The Graveyard
Empty eyes scan the graveyard
Nothing to see; yet staring hard
Thinking inane thoughts, dreaming wild dreams…
Desperately trying not to remember
Warding off memories that threaten to resurge
A lone man…the last marauder…the respectable professor…the dreaded werewolf…Fate was running out of clichés to describe the desolate figure standing under the afternoon sun, unaware of his surroundings or himself. Remus Lupin stood at the alcove hidden in the shady porch that overlooked the wizarding cemetery. The weather was undeniably strange…sunny and windy all at once. The scorching heat would have otherwise made him quail and the wind was blowing grains of sand into his eyes, but somehow, his mind barely registered all these facts. Shading his eyes with one hand and clutching his wand with the other, he murmured, "Why'd you have to be impulsive this time, Padfoot? Why couldn't you listen to reason for once?" Willing himself to move, he walked slowly out into the sun, and immediately regretted his decision at a cognitive level. Emotionally though, nothing seemed to matter anymore. He was drained out. They said crying eased the pain, but he didn't feel like crying. He technically didn't feel the pain either. He just felt…numb.
He reached and knelt in front of Sirius' grave. There was no inscription on it. He'd never wanted one. There was instead a charmed picture…of a stag, a dog, a rat and a wolf running around, frolicking in the woods. An identical picture adorned the neighboring headstone- that of James. Under that was a picture of a single white lily. Remus reached out and gently ran his fingers over the picture of the three animagi and the werewolf, trying to outweigh the hate and anger he felt for Wormtail by the strong surge of affection and love he experienced when he thought of his other two cohorts. Somehow, he thought wryly, it was much easier to express emotions towards the living than the dead. A sense of suffocation overtook him, as once more, memories threatened to take their toll on him. With a sigh, he got up and walked out of the premises.