So this was originally Sammy's story but she gave up on it and gave it to me. So I hope you all like it and maybe consider leaving me a review? Please?

All around the world, all the time, people are making choices. Choosing to take certain subjects at school, choosing to listen to the dark voice inside their head, choosing to ask the girl they love to spend the rest of her life with them. Most of these choices mean nothing to the course of history. They are negligible, less than footnotes in the tales of time. But occasionally, a choice will come along with the power to change everything.

Remus John Lupin stood alone in the empty street. Autumn winds ran sharp claws through his messy hair and tugged at the crumpled slip of paper clenched in his icy fingers. His grip tightened compulsively, though he didn't feel anything. The freezing air didn't register, even as it dried the tracks left by tears running down his face.

He slowly awoke from his trancelike contemplation of the future that lay in the house before him. His eyes refocussed on the present and he started up the path. With each step he came more alive and slowly another set of tears traced the salt layers left on his skin. The pain seemed to sink its hooks into him all over again as the movement thawed him like the light that was spilling from the house.

The passage of heavily shod feet had cut straight across the yard, crushing the carefully tended flowerbeds, which followed the curved pathway up to the door. Still, Remus followed the yellow brick road laid down by a loving gardener with a strange sense of humour. The amount of effort needed to move seemed to increase with every step as the burning in his throat and eyes increased. His shoulders became more bowed as if his burden was getting heavier, his features tenser, his fists clenched tighter. The note in his hand rustled slightly as the parchment was compressed.

Come quickly.

He passed a proud oak halfway up the path and for a moment, if only in his mind, it was a bright summer day. Children played happily in the tree's shade watched by their mothers and a huge black dog. The shadows of the trees leaves danced on the ground, a darker green than the soft grass that surrounded the roots. Then his feet carried him past and the darkness blew back in. The day was gone and he was in the wind swept autumn night again.

Lily

Auburn hair shining in the firelight. Bright emerald eyes flickering back and forth across a page in absorbed concentration. A glinting smile and kind wrinkles crinkling on either side of heavy lashes. Creamy skin with a tendency to freckle that frustrated its owner.

James

Dark hair, permanently windswept, above dark brown eyes, flecked with gold and mischief. Pale fingers wrapped around gold only to release it and snatch it up once more. Toying with the animated metal just as the vivacious object of his affections occasionally toyed with him.

Dead.

The door was suddenly too close for comfort. Remus could feel the biting hands of the wind behind him. Reluctantly, he raised a hand and rapped his knuckles against one of the four stained glass panels that made up the top half of the door. For a moment, he considered the irony of his choice as green light fell over his hand, staining the skin a colour that was supposedly pleasant. Right now it seemed like bad luck and poison. He hadn't knocked on the blue panel, or the yellow one. James hadn't even wanted to include the green panel, he'd wanted another red on instead. But Lily had insisted on green. For the sake of equality.

Then the door was swinging open, jolting him out of his contemplation, and he met the sombre eyes of Frank Longbottom. The usually cheerful Auror's round face was drawn, the corners of his mouth tight with suppressed emotion.

"Remus," The man hesitated, as if uncertain of the correct course of action. "You'd better come in."

Remus nodded dumbly in response and slipped past Frank into the hallway behind him. Alice Longbottom stood at the bottom of the stairs, shadows blending with her unusually sombre, dark robe. She smiled sadly.

"Hello Remus." He nodded to her, unsure what would emerge should he try to speak. His throat felt oddly tight and scratchy. He swallowed against the feeling and bought himself some time, glancing around the hallway. Aurors with closed off faces flitted around in groups, running their wands over miscellaneous patches of wall or apparently random objects. None of them seemed to want to meet Remus' eyes. It was as if he existed in his own little bubble, floating somewhere outside time and space where all of this was happening. Everything seemed somehow muted, as if he had lost his grip on the world. As if someone had cut his ties.

"Where…?" His voice cracked like it hadn't in years. He drew in a deep breath, steadying himself. "Where are…they?" He couldn't bring himself to call them bodies, not Lily and James.

"They're upstairs, in Harry's room." Alice's voice was hesitant as she spoke. "Remus, are you sure…?" He ignored the question and the doubts it provoked and placed a heavy foot on the first step.

As his footsteps moved upwards, Alice made to follow, but a strong hand caught hold of her arm. She turned to face the senior Auror.

"Alastor! We can't let him go up there alone!" Two dark beady eyes met her dark brown ones and he searched her face before he spoke.

"I don't think that going up there while someone of Remus' condition is grieving is a good idea." Alice blinked in surprise at this revelation of supposedly classified information and glanced back at Frank. When he failed to respond, she turned back to her superior.

"Remus is a friend, Alastor, what are you suggesting?" Frank rested a placating hand on her shoulder.

"He's right, Alice. We know Remus may not react like…himself. Perhaps it's for the best if we leave him." There was silence for a moment as both of the men watched Alice's internal debate flicker across her face. Finally, she nodded. Alastor nodded to the couple.

