Remus Lupin Dies

}{}{

"We're in a bladder," he said flatly.

His companion stirred slightly. "Come again?"

"A bladder. A hollow pocket of sorts. That's what this is. We're in a bladder under the Ministry."

"Under the Ministry? It's already underground! Christ, how far down are we?"

Remus Lupin sighed as he allowed his head to fall back against the wall composed of shattered stones and chunks of marble. "Three hundred, perhaps four hundred feet. Give or take."

"Give or take what?"

"Well, if the Ministry collapsed before we fell, we could be as close to a hundred feet under the surface. If we fell first, or as it collapsed, we're... We're pretty far down."

The other man coughed. "But they know we're here, right? Tonks, Neville, everybody—they'll come find us, right? They have to. They're going to."

"And how are they going to find us? Our wands are fuck-all; they could be anywhere. If the Dark Lord's people find us... Well, let's just say we'd be better off here."

For a few moments, there was silence, and then the other man spoke. "I never thought I'd die like this. After everything I've been through—crushed to death by rocks."

"Don't talk that way. Half of dying is accepting it. You've got to fight to the last breath; you know that. You taught me that," Remus said.

"Well, excuse me, Remus, but you're not the one with his legs under a bloody boulder, are you?"

"Oh, come on!" the older man snapped. "Even if we're going to die here—and that's a big if—we're not going to spend our last fucking time on this fucking planet talking about death, are we? Talk about... Talk about something good."

"Well, I'm not cold. It's actually quite warm under this boulder."

"Merlin," Remus muttered under his breath. "If I had somewhere to go, I'd go there right now just to get away from you."

"From me?" the other man said, slightly hurt.

"Well. No. You know what I mean. I just... God, how could this have happened?"

The other man coughed some more. "It wasn't your fault," he said in a kindly voice. "It wasn't anybody's, really. Hermione made us the potions and charmed the clothing, and Draco got us in. Molly... Molly provided the distraction," he said, and his tone darkened.

Molly Weasley had given her life for the cause; he remembered the triumphant look on her face before she was stunned and sent to Voldemort. She knew that she had given them time to slip into the Ministry. Her existence had been justified by her children; her death would be justified by the mission made successful by her sacrifice.

"Everyone did their part," the younger man finished.

Remus kicked at a rock in the way of his foot, and the stones around them grumbled and groaned as if in protest of the mistreatment of their brother. "Yes, well. I don't want to think about it. Or talk about it."

"Fine. Talk about something else, then."

"Like what? The weather?" Remus snapped.

"I feel like we're reversing roles now. You're supposed to be the positive one, aren't you? I'm stuck under a rock. You have to be the cheery one."

"Alright, then. Why don't you talk about... Your best memory. What's your best memory?"

The other man was silent for nearly a minute before speaking. "The first time I saw her. I mean, really saw her. And then I found out she felt the same way I did—it was like magic. I mean, not like wave-your-wand magic, not like the castle or the spells. It was something else altogether. It made all the bad stuff worth it. You know?"

"I know exactly what you mean."

"Tonks?"

Remus let out a bark-like laugh that was as bitter as it was short. "No, no. Not like Dora. That's... That's another thing altogether."

"How so?"

"Well... No, I shouldn't say. I've got—"

"No, please, go on. It's not like I'm going to live to tell anybody what you've said. And I think... I mean, if we're going to go, we should go honestly."

Remus began to speak, but then he paused. "I... She didn't get pregnant after the wedding. We found out about the baby and decided to get married."

"But... Well, that's alright. I mean, it's just timing. It doesn't matter, if you two love each other—"

"I didn't. She did. I just thought... I thought it was the honorable thing to do. I didn't realize that it was going to be forever. I mean, obviously I knew that. But it's another thing to say 'I do,' and another to wake up every morning, to say things you don't mean so she doesn't get upset, to hate yourself for doing the right thing."

"Wow," the other man said. "I never knew you felt that way. I always thought you two..."

"No," Remus said. "But it's not like I was missing out on anything I could've had otherwise."

"What do you mean? Is there someone else?"

"No, not now. But there was, a long time ago, long before I met you or Dora or anybody else."

"Who was it?"

"... Complete honesty, you said?"

"That's right."

"His name was Adam."

"What?" the other man exclaimed as he instinctively attempted to scramble upright. But the motion jarred the boulder under which he was trapped, and their flimsy hollow trembled. Pebbles, rocks, and dust rained down from the ceiling and pelted Remus and his companion before clattering to the ground.

"Watch it!" Remus said as he brushed rubble from his gray hair and shook it out into the hollow. "You can't move. For all you know, it's you and that fucking boulder that's keeping the rocks from crashing down and crushing us!"

