Graveyard [Open]

[SEVERUS SNAPE]

How did he get to Godric's Hollow? And more importantly why was he here?

He had never visited their graves before. He had never gone to their funeral or said his goodbyes. He just couldn't accept the fact that they were gone. He was tired of the game that he played with himself though. He was sick of pretending. It was time to face the truth...

The graveyard was old and deserted. There were weeds growing everywhere and it saddened him that no one seemed to care. He wasn't even sure if the Potters would be here, but he couldn't think of anywhere else to go. He couldn't help but to notice it was unnaturally quiet. There were no sounds from the church nearby or of people shopping about in the market; there wasn't even any laughing or idle chatting on the air. It was silent, as a graveyard should be. Severus Snape let out a slow sigh as he shoved his hands into his pockets and continued to pick his way through the tombstones. He knew that the one he searched for should look rather new so he passed the others by, showing no interest in them whatsoever.

JAMES POTTER & LILY POTTER
BORN 27 MARCH 1960 BORN 30 JANUARY 1960
DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981 DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981

HARRY JAMES POTTER
BORN 31 JULY 1980 DIED 24 JUNE 1994

'The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death'

Snape peered down at the white marble for a long time, the words making no sense to him. They couldn't be dead. He would rather have Lily alive and happy with Potter than knowing that she was buried six feet under. Of course he knew that she was probably in a better place, but he wasn't really sure what to believe anymore. Did Heaven or Hell even exist? And Harry... How could they win this war without the so-called Chosen One? They were pretty much screwed. He closed his eyes for a moment as he placed his hand on the stone.

"I'm so sorry, Lily. I should have watched after your son better... I've made far too many mistakes in my life." The man actually let out a sob. "It wasn't supposed to be like this... Somehow I pictured it going differently in my head. You and James and Harry... You're not meant to be dead."

He gave a shuddering sigh. "I can't keep doing this, Lily. I just can't! I'm losing myself. I'm not sure who I am anymore... Please... help me..."

Severus stood there and waited... For what he wasn't sure. Some kind of retribution maybe; a sign that he was to keep going as he always did. How he had managed to stay at least somewhat sane was a miracle. He had been pulled back from the brink a couple of times, but now there was no one left for him to rely on. The only people who had ever seemed to give a damn about him were either gone forever or missing. He lowered his head as his shoulders shook and he felt the hot track of tears on his face.

"Please help me. I don't know what to do."

---

Tag: Open
Words: 526
Location: Godric's Hollow; Graveyard
Notes: ---

[TAMMY ELISIA DE'ATH]

Silence echoed through Tammy’s mind. It sung the dark call, 'nothing in life is significant. All turns to silence.' The ever present darkness od despair swelled in the silence of the truth. Her life had swiftly ended when she had joined the Death Eaters. Godric’s Hollow was still, and its silence cried warning. Perhaps it was because this was a place for the dead: dead heroes, myths and dreams. This was the place that had beckoned the death of the Dark Lord and now it stood like a feeble, defeated soldier, cradling a white flag. A slight wind picked up a rustle from the bouquet of lilies in her ghostly white hand. It was fifteen years since her parents had died. Although their bodies were not buried here, Tamm and Niamh, her sister, had placed a plaque of remembrance for them on an old oak. The oak had reminded them of the one in their garden in France from the times of joy and freedom.

The slow march of time walked with Tammy as she made her way to the graveyard. Time echoed the memories of each era, remembering all that were, all that are and hinted at all that would be. However, as she entered the graveyard, she picked up a voice. Its qualities were of a familiar kind and it did not take Tammy long to recognise from whom the voice came. She faltered. Snape used to work at Hogwarts when she did and he was now among the death eaters. Confusion and apprehension took a strong hold as she pondered over the situation. It was certainly not wise to let another servant of the Dark Lord see her here, sentimentally laying flowers at the grave of the dead. However, she had to wonder what he was doing here, talking to a grave. She moved close enough to catch a few key names. Lily, James, Harry. It could not be. Why would a death eater stand at the grave of the Dark Lord’s enemies?

Her first impulse was to turn and walk away. Avoidance was the best way to not be drawn into another’s personal life. She did not care nor did she want to care about other’s sad existences. Yet, her feet stayed rooted and she stepped forward to hear a silent plea to a dead woman. His words echoed like a call to some god, seeking redemption and purpose. Here he was, slave to the time. It seemed rational people called out to some sort of deity. She knew many Death Eaters called to the Dark Lord and all the sorry souls that had to fight him, to the great Harry Potter or to the ever allusive Albus Dumbledore. She had yet to hear of a prayer being answered in these dark times. Everything only seemed to grow darker and more desperate. Even Tammy had given up finding solace in believing Niamh was still alive. She had not heard from her younger sister in such a long time.

