A/N: Warning: Character death, a single use of swearing, and some torture! Essentially, this is Remus' view of the Battle of Hogwarts. Enjoy!
Remus could feel his heart pounding against his chest. However cold the spring night might have felt, Remus could not feel it, due to the sweat now dripping along his body. Jets of light flew everywhere, from all directions. Screams, shouts and cries filled the air, and Remus couldn't hear himself think. So this is how the war ends? Remus shouted inside his own head, With the bloodshed of children and adults alike?'Remus grimaced, and levelled his wand once more. The Death Eater in front of him turned to face him, too late. Remus set a jet of red light straight at the man's chest. The force of the spell threw the man into the wall behind him, and Remus barely heard the splintering of bones. Another grimace, and he turned to evaluate the fray before him. "Merlin..." Remus must have whispered, because he couldn't hear any trace of his own voice. Thankfully, he heard the explosion above him, as he looked up just in time to see the falling section of wall. With a curse, Remus threw himself out of the way, landing hard on the stone floor. A grunt escaped him, and he clenched his fist, before getting up and looking around. Not too far away, he could see George fighting two Death Eaters at once. Without a second thought, Remus ran over and began to help. Jets of light flew from all four wands, though all missed their mark, either due to the recipients agility, or flying wide. Remus had never felt more stressed.
Remus felt George next to him, and knew that the boy was fighting just as hard as he was. In fact, Remus could have sworn he heard George roaring each spell. He could feel the rage and hatred spewing from each word. Remus decided this was a bad time to question this, and simply continued casting. Finally, one of Remus' spells caught one of the Death Eater's arms. While the man staggered, Remus sent a curse into his chest. With a final, shocked look, the Death Eater fell to the floor. George was clearly struggling with his opponent, and Remus managed to floor the Death Eater with a few hexes. Yanking George's arm, Remus pulled them both out of the main fray.
It was difficult, but they eventually found themselves inside the Entrance Hall. The battle was much more contained, and Remus found himself sitting against a wall. George was sat next to him. Both men looked entirely exhausted, barely able to keep up with the war waging around their ears. Remus could actually hear himself think, and could hear George sobbing next to him. "Who?" That was the only question Remus needed to ask in their current situation. He looked at George, and the question was answered in the look on his face.
"They killed Fred." George answered anyway, and Remus felt his stomach drop to his feet.
"Oh." The simple noise could do nothing to explain how he felt at that moment. Somehow, through the feelings of fear and adrenaline, Remus managed to feel grief in a massive quantity, seeming to drag his features down, "George, I'm so sorry for your loss."
"Sorry won't bring my best friend back." George's response was cold, and he turns to face Remus, "And we have to focus on getting these..." Remus could tell that George was biting down some vicious curse-word.
"Bastards." Remus finished for him, nodding slightly, "We get them, we finish this war. We win, George." Remus looked at the 21 year-old, trying to gauge his reaction. George simply nodded.
"Remus!" Remus turned his head to the source of the shout. It was Aberforth. Remus tilted his head, and gaped at the elderly man coming towards him. Aberforth looked extremely banged-up. He had scratches and bruises on his face, and he was limping slightly.
"Yes?" Remus answered, finally finding his voice.
"Your wife is looking for you." Aberforth answered shortly, clearly out of breath, "She's near Gryffindor Tower, last I heard." Remus gaped at him once more.
"Nymphadora is here?" Remus asked, tilting his head. A massive string of thoughts rang through his head at once, and he closed his eyes, blocking them out for a moment.
"Yes." Aberforth nodded, looking at the door. He glanced at Remus, before softening his expression, "Your son is safe. I think she said that he was with Andromeda."
"Right." Remus nodded, before looking apologetically at George. The young man gave a permissive nod.
"Say hi to Tonks for me, will you?" George asked. Remus nodded, before sprinting off.
"Dora?" Remus yelled, at the top of his lungs for the seventh time, as he sprinted through corridors, "Dora, where are you?" He stopped yelling and running when he caught sight of the Fat Lady's portrait. He stopped in shock, as he saw the painting torn worse than it had been when Sirius had attempted to get in. He ran over and knelt to survey the damage.
"She's... Looking for you." The Fat Lady was clearly severely damaged.
"Can portraits die?" Remus asked, looking at her, filing away her information.
"In a way." Her voice was shaky, and she gave a smile. She was speaking softer than Remus had ever heard, and seemed almost... Sad. "They simply cease to animate. So, in a way, yes. We can die."
"I'm so sorry." Remus whispered, surveying the damage once more. It seemed completely past help. The portrait had been torn to shreds by the battle.
"No. Don't be sorry, boy." The Fat Lady's voice was kind, something Remus had never heard throughout his entire time at Hogwarts. She was no longe boisterous, or singing, "I've lived almost seven hundred years. I've seen so many faces pass these corridors. So many young ones..." She was slowly beginning to stop moving, "I only wish some of them had talked to me." She froze. Remus closed his eyes and rested his head against the door. He shook his head slightly, sighing deeply.
"Remus?" His heart stopped, and he turned to see his wife. Nymphadora grinned, and ran into his arms. Remus simply stood there, shocked.
"Why are you here, Dora?" Remus' words were softly spoken, though not unkind.