"Your other person was a bloke?"

"Yes," Remus pronounced emphatically. "It's nice to see the reaction my honesty has gotten me. I thought you would be surprised, but this—"

"No, no," the other man said hastily. "I didn't mean it was a bad thing. I was just surprised. I mean, you've been with Tonks for, what, twenty years?"

"Twenty-three. And seven months."

"Ah. I see. Well, that... That makes a lot more sense now that I'm thinking about it. It certainly explains a lot."

"And what do you mean by that? You don't think people can tell, can you?"

The other man began to chuckle, but his laughter was broken up by bouts of violent coughing. This time, it took him longer to reply, and Remus's anxiety began to grow.

"Are you alright?"

"No, Remus, I'm not alright. And to answer your question, no, I don't think anybody can tell. It just makes sense to me because I know you better than they do."

"I suppose."

Somewhere above them was the surface, fresh air, and sunlight, and just when Remus accepted the fact that he would never experience these things again, there was a sound.

Tap. Tap.

"Hey! What does that sound like to you?" he asked his companion.

The other man stirred, but did not reply.

Remus stood up and brushed his hands over the course, uneven surface of their shallow ceiling. The noise continued as he pressed his ear to the nearest rock.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"It's someone on the surface!" he announced excitedly. "We can't be that far off—maybe a hundred feet, maybe less. Someone's going to dig us out! Are you hearing this? Is it just me? Someone's coming to save us!"

"I think I'm coughing up blood," his companion replied.

}{}{

It was supposed to have been a relatively easy mission. They had been partners ever since Minerva McGonagall's execution nearly a decade earlier. They had rarely lost a battle, but when they did, the results were devastating. There thousands of Death Eaters when the war had begun, but as the economy faltered and it seemed the scales were tipping, more people joined the side of the Dark Lord until they numbered in the hundreds of thousands.

The Ministry had been corrupt for years, and it should have been relatively easy to destroy it. They came equipped with Polyjuice potion, enchanted uniforms, and Muggle and magical explosives. Draco risked his life to get them in, and Molly had given hers to keep them there.

But something had gone wrong; the first explosions had gone off while they were still setting the second set, and the floor had disappeared underneath their feet. They fell though darkness, through shifting panels of wall and wood and stone, the Ministry and the world collapsing all around them.

They had leveled Hogwarts when it became irrevocably occupied by Death Eaters. Godric's Hollow became a battleground; Hogsmeade was a barren ghost town. They had survived Death Eaters and betrayal and the loss of those they loved, and all it took was a mistimed explosive to seal their fate.

Yes, it should have been easy. What went wrong?

}{}{

The tapping sound had grown louder, and more rock and silt streamed from the ceiling.

Remus tapped the shoulder of his companion. "It's okay. You'll be alright. You just have to hang on. They're coming; they'll be here soon."

The other man's breath was ragged and rough when he spoke. "How do you know it's us? It could be them."

"I don't know. But I've got to hope, and so have you. You just have to hold on."

"Come on, Remus. My legs are done for and I'm coughing up blood. It's getting... It's getting worse by the minute. I'm not gonna make it."

"Please don't say that," Remus begged. "Not just because you're my partner and I need you. We need you; we'll be lost without you. If you die, everybody will split—you know that."

"I'm sorry, Remus."

The tapping continued, but it was still too far away, and Remus bent over companion, clasping his hand over his friend's hand, and sobbed.

}{}{

"Hey, Adam!"

"Hello? Oh, hey, it's you. I didn't think I'd see you here."

Remus grinned. "Well, you know, I heard that the town council really goes all out for this, so I thought I'd show my face and see what's going on."

Adam smiled warmly. "I'm happy to hear that. It wouldn't have been the same without you."

"Really?" Remus's heart skipped a beat, and with a bolt of panic, he realized that he was acting too enthusiastic. "I mean... Really, yeah. Well, I'm here."

"Uh-huh. Well, let me show you around. They're doing a historical reading down in the square, but then there's going to be fireworks. I know a good place to watch 'em. Come on, let's go!"

"Alright," Remus replied as the other boy ran off ahead of him. He was amazed that it was so easy—that he had found this wonderful person, and that Adam felt the same way him as he did about Adam. He didn't know how he would tell his friends back at Hogwarts when summer ended, or if he would even tell them at all. But the night was short, and he wanted to spend every minute of it with Adam, and so with one last look at the lights of the town, he ran.

}{}{

"You know what you could do," the other man said.

Remus closed his eyes. "I could, but I'm not going to."

"If you care so much about them—"

"How can you ask me to do that, especially after what I've told you? You're asking me to trade one life of lies for another. I can barely handle this one, let alone what you're suggesting."

