A dire disappearance.
Lena's P.O.V
It was still early morning and an icy wind whipped my hair around my face. I reached back and pulled my hood roughly over my hair. "Lena! Wait up!" I didn't turn or slow down, just continued to walk at the same pace. There were two loud cracking sounds and arms linked my own, either side of mine. "Trying to escape?" one twin sniggered. "How did you guess?" I laughed back bitterly. They began to swing me between the two of them like I'd seen so many parents do with their young children, and I felt as if I was five years old again. We giggled and messed around, just walking, and before we knew it we'd stumbled upon a kid's playground. George got himself stuck on the slide and so used his want to reduce the size of his hips, only realising after that he didn't know the enlargement charm. Explaining that to Molly would be very funny and something I didn't want to miss. And as George pushed me on the swing it became obvious that he was having difficulty keeping his too large jeans upon his hips. Fred took over and pushed me twice as hard so that George and I ( George was sat on the swing beside me) were quickly racing to touch the top of the swing bar. When we finally left the park, the sun was already low over the horizon and the boys were moaning about how hungry they were.
As I pushed open the door into 12 Grimmauld place, we were welcomed by loud chatter and realised quickly that Harry had gotten off due to the huge banner slung across the kitchen wall. The boys left me to congratulate Harry and Dad was quick to corner me. "I'm sorry Lena. I shouldn't have shouted at you like that. I was hideous, I'm sorry. Please can you forgive me?" I wrapped Dad into a hug. He hadn't had company in so long that I couldn't really blame him for lashing out. He'd been on the run for two years and finally been able to come home only to have a whole house of guests thrust upon him. It wasn't his fault. Nobody had really allowed him time to breath. "It's okay Dad. I'm fine." Seeing Harry was stood alone after finishing a conversation with Moody I decided now was the time to congratulate him and did so quickly and quietly. I held my butterbeer tightly and took a slow glance of the room. "He's not here." Harry said quietly beside me. "Dumbledore's sent him away again." I looked at him stunned. "He's been different since you've been here. Quieter. Kinder. He hasn't called Sirius Dog continuously and he doesn't glare at me anymore. Whatever you've done, it's worked. Just be careful Lena. He's never been loved before." I looked away from him ashamed. It was that obvious? Or only to Harry? "It's okay. No one else has realised. They've been to blinded by my business to notice yours." Harry walked away and went to join Ron in a game of Wizard chess.
By 11 o'clock everyone was tired and full and quietly everyone left for bed. Dad and I were the last after helping Molly clean the dishes, and I left Dad on the second floor to climb up to my third. But when I opened the door to my room, I was hit by a fragrant wall. Peony petals fell from the ceiling like pale pink snowflakes. A layer of the copious blooms lay over the floor and I laughed heartily, tears streaming down my face. As I walked towards the bed I noticed corpulent dark pink blooms spelt out a word I was become accustomed to,
Sorry.
The week after Harry's trial, the previous weight that had smothered the house had clearly disappeared. I'd begun taking Dad for walks as Snuffles, and he was much happier for the air and space, while he had begun spending time with Harry and I as a family unit. It was weird. As if Harry and I were siblings and Sirius our father. It became clear however that Severus had been right in that Dad slipped sometimes and called Harry James, times at which I'd smile sympathetically at Harry, who would act as if his name really was James and carry on as normal. Harry and I had got into a sort of routine. We'd take Dad out after breakfast and discuss Hogwarts and the Order before spending time with Dad with Buckbeak or clearing the attic, a job which Dad made clear should be completed by us due to the sensitive nature and we quickly realised his reasoning when looking through photo albums and diaries. Dirty death eaters and dark wizards plagued out family history. After Lunch we'd aid Molly in clearing the many rooms 12 Grimmauld place held, we'd seen Bogarts, Nargles and found a large family of Pixies nesting in one of the bathroom closets.
Members of the Order dropped in continuously and aided us with clearing or helped Ginny and Harry catch up on work they hadn't completed yet for school. Fred and George spent as much time as possible locked up in the room they shared, (random explosions could be heard throughout the day) and left only for meals, when after Dinner we'd all gather in the kitchen and play wizard games or discuss Order matters, much to Molly's dismay.
