3:3:18:17:15

“Professor, is it wrong if I enjoy watching this man die?” Harry questioned in a whisper, even though no one would have been able to hear him over the noise.

Loads of witches and wizards had come to this room, all of them were related to Yaxley’s victims. Snape began to respond to Harry, but the room fell silent. The only window in that room allowed onlookers to see into the room on the other side. The only item in that adjacent room was a chair. The door had swung open and two Azkaban guards dragged Yaxley into the room. They secured him to the chair and blindfolded him before leaving.

“I, the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt hereby sentence Yaxley to death by the way of dementors kiss for the murders of ten wizards including an Auror’s wife, two on duty Aurors, the previous Minister of Magic and the parents of ministry employee Draco Malfoy.”

Suddenly the lights went out. Harry could clearly see Yaxley, who was shivering as much as he possible could while being tied into a chair. That meant that the dementors were close by. The door slowly creaked open and a dementor floated into the room, knowing that it’s prey was in there. Once the dementor went in for the kiss, Yaxley seemed to seize up. He began to thrash around as the dementor came in closer. Then he went still, a tiny orb of life came out of his mouth. The dementor sucked the orb into his mouth and left.

Just like that, Yaxley was dead. It was over. Harry had seen many people divert their eyes when it was about to end for the wicked man, but Harry kept his eyes on Yaxley. He, for some reason, could not take his eyes off of Yaxley. The lights in the viewing room came on and people began to leave. Harry sat there, still staring into the other room.

“Are you okay, Harry?” Snape questioned, placing a hand on Harry’s shoulder.

“I’m fine.” Harry whispered, then he turned to look at Snape. “I’m fine.” He repeated again with a nod of his head.

Snape and Harry stood up and began to make their way through the crowd of people.

“Potter!” Harry heard the familiar voice call.

It was a voice that caused Harry to stop mid-stride and turn around. Draco Malfoy was striding up to Harry dressed in jet black, walking with a cane much like his father’s.

“What do you want, Malfoy?” Harry questioned, somewhat angrily at the sight of his arch nemesis.

“I’m sorry for what happened.”

“Are you just going to remind me what I’ve lost because of that man. If you are, there’s nothing more you need to say to me.” Harry spoke with a great force as he began to walk away.

“Potter, that’s not what I meant. What I meant was…I don’t understand what you are going through and I’m sorry that she’s gone. I also wanted to say that even though I was such a prat to you in school, I’m very thankful to you for finding my parent’s killer. It was hard going through that and no one gave me anything concrete. I thank you for doing what you did.” Malfoy explained, holding out a hand.

Harry eyes Malfoy wearily, trying to see if there was some other motive. Harry couldn’t see one, but he was still unsure about it. He didn’t trust the son of a death eater.

“Fine.” Draco said, pulling his hand away. “I just want you to know that I appreciate it.”

Draco walked past Harry, who was still shocked by what had transpired.

“Malfoy!” Harry blurted out.

Draco turned to look at Harry.

“You’re welcome.”

Draco nodded curtly, spun on his heels and walked out of the room. Harry stood in the same spot for a few minutes. When he saw Snape walk out of the room, he chased after the man. When Harry caught up, Snape asked,

“Are you up for lunch?”

“Yeah, I am.” Harry replied.

“I know a good restraunt around here.”

“Fine with me.”

The two men didn’t speak as they walked. Even though Harry had fallen silent, Snape could tell that something was wrong. Snape, however, was not going to bring it up. He was going to let Harry tell him in his own time.

They had arrived at the restraunt, found seats and ordered their food, but Harry had stayed quiet most of the time. Snape wanted to know if Harry was okay. Silence could be a dangerous thing and it most definitely was when Snape was in Harry’s position.

If only he could look into the boy’s mind, but Harry would be able to feel his presence. Snape would just have to wait. Harry asked something that brought Snape out of his thoughts.

“What?” Snape questioned for he heard none of the question.

“Am I a bad person if I enjoyed watching that man die?” Harry asked again.

“Do you think Molly Weasley felt bad for killing Bellatrix Lestrange?”

“No.”

“Why is that?”

“She was protecting her family.”

“Did you feel bad killing Voldemort?”

“No.”

“And why is that?”

“Voldemort killed my parents and so many other people.”

“The reason that you said no was because Voldemort took something from you, much like Bellatrix Lestrange almost took something from Molly. You are not a bad person for feeling good about Yaxley dying because he took a loved one from you.”

“I don’t think he should have died like that. That man deserved a slow and painful death.”

“I agree with you, Harry. That was too nice of a death for that man, but now he’s dead. It over and done.”

“It doesn’t feel like it though.”

“Why?” Snape asked quizzically.

“I still feel like I am living in a nightmare. It’s just not a horrible as before.”

“Did you think if Yaxley died, Ginny would come back?”

“No.” Harry answered, looking out the window. “I thought it wouldn’t hurt as much after he died.”

“Harry.” Snape said, grabbing Harry’s arm. “Closure will come eventually. Just give it time.”

A waitress came with their food, causing both men to fall silent. When she left, Snape spoke again.

“You are not a bad person Harry. You are a good person, which terrible things have happened to.”

“You sound so much like Sirius. He told me that before he died.”

“So then it must be true.”
The two men dove into their food, eating very quickly.

“I don’t enjoy watching you go through this pain, Harry. I really don’t. If I could bring Ginny back, I would. I can’t do that for you however. What I can do for you is to be there for help. You will learn to live with the pain. It just takes times. You’ll see.”

That was the last thing that Snape said to Harry before the two men departed from the food establishment. When they arrived at the Potter household, Snape turned to Harry.

“Will you okay if I run some errands?”

“Yeah. I have an appointment in about two hours.”

“I should be back before then.” Snape replied as he disapparated.

Snape approached the grave yard silently. It took him seconds to find that correct row of graves and he began to walk toward it. Snape wanted Harry to try to get more closure. How would Harry do that if he saw that Snape hadn’t tried. As Snape got closer to the gravestone, he began to slow. He had never been to the grave for some reason. Was he afraid? By visiting that grave, did that mean that Snape had come to accept their death? Maybe.

As he came ever closer, Snape realized that he was afraid. He was afraid of the emotions that might present themselves. He had already been in that dark place once and he didn’t….no he couldn’t….go back to that place. He finally made it and all he did was stand there and stare. The name, Lily Potter, which was engraved on the tombstone brought tears to Snape’s eyes. No one in the world knew how much Snape really missed Lily. It didn’t help that he was the catalysis to her death.

“How are you, Lily?” He asked, placing a hand on the top of the tombstone and leaving a lily there.

It was her favorite flower and Lily was as beautiful as a lily.

“I’m trying my hardest for you. This is the best that I’ve got for now. If we want Harry to get some closure, then I figured that I had to try as well.” Snape knelt to the ground before continuing to speak. “I know that full closer will come only if I stop blaming myself for your death, but I would be lying to myself. It’s my fault that you are dead. You always told me that God had a plan for all of us and I believe you. I have always questioned God though, because what kind of God would fill a person’s world with sadness and despair.”

“I wish that I had never called you mud blood because then, you might still be alive. You’ve told me not to blame myself but I can’t. Had I never told Voldemort about that prophecy, you would still be here. You would be here to comfort your son and you would be able to see him grow. I am sorry that I took that from you. I just wish that I could do something more. I love you so much, Lily.” Snape finished as he rose.

“Until we meet again, my flower.”

Snape slowly turned around and walked away, wiping tears from his eyes. Hopefully, Harry could do more than what Snape had just done.