8 September 1979

Remus lumbered up the stairs to the Hog's Head's upper room, nearly an hour late to the afternoon's Order meeting. The full moon on Thursday night had completely drained him of energy, and he'd needed more than a full day to recover. Though his transformations were no longer nearly as painful as they'd been in his Hogwarts prime—when the unfortunate combination of increasing hormones and growth spurts had wreaked havoc on Remus's body—Remus was still getting used to not having his friends with him every month. It had been decided—by Remus, mostly, though his friends had grudgingly agreed—that it was no longer safe for them to spend the full moons together now that they were outside the safe confines of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, with James, Sirius, and Peter duly at risk of being caught and tried for their illegal Animagus statuses.

When Remus had joined the Order last July, Professor Dumbledore, with the assistance of Alastor Moody and Mr. Dearborn—the only two additional Order members that Dumbledore had informed of Remus's condition—had found and secured a large, uninhabited plot of land in Somerset, several miles north of Godric's Hollow, where Remus could spend the full moons away from civilization. It was vastly better than the suffocating walls of the Shrieking Shack, though it was lonely: Remus usually awoke in the mornings curled up under an unfamiliar bush or tree, feeling exhausted, disoriented, and raw.

But in all honesty, Remus didn't have enough time in his daily schedule to dwell on any insubstantial feelings of loneliness. In the year that had passed since Remus and his friends had joined the Order of the Phoenix, all five of them had immersed themselves completely into the framework of the group. In fact, of the Order's twenty-five members, Remus, Sirius, James, Lily, and Peter were the only ones who worked for the organization full-time. James and Sirius had both put off applying to the Auror Academy so they could be more readily available to volunteer themselves for the high-risk, investigative missions that Moody often pitched at the end of meetings. Lily, who had dreamed of being a Healer for as long as Remus could remember, was now instead using her unparalleled skills as a potioneer to maintain the Order's stores of Polyjuice Potion and Skele-Gro, when she wasn't off accompanying James, Sirius, and Remus on missions. And Peter, who was nowhere near as confident a duelist as James or Sirius, had nevertheless made himself useful to the Order in a very different way—with his keen knack for research and reconnaissance, Peter was often enlisted by Dumbledore to document sensitive intel and pass important information along between different Order members.

It was a hectic, grueling lifestyle, and one that Remus had initially doubted he would be able to sustain. Unlike James, Sirius, and Peter, who were able to combat their relative unemployment by making do with family savings—and in the cases of James and Sirius, it was more like small family fortunes—Remus did not have a knut to his name. He had been sure, a few weeks into working for the Order, that he would soon have to quit so that he could find a real way to make a living—but James and Lily had stepped in. After shouting down Remus's vehement protests, the Potters had co-signed with Remus a lease for a sweet, cozy flat in Diagon Alley, and a few weeks later, he had found himself living comfortably in the heart of Wizarding London, just a few blocks down the street from Sirius's and Peter's flats, and just a fireplace away from James and Lily's Godric's Hollow cottage.

Rubbing his slightly sore temples, Remus finally shuffled up the last few stairs to the Hog's Head's upstairs sitting room—and immediately, he could tell that something was wrong. The meeting appeared to be over, but the atmosphere in the room was taut and tense. Little pockets of Order members were scattered about the room, talking in hushed whispers. Professor Dumbledore and Moody were locked in what looked like a quiet, but serious argument near the fireplace. Remus stared at the pair for a moment, before shifting his gaze to the meeting table—Peter was the only one still sitting there, looking slightly more pale-faced than usual as he hunched over a scroll of parchment, recording meeting minutes for Dumbledore.

Remus quickly crossed the room towards Peter. "Hey," he said quietly, sitting down next to his friend. "What's going on? What did I miss?"

Peter looked up from his parchment, swallowing heavily. "Moody just announced that he thinks he's confirmed five more Death Eaters. Dumbledore called a break because everyone was talking over each other."

Remus's stomach flipped unpleasantly. "Five?" he asked in horror. The Order's list of confirmed Death Eaters was constantly growing, but Remus had never known it to increase by five in one afternoon. "Who—who are they?"

