The end of an era
It was the first of May, 1998. On this Friday evening, Remus Lupin was sitting in his chair, while holding little Teddy. Earlier in the evening he heard stories of Harry Potter, the son of his late friends James and Lily Potter, flew out of Gringotts on the back of a dragon. He knew of the plans Harry had made with his friends Ron and Hermione, and he had been quite tense throughout the whole day. Now that the tension was over, he hoped he could enjoy a quiet evening.
His wife, Nymphadora Lupin, had fallen asleep in her chair. Just a few weeks ago she had given birth to the boy in his arms, which had taken a toll on her. The past few weeks had also been filled with many sleepless nights, and they had learned to take their sleep when they could get it.
Remus smiled when he looked at her. He remembered that just over a year ago, he had still been unsure if she truly loved him, and he had not dared to take the next step in their relationship. It almost seemed silly now, as she had shown him her love often enough. It had mostly been his insecurity that kept him from moving forward. His thoughts also drifted to the Marauders, his friends from his time at Hogwarts.
Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted when a white cat ran into the living room. The cat came to a stop right before Remus. Immediately he recognized it as Minerva's Patronus. As soon as it came to a halt it began to speak with Minerva's voice.
"You-Know-Who is attacking the castle with his whole army after he followed Harry here. Entrance is possible at Abe's place. Please hurry, we need help right now!"
Remus was on his feet immediately. Suddenly, he knew that tonight it would all end. Either You-Know-Who and his army of Death Eaters would win, or the Order of the Phoenix. He also knew that the odds were against the Order, and that they could use any help they could get. Then he looked at his son in his arms. He began doubting whether leaving would be the right choice. With the arrival of his son he had gained new responsibilities, which he couldn't just throw away. He also looked at his wife, who was now waking up due to the commotion, and leaving seemed impossible to choose.
Suddenly he remembered Minerva saying that the Death Eater army had come for Harry. That meant that Harry was at Hogwarts! A memory of a conversation he had with James after Harry's birth came to mind. He had promised them that he would protect him if either of them died in the war. That had happened, but he had done little for Harry. He had left him alone the first 12 years after the death of the Potter parents. He had spoken with him on occasion during his year of teaching, and near the end of the school year he had even endangered him. He couldn't protect Harry during the Triwizard Tournament, and during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries he hadn't even been able to stop Harry from chasing Bellatrix on his own. When the Death Eaters attacked the Burrow during Christmas 1996 he had been too late to help Harry fight in the fields, and during the past year he hadn't done a thing to help Harry on his quest, and Harry had even been angry at him when he passed by Grimmauld Place in the summer. His decision changed while contemplating this.
"What was that?" his wife asked sleepily, while rubbing her eyes.
"It was Minerva's Patronus. You-Know-Who chased Harry to Hogwarts and is now attacking with his whole army. I have to go there, Dora!"
"Huh, what?" Then his words hit her, and her eyes went wide open. "What?! He's at Hogwarts?"
"Yes. And I'm going there right now. Please stay here with Teddy." He said, placing Teddy in his wife's arms, and gave them both a kiss. Then he made for the door.
Dora only just realized what was happening. "Wait. You're going there?! Why? What about us?"
"Harry is there. I have to help him for James and Lily's sake." Remus said as he walked through the door. Only a few more steps until he was outside of their wards and able to apparate away.
"But what about us, Remus? What about Teddy and me?"
It didn't matter what she said, Remus couldn't hear her anymore. He had already gone.
Remus was fighting in the halls of Hogwarts together with Kingsley Shacklebolt. They were fighting a group of Death Eaters. All over Hogwarts were little groups of members of the Order fighting larger groups of Death Eaters, werewolves, acromantula's and giants and whatever else had sided with You-Know-Who. The Order was largely outnumbered, but everyone was standing their ground firmly.
He wasn't completely in the battle with his mind though. Through his mind ran multiple thoughts and memories of his friends. While casting spells automatically, his mind left the battle.
"Welcome, Moony. Glad you could make it!"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world Prongs! How is the birthday boy?"
James laughed. "He has everyone's attention and he is loving every minute of it. Everyone is giving him candy and cake. I swear he's on a sugar rush right now!"
They both had a laugh. Remus walked inside, while James took his coat. They walked through the hallway towards the living room. Suddenly a little boy zoomed through the doorway on a small broom. James groaned.
"Oh no, he found it again! Padfoot thought it was a good idea to give him a kiddie broom! He's spoiling Harry way too much."
"You know he adores Harry. You're lucky those brooms are charmed to only fly at the height of 1 metre. I'm sure Padfoot would have bought a Cleansweep if they came in Harry's size."
"I don't doubt it for a second." James sighed.
