Guilt continued to bore into what was left of Severus in the years that past after her death. Locked away in the comfort of darkness that filled his home, he flipped through the Daily Prophet with disinterest. He did not care that there was a sale at ‎Eeylops Owl Emporium or that some wizard had splinched his way into St. Mungo's.

How many years had it been? Time seemed to crawl at a flobberworm's pace.

The pecking of an owl at the window pulled him from his trance. The owl carried a letter with Dumbledore's personal seal.

It was time.