two mysterious figures, subconsciously caressing her swollen belly to distract herself. Her child was supposedly nearing the time to be born, yet she felt no pain apart from the usual backache and fatigue. She had heard tales that children who were born slightly later than their expected time would be smart, powerful people and she smiled at the thought.
That someday, Harry Sirius Potter would make history in the wizarding world of Britain.
And yet, something greatly worried her. That despite the fact Harry would be born long after she and James had married, their son's status would still be illegitimate according to the wizarding law due to their coupling out of wedlock. And that meant Harry could not possess or inherit any wealth from the Potter family unless another (legitimate) child changed his status.
Lily briefly shook her head in denial; she would not let her son be scorned and made fun of by other people just like what happened after her marriage in 31st October 1979. He didn't deserve such cruelty, especially with the war still raging on without an end.
Sighing, she then looked around the dimly lit bedroom with a weak smile. She and her husband had hid in her childhood home in for nearly two months now, and were rather pleased to know the neighborhood was slowly getting abandoned as people were migrating to the big town for work.
As she lay on the bed in waiting for her husband to return home, she whispered fondly to her child, "You will be a great man, Harry."
James Potter had just finished his usual lessons with his godfather, Albus Dumbledore regarding Lord Voldemort – more accurately, about You-Know-Who's past. It was still rather disbelieving that the evil man was once a handsome, cunning young man who truly had descended from Salazar Slytherin, especially with his strange power to talk to snakes of all things.
James admitted he once liked the idea of immortality, wanting to stay young for the rest of his life but upon knowing the method used by You-Know-Who and its aftereffects… well, he figured there was a reason why Gryffindor was called the House of Bravery while Slytherin was the House of Cowardice, much more than the Hufflepuffs.
Taking out his mahogany wand, James then focused his mind to Apparate before leaving the Dumbledore house in Godric's Hollow and reappeared nearby the Evans family home in Spinner's End, Cokeworth.
Lily Evans' parents had deceased merely two months before his own parents followed suit during the dragon pox disease raged throughout wizarding Britain, and with Lily's sister Petunia had left to live somewhere nearby London, the house became theirs. It made a great hiding place, considering James saw less and less people as time passed, slowly turning Cokeworth into a ghost town.
However, he decided to take a brief walk around the somber neighborhood before seeing his wife and winced slightly when the bright sunlight flashed against his round spectacles. The summer in Spinner's End greatly differed from where he once lived in Godric's Hollow, with the heat blazing through the day and the grounds were dry as if in a drought.
He was reaching the abandoned playground nearby the river when he saw someone at the huge oak tree and his brown eyes widened upon realizing who it was.
Severus Snape, with his brown owl perched on left shoulder as always.
Blinking hard, James went to hide behind a house close by and tried hard to remember why Snape was there before mentally slapped his forehead. His wife was once close friends with Snape, and no doubt if he followed the young man clad in black, he would find out where Snape truly lived and see for himself if he was lying about his Invisibility Cloak being stolen.
James reached for his satchel and took out a slivery cloak, which was a much inferior invisibility cloak compared to what he once had before draping it over himself. Despite everything, it was an important tool for his Auror job and narrowing his eyes, he then slowly approached Snape. He was slightly surprised to see Snape no longer used his wooden cane, and frowned upon seeing Snape's facial features.
Snape looked… very off. James still remembered how the young man's black eyes seemed to glitter in triumph whenever he was winning against the Marauders back in Hogwarts but now… they were totally dull. There were also dark circles around his eyes, making him much paler than what he actually looked. His hooked nose that James and Sirius usually made fun of was smaller though, and with his high, sharp cheekbones he looked rather handsome to those who liked macabre or gothic sense.
James was only a few feet away from where Snape was standing, watching silently as the man casted a few spells onto the oak tree, which was strangely black in color as if it got struck by a random lightning bolt. A few of those spells were ones he often heard while his late mother, Euphemia tended to the gardens nearby Potter Manor, and wondered if Snape was fond of the tree.
After a while, Snape clicked his tongue in slight frustration. The brown owl hooted softly and Snape glanced at it as if he understood what the bird said. Not long afterward, he turned back to the tree and muttered an apology before taking his leave.
Seeing his chance, James began to follow the young man and unknowingly stepped over something. He didn't get to see what it was, but the animal (it must be an animal; otherwise he would know if it was a spell; he was an Auror for Merlin's sake!) had bit his leg and he fell onto the ground, clutching his injured limb.
"S- Snape!" he gasped in utter pain, "Help me!" He didn't care that he was caught in the act; all he wanted at the moment was to reduce the profuse bleeding on his ankle and the increasing drowsiness in his mind. What animal could do these to him? Was it a spider?
As expected, Severus Snape quickly whirled around with wide eyes; his wand was already in hand. The owl flapped its wings to stabilize itself and from his teary eyes, James could see the man wordlessly sent a gust of wind around the place and how Snape's face turned into a grimace of surprise and horror after the invisibility cloak blew away.
"Well, well, well," Snape spoke after approaching him, "what do we have here?"