"One of them is a foreigner," Peter said, his voice trembling slightly. "His name's…Dolohov, or something—Dumbledore thinks he's from Eastern Europe. Apparently, he's been a Death Eater for more than a decade now—one of the first. Moody cornered him in Wiltshire last week and they got into a duel. And the other four…" Peter trailed off.

"Peter, who are they?" Remus asked urgently.

"It's the Slytherins from school," Peter said in a low voice. "Mulciber, Avery, Wilkes, and—Snape."

Remus's stomach gave another dull lurch. It wasn't exactly a surprise—the Slytherin boys in his year had always been nauseatingly open about their affinity for the Dark Arts—but it was a blow nonetheless. Remus had sat next to these four men in classes for seven years, sharing teachers and even, on occasion, pairing up for assignments…

Clenching his jaw, Remus looked across the room and spotted James, Lily, and Sirius standing with James's uncle Caradoc. James and Lily were both conversing heatedly with Mr. Dearborn, and Remus felt sure that they were discussing Snape, for James's face was red with anger and Lily's expression was as hard as stone—but Sirius was conspicuously detached from the conversation, leaning against the grubby wall with an odd, vacant look in his eyes.

Remus stared at him.

"Wormtail, what's wrong with Sirius?" Remus asked, frowning.

Peter didn't respond immediately. Remus blinked, turning back around to face Peter. "Peter—?"

"It's his brother," Peter said, his chin trembling. "Regulus…h-he…he's—dead."

Remus's heart plummeted to his feet. He gaped at Peter. "What?"

"Moody told us at the meeting," Peter continued in a whisper. "I—I don't think he knew that Sirius and Regulus were brothers. Apparently, when Moody was dueling Dolohov, Dolohov—h-he let a few Death Eater secrets slip. According to Dolohov, Regulus was killed by V-Voldemort for…for getting cold feet."

Remus felt a flicker of astonishment. "You mean—Regulus was a Death Eater and he betrayed Voldemort?"

"We don't know if it's that serious," Peter said, sounding upset. "He—he might not have betrayed anyone—he might have just wanted out."

Remus shook his head slowly, turning to look at Sirius again. "We should talk to him," Remus said quietly.

Peter bit his lip and glanced at Sirius, before turning back to his parchment. "I…I think I'm going to finish these minutes first," he said, his voice slightly constricted. "I'll join you lot later."

Remus nodded and clapped Peter's shoulder bracingly, before setting off across the room towards Sirius. James, Lily, and Mr. Dearborn had drifted away to join Marlene McKinnon and Sturgis Podmore in conversation, but Sirius hadn't moved. He was still leaning against the wall with the same numb expression on his face. Remus approached him cautiously.

"Padfoot?"

Sirius blinked, looking at Remus, his expression inscrutable. For several, long moments, he didn't say anything.

Then— "So. You've heard," Sirius said in a flat voice.

Remus nodded. "I'm sorry, Sirius," he said quietly.

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "What for?"

Remus swallowed. "Mate…your brother—"

"He's not my brother, Remus," Sirius said acidly, his eyes glinting. "Maybe he was in a different lifetime, but not anymore."

Remus blinked. "Padfoot—"

"I always knew he was an idiot," Sirius continued, in the same harsh voice. "But I honestly never thought he'd be stupid enough to follow in Bellatrix's footsteps. I thought he'd be like Cissy—marry respectably and preach pure-blood supremacy to his dim-witted kids."

Remus stared at Sirius, unsure of how to respond. A tense, lingering silence seemed to fill the space between them, hanging thickly in the air.

Finally, Remus cleared his throat. "Sirius, Peter told me that Regulus was killed for getting cold feet. Maybe…maybe he realized that he'd picked the wrong side—"

"Ha," Sirius barked out a derisive laugh. "That's what Lily said, too." He shook his head, giving Remus a sarcastic smile. "You're giving Reg too much credit, Remus. He was always a coward, too afraid to question a word our parents said to him. I'll bet you anything he got in too deep with his stupid Death Eater pals, panicked, and then tried to run. Idiot."

