Interlude 4, The Final (You're looking well for a dead man)
He stirred slowly, feeling uncomfortable on the hard ground. With a yawn he stretched, wincing as his back clicked slightly. Remus brushed a couple of pieces of soil off his cheek and got to his feet.
He stared around, keen eyes trying to see phantom shapes in the darkness. It would be stupidity to try and find anything in the impenetrable gloom.
He sat on the dusty ground, clutching his knees to his chest and waited.
The first rays of light were so subtle that he did not notice the darkness lifting until at last the moon hung in the sky and the land was completely lit.
It was not the same milky light that the moon usually issued but the clear brightness of the sun. Shaking his head slowly, Remus got up and looked around him once more.
He could see something this time; on the horizon of the desert plain was a shimmering wall.
His mouth dry and his feet bare, Remus started off at a jog towards the wall. Every step burned his soles yet every centimetre closer filled him with a greatest sense of fear and euphoric joy.
As he drew closer he could see forms through the silver wall. Tall and wraithlike, these people drifted along the boundary, pale hands occasionally lifting up to touch it.
After over an hour of running Remus came to the wall. His lips were covered in white moisture, his hands were covered with small stones and his knees were bleeding.
For the first time he looked down and realised that he was wearing one of those awful muggle hospital gowns. It was a pale shade of green that reminded the werewolf of the kitchen in his little cottage and he had a sudden pang of homesickness.
He reached out his grazed hands and tried to touch the wall. His palms met what seemed almost like jelly in consistency, but it shimmered and glowed unlike the gelatinous dessert.
As he did so he gave out a soft gasp of pain. Again there was that burning sensation. He pulled his hands back to examine them and found that instead of being scorched or blackened, they looked younger.
Lupin leapt nearly a foot in the ear when he heard a dreamy sounding voice calling his name. "Moony…"
A palm rested against the other side of the wall, opposite where his had just been the other moment. Remus traced the hand up an arm and onto a torso where he met a set of smiling teeth.
"Merlin's Beard," he muttered as he stared into Sirius' youthful face. "You look well for a dead man."
"Us dead people are pretty vain, it seems," Sirius replied, his blue eyes twinkling now that he carried not the troubles of life. "We don't want to spend immortality looking like our corpse."
"Some are more vain than others, it seems," a slightly sardonic voice added.
Remus found himself crying as he met a pair of emerald eyes that were so recognisable. He had grown so used to see them on Harry's face that he forgot that they were even more stunning on his mother.
"Lily Evans," he said, not noticing what came out of his mouth and just staring at her. He wanted to rush through the wall and embrace her tightly.
"A close rival for the position as the world's vainest Gryffindor," another voice added.
He rested his face against the border between the realms, not noticing the burning sensation and just drinking in the handsome features of James Potter's face. Without realising it, he was listing the similarities and differences between the father and the son.
"But Prongs, that was always you," the lycanthrope said, glad to find a smile coming to his face. He had missed the banter between the four of them. "How many hours was it, Padfoot?"
Sirius threw back his head of glossy hair and laughed loudly, a sound that rudely interrupted the reverend silence of the Dead. "One hour and forty-five minutes of trying to get his hair straight. He used gel, water, numerous spells, even tying things to the end of his hair to weigh it down."
Lily grinned at her husband. Then the three Dead's faces sobered. "Why are you still here, Moony?"
"I miss you all so much. Sirius, why did you have to leave me?"
"You have Harry now, there was no point in me hanging around in the vain hope that you would ever love me as much as him," there was no bitterness in his voice, just sad disappointment.
"Of course I love you, Padfoot!" this time his hand went all the way through the wall and he felt a cold chill running up his arm. He could see his hand growing paler and paler.
Sirius quickly pushed him away. "No." He came free of the wall with a 'shtuck' sound. "I know you love me, but never as more than a friend."
"Remus Lupin, you insensitive bastard," James said, his voice playful, although there was deep seriousness in his hazel eyes. "Go back to my son, now, or I'll make sure that you wish you were truly dead."
Seeing his indecision Lily smiled brightly. "Harry hasn't been this happy for a long while- he deserves some comfort in his life, and if you're the one to bring it then so be it. Who are we to deny him this chance at love?"
Sirius nodded emphatically. "Besides, if you dare die now, we'll ignore you for eternity."
Remus nodded slowly, feeling his feet moving backwards without his thinking it. "You'll be here when I come back? Right here." He pointed to the ground quickly as his feet moved quicker.
They all nodded. "Have a safe journey back, Remus!" Lily shouted.
"Give our love to Harry!" James called.
"And don't you dare feel guilty, you silly bastard!" Sirius finished.
Remus felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and with a final wave towards them he turned and ran. He ran underneath the Full Moon, his feet swift as a deer.
On this horizon he could see a doorway. The door was shut, but through the gaps between the wood and the frame, he could see blinding light.
He grasped hold of the doorknob and turned it. The light blinded him as he stepped through the door.
The light hurt his tired eyes and he instantly screwed them up again, trying to hide them from the intense scrutiny of the hospital lights.
With a muffled groan he buried his head in the pillow. Swallowing he forced moisture into his dry throat and managed a dry croak, "Turn the lights off."
He heard a familiar chuckle then he knew the lights were off. Turning over he stared up at the person that stood over him, their pale face illuminated by the neon lamps of the city that filtered through the window.
"Why the heck are you here?" Remus muttered to Snape.
"Dumbledore couldn't resist getting the Order to trot out for a final mission, pathetic as it is. I'll inform Potter that you're awake, you might want to muffle your hearing, no doubt he'll be loud."
With a swish of clothing Snape left the room.
Lupin rested his eyes, breathing deeply and reassuring himself that he was alive, with the touch of the bed linen against his skin.
Someone dashed into the room. "Harry?" he asked, finally opening his eyes to look upon the eighteen-year-old.
The young man looked world-weary, his face pale and his lips in a straight line. Harry frowned for a moment then a smile lit up his face. He dashed into Remus' open arms and they stayed there for some while, just content with the feel of the other's body against their own.
"Everything's okay now," Remus reassured him with a brief kiss. "Oh, and Sirius and your parents say hello."
Harry looked baffled for a moment but again he smiled. "I never will understand you, crazy werewolf."
"Would you like me to reveal all of my darkest secrets to you?" Remus' mind was flooded with images of a wet afternoon spent in quiet company.
"No. Just kiss me, you idiot."
He obliged.
Here the account ends