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Chapter Forty-Five: A Farewell To The Potters

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When the news came that Euphemia Potter did not survive the dragon pox, James could barely function. The illness had taken its toll on her frail body, and continued to wreck havoc on his father, Fleamont. St. Mungos did not allow any more visitors, and James was quite frankly ready to take his invisibility cloak and storm the front doors. Lily talked him down, of course.

Romina was in shambles, too. The only woman who had been a true mother to her was gone. Her eyes were red and glassy, the tears that were left unshed were just pooling in her eyes waiting for the dam to burst. To be honest, all of the marauders were reeling with the immense feelings of sadness with this loss. James was their brother, their friend... Euphemia was a mother to Sirius before she had been a mother to Romina. But the eldest Black boy remained stoic as his arms held tightly onto the woman he loved.

They barely had time to process Euphemia's death when the owl came in from St Mungos announcing that Fleamont soon followed his wife to the afterlife. That had been the breaking point for James, his whole world crumbling down around him. Lily remained calm, being the levelheaded one of the two was playing in her favor for all of this. She had no other options - she had to be the strong one.

She planned the funeral with Romina's help, James and Sirius having been unable to provide any assistance on the matter. There was a war brewing to its peak just outside of their doors. Constant vigilance, Moody would say. And though they were mourning the deaths of their parents, they had to continue working. Other members of the order stepped in to help with taking their shifts, Dumbledore had atleast enough sense to not bother any of them.

"I can't believe..." Romina sucked in a deep breath, her fingers trembling ever so slightly as she tightened the tie around Sirius' neck, "It just happened so quickly." The handkerchief from his jacket pocket was already sullied with Romina's tears and snot, though she quickly performed a cleansing spell before tucking it back in.

"We have to be strong, Mina." Sirius' eyes were glassy from the tears pooling behind his lashes as he tried to keep them at bay. "F-for James." His hands reached forward and grabbed hold of Romina's elbows. They were standing by the window of the bedroom he had once called his own in the Potter residence, a few posters still hung on the tacks pushed into the walls - muggle style due to James' insistence on the matter.

It was almost like time was standing still. The cold breeze that slipped through the open window sent shivers down Romina's spine and brought her closer to Sirius. His hands made their way to her back as he held her close, the couple relishing the silence that surrounded them so they could grieve in private. Her hands locked together behind his back, her head gently nuzzled in the crook of his neck. His scent was always strong, never changing in all the years she had known him.

It was woodsy, but also soft and light. Home. It smelled like home. It always brought her back from the edge of darkness, it had been happening longer than she ever realized it was. Once on the wrong side of this war, Romina was saved and it had been Sirius all along. The gentle flutters in her belly erupted as she allowed her lips to linger against his cheek.

"I love you, Sirius." She told him, her mouth always desperate to get out the words for fear that their time together would be short-lived.

"I love you, too." He whispered back, hands moving to cup her cheeks as his eyes bore down into hers.

The two finished drying each others cheeks from their tears, straightening up their attire with a few gentle brushes before they ventured hand in hand to the first floor of the Potter residence.

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The funeral was quick, as only a handful of people showed. Remus, as sickly as he was at this time of the month, made sure to make it. Peter was present, too. Physically, at least. Mentally, Romina could tell he was anywhere but here. But others, specifically elder magical folk were terrified of going out in public in large groups. The fear was that the dark wizards, Voldemort's army, would attack. Romina understood the concern, they all did, but it did not stop her from having that horrible sinking feeling in her gut that Voldemort was winning - that he would win.

Once the Potters were buried, the group of mourners met back at the Potter residence. Today they could ignore what was happening around them, they had to. Romina busied herself making a few things to nibble on, waiting on Lily hand and foot as the pregnant girl was busy comforting her husband. Truth be told, if Romina stopped moving for just one moment, the grief would set in and she didn't want that to happen. She wanted to be strong for her friends, for James especially, but was finding it hard to maintain her composure.

By the time the gathering, if it could truly be called such, had trickled down to only the marauders left, Romina found herself curled up in an arm chair by the fire with Sirius. Her legs were draped over his while her upper body turned to the side, burrowing herself in his arms. She hated that there was a voice in the back of her head saying this was going to be one of the last times they would all be together. And while they were not happy, they were all in mourning of course, it would never get any better than this.

Later, she found herself clinging to Remus and hovering over him as though she were a mother hen. He promised her that he felt just fine and that he was saving his strength for the next undercover trip Dumbledore was sending him on. Another thing she hated about this war... the people she loved with putting themselves at greater risk bending to Dumbledore's every whim!

"How long will you be away this time?" She questioned, ignoring the odd stare coming from Sirius. The anger behind his sad eyes would have to be addressed later.

"I'm not sure, love." He whispered down to her, his voice slightly muffled by her hair as his lips pressed against the crown of her head. "Could be a few weeks. Most likely 'til the next full moon."

"Please be careful."

Remus smiled. "I always am." He tutted, giving Romina's hand a squeeze. The brunettes focus was quickly placed on Lily, who walked over to hand Remus a small bag full of chocolates, that she missed the fact that Remus' eyes were reciprocating the same feeling that Sirius' were.

"Be careful, yourself, Mina." Remus told her after giving Lily his thanks. The beaten down man turned to say his goodbyes to everyone else, save Sirius, before taking the floo and leaving.

"Let's give James and Lily some privacy, Mina." Sirius has sidled up next to her, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek before heading over to his best friend to say his goodbyes.

"Did you feel that?" Romina glanced over at Lily as her teeth began nibbling at her bottom lip. The worry was working its way through her system, unable to ignore the tension that had left with Remus. "Feel what?" Lily questioned, her brow raised as she turned to face her friend and wait for an explanation.

Romina had no words to explain it. She had just felt a thick fog around them, it was rather odd and surely there was nothing magical about it. And perhaps she was overthinking things, which she usually tended to do, but she quickly remembered the look on Sirius' face only minutes prior. "Nothing. Sorry...I think the fact that I haven't had much sleep is finally catching up to me." The brunette waved her hand around as if to signal for Lily to forget she had said anything.

Their goodbyes were long and solemn. It was rather apparent that each couple knew what tomorrow would bring.

Reality.