A/N: enjoy

Chapter 2: Resurrection

The cold rain water began to drip off of his chin as Remus Lupin opened his eyes and stared up to the treetops of the Forbidden Forest. He wasn't sure how he had gotten there. He tried to rack his brain for an answer, but all he could remember was the battle. The castle was crumbling, and then there was Dolohov, and then there was…well…nothing.

He propped himself up onto his forearms and looked down to his robes. They were not the ones he had worn to fight, they were, despite being wet, clean and new with no patches. He recognized them as the ones he liked when he had seen them in the window of a shop in Diagon Alley, during an Order mission. He had never bought them, they were too expensive, but he had said something about them to Dora, well before they were married. How did he get them?

Remus saw the castle through the gaps in the trees. There seemed to be no damage to it, which didn't seem right because Remus could vaguely remember having to dodge rubble during his duel.

Did the duel end up in the forest? He couldn't remember anything past Dolohov. How much time had passed since the battle? Were people looking for them? He could only imagine the fear that must have swept over Dora when he didn't return home.

Remus began to push himself from the sodden ground when he heard some stirring next to him. He snapped his head around to look for the source of the noise. If he was standing, he would have fallen when he discovered that the source of the noise was his dead best friend, Sirius Black. Now, Remus was certain that Sirius had nothing to do with the battle.

That's when he realized- he wasn't going to be returning home to his wife and son at all- he was dead. Remus hadn't given the afterlife much thought, but the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts did not seem right.

"What the fuck happened to you," said Sirius.

"I-I think I died," Remus stuttered. He had never thought he would hear his friend's voice again.

"To your forehead, you git," said Sirius, exasperated.

Remus reached his temple and felt a rather deep gash. When he pulled his hand away, blood, thinned by the rain water, appeared on his fingertips before being washed away. It must have been the battle.

"Is this the after life," Remus asked Sirius.

"What are you on about," asked Sirius, confused. "The last thing I remember was the Department of Mysteries and… is Harry okay?"

"He was after that," Remus assured him. "But Pads, that was nearly two years ago. You were dead, and now you're here, with me, so I must be dead."

"I don't know about you, Moony," said another voice from behind them. Yes, dead. They were most definitely dead, because how else would they be talking to James Potter. "I feel pretty alive." A puzzled look appeared on his face. "Why does Moony look old- I mean older than normal- no offense, Remus. And, Pads…don't take this the wrong way, but you look dreadful, mate. What happened to you?"

"Azkaban," explained Sirius simply.

"Azkaban," James asked, horrified. "For what?"

"Long story," said Sirius, "I'll tell you later. Remus just informed me that we're dead. Well, we've known that you've been dead, Prongs, but I just found out that I died two years ago, and Remus is here so he is dead too."

"I-I'm dead," said James. "Are Harry and Lily okay?"

"I'm a bit confused," said another voice, a femenine one this time. Without a doubt, Remus was dead. "But, I'm okay."

James stared at Lily, but not in awe as Remus was used to seeing- a long time ago now. This time it was guilt that plagued his expression as he scrunched his face, trying not to cry.

Lily looked to Remus, "what's happened to Harry?"

"I dunno," Remus replied, his mouth suddenly going dry. "But, I know we're dead, so if he's not with us, he must be fine."

"Small comfort," said James. Remus could only shrug in response; it was, after all, a very weird conversation. It did, however, serve as a comfort for Remus: if Dora wasn't with him, she must be alive.

"What happened to you, Remus," asked Lily as she stepped forward to press two fingers to his gashed forehead. Remus stilled completely as her fingers made contact with his skin, just as they would've if he were alive. All three of them were staring at him, of course, he was the one who had lived the longest, the one who knew the most.

"It's…err…quite a long story, and I promise to tell you everything, but we should really look around, see if we find anyone else," said Remus.

Looking towards the castle, Remus could see smoke in the short distance now that the rain was slowing down. There wasn't enough smoke that he could contribute to the battle, so he assumed that it was coming from Hagrid's hut. That guess reigned true when he saw the thick, untamed hair, which seemed to contain streaks of gray that Remus hadn't remembered, of the giant on the ground, below the smoke filled chimney.

Was Hagrid dead too? How little time had passed for Lily, James, and Sirius to not even notice that they were dead? Were they even dead at all?

They'd have to be. Remus's three dead best friends couldn't just appear, alive and well, in the Forbidden Forest on a regular Saturday.

The four of them made their way towards the hut quietly, careful to not step on any twigs or branches that could snap. The rain had fully stopped by the time they had exited the forest, but Hagrid was no longer there. Instead, he was walking further towards the castle, a small girl with blonde hair in tow.

"Do we go into the castle," asked Lily.

"I mean, why not," said James. "If we're all dead here then it won't be weird; and if they're alive and we're dead, they won't be able to see us anyways."

"It could also give us an idea for how much time has passed, since each of us…you know," Sirius trailed off.

The five of them continued up the pathway to the castle, keeping their distance from Hagrid and whoever the little girl was. Remus hoped she was just a first year, caught out of bed during the night, doing the same thing that he, Sirius, James, and Peter once did. He hoped she wasn't another casualty of the war.

