𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞
YOU rush out of the door, following Remus. The two of you have your wands at the ready just in case Sirius was still in the castle. You knew Sirius was dumb but not dumb enough to break into the castle while he was still wanted.
Filch had given the two of you the task of searching all the common rooms for any sign of anything. You first made your way to the Slytherin common room. The cold and dark common room did nothing to calm you down. The common room had a bad aura to it. Maybe it was the fact that you used to have an ex-girlfriend in Slytherin or the fact that some - not all - Slytherins were downright nasty toward you in your glory days at Hogwarts. You were fortunate enough to not stay in there too long due to the fact that there was no sign of Sirius Black anywhere.
Going up, you searched the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff common rooms. Both were beautiful and just as magical as the next yet no clue was found. The last stop was the Gryffindor common room. You’d known that the portrait of the fat lady was the one that had gotten attacked. She was replaced by Sir Cadogan who was the bravest portrait to step up to the job after the news of what happened.
You whispered the password and the portrait happily let you in. Your eyes scanned the common room. The crimson-red furniture and the roaring fire in the fireplace caught your attention. It felt as if it was just yesterday when you would hang out in here all day with your best friends and sister. You walked forward, your hands trailing along the red couch in the middle of the common room, feeling the fabric under your touch.
“It feels weird doesn’t it?” Remus asked from behind you. You jumped hearing his voice. You had forgotten that he was here. You whipped your head around to look at him. You placed your hand over your heart and your chest rose up and down with every deep breath you took.
“Remus, don’t do that,” you whispered, eyes going wide.
He shook his head and let out a small chuckle and walked up and away into the boy's dorms to begin searching in there. You did the same but to the girl's dorms. You walked up the stairs leading to the dorms. Checking in each one you didn’t find any clues. Making your way up higher, you passed the dorm you used to share with Lily, Marlene, Mary, and Alice. You contemplated going in or not. You did have to search everywhere so you pushed open the door.
The creak of the door was the only thing that you heard as you entered your old dorm. Everything still looked the same. Your old bed was located by the window. You walked over to it, your feet taking one weary step at a time. You sat on it and ran your hands along the fabric of the bedding just like you did with the couch in the common room. You remembered the days that you used to sleep in all day during the weekends, the times when you and your best girlfriends would all sit on your bed and gossip, or when you would paint Lily’s nails a cherry red color and she would paint yours the same.
Your heart swelled at the memory. In times like these you really missed your twin sister. You missed having a strong feminine presence with you. When you were in need of advice you would always go to her. She was always there for you and in her time of need, you weren't there. The moisture in your eyes began to well up. You took a deep breath in and looked around at the other beds, hoping to see the bodies and faces of your best friends and sister but all you were met with were empty beds. A tear rolled down your cheek and you took your bottom lip between your teeth in order to not let out a sob that would alarm Remus. These walls weren't as thick as they looked.
You looked at the bed next to you. That was Lily’s old bed.
“Lil’s, I don’t know if you're listening to this but, I miss you twin sister. Very very much.”
You composed yourself, breathing in and out while trying to get the lump in your throat to shrink. You wiped the tears off of your cheeks and fanned your eyes. You blinked quite a few times in order to let the remaining tears fall.
You stood up and walked to the door. You didn’t bother looking back because you knew if you did, you would fall to your knees and cry your eyes out. Your heart couldn’t bear knowing the fact that the last time you left this dorm, everyone you loved was alive and/or not an escaped convict. Now most of them were all gone, reduced to nothing more than very fond memories and a few pictures.
You didn’t find any clues as to where Sirius might have been. You descended the stairs to see Remus sitting on the couch, staring at the fire. When he heard your steps coming down, he looked over at you with concern coating his face as soon as he’d seen that you were crying.
“Love, are you okay?” he got up and moved to your side. You nodded and let out a small sigh. You’d forgotten to check the rest of the dorms but you were sure there wasn’t anything in those either.
“Did you find anything?” you croaked. He shook his head and took your hand in his. The two of you slowly made your way back to the great hall where all of the young Hogwarts students were sleeping.
You could feel the restlessness and worry of the students. Many were tossing and turning on the cold floor. The professors were huddled together and whispering about something. Most likely about the recent intruder. You and Remus stepped closer to the group of professors.
“I've done the dungeons, Headmaster. No sign of Black. Nor anywhere else in the castle,” Snape said, his deep voice filling the quiet hall of sleeping students.
“I didn't really expect him to linger,” Dumbledore nodded.
You were about to chime in on the conversation when your old friend spoke up, completely dismissing you.
“Remarkable feat, don't you think? To enter Hogwarts castle on one's own, completely undetected…” Severus looked at you and Remus then his eyes locked on where the two of you were connected, hand in hand, then continued, “You may recall, prior to the start of term, I did express my concerns when you appointed Professor.”
