A Love Without Time (Remus Lupin)

Sixty.

When the light hit my eyes again, I opened them and I saw faces I haven't seen in years standing over me. The first face I saw was Sirius, but he was about 10 years younger. His curly hair was neat and long hitting his shoulders, like it always was. Marlene was standing next to him, holding his hand.
   
"Hi Ellie," Sirius greeted, a warm inviting smile on his face.
   
"Sirius," I breathed, "Marlene. What happened? Am I dead?"
   
Sirius nods, "I'm afraid so."
   
Tears start to well up in my eyes, "Oh no." I started crying then. My poor kids. I know my twins were older, but Lily was still a toddler. She was only three. She's hardly going to remember me. At least Remus and her older siblings would keep my memory alive for her
   
Sirius wraps his arms around me, "It's alright, Ellie. It's alright. Come on, there's people that are waiting to see you again."
   
I hugged Marlene then too, she squeezed me tight. As we started to walk to the others, Marlene started talking. "We've been watching you. The twins are so amazing. You are such an amazing mum. I loved watching you with them."
   
"Thank you, Marlene. I tried my best with them."
   
"They're amazing, you did great, Ellie." Says Marlene, then we approached a group of people. There was one person that stood out to me.
   
"Dad," I gasped, and I took off running up to him.
   
"Sweetheart," he said as I crashed into his arms. He picked me up and spun me around. "I am so proud of you. You were so amazing down there. I hate that you're here so soon but I am so happy to see you."
   
"I am happy to see you, too," I say, smiling up at him. He looked like my dad that I remembered, but he didn't look as tired or as worn out. He looked rested and at peace.
   
I hugged my brother then, and he gave me a good squeeze and said, "I missed you so much."
   
"I missed you, too," I tell him as we hug.
   
When I stepped back from both of them I started to look around. Mary was next to my brother, holding his hand in hers. I hugged her quickly and said hello. Then there was Dorcas. I hugged her so tight and we embraced for a good moment. I almost started crying again but I stopped it. I just held onto Dorcas and told her how much that I missed her. Then there was James and Lily, who were standing next to Sirius and Marlene. Lily was crying so hard and she threw her arms around my neck.
   
"Thank you for being there for Harry," she said through sobs.
   
"Oh it was my pleasure," I told her, "He is so brave, I was happy to be there for him when I could. He reminds me so much of both of you."
   
"You were his favorite professor, Ellie," said James, his voice was calm and kind.
   
It was then that I noticed my first husband was running towards us. He looked like a frantic mad man. He was running so fast. "Where is she?" He called.
   
"She's right here, Matthew," said Marlene.
   
James let me go and then I am picked up by Matt, who spun me around saying, "There's the best mother in the world!"
   
"Oh thank you, Matt," I say as he sets me down. He was still wearing his wedding band, and he was looking at me like he couldn't believe his eyes, like he was looking at the most beautiful thing in the world, which is how he always looked at me.
   
"You were absolutely amazing," he says, absolutely beaming. "It's terrible that they're going to be without you now, but they will never forget you. They will make sure your memory lives on, just like you did for me."
   
"I wish you had the chance to be there for them as they got older," I admit to him, tears welling up in my eyes now.
   
"Don't cry, Eloise," said Matt, his voice soft. "Come on, there's some else who could use one of Ellie's pep talks."
   
He took my hand and led the way. I saw three redheaded young men sitting together on a white bench. The one in the middle was crying his eyes out, the other two were trying to comfort him. I knew who they all were. I let out a light gasp and started walking quickly, "Fabian, Gideon." I say getting their attention. They both looked at me.
   
"Ellie, not you, too," said Gideon, his face did not look happy.
   
"Unfortunately," I say, shrugging. The boy in the middle looked up at me, and I recognized him instantly. "Freddie," I said, and I am on my knees in front of him, his face in my hands, looking at him.
   