They followed the pair into the entrance hall of the castle. The entrance bore no noticeable changes to it, and neither did the great hall adjacent to it.

Remus turned towards the stairs and gazed up at them to see where Hagrid and the girl had gone, only they weren't on the stairs. The only person there to meet Remus's gaze was the stern figure of Minerva McGonagall, a look of absolute shock painted on her face as she stared down at the four of them.

"Evening," said James. "What's going on Professor?"

"I should ask you all the same question," said McGonagall as she grew paler with each syllable.

The headmistress's office hadn't changed much from what Remus remembered. The only differences were the additions of Albus Dumbledore's portrait, which Remus never had gotten the chance to see, and Severus Snape's portrait, which Remus was surprised to see was hanging after the controversial installment of the former headmaster. Although, in all fairness, Snape was not the only headmaster to have shared the same ideals to be displayed on the wall.

"I really do need to get answers out of you all, but I suppose you all have questions of your own," began McGonagall. "I'll try to make it as quick as possible, as I presume that you, Remus, are trying to check on your son."

"His son," Sirius asked, baffled, one eyebrow raised expectantly.

Remus ignored him as a pit was beginning to form in his stomach, "Teddy's here?"

"Well of course," said McGonagall. "He had to receive an education eventually, did he not?"

"Professor," Lily piped up, "we understand that we're dead, but is everyone else here-"

"That's the issue here, Mrs. Potter," McGonagall cut in. "You've all been dead for many years, some of you more than others, but now you're all quite…solid. This sort of thing is never supposed to happen; there is no known way to bring back the dead, but here you all are."

"What year is it," asked Lily.

"The date is October 30, 2011," responded McGonagall carefully.

"We've been dead for thirty years," exclaimed James. "My son is thirty-one years old! He was one yesterday!"

"I'm very sorry," said McGonagall sorrowfully.

Remus could understand where he was coming from- he afterall, now had a thirteen year old son, who, as of two hours ago, was six days old.

"My son is still alive, right Minnie," asked James.

"Harry is very much alive, Mr. Potter," responded McGonagall. "Last I spoke with him, he was doing rather alright for himself."

"So he did it then," asked Remus.

"Indeed, Mr. Lupin," responded McGonagall. "Now, while it is lovely to have all of you, I must ask, do any of you know how you ended up here?"

"Honestly, Minnie, we just woke up in the Forbidden forest," Sirius answered.

"And you only remember what was happening right before you died, nothing else, correct," asked McGonagall. The four of them nodded. "I have no clue how you all got here, but it would be of everyone's best interests to keep this as secretive as possible. I will notify your families, as well as Kingsley Shacklebolt- the minister, and a select few Hogwarts staff, other than that, you are all still dead until further notice." The four of them nodded once again. "I'm going to take you all up to the hospital wing, some of you appear to need some medical attention, and Remus, I do think someone up there will be quite thrilled to see you."

The climb up to the hospital wing was one that Remus was all too familiar with, even if he could barely remember it half of the time. Vague memories of his barely conscious form being taken up the steps by a professor, and later his friends, were buried into his memory. They were memories that he treasured when James and Lily were dead and Sirius was imprisoned, when he was all alone.

The hospital wing hadn't changed much either. The beds were lined up the same way, the potions still stacked neatly along the back wall, and the matron was still the same- if a bit frightened at the moment.

"What…" said Madam Pomfrey upon the group's entrance into the room.

"I will be happy to explain what I know to you outside, Poppy, but will you please update me on Mr. Lupin's state."

"Wha- oh right. Well, Minerva, he's alright. We were lucky the lightning didn't strike him directly, or else his state would be much worse. We were also lucky that Hagrid and Miss Weasley brought him in as quickly as they had."

"Teddy was struck by lightning," asked Remus.

Madam Pomfrey nodded, "well, his robe had gotten caught on a metal cage, and the cage was what was struck by lightning, but he was shocked pretty good. He will make a full recovery."

"Did you contact the boy's mother," asked McGonagall. Remus' heart leapt in his chest- she had made it through.

"I sent word a few moments ago."

Remus walked down the line of beds until he reached the only occupied one, occupied with a pale faced, teal haired teenageer lying unconscious in the bed. Apparently Dora had been right when the boy was born thirteen years ago, he looked exactly like Remus, aside from the hair of course.

Standing at the foot of the bed, all Remus could do was stare, Teddy had been a baby mere hours ago. To him, Remus had to remind himself. He had missed thirteen years of his son growing up, Teddy hadn't had a dad for thirteen years, and Dora was a widow for thirteen years. And here was Remus again, staring down at his son, who he knows nothing about, while waiting for his widowed wife to walk through the doors. What had stopped her from getting remarried and creating a new life? Absolutely nothing did, so Remus expected it.

He took a seat in the chair at the side of Teddy's bed, continuing to stare down at him. He looked over to see Lily, James, and Sirius standing diagonal to him. Sirius smiled and shook his head upon seeing Teddy's hair.

"He looks exactly like you- the poor bloke," said James jokingly. "What's his name?"

