Disclaimer: Not Mine. And no, I don't feel like being creative today. (Yeah right)
A/N: Look! They're! It's a contraction! Deal with it!
A/N2: I'm sorry. That sounded kind of mean. And to everyone screaming at me for more of The Courtyard, I apologize. It's coming. Very slowly. But still coming. Almost done. And The Jumbled Musings is breaking for a bit. Otherwise, here you go, guys! Deal with it: )
They're Dead
He'd been familiar with the phrase for a while now. He had been 12 when he had first come into contact with it, during the Summer. A stuffy Ministry official had arrived at his doorstep. He had not accepted the invitation inside when Remus offered, he merely stood there in a sorry excuse for muggle clothes, adjusting his glasses in a very formal fashion. He had started by explaining where his father and his partners were, using a lot of fancy words that didn't even need to be there.
"The five of them were in the Forbidden Forest when they were found," he had said. "I'm so sorry son." He paused for a long time, long enough for Remus to guess what was coming next. "They're dead."
The official left it to Remus to tell his mother, who was out buying secondhand books for Remus' third year.
She had come back rosy-cheeked with a triumphant smile on her face, carrying some very battered books in her arms. She gave Remus a half hug as she searched for a place in their small house to put the stack.
"Mum?" He paused, shuffling his feet. Could no one else break the news to her? Why had the official left Remus to tell his mother about the death of her spouse? His mother, oblivious, merely nodded in acknowledgment as she found a place to put his books.
"Remember when Dad went out with his friends to search for that murderer?" His mother stumbled a bit.
"Yes," she said. Her speech was slow, deliberate. As if she guessed what was coming but was going through every possible excuse in her mind, as if she was hoping Remus would merely question him on where he is.
"They're dead." He shocked himself then. Before it hadn't sunk in. Now, saying those words, it sunk into his head that he was never going to see his father again.
– – – – – –
"They're dead."
This time, it was in reference to James and Lily.
He had walked into headquarters, clutching the letter in his hand. He was shaking with rage.
"They're dead!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. This time he was not quiet and shy about it. He was angry at the world, despite the downfall of Voldemort. Did anyone care? Was no one concerned with the fact that in the downfall of Voldemort had caused the loss of three people, all Order members? And did anyone care that Sirius was a traitor?
"James and Lily and Peter are DEAD!" Was no one there? Was no one there to hear him? Was no one there to understand? "SIRIUS is the one that KILLED them! We TRUSTED him! I trusted him!"
There were happy calls and shouts from the back. Remus ran through the deserted house and thrust open a door to the backyard. A few members of the Order were out there, and Remus immediately noticed Dedalus Diggle, at the center and firing off shooting stars from his wand. Quite a few people were singing and stamping with joy.
"Remus! We missed you! Come join the party!" Someone tried to hand him a drink. He thrust the hand away "Where's Sirius and James and Pettigrew and all? And Lily?" Remus looked at him with dark eyes.
"The last three are dead." A hush fell over them. "The first killed them." He paused again and looked at the incredulous faces. "Dumbledore told me."
"I'm sorry Remus," Sturgis told him. "But could you please cheer up a celebrate with us? The Dark Lord is gone."
"But so are James and Lily! And Peter! Do we not care about them?"
"Do we not care about the Prewetts? Or the Bones'? Or any of the countless others?" He paused. "We care, Remus. But look at what's happened! Look! No one else is going to be murdered! He's gone!"
A little subdued, they went back to cheering and celebrating, Diggle sending off more shooting stars.
"They're dead," he whispered to himself. "I can't believe they're dead."
You could not imagine the fear he felt, then, when he found that Voldemort had once again risen to power. He could not help but think of the imaginary casualties in his mind, trying as hard as he could not to envision their fates. But he still woke up a night, his face wet.
"They're dead!" he would whisper to the ceiling, totally confused. "They're dead."
He became more and more comfortable with the fact that there was going to be casualties, of course, but the thought that some of his closest friends were going to die still plagued him. His heart was torn apart one night when he saw Tonks in his dreams, at the mercy of a death eater with blood trickling down her face. . .
It was not the dreams, however, that made him shake and shed a tear.
It was Sirius.
Remus was shaking the second Sirius had arched towards the dias. Even Dumbledore had stopped. In an instant, he was gone. Like he was never on this Earth. The veil rustled a bit, but looked no different than before. His heart was shaking and he thought of everyone he had ever lost. He stared longingly at the veil and tore himself apart by reciting the names of everyone who had died. Everyone he had known. Starting with his father. Ending with that moment.
"They're dead," he whispered. His voice was shaking. "They're dead."
– – – – – –
A/N: For some reason, that seems really short. It probably is. So sorry about that. : ) I hope you liked it, please review. And the next chapter's going to be happier. (Maybe...mwa ha ha) Thanks for reading!
Special Thanks: To Salz, for believing me, and to Ramzes, for being the first to review.
