A week had gone by since James had supposed E.J would be captured by Voldemort, and frighteningly, there had been no updates or any signs of E.J and the young girls. Everyone, including the teachers expected to be hearing an update saying that she was found dead, or that they had found some remains. That is, everyone excluding Sirius, who was still talking to anyone that would listen. In reality, no one would listen. That included the friends, because they had all given up. It was about to make the 3 week anniversary of the day she was reported missing, and there hadn't been an update for a week… so everyone was on edge, and extremely sad.

One day, McGonagall walked into James and Lily's Head Dorms as all of the friends lounged around and did homework, and just sat down on the couch with them. After an hour of not really saying anything and not really scolding them for anything, she looked at Lily and James and said some of the most horrific words that could be heard by these particular sets of ears, "In two days, the school is having a feast, because… Miss Potter, along with the other young girls, has just been pronounced dead." For a minute, no one said anything. And this was nothing like the silence before… this was just a dead silence where no one moved even the slightest bit. It was the sound of misery and despair, and there is no other way that it can be described. However, when the world finally began again, there were looks… and finally, breaths. And when they could breathe again, Peter was the first to speak.

"Is there a body? How do they know it's her?" he asked, looking up at McGonagall. No one reprimanded him. How could they? Secretly, they all wanted to know. McGonagall looked down for a moment, and lifted her handkerchief, before tossing it across her lap again. She didn't want to speak about it, and why should they make her? But, this was not something that could be held inside. They needed to know. They very much needed to know. So, when her mouth began to move and words began to formulate, they all became silent.

"They found bodies matching their description very close to the west coast of France. And a dark mark was left. That, and the fact that all of the distinguishing marks mentioned… it's them." They all knew what she was talking about. E.J had one really distinguishing mark. Well… a few distinguishing marks. However, the most distinguishing mark, other than her eyes, was the teardrop shaped beauty mark on her face, right under her eye. And then there was the Marilyn Monroe beauty mark above her lip. Lily looked around and saw something that she never thought that she would see. Sirius sat there trembling, his eyes shut tight with tears dropping from his eyes. And then she realized her worst nightmare… her best friend was dead. And more selfishly… she had no one. And then…

"Well, do they really know that it's them?" Peter asked, looking up at McGonagall anxiously. She looked at him and sniffled before she nodded.

"The eyes alone were enough for them to identify her. However, they also found the teardrop under her eye. I'm afraid that Ms. Potter is the one that they found." And so… she really was the one that they found. And E.J was dead.

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It was the day before that damn feast, and people were acting like life went on without E.J. It didn't. There was no way for life to go on without her. Absolutely no way. And then… he saw it. There she was- that had to be her. He saw that face. That hair. Those lips. And then all of his dreams came to a crashing end. It wasn't her. The eyes. It wasn't her. All brown, no teardrop, no cynicism. Who was that woman? And then, he heard the girl that she was with speak.

"I am so sorry for your loss, Mrs. Potter." E.J's mom. Out of the few times that Sirius had seen her, he'd never really seen her smile. And now, here she was… with a smile on her face. A smile on her face? That could not be real, right, or… it just couldn't be. And while Sirius stared at her in shock and… almost sorrow, she walked over to him and raised her eyebrow.

"Close your mouth, Sirius. You will let the bugs in." she said, taking his arm and leading him around one stairway and walking up another, before leading him to a lost world. All the while she did this, he never once questioned her or her judgment. He just followed. And finally, when she had taken him to somewhere that could probably only really be found on their map, she sat down at the short stairs and looked at him. "So… we're here… is there anything that you would like to tell me?" Whoa this was odd. As he looked around to see if armed ninjas would run out, Sirius shrugged slightly. "No confessions?" Again, Sirius shook his head.

"No, Mrs. Pott-"

"I'm actually being called Santos now." she said, shaking her head. "I like it better. I missed it." How could she be like this? What kind of woman was this? She cried countless tears when her husband left her, and she has yet to shed one now that her daughter had too. When her husband left her, she was a mess… and now, she was more put together than anyone that was about to go to this memorial. What did that mean?

"How have you been?" Sirius asked, backing away a bit. She smiled and nodded before running her hand through her hair.

"Surprisingly good." And then, he couldn't take it anymore. He had to ask. He had to know how that was possible in the slightest.