Remus's heart sank. There was no reasoning with Sirius when he became this way, masking any grief he was possibly feeling behind a wall of vicious anger. But Remus hadn't forgotten Sirius's disappointment when Regulus was sorted into Slytherin, after he had spent a year telling his friends how much he was looking forward to having his little brother at Hogwarts at last…nor had Remus forgotten Sirius's shock and horror in their sixth year, when he had watched Regulus be knocked off his broom by a Ravenclaw Beater during a Quidditch match…

Deciding that Sirius couldn't possibly become more hostile than he already was, Remus swallowed and decided to try one last time. "Look—Sirius—"

CRASH.

Screams and yells of shock rent the air, wands came out all around the room, and reflexes born of wartime brought every single occupant of the Hog's Head's upper room to their feet, as two struggling figures suddenly stumbled up the staircase and fell—literally—upon the threshold. Without hesitation, Remus and Sirius stepped forward, wands drawn—but a second later, Remus felt his heart stutter to a stop. It was the Prewett twins—but neither one was laughing, as usual. One of them—Fabian, Remus was fairly certain—was supporting the other, who was barely conscious and was bleeding profusely from a deep wound in his neck. Blood, shockingly dark and red, was everywhere.

"There's been an attack," Fabian said in a high, strained voice. "Muggle London, Westminster—they've probably blown up half the bridge by now. The ringleader was the Lestrange woman, but she's got about ten others with her. She nearly cursed Gideon's head off."

"No," mumbled Gideon, his knees buckling; Fabian swore under his breath and seized his brother tightly about the middle. "Could've…taken her…crazy bitch…"

"Shut it, Gid," Fabian said furiously, his face starkly white beneath his freckles.

There was a shivering silence, the raw horror of the moment suspended. Then, the room seemed to burst to life.

"Alastor, get messages to Edgar, Benjy, and the Longbottoms—round up as many Aurors as you can," Dumbledore said, his voice ringing clearly over the din of people gearing up to head to Muggle London. "And someone else needs to contact Emmeline's husband Victor Vance in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes—we need Obliviators on the scene immediately."

"I can go to Victor," offered Dorcas Meadowes, Emmeline's sister. "And I'll get a hold of Emmeline, too—she's on duty in Surrey right now. We'll meet you in London." Dorcas's face, which had turned as pale as a ghost's when the Prewett twins had arrived, was now set and determined.

"Excellent," Dumbledore told Dorcas, and she nodded. After giving Fabian's shoulder a comforting squeeze, Dorcas hurried down the stairs and out of sight.

Dumbledore turned to Peter. "Peter, would you please escort the Prewetts to Edgar Bones's home in Yorkshire? I've already sent word to his wife Elinor—she will be expecting you."

Peter nodded, looking hugely relieved by his task. With Gideon's feeble-looking body between them, Peter and Fabian too disappeared down the stairs.

Dumbledore then turned to face the remaining half-dozen or so people in the room: Sturgis Podmore, Marlene McKinnon, Dedalus Diggle, Mr. Dearborn, James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus himself.

"The rest of us, if everyone is prepared, will make haste to London," Dumbledore said, glancing around at the room. His gaze lingered for a moment on Sirius, and Remus glanced sideways at his friend. Cold fury blazed in Sirius's pale gray eyes, radiating from his body in waves, and Remus's stomach turned over. Bellatrix Lestrange was a fearsome woman, Remus had come to learn over the past year. A menace on the battlefield, driven completely by emotion, she was supremely devoted to maintaining the purity and prestige of the Black family name.

What she and her cousin Sirius didn't share in beliefs, they seemed to make up for in temperament.


Before Remus had been bitten, he and his mother had been frequent visitors to Muggle London. There were numerous photo albums in his father's study of Remus, as a toddler, accompanying his mother to antique shops and art museums. But after Remus was bitten, public outings quickly became a thing of the past. Gone were the afternoons of driving across the Thames and the evenings of thrifting for secondhand records—the city was far too exposed and populated a place for Remus's condition to safely remain a secret.

