The Pure-blood Prince

St. Mungo's Hospital

Lily burst into tears. James came in looking pale as a ghost.

"Lily... I'm so sorry. I never meant..." He froze taking in his sobbing wife. She looked up at him and flung herself at him. He stumbled back in shock as she embraced him.

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean to. Eira explained in her letter." Lily looked up at her husband. "Read her letter while I get ready."

"Wait ready for what?" James asked frantically, still worried his wife would leave him.

"Read the letter. It'll explain and we are going to St. Mungo's." She said quickly packing her purse and conjuring a baby carrier. James disappeared into the kitchen to read his letter. Lily finished packing and picked up the sleeping baby. "Little Edelweiss."

"Let's go." James said as he reentered the room holding the letter clenched in his hand. She took his arm and they apparated to St. Mungo's Hospital For Magical Maladies and Injuries. They walked in heading straight for the terminal illness wing. As they approached the desk where they would ask which room was Eira's, a shouting voice stopped them in their tracks. Severus Snape was at the desk yelling about his sister.

"Where is she?! She's not in her room and no one will tell me where she is!" He yelled and the healer darted off. Severus slumped onto a bench his elbows on his knees holding his head. Lily whispered to James,

"Take Weiss and go wait in the entrance." James looked at her for a moment and yielded taking the child from his wife's arms and leaving the way they came. Lily made her way over to Severus carefully.

"Sev." She said quietly and his head jerked up.

"Lily? What are you doing here?" He asked, confused, last he'd heard from her she wanted nothing to do with him.

"Eira sent me a letter. She told me about her illness, that she didn't have much time left." She said sadly, Severus paled further.

"What do you mean, not much time left? I know she was sick a few months ago, but she didn't tell me anything else." Lily winced.

"Apparently the healers told her she had less than a year left." She whispered. "I came as soon as I got the letter but she said that by the time I got it she would be..." She didn't finish her sentence. Severus wilted clutching his face in his hands.

"No that's not possible she'd have told me. She would have told me if she was that sick." He muttered to himself.

"She said she didn't want to worry you." Severus stood up his face freezing into an expressionless mask. He started to walk away from the desk and the wing. "Sev! Where are you going?" Lily yelled after him.

"Nowhere." He responded and just like that, he was gone.