Fade to Black

Chapter 1: Memories to be Forgotten

Eyes wide open she'll sing her song to anyone who comes along,

Fragile as a leaf in autumn falling to the ground.

Lily Potter walked through the tall, unshaven grass, stopping in front of the stone grave. She bent down on her knees, brushing her red hair out of her eyes. It was a hot summer night but Lily felt as if someone had just poured a bucketful of ice down her throat. She raised her shaky hands on the already fading engraved letters that read "ACHILLES EVANS, BELOVED FATHER AND SON".

This was the first time Lily had mustered up the courage to visit her recently passed father. She felt a certain numbness go through her body, not being able to feel the tear that slid down her cheek. She had come to face what had happened.

Why him? Why did he have to go after him?

She closed her eyes, trying to remember her fathers face. He had slick brown hair, which he always parted to the side, and big green eyes that Lily had inherited. He also had a warm laugh that would always make Lily giggle along when she a little girl. It seemed so long ago now, as if it had been in another lifetime. She took her hand off the grave, managing a stifled sob.

"Dad, I don't know how I'm going to get through... this... without you. So far you have been my inspiration for everything. You were such a great man as well as a great father. A great Dad. You're the one who held our family together and accepted me for who I am, even though you were a bit scared at first."

Lily gave a shaky laugh. Then she took a deep breath and continued.

"I came here tonight to tell you that Mum is extremely sick. I don't know how much you see from... up there... but she hasn't gotten out of her bed in weeks. It's ever since you've been gone. Her eyes are hollow and her face is gaunt, lifeless. I know she wants to be back with you. Me and Petunia have been taking care of her as best as we could but deep down I know the worst is inevitable. So I guess I came here for some kind of closure, since..." her voice trailed off.

She layed her eyes on the single dark, red rose she had brought with her. Picking it up a few feet away, she inhaled its pure scent and admired its beauty before setting it down in front of the headstone.

"I love you Dad," she whispered.

Moments seemed to pass before Lily finally stood up. As she prepared to Apparate away, she heard a loud "CRACK" somewhere behind her. She quickly spun around, rummaging her hand through her pocket until she found her wand and hurriedly wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Who's there?" she called out.

Nobody called back to her, but she strained her ears to hear footsteps scuttling around on the ground. She heard the sound of a twig snapping in half behind a marble headstone that read 'TOM RIDDLE'.

The hairs on Lily's neck stood up when she had seen that grave. She usually wasn't easily frightened or intimidated but it was as if she had just remembered she was in a graveyard in the middle of the night. Holding an even tighter grip on her wand, she steadily lifted it in the air muttering "Lumos", while slowly walking over to the headstone.

She could distinctly make out the figure of a hunched man in a cloak. Lily hesitated, not certain if she wanted to confront the person or not. As she took a step back the cloaked figure quickly stood up, as if he had been expecting some sort of attack, pointing a wand at Lily. When seeing her the man let out a small gasp. As he spoke it sounded as if he was trying to deepen his voice, though his hand looked very pale and shaky in the dim light.

"G-Get out of here! A little Mudblood like you shouldn't be in these parts."

Lily blinked. She was not offended, as horrid as it really was, but her face was full of mingled surprise. How could he know? She took a step back, eyeing the person carefully. He still had his hood pulled over his head.

This person seems oddly familiar. Almost like... Snape.

"Who are you?" asked Lily. Her fear had soon left her voice.

"Like I said before, you don't want to know! Get out of here before something happens!"

A thought had suddenly occurred to her. She flicked her wand in the air, incanting "Aquilonis" while aiming for the mans head.

A gust of wind had blown out of Lily's wand, easily letting the hood slide off his head. Revealed was a pale, pallid face, with lank greasy hair that flopped onto his cloak. It had been Snape. His eyes widened into a look of terror and fury. He was angrily muttering swear words under his breath that Lily could not comprehend.

"I told you- warned you- to not get involved in things that aren't to be meddled in! Now- you wait-" it was as if he had been too angry to finish his last sentence.

"Wait for what?" cracked Lily.

"Just go, NOW!" Snape yelled through gritted teeth. Lily stumbled backwards; shocked that he would loose his temper over something so small. For now all of her questions about what he was doing here in the dead of the night and why he was hiding himself were brushed aside. With not a last look at her father's grave, she focused her mind on her home and blinked her eyes. In an instant, she was gone.

Apparating back to the middle of her living room, Lily saw her sister Petunia sitting on the white sofa. She had been reading a book that she dropped on the floor when Lily entered the room. She looked up, startled.

"Ugh, do you have to do that all the time? Can't you just use the door for once like a normal person?" said Petunia, anger in her voice.

"I-I'm sorry," replied Lily. She was definitely in no mood to argue with her sister right now. As she started to turn around and go up the stairs, Petunia called after her.

