Chapter Fifty-Seven

Severus withdrew back into the jewelry store and turned a heavy gaze to Lily. "The ring will have to wait," he said grimly.

"What happened?" Lily said in a strained voice, worry etched all over her face.

The store owner looked unnerved and shaken as well, but she didn't say anything. It was plain that their deeply romantic moment was ruined by the devastation outside. Hell was in the streets.

"Someone has just been killed," Severus told Lily and the shopkeeper. "The Dark Mark... his sign, Lily... it's in the sky beyond Hogsmeade. His followers place it in the sky whenever they attack, and usually that means someone has been killed."

"You-Know-Who's sign?" Lily asked in a small voice. She was gripping her wand tightly.

Severus nodded. "We need to get the students back to Hogwarts."

Severus wished Lily could stay in the jewelry shop, but as Head Girl, it was just as much her duty as it was his to round up the students and tell them to return to the school. Two teachers would have chaperoned and would need to be informed if they didn't know of the attack already.

"Come on," Severus urged, reaching for Lily's hand. "Do you have a back door?" he asked the shopkeeper.

The witch nodded fervently and directed them to the back of the store. Cautiously, Severus and Lily stepped outside and made their way around the building. Once they reached the main street, mayhem was loose. People were running and screaming in all directions, and amongst the crowd, Severus tried to see if he could spot the Death Eaters responsible for the attack. His eyes caught a blackly-clad figure rounding a corner, opposite of the direction others were going.

"Go to The Three Broomsticks," Severus instructed Lily. "One of the professors, McGonagall, I think, ought to be there. Tell her what happened, and alert the students along the way. They must get back to Hogwarts immediately."

"And what about you, Sev? Aren't you coming with me?" Lily questioned frantically.

"I'll be along in a minute, Lily. I... I need to know who died."

"But why, Sev? If you go down that alley, you're risking exposing yourself to whoever killed that poor soul. No, I won't let you!"

Severus gazed at Lily with pleading eyes. "Lily, you must!" He grabbed her hand and ran into the street, joining countless others who were panicking.

Above them, the Dark Mark was starting to dissolve, but the greenish haze still hung in the sky, mixing with the clouds. The rain began to fall harder, pounding against their skin, and once they were near the alley where the young girl had screamed murder not more than five minutes ago, Severus released Lily's hand and shoved her into the crowd, quickly putting distance between them. He heard Lily's desperate and angry protests amongst a stream of cries all around him, but he went toward the alley.

"Go back to the school!" Severus bellowed at the students mobbing around him. "Go back! Go!"

He had to know who died... if it was true. He just couldn't leave the poor victim there, not when he felt he should have done something. He racked his brain, trying to remember if Hogsmeade had been similarly attacking during his seventh year before, but nothing came to mind. Lily's cries had long ago died away, and the crowd was quickly thinning out nearby.

Severus held his wand, ready to strike at any moment. His eyes shifted from side-to-side, watching for any sign of the perpetrator, but there was no one there... no one alive, that was. Severus figured the Death Eaters were long gone by now, and a part of him railed to find the sorry bastards and make them pay. Instead, he was left trying to discern the blackness of the alley from the blackness of the limp mass lying on the ground at the dead end straight ahead.

Severus never let down his guard as he approached the body. He hoped against hope that whoever it was wasn't really dead. Maybe they had just been Stunned, but Severus knew better. He had firsthand experience of being on the giving end as a Death Eater, and he knew exactly what that mark in the sky meant.

When Severus was upon the body, he stood facing the person's backside. Severus wouldn't dare touch the body, never trusting what might happen. He flicked his wand, and the body turned over, revealing the face.

Severus's breath caught in his throat.

Gazing back at him with empty eyes was Peter Pettigrew.

"Oh, shit," Severus muttered, shaking his head. He was too shocked for any other emotion to sink in yet. He turned abruptly, checking the alley once again for any sign of somebody being there in the shadows, but he was alone.