"I don't know what happened," he admitted through heavy sobs, "One second I'm running with Percy, we were joking and laughing and then the next second I am here and everyone is telling me that I died. I just turned 20 a month ago. I can't be dead. I just started living."
   
"I know, it's hard, and you must be so confused, Dear," I say, and I take him into a hug. He cried into my shoulder, hard. I sat where Fabian was and I rubbed his back. He cried for a good while and then when he stopped he sat back. "So you're dead, too?"
   
"I believe so, yes," I tell him.
   
"What about your kids?" He asks.
   
"Lyanna and Bradley are of age, and more than capable of taking care of themselves."
   
"But Lily is still so young," Fred reminds me.
   
"And she still has her father," I remind him. "Remus will take care of her. Just like I did for my twins when their father died."
   
"My mother is going to lose her mind when she finds out I'm gone," said Fred, tears threatening his brown eyes. "And George, he's more than my brother, he's my best friend and business partner. I don't want to think about my family being so heartbroken over me."
   
"Lyanna and George will take care of each other," I assure him. "She'll be there for him more than anyone. And he will be there for her, too. Your family still have each other to lean on."
   
"They will," he agrees nodding.
   
Then Sirius was now bounding towards us. When he reached us he didn't look very good. He was pale, like he just saw something he didn't want to see. "Ellie, Ellie you need to come with me right now."
   
"What happened?" I ask, looking up at him. My mind went to the worst case scenario. "Don't tell me one of my kids is here now."
   
"No, Remus," he says quickly. "He just showed up. He's looking for you."
   
I stand up. "He's here, too?"
   
Sirius nods, "He is."
   
"We'll stay with Fred, Ellie," Fabian assured me. I told Fred I would come check on him and I ran off with Sirius. We ran to where Remus was. He was hugging James tight when we got there. Tears filled my eyes when I saw him. Like everyone else here he looked so young. His hair was dark and full and thick. There were hardly any lines on his face. But the one thing that threw me off was the lack of scars on his face. He was so beautiful.
   
When he noticed me, he stood back. Tears also threatened his eyes. "I told you that one of us should have stayed behind."
   
"And I told you I wasn't going to let you fight alone," I replied, and then he was in front of me, and he wiped my tears away before he pulled me into a hug.
   
"Sorry Matt," I heard James say, his tone was playful, "You have no chance at getting her back now that Moony is here, too."
   
"That's alright," I hear Matt say, "They were meant to be together, even I know that."
   
Remus let me go then. And I looked at him, touching his cheek lightly. "Your scars are gone. I don't know how I like that."
   
Remus chuckled, and in a light voice, he said, "It will take some getting used to."
   
Matt was next to me again, and he patted Remus's shoulder. "Thank you for being there for Bradley and Lyanna. They loved you so much. You were the dad they never had, and I thank you for that."
   
Remus smiled, "You're welcome, they are great kids. It was my pleasure. It was easy to love them."
   
"It was very easy, yes," Matt said, smiling.
   
"Come on," I say, taking my hand in his, "I want you to meet my father."
   
Remus held his hand out to greet my father, but my dad surprised him by pulling him into a big hug and he said, "Thank you for loving my daughter."
   
"It was my pleasure, sir," Remus assured him. "She's more then I ever deserved."
   
"There's Remus being all modest again," said Archie in a mocking tone.
 
"Oh no," my father said, "You two were soulmates. No doubt about it. Never seen a pair so perfect for each other." Remus smiled and took my hand again and squeezed it for a good moment.
   
For the next hour, we kept an eye on the battle. Voldemort called off his forces for an hour, but only an hour. Mine and Remus's bodies were laid next to each other amongst others that have perished in the battle. I cried watching Molly cradle Fred in her arms. It was absolutely terrible to watch my son and daughter cry over my body. I saw Remus was emotional too.
   
Then Harry had come in with Ron and Hermione with him. They headed for the rest of the Weasley's. Hermione comforted Ron as they cried for Fred. Harry looked over to see Remus and I weren't far from them. He didn't cry. He probably felt like he needed to keep a brave face right now. He wouldn't allow himself to look weak.
   