"Wait, your not going anywhere yet."

"What do you want?" said Lily in an exasperated sigh.

"Where did you go tonight? You look like a wreck."

"Uhm... thanks."

"You weren't visiting Dad were you?" asked Petunia.

"Why does it matter?"

"Because you don't have the right to see him!" Petunias face was suddenly very red, its horse like figure twisted into a menacing scowl.

Lily stuttered, not knowing what she was going on about.

"If you weren't the freak that you are, this never would've happened! This Voldemort that you were talking about never would've sent someone to kill him! It's your fault for being the perfect little WITCH that you are! Look where it's gotten us now!" Petunias eyes were bloodshot now. She was screaming at the top of her lungs.

"How do you reckon it's my fault? I never did anything to cause that!" Lily's voice cracked.

"If you never went to that school of yours doing God knows what this wouldn't of happened!"

"No, you wrong!" shouted Lily, looking her squarely in the face now. "And you're going to regret saying that."

Without another glance back at Petunia, Lily stormed up the stairs. She walked past her mothers closed bedroom door and slammed her own door shut. She leaned back on the door, breathing heavily. She knew Petunia didn't approve of her being a witch but she had never gone off on her like that before. After a moment she mustered up the strength to walk over to her mirror hanging on the wall, looking at her reflection. Petunia was right; she did look like a wreck. Her usual silky deep red hair was tangled in odd places and her almond-shaped green eyes seemed to have lost their color. She lifted a hand to her face, which was pale and bony.

What if she's right? What if he would still be alive if I never became a witch?

"No," she said out loud, mainly trying to convince herself. "It's not my fault, I don't care what she says."

With that, she tore her eyes away from the mirror and looked at her trunk, suddenly remembering something in the midst of all that was going on. She walked over to her desk and picked up a 7^th year book and materials list. While looking over the piece of paper she flicked her wand and said a quick spell that packed her open trunk for her. She then walked over to her window and opened it, letting warm air sear through. Lily had hoped that her owl Perseus would come back from hunting tonight. She skimmed the moonlit sky, looking for a trace of the tawny brown owl. It was a full moon tonight. Her eyes then caught sight of a swooping downward figure, seeing it was her own owl as it flew over a lamppost. She smiled for the first time that night.

Right on queue.

When Perseus had soared through her window, Lily saw he had a parchment tied to his leg. She carefully removed it, wondering whom it could be from.

At least I finally get to go to Hogwarts tomorrow. My home.

Severus stood in the graveyard, about a million thoughts going through his mind. He seemed to get more nervous by the second; his stomach was tied in knots.

Why am I going through with this?

He thought of Evans and how he had driven her away. He remembered a time when he had a crush on her and he would've given up anything to get a chance to be with her, despite her ancestry. Well, he was going to give up on his feelings towards her now. He was going to give up on everything by dedicating his soul to Voldemort. At least, that was the plan. He still waited patiently for the meeting he was called for.

"So, you came. Then again, if you hadn't there would've been dire consequences," chuckled a very cold voice from behind.

Severus spun around, greeted by a tall figure in a cloak. All he could see of his face were two protruding red eyes, full of evil and hate. Severus wondered what to do and what to say that would please him. He got down on his knees and bowed his head to show that he was not worthy.

"Master, tell me what I can do for you," he said.

Voldemort lifted a long, cold finger to Severus' chin, sending chills down his spine. He slowly brought him back up to his feet so that they were face to face.

"You are not yet worthy to call me 'Master'. I save that title only for those who I know will not betray me," replied Voldemort. "I have heard very good things about you, Severus, but I need you to earn my trust first."

"Yes my Lord, anything," said Severus.

"I have learned of an ancient Prophecy. One that tells of my downfall. Mostly I don't believe in this foolishness, but a very reliable source let me know of this. I must know what the Prophecy states so I can take all the necessary... precautions."

Severus stood very still, hardly daring to breathe until he knew what his outcome would be. He was still in awe that a Dark Lord was standing in front of him, speaking to him as if he was almost an equal.

"Now, this is where you come in," continued Voldemort. "Find out what this Prophecy says, go to whatever lengths you have to go through. If you prove yourself loyal to me in this task, you shall be blessed with the Mark."

The Mark. Severus already knew of this, even though so few did. He had never known of what it looked like but he knew it would burn so you could know his calling.

"My Lord, I know what an honour that would be..."

Voldemort lowered his face to Severus' ear, speaking barely above a whisper. His voice seemed to hiss when he spoke.

"You know, loyalty is the most important thing to me above all. Just remember that."

Severus couldn't think of a reply to this but he didn't have to. As soon as he turned around Voldemort was gone without a trace, leaving Severus to process everything that had just happened.