⫶⫶⫶ ᴇ ᴅ ᴇ ʟ y ɴ ⫶⫶⫶
― Edelyn Aurélia Black learned
from a young age that h e r o e s
aren't always the ones who win.
They're the ones who fight. And
so, Edelyn fights, until the green
lying dormant beh...
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SEVERUS SNAPE WAS DEAD - snake bites punctured his neck and blood dripped down his pallid skin. He was murdered for what was believed to be the true ownership of the Elder Wand, and with his dying breath, he had done what they had thought was the impossible: he had tugged at the Golden Trio's heartstrings. Somehow, despite their dislike for the wizard, which had developed upon years of watching him torment and bully the students of Hogwarts, they had felt sympathy for him. They had felt sympathy for a man who was neither terribly bad nor honourably good; just another soul from which the world had stripped away innocence. But that did not mean he was less-deserving of his end, for one's own pain can never justify the pain instilled on others.
The walk back from the Shrieking Shack was a quiet one, and Edelyn felt a heaviness weigh upon her as she stepped into the deserted Entrance Hall. The first wave of battle had ended, Lord Voldemort's troops had retreated, and they had an hour's time to recuperate; to heal the wounded, round up the dead, and for Harry, to give himself up before battle recommenced.
Though the air was now still, the ghosts of battle screamed at every corner: the flagstone underneath their feet was littered with emeralds, pieces of marble, and splintered wood, all stained in carmine blood; the stone walls were lined with cracks; the castle itself had suffered just as much as those who had fought inside.
Approaching the Great Hall, Edelyn could see through the open doors that the House tables were gone. Instead, the survivors huddled in groups with arms hung around each other's shoulders and heads ducked low. Some stood on the side and others crouched over loved ones who were laid in the middle of the Hall. Taking a shaky breath, she was about to enter when Ron suddenly turned around and stopped her.
"Lyn-" Tears brimmed his eyes. "Lyn, before you go in, I - I should-" But his voice broke and his body trembled; Hermione grasped his arm to keep him upright.
Edelyn knitted her brow. "What - What's wrong?" she asked, and when Ron did not respond, she flickered her gaze to Hermione, only to see that she was crying.
Right leg beginning to twitch, Edelyn turned to Harry, hoping for him to speak and alleviate the anxiety that was now tightening around her throat. But Harry simply looked straight ahead into the Great Hall, eyes refusing to meet hers.
Swallowing hard, Edelyn pulled her hand out of Harry's grasp and locked eyes with Ron once more. He opened his mouth, and for a moment, she thought he was going to supply her with an answer, but he soon closed it again. Realizing, perhaps, that nothing he said could lessen the blow, he stepped aside and allowed her passage.
Her eyes lingered on him in a moment's hesitation before she walked past him and into the Great Hall.
The first thing she saw was Dale. He and another were crouched over a still body, and hearing her approaching footsteps, he looked up with lips curled into a grieving frown. Kneeling down beside him, Edelyn tried to form words of comfort, but before she could, Dale flung his arms around her. For a fraction of a second, he simply clung to her, then his body heaved and he began to sob into her shoulder.