Tammy turned her attention back to Snape. He seemed to be waiting. Perhaps he had been taken by madness, or perhaps his true loyalties were to someone long dead. The true defeater of the Dark Lord: Lily Potter. Were those tears? Tammy fought the urge to flee. It would be better for both of them if she just left. If the Dark lord were to find this memory in her mind Snape would find himself in a very dark pit. However, the cool indifference she had learnt from denying herself to become a death eater washed over her. She could not save him, nor could she save herself. They were both victims to this world as they were both oppressors of it.

“Hello Sweetie,” she said coolly, with no warmth of the actual words. They slipped out seductively and with a detached curiosity. She always greeted people like that. It greeted a sense of distance and aloofness within her. She toyed with the bunch of flowers in her hands and shifted her weight to her left foot. She dipped her head down, allowing the mass of red hair to fall across her shoulder. She observed the flowers for a bit before looking coyly up.
“Perhaps coming here is a bad idea, for future reference,” she said smoothly, answering his question. “It may become uncomfortable for you to find your allegiance being doubted.”

OOC: hope it's ok that I replied here.

[SEVERUS SNAPE]

So engrossed was he in his task of seeking forgiveness that he didn't even hear the telltale sound of someone else approaching. The voice which broke his revered silence caused him to turn suddenly. At the same time his wand appeared in his hand with a simple flick of his wrist and he pointed it towards the young woman. At first he honestly thought that somehow Lily had managed to return from the grave because it sure as hell looked like her. She had the red hair and the bright green eyes. However, upon closer inspection, Severus realized that it wasn't his long lost love. He kind of recognized her as a fellow Death Eater, but he couldn't remember her name.

He lowered his wand somewhat. He wasn't stupid enough to put it away completely though. Her voice was cool and collected with a seductive undertone, which made him feel uncomfortable. He lifted an eyebrow as he finally took notice of the flowers within her grasp. It suddenly occurred to Snape that she was not there to expose him as it were; she was there to pay homage to someone who was buried in the graveyard.

"Hm..." Was all he said at first and then: "I could say the same thing about you."

He eyed her for a moment as he wondered what had brought her to Godric's Hollow. He gave a dark chuckle at her next words and shrugged his shoulders somewhat. Of course he knew what would happen to him if his loyalties were ever discovered, but by this point he couldn't even bring himself to care anymore. He had no reason to keep on living like he did and was in fact surprised that he hadn't died long ago. It made little difference to him one way or another what this woman decided to do.

"If you want to out me then do it. Don't just stand there and talk about it. I hold no fear for the Dark Lord anymore." Severus shrugged his shoulders. His eyes flashed dangerously though. "But be assured that if I go down then I will take everyone around me down as well." He was silent for a few moments before speaking again. "Why are you here anyway?"

---

Tag: Tammy
Words: 372
Location: Godric's Hollow; Graveyard
Notes: ---

[TAMMY ELISIA DE'ATH]

Even with the sudden appearance of Snape’s wand, Tammy did not flinch. Although his reaction was slightly surprising, the more she thought about it the more she knew it was a natural thing to do these days. She smiled, amusement touching it. She offered to reassurance. She had none to give. It was not that she was a threat to the man; she just was not exactly a friend. Keeping her gaze right at him, she visibly relaxed. She had no desire to return his gesture of... perhaps fear, maybe vindictiveness? Her eyes dropped to his wand as he lowered it slightly. Well, perhaps he was viewing her with less suspicion. She could not quite decide whether that was justified or not. She had no real lust for blood, so she assumed Snape would be safe around her; unless, of course, the Dark Lord reached into her mind and discovered things that would be detrimental to both of them. However, she did wish for that either.

Tammy watched the slight raise of the eyebrow but could not quite place what it was directed at. Concern about the strange reaction was absent. It cost far too much time to analyse such a movement when in truth it could mean very little. Time and energy were short in a world being ripped apart by a magical war. She was not isolated from it and that made her more vulnerable to the decay it brought. A slight smile touched her lips at his words.
“I know very well there are better places to be. However, I have little care for the sense of propriety in such times,” she caught herself before she rambled. Being a former Ravenclaw made her quick to fall into intellectual discussions. However, those days were over and she had slipped past any sense of hope of returning to the carefree days of feeling open. She smirked, more to herself than to Snape. His reaction was not one of fear. Tammy did not quite mean them to invoke fear so she supposed it was the correct reaction.

His words made her shrug apathetically.
“I have no use for outing you. I have no desire to win favour nor do I particularly care,” she said emotionlessly, responding to his threat. “All will meet death at the hands of the Dark Lord, directly or indirectly. Time is the only concern I have. Everything is a matter of time.”
She looked past him, toward the memorial of her parents. Perhaps Niamh would be here. She doubted it. As far as she remembered, her sister returned to France. She would be at the physical grave of her parents on the anniversary of their deaths. She looked up sharply at Snape’s question.

“Surely you have no real interest in that answer?” she asked whimsically, as she descended into feeling uncomfortable. She shifted her weight again. “I am in a graveyard. The best answer would be that I am visiting people who left the living behind.”
Her voice became defensive.
“I, however, am not going to ask you what you are doing here. I do not want to know,” she said plainly.