"You need me more than Teddy does tonight." Dora looked around, "What happened to Dolohov? Did you kill him, Remus?"
"No. I got away." He mumbled, before burying his face into her shoulder. Remus wasn't concerned with looking strong at this moment in time, "Fred's gone."
"I know... Molly told me." Nymphadora whispered to him, and looked at him.
"The Fat Lady just died." Remus mumbled, shaking his head. He could feel tears threatening to fall from his still-closed eyes, "Well... She stopped."
"Oh..." The woman sighed softly, shaking her head, "Remus, we need to keep going. We have to keep fighting. For Molly, for James, for Sirius... For Teddy."
"I know." Remus did know. Remus knew that he had to keep fighting. He had to fight to help Harry. He had to fight to make sure James, Lily and Sirius hadn't died in vain. He had to fight to make sure the Dark Lord didn't destroy everything they'd ever built, and twist it. Most of all, he had to fight for a better world for his son. "Trust me. I know."
"Remus?" Nymphadora looked at him, concerned.
"We have to fight, Dora. We have to do this." Remus felt a steely determination grip him, though fear bubbled in his stomach. He pulled back and looked at his wife, before kissing her lightly.
Ten minutes later, they were fighting in a corridor. Seamus Finnigan and Katie Bell were next to them, surprisingly adept at fighting their opponents. Remus and Nymphadora fought two others, and the two pairs were essentially back-to-back with one another. Remus had his eyes locked on Macnair, while Tonks was glaring at Yaxley. Neither had any idea who Katie and Seamus were duelling, but Remus was distinctly aware of the jets of light flying over their heads from the duels going on behind him. "Remember your wand movements, Seamus." Remus mumbled to the boy behind him. He could have sworn he heard a laugh come from the boy. With a small smirk, Remus sent a stunner at Macnair's chest. It was easily blocked. Beside him, his wife was fighting fiercely, throwing spell after spell at Yaxley, who, Remus was elated to see, was struggling to keep up. Finally, one broke through, blasting him backwards. In the shock of seeing his companion thrown backwards by Nymphadora, Macnair broke his concentration for long enough, that Remus made him meet the same (however temporary) fate. Taking his wife's hand, he ran them back into the courtyard. Instinct told him that was where they were needed.
The courtyard was, in no short terms, Hell. It was even worse than Remus had left it. Acromantula had joined the fray, as well as Giants. Merlin, we're going to die. The realisation hit him like a ton of bricks, and he felt his heart pause, as he turned to face the three Death Eaters coming towards them. Dolohov, Bellatrix and Rodolphus all approached, malicious smirks painted on their battle-worn features. Remus was about to raise his wand, when an explosion threw them both to the ground. Remus groaned loudly, feeling his shirt dampen with blood. This was it. Remus could feel it, as he lost sight of his wife, as rubble fell between them. "Kill the werewolf. This one's mine." Bellatrix's shrill voice broke through the dusty air, and a high-pitched giggle followed her words.
"With pleasure." Dolohov's tone was lower, and more contained. It definitely contained some amusement, however, "Dolph, you keep a lookout. Shout if you see any of their friends coming. This won't take long." Remus looked down at his now-reddening shirt, and felt his vision blur. He didn't feel the wound, the adrenaline blocking the pain from hitting him. He turned to look at the dusty fog left by the debris. A figure was approaching, and Remus tried to bring his wand up. However, he found that his hand was empty. For a few seconds, he searched desperately for the object, before seeing half of it on his left, and half on his right. An intense feeling of loss shot through him. He didn't feel this for long, as he turned to face Dolohov, who was now stood before him.
"Hello, Lupin." Dolohov's voice was low and amused, and the malicious smirk he wore chilled Remus to the bone, "Time to die, I think." Remus responded by kicking at Dolohov's ankle, knocking the man over. Remus threw himself on top of him, raining punches onto him. 'If I can't kill him with the wand, I can do it like this!' His thoughts were defiant. Remus felt a sharp, unbearable pain throw him off the man. He hadn't heard the verbalisation of the Cruciatus, but certainly felt its effects.
"You will... Pay." Remus' words were through gritted teeth, and he glared at Dolohov.
"Avada Kedavra." The words came from his side, and Remus saw a green flash peek through the gaps in the rubble.
"No!" Remus shouted. He knew what it meant, and tried to crawl to the rubble. "No..." He whispered the word, feeling defeated.
"She's dead, now." Dolohov laughed, and gave him another dose of the excruciating pain delivered by the curse. Remus wanted to shout, scream, protest. He wanted to take whatever Maker existed, and beat them senseless. But he couldn't. His voice had been taken from him by grief and sadness, and his body was broken by torture.
"You won't win." Remus turned to look at him, and saw Dolohov's wand raised. Remus knew this would be it. This would be the Killing Curse, "You can't win."
"Win or not... You won't be around to see the result." Dolohov was smug. It would be coming, soon...
"My son will be. My family will be. Whether it's to live to see the mess your lot have made, or to live to see the world my side protected... He will live to see it."
"You picked the wrong side." Dolohov's words were full of hatred.
"No. I picked the good fight. You picked the easy fight." Remus said. He said no more, and a green flash brought everything to a close.