Word Count: 866
Albus is hesitant to let Remus be the one to sweep the house after the Aurors have left. He knows that Remus is too close to this, but he also seems to know that there is no stopping him.
"I need this," Remus says softly, and it's so hard not to cry. "Please…"
In the end, Albus seems to understand. "If you need me, you know where to find me."
And so Remus finds himself alone in the house that is all too familiar to him, the house he should have been at the night that tragedy struck. He stops in the living room, his eyes on a photograph near the fireplace. In it, he stands with Frank and Alice. The three of them laugh and smile, and to the untrained eye, they may look like three good friends.
But they are so much more, and that's why it hurts now.
"Oi! Lupin!" Alice Fortescue calls, walking toward him, snow crunching beneath her boots. "I fancy you."
Remus sputters, heat flooding his cheeks. His eyes flicker to where Frank Longbottom stands, and he waits for Frank to yell at him for trying to steal Alice away. Instead, Frank just tucks his hands into his pockets and mutters something about being cold.
"He fancies you too," Alice says, seeming to pick up on Remus' hesitation. She grins, and Remus notices exactly how lovely she is in that moment. "He just isn't as bold. So… Want to date us?"
"How…" Remus clears his throat, trying to figure out exactly how to ask. "How does that work?"
"No idea," she admits. Her grin broadens. "Let's find out, shall we?"
And he doesn't even give it much thought. His consent falls so easily from his lips. Maybe it's unconventional, but he doesn't really mind.
He takes the photo and tucks it into his bag. Augusta has undoubtedly left it behind because she knows exactly how much the three loved one another. While she had never openly condemned them, Remus always had the feeling that she was judging them.
"I just think that if Alice and I get married, Mother will hopefully stop being so… so…"
"Controlling?" Alice supplies helpfully, sliding a waffle onto Remus' plate. "No… That isn't the word I'm looking for…"
None of them seem to have the right word, but it doesn't matter; they know what Frank means. Augusta means well, but she can be so abrasive sometimes.
"I think you're right," Remus says. "Do I get to be your best man?"
"No," Alice says with a snort. "You're going to be my maid of honor."
"Funny," Remus says, and Alice beams.
He moves through the house, looking for anything the Aurors might have overlooked, anything they might not have noticed at all. There are rumors that the Death Eaters responsible have been caught, that they're on their way to Azkaban now. Maybe it's true, but Remus has never cared much for maybes.
He stands in the kitchen. There's a half empty bottle of wine on the counter. It's Remus' favorite, a sweet red with a hint of blackberry. Alice had picked it out just for him after they had learned about James and Lily.
He should have been there. If he hadn't gotten caught up talking to Albus and trying to work out arrangements for his fallen friends, he would have been there. The thought makes him shudder. He could have so easily shared their fate.
Remus slides to the floor, resting against the leg of the chair. Silent tears fall. It's over. Voldemort is gone. Once, they'd made plans for the future and all the wonderful things they would do when the war ended.
They watch as the snow falls outside. Alice bounces on the balls of her feet, her barely noticeable baby bump of a stomach knocking softly against Remus' side. "I want to go somewhere that's always snowy," she says, a faint whine in her voice.
Frank appears behind them, handing Alice a cup of cocoa first, then Remus. He disappears again and returns with his own cup. "You hate the snow," he says, laughing softly.
"No, I love the snow," Alice corrects. "I hate the cold."
Remus shakes his head. "Must be that Alice logic," he teases, earning a chuckle from Frank and a withering glare from Alice. "What? You know snow is cold, right?"
She playfully slaps his arm. "Hush, you. When all this is over, I want to go somewhere. Let's see the Aurora Borealis," she says.
"I've always wanted to hike Machu Picchu," Frank says.
And it goes on like that. The three of them sip their cocoa as snowflakes dance in the wind outside. By the time it's all said and done, they've planned out a dozen future trips, and Remus is certain they have at least another planned as well.
He just grins because he would love to see the world with his partners and their child.
Now he is alone at the end of the war. James, Lily, and Peter are dead. Sirius has betrayed them. Frank and Alice have been tortured into insanity.
Now, it is just Remus, and he doesn't know what to do.