Little Harry flew was laughing while flying into another room. James and Remus followed, just in time to see Harry almost crashing into the wall. Remus quickly took his wand out and cast a Cushioning Charm at the wall and the ground beneath it. Harry came to a stop and fell on the ground. He went silent from the shock, but after a few seconds he began laughing again.
"Whew, that was nearly a big crisis. If he had hit the wall, Lily would have murdered Padfoot, and I would be next for not watching over Harry as I should have. Luckily you were there, Moony. You saved our lives!" James said with a smile.
"It was my pleasure. I would hate to see him get hurt."
James's face went serious. "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"Well, we're in a war, and survival isn't a given thing, especially with You-Know-Who after us. If anything happens to Lily and me, please take care of Harry. I'm sure Padfoot would be there, but Harry also needs a more serious person while growing up. Can you be that person, if something happens?"
"I, uhhh… Yeah, of course!"
Remus smiled sadly. He hadn't thought about that for so long. He hadn't been able to keep his promis either. As soon as James and Lily died, Sirius had gone to Azkaban and Peter had been thought dead, grief became too much for him. He hadn't even gone to Dumbledore to see Harry.
"WATCH OUT, REMUS!"
Kingsley shook him out of his thoughts as multiple spells were coming his way. He barely managed to raise a shield, and when the spells hit it, they bounced off and went in different directions. Multiple hit the roof, and it came crashing down.
Everyone there had to dive out of the way of the debris falling from the ceiling. Kingsley landed wrong and went out cold. Remus was fast to rise, and stunned two of the slower Death Eaters. While the Death Eaters were confused, he was able to levitate Kingsley's body behind some debris, hiding him from the Death Eaters' view. Now he was fighting by himself against a group of five Death Eaters.
During the next few minutes he was trying hard to keep on standing, but five were too much for him to handle. He grew tired very quickly, and he knew it was only a matter of time before the fight would end.
He was shocked to see a spell going past him, hitting one of the Death Eaters and knocking him out.
"What were you thinking?"
Great, Remus thought as he recognized the voice.
"Leaving me alone with Teddy? You know that you can die here, right? What would we do without you? I can't lose you, Remus! And neither can Teddy!"
Dora came to a stop next to him. Her face was red with anger as she sent some more spells towards the Death Eaters.
"I'm sorry, Dora. I just had to help out here. You know the Order is heavily outnumbered and could use all help available. Where is Teddy by the way?"
"I left Teddy with my mother. She told me she had received a Patronus herself, and gave me directions to get here. But don't try to change the subject! If it were up to me, we would both be home with our son who isn't even one month old! Whatever the outcome of this battle, he will need us to be there for him!"
"Then why did you come? I asked you to stay with Teddy. Even if everything went wrong in the battle here, he would still at least have you. I had to keep my promise to one of my best friends, which I have failed to keep for the past 16 years!"
"I couldn't let you fight alone, now, could I? For better or for worse, I vowed that to you! I'm here to keep my vows."
After that, they went silent, and the battle kept going. It wasn't long before Remus was back in his memories.
He was sitting with Sirius at the large table in Grimmauld Place 12. Sirius had been stuck inside for almost a year now, which was driving him crazy. From time to time, Remus would pop by to keep him company. As always, Sirius was talking about Harry. Ever since he had met the boy two years ago, Harry occupied most of his mind. Remus thought Sirius saw him as his old school friend.
"…and who knows what he's up to now."
"He's not the troublemaker his father was. He looks like James, but his behaviour is more like Lily."
"I noticed. He looks completely like James at the same age, except for his eyes. Those green eyes are exactly like…"
"Like Lily's, yeah. Harry told me that everyone who knew James and Lily tells him the exact same thing." Remus said with a chuckle.
"But Harry is busy at Hogwarts, changing all kinds of stuff. He has that defence group, the DA or something like that, and riots against that Umbridge. Who knows what he's doing?"
"He hasn't used the mirror you gave him?"
"No. I wonder why though. I would love to talk to him for a while. It kind of breaks the silence of this house."
"If that's what you want, I could just go out in the hall right now and wake your mother." Remus offered jokingly.
"You know what I mean, Moony. And don't you ever joke about that painting! I hate…."
Severus barged through the door, surprising both Sirius and Remus.
"The Dark Lord has laid a trap for the Potter brat to lure him to the Ministry to get the prophecy for him! He foolishly fell for it, and now he's there with some of his friends!"
"Prophecy?" Sirius asked.
"That's what we've been guarding all year, Padfoot."
Sirius immediately rose and ran outside. Remus followed suit, hoping Severus would alert the others.
Then another memory came to mind.
Everyone was fighting in the Death Room of the Department of Mysteries. Sirius and Harry were fighting together against multiple foes in the middle of the room. Remus looked at them and felt some sort of pride and joy. As they were fighting, they looked exactly like Sirius and James fought together in the last war.