Throughout his childhood, Remus's parents had gone to great lengths to keep Remus's lycanthropy hidden from their Muggle neighbors. Now, in one afternoon, about a dozen wizards had completely blown the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy out of the water.

"Bloody hell," Remus said hoarsely, as he apparated into the middle of Westminster Bridge Road. Storefronts were shattered, splintered glass scattered everywhere. Rooftops were in flames, and the smells of smoke and burning debris were suffocating. Obliviators in stiff gray robes were fervently corralling groups of Muggles—regular citizens and law enforcement officials, alike—out of the street. Meanwhile, packs of Aurors and Hit Wizards were swarming the buildings, casting protective enchantments.

"Oh, my God," Lily whispered, as she and James appeared suddenly behind Remus with a faint pop. "I can't believe this."

Remus pressed his lips together, drawing his wand. Moments later, he, James, and Lily were joined by Dumbledore, Mr. Dearborn, Dedalus, Sturgis, Marlene, and Sirius.

"We should move in groups of two," Mr. Dearborn advised, pointing his wand in the direction of a nearby pillar that was in flames—with a jet of water from Mr. Deaborn's wand, the flames subsided, replaced by a wispy coil of smoke. "If you encounter distress, send up the usual gold sparks and assistance will arrive as soon as possible."

There was a murmur of assent from the group, and everyone quickly paired off, disappearing into the chaos. James and Lily advanced towards a crumbling coffee shop, while Marlene, Dedalus, and Sturgis walked over to assist a group of Aurors with defensive enchantments. Then, just as Dumbledore and Mr. Dearborn departed to help disperse the large group of terrified-looking Muggles milling outside the county hall, Sirius stepped out from behind Remus and took off running westward, towards the distant outline of the Westminster Bridge, obscured by a thick smog of smoke and debris.

"Padfoot," Remus panted, as he sprinted up the road after his friend, sidestepping several upturned, smoldering rubbish bins. "Sirius, for the love of—slow down! Where the hell are you going?"

"I'm going to find her," Sirius snarled, blasting a broken lamp post out of his way with his wand as he continued to race up the pavement. "And I'm going to kill her. Reducto." He blasted another fallen lamp post into fine dust.

"Sirius—stop—you're supposed to be fixing things—not destroying them," Remus admonished breathlessly, barely keeping pace with his friend as they wove through crowds of mingled Aurors, Obliviators, and Muggles. "And you're not going to kill anyone—are you mad? We're supposed to be rescuing people—!"

"I don't give a damn what we're supposed to do, Remus," Sirius spat, his face blazing with anger as he rounded on Remus. Remus froze in his tracks, heart skittering. "These bastards aren't following the bloody rules—why the hell should we?"

Remus gaped at Sirius. "Padfoot—you aren't actually suggesting that we stoop to their level—?"

But that was as far as Remus got, for at that very moment, the air exploded with countless jets of multicolored light, and the world was ripped apart.

Remus felt himself flying through the air, clutching his wand tightly to his chest as he landed several feet away on the road with a painful thud. Ignoring the raw pain jolting through his back and the stars flashing before his eyes, Remus staggered to his feet and picked his way through a rubble of broken glass and splintered wood, looking around for what—or who—had caused the explosion. He glanced upwards, and a chill stole over him. The Dark Mark had appeared in the sky, starkly green against the gloomy gray of the smoke that was still fogging up the air.

Heart pounding against his ribs, Remus swiveled around in a circle, frantically searching for Sirius's face amidst the disarray of debris, people, and smoke. "Padfoot!" he cried out, jogging up the street towards the bridge, which was now only a few feet away. "Sirius! Sirius, where are you?"

No one responded, but Remus forced himself to believe that this was only because Sirius couldn't possibly hear him over the din of shouts and screams in the air. Curling his hands into fists, Remus squeezed past the thick mass of Aurors and Muggles huddled outside the entrance to the bridge, and sprinted onto the structure.

