Another Shade of Black

Her first thought was purely selfish - He is gone.

She closed her eyes in relief and smiled weakly, knowing that finally, she would be able to feel at ease again. The most evil, the most powerful, the most dangerous wizard of all time was gone.

He was gone, and gone with him where all the fears that she and everyone else of the magical community had held those past years. He was gone, and gone with him was the inability to ever feel true happiness. He was gone, and gone with him was the deepest darkness of her soul. He was gone, and gone with him was - Oh, my God!

Thus came her second thought, which went to the two people who were the last to die of his evil power. The murdered couple. Lily and James Potter. Also gone.

She did not cry. She did not cry, because immense grief does not come with tears. Immense grief only presents endless emptiness.

Later, she would remember that nor had Remus Lupin been crying when he had told her what had happened, but that his eyes had been sore and tired and that he had had an air of... endless emptiness about him. She would remember that he had looked concerned. Concerned about her. About how she would react. Not how she would react when she learnt about the death of their friends. But when she Realised.

And that was her third thought. One of Realisation. When she understood who had caused their death. When she Realised who had betrayed them. A young animagus with blazing, grey eyes and an infectious laugh.

And then she knew that, no, she would not be able to feel at ease again.

They say that when a giant falls, it shakes the very pillars of the universe. But when one of the few people you love more than life itself, when someone you thought you would trust until the end of time as we know it wrestles that trust out of your soul, throws it down on the ground and stomps on it until the soil makes it wet and dirty...

When someone you have always counted as one of your closest friends proves to be a traitor; proves to be, not your friend, but your worst enemy...

When someone you loved when you were happy, and hated when you were angry, betrays you, there are no pillars, there are no roofs over your head, no safety net to catch you when you fall, no rock to hold on to.

There are no pillars.

There are no pillars to support you, no pillars to support the wall which protects you from all that you fear.

And it is not a giant that falls, but everything you ever knew to be true. And your own universe crumbles down upon you until all you have left to do is to try to find a new world order.

Or simply a new world.

Just a couple of days later, Sirius Black, best friend and traitor of the Potters, would be captured by the ministry when murdering thirteen people, with one single curse.

Just a couple of days later, a young witch would leave the United Kingdom and its magical community, with the intention of never returning.