Severus muttered, "Mobilicorpus," levitating Peter's body, and then conjured a blanket to cover him. He wondered where Peter's friends had been. Hadn't Potter, Black, Lupin, and he been inseparable, at least not so long ago?

Reaching the main street again, Severus saw that it was empty on this end of the village. He could see students congregating farther down, walking or running away from where he was standing, no doubt making their way on the path to the school. Severus wasted no time in quickly going toward the crowd. Peter's body was fully covered, lest anyone see it.

As Severus walked past another alley, he heard someone whimpering and stopped. He wondered why no one had stopped to help whoever was in pain, but perhaps it was a trick? Severus gazed down the alley, wishing more than anything for a sunny day. The rain and darkness were making his vision limited, but he was able to spot the form of a boy about his age leaning against the side of a building, half-hidden next to some barrels.

Severus moved Peter's body to the side, keeping it in the shadow of the abandoned building as much as possible. Holding his wand aloft, he demanded, "Who's there?"

He heard a sharp intake of breath, and a rough voice replied, "Remus Lupin. Please, I am not a Death Eater. I've been attacked, and my friend Peter is missing."

Severus frowned. Lupin must not have recognized his voice. He stepped closer, seeing that it was indeed Lupin. The other boy was bleeding profusely from an injury on the side of his torso, buckling over in obvious pain. With a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach, knowing how Lupin must have sustained this injury, he knelt down in front of him.

"Lupin," Severus said harshly, as Lupin's attention was waning, "look at me."

Lupin's eyes went in and out of focus as he found Severus. "S-Severus?" he rasped.

Severus nodded. "You've been gravely injured, Lupin. We must get you to Madam Pomfrey, but first, I need to mend your injury."

Lupin grimaced as he barely nodded, and Severus uttered the songlike incantation to heal the wound. He kicked himself mentally for ever teaching his own curses to his old friends.

"Can you stand?" Severus asked gruffly, stepping back.

"I- I think so," Lupin replied, wincing as he made to stand.

"Let's go," Severus said. "Everyone else is mostly on their way back to the school by now."

Once they were back on the main street, Lupin's eyes were searching wildly for Peter. "Have you seen Peter?" he demanded, his voice weak.

Severus didn't know what to say, but he couldn't very well hold off telling the truth when Peter's covered body was feet away. He nodded solemnly and gestured toward the dark mass off to the side of the street. Lupin gasped and held his free hand to his mouth, trying to refrain from vomiting. His other hand, which was at his side where the wound had been, grasped blindly at the front of his robe at his stomach, and he turned away from Severus, retching.

Severus levitated Peter's body again, hoping Lupin would hurry, but not blaming him for his reaction. When Lupin had emptied the contents of his stomach, he came to Severus's side as fast as he could carry himself. He reached for the cloth covering Peter's feet, where the body was drifting in the air just in front of them.

"Is he really-?" he croaked.

Severus glanced sideways at Lupin and saw that the other boy's eyes were shining with tears. In that moment, it didn't matter that they had ever been rivals.

"Yes," was all Severus managed.

They walked in silence, making their way to the other end of the village, which was now completely empty of students. All the shops were closed down and warded.

Finally, Severus forced himself to ask the burning question. "What happened? Who did this?"

"It was Mulciber... the older one who got expelled last year, and some other Death Eaters, although I couldn't see their faces," Lupin murmured, sounding weak and out of breath.

Severus paused in his tracks for a second, letting Lupin catch his breath, concerned the Gryffindor boy would fall over if he overexerted himself. They began their trek back to the school again, and Severus hoped Lily was all right. She was probably inside by now.

"Peter and I were alone," Lupin began again. "James was with Mary at The Three Broomsticks, and Sirius was in no mood to come today. He remained at Hogwarts. Anyway, Mulciber or someone with him... I couldn't remember who, went for me first, and then Mulciber, yes, definitely him, he- he grabbed Peter and Disapparated with him. I didn't know where he'd gone..."

