The light of the moon lit the deserted street of Godric's Hollow. Remus John Lupin stood outside, staring at a point between two empty houses and ignoring the icy wind that ruffled his hair and tugged at his robes.

He was still in a state of shock; so that it took a while for him to register that he was shaking, trembling all over. Even as he moved forwards, he still felt numb; the pain still hadn't set in yet. But when – if – he saw them, he knew there would be no way to escape the terrible grief that would overcome him.

Remus stopped outside the top house at the end of the street, staring into the garden. For a moment, as he glanced up at the window, he could have sworn he had caught a glimpse of a few wild curls of ginger hair. The longer he stared up, the more he could see of the woman who wasn't there, the woman that would have been there only a few hours ago. It was strange just how much he had memorized of her head as he gazed up at the pale, delicate face that was looking out of the window of the top floor. Her nose was lightly freckled and her green eyes were sparkling.

After a moment, another figure joined her, this time a man with a baby cradled in his arms. The woman turned to hug them both tightly and as Remus watched, the man winked at him. Remus choked back tears.

Rowan was dead, gone forever and Sirius... He was gone too, just gone in a different way, as in being led away to Azkaban prison. Their baby daughter, Jessica, was in the house behind him, apparently unaware of the terrible event that had just happened involving her parents.

Remus turned around and crossed the road. He could not bare to look at the little family that didn't existed any longer. If he did, he was sure he would break down to tears. Instead, he strode across the pavement at the other side of the road and stopped at a small wooden gate, sighing. This little garden brought back a stream of memories, all seeming so long ago even though a few had only happened just a few weeks back. He could almost see the ghostly figures of himself, Sirius, James and Peter under the large oak tree at the corner of the garden. It had been a hot day, well into July last year. Harry and Jessica had only just been born, so Lily and Rowan had stayed inside with them, leaving the boys on their own. Remus felt a tear slide down his face and instantly freeze on his cheek. Although Lord Voldemort had still been at large, war had still been going on, those had been happier times. There were few murders – or at least murders of people he knew – and the Order of the Phoenix had been doing well. Now of course, with so many gone, including the recent deaths of James, Lily and Rowan, the imprisonment of Sirius and the torturing Frank and Alice Longbottom, he was afraid the organization would have to be disbanded.

So lost in his thoughts, Remus did not notice the door to the house of him open. A man with a long, white beard, half-moon spectacles and a long silver beard stood at the doorway, looking grave.