Dumbledore’s hand lifted to halt Professor Snape before he could finish. You knew where Severus was going. You were pretty sure Headmaster Dumbledore was aware too. You bit your lip so as to not cry again. You missed the old Severus. The Severus that helped you and Lily discover your true talent for magic, the Severus that made you feel wanted when your older sister called you a ‘freak,’ the Severus that would teach you about cool potions while you two sat under a tree, the sun kissing your skin. That Severus was gone. He was replaced by an old, miserable, and bitter wizard who had nothing better to do in life than to bully little children.
“I think it’s best we go Headmaster. Goodnight,” Remus bid farewell to the professors and took you along with him. The professors had the task of staying in the great hall to watch over the students but it was obvious you two weren’t wanted due to your relations with the intruder.
The walk back to Remus’s quarters was quiet. The tap of your shoes and the chirp of crickets barely helped your mind from running with wild thoughts. The corridors were dark, the only light source coming from your wand. The darkness reminded you of the night that Lily died. You and Remus were tired from the war. The two of you barely slept and often stayed up just in case you were needed for a task. No one came in person to tell you that your sister and brother-in-law had died instead, they sent you the news in the form of a Patronus. You couldn’t go to sleep for weeks because every time you closed your eyes all you would see is her. Her fiery red hair, her dazzling green eyes, and the smile that would always make you laugh. Your sister was a part of you and you didn’t know how to live without her. It’s been twelve years and you’ve come to learn that you still can’t do it.
“I can tell something troubles you,” Remus squeezed your hand.
“It’s Lily and Severus and everyone else that I've-we’ve lost. It’s been so long since they’ve died but it still hurts.”
“Severus is not dead,” Remus raised his brow and looked at you.
“That is not the Severus I used to know so he’s dead to me.”
“I know it’s hard to let go of the past but we’ve come to terms with the fact that they’re gone, but they still live on,” Remus was always wise with his words. That among other things was one of the reasons why you loved him.
That night you stayed with Remus. The both of you tangled in the sheets and close to one another. You didn’t let him go, you couldn’t. He meant so much to you but as your mind drifted off into the great abyss you couldn’t help but wonder what wonderful words of wisdom Sirius would have said if he was a free man.
●・○・●・○・●
The Sirus Black fiasco was behind you and now you had another problem ahead of you.
Remus Lupin.
The full moon had been last night and instead of being able to take a day off to care for him, you had to teach. You loved your job of course, but you loved Remus even more. You had been reluctant to leave him by himself in the morning because ever since Sirius had left, he had been alone during full moons. You were always locked away in the cottage helplessly hoping that Remus was safe while you stayed up way past your ‘normal’ bedtime getting yourself sick with worry.
Remus took the day off to recover. You didn’t want him to strain himself and make him even more tired by teaching today so you among others urged him to rest. The hard worker he is, he refused at first, saying that he was fine. But after Dumbledore threatened to sack him if he didn’t rest, he reluctantly agreed.
You dropped by Remus’s classroom before classes started just to check in on the person who was supposed to fill in for him. The first thing you notice is that your partner's classroom was dark. Remus never made his classroom this dark unless he was using the projector. Your eyes shifted a little to the left to see a man standing in the back of the classroom. His dark robes and ebony hair blended in with the darkness of the classroom but his pale skin made him stand out. Severus had his arms crossed when your eyes met.
“Wonderful to see you here, Professor Evans. Expecting someone else?” he quipped. God, you hated his snarky ass little comments. You stepped into the classroom and closed the door behind you. Your heels made contact with the floor every time you took a step toward your former friend.
“I just came to see what you had planned for the lesson today. I know Remus said that he planned for the third-years to learn about grindylows and hinkypunks,” your arms were also crossed and your head tilted up to look at Severus. You truly hoped that Severus could take his grudges elsewhere and just be professional for one day.
“What I choose to teach my class is my business and my business only,” his black cape swished as he made his way around you and to the front of the class. “Now,” Severus held the door open, “I suggest you leave and make your way to your classroom. You wouldn’t want to be late for your own lecture.”
Your face scrunched up in disgust, “You are only filling in for Remus might I add, and you do not have the right to tell me what I can and can’t do,” your pointer finger was held accusatory towards him.
“Understood Ms. Evans, now go.”
Your eyes could have fallen out of their sockets with how hard you rolled your eyes. You stomped your way out of the classroom and the door slammed shut behind you. The echo of the door closing filled the quiet corridor. Most of the student body was at breakfast. You wanted to go back in there and lay a fat punch right in the middle of his face but you composed yourself. Violence was never the answer even if the person was a complete utter git.
Your classroom wasn’t that far away from Remus’s. You slumped back into your desk chair and put your head in your hands then you remembered something. The Gryffindor quidditch match against Slytherin was tomorrow. Harry said that he wanted you to see him play. You knew that the poor boy was excited to know that he had family other than the Dursleys. You were excited that he accepted you as his aunt and couldn't wait for the many memories you would make with him.
You know you couldn't make up for all the times you missed his birthday and other important events but you knew that Vernon Dursley was a horrible man who wanted nothing to do with magic. You really don't know why your sister married him.
Anyways, all that really matters is that you finally had the chance to see your nephew play a sport that his father and godfather dominated.