"Oi! You're not allowed on the bridge!" an Auror bellowed at Remus as he sped past. "We're trying to get everyone off so we can seal it!"

Remus ignored him, only quickening his pace. "Sirius!" he yelled again, ducking around several demolished, faintly smoking cars as he tore up the bridge. "SIRIUS!"

"Sirius! Sirius!" cried a mocking voice from behind Remus. Whipping out his wand, he whirled around, his breath trapped in his throat, to find himself facing a tall, dark woman with long black hair, high cheekbones, and heavily-lidded eyes. Remus's heart stopped. Bellatrix Lestrange's striking resemblance to her cousin Sirius was uncanny, but where Sirius's classic good looks provided him with easygoing grace, Bellatrix's made her look…dangerous.

She leered at him, her dark eyes glittering with malevolence. "I'm afraid my dear cousin is a little…occupied at the moment."

Remus lifted his wand higher, so that it was level with her chest. "What did you do to him?" he demanded, with more conviction than he felt.

"What do you care?" Bellatrix taunted, her thin lips twisting into an evil smile. "He'll be dead before you get to him."

Remus fired a Stinging Hex directly at Bellatrix's heart, but she deflected it with a casual flick of her wrist. Snarling, she sent a jet of blue flames towards Remus, but with a well-aimed slash of his wand, Remus changed the fire into a torrent of needle-sharp icicles and redirected it at Bellatrix. She disapparated to avoid it, reappearing about six yards to the right.

"Stop playing games with me, you stupid boy," Bellatrix spat, firing a streak of purple light at Remus's face. He leaped out of its way. "Unless you want to end up like my filthy blood traitor cousin."

"What did you do to him?" Remus asked again, his voice stronger this time, as he fired two Stunning Spells at her, one after another. "Answer me!"

Bellatrix smirked, sending both jets of red light streaking back towards Remus. He blocked them both. "I left him hanging on the brink of death," Bellatrix sneered. "I didn't want him to die too easily, you see—he doesn't deserve it."

Remus barred his teeth. "Confringo!" he shouted.

Bellatrix dodged the Blasting Curse, her eyes flashing as she raised her wand and slashed it down. "Crucio!"

Pain like none other ripped through Remus, as the jet of red light struck him squarely on the stomach. He screamed, falling forward and hitting his head on the concrete. His vision was blinded, his lungs felt like they were on fire—he choked on his own voice.

When the curse finally lifted, Remus found himself sprawled out at Bellatrix's feet, his wand shaking in his hand. Bellatrix's loud peal of laughter sounded far away, even as she leaned directly over him with her wand trained on his forehead, smirking. "Perhaps you and Sirius can have a double funeral," she hissed.

"Bellatrix!"

Bellatrix whirled around, and Remus, his body still thrumming with pain, turned to see a lean but broad-shouldered wizard with a pale, twisted face hurrying up the bridge towards them, clutching his left forearm oddly. "Bellatrix, ve must go! The Dark Lord commands us to retreat—the Aurors are closing in!"

Bellatrix made an impatient noise in her throat, turning back to look down at Remus with distaste. Her wand twitched in her hand. "Saved by the bell," she spat at Remus, before facing the broad-shouldered Death Eater. "Fine. Let's go, Dolohov."

"Who is this?" Dolohov asked, considering Remus with distaste. "Pathetic man."

"Filth," Bellatrix hissed, glowering at Remus. "Must be in the Order, if he knows my dear cousin."

"Come—ve must go, Bellatrix. Before they seal the bridge off," Dolohov repeated, though he kept his narrowed eyes locked on Remus. "I'm sure ve vill have another chance to kill this scum."

Bellatrix gnashed her teeth at Remus, then spat on him. Taking care to tread on Remus's fingers as she stepped over him, Bellatrix disappeared with a crack. Dolohov followed.

Remus lay spread-eagled on the pavement for several, long minutes, every muscle in his body throbbing. Then, at last—with the greatest effort it had ever cost him—he managed to drag himself to his feet and stumble up the street.

