A/N: This is not my first fic, but it is the first I have posted on this site. It is a ONE-SHOT, and I have no intention of posting a second chapter, or continuing it in any way. My specialty in fic-writing is L/J, and I have a few stories centered around them, but for some reason, I felt like writing this. I've posted it on a few other sites, including I have been critisized by the way Remus acts in this section, and I'm sorry if you end up feeling the same, but I can identify with Remus, in a way, and I think this is exactly how he'd react. Anyway, please review, and enjoy! Without further ado:
The Wheels of Fate Will Keep Turning
It came as an instant shock. Something dulling, mind-blowing, and painful all at the same time. He was just sitting at his desk in the run-down apartment he was living, writing out plans for another attack on the Dark Lord Voldemort, the most powerful dark wizard the world had seen since Grindewald. The tapping at the window distracted him, and he wasn't too pleased with the distraction, having not gotten very far in his work. However, thinking the owl might be important, he stood up and allowed entry to the barn owl.
The wind blew in noises of happiness from the street below, but they only made him more upset. How anyone could be celebrating on the streets in such a dark time was beyond him. No doubt they were teenagers that had had a little too much to drink that evening. He roughly took the letter from the owl, who hooted angrily before taking flight again.
Sighing, he closed the window and turned his attention to the rolled parchment in his hands. It was sealed with red wax, pressed with a miniature phoenix. His instinct was to be terrified. He rarely received news directly from his old headmaster, and when he did, it was usually through the floo network, simply requesting him to come in person. Owls had turned out to be too risky in this day and age.
Carefully opening the parchment, his eyes darted across it, taking in each word individually, but not accepting the true meaning of the statements. He fell back into his desk chair, which nearly collapsed under his weight, and ran his skinny hand through his sandy brown hair, which was already showing flecks of gray. His tired eyes became more and more alert, and after reading the letter several times, he tossed it on his desk, grabbed his wand, and disappeared from his raggy apartment with a slight 'pop.'
The wind blew the window open once more, and the gentle breeze caught the edge of the parchment, revealing the first words of the letter.
Remus, I regret to inform you that James and Lily Potter have been killed.
Remus quickly walked from the village at Hogsmeade to the Hogwarts grounds, only to find them locked. Taking his chances, he wandered up to the Shrieking Shack on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, a place that he had spent a number of his Hogwarts days at, and now would be the way to get information about one of the friends he shared many of those experiences with. He was in denial. James and Lily had gone into hiding. How could Voldemort have possibly found them? James had insisted that Sirius be his secret keeper, right? After everything they had gone through together, how could Sirius side with the people he swore he was against his entire life?
Family bonds. That had to be it. No matter how much Sirius denied it, the very people that had made all their lives miserable these past few years were his family. He sided with them in the end.
Remus' thoughts ran from total denial of the incident, to slow understanding, to anger. His face wrinkled in disgust for a man that he had called his brother. True, he didn't have the close connection with James as Sirius had, but the relationship the four Marauders had had was far more than friendship. It was brotherhood. They were there for each other. Apparently that wasn't enough for Sirius, and so Remus had lost two of his brothers that night.
Upon reaching the front door of the weathered shack, he tore off a few of the boards, and thanked the fates for not having the full moon on this Halloween night. Scraping his arms as he slid through, Remus made his way into the house, and down into the tunnel that the house had been built upon. Memories of joyous full moons came back to him as he crawled through the earthy tunnel and approached the swishing sounds of the Whomping Willow at the exit, planted to keep him in the tunnel, as well as others out.
Gently prodding the trunk of the tree, he found the knot he was looking for, and the tree stopped its violent swishing just long enough for him to make a mad dash to the entrance of the castle. Thankfully, it wasn't past curfew for the students yet, so the doors had yet to be locked, a precaution that Dumbledore had taken shortly after Remus had graduated. He sighed, and dashed past the Great Hall, where the intense murmurs of the students was focused at the moment. In his trek to the Headmaster's office, he passed a few students who backed away from him, startled by his presence, but he paid no heed to them. He wanted to get answers.
Arriving at the gargoyle entrance to the office he had frequently visited in school, Remus suddenly realized that he didn't know the password, and he wasn't about to take the trip down to the Great Hall to ask one of the teachers. He wished that the caretaker hadn't confiscated the Marauder's Map in his last year; else he would be able to find another way in. Sighing once again, he leaned up against the stone wall and slid to the floor. He had come all this way just to be stopped short of his goal. His mind was still buzzing with the news of the letter, the exact words repeating over and over in his mind. Lily and James had sacrificed their lives to bring an end to Voldemort's reign, and save their infant son in the process. Now, everyone was celebrating that He was gone. That was what the cheering outside his apartment had been. No one cared that two loving, caring people had to lose their lives to let that happen, not to mention all the thousands that had died during his reign at his hand, or the hands of his followers. There was no justice in the world if Harry had to grow up without the love and support of his parents.
