Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling, Arius is from a video game my bro was playing called Devil May Cry 2, and unfamiliar and previously mentioned ones are mine. BTW, Arius disappears after this chapter, he's irrelevant to the plot except as an evil Uncle.
A/N: Hello all! Well, despite the cheerful ending to the last chapter, this chapter is much worse. Some more angst-y stuff, including an owl, a black envelope and…our Marauders.
Dedication: To Martina McBride's song "Concrete Angel". If you ever get a chance, I highly recommend you to listen to it. Or at least find the lyrics. Just so you understand the dedication, I'll give you a brief summary of it: A little girl is abused by her parents, eventually she's killed from it, and her tombstone is a concrete angel. It's really sad, but that's another story. This chapter is dedicated to the song because this morning (03-03-03) I woke up at 4:14 am to hear this song. It reminded me of something that will happen in the plot later (Will Siri die? Maybe, maybe not.) and so for an hour afterwards, this scene unfolded in my head. It was rather like watching a narrated movie. Then I got back to sleep finally, afraid that I'd forget the scene, but nope, I get to type it and make you bawl from it. Okay, go read now!
The next day was nothing out of the ordinary. The Marauders & Co ate breakfast at the usual time, went to lessons, played a quick prank, ate lunch, went to lessons, did or grumbled over homework, ate dinner, did homework, talked about pranks and went to bed.
If only they had known.
If only they had known that would be the last ordinary day they would have in a long time.
If only they had enjoyed it more.
But they didn't.
They day started off normally. The Marauders and Gus woke, exchanged playful banter, and went down to breakfast. Then the mail arrived.
"What's that?" James asked, pointing to an owl.
Gus went pale. "It's a black envelope."
Three quarters of the Hall waited with baited breath. There hadn't been a black envelope since last year, and now… When it was apparent that the owl was headed for the Gryffindor table, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff sighed in relief, but the Gryffindors were more nervous.
A black envelope was always from the Ministry, to inform someone that a person in their immediate family had been killed in a Death Eater attack. Sirius was afraid, not for himself, but for his friends. He truly didn't care if his parents were dead.
The owl swooped across the table, closer to the Marauders. Not us, Sirius prayed, Please, not us.
The deities weren't listening. The owl dropped the ominous black envelope in front of…Remus. He opened it with shaking hands, read it, and burst into tears. Then he ran out of the Hall.
James and Sirius exchanged a glance. They both reached for the letter, but James let Sirius pick it up. "'Dear Mr. Lupin,
We regret to say that your parents have been the object of attacks by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. We are sorry for your loss.
Ministry of Magic'"
Another owl landed by Remus' plate. James picked up the letter and said, "Come on Sirius, let's go find him."
After they had left the Hall, James asked, "Is your sense of smell good?"
Sirius nodded wordlessly. "This way," he said, leading the way to the boys toilets.
The two boys walked in and heard the sound of someone throwing up and sobbing. After a few minutes, the toilet flushed and Remus stepped out shakily. He slid down to the floor by the sinks and sobbed into his arms.
Sirius and James exchanged another look and instantly crouched down beside Remus. They both patted his shoulders, unsure of what to do or say.
Finally James broke the silence. "I'm really sorry Remus."
"Me too," Sirius added.
Remus nodded through his sobs.
Sirius then said, "You got another letter. It looks important."
"R-read i-it a-aloud," Remus sobbed.
James opened the letter and read, "'Dear Remus,
Your parents' funeral will be next Saturday. On Sunday, their Will will be read. Since you are not of age, you will stay at Hogwarts until the summer except to attend the funeral and hear the Will be read. At this time, you will stay with me. When summer comes, you will be on your own.
Sincerely, Uncle Ar--' I can't pronounce that name."
"'Arius,'" Sirius said.
Remus shuddered, and continued to sob.
Suddenly the bathroom door opened. Dumbledore walked in. "Remus, I am truly sorry about your parents. Did you get a letter from your Uncle Arius?"
Remus, still sobbing, nodded.
"Good. Remus, you are of course excused from classes, as are you Mr.…Black." Dumbledore took Sirius aside and said quietly, "Try to prevent him from sinking into depression."
Sirius nodded,
Dumbledore left, after briefly touching Remus' shoulder. James followed, so he wouldn't be late for class.
Oh God, what am I supposed to say? Sirius thought. He finally decided on nothing that wasn't absolutely necessary. "Come on Remie, let's go up to the dormitory," he said. He felt like kicking himself. I'm being so insensitive! But I just don't know what to say!
Remus nodded and got up and followed Sirius to the Tower.