The man on the ground coughed, and this time, his whole body was wracked with painful, heaving spasms. "R-Remus—you've got to. There's no other way. This is bigger than you."

"I know, and that's why I can't do it. I can't be you—"

"Yes, you can, Remus."

"They won't buy it."

"They'll believe it b-because they'll want to believe it. Please, Remus."

"Fuck you. You know that? Fuckyou."

"That's the spirit, Remus."

}{}{

"I'm pregnant," Dora said. Her eyes were shining, and she gazed at him as if there was no war, as if they didn't face death twice a week.

"I see," Remus replied. He looked at her. She had pretty eyes and nice skin. She was kind and funny and energetic, and now a part of him was growing inside of her. She was completely innocent in all of this; she didn't know about him and his past—how could she? Dora didn't deserve to be saddled with an unwanted child because he had been lonely and desperate.

He slowly bent one knee as he descended to the floor. He looked at it, at the planks of wood creased with dirt and caked with dust before he took her hand in his.

"Nymphadora Tonks, would you do me the honor of marrying me?" he asked.

Dora sniffed as she looked down at him in admiration and love. "Of course I will. Of course I'll marry you," she said, and a tiny part of Remus died.

}{}{

Tap. Tap. "Hello, is anybody down there?"

"Alright," Remus said when the silence had gone on too long. "I'll do it. Are you happy?"

The other man's breathing was labored as he tried to speak. "Thank... you. Remus."

"Oh shut up," Remus said as he fished in his jacket pocket for the third vial on the right. He grabbed a lock of his hair and savagely yanked it out before adding it to the potion, which fizzled and boiled as if it too protested its use. He then grabbed several chunks of his companion's hair and ripped the out, ignoring the man's moans. He felt around for his friend's face, noting that it was slick with a warm, sticky liquid—blood—and tipped the potion into his mouth. Immediately, his companion's body began to buck and convulse, and the younger man let out an unholy scream as his limbs lengthened under the portion of rock that pinned him to the floor.

"I hear someone down there! Someone's screaming! We've got to hurry!"

The tapping evolved into the clacking sound of rocks, and they both knew that it was only minutes before they were discovered.

Remus leaned forward and hugged his friend to him. "I've got to do this—you know I've got to do this."

"Thank you," his companion whispered. "I'm sorry."

"I am, too," Remus said as he wrapped his hands over the contours of the other man's face. He leaned down, pressing one elbow on the man's chest and the other on his forehead as if he needed every bit of energy inside of him to complete the mission.

The younger man jerked; his reflexes made him wiggle and move in an effort to escape suffocation. But Remus was strong, and within a minute, the younger man had ceased to move.

"Hello? Are we close to you? You've got to tell us where you are. Can you say anything?"

With shaking hands, Remus reached inside his pockets for the second potion. He added a strand of his friend's hair to it and then pocketed the rest.

"Here's to you," he murmured as he drank the draught in one swallow. It was as if snakes were blooming and blossoming in his stomach; his limbs constricted and his features rearranged themselves as he attempted not to vomit.

"Hello? Are you still alive?"

He looked up at the ceiling of the hollow. "I'm alive!" he called. "I'm down here! I'm alive!"

"Alright, don't move! We're moving the rocks aside now. We'll be there in a minute! Is there anyone else with you?"

Remus closed his eyes. "Just me! Please—come get me!"

"We're coming."

Though it was darker than night in the hollow, as black as black could get, Remus looked over towards his friend, his companion. "I'll do my best," he promised the body.

Tiny streaks of light illuminated the edges of the rocks and marble above him. "Hello," he said. "I'm right down here. Can you tell where I am?"

He heard a woman's voice, strong and kindly. "Yes, don't worry. I'm right here. Here, we can chat while I pull you out. What's your name?"

Remus looked once more at his friend before touching his hand to the man's face. He picked up that famous pair of glasses that had been broken countless times and repaired countless more by Hermione, that had seen death and Dementors, merpeople, dragons, and the Golden Snitch. He placed the pair on his own face, noting how it settled above the bridge of his new nose as if it were a part of him. In a way, it was.

"Harry," he said as the rocks above him were lifted and sunlight began to stream into the hollow. "My name's Harry."

}{}{

A/N: God, that's a bit heavy, isn't it? Tell me truly: how long did it take you to figure out it was Harry? (If you didn't figure it out, who did you think it was?)

This is to honor SycamoreTree's request. She wanted the next chapter to have Remus Lupin, so I'm curious to see what she (and the rest of you) think about it.

Does anybody have a suggestion for the next character(s)?