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.
'Lily, it's time to go darling.'
I turned my head blindly and met the sorry gaze of James Potter, he helped us both up from the floor and released Lily for a moment to hug me, it warmed me slightly but his weren't the arms I needed right now. James could tell and he gave me a small smile.
'He's waiting for us.'
I nodded my head and stepped dumbly into the massive fireplace with a silent Lily and her fiancé, I squeezed my big sister's hand as James threw the Floo powder down and spoke his address clearly.
We tumbled out of the fireplace and I coughed some soot out of my mouth, I walked right into Sirius' arms and allowed him to comfort me with a hug, tears came fast and furious, a vicious stream coursing down my cheeks and onto my boyfriend's shoulder. Sirius kept his arms wrapped around me, one around my waist and the other at the nape of my neck, stroking my hair.
'Let it out darling, I've got you.'
**
We stayed like that for ages, Sirius never complained but eventually I was out of tears and my legs hurt, I finally peeled my face away from his neck with an unattractive grunt and winced at the large tear stain on his shoulder.
'Hey.' I croaked with a sad smile.
'Hey.' he seemed like he was at a loss for what to say and under other circumstances I would have laughed at the sight of Sirius Black speechless. 'I want to ask if you're alright, but it seems like such a stupid question.'
'I know. It's the expected thing when someone...dies. Oh God Sirius my parents – they're dead.'
'Come on, you need to sit down.'
He started to pull me towards the kitchen, but I resisted, he turned to face me with a confused but patient expression.
'Don't leave me, please.' I begged.
Sirius kissed my forehead and promised me that he wouldn't leave me alone before I finally allowed him to bring me to the kitchen, we sank into chairs across from Lily and James, all my friends were here except for Cassie and Marlene but Sirius had said that Marlene was gone to Hogwarts to fetch Cassie.
'What happened?' I croaked.
Lily looked up from the steam of her tea to make eye contact with me, taking a deep breath she began to speak.
'Mum and dad were visiting Petunia and on the way home the weather took a turn and the car slid, I guess dad couldn't get control of it because they went over a bridge -'
'Stop.' I interrupted. 'I don't want to hear anymore, please. I shouldn't have asked. I'm going to go to bed.'
I rose on shaky feet and kissed Lily on the cheek, saying goodnight to James, Peter and Remus I waited at the staircase for Sirius to finish his tea before we went to his room and he held me through the night as sleep evaded me.
My parent's funeral had been a tragically beautiful affair, but Petunia, in typical Petunia fashion had done her best to ensure Lily and I knew she hadn't wanted us there. So when the rest of the mourners had moved on from the gravesite we stayed, hands clasped and heads bowed, each lost in our own thoughts and memories of the people who had raised us.
'I'm pregnant.' Lily announced suddenly.
I whipped my head towards her, though she was upset I could see the faintest glimmer of excitement in her eyes.
'I'm only a few weeks along. Mum was the first person I told, she was so excited, started giving me baby name suggestions straight away. Isabella, Gwen, Lucas and Harry were her top four.'
A small laugh escaped my lips at the thought of mum telling Lily "note these down, these are quality names dear".
'They won't meet my baby Vi, they won't be at my wedding, they won't be at yours...they're going to miss so much.' she began to sob.
I sniffled and looked at the sky in a vain attempt to hold back another onslaught of tears.
'They will always be with us Lils, no matter what. They'll be watching you walk down the aisle to marry the man you love, they're going to watch you be an amazing mother to this baby. They loved us, and we loved them. Death doesn't erase that love from the universe.'
'I love you.' Lily sobbed as she squeezed my hand.
'I love you too, and I love my little niece or nephew.' I murmured as I touched her flat belly gently.
**
That day, standing at our parent's grave talking about the future was the last semblance of normality we had, the next morning we woke to find that Marlene was gone, stolen away in the night by Death Eaters, that's when a broken-hearted Cassie and I were inducted into the Order of the Phoenix by Dumbledore.
The Order had been established to fight Voldemort and his minions, something I had no qualms with being a part of, Cassie and I never went back to Hogwarts, instead we moved into James' manor, the unofficial headquarters of the Order, to fight the good fight.
Marlene disappeared in December, Cassie was killed in February, the Prewitt twins died in March, we lost more and more people making us realise we need to clutch those we cared for even tighter, Lily and James got married in a small ceremony at the manor, Dumbledore officiating. It was beautiful and Lily glowed, her bump leading her down the aisle. My own small bump was barely noticeable, but Sirius eyed it with pride from his spot beside James as best man.
After the wedding Dumbledore moved James and Lily to a safehouse, somewhere they would be safe from Voldemort, he wanted nothing more than to get his hands on their unborn son, he believed my nephew would be his downfall, a heavy weight for such small shoulders, shoulders of a child that had yet to take his first breath.