The Marauders Era

The Last Breath

It was a quiet evening, Remus and Tonks were still in shock about the birth of their baby son Teddy. They were starting to get the hang of parenting, with Andromeda's help. They all sat in the little sitting room by the fire, Remus was drinking his butterbeer with an arm around Tonks. Tonks was slowly rocking Teddy and Andromeda was knitting a sweater for her new grandson. 

Just as Remus drained his bottle a Patronus soared through the window. "There is to be a battle at Hogwarts in thirty minutes. All help is appreciated." the voice of Kingsley said. Remus looked nervously towards Tonks as the lynx fizzled out. "Stay here, look after Teddy. He needs you." Remus said, getting up. "I love you." Tonks replied, pulling Remus down to kiss her. "I love you too." Remus replied, adding a quick kiss to her cheek. Tonks passed Teddy over to Remus and Remus kissed his son's forehead. "I love you so much Teddy." Remus whispered. Teddy smiled up at him and giggled slightly. Remus sighed and passed the baby back to Tonks. He hugged Andromeda and hurried out the door, pulling on his cloak as he went. "I love you!" he shouted as he shut the door. 

Remus arrived at Hogwarts and quickly found Mr. Weasley, who filled him in on everything that was going on. "How's Teddy?" Mr. Weasley asked. "He's goddamn perfect." Remus replied with a grin. Mr. Weasley chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder.

Kingsley and Remus walked up the marble staircase, leading a group of students. They reached a tower and Kingsley quickly gave everyone their instructions. "You good here Remus?" Kingsley asked. "Yeah, good luck." Remus replied. Kingsley nodded and continued walking to the other side of the tower. Remus took a deep breath and turned to face the grounds, just then the battle started. 

Remus fired spells relentlessly. He saw a few Death Eaters fall and dodged spells coming towards him. For the first time in his life he was glad the full moon was approaching in the upcoming week because his senses were heightened. Every footstep or voice behind him was loud and clear and he knew exactly when a spell was coming towards him. 

He lost track of how long he stood there, watching the grounds and firing curses, until he heard a shriek from behind him. Remus spun around and flung out his arms as Tonks came running towards him. They hugged tightly and Remus kissed the top of her head. "You should'nt have! It's Teddy who needs you!" Remus said. "He'll sleep till dawn and snore like his father, it's you who needs me tonight." Tonks replied. Remus smiled.

The curses were coming more dangerously. Tonks was aiming spells from an empty window pane next to Remus. Their eyes met and they stretched their arms out, reaching for each other's hands. A spell like an explosion went off and Remus leapt through the air, trying to shield Tonks, however the curse was too powerful. They both fell to the floor, their hands still outstretched, inches away from each other. Remus watched the world spin away, his life flashed before his eyes and he smiled as he fell. Finally he was going back to his family, but he was leaving one poor child behind and the man who no longer needed him.