"Sirius," Remus called, but his voice sounded frail and hoarse. "Sirius! Sirius—!"

Remus broke off, his heart constricting suddenly with dread. In the distance, barely visible through the thick gray haze of smoky residue, a body was dangling in midair by its ankle, revolving slowly in a circle.

"I left him hanging on the brink of death."

"SIRIUS!" Remus bellowed, forgetting all about his aching limbs as he flew up the bridge, towards the dangling body. "No! No—no—no, Sirius!" Standing directly under Sirius's limp form, Remus raised his wand and thought wildly, Liberacorpus.

Sirius's body collapsed onto Remus, and, knees buckling, Remus dropped to the ground with Sirius sprawled out across his legs. Hand shaking, heart racing, mind numb with blank fear, Remus directed his wand at Sirius's chest. "Rennervate."

Nothing happened.

"No," Remus muttered. "No—no—come on, Padfoot. Rennervate. Rennervate." But Sirius remained stubbornly still and silent. Blindly, his heart lodged in his throat, Remus reached out and seized Sirius's wrist—and with an enormous, dizzying wave of relief, he felt a pulse—weak, and soft, and erratic, though it was, there was a definite pulse.

"Help!" Remus called out, looking frantically around for an Auror or a familiar face—but the bridge was empty. "Somebody—help me!"

Pulling out his wand, Remus lifted his shaking hand to the sky and shot a stream of red and gold sparks into the air. Barely a second later, there were two soft pops in the distance—and with a rush of gratefulness, Remus saw James and Lily—both looking disheveled, grimy, and distinctly worse for wear—appear a few yards down the bridge.

"Over here!" Remus called out to them, his voice breaking. James and Lily ran up road, both looking terrified.

"Sirius!" James gasped as he reached them, dropping to his knees beside Remus, his already pale face draining completely of color. "What—no—Remus, is he—?"

"He's alive," Remus interrupted. "I've got a pulse. But he needs a Healer—I can't revive him."

"Let's get him to Elinor Bones. She'll sort him out," Lily said in a strained voice, conjuring a stretcher with a wave of her wand. Together, James and Remus heaved Sirius onto it.

"We've got to get off the bridge on foot," James told Remus, as the two of them began jogging behind Lily and the stretcher. "The Aurors were about to seal it so no one can apparate in or out—Lily and I barely made it to you. Dumbledore's set up an apparition point just beyond—hey—mate, are you all right?" James paused suddenly in his tracks and looked at Remus. "What happened to your head?"

Remus reached up and touched his throbbing forehead, and his fingers came into contact with a great deal of half-dried blood. "I hit it," he said under his breath.

James's jaw clenched. "How?"

Remus looked at James for a moment. Then— "Bellatrix," he muttered.

James swore loudly, and Lily looked at him over her shoulder; she was several yards ahead, now, with the stretcher. "What?" she demanded. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Remus told Lily quickly, giving James a significant look as the two of them hastened to catch up with her. "We can talk about this later," Remus said quietly to James. "Right now, we need to focus on Sirius."

James nodded, but his mouth was set in a thin line that told Remus quite plainly that he wasn't ready to drop the subject.

They hurried down the bridge in tense silence for several minutes. Then—

"It's odd," James said slowly, "how quickly they all disappeared—the Death Eaters, I mean. Lily and I were dueling Voldemort, and—"

"You were dueling Voldemort?" Remus gasped, looking around at James in shock.

"Yeah," James said grimly. "And that bastard can duel. It was us and the Longbottoms—he was dueling all four of us at the same time. But then, all of a sudden, he disapparated—and just like that, all of the Death Eaters were gone, too. Uncle Caradoc was dueling that Travers bloke, and he told me Travers suddenly just grabbed his own arm and disappeared."

Remus frowned at James, his mind racing. "He grabbed his…" Remus trailed off. Then, he gasped. "His arm! Dolohov was holding his arm when he—and Bellatrix just—that's it! There must be something we're missing—some way they've got of communicating with each other!"

