Tie Your Heart at Night to Mine, Love
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
The Memorial Day crept up on Remus as a snake upon its victim: slow in the arrival yet deadly in its lunge. His sober attire, the least worn piece in his wardrobe, was aired out and set aside days before the day, and became the first thing his eyes focused on as he awoke. He stared at them, neatly folded atop the chair beside his bed, and wished he could close his eyes and join his friends in their oblivion.
Not that he could. Not that any merciful power would allow it.
Today was the day that the Wizarding World would honor their dead and move on to a better future. Such promise, however, was not extended to those of his kind. The only resemblance of a better future for him would include making sure his mate was safe and happy…with someone else. The only promising thing of the day, Remus mused as he put on his shoes, was that Hermione would be there, still an unofficial member of the Weasley family.
Or so he hoped.
Pushing away all murderous thoughts concerning a certain redheaded boy, he dressed himself and chanced a look at his appearance. The old mirror reflected a battered face, his lusterless skin marred with scars and an occasional gray amidst his sandy blond hair. And yet there were noticeable laugh lines as well. He wondered when they had formed. Were they exclusively from his time as a student, running around with the other Marauders and watching James' disastrous attempts to seduce Lily? Perhaps from the time Sirius enchanted every armor in the castle to dance La Macarena (the only muggle song he knew then) on the Slytherin table, to the despair of proud, pompous slytherins everywhere?
But then he knew they weren't. His lips twitched with a smile at the mere memory of waking up to find Hermione in his cot, sleeping peacefully by his side as if she had always belonged there. If he were to be truly honest, there had been a smile for every time she furrowed her eyebrows, a smirk whenever she worried her lower lip, and a snicker for all the times she took a teasing seriously.
There had been few lights in the darkness of his existence.
Hermione was his own private sun.
And it was her warmth that Remus wished he could conjure as he apparated directly to Hogwarts, right outside the Greenhouses. The Monument to the Light wasn't far from them – it had been placed to the east of the castle, right where the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest met the margins of the Black Lake. The walk there wasn't tiring and once he arrived he stepped through an archway, his gaze transfixed.
A stone pedestal stood at the center. Runic inscriptions had been engraved on each side, but it was the fire that drew Remus' attention. Perfectly above the pedestal yet not quite touching it was a Phoenix. Made from Everlasting Fire, a very powerful and ancient magic, the open-winged animal floated, its feathers burning in vivid tones of red, orange, and yellow and a long tail curled under its body swaying mere inches above the stone.
Unlike the real bird, this Phoenix was made to rebirth at its strongest, likely as a symbol to the lives extinguished before their time.
It took Remus quite an effort to divert his gaze from it and focus on the structure around it. High stone arches circled it as a temple, but there were no doors or ceiling and the space was broad enough to match the Great Hall, surpass it even. The walls between the arches were also engraved – on them were etched the names of women, children and men–wizard or otherwise–whose lives had been lost because of Voldemort and his followers.
The victims were many.
Remus walked to the wall to the Phoenix' left and the reason for the absence of doors and ceilings became clear: the suffocating feeling that came with the recognition of a name. Earleen Abbott, Edgar Bones, Caradoc Dearborn… None of them were close to Remus, and yet…
"Why did they put an R there?" The question startled him, and he turned to find the Trio standing in front of the pedestal, apparently still oblivious to his presence.
"Honestly…It's not an 'R', Ron, it's a rune. That's Raidho, it means travel or journey."
"Travel?" Ronald asked, the puzzlement adding a high-pitch to his voice, "Why? It's not like they're going anywhere now."
Hermione snorted, but Harry was first to address his friend's callousness. "Aren't they? I don't know… I kinda think they are."
Other Weasley's arrived and the Trio looked around, spotting him as well. Hermione smiled at him, but it didn't reach her eyes. She and Harry shared a glance before she nudged Ronald's shoulder. "Let's go with Ginny."
Remus turned to face the wall, as he waited for Harry to break the silence. The boy – man, now – walked over to his side.
"Sirius' name isn't there." Harry said, interrupting Remus' search along the first four stone walls. The list of names indicated an alphabetical order, and he should've spotted Sirius' somewhere before the Bones family. "I… I asked Professor McGonagall to place it next to my parents'."
"That was very considerate of you, Harry. There's nothing Sirius would've liked more."
There was a pause.
"I'm glad I didn't have to put yours there as well."
Remus chuckled and patted Harry's shoulder. "I'm not quite sure why I'm still here."
"I don't think my parents or Sirius would want you to die, Remus. I saw them, you know," Harry looked down, "The day of the battle. They were there with me. With us. Sirius said… Sirius said it didn't hurt. "
Remus swallowed.
"I'm sure they were, Harry, that they still are. But it's just hard, feeling as if you lost all your friends."
"You haven't, you know. You lost some of them."
Tonks and her mother greeted him when they arrived. The place was now filled. Bane and Firenze made a quick appearance before returning to the Forbidden Forest. Sevan, one of the centaurs who fought and died during the Battle of Hogwarts, had his name etched on the wall along with those of wizards and muggles who were killed.
After his conversation with Harry, Remus and Hermione hadn't had the opportunity to talk as she remained mainly with Harry and the Weasley's. And yet, as Minerva prepared herself for the speech, Hermione disappeared from sight.
