Prompt: Stars - Write about a character placed in a situation where a decision needs to be made quickly

Position: Seeker

Word Count: 1,503

To Live or to Die

Remus should be used to it. Used to those split-second decisions you have to make, and then deal with whatever consequences follow, good or bad. And if you choose wrong, the consequences can be devastating. Granted, Sirius and James were always better at making those decisions. Remus himself tried to keep out of trouble, and Peter just stayed in the background. Still, he should be used to them after all the pranks he pulled during his years at Hogwarts.

But back-to-back with the love of his life, fighting for his life, those past split-second decisions are like ants to the ones he's making now. Remus blocks another Killing Curse as it comes flying at them. He takes a moment to look around, not liking what he sees.

"We're surrounded," Remus shouts to Tonks as an explosion happens off to his left.

"I can see that, Darling. I'm not blind," Tonks snaps back, using the Blasting Curse on a nearby Death Eater.

She shouts in alarm as her clothing suddenly bursts into flames. Remus yanks Tonks to the ground as three green lights zoom over their heads. Two of them hit their enemies, while the third hits a wall. The stone cracks and crumbles slightly from the impact.

"Expelliarmus," Remus shouts as a wand goes flying out of the unexpecting Death Eater's hand.

"Impedimenta," Tonks yells as another Death Eater is thrust backwards.

The Death Eater's eyes widen in shock as the force knocks his wand out of his hand. He falls to his death, his screams slowly fading. Tonks gasps for breath, sweat droplets roll down her face.

"Look out!"

Tonks barely dodges the red light that zooms by. She whirls around and sends the Full Body-Bind Curse at the idiot who tried to stun her. The Death Eater freezes up and falls to the ground, gaining a broken nose in the process.

"Look out," Remus shouts to Tonks as a Death Eater tries to sneak up on her.

Tonks whirls around and proceeds to punch her in the face. The Death Eater cries out in alarm, stumbling slightly back as she clutches her nose.

"Do you have to keep breaking their noses?" Remus asks.

"Yes! These idiots deserve a broken nose."

Remus chuckles.

"You got any plans?" Tonks asks Remus, backing up so that she's next to him. "I don't know how much long we can hold out."

Remus levels his wand at a Death Eater. The Death Eater smirks, raising his arm and opening his mouth to shout a spell when a loose piece of stone falls on his head, knocking him unconscious.

"Let's go on vacation with Teddy after this is all over," Tonks comments.

"I...uh...what?"

"Maybe we could go to America. I've never been there myself."

"Darling, now's not the time to talk about this."

"Now is the perfect time! Anyways, I heard that there was a Thunderbird conservation place. We should go there."

"Tonks…"

"I mean, there are other places we can visit—"

"Tonks..."

"—and Teddy will have a wonderful time! We—"

"Tonks! We are fighting for our lives! Look, we can talk about this later," Remus tells her as he hits another Death Eater with a stunning spell.

"Fine, fine," Tonks snaps. "We'll talk later. But I'm not giving up on this! You're still taking me and Teddy to America, like it or not!"

"Alright," Remus promises, leveling his wand.

Suddenly, a cloud of dust surrounds them. Remus looks around to find his wife in the haze. He spots Tonks as she takes out another Death Eater with a well-placed Bombarda to the nose, not noticing the one sneaking up behind her. His eyes widen. Before he knows it, his feet are moving as he closes the distance between them.

"No!"

The world seems to slow down. The green light exiting the wand. The crazy smile settling on the Death Eater's face as the light heads straight for Tonks. Tonks turning to watch the spell get closer and closer to her. The certainty that this, at last, is where their story ends.

With his last bit of strength, Remus leaps in front of her.

"Remus, no!"

Remus feels the impact as death slowly settles over him. His eyes widen as he stumbles back into Tonks. Everything starts to turn black. He feels his soul detach and leave his body. He faintly hears Tonk's voice, just seconds before the last of his senses fades away. He tries to make sense of her muddled words, tries to force out a few last words of his own.

"Goodbye... my love. We will meet again."

But before their words can reach each other, he is gone.

Five-year-old Teddy Lupin hurries between the gravestones, looking for a particular one. He clutches the bouquet of colorful flowers as he spots his destination. Teddy smiles as he stops in front of the grave.

"Hi, Papa! We came," he says brightly, turning towards the woman behind him.

"Teddy honey, I know you're excited to see your father, but please stay near me. We can lose sight of each other and that won't be good," Tonks tells her son as she crouches down.

"Sorry, Mummy," Teddy says, slowly shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Tonks smiles, kissing Teddy lightly on the forehead. Teddy giggles as he smiles back at his mother.

"Now then, why don't you give your father the flowers and tell him what you've been up to?"

"Ok!"

Teddy places the flowers in front of Remus's grave. He then sits down and starts talking animatedly about how Uncle Harry visited him the other day and what games they played together. Tonks slowly sits behind Teddy as he goes on about what he's been up to since the last time they visited Remus.

"And Mummy said that we could go to America this summer! She..."

Seated on the cool grass with her son wrapped in her arms, she was physically present, but her mind wandered back to the day they lost Tedd's father. After Remus's sacrifice, she had promptly killed the Death Eater that dared to kill her beloved. Suddenly, a red light shot passed her, hitting the stone wall in front of her. She whirled around to face the Death Eaters, rage clear in her eyes.

"HOW DARE YOU!"

"Avada—"

"Bombarda," Tonks shouted out.

The spell shot out of her wand's tip, landing in front of the Death Eater. He was sent flying back, knocking into another Death Eater. The next few minutes were a blur. Dodging and firing spells. Dodge. Fire. Rolling left. Punching. Fire. Fire. Dodge.

"GAH!"

Tonks watched as the last Death Eater fell. Gasping for breath, she slowly walked towards Remus. She sat next to Remus's pale, cold body. Tears fell down her face as she choked back a sob. She reached out and gently stroked Remus's hair out of his face. She bent down and kissed his forehead, before standing up. Wiping the tears away, Tonks grabbed her wand and started to head down the stairs. There was still a war to fight. She could grieve later.

Tonks is brought out of her thoughts by Teddy's touch. She looks down at her son, who is climbing into her lap.

"It's your turn, Mummy," he tells her.

"It is? Thank you for letting me know," Tonk says as she smiles at her son.

Tonks looks up at the grave, wrapping her arms around Teddy. A small smile graces her lips as she opens her mouth to speak.

"Hello, Darling. It's been a while," Tonks starts off. "We would have been here sooner, but work has been keeping me a bit busy. A lot has happened since we've last visited you."

Tonks sits with her son as she talks to Remus, while Teddy chimes in here and there. What feels like only minutes turns into two hours. The sun grows hot overhead, and Teddy's stomach grumbles loudly. They slowly stand up, neither one wanting to go.

"We'll visit Papa again this coming weekend, alright?" Tonks says as she lifts a tired Teddy up.

"Ok, Mummy," Teddy whispers, his eyes slowly closing.

Tonks smile softly as she takes a couple of steps away.

'I will always love you...my precious family,' a voice whispers as a breeze blows by.

Tonks looks over at Remus's grave to see a ghostly figure there. Remus looks at his wife and son, a smile on his face. He waves farewell as he slowly fades away. A lone tear streaks down Tonks's face. A small smile appears as she turns away from the grave. Tonks walks away, lightly grabbing the necklace she's wearing. She leaves with a little peace of mind that her husband is watching over them.