"How can you be good considering-" April bit her lip as he spoke and then quietly interrupted him.

"That I just lost my only love?" she whispered. "The only love that's ever loved me back?"

"You were f-"

"I fell apart when her dad left me." April nodded, then shook her, before shrugging her shoulders and sighing. "It's amazing how different situations can teach you different lessons." When she looked up, tears were falling from her eyes, and she silently cried a bit before wiping her them. "This always happens to me."

"Ms. Santos, I don't know what you're talking about."

"I miss her. And this is something that I can say without shame, something that I could not do when my husband left me." Sirius looked at her for a minute. And at first, his look was skeptical, before turning soft… those eyes could not lie. Her eyes did not lie. She missed her daughter. And… he couldn't resist… his eyes began to tear also. "This is something that I can say and not have someone hate me for. And so, it is something that I do not need to say. But I will. I miss her." Sirius closed his eyes and nodded.

"I do too." he said, looking at this woman that could be her twin.

"I have so many regrets. There are so many things that have happened with me… with her. Things that I can't fix, and things that I can't apologize for. Me, not recognizing how uncomfortable she felt in her own home… and not being smart enough to choose my daughter first. And now, I'll never be able to change that. Or let her know how much I love her. How much I truly love her."

"I know what you mean."

"I know you do." Whoa. What did that mean? "She told me. About the party."

"Ms. Santos, I… your daughter was…" April shook her head in a reminiscent way and smiled.

"She was something." she said, deep in nostalgia.

"She was."

"Has Jaime ever told you the story of how she got her name?" Sirius looked at her and shook his head, smiling.

"No."

"Well… she hates the name Eris."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure everyone knows how she feels about that name. Why would someone name their child that anyway?" April shook her head.

"I didn't. I mean, the name itself is beautiful- Eris… just- it flows. However, maybe the meaning is not so beautiful. Anyway- you know about the ballet and jazz dancing? Because, she doesn't tell anyone that. You must have had something special."

"Actually, she never told me that. I- I don't know this story."

"Oh. Well, she hates her name. We all know that. So, it was so much of a struggle when she was growing up, because she never answered me when I called her Eris. I would walk through the house shouting her name, and- eventually, I just decided that I would call her baby. Well, when baby was five years old, she decided that she wanted to be a ballerina or a jazz dancer, when we went to the ballet. Well, because she never asked for anything, I couldn't very well say no. So… she took ballet… and because her movements were so mockingly dramatic… I called her Jazzy." After a minute. Ms. Santos looked at Sirius. "Its not that great of a story." As Sirius laughed, he wiped his eyes. "I'm guessing that you had to be there. It was very funny… I'm sure that she hated ballet, and just wanted to make fun of those that loved it." Then she smiled as a few tears fell. When she wiped her eyes, she bit her lip. "My greatest regret for her… all the things that she'll never get to do. She had so much about her. So much life, vivacity- such a spirit. I don't think that there's anything that she wouldn't do for another person. Anything that she wouldn't give." Sirius looked at her for a minute. This woman was like E.J so much more now. As she wiped her eyes, she bit her lip. And then, she looked at Sirius. "She was so good. Great, even. She was born to be great. And she was my daughter."

"My greatest regret…"

"Why didn't you guys date?" Whoa. Of ever there was a sentence to make you choke on your words… that was it. Sirius looked at her and shook his head. There were no real words that could be used. In all honesty, they would probably have dated after the kisses if Sirius hadn't gotten drunk and snogged Emily. However, before that, they mostly hadn't dated because he was afraid to scare her.

"She was… E.J." he said. And that was the best way that he could describe her.

"You didn't like her?" April asked, completely confused. Sirius shook his head frantically.

"I… I- I really did. But, for the longest time, I was never sure of what she wanted from me. And when it finally started to get somewhere, I messed it up."

"What did you do? If you don't mind me asking."

"I kissed another girl after I'd already kissed her." April's eyebrows raised and she nodded.

"Well… if it's any justice to you, you didn't have a chance in hell with her after that." Sirius looked at her in shock. "I'm sorry, Sirius, but… after that, your personalities didn't mesh."

"We were perfect for each other."

"Were. But… if she was still ali-…if she were here, what would you say to her."