James stared at Remus, looking gobsmacked. "What on Earth are you—?"

"James!" Lily cried suddenly, stopping short in her tracks, several feet in front of James and Remus. "James, he's waking up!"

Without even pausing to exchange a fleeting glance, James and Remus turned simultaneously and sprinted down the bridge towards Lily and Sirius. Panting, they came to stand on either side of the levitated stretcher.

"Sirius?" James asked anxiously. "Are you—?"

"I missed it," Sirius mumbled, without opening his eyes. His face was screwed up in pain, and his words slurred slightly. "I missed…I missed it…"

"What did you miss?" Remus asked tensely. "What are you talking about, Padfoot?"

"I…missed it," Sirius said again, his voice barely more than a whisper. "I missed…the funeral."

"What?" Remus said hoarsely, exchanging frightened looks with James and Lily. "Whose funeral?"

"Reg," Sirius gasped, his eyes shooting open. He tried to sit bolt upright in his stretcher, but Lily held him down, her chin trembling. "I missed it—I missed it, I missed his funeral! Bella told me—I missed it!"

"Sirius," James gasped, looking lost for words. "Mate—please—you've got to calm down—"

"I missed it!" Sirius howled, his face turning ashen. "He was only eighteen, James—and I—damn it, I missed it! I missed it—!" He broke off and his body began shaking violently.

"He's going into shock," Lily cried, looking on the verge of tears as she raised her wand and urged the stretcher forward again. "We've got to get him out of here—now!"

James and Remus didn't need telling twice. Wands out, they sprinted ahead of Lily and began clearing a path through the debris that littered every inch of the bridge. At last, a few minutes later, they made it back to the main road, where Remus quickly spotted Professor Dumbledore and Mr. Dearborn standing with Frank and Alice Longbottom. Upon seeing Sirius in the stretcher, the four of them rushed forward. Dimly, Remus heard Dumbledore giving Lily the address to Edgar and Elinor's house in Upper Flagley…he heard Mr. Dearborn frantically asking James what had happened…but Remus was busy staring back at the outline of the bridge they had just crossed—at the smoke billowing up from its center, clogging up what ought to have been a clear, blue sky…

Broken images filled Remus's mind…a four-year-old boy lying unconscious in his parents' bed after being mauled by a werewolf…an eleven-year-old boy on his first day of Hogwarts, shocked and delighted to find himself making friends after growing up in near-isolation…a different eleven-year-old boy, on the same day, ecstatic to be meeting half-bloods and blood traitors for the very first time…a fifteen-year-old boy, kneeling on the floor of his father's study, watching his father sob over words he would regret uttering for the rest of his life…a sixteen-year-old boy, pale-faced and shivering, standing on his best friend's porch after running away from home…a sixteen-year-old girl, humiliated in front of half the school by a boy she had thought to be her friend…

"I said that werewolves were soulless, evil creatures—soulless, evil creatures, deserving nothing but—death."

"I don't need help from filthy little mudbloods like her!"

"I missed it—I missed it, I missed his funeral!"

It was Voldemort, Remus thought to himself, curling his hands into fists as he gazed up at the fading remains of the Dark Mark in the sky. It all came down to Voldemort. It was Voldemort who had caused so much suffering, spreading his hatred and bigoted beliefs. It was Voldemort who had ripped so many families apart…who had emboldened and unleashed monsters like Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback…

It was Voldemort that Remus would fight, and fight again—every day for the rest of his life, if he had to—because he would be damned if he allowed yet another generation to grow up in the same world that he had.

Gripping his wand tightly, Remus raised it skyward. "Lumos expulsa," he murmured, and a tiny spark of light floated out of the tip of his wand and spun high into the clouds, leaving a hole in the fading Dark Mark as it passed through it.


Author's Note:

Phew. I think I lost track of how many times I rewrote this chapter. I still don't know if I'm completely satisfied with how it turned out, but I think I'm going to go crazy if I make any more changes.

In other news though, 'Human Spirit' has surpassed 10,000 views! Thank you all so, so much for your support and readership.

Love,
Ari