Celosia pulled away, immediately taking her hands off Severus and backing up. He was surprised himself that she even used Legilimency on him, yet he didn't block her or try to push her away. She started shaking with tears forming in her eyes, glaring up at the man in front of her.

"It was you!" She screamed. "YOU killed my husband! You killed my baby!"

"Celosia, please," Severus tried to take a step towards her.

"Don't go near me!" She screeched, making him stop. "All this time, I can't believe I've let myself be so close to you. All this time you've been lying to me!"

"Allow me to explain!" He yelled and she sniffed, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Please, enlighten me!" She exclaimed in a sarcastic tone.

"I was a follower of You-Know-Who at that time, as you know." He explained quickly, not wanting her patience to end and leaving him with so many things to say. "The Prophecy was announced and Voldemort went looking for your sister and her family. He couldn't find them but knew exactly where you were. I was his right hand man, I couldn't refuse him. We didn't know which child the Prophecy would be about, so the Dark Lord told me to get rid of yours before he went to do the same to Lily."

"You murdered my husband and child because of the Dark Lord?" Celosia exclaimed, her temper flaring again.

"I had to! I had no choice!"

"Of course you did, Sev!" She threw her arms in the air. "Look where are you now. You had choices; you just picked the wrong ones!"

Severus watched as tears fell down her cheeks and the want to wipe them away overcame him. He remained where he was, knowing that if he stepped closer to her it would only trigger more shouts and hate filled words. He couldn't lose her, anyone but her. He lost Lily already, he couldn't lose Celosia. She was all he had left.

"I was ordered to kill all three of you." He continued in a calm voice. "I didn't want to do it but I had to. If I didn't do it, Voldemort would have came himself and killed you, and you wouldn't be here standing in front of me. I kept you alive because I needed you here; I needed you to know the truth."

"Truth about what?" She hissed and he stared down at her. Their eye contact was long and Celosia had still glared at him, the look softening with every minute that ticked by. Severus took the opportunity and dove into her mind, sharing his memories with her.

They were all of Celosia and Severus as children. They were playing in the park, talking about magic, and then Hogwarts. Celosia was sorted into Ravenclaw and Severus in Slytherin, both of them staring at each other from across the Hall before going back to their own business. He showed her all the smiles they shared, the arguments they had, the resentment they had for each other, and then their reunion. Severus showed her every single memory of them together, first alone before he included the ones that included Lily and the other Evans.

A memory of Lily, Celosia and Severus sitting on a hill together triggered another memory from Severus, one that he did not intend to show Celosia at all. She saw lightning strike, and as soon as the flash was gone, Godric's Hollow was in front of her. She saw Severus staring up at the house before charging inside. She saw him slip into the open front door, the clean white kitchen untouched. He ventured on into the sitting room, where James Potter's wand lay on the ground in front of the dying fireplace. Severus turned on his heel and continued up the stairs, Celosia's heart breaking as he passed James' dead body, his brown eyes looking up at him blankly through his glasses.

Celosia swallowed the lump in her throat, fresh tears falling down her cheeks as Severus entered the nursery, collapsing on the floor immediately. A one-year old Harry sat in his crib, staring at his mother's dead body and crying out. Severus let out a sob, crawling over to the woman's body, her green eyes staring up at him. The window was crashed and debris lay around her. Severus held the woman in his arms, crying freely as his sobs joined the sound of Harry's, Celosia's dead sister in his arms.

She immediately pulled away and felt a bubble of anger. "That was the night Lily and James died, wasn't it?"

"Yes." Severus nodded, not sure what her reaction would be. He didn't want her to see it; no one was supposed to see it. He wouldn't have shown that memory to anyone.

Celosia glared up at him, Severus taken aback. "Why were you there?" She hissed through her clenched teeth. "Why were you there on the night they died?"

"The Dark Lord was destroyed by Harry Potter." Severus stated the obvious. "I had to make sure they were alright."

"You had to make sure she was alright!" Celosia screamed. "Out of all the people, why was it you? It should have been me! Or even Petunia! We're her family, why were you the first one to cradle my sister's dead body before I had the chance!"

Severus stared at the angered woman in front of him, at a loss for words. A little piece of him felt that she was taking the situation a little too far, and making a big deal about it. Lily was his closest friend, and the woman he loved. Celosia sniffed, wiping away the tears that escaped her lashes. "You were there because you cared for her." She muttered, looking away and crossing her arms. "You loved Lily; you wanted to keep her safe. You didn't care if James or Harry died, you just wanted Lily to yourself."

"That is not true."

"Of course it is!" She exclaimed, glaring back at him. "You cared more about my sister than you've ever cared about me, you're only here because I'm the only remembrance of her you have left!"

"That's not true, and you know it!" Severus roared and the two were silent. "I cared about you and Lily equally, but I loved her with every part of my being. You and I never got along, what was I supposed to do after I killed your husband and made you miscarry from the Cruciatus Curse? I couldn't face you directly after that, you would have refused to see me after the arguments we had! I would have gone back to you if I could, not because you were related to Lily but because if I didn't have her, I knew I could have you!"

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Lily is gone, I can't love her anymore." He hissed, taking a step towards her. Celosia didn't move, and only stared as he towered over her, their faces inches from each other. "Do you really think that all those intimate moments we've shared were out of pure lust? You don't deserve someone to just use you, I know that. You made me vulnerable in front of the Order and your own nephew; no one has ever been able to do that to me, not even your sister. There's something we have and that's something you can't deny."

