A soft knock at the door startled Remus Lupin out of his reverie. He lifted his weary body off the couch and went to answer the door. He was almost certain who it was. Sure enough, James Potter and Sirius Black were standing on the threshold. He stepped aside so the pair could enter the house.

"How is he?" James questioned as soon as they were seated in the lounge room. Remus had owled James and Sirius the moment he heard about what happened to Lily.

Remus sighed. "As well as one can expect to be after losing a loved one. I sent Severus straight to bed after giving him a vial of Calming Draught and Dreamless Sleep."

"Does Harry know?" Sirius asked, concerned. He was, after all, the child's godfather.

"He thinks Lily is simply asleep. The poor boy keeps going on about that jumper she was knitting. Harry's asleep in my room at the moment."

Remus twisted his hands in his lap. This was awful. Severus had lost the only woman he had ever loved and Harry had lost his mother.

James fell back against the couch, groaning miserably. "Do the Healers know what happened? I mean, Lily was perfectly healthy!"

Remus shook his head sadly. "I spoke to the Head Healer about it when I went to pick Harry and Severus up. He said it's an unknown disease that is becoming fairly common. Five people have died from it this month alone."

A bleak silence fell upon the room. No one knew what to say and the pain of losing Lily, their dear friend Lily, was almost too much to bear.

Remus slumped low in his seat. He was aware that Sirius and James were conversing in low voices again, but he wasn't listening. How this have happened? He saw Lily earlier that week when he picked up his Wolfsbane Potion from Severus. She was fine, her usual bubbly and cheerful self. Lily had always stood up for Remus and was always there for him, her trust in him never wavering even when she found out about his lycanthropy. She was one of his best friends. And now Lily was gone. Dead. 

Lily Snape is dead.

The realization hit Remus with the force of a herd of stampeding elephants. He felt physically sick, the bile rising up in his throat.

"I need some air." Remus stood and stumbled out of the room. James and Sirius exchanged an alarmed look and rushed after him. They were too late. The splatter of sick against the floor greeted them as they rushed out into the hall. Remus lay slumped on the floor, his hand shakily dabbing at his mouth. Sirius pulled out his wand and cleaned the mess away while James leant at Remus' side.

"Moony..." James didn't know what to say. His friend's face was pale and drawn and the numerous scars that marred his visage stood out like beacons. James squatted down and placed Remus' head on his lap.

"This can't have happened. She didn't deserve to die." Remus moaned, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes.

"We know, Moony." Sirius soothed Remus after cleaning the mess. "What happened hasn't even sunk in yet. I can scarcely believe it. But we need to stay strong and-" Sirius' voice shook and broke off when he saw Remus' tortured expression. He fell against the wall and slid to the floor, his wavy hair flopping in front of his handsome features.

"We need to stay strong for Severus and Harry." James continued. His cheeks glistened with his own tears and a sob threatened to escape.

"They need us more than anything at the moment. It will be ok. We'll all pull through." The trio succumbed to their grief and simply lay in the middle of the floor, glad to at least have each other.

***

Harry's eyes fluttered open as sunlight streamed in through a chink in the curtains. Yawning widely, the little boy climbed out of bed and took in his surroundings. He definitely was not at home. But as soon as he spotted the stuffed toy wolf on the dresser, Harry immediately knew he was in Uncle Moony's house. Uncle Moony loved toy wolves. He had even given Harry one once.

Excited to be at the home of one of his daddy's best friends, Harry ran out of the room as fast as his little legs could carry him. What he saw just outside the hall surprised him greatly. It appeared to be a jumble of body parts, sprawled all over the floor! Yes, he could see an arm, a foot, another arm and a tangle of hair. Harry timidly walked closer, puzzled by this weird shape that prevented him from moving further down the hall.

***

The sun shone unpleasantly in Severus' face as he sat up in bed. He looked around sleepily and took in the surroundings of Remus Lupin's guest room. The events of the previous night came flooding back to him.