Then Sirius was struck by a green spell, which came from Bellatrix's wand, and fell through the archway in the middle of the room. Harry stood still, shocked by what happened.
Suddenly Harry's attention went to Bellatrix, who was now running away, cackling madly. Remus knew he had to act quickly.
Before Harry had a chance to run after Bellatrix, Remus had reached him and held him tight, trying to stop him from running. Sadly, his effort was wasted. It was only a few seconds until Harry broke loose and ran after Bellatrix, with a murderous look in his face.
Later in the evening he had heard stories of Harry's encounter with You-Know-Who, which only added to his guilt of not being able to stop Harry.
As he was reminiscing, more Death Eaters had been taken down. It now seemed like a fair fight, two Death Eaters against two members of the Order. Both Remus and Dora looked tired though, and he didn't know how long he could have gone on.
At the end of the hallway, multiple figures appeared. With a shock, Remus recognized Harry among them. They were running fast, and mere seconds later they were gone from view. Not too long after they were gone, Death Eaters appeared at the end of the hallway. They appeared to be chasing Harry. Remus suddenly got an adrenaline boost.
"Not on my watch!"
"What?!" Dora called out, confused.
Suddenly, Remus ran between the two remaining Death Eaters. As he left his wife with the last two foes, he began chasing the six Death Eaters who were after Harry, the latter seemingly not knowing he was begin followed.
"REMUS!" He heard behind him, but he did not dare look back. Dora should be able to keep off those two, he thought. I need to keep my promise to James!
The chase went on through many hallways, corridors and stairways, but Remus wasn't able to get a clear shot at them. It wasn't long until he was back in his memories, this time a more recent one.
Remus and Dora were visiting Bill and Fleur. This was their first night without their baby, they had left Teddy at Dora's mother. They both visibly were troubled by not being close to their son, but it was nice to be able to go out once again.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were still staying with the couple at Shell Cottage, and so were Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, Garrick Ollivander and the goblin Griphook. The latter two had almost never left their rooms though.
The trio was telling tales of being on the run for the past year, while Luna told everyone about the horrors at Hogwarts, Dean was telling stories of himself being on the run with Dora's father and Remus, Dora, Bill and Fleur talked about missions from the Order. At one point the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor came up, and the ambiance became sad.
"Dobby had just disapparated with Luna, Dean and mr. Ollivander. Then we heard someone coming down the stairs, he was probably sent to check what happened."
"Apparently, it was Wormtail who came down. Harry and I hid on both sides of the door, and when he came through, we disarmed him."
"In the fight he managed to get a hold of my neck, and he tried to choke me. As he did, I managed to beg him not to do it. I saw the uncertainty in his eyes, and he began to loosen his grip on my neck."
"Then the silver hand V-V-V-Voldemort gave him turned against him, choking him. Harry and I tried to pry the hand loose, but it was no use."
"So, Peter died because he couldn't bring himself to kill you?" Remus asked, shock clearly written on his face.
"Basically, yes."
Remus finally managed to stun the Death Eater closest to him. The others turned around to see what happened, and they finally noticed Remus chasing after them. They immediately began firing curses at the marauder, and the latter raised his shield only barely in time.
For 10 minutes, Remus managed to hold his ground, but no help came. He was too deep into the castle to be found by other members of the Order. He wasn't sure how much longer he would last, but he had to give Harry as much time as he could. Falling back wasn't an option anymore, as the corridor behind him was straight for too long for him to be able to make it around the corner alive. He was trapped.
Still, his mind was occupied by the other Marauders.
They all died for Harry, the first Marauder child. First James and Lily, who died at Halloween 1981, trying to protect Harry from You-Know-Who. Then came Sirius, who went to the Ministry to save Harry from You-Know-Who's trap, despite being wanted by the DMLE. Peter was third, who died because he couldn't kill Harry, turning against his master. And in the last place, me. It is only a matter of time before I lose this battle. But it will save Harry, and that is why I must keep on fighting!
His adrenaline boost came to an end, and Remus grew tired. It got harder to cast spells, but three out of the six Death Eaters were still standing. He was nearing magical exhaustion. With his last bit of magic, he muttered "Bombarda maxima", and directed the spell at the ceiling above the Death Eaters.
His eyes began closing, but before the light went out, he could see two of the remaining Death Eaters being killed by the falling debris, along with the three stunned bodies lying there.
He couldn't see the last standing Death Eater. When he looked in his direction, all he saw was a bright green light. Then the light went out. Like the other Marauders, he had died protecting Harry Potter, son of James Potter, the first Marauder.
A/N: There, another one-shot done.
I had read about all the Marauders dying to protect Harry, and it made me sad, but I knew there had to be a fanfiction about it. It's one of the saddest parts of the HP universe, but I also like it a lot.
Hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you next time!