The day seemed unusually bright to Remus, who stood in stark contrast to the sunny day, wearing a black suit with a matching shirt and tie. Although the trees were bare and the grass was yellowed and covered in a thin layer of frost, which was now melting, nature seemed to hold on to the idea that there was still hope left, and it conveyed it's thoughts by letting the sun cheerfully beat down on Remus' back.

He was one of the first to arrive on Hogwarts' grounds that day. The students were told to stay inside, though he would occasionally see a few curious children sneaking around to see what the chairs lined up in rows were for, their eyes widening in disbelief when they saw the two coffins at the front of the layout and the sign above them that read "In memory of the Potters". He observed silently as people started filing in and taking their seats, many of them also dressed in black, some with looks of pain and hurt on their faces while others were confused or merely curious.

Remus took his seat in the front row on the right. Severus was at the very end of the row, his eyes staring fixedly at the coffin of the object of his unrequited love. Remus sat in the second seat so that there were empty chairs on either side of him. Occasionally a lonely funeral patron would ask to sit next to him but he would shake his head and politely tell them that the chairs on both his sides were reserved.

Dumbledore lead the funeral procession, speaking of how the poor Potters died, though he tried to cheer up the witches and wizards by pointing out that the Dark Lord had been vanquished, "or at least for now", he had added on. Remus did not try to hold back the tears which were now flowing steadily down his scarred face. He turned his head slightly to look at Severus at one point, only to see that he too had puffy red eyes and a rather hopeless looking expression.

When the funeral was over, Remus waited until everyone had their turns looking over the open coffins, but he remained in his seat, staring off into the forest until only he, Severus, and Dumbledore were left. Severus had just finished saying his goodbyes to Lily when Remus finally stood up. The two were about to pass each other while Remus walked towards two of his best friends but Severus stopped right in front of him. Remus was the only marauder who hadn't been completely bitter towards Severus in his school years, and Severus showed his thanks by giving Remus a slight nod before continuing his long walk back into the castle.

Remus stood over the two open coffins and let out a strangled sob. He clasped his hands over his mouth but when that didn't help he opted to tangle them in his hair instead. His friends were lying dead in front of him. Pain and guilt riddled his thoughts as he tried to come up with ways he could have helped them. He felt a hand grasp his shoulder and his mind suddenly went blank.

"It was not your fault, Remus. There was nothing that could have been done to avoid it." Dumbledore's breathy voice consoled. Remus dropped his hands to his sides and stood their limply. He did not believe that, no, there was always something that could be done different.

Dumbledore said nothing else but kept his hand on Remus' shoulder. Remus eventually wiped his tears away and gently closed the caskets, mouthing goodbyes to them both. As he turned to leave, Dumbledore spoke up one last time.

"Who were those seats for, Remus?" Remus stopped walking but said nothing, trying to hold back another wave of tears. He turned around and looked into Dumbeldore's eyes, noticing that they were not twinkling as they usually did.

"I…was hoping that Peter and Sirius would show up. That the aurors were wrong about what happened." Remus finally admitted, his voice breaking every few words.

"I'm afraid not, Remus." Dumbledore said softly. Remus nodded and walked away, feeling as if he would never be whole again.