Lily POV

Plonk! An official looking letter landed in my porridge just as I was about to start eating. I looked up to see if I might recognise the owl. I didn't. It was a smart looking tawny owl, with not a feather out of place. He ruffled his feathers and stared at me inquisitively, as if to say 'Well aren't you going to open it then?'

I pulled the letter out of the sticky remains of my breakfast and tried to scrape as much of the porridge off the envelope and into the bowl as possible. I peeled off the Ministry of Magic seal on the back of the envelope, a lump in my throat.

The Ministry didn't just send people lovely letters about how everything was going extremely well and everybody was fine. This was serious. I didn't know how serious but it was definitely important.

I pulled out the piece of paper:

Dear Miss Evans,

We regret to inform you that there was a death eater attack on your house at 8pm last night.

Your parents were killed in the struggle, but your sister, who was coincidentally not at home at the time, is alright and is recovering from the shock at St. Mungo's.

A wizard clean-up team has been sent to your house and they will restore your house and obliviate any muggle witnesses.

Yours Sincerely,

Mafalda Hopkirk

The whole world froze around me. Marlene and Dorcas giggling a few seats down from me were frigid, their laughing smiles turned menacing and hateful. I was still and broken, lost and alone – everyone was against me. But then the whole world started moving again, a worse torture even than the stillness. Images flashed past, of me growing up, graduating, getting a job, growing old... all without my parents. My eyes swam with tears, the hall distorted around me.

I dropped the poisonous letter and ran. I ran far away, to the furthest corner of the astronomy tower. I ran until my feet burned and I couldn't run anymore, until I sank down into a corner, broken and helpless. Nobody cared about me. Nobody was left to care. The silence, broken only by my crying, was apprehensive and lonely. Then I heard footsteps.

James POV

As I walked into the hall with Sirius someone pushed past me and ran off sobbing. Someone with red hair! Lily!

I pulled out the map and scanned it for Lily.

Oh no... not the Astronomy Tower again. Why did she always have to pick the place with the longest walk?

I turned around to see Sirius standing there confused.

"See you later mate" I said before running off to the Astronomy Tower.

When I got to the astronomy tower I couldn't believe my eyes. Lily was sitting there hunched up in a ball in the corner sobbing her eyes out.  It pained me to see her like that.

"Lily?" I asked

She looked up. She had tears running down her face; her eyeliner was running all the way down her cheeks.

"James..." she mumbled "You don't have to..."

"Lily, what's wrong? Did someone do something to you?"  I said, immediately thinking of Snape.

"It's my parents," she gasped between her sobs "They're... d... de... dead."

"Oh Lily, I'm so sorry." I said softly, putting my arms around her, she rested her head on my shoulder.

"It's just..." she cried "I never thought that this would ever happen to me. I will never be able to taste my mum's homemade cakes again, never have another Sunday Roast with my whole family ever again, never be able to have a Christmas morning with my parents and Tuney where we all open presents and laugh together at my dad's corny Christmas jokes that don't make sense. I will never see them again. Never." She started crying again and buried her head in my chest.

I held her tight. "You have me."