"Why aren't you in class?" the Fat Lady inquired.
"Bugger off!" Sirius said angrily.
"That's not the password, Mr. Black," she said.
"Bugger off!" Sirius repeated, but did then give the correct password.
He and Remus went up to the dormitory, where Remus flung himself onto his bed and sobbed into his pillow for nearly an hour, Sirius rubbing his shoulder the whole time.
When Remus had run out of tears and was just sniffling occasionally, his face still buried in his pillow, Sirius spoke.
"I know it must be hard," he said. "I really am sorry Remie. I know how much you loved them."
Remus sat up and then spoke, his voice hoarse from crying. "It is hard Sirius. It's strange, you know? One day they're there, the next they aren't." He was silent for a minute, then continued, "You never really expect people to die, until it happens. You think loved ones will live forever, when you're younger at least. I never thought--" his voice broke, then he continued, "I never thought Voldemort would kill my parents. There wasn't really a reason. They weren't powerful, they weren't special, or anything. I guess Voldemort just felt like it. Most of his attacks are for no reason whatsoever."
Sirius sighed and embraced his friend. "I--I guess that's just how it goes sometimes. I wish I knew what to say to help you Remie, but I don't."
"That's all right Siri. You're helping just by being here," Remus said, pain in every part of his voice as he lay back down.
Sirius resumed rubbing Remus' shoulder. After awhile, Remus fell asleep.
~*~
When it was nearly dinnertime, Remus woke. "What time is it?" he asked Sirius, who was still sitting beside him.
"Almost time for dinner," Sirius replied. "Do you feel like eating?"
Remus shook his head. "Not really. I know I should, but…the thought of food makes me want to gag."
Sirius sighed. "That's understandable."
At that moment, Gus and Peter walked into the dormitory. When they saw Remus was awake, the immediately said they were sorry to hear about his parents.
Remus nodded. "Thanks," he said quietly.
"Sirius, are you coming to dinner? You haven't eaten all day," Peter asked.
Sirius fixed Peter with such a fierce glare, the saying 'if looks could kill' seemed to be true. Peter squeaked, rather like his Animagi counterpart and scurried out of the room. Gus, noticing Sirius' look, hightailed it out of there too.
"Sirius, you haven't eaten all day?" Remus asked, concerned. "You didn't have to stay with me."
"Yes, I did Remus. I--I've seen what happens sometimes, after someone loses someone," Sirius said, shuddering.
Remus frowned but didn't press the matter, mostly because he was too caught up in grief.
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The week went by slowly. Remus rarely spoke, rarely ate, rarely slept, rarely did anything at all. Saturday came as a relief to the Marauders & Co, mainly because Remus would be able to get his grief out, and hopefully return back to normal.
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On Monday Remus returned, looking better than he had when he'd left. He went to classes, ate all his meals, and talked to anyone who spoke to him. To many, it looked as if he was over his parents' deaths.
The Marauders knew better. They heard him crying in his sleep sometimes, saw the vacant look his eyes occasionally got. But they also knew he was coping.
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In the beginning of February, Remus mentioned what had been in his parents' Will.
"I thought it odd really, that they had a Will, but my Uncle Arius explained that all adults in the wizarding world had written one up because of the Dark times. My parents left the house and anything in it and half of their Gringotts account to me. The rest went to my Uncle Arius, and some other uncle I've never heard of," Remus told them.
James looked thoughtful. "My Mum mentioned that I think."
"What, Remus' uncle he's never heard of?" Peter asked. He really was that dumb.
Sirius rolled his eyes, exasperated. "No, you prat, the thing about all the adults in the wizarding world making up a Will…right?"
James nodded. "Yeah, that."
Suddenly in the middle of their discussion, Annie and Lily burst into their dormitory. Lily was crying, but Annie was sobbing, hard.
"Annie? What's the matter?" James asked, jumping to his feet and running to his girlfriend, though Sirius could've sworn he was looking at Lily when he said it.
"I--I have terrible news!" Annie burst out.
The others looked at her, gaping.
A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger!! And the short chapter, but the next chapter will be up reasonably soon. In a week, or two.
jeswin: Yes, a sequel. I'm glad you like the friendship, I was thinking it's kinda slashy, but guess not. Will he tell a teacher? Maybe. Is he free? After summer, if he isn't dead, he will be. No Lyra rescuing, and you'll have to see about her staying corrupted. Sirius is the heir of Gryffindor, yes, contrary to everyone saying James and the Potters are. And Crow (Corvus) isn't a Slytherin, he was a Gryffindor, Sirius was just insulting him.
Ciria: Thanks!