The next few days were the hardest of their lives. Coming to terms with Chloe's death wasn't going to be easy, and they all knew it.

On New Years Eve, James and Sirius did not host a party in the Gryffindor common room, a first for them.

The date of the funeral came all too soon. Chloe's memory was all too fresh in their minds as they took a Portkey from Dumbledore's office to the Rogers mansion.

They took their seats at the outside gathering. Melissa slipped a box of tissues out of her bag and nudged Lily gently, "I brought tissues."

Lily sniffed and nodded, reaching for a tissue, "I don't know if I can do this, Mel."

Mel placed a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder and spoke in a reassuring voice, "Lily Evans; you are one of the strongest witches I know. If anyone can get through this, you can."

The seven had discussed who was going to speak at her funeral, and had decided that Lily, Kendra and Peter would speak.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys," the funeral director announced, standing at the wooden podium at the front of the group of chairs which were taken up by family and friends of Chloe.

"We are brought here today by the death of Chloe Rogers, a sixteen year old girl who did not deserve to die. Although this is a very hard time for all of you, I urge you to remember Chloe with fond memories and a happy heart, as this is what she would have wanted. Now I would like to welcome our first speaker; Chloe's mother - Julie Rogers!"

A tall, brunette woman stood up from her seat at the front and made her way to the podium. Once she reached the podium, she placed her speech papers on the podium and wiped her eyes.

She had the full sympathy of the crowd.

She took a deep breath and began, "Chloe was a courageous and amazing young woman and a perfect daughter. Now I'm not saying we didn't have our fights now and then," she added hastily, drawing a feeble laugh from her audience, "But she would always come back to me and readily forgive me, and I her. She learnt from her mistakes and she lived life to its fullest. She loved a lot of people - her family, friends and her boyfriend, Peter. I want all of you to remember Chloe as a wonderful and talented girl that gave this world something special - her love."

The small crowd clapped as Mrs Rogers walked back to her seat, her body shaking visibly.

Lily was next. She walked up and placed a sheet of paper on the podium, and then began to speak into the microphone, "Chloe was one of my dearest friends in Hogwarts and it's going to be hard without her. I have watched her grow for a good six years and in that time she has changed from a timid, little girl into a remarkable and accomplished young woman. We all loved her very much and I know that she will be sorely missed by many within and out of Hogwarts. I wish that we could turn the clock back and see Chloe again, but that isn't possible. We need to be strong for her now, and know that she is still there for us in spirit because that's how she would have wanted it to be. Thank you."

She walked back to her seat, silent tears rolling down her cheeks. Mel looked at her sympathetically and pointed to the tissues.

Chloe's big brother, Nathan Rogers now stood up and began walking slowly towards the podium. When he reached it, he sighed heavily and began to speak.

"My little sister. God, she could be annoying. We fought like, well, brothers and sisters do, but underneath it we both loved each other and we were the best of friends. She came to me to talk about things that were bothering her, like when she liked a boy and wasn't sure if he liked her for the right reasons." He said, glancing at Peter meaningfully. "I feel like finding the sick people who are responsible for killing her and giving them a hard hit to the head, but I know she wouldn't want that. I know she'd want me to remember her in a good way and make the most of my life like she did and was going to. Thank you all for coming here today and mourning for my little sis' - Chloe Rogers."

He walked back to his seat and Kendra stood up reluctantly, her face screwed up.

"She was my best friend," Kendra choked out, her eyes streaming, "I loved her like a sister and I owe her so much. She was the perfect friend and she never took advantage of anybody. She didn't deserve to die and I wish that she hadn't. True friendship doesn't come around often and when it does, it is something special to cherish and nurture. With Chloe's death, I have lost my best friend and I only hope she is happy right now and that she can see us. Chloe-" she sobbed brokenly, breaking down and running from the podium. She couldn't do it. Chloe couldn't be gone, she just couldn't! She felt sheer frustration and loneliness and she ran. She ran into the garden and sat down by a large tree, crying uncontrollably.