Then Harry started to walk out of the Great Hall without telling anyone where he was going. It was a rather curious thing for him to do. We watched him run up to the Headmaster's office and then he dumped what had to be memories into the Pensive and dunked his head in. We couldn't see the memories he was watching.
   
Then he left the school entirely, stopping to tell Neville Longbottom to go for the snake. Neville nodded, understanding, and then he left again. He walked up to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and then he pressed the golden snitch to his lips, said, "I am about to die," and then it opened. He pulled out a black stone.
   
I felt Harry calling to me. He needed me. I wasn't the only one. Remus felt it, too. So did Sirius and James and Lily. We decided to answer the call and go to him. There we were, standing in a circle around him.
   
We were not alive again, but we weren't ghosts, either. We were memories. A mixture of Harry’s and our own. Lily looked at her son like she would never get enough of him. "You've been so brave." She told him as she smiled wide at him.
   
"You're nearly there," said James, "Very close. We are so proud of you."
   
"Does it hurt?" Harry asked, his eyes were on Sirius.
   
"Dying?" Said Sirius, "Not at all. Quicker and easier than falling asleep."
   
"And he will want it to be quick," said Remus, "He wants it over."
   
"I didn't want you to die," Harry said as he looked around at all of us, "Any of you. I'm sorry." He addressed Remus and I both, "Remus, Ellie, your daughter is still so young. I'm so sorry."
   
"I'm sorry, too," said Remus, "sorry we only got a few years with her."
   
"But she will know why we died and we hope that she will understand," I added, "We were trying to make a world in which she could live a happier life."
   
"Ellie, I never thanked you and Molly properly for being the mothers that I never got to have growing up."
   
"It's alright, Harry dear. Molly and I knew how much we meant to you, believe me. It was our pleasure to be there for you when Lily could not. It was the least we could do for her."
   
Lily smiled fondly, and Harry looked around again and then his eyes landed on his father again, "You'll stay with me?"
   
"Until the very end," said James.
   
"They won't be able to see you?"
   
"We are part of you," said Sirius, "invisible to anyone else."
   
Harry looked directly at Lily and said, "Stay close to me."
   
Lily and James walked on either side of Harry when we entered the forest. Remus, Sirius, and I all covered behind him. Remus and I held hands the entire time. I was so proud of Harry's bravery, but so sad he was giving himself up.
   
We stopped when we saw Yaxley and Dolohov in the forest, they couldn't see Harry under his cloak, and they couldn't see us, so they decided that nothing was there.harry decided to follow them to get to Voldemort. Right when it seemed to be that Voldemort accepted that Harry wasn't coming to give himself up, Harry revealed himself. He dropped the stone in the process of taking the cloak off, and we all began to vanish.
   
Then we began to watch the battle again. Neville ended up being the one who killed Voldemort’s Snake, and then Harry and Voldemort battled each other after I watched Molly kill Bellatrix Lestrange. Sirius was so proud of Molly for that. Harry was able to kill Voldemort easily once they started battling. I wished that I could be there to see it, but I could now only watch from up here.
   
At the end of the battle, the Death Eaters that didn't die were taken to Azkaban, Kingsley Shacklebolt was made Minister of Magic, and I watched my son walk over to Luna Lovegood and plant a big kiss on the lips right on her. She returned it, and it was so cute. I was very proud of him. He wasn't going to let any opportunity slip through his fingers.
   
"That's my boy," I heard Matt say. It made me smile. Even though he didn't have much time with his children, he was always watching us. I always had a feeling that he was, and I'm happy to know that I was right.
   
When the battle was truly over. We headed off as everyone started to go home. I was so proud of them. They had actually done it. They defeated him, and it worked. "Well," Remus said, "We've got nothing but time now, what are we going to do now?"

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Here's part 60!

This is the last chapter!

There will be an Epilogue and then the story will be over!

-Emily Winchester.