The Sun and Her Moon- Remus Lupin

Pranks from the grave

More then ever before, a bitterness hung in the hallways of Hogwarts, and followed the marauders and friends down the hallways like an angry spirit you can't quite wish away.

Bitterness every time the prophet came, with tales of death and the war they would soon be soldiers  in. 

Bitterness at the unfairness in the world every time  the story of another dead child rang through the halls.

Bitterness, that as the months were ticking down they wouldn't have the safety of the Gryffindor common room and blowing fireplace to shelter them from the brutality of reality.

"Ready mate?" Sirius asked Remus.

The werewolf was standing infront of the mirror in his dorm room. Dressed in a white linen shirt and black dress pants.

Was he ready? Would he ever be ready to bury the body of a woman taken far too soon?

The answer was undoubtedly  no. He would never be ready even if eons of time  passed for his heart to mend itself together again.

He wished in that moment he could just freeze— himself and time. And stand there till the atoms in his feet fused to the floor beneath him, and he had an excuse besides his cowardice not to go.

This was real life however, and he had an entire group of friends downstairs waiting for him, a father at home counting down the minutes till he arrive , and a mothers body who was waiting to rest after years of fighting.

He didn't have a choice not to be ready, so he nodded his head and gave his floppy hair one last brush down and followed Sirius out of the room.

Dumbledore had given them special permission to use the floo to return to Lupin cottage for Hope's funeral. And of course, for Remus's friends that meant everyone dropping everything to go with him.

It has been offered to Remus to return home for a couple of weeks, though the thought of spending even a night in Lupin cottage without his mother's laugh and cinnamon vanilla candles burning made him sick.

So there he stood with his friends- Sirius, Aveline, James, Peter, Mary, Dorcas, Marlene and Lily- in McGonagalls office, willing his legs to walk him over to the floo powder.

Tears were visible in Proffesor McGonagalls eyes, and she pulled the boy in for a tight hug. At first Remus was shocked by the woman's sudden display of affection, but returned the hug back as if it was taking some of the pain off his shoulders.

Then, every so slowly he stepped into the fireplace throwing down powder as green smoke took him back to Lupin cottage.

_________

Aveline felt the hardness of ground beneath her as she let out a cough stepping foot into the Lupin's living room. The girl was the second to arrive after Remus, and despite being at the cottage only weeks ago, she felt like she was stepping into a room she didn't recognize.

Somehow, despite it being the same space it felt like someone had taken a bucket of pant and washed it in a metaphorical coat of greyness and darkness. The warmth seemed to be absent from the space, despite the open windows and sun shining outside.

Lyall Lupin sat on the couch, his beard scruffier than Aveline had ever seen, his shirt wrinkled. A gaunt look framed his face, as if the past weeks had taken ten pounds and every single ounce he had to live. The man surrounded by dirty plates and piles of dust bunnies that clung to every surface and crevice.

She watched as Remus and Lyall locked eyes, both men clearly on the verge of diving back into the pounds of tears that hid behind their eyes. Lyall stood up, crossing the space and pulling Remus in for a tight hug.