She needed to be alone.

Back at the funeral, Remus started after her, but James put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't," he breathed, "She needs time."

Remus nodded and pushed Peter up, "C'mon mate. Do this to remember her."

Peter stood up awkwardly and made his way to the podium. "I love you, Chloe. I love you because you're funny, pretty, smart, nice and caring. Sound familiar? Yeah, that's what I said to you just before we started dating. You thought that I only liked you because you were a pureblood. Well that's not true and you know it. You shouldn't have had to die, and I'm sorry that you did… I'm going to miss you and the time we could have spent together."

He walked back to his seat quietly, feeling shame and regret for his actions. He could have stopped them. He was in Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake, so why had he acted like such a coward?

The funeral was nearly finished, so Remus decided to seek out Kendra and talk to her to try and make her feel better. He strode through the garden looking for her, and finally finding her seated under a tree. He saw her curled up in a ball, her face hidden and looking utterly pitiful. He sat down beside her and cradled her in his arms gently, as if she were a china doll. She whimpered, the sound chilling him to the bone.

"I don't know what to say, KJ," he conceded finally, searching for the words he needed, "She shouldn't have died and I know you miss her a lot. But the thing is, you have to accept that she is really gone. You can't live in the past forever. I know it's only been ten days, but at some point you have to understand that she's dead and not coming back."

"I can't!" she said, frustrated, "She can't be dead!"

"You don't want to let go of her, but you have to."

She shrugged off his warm embrace and turned away, facing away from him, "No I don't!"

"Kendra! See sense!" he pleaded earnestly.

"I have," she replied stubbornly, huffing at his persistence.

"Come on Kendra! You have your whole life ahead of you, so why must you insist on wasting part of it on grieving?" he yelled exasperatedly, throwing his arms up in frustration.

"Go away, Lupin," she said bitterly, giving him a filthy look, "Just leave me alone!"

"Fine then," he grated back, standing up sharply, turning on his heel and storming away.

"And don't bother coming back!" she yelled at his retreating back sulkily. How dare he? What did he know? He hadn't been Chloe's best friend!

But she loved him… she wasn't even sure of that anymore. She had lost so much in the last ten days, it was unbelievable. She sobbed uncontrollably now, her tears running freely down her face, her hair messed up and her face blotchy and red. He could be so hard to understand, but he was always right, that much she did know about Remus Lupin.

But if he was right this time, it meant that she wasn't accepting Chloe's death as well as she should be? Or was Remus Lupin wrong for once in his life?

This was how Lily and Mel found her ten minutes later, after the cremation of Chloe's body. They gasped and she looked up at the noise.

"KJ!" they said together, worried about their friend, "What happened?"

Kendra turned away, whimpering as they looked at each other helplessly.

"Kendra, we have to go now…" Melissa said cautiously, not wanting to say anything to upset her friend.

Kendra stood up blindly and stood before them dumbly. They walked back to the others, holding her closely as she cried openly into their shoulders.

Remus felt a sharp pang of guilt as he saw her hapless and innocent face so hurt, so tortured. Had he really needed to be that harsh on her? Had he been wrong in his accusations, his diagnosis of her character?

Was he just deserting her, had she just lost him as well as Chloe?

He had been horrible, he realized. He had been upset and tired and had taken his frustration out on her.

The rest of the Marauders noticed his discomfort, but did not act, as they realized that something bad had happened, and that he would tell them about it later.

The group was silent as they took the Portkey back to Dumbledore's office and went back to class, apart from Kendra's anguished sobs.

Remus sighed, why was it that his life was destined to be spent alone?

Hey all!! Please keep reviewing my chapters so I don't lose interest in this story :) C'mon... it only takes 2secs!

Please, does anyone want to beta my story? Cuz I really would like a beta reader (hint, hint)

How do you want Remus and Kendra to get back together?

xx

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