Lily.

Severus could no longer cry, no longer feel, no longer care. He was an empty shell, devoid of all emotion. He just didn't have anything left in him. Gone was the heartbreak, and now, replacing it, was this horrid feeling of emptiness.

Severus numbly got out of bed and walked to the en suite. He shut the door and caught his haggard face in the mirror. He was extremely pale with dark purple shadows under both eyes. He needed to shave too, Severus ruminated as he noticed the dark stubble covering his jaw.

He turned the tap and splashed some water on his face. That will have to do for now. 

God, he felt so empty it was unbearable. There was a gaping hole where his heart should have been and it hurt like hell. Lily was gone and taken his heart with her. Dead, gone, never to return.

Severus couldn't remember the last time he felt like this. In fact, he didn't think he had ever felt like this. The only thing that was keeping him alive now was Harry. Harry needs him. Severus needs to be there for his son when he realises what happened to his mummy, needs to be there when he is sad, when he is confused, when he is scar-

"Aaah!"

"Harry!"

***

Harry was staring right at the mass of body parts on the floor. He couldn't make out who it was. Or who it wasn't. Feeling brave (and feeling a need to get past this creature that was blocking his way), Harry bent down, put out a chubby finger and prepared to place it inside an object that appeared to be a nose. Little Harry couldn't be sure, of course. The "nose" was protruding out from a mass of wavy hair. He didn't know if it was actually a "nose" anyway. So, throwing caution to the wind, Harry stuck his finger up the "nose".

An almighty sneeze shook the house.

"Aaah!" screamed a terrified Harry. The jumble of body parts jerked suddenly and three heads popped up from awkward angles.

"Harry!" Severus sprinted out into the hall and skidded to a halt when he spotted the odd scene that was playing out before him.

Harry, who seemed to have gotten over his fright, was peering curiously at the three people in front of him. Remus, James and Sirius were trying desperately to untangle themselves. 

"Achoo!" Sirius sneezed loudly once more.

"Damn you Sirius! What a lovely way to wake someone up!" grumbled James, who was still struggling to sit up.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault! That little imp stuck his finger up my nose! Of course I sneezed, what would you have done?" Sirius complained loudly.

"Guys, shut up! I'm trying to stand up here." Remus said, his voice muffled by a clump of Sirius' hair that had somehow become lodged in his mouth. He finally got to his feet and spotted Severus gaping at the three of them, his mouth shaped in a perfect o. 

"Er, morning Severus?" Remus half greeted, half asked tentatively. "Fancy a spot of breakfast?" Before Severus could respond, there was a loud crash. Remus spun around to see James rubbing his head and Sirius nursing his arm. Muttering and swearing could be heard from the pair.

"You two are insufferable." Remus sighed exasperatedly.

Harry looked from his daddy standing in the middle of the hall, to Uncle Moony and to Uncle Prongs and Padfoot, who were on the floor. The grown ups looked so funny! He couldn't help it. A giggle escaped from his mouth. Everyone stared at him and that just made him giggle even harder. Soon enough, the black haired boy was straight out laughing. Not a moment later, James and Sirius let out a loud snort each. Remus chuckled nervously and chanced a glance at Severus. His jaw was still hanging open. 

"Daddy!" gasped Harry, who had managed to stop laughing for a moment. "You look funny!" and with that, he fell into a heap of giggles once more.

With one glance at his son, Severus was laughing too. And it felt amazing. Perhaps his life was worth living after all. He was suddenly reminded of something he overhead Lily telling Harry once.

"Darling, if ever you are sad or angry, just laugh. Laugh at everything and anything. It doesn't matter what, just laugh. I promise you'll feel better." 

Severus surveyed the scene around him. Lily would have loved this. Harry's melodious laugh was infectious and with Sirius, James and Remus' voices were thrown into the mix, it was like a madhouse. This was all Harry's doing. What would they do without the little imp?

Stay strong for Harry? That's bollocks. My son will stay strong for me.