Lupin's voice cracked. Severus wouldn't ask him any more questions. His fears were confirmed. They were on school grounds now, drenched entirely through their clothing and shaking with chills from the dropping temperature. They continued the rest of the way in silence, finally making their way up the stairs to the main doors and going inside.

The moment they entered, Severus was nearly knocked over by Lily, who rushed at him vigorously and wrapped her arms around him.

"Oh, thank God!" she exclaimed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Severus, don't you ever do that again!"

Severus returned the hug, but didn't say anything. When Lily noticed Lupin standing not too far away and the black mass floating in midair, she gasped.

"What-?"

"Pettigrew is dead, Lily," Severus said quietly, glancing from Lupin to her. "And Lupin was attacked. Lupin, you really ought to go to the infirmary. I can take Pettigrew's body to the headmaster."

Severus knew he sounded clinical, but he didn't mean to be insensitive. Someone had to keep a cool head in this situation, after all.

"No," Lupin protested. "I ought to talk to the headmaster, too. I was there when the assault started."

As he argued, though, Lupin felt his side begin to split open, and he fell to the floor. Severus shook his head, both angered and worried. He whispered the healing incantation again, and Lily watched him, her mouth hanging open, the nagging question left unasked.

"Lily, please usher him to the infirmary," Severus said firmly. "The headmaster will come see you when he's ready, Lupin."

Lily didn't contend. With a quick nod, she gently took Lupin's arm, and he complied, letting her lead him away. Severus watched them go, took a deep breath, and moved Peter's body across the Entrance Hall toward the headmaster's office. When he reached the door, Dumbledore was already standing there, as if expecting him.

"Severus," Dumbledore stated levelly, his eyes resting on Peter's body, "come in."

Severus was silent as he followed Dumbledore up to his office. Dumbledore took over levitating Peter's body and gingerly lowered him onto a couch once inside the headmaster's office.

"Severus, please sit," Dumbledore said, indicating the chair in front of his desk, the chair Severus had spent countless times in.

Severus slumped into the chair, his thoughts an absolute mess, wondering how a day could go from being so wonderful to so tragic. His dark eyes followed the ancient wizard as he removed the cloth from Peter's face and gazed momentarily upon him. With an age spotted hand, Dumbledore brought his fingers over Peter's eyes and closed them, and Severus looked away, feeling he was disturbing something private.

"Thank you for bringing Peter's body back to Hogwarts, Severus," Dumbledore said softly, covering Peter once again and coming to his desk, where he sat down opposite of Severus. He surveyed Severus over his half-moon spectacles for a minute, and then continued, "Miss Evans, that is, Lily... told me you had gone down the alley of the attack. That is how I knew to expect you. What you did was very brave and noble, Severus, and it has not escaped my attention what you have been doing this year - watching out for those less trained than yourself. I knew you had been training Peter Pettigrew these past couple of weeks."

Severus's head shot up at that last part. "How did you know, sir?" he couldn't help but ask.

"I am the headmaster, Severus," Dumbledore said mysteriously, smiling slightly, but his expression rapidly dissolved into a pensive one. "I must ask you - Was anyone else hurt that you know of?"

"Yes, sir... Remus Lupin was cursed with... with Sectumsempra," Severus muttered, ashamed and staring at his hands as they nervously fidgeted on his lap.

"Ah, the curse you invented," Dumbledore observed, although there was no accusation or malice in his tone.

"I healed him as best as I could. He's in the infirmary with Madam Pomfrey as we speak. He could tell you more about what happened, but he did tell me that Mulciber... Michael Mulciber was among the Death Eaters. Mulciber took Pettigrew, and I assume he also killed him."

Dumbledore nodded, taking everything in and considering it. "Very well, Severus. If you are all right, you are free to go. And I would like to award Slytherin fifty points for your actions today."

Normally, Severus would have felt proud to hear such praise from Dumbledore, as he had longed for him to acknowledge his sacrifices so many times in the past, but the events from less than an hour ago were still raw in his mind. Standing, Severus nodded weakly and felt his legs aimlessly leading him to the door.

