I had seen dead bodies before, but not in one room like this.

They were everywhere. I was at the verge of tears as I was walking past all the bodies. People were covering them up, silently crying in the process. Harry and I looked around, trying not to cry.

But I finally couldn't take it anymore when I saw Fred Weasley.

"No," I whispered as I began to cry. "Not Fred. He can't be dead. He can't be dead..."

Ron went over to George and hugged him. Then he got on his knees and stared at his dead brother. I looked beside them and saw Lupin and Tonks dead as well. Their hands were barely touching as they were on the ground.

"No, I can't do this," I said, running out of the Great Hall.

"Max, wait!" Harry shouted, running after me.

I finally stopped running. I was crying my eyes out as Harry caught up with me. "This isn't real. This isn't real..."

"Max..." Harry's voice cracked.

"All those people are dead because of us! It's our fault that Fred and Lupin and Tonks are...are..."

Harry pulled me into his arms and began to cry with me. We had a weight of guilt over our shoulders. It was our fault that so many people were dead. I couldn't help but feel responsible for all of this. I knew Harry felt the same way. I hated feeling guilty about this war.

"We should go see what this memory is," Harry told me as he pulled away, talking about the memory Snape gave us before he died.

"Yeah, we should," I said, nodding my head in agreement.

We walked to Dumbledore's office in silence. When we entered inside, we barely recognized the office. It was so dark and gloomy. Things had changed ever since Dumbledore died and Snape became headmaster. We found the Pensieve and Harry took the vial out of his pocket and poured it in the Pensieve.

"Do you want to look in it first?" he asked me.

I shook my head. "No, you go first."

He nodded his head and looked in it. I sat down, waiting for Harry to look at the memory.

I thought about Fred, Lupin, and Tonks. I thought about the good times I shared with them. I remembered Lupin when he made the Dementors go away on the train in third year. I remembered him giving us chocolate and teaching Harry and I how to conjure a Patronus. He was the best teacher Dumbledore hired.

I thought about Fred Weasley next. I had known him ever since I was eleven. Thanks to him and George, they were the reason why Harry and I had the map. I remembered when he rescued me with George while I was still at Little Whinging. I remembered when me and him were learning to dance for the Yule Ball in fourth year. He was too young to die. What was worse was that George lost his twin, his other half, his best friend. If I had lost Harry like George lost Fred, I wouldn't know what to do with myself.

Tonks was the last person that I thought of. She was a fun person to be around. At least she was still with Lupin, but it was still sad that she was gone.

They were both gone.

I felt Harry tap my shoulder and I turned around. I gave him a funny look when I saw him. He gave me a sad look.

"What is it?" I asked him, standing up.

"You need to see what I just saw," he replied.

"Is it bad?"

"Just go look for yourself."

I obliged and went over to the Pensieve. I looked at Harry one last time before leaning down and seeing what Harry wanted me to see.

*******

There were a couple of little girls in the middle of a field. There was a brunette and a redhead. They were facing each other. The redhead held out her hand and a flower bloomed. The other girl knocked it out of her hand and started chasing her.

"Freak! Freak! I'm going to tell Mummy! You're a freak!" the brunette screamed. "You're a freak, Lily!"

All of a sudden, a boy came out from the inside of a tree. The other little girl ran away. The boy picked up a stick and formed it into a butterfly. The girl caught it and smiled at him and he smiled back.

"She's jealous because she's ordinary and you're special," the boy said.

"That's mean, Severus," Lily told him.

Then it flashed forward to Lily's first year at Hogwarts, where she was sorted into Gryffindor. She headed over to the Gryffindor table and sat next to a boy that wasn't Severus Snape.

"Hi, I'm James," he said, shaking her hand.

"Hi, I'm Lily," she replied, smiling at him.

Severus Snape stared at the two, looking heartbroken.

The timeline of their lives went by. From Hogwarts, to James and Lily as a couple, then to Snape and Dumbledore.

"The prophecy did not refer to a woman," Dumbledore said. "It spoke of twins born at the end of July."

"Yes, and he intends to hunt them down now, to kill them." Snape paused. "Hide her. Hide them all. I beg you."

"What will you give me in exchange, Severus?"

"Anything."

Suddenly, it went to Lily as an adult, whispering to someone.

"Harry and Maxine, you two are so loved. Mama and Dada love both of you. Be safe, you two. Be strong."

"Avada Kedavra!"

"You said you would keep her safe!" Snape shouted, going back to Dumbledore and Snape.

"Lily and James put their faith in the wrong person, Severus," Dumbledore told him. "Rather like you. The twins survived."

"They don't need protection. The Dark Lord is gone."

"The Dark Lord will return, and when he does, the twins will be in terrible danger. They both have her eyes. If you truly loved her..." Dumbledore trailed off.

"No one can know," Snape informed him.

"That I should never reveal the best of you, Severus?"

"Your word."

"When you risk your life every day to protect the twins?"

"They possess no measurable talent, both of their arrogance rival that of their father, and they seem to relish their fame."

Snape began to talk about James Potter, then it went back to him and Dumbledore. "Drink it. It will contain the curse to your hand for the time being. It will spread, Albus."

"How long?" he asked, looking down at his hand.

"Maybe a year," Snape replied. Then, he walked away.

"Don't ignore me, Severus. We both know Lord Voldemort has ordered the Malfoy boy to murder me. But should he fail, one should presume the Dark Lord will turn to you. You must be the one to kill me, Severus. It is the only way. Only then the Dark Lord will trust you completely.

"There will come a time when the twins must be told something. But you must wait until Voldemort is at his most vulnerable."

"Must be told what?" Snape questioned.

"On the night Lord Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow to kill the Potter twins, and Lily Potter cast herself between them, the curse rebounded. When that happened, a part of Voldemort's soul split into two and latched itself onto the only living things they could find. The boy has one and the girl has the other one.

"There's a reason why they can speak to snakes. There's a reason why they can look into Lord Voldemort's mind. A part of Voldemort lives inside them."

Snape stared at him. "So when the time comes, the twins must die?"

Dumbledore nodded his head sadly. "Yes. They must die, and Voldemort himself must do it. That is essential."

"You've kept them alive so that they can die at the proper moment. You've been raising them like pigs for slaughter."

"Don't tell me now that you've grown to care for the twins."

Snape opened his mouth and said, "Expecto Patronum." He waved his wand and a doe appeared.

Dumbledore looked at the doe, then back at Snape. He stared at him in shock. "Lily. After all this time?"

Snape gave him a serious look before saying, "Always."

*******

I shot up from the Pensieve and gasped. I was breathing heavily and looked at Harry, who looked at me.

I stood there, not saying a word. Because after what I just saw, there really wasn't much to say.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Hi!

So, who's crying? Be honest now...

Comment, vote, more tear-jerking moments in the next chapter! :(

-A