He was saved from dwelling more on the matter when the gargoyle leaped aside on its own, allowing two figures to exit the office. Remus stood up quickly and addressed them carefully.
"Professor…" he whispered. An aged man with a long silvery beard turned to him, the twinkling normally present in his eyes gone. "It's true, isn't it?" Remus said, and a tear slid down his cheek without waiting for an answer. "What will happen to Harry?"
"Minerva and I are going to deliver him to his aunt's house, the only place he'll be safe," the aged man said carefully, nodding to the stern woman standing with him.
Remus nodded solemnly. "They were at Godric's Hollow, right?" When the aged man nodded, Remus took off in a brisk walk toward the entrance, not stopping until he was out of Hogwarts grounds.
Disappearing without so much as another word, he arrived a few moments later at a house, or rather the remains of one. Taking a deep breath, he surveyed the damage, and heard a faint rumbling in the distance. Only the first floor remained partially intact, and the second floor and attic had rested on the now earthy floor. Glass was scattered everywhere, and everything was covered with a thick layer of dust. Hearing a dull clunk as he took a step forward, he looked down and saw the still shimmering brass knocker, now separate from the white door it used to hang on, and in a place several meters from where it was supposed to be.
As the rumbling faded more and more, another sound caught his ears. It was a melody of some sort. Careful not to destroy the house more, if that was possible, Remus followed the sound into what appeared to be Lily and James' room. Sitting on a perfectly clean dresser was a music box, though it was not open. He carefully opened it, only to discover that it wasn't a music box, but rather a book. There was an inscription carefully written on the inside cover and Remus had to squint in the darkness to make it out:
'If I should die, take these memories. Treasure them, for they are those closest to my heart. Remember the good times, and forget the bad, for that is the only way to move on from such a loss as death. Lily'
Choking back a sob, he lifted the book and shrunk it to fit into his pocket. Somehow, he felt as if it was meant for him to see and take, though he wasn't sure how. He tried desperately to put up a brave front, to allow the Gryffindor in him to take over, if only so that he could make it through this night, and the next, and even the next. His head throbbing too much to think about the two of them anymore, he quickly apparated to Peter's house. There was no way that the littlest of the group could survive a shock like that, when he himself could barely comprehend it.
When he arrived, though, the house was empty. There was no note to say where he went, like there usually was, nor any indication that he had been there recently. His eyebrows quickly knitting in confusion, Remus once again set off for Hogwarts, hoping that by now, Dumbledore would be back in his office, so that he could find Peter. No sooner had he made this decision though, than he heard screaming in the distance. Millions of thoughts ran through his head, the most prominent being that Dumbledore was wrong, and that Voldemort wasn't dead after all. Terrified beyond measure, Remus momentarily forgot that he was a wizard and broke into a run, down the stairs at Peter's apartment and to the central part of London, where all the commotion was taking place. There were numerous bodies on the ground, and several other people screaming, or in states of shock.
He arrived in time to see wizard authorities arrive, each taking a witness and asking what happened. He heard enough to deduce that his plump friend had been there and that he had been one of the victims of a violent attack, which also ended in several muggles being killed, and managed to get close enough to see several Aurors hold Sirius as his maniacal laughter rang through the streets. The two locked eyes for a moment, Remus sending Sirius a look that clearly showed distaste and hate.
"Moony! Mate!" Sirius yelled, looking as cheerful as ever. One of the Aurors looked over at Remus.
"Do you know this man?" the Auror asked. Remus carefully studied Sirius' face, then focused on the Auror.
"No. I don't," he responded before swiftly turning around and walking back toward Peter's apartment, tears stinging his eyes.
Looking around the messy and underused apartment, Remus searched for parchment and quill. Upon finding what he searched for, he scribbled a note rapidly, and sealed it without a moment's notice. Taking out his wand and muttering some incantation, the parchment disappeared. Remus sighed and vanished without another sound, holding tightly to a book hidden in the folds of his cloak.
The note fluttered down onto the desk of the Headmaster of Hogwarts, unnoticed, for the aged wizard who normally sat there was presently saving the life of a small baby boy in Surrey. However, in the course of the transportation spell used to get the letter onto this desk, the seal began to break, and the shimmering words of one Remus Lupin revealed themselves in the light of the nearly full moon.
I cannot stay here, for there is nothing left for me. All my true friends, those that I could rely on in such troubling times, they are all gone. Their paths have ended if ever so unjustly, but the wheels of fate will keep turning, just as they have always done. Life will go on, just as it always has. My path, though, is now leading me out of England. I do not wish to be found, and I feel I know you well enough to respect my wishes. If it was destined that I return, I'm sure you will know the appropriate time, as you always seem to. Watch over Harry. I could hardly live if I knew he wasn't in safe hands.
Remus Lupin
A/N: Please review, and let me know what you think. Thanks.