No Shrinking Violet

The World Is Unfair

The summer after Lily graduated was the best summer of my life, I spent it surrounded by friends, spending time with the man I was unimaginably in love with, spending days with my parents and even going so far as to spend a few horrid days with Petunia in July after finding out she was pregnant, as much as I tried she wasn't persuaded from her baby name choices – Dudley for a boy and Millicent for a girl.

When James finally worked up the courage to propose to Lily the whole group gathered after to celebrate, under a clear summer sky we laughed and danced and enjoyed each other's company. Voldemort and his Death Eaters were far from our minds, no thoughts of Pierre Dupont or Regulus Black dampened the evening, we were happy.

September came almost too quickly, and Sirius brought me to the train on the back of his motorcycle, people stared as he passionately kissed me goodbye and told me how much he loved me. I suppose nobody had really expected us to last but that was fine because we were in love.

My life returned to a blissfully boring rhythm of classes, homework and writing letters to my loved ones, until just before Christmas.

'Miss Evans.'

I glanced up from my parchment to see Professor Dumbledore waiting in the classroom doorway waiting for me, Flitwick took my parchment with a stoic look on his face, something akin to sadness flashed through his eyes.

'You are excused from the test.' he said quietly.

With a frown creasing my brow I packed up my stuff and met the headmaster outside.

'Professor? Is everything alright?' I asked softly.

'Perhaps it's best if you follow me.'

My mind raced as we walked to his office, what could I have done wrong, I hadn't been involved in mischief because the boys were gone, I hadn't fallen behind in my work, just last week I had earned Gryffindor twenty points for knowing an obscure fact about the Ogre Wars. I was so immersed in my worrying that I barely heard Dumbledore saying the password, which was 'Sugar Quill'. Soon Dumbledore was pushing the door of his office open to reveal...Lily sitting with her back to us.

'Lily!' I squealed.

My excitement evaporated when she faced me, her eyes were puffy and her nose was red, tears were trickling down her cheeks as she enveloped me in a tight hug. I hugged her back equally tight. Dumbledore left, giving us space.

'What's happened?' I asked in a squeaky voice, struggling to speak around the lump in my throat.

'Mum and dad were in an accident, their car –' Lily broke off in a sob.

I could feel the blood rushing away from my face, my mind went blank and my ears started to ring, Lily's tight grip on my arms was the only thing keeping me on my feet, heat seared at my side and green flames appeared in my peripheral vision but I ignored it as I tried to make sense of what Lily was saying. I furrowed my brow in confusion as the ringing persisted, my throat was so parched that my deep breaths of air grated like sandpaper.

'They're gone Vi, mum and dad are dead.'

I had known it from the moment Lily opened her mouth, deep in the recesses of my mind I had known. But hearing the words out loud from my sisters' mouth was more than I could take, we both sank to the ground, clutching at each other in a desperate attempt at comfort, I was silent, immobile, unable to make a single sound until Lily pulled me into her arms and cried into my shoulder, then I screamed.

I screamed my heart and soul out into the quiet of the headmaster's office, my parents, the very people who brought me into this world, were gone. My father who told me bedtime stories and sang terribly off-key folk songs while he did work around the house, my mother who baked me lemon bars when I was sad and hugged me close when I went home for the holidays, my parents. Mine. Gone.