After leaving the headmaster's office, Severus thought immediately of Lily and figured she might still be in the infirmary with Lupin. He felt drained to the point of numbness. Going toward the infirmary, Severus was relieved when he saw Lily walking toward him at one point.

"Sev," she said, smiling feebly.

Severus stopping walking and just stood there, his arms hanging loosely at his sides. Lily approached him, concerned, and took one of his hands in hers.

"Sev, wrong's wrong?" she enquired softly. She took her free hand and moved it to his cheek, gently stroking it. Some of his hair had fallen loose from the ponytail and now hung in his face, so Lily tenderly tucked the strand behind his ear. "Let's go to our place," she said, meaning their broom closet.

Severus let Lily guide him to their secret place, and once they were in private, Severus leaned back against the wall, staring at the ceiling. "I'm sorry I didn't have time to give you a ring," he muttered. "I had it all arranged with the store's owner, and I wanted you to be able to pick one out on your own. Then those damn Death Eaters had to-" Severus ground his teeth, knowing he wasn't saying what was really on his mind.

"Sev, don't be silly," Lily said affectionately. "I am so touched; you have no idea. What you had planned for today... It was the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me. I already said yes, and I'm not going to change my mind simply because I haven't got a ring yet. Even if I never had a ring, that still wouldn't change the way I feel about you. When you risked going off on your own today, I was incredibly worried about you. To think if they would have done to you what they did to Peter..." she trailed off, her throat closing.

As they were sitting on the floor, Lily inched closer to Severus and embraced him. Tears spilled out of her closed eyes and onto the front of his robes as she buried her face in material there, and Severus stroked the back of her head, his fingers carding soothingly through her hair.

"I never meant to scare you, Lily; I'm sorry," Severus murmured, his voice rough with emotion. "I am concerned that my past sins have followed me, though. You know what they used on Lupin... my invention, Lily, mine. God, I was so stupid to share my spells with them!" Severus exclaimed, his voice growing louder and more upset with every word.

Lily withdrew her face from his robes and gazed upon his anguished face. "Sev, no... Don't blame yourself. You have been brilliant, brave, true, and kind. You helped Peter in his last days, not knowing they would be his last-"

"And look where it got him, Lily!" Severus cried. "Killed! Maybe it would have been better if I hadn't gotten involved. Mulciber's brother knew I was watching out for Pettigrew, and he must have gone and told Mulciber, my old friend, what I was up to."

"But there's no way they could have known you were training Peter," Lily pointed out carefully.

"It doesn't matter," Severus spat bitterly, hating himself for any number of reasons.

A passing thought went through his mind at that moment. What if Peter would have joined the Death Eaters knowing all that Severus had taught him? Severus felt like a fool and added this to his list of crimes.

"I'm not giving any more dueling sessions," Severus muttered. "I hate teaching, anyway."

He folded his arms defensively over his chest, and Lily could see that he was closing up and folding into himself, hiding behind walls he had long ago erected.

Lily tried to pry his arms apart, but they wouldn't budge. Instead, she took his face in her hands, looking him straight in the eyes. Unlike the cold tunnels her son had seen there in another life, all Lily could see was a lost, lonely, scared little boy, wanting nothing more than to be loved.

"Sev... Severus, look at me," she said.

Look... at... me...

Severus's last words to Harry came to the forefront of his mind as he heard those very words spoken to him. His eyes, very much alive, found Lily's. Nothing faded in the black this time, but his passion only grew.

"There's better," Lily commended. "Don't you ever doubt yourself. You just asked me to marry you, and I said yes. Sev, I love you for who you are, and when you asked me to spend the rest of my life with you, I could think of nothing I would rather do than walk through every part of life, both the good and the bad, together. Together, Sev. Not alone. You're not alone. I'm here with you, for you, always."

"Always," Severus echoed, the most sacred word to him. He blinked several times, watching at Lily's tears fell, mirrored on his face. His arms had unfolded as she had spoken, and now he enveloped her once again, his always and forever.