Snape and Lily's daughter

The burial

"I was there, I saw it. We arrived back on the Astronomy Tower because that's where the Mark was...Dumbledore was ill, he was weak, but I think he realized it was a trap when we heard footsteps running up the stairs. He immobilized me, I couldn't do anything, I was under the Invisibility Cloak — and then Malfoy came through the door and disarmed him —" Harry explained.

But Grace was no longer paying attention to him. She wasn't paying attention to anything anymore. Ever since her brother had told her that their father had killed Dumbledore, the girl had frozen.

Harry opened his mouth to continue telling what he had seen earlier, but Tonks stopped him when she saw Grace's condition. "Grace? Grace? Are you ok?" she called out the name of the girl who had grown up as her sister.

But Grace didn't show any reaction when Tonks began to shake her arm. The girl had frozen, and her only reaction was the tears that were now falling from her eyes.

Tonks passed her arm around Grace to help the girl hold herself up, meanwhile leading her over to one of the beds. Astoria and the other Slytherin students who were there all went over to Grace's bed.

"She went into shock." Lupin said.

Madam Pomfrey made her way among Grace's friends who surrounded her and she examined her.

"She really did." the healer confirmed what Lupin had said.

Grace's skin was paler and colder than usual, and she was breathing more slowly.

Then the doors to the hospital wing open and Professor McGonagall enters. She had scratches on her face and her robes were torn.

"Molly and Arthur are on their way," she said. "Harry, what happened? According to Hagrid you were with Professor Dumbledore when he — when it happened. He says Professor Snape was involved in some —"

"Snape killed Dumbledore," said Harry.

Madam Pomfrey conjured up a chair when she saw McGonagall's condition.

"Snape," repeated McGonagall faintly, falling into the chair. "We all wondered... but he trusted... always... Snape... I can't believe it..."

It was then that the teacher noticed Grace's presence in the hospital wing.

"Grace, dear-" she said, getting up to go toward the girl.

"Please sit down, Minerva." Madam Pomfrey asked. "You are not in a good state to stand. Besides, Miss Snape needs space. I want a maximum of two people to stay with her."

Grace's friends made room for the girl, leaving only Tonks and Astoria. Each sat in a chair, one on the left side of the bed and the other on the right.

"Snape was a highly accomplished Occlumens," said Lupin. "We always knew that."

"But Dumbledore swore he was on our side!" whispered Tonks, as she squeezed the hand of her surrogate sister tightly. "I always thought Dumbledore must know something about Snape that we didn't..."

"He always hinted that he had an ironclad reason for trusting Snape," muttered McGonagall. "I mean... with Snapes history... of course people were bound to wonder... but Dumbledore told me explicitly that Snape's repentance was absolutely genuine — Wouldn't hear a word against him!"

People kept talking as if Grace wasn't there. And she wasn't. Her body might have been, but Grace's mind was only thinking about her father. Could it be that he had been a Death Eater all these years? Was serving Voldemort more important than his own daughter?

"I'd love to know what Snape told him to convince him," said Tonks.

"I know," said Harry, and they all turned to look at him. "Snape passed Voldemort the information that made Voldemort hunt down my mum and dad. Then Snape told Dumbledore he hadn't realized what he was doing, he was really sorry he'd done it, sorry that they were dead."

Grace, who until now seemed not to be there, came to her senses when Harry said this. "W-what?" she said, sobbing as tears continued to stream from her eyes.

Harry saw that what he had said affected her, so he decided not to say anything more. Tonks sat down on the bed where Grace was, and immediately the girl hugged her as tightly as she could and buried her head under her big sister's neck.

Was her father to blame for her mother's death? All these years he had raised her only out of guilt for having handed James and Lily over to Voldemort? It was a matter of seconds before Grace fainted.

McGonagall, who was Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, talked to everyone there (now along with Molly and Arthur) and decided to send the students home early.

"What will we do with Grace? " McGonagall asked. "There is no way I am going to let her move back in with her father."

"Grace is more than welcome to live with us, Minerva." Molly suggested.

As soon as Mrs. Weasley said this, Astoria, Blaise and Grace's other friends started an argument, all saying that she could stay at their house.

"Enough." Tonks said loudly. "Grace grew up all these years with my parents and me, while her father worked here. She sees us as her family, and our home as her home too. I have no doubt that it is right for her to move in with us."

Everyone was silent.

"That's settled, then." Minerva spoke. "Now, I think that here, full of people, is not the ideal place for her to rest. Someone take her to her dorm."

Tonks and the Slytherin students took Grace to the dormitory and put her to bed.

All classes were suspended and exams were postponed. A delegation of Ministry officials was accommodated at the school.

The Hogwarts Express would leave an hour after the funeral. Everyone was in formal attire, and no one seemed hungry.

The students were each at the table in their respective Houses. Grace was wrapped in Astoria's arms, who, knowing what her friend was going through, didn't want to say anything from the moment Grace woke up.

The center chair, always occupied by Dumbledore, was now empty. McGonagall did not want to occupy it out of respect for the Headmaster. Snape's chair was now occupied by Rufus Scrimgeour, the new Minister for Magic.

"It is nearly time," spoke Minerva, standing up. "Please follow your Heads of House out into the grounds. Gryffindors, after me."

The Slytherin students all stood up and followed Slughorn, now the new Head of House.

Grace noticed, when they arrived in the grounds of the school, that at least half of the chairs had already been taken. She saw Tonks standing next to Lupin, the two of them holding hands. All the way there, and even after they sat down in their chairs, Astoria didn't let go of Grace's hand.

A chorus of merpeople sang.

A man dressed all in black said a few things to the crowd surrounding the former Headmaster's body.

From now on, everything would be different.