"I doubt we'll find anything here, so I'm going to get this team out. With everyone thinking You-Know-Who is gone, they'll be letting their guard down. Forgetting that there are a whole lot of people who won't be celebrating. The Death Eaters aren't going to just disappear. You two coming?" Frank shook his head.

"We'll stay here and make sure Remus is…ok." Alastor nodded and stalked off, growling out orders.

Frank and Alice moved to the door and watched at the other Aurors traipsed back through the ruined garden to a safe apparition distance.

Once the last of them had vanished with a loud crack, Frank breathed a sigh of relief. He stepped out into the night, drawing Alice with him. On the threshold of the house he turned, pulling her into his arms. For a moment, he just held as they stood in the doorway of the house.

"I love you, Alice."

He felt her nod into his chest, sobs shaking her usually steady frame as she held tight to his robes. He rested his head on top of her soft brown curls, looking out over the crushed flowerbeds.

Suddenly, a light flew into the sky and exploded, the brilliance of the magical sparks drowning out the starlight. It was joined in the darkness by another flash, then another, and another. The sky slowly filled with fireworks, and still the two of them stood there, holding on another close. Grateful to simply be together, listening to each other's breathing over the bang and crackles of the magical fireworks, reassuring each other that it was going to be alright now.

Soon, unheard by the neighbours who had emerged to watch the stunning display in the night sky, a mournful howl arose form one of the upstairs rooms of the neat little cottage in Godric's Hollow.

Dora sat quietly at the kitchen table, sorting her sweets. This year had been fruitful. Everyone had been impressed by her pale face and shiny fangs. Mrs Rogers from down the street had said that Dora was the scariest vampire she had ever seen before giving Dora a Mars Bar and a handful of boiled sweets. She'd also asked her mum where they had bought Dora's hair extensions. She'd had to look away to stop from laughing out loud when her mother had earnestly replied that Dora had chosen them by herself. Several of the boys had pointed out that vampires were supposed to have black hair, but Dora didn't care. She liked her hair when it was like this. All red and shiny, just like Aunty Lily's.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, she realised that she had lost count and would need to start again. Finally, she came up with a total. She had fourteen pieces of chocolate, twenty-five boiled sweets and the orange that old Mr Miro had given her because…

"Dora?" She turned around and noticed the head sitting in the fireplace. She quickly scrambled down from her chair and knelt on the rug provided for that very purpose.

"I'm sorry Aunty Alice, were you waiting long?" She asked in her carefully rehearsed answering-the-floo voice.

"Not long at all dear. Is your mother around?" Dora's smile faltered a little at the distracted urgency in the woman's voice.

"She's upstairs. I'll go get her." She stumbled to her feet, already moving towards the stairs with her cape billowing urgently behind her.

Andy was sitting in the twins' room, singing in her soft voice. Dora cracked the door open and hesitated a little. Her other looked up and broke off singing.

"What is it, Dora?" Her voice wasn't quite angry but it wasn't particularly warm and cuddly either. She sounded incredibly tired.

"It's….Aunty Alice called, she wants to talk to you." Her mother smiled wanly at her and rose to her feet with a groan.

"Stay here and watch the twins for me, love." Dora nodded and took her mothers place in the monstrous rocking chair that occupied one corner of the room.

Andy made her way down the stairs. In such unstable times, Alice could be calling about anything, from asking her for the recipe of her latest sponge cake to informing her of another untimely demise. It didn't pay to panic. All she could do was hope with all her being that it was the former. However, as seemed to be happening more and more frequently lately, as soon as Alice came into sight her hopes were dashed. She knelt with the air of one hearing the funeral prayer of a loved one. Not Sirius or Remus, she thought, please, not them. She instantly felt guilty. There were so many others whose graves she would cry over and who had helped. But ever since Ted had died her cousin and his boyfriend had kept her life and family together even more than the others. She tried to smile at her friend as if her heart wasn't being crushed by the apprehension sitting on her chest. The waiting was almost worse than the knowing.

"Hello, Alice." Alice gave a strangled smile that Andy could only imagine was similar to the mockery adorning her own features.

"More bad news?" She didn't really have to ask. She knew that it was. But it seemed somehow like a bad omen to ask who had died.

"It's…complicated." Alice paused as if collecting her thoughts. "You-Know-Who is…well…he's…we think he's…gone." Andy struggled for a moment to find words. Hope and joy combined to drive the breath from her body.

"Gone?" She heard herself say dumbly. "Gone as in…gone?" Alice nodded, still not smiling and suddenly the fear returned, thudding against her rib cage twice as hard.

"What…? How…? Who…?" She stammered, not entirely sure what she was trying to ask.

"James and Lily are…well…You-Know-Who…they're dead, Andy" Alice stopped again, eyes glistening. The crushing fear in Andy's chest seemed to have turned to fire. A fire that had rapidly spread into her lungs and up her throat. It seemed to have somehow made its way to her eyes too, which didn't make sense because then her face should be burning too but her cheeks were suddenly freezing. Suddenly, she was aware of Alice speaking again and she fought to focus on her friend through a haze of tears and grief.