Remus scanned the flock of redheads to no avail. Neville and his grandma were accompanied by Luna and her father, as they stood beside Alice and Frank's names. Although still alive, the essence of those tortured till madness was lost, and, therefore, the memory of their sacrifice had also been engraved. But Hermione was nowhere near the Longbottom's.
He felt her then, rather than saw her. Her fingers were cold as they slid down his palm and interlocked with his own. His heartbeat increased and a foolish fear of exhaling and scaring her off took over him. He must've tensed because she looked up at him with a half-smile and squeezed his hand reassuringly. It was a soothing gesture, one that held the risk of tainting her if anyone were to notice. He should refuse it, let go of her hand and keep her at an arm's distance, farther even. But the seconds slipped by and he found himself unable to. He exhaled and she didn't run, he inhaled and still the crowd seemed either unaware or uncaring that a werewolf was holding hands with a witch. And Remus allowed himself, just for the moment, to take comfort in her. He needed this, and somehow Hermione had known it.
Minerva captured everyone's attention, as she stood with her back to the Phoenix, with Hagrid just beside her. It would be a short speech, Remus gathered. Not that it meant it would be an empty formality, quite the contrary in fact. Teaching at Hogwarts, even if was for only a year, had given him a sample of how precious it is to watch children become skillful witches and wizards – and, more importantly, to discover their strength and forge their loyalties to the ones they love. And no other teacher there had lost so many students as Minerva.
She would not forget. Not a single one. Not a face, a grade, or a prank. It would be a short speech because loss can silence words, and words are merely that – they do reality no justice.
"We have come here today to honor the memory of fallen heroes," She said to the utter silence around her. "We ought not to, however. It is unjust and cruel for freedom to require death as a reminder of its own frailty. The taste of victory is not sweet in the face of such significant loss.
"They granted us a delicate gift. A deceitful one as well, since in time it will feel easy and natural to be free. It is not. Our freedom was not free. We have lost brave men and women, and their bravery should never be forgotten – it must stay with us, as their memories always will, and give us the strength to never stop fighting for what is right."
As she spoke the last words, there was a collective explosion. Wands were drawn everywhere with the speed reserved to those who had known war. But the flashes this time–green, red, purple as they had been that day–flew upward felling no-one, but instead sprinkling the sky with fireworks. The wands were dropped as the sparks took the form of faces.
Soon the sky was filled with people waving and smiling down. Right above him were James' parents, James himself, Lily, and Sirius. The latter winked at him and smirked while the other four waved excitedly.
Silent tears ran down his face, but Remus made sure to wipe them for fear of missing a single second of it. At his side, Hermione was also crying, holding his hand tight and looking all around.
The first person to break down with sobs was the youngest Weasley. Fred's mischievous face was up in the sky, yet she ran from the spot, crying out in a choked voice, "Ge-George!"
The other Weasley twin was standing behind the Phoenix wand in hand when she flung herself at him and knocked them to the ground. George stroke Ginny's hair as she seemed unwilling to let go of him. Soon, the whole Weasley family was around them.
Bill helped them up, and George addressed the crowd. "The fireworks are charmed. You can come whenever you want and speak to them. Just…just touch their name on the wall and they'll show."
"So that's what he was doing." Hermione whispered. Remus looked down at her, two fresh tears ran down ran down her face as she clarified, "George wouldn't leave his room or talk to anyone since the battle. This is the first time any of us sees him."
Witches and wizards went to him, shaking his hand, patting his back, expressing their gratitude. He would nod, not with the cockiness he once shared with his brother, but with the gravity of shared loss.
Slowly the crowd dispersed, but no one seemed ready to leave. Hermione was no longer holding Remus' hand when he heard her asking, "What is she doing here?"
A/N: Hey there! A very late Merry X-mas and Happy New Year to all of you!
Sorry this chapter took so long! Things went awry last month, I fell victim to a hacked shopping website and I needed some time to work things out (read: do police work in their place to track down the account my money went to and then get the bank to return it to me). Hopefully December went better for you guys!
I wanted to write a happy chapter, to cheer us up from the loss of Alan Rickman, but I couldn't make the story progress any other way… :(
I really hope you like it nonetheless. And may heaven look a bit like Hogwarts, so that magic always stays with him.
Licorice Snap to…
My reviewers: Argella Storm, rosesnblueberries, SereniteRose and Buffalochip.
To Caleb66, ElenorL, Crazy4Pyro, aggy73, History's Rose, bookworm1096, I'mImmortal, coalminerwifeky, MourningMonday, Helfinna, Haveyoumetshinx, Blood Red Gun, rikkibilly08, Jakob20156, Anya Rebel, hvnsllbbygrl and mystic23 for adding the story to their favorites.
And to Caleb66, Slythgurl12, ElenorL, cellorocksmyworld, alliesmithok, BookWormmy, vampiregirlz1, bzsilver, aggy73, rosal-silvestre, History's Rose, italytigger, Lisa60860, flowerspring, I'mImmortal, laisvega, arizonadaydreamer, AkaNoKarasu, cattie13, tmiller, Buffalochip, Helfinna, Haveyoumetshinx, Rockinrachy, Blood Red Gun, sonick, BKPandicorn, MackenziePendragon, GuessWho-01, Tally B, Snape'sburd, Imagine Creatively, Jakob20156 andfor following the story.
Thank you so much! Please review :)