"Well… I'd apologize."

"You had a lot of time to do that. The entire summer. And… not one letter from you, no howlers, nothing."

"How do you know that?" April looked at him and smiled, before she touched his cheek.

"It was our quality time. Something that my daughter and I finally had in common. We both had our hearts broken."

"Ms. Santos-"

"Sirius, I'm sorry. I apologize." she said, before kissing his cheek and holding it. "The fact of the matter is that my daughter forgave you. So, it isn't as bad as you think."

"But, I feel worse knowing now that she forgave." Sirius said, looking up at April and shrugging. When he said that, she looked at him… peering into his eyes.

"How much do you know about E.J?" she questioned.

"She was my best friend."

"Well… try to make things right."

"But, she's-"

"Sirius, look around you. Do you know where we are? Hogwarts is a magical place. You can do so much here.'' Then she looked around. "She could've done so much here." Sirius exhaled deeply and gulped before running his hand through his hair. "She was so special."

"She was." She was.

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On the 3 week anniversary, there was a gigantic feast, with lilies and orchids all over the Great Hall, framing a beautiful picture of E.J at the dance with her date. At the table with the professors were the few close family members that E.J had. As they all ate in silence, there was silence flowing through the entire great hall. At the head table, with the professors and staff sat E.J and James' family. However, in reality, James' parents and E.J's mom sat with the group, while E.J's dad, his wife, and her sister sat at the head with the professors, acting as if they were at a pageant. Yeah, I am very serious… they did the beauty queen wave and everything.

"So… Jamie, have you thought any more about what you're going to do after school?" April asked, coating her pain better than any of them had ever thought that she could. I mean, if she cried the way that she did when she and her husband had broken up, the gang thought that the least she could do was shed a tear since her daughter was thought to be missing. However, Sirius knew better. He had gotten to know E.J so much better through her mother that it was insane. And he had fallen that much more into the trap of a woman that he would never be with. E.J had strengthened her mother up in those months that they'd spent together. "I'm sure that you'd be an amazing auror." April speaking again had snapped them all back out of their reveries.

"I don't think that I'll be going to any training program after school." James said. This was an amazingly terrible situation to be in. It was so painful sitting there and celebrating her death, because there was no life celebration going on there. No one had said anything, no one was even talking about her. It was almost as if they were afraid to, like uttering her name would make this worse, when it would just make it easier if they could just remember her in a good light. And just as James was about to say something about her, he heard the Great Hall doors open. Once the door stood open and seven girls ran in screaming.

"Ayuda! Ayuda!" what looked like the oldest girl screamed. James recognized her instantly. She was in the picture that E.J had sent them. The girls had made it to Hogwarts safely. "Ha ella! Es matando! Ella necesita ayuda!" At that, no one but April moved.

"Quién? Dónde? De qué hablas? Hay alguien herido?" she said, looking up at the table and waving for Dumbledore and the other professors to come over.

"April, what is she saying?" Harry asked, getting alongside her.

"The Dark Lord! Tiene ella!" April looked at the girl and backed up slowly.

"Quién eres? Cómo te llamas?" she asked slowly, carefully. The girl looked at April and shook her name as if to convince her that she was trustworthy.

"Mi llamas es Maria Diaz. Ellos están fuera." April flinched, but listened to the girl some more. "Por favor ayude a ella. Por favor. The Dark Lord. Su gente tiene su. Ella necesita ayuda. Fue tan fuerte. Trató de matar a nosotros. Trató de matar a nosotros y que salvó nuestras vidas y nos trajo aquí. Ella nos escondió cuando mataron a los otros. Entonces ella nos trajo aquí y que tiene ella. Tienen y ella nos dijo a encontrar el profesor Dumbledore."

"Albus, she says that the death eaters have Eris and that they're outside." April said, making half of the Great Hall stand up. "She's one of the girls that was said to be missing. Eris brought them here. That means E.J is still alive." You would think that people started to run, but truthfully they didn't have to. As soon as Professor made his way to the exit of the Great hall in his haste, an enormous explosion was heard, and smoke clouded the entire place. That didn't matter to Dumbledore, Harry, James, Sirius, and Remus, as they tried to make their way anyway. Again… they didn't have to… it was too late.