This story was written for the House Competition by Moonlight Forgotten (Year 3)
Round 6
House: Gryffindor
Position: Year 1
Category: Drabble
Prompt: Attending a funeral
Words: 441
It was a cold day in November when James and Lily Potter were buried. Remus Lupin attended the funeral with a heavy heart. He had been out of town on Order duty when he had heard of their deaths. To add insult to injury, Peter was dead, and Sirius turned out to be a traitor. It was deeply shocking to lose all three of his best friends on the same day. The three best friends who had become Animagi for him and were there for him when no one else was. But Sirius's friendship suddenly seemed like a lie. It felt as if he didn't know who Sirius was. Sirius did questionable things as a teen, but Remus had never expected him to be a traitor, let alone one who would cause the death of his best friend's family.
Remus barely paid attention to the eulogy Dumbledore was giving. He vaguely heard words like 'brave,' 'noble,' 'honourable,' and 'heroes.' He was preoccupied with the thought that he had just lost his best friends. The world felt like it had come crashing down. He didn't even feel this lost when his mother passed away. He was thankful that he had his father to keep him composed enough to get through the funeral.
It was Remus's turn to say a few words about James and Lily. His father ushered him encouragingly. His voice became shaky as he said the best words he could about James and Lily in front of the crowd, mostly James as he knew the boy much better.
It was then time for the final goodbyes before James and Lily's coffins were carried away. Remus stood in line with the other guests as they took turns paying their individual respects to James and Lily's coffins. When it was his turn, he put a flower on Lily and James's coffins before kneeling by James's. Remus broke down, sobbing by James's coffin. As much as he tried to keep himself composed, seeing the Marauder's dead body was his breaking point. It was the end of an era, the end of the Marauders, and Remus felt it was like the end of his own life. He was partly like a living corpse.
Remus wondered about Harry. Poor Harry was now an orphan. Remus felt guilty that he couldn't be much help to Harry, but his own life was in a mess. He felt he would be unsafe and unstable for Harry, and Dumbledore had assured him Harry was safe at the Dursley's. Remus knew Petunia wasn't fond of Lily, but surely she would do her duty to raise her own sister's orphan child.