"Teddy," replied Remus. "We named him after my wife's father."

Lily's eyes lit up as her face broke into a wide grin, "you got married?"

"Shocking isn't it," said Sirius sarcastically.

"Well, he was pretty set on the whole dying alone thing, at least when I was alive, he was," said James.

"He was when I died as well," said Sirius. He turned to Remus, "glad you stopped being an arse about it."

From beside him, Teddy began to stir before slowly opening his eyes. He blinked a few times for his eyes to adjust to the light before turning on his side to face Remus. He blinked a few more times before realizing that, yes, his dead father was, in fact, sitting at his bedside. Remus's heart sped up in his chest, pounding hard on his ribcage as if it were trying to break free.

"Dad," Teddy croaked, clearly confused.

"Hello," Remus replied weakly, his throat having gone dry again. He looked back to where his friends had been standing, only to see that they weren't there, so he returned his attention to Teddy.

"A-am I dead," asked Teddy.

"Far from it actually," said Remus. "It's quite a long story, that I don't even understand at this point, but I've been resurrected- I suppose."

"Wicked," said Teddy with a grin, even if he was incredibly confused.

"How are you feeling," Remus asked awkwardly.

"Sore," replied Teddy. "Do you know what happened exactly?"

"I know that you were indirectly struck by lightning," said Remus. "Do you want Madam Pomfrey to get you a potion to help with the pain? Believe me, I know she has plenty of those."

"Erm, no I'm fine," Teddy replied. They were silent for a moment before he spoke again, "I'm sorry, but can we stop pretending this is normal?"

"That's fine," said Remus.

"I mean, you've been dead for pretty much my entire life, and now you're suddenly here," asked Teddy. "I'm not saying that it's a bad thing- I'm just…confused."

"You and I both," said Remus. "For me, there was no gap between thirteen years ago and now. I basically went to sleep and woke up like it was a normal night's sleep, and suddenly I found out that I had been dead for thirteen years and had a teenage son, who was only a baby mere hours ago."

"Nothing happened in between then," Teddy asked. "Like no remembrance of an afterlife or anything."

"If something did, I don't remember it," said Remus. They fell into silence again. "I really don't know what to do here, Teddy. You're my son and I know nothing about you, I have no clue what to even talk to you about."

Teddy opened his mouth to speak again but paused when the creaking of the large door echoed across the room.

Remus watched as the heavy wooden door slowly creaked open before Nymphadora Tonks stepped inside the hospital wing. She hadn't aged that much- or maybe she had and she was morphing it away. She did, however, look as stunning as she had when Remus last saw her. Her hair was its usual shade of pink and it hung just above her shoulders. While she didn't look older, the way she carried herself, in her posture and stance, suggested that she had definitely matured since Remus died. Not that she was immature before, far from it, but becoming a widow at twenty-five would have changed her, Remus presumed.

Tonks must've been prepared for who she would see in the hospital wing with her because she was not as shocked as Remus thought she would be. She was still, however, considerably shocked- but who wouldn't be as they stared into a room and saw their dead husband and his dead friends very much alive.

She began to slowly and cautiously walk towards him as though he were going to vanish at any moment, which, to be fair, was a possibility. When she reached him, she could only stare up at him, she did not speak nor reach out to him.

"Say something," Remus requested. Tonks shook her head slightly.

"I don't know what to say," she responded, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. Remus wrapped his arms around her shoulders and at the same time she circled her arms around his waist. He rested his chin on top of her head as he, too, began to cry.

Tonks pulled away from him a few moments later before wiping a few stray tears from her face and turning towards Teddy, "how are you feeling?"

"Sore…confused," he replied. "This is really weird."

"It is a bit, isn't it," she replied, sitting down in the chair Remus had been using. He pulled another chair next to her and sat down. "Are you alright with it? I mean- as alright as you can be."

"I-I guess, '' answered Teddy. "It's just…" Tears began to well up in his glassy eyes before cascading their way down his cheeks. He shuffled in his bed to allow himself to rest his cheek on his mother's chest as she held him to her.

Remus didn't know what to do. At this moment, no matter how much he didn't want to admit it, his son was a stranger to him. He had missed him growing up and has no idea the kind of person he is- what he likes, who his friends are, nothing. This left him lamely sitting there, watching his wife comfort his son that she had to raise without him.

Eventually, he opted to throw an arm around Tonks' shoulders.. She first tensed at his touch before relaxing into it, like she always had.

Remus looked over to the others, standing on the opposite end of the room, closer to the door. They were all looking at the three of them. Of course they would be, none of them knew until this moment that he was married and a father. Even so, he never had much time with Teddy, especially not at thirteen.

It was odd for him to realize that his friends were going to meet his family. Of course, Sirius knew Tonks well before Remus had even met her. But James and Lily, he never thought of the prospect of getting to introduce Tonks to them. Sure, he had always said that he would have wanted them to meet her, but that never felt possible until today.

Their attention was taken away from the small family when the large hospital wing doors opened again. Professor McGonagall stepped inside again, but this time she wasn't alone. She was followed by a very startled Harry Potter and Kingsley Shacklebolt.