December 27th, 1979.

A day like no other, people would say.

It had been cold but sunny, with a light breeze cooling your cheeks.

People had gone shopping, visited distant relatives to wish them a late merry Christmas, or just went for a walk in the nice weather.

Really, a day like no other for almost everyone.

Except for all those who knew Freya Tygris.

Because December 27th, 1979 was also the day Freya Tygris died.

Marlene's distress signal was seen by a kind, middle aged witch. When she stepped foot into the garden of the apartment building, she clutched her hand over her mouth in horror of the scene that was unfolding in front of her.

There were multiple hooded and masked figures lying on the ground, but what really caught her eyes was the young woman kneeling on the floor, continuously shaking another girl and sobbing at her to get up.

Marlene wouldn't let go of her dead best friend's body, but at least managed to tell the woman that she needed to get Sirius Black.

It took quite some time, since the woman didn't know the young man and called the Ministry officials instead, who then told Sirius Black and his friends to come with them immediately.

The marauders knew that something was wrong when a tall Auror made his way towards them in a shabby pub. And when they apparated to Sirius' flat, they found out what it was.

The multiple Aurors swarming the crime scene couldn't hold back the four boys as they ran into the garden and dropped down next to Marlene.

Marlene was still sobbing, still hugging the person on the floor and covering the face, but the four boys knew who it was anyway.

They couldn't believe their eyes.

Ignoring his trembling hands and not caring about the tears streaming down his face, Remus took Marlene's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her and make her let go of Freya, but she wouldn't budge and shook his hand off.

Sirius was shell shocked. He felt nauseous and couldn't move. Not his sweet and loyal, his funny Freya.

Peter's loud sobs and another scream coming from Marlene pulled him out of his trance.

Slowly regaining control over his limbs, he forced himself to come closer to Freya and Marlene. Sirius was sitting close to Freya's head and knew that he'd never be able to get the horrible image of his blood-covered, motionless and pale friend out of his head.

Still, not caring about all the blood, he gently reached out and stroked Freya's hair out of her face, while taking Marlene's hand with his other one.

The gentle gesture only made Marlene cry harder, but she finally pulled back from Freya and threw herself into Sirius' arms.

They both held each other as they cried, trying to get a little comfort from the other.

And throughout the hug, Sirius couldn't pull his gaze away from Freya's lifeless body.

*******

Marenka Tygris broke down as soon as she saw Alastor Moody stand in her doorway with a glum expression on his face. The Auror had insisted on sharing the tragic news personally.

Francisca Tygris wished she'd never left her little sister's side. She was the elder one; it was her duty to always be there and protect her little Freya, wasn't it?

The Order of the Phoenix was shocked by the news of the first real loss on their side.

What they didn't know, was that the murder of Freya Tygris was only the beginning of many attacks that would happen in the future.

As for Freya?

Well, she couldn't have guessed the impact her death had on the Wizarding war. We can only guess, too.

But let's just say: Noone managed to share Regulus' secret about the Horcruxes.

And with Freya gone, Peter Pettigrew lost all of the courage she'd always insisted he carried within.

We can also be certain that one of Freya's greatest fears did not come true.

She was not forgotten by all of her friends, for there were people that really loved and cared about her.

The few friends she had had were finally true ones.

Taking this into account, Freya Tygris did not regret a single thing. Everything in her life, the good and the tragic, had helped her with coming to peace with herself. She may have not been able to make Sirius love her back, and as much pain as it had brought her, it had also cleared the path for the best friendship Freya had ever had.

With Sirius and Marlene.

So when Freya died, she found peace in the fact that she had saved both of them.

Marlene McKinnon was heartbroken at the loss and constantly blamed herself. But together with the help of her friends and Sirius.... They all managed to pull through it and decided to live their lives for Freya, too. They knew she would have wanted them to.

Whereas not very many people had really known Freya Tygris, all who had, made sure to keep her in their hearts; safe and sound.

So when the Order of the Phoenix took a picture of all of the original members gathered at the Headquarters, they made sure to leave a little space between Marlene and Remus, just enough to imagine that Freya was standing by their sides.

And Sirius?

Well. Sirius would forever remember Freya. Perhaps, that was the only forever they were meant to have.

This was Freya Tygris' story.

It is one of unconditional love and heartbreak. It is about loneliness, secrets and finding your true self. It's about growth and acceptance.

But Freya Tygris died, and her story, along with all of her secrets, died with her.