Celosia stared up at him, seeing the man she cared for and had wanted ever since she laid eyes on him. They went through everything together and new each other inside and out. However the harsh reality of the war going on, Voldemort's return, Harry's task, Severus' duties and Celosia's painful memories and revelation was too much to build something on it.

Severus leaned closer to her, pausing to see if she wouldn't start screaming and hitting him."Severus," Her voice was soft, and his name rolled perfectly off her tongue. Their eyes connected and Severus saw the confusion in them, and the tension in the air rose. "I can't do this."

Without another word, she left the room, Severus remaining where he was. He stared at the stone floor in front of him, Celosia's perfume still wavering in the area, filling his senses. It was overwhelming and Severus sat in his desk chair, dropping his head in his hands in frustration.

The one woman who he had cared for and wanted to protect, the one he felt intense passion and love for, walked away from him.

Celosia spent the next few days crying and letting out frustration while confined in her room. It didn't help that it was in the dungeons, just a few doors down from Severus' personal chambers but with a few extra silencing charms on her door and walls, she tried to forget about him. Out of all the fights in her life that involved Severus, this was by far the worst one. It couldn't have compared to what they had used to fight about in their school days. It didn't even compare to all of their fights combined into one.

After a few days Celosia finally left her room, heading to the Great Hall. She sat at the staff table, making sure to keep away from Severus. She sat at the opposite end of the table, joining into mild discussion with Hagrid. A distraction was exactly something she needed. She was slightly curious that Dumbledore wasn't there, but dismissed the thought. She hardly wanted to think at all. The only thoughts she focused on was keeping Harry safe.

Many weeks passed and Celosia often stayed in her room, patrolling the halls during classes so it looked like she was doing the 'job' that Dumbledore hired her for. Umbridge was hardly seen and Celosia wondered if she was being blessed, or if someone had concealed a Disillusionment charm on her. No one said anything when they saw her, but they definitely did see her.

When Umbridge became Headmistress and Dumbledore escaped, Celosia felt anxious as ever. Fudge was definitely the cause of it, and the army Harry was teaching got caught for using magic. Celosia stood behind a pillar outside of the Great Hall, waiting for the DA members inside to come out from their punishment. Celosia wondered what Umbridge was making them do, and hoped it wasn't harsh or abusive. There were no screams or shouts coming from the Hall and that helped to ease her mind.

Once students started to shuffle out, Harry walked quickly, Celosia coming out from her spot to stand in front of her. "Hey, love." She smiled softly and he looked at her.

"Do you need something?" He asked in a quiet voice.

"Are you busy?" She countered and he shook his head. "Let's go for a walk, okay?"

Harry didn't refuse, knowing he couldn't do anything else. He was planning to go straight up to the common room, where he would get Hermione to put a soothing spell on his hand. It would have to wait, and the skin on the back of his left hand burned as Harry pushed his robe sleeve to cover it.

Celosia led him through the halls, to a side of the castle that Harry hardly saw. She brought him up several spiral staircases before they reached a high Tower. "Where's this?" Harry asked as he looked out the window.

"One of the Towers, not as tall as the others but it's on the other side of the castle." Celosia smiled. "Umbridge won't be coming here. Hardly anyone does."

"How did you find it?" He asked, letting his curious side get the better of him.

"Your father and Sirius." She chuckled and set her hands on the window sill, the wind blowing against her hair softly. "I'm sorry Umbridge found out about Dumbledore's Army."

"We were being careless." Harry muttered, looking down. "Rather, one of our members blabbed to the pink toad. I hope she gets eaten by a giant so she can't come back next year. I actually want to learn something."

"You already know so much." Celosia smiled, looking at him. "So much that you've taught others, as well. It's going to prove useful."

"I didn't know you stayed after what happened with Snape." Harry muttered.

"Severus and I got into an argument." Celosia said harshly and before Harry could say anything her brows furrowed. "What's this?"

Her hand went to Harry's left, taking his arm and lifting it to her eye sight. She pushed his sleeve back and Harry flinched, trying to pull away but to no avail. The words "I must not tell lies" were carved into the back of Harry's hand, the skin red and irritated, a few drops of blood seeping through the letters.

"What happened?" Celosia asked, feeling her maternal side get the best of her. "Did Umbridge do this to you?"

"It's fine," Harry insisted.

"No, it's not!" She exclaimed as she pulled out her wand, tracing it against the letters. They didn't fade or disappear, but the blood was whisked away and Harry felt his hand sooth. "That bitch, how dare she do this to you, with magic no less! Was this just from today?"

"And a past detention I had with her." Harry muttered, knowing not to hide it from her. Deep inside he was hoping Celosia would do something to make Umbridge leave. "I told her Voldemort was back and she made me write this."

"She won't get away with it." She hissed through her teeth and dropped his hand, Harry rubbing it gently.

"You aren't going to get yourself in trouble with the Ministry too, will you?" The boy asked with true concern. "I don't want you to be leaving."

"Don't worry Harry, I'm not going anywhere." She smiled and looked at him. "The year is almost over. Even if she did make me leave the castle, you'll see me in July."