Lily's Legacy by iruthb
Story Notes:
Thank you maple_and_pheonixfeather for beta-ing this for me.
If I was J.K. Rowling, you wouldn't be here. I'm just playing with her creations. Hope you enjoy!
Grace stood absolutely still in the dark shadow of the castle. The phoenix's lament seemed to echo the horror in her mind, as if it was taking her thoughts and turning them into a song which was both heart wrenchingly beautiful and immeasurably tragic.
Why hadn't she known? The question repeated itself over and over in her head. Apart from perhaps Dumbledore, she had spent the most amount of time with him, but it had never seemed like he had rejoined Voldemort, not ever. Yes, there had been some weekends where Severus hadn't been around, but it had been perfectly believable that he'd been leaving the school to stock up on supplies for his lessons.
Eventually, Grace decided she would have to go inside. It wasn't getting any warmer, and staring at the place where Severus had Disapparated from wasn't going to change anything. She turned and walked back to the castle, slowly, cursing herself for not having spotted what Severus had been up to those past months.
It had all happened so fast: patrolling the corridors and seeing members of the Order unexpectedly, hearing other voices she hadn't recognised, the sudden battle in the Entrance Hall as the Death Eaters had appeared from seemingly nowhere, Severus being chased by Harry out the tower, her following them, the duel between Severus and Harry, and Severus vanishing through the school gates. Grace had frozen as the scene had sunk in as she realised exactly what Harry had meant, that Dumbledore was dead. He and Hagrid had walked past her in the dark, not seeing anything other than the damaged castle.
The hall was full of people, some in shock, some sobbing, and yet others swearing that they had known Snape was the one to do it. It seemed like the whole school knew. First years clumped together, their wands trembling in their hands, knowing that if anyone else attacked, they wouldn't be able to do anything. All the bodies had been moved; Grace must have been standing still longer than she had suspected. Professors Sprout, Flitwick, Slughorn and Sinistra, who seemed to be standing in for Professor McGonagall, were watching over the students, and brought them to their respective common rooms, although some were missing; some people must have been injured, Malfoy was gone, and maybe others...others might be dead.
Grace continued up to the Hospital Wing, where she thought it was most likely she would find Harry. Taking the stairs two at a time, Grace passed multiple students who didn't seem to have realised exactly what had just happened, or didn't believe it yet. But the news was spreading fast, and the wails followed Grace up the stairs, adding to the Phoenix's lament, tying knots in Grace's stomach. Finally, she opened the doors into the dimly lit Hospital wing and spotted Harry. As quietly as she could, trying not to disturb a soul, she walked over to him, and embraced him. "Thank Merlin you're alright," she whispered, before turning to hug Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Luna in turn. She would have hugged Remus too, had it not been for the fact that he was sitting on a chair, cradling his head in his hands with despair. Instead, she looked at the body they were surrounding, only to realise that it was Bill, who looked terrible. His face was covered in deep gashes, almost as if a dog had decided that he would make perfect chew toy.
Grace remained silent for a large part of the following conversation, but smiled half heartedly when Tonks began to argue with Remus. Despite the betrayal they had endured that night by Snape, she felt that her godfather deserved happiness, and it was obvious that both the young Auror and the Werewolf had strong feelings for one another. Eventually, Harry and Professor McGonagall left, and Grace slumped down next to Neville's bed.
'I was so stupid, trusting him,' she said quietly, speaking more to herself than the prone body, 'And now he knows everything, absolutely everything about me. I told him when I found out about my parents, I told him all about Harry, because I trusted him. And he just sat there and listened, and reported it back to Voldemort. What have I done?'
'It wasn't your fault. He managed to trick all of us into trusting him too," Remus replied to her rhetorical question, lifting his head to look at her intently.
"Remus, I trusted him like a father! Everything I knew I told to him! I -"
"Did Harry tell you what he and Dumbledore were doing tonight?" Hermione interrupted, suddenly looking very worried. Ron wore an identical expression on his face.
Grace was thrown by the question. "No, sorry, he didn't," she said. Surprisingly, Hermione relaxed.
Neville stirred. He looked pretty terrible. Madam Pomfrey walked over to him, tear tracks still coating her face. As she began applying ointments, Grace looked down at her own golden bracelet. It was a marvellous thing, it was enchanted to stay fitted on her wrist even when she grew and it had her date of birth and her name "Grace Snave" written on it. However, the most impressive thing was that it was also enchanted to hide her true identity if needed.
Remus had told her this in her third year. He'd also taught her the words which revealed her identity. He'd said the phrase had been chosen by her father.
"The red lily," she whispered to it.
The script on the gold bracelet changed, glowing faintly red in the dim room.
"Grace Lily Potter"
Chapter Endnotes: I hope you enjoyed it. Please share your opinions. I appreciate it.