The Thursday after Harry's trial the Order had gathered for the weekly meeting which Sirius begrudgingly asked Harry and I to leave on Molly's orders. The meeting seemed to last hours and I spent the time in the attic looking through my Grandmothers diaries with Kreacher for company. Although Dad hated the elf, I found him interesting and he'd taken a liking to me on hearing his master hadn't gone completely off the rails and had in fact "mated" (as he put it) with a pureblood. But when Molly shouted for Dinner everyone scrambled down in a mad rush to catch the Order as some members left. After conjuring extra chairs for the dinner guests we all gathered around the table to eat Molly's stew, something we'd all become accustomed to on Thursdays as she always allowed it to cook while the meetings occurred. Unlike usually, none of the adults engaged in conversation and instead Fred and George tried aimlessly to make Remus and Arthur laugh by replacing the meat of Mundungus's stew with rubber chunks, which didn't fail to make the younger witches and wizards to laugh, but couldn't seem to shake the adults into a reaction. I watched as Dad and Moody shared a dark look. "Dad? What's happened?" I couldn't help it as the question tumbled awkwardly from my mouth. "Nothing Darling, nothing." He didn't look me in the eye but instead looked down into his meal and refused to look up. "Liar," Harry muttered to himself. This would have been acceptable if normal conversation had resumed, but even the twins had been shocked by my comment and hadn't continued their poor attempts at humour. Dad shook his head and Molly nagged that Harry shouldn't make such a comment about his Godfather, but the younger wizards and witches around the table couldn't help but look at one another. They were hiding something and the sombre mood of the meeting was dragging us all down when we'd all become rather accustomed to a light hearted mood.
"Maybe we should tell them. It will affect them no doubt." Moody looked from Dad to Remus and both looked almost reproachful, however Molly squeaked up "No. No, there's no need for them to know. They'll only worry." "As if you aren't worrying Mum." Ron shook his head and started to collect the plates using his wand to levitate them to the sink where they automatically washed themselves. "Albus hasn't heard from Snape. He was only supposed to be gone a day and it's been a week." My heart skipped a beat, my mouth went dry. "Not a word? An owl?" Harry was looking straight at me as if he thought I might know something, but his question was aimed at the adults. "Nothing. He'll be okay. Voldemort wouldn't hurt him. He knows he's the best pawn he's got." Dad looked up and addressed the table "Snape is good at what he does. He knows the right words and how to act. He'll be fine." Everyone went silent and I couldn't breathe. Moving off to do different jobs, some members leaving for the night, I was left alone at the table. I forced myself to stand and take one of the armchairs at the fireplace, lighting a fire using my wand. I lay with my head back and eyes closed. He'd be fine. Dad's words echoed in my head and I forced myself to believe them. Dad came towards me now and stroked the hair back from my face. "He can handle it love. He's not Mum." I sighed and Dad transformed. A large black Dog lay at my feet and I stroked him continuously until hours later I found myself being awoken by a gentle kiss on my forehead. "Bed now love, come on." Dad was back to being Dad and he led me quietly up to my bed. After changing quickly I crawled into my bed and Dad kissed me goodnight after pulling the heavy curtains across the windows, leaving me to what would be a sleepless night.
I lay for hours, having the nap now meant I couldn't sleep at all. Every time I tried to drift off I thought of Mum's body and then it would be replaced by Severus's. Although I barely knew him, I felt as though I'd finally found a piece of me that I hadn't realised was missing until I felt the touch of his skin against mine. Giving up on sleep, I crawled out of bed and tiptoed down the stairs into the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of warm milk and went to take my seat at the fire, hoping to warm my feet and recover my nap from earlier when I heard the gently click of the front door. My hand flew to my right hip where I usually placed my wand and realising it wasn't there due to my pj's I grabbed a knife from the side cupboard. What kind of person came into the house at this time of night, as far as I was aware everyone else was upstairs sleeping. The tall figure came to stand in the doorway, a limp obvious in their walk.
There, stood in the open doorway, was a man I barely recognised. Blood matted his hair and he clutched his left side which hung limply. Blood splattered robes and a bruised face.
Severus had come home.