"…and we heard howling and the best thing we could think of was to get you. Sirius was…Sirius was their secret keeper. We don't know where Peter is." She realised Alice was watching her expectantly and she took a deep breath. She had to pull herself together. For her daughters, for Remus. Everyone who knew that he was a werewolf before they met him was surprised. They always expected someone big, someone violent. Not Remus. Dear sweet, gentle, kind, loving Remus. He would be tearing himself apart with grief and her cousin…

She cut that thought off before it could get any further. Sirius had done what he had done. She couldn't afford to think about it now. She considered bitterly that his parents were probably proud. Right now the werewolf who'd become an uncle to her daughters needed someone and she was the best he had.

"I'll…" Her voice cracked and she paused, clearing her throat. "I'll come over. Can you watch the girls for me?" Alice nodded.

"I'll let Frank know and then floo straight over." Without another word, her head disappeared from amongst the coals and Andy stood up, moving away from the fire. She glanced towards the stairs. Dora was up there. Dora would want to know. The twins were too young to understand but Dora was nearly nine and a half now. She had always made a point of honesty with the children and now she was about to pay the price for that habit.

Andy was on the stairs before she'd had any time to consider it and was at the twin's door as second thoughts began to tap quietly on the door to her consciousness. She hesitated, one hand on the doorframe and watched Dora. The girl was leaning over the single giant cot in the middle of the room- the twins always cried if they were separated for too long- and changing her hair to amuse her sisters. At the moment, long green coils snaked their way down into the cot, twisting like snakes as the twins tugged on them. There had been so much death lately.

Something must have alerted the girl to her presence as Dora whipped around to face her, wincing slightly as chubby fingers caught in her curls. Then the green ringlets were gone and her hair was back to the long auburn waves it had been all evening. Andy felt her throat catch. How was she going to tell her precious little girl that her favourite aunt, the woman she wanted to be when she grew up, was gone. She realised Dora was looking at her oddly and beckoned her out into the hall, buying herself some time to swallow the tears rising rapidly in her throat.

Outside, Andy knelt down to her daughter's level and pulled the nine-year-old into her arms. Dora's arms went unquestioningly around her mother's neck and she placed her head, auburn locks and all, on her mother's shoulder.

"Was it bad?" She asked softly "Aunty Alice's news?" Andy nodded, the tears she had fought so hard to hide sparkling on her cheeks.

Alice stepped out of the fireplace and paused for a moment as the world spun, resting a hand on the mantel to steady herself. Once the room had righted itself, she ran her eyes around the room, noting the abandoned sweets on the tabletop. Of course, it's Halloween, she thought. It seemed somehow fitting that the man whom they had all thought would never die had been brought low on All Hallows Eve. It also comforted her to know that Lily and James would have friends to guide them across the veil.

A light tread warned her and she turned in time to see Andy emerge from the stairwell, tear tracks marking her cheeks and Dora in her arms. Dora looked nothing like the cheerful vampire of a few minutes ago. Cloak and fangs had been abandoned, revealing a sensible black robe and a perfectly ordinary set of human teeth. Black hair and bloodshot eyes had replaced flaming locks and haughty visage. Alice caught only a glimpse before the suddenly very young girl buried her head back in her mothers shoulder. Andy leaned her head in close to the bundle in her arms.

"Dora, pet, I've got to go and get Uncle Remus but Aunty Alice is going to look after you." Again, Dora glanced up from her mother's damp shoulder.

"Can I give you to Alice?" Dora met Alice's eyes and nodded. Alice approached the pair and held out her arms for the girl. As Andy gently transferred the tiny form to Alice's arms, she noticed that her honorary niece was far lighter than was usual. Her form seemed to have dwindled to an unhealthy weight and Alice could feel her whole body shuddering with the child's sobs.

"The twins are asleep upstairs." Alice nodded and watched as Andy retrieved a handful of floo powder from the bow on the mantelpiece and scattered it amongst the flames, following it into the fireplace to be whisked away in a flash of green flame.

The exit thusly observed Alice turned, searching for something more comfortable than the dining chairs to sit on. After a moments deliberation she settled into the armchair placed conveniently beside the fire, transferring the still shuddering Dora into her lap.

As much as she loved all three of her honorary nieces, she was grateful that the twins were already safely tucked into bed. Almost two year olds were never particularly respectful or understanding of grief and the twin terrors were never respectful at all.

As Dora clung tighter Alice rubbed her back gently, eyes focussed on the fire, which still burnt with a hint of green, residue from the recent floo activity. For a moment she was certain that she could see twinkling green eyes watching her from the base of the flames.

So...what do you think? This is a slightly different timeline to original Harry Potter. Anyone who can spot the differences will get a virtual kitten or puppy. Cavoodles for those allergic to fur!

Pixie