"There is something stronger than death, it is the presence of the absent in the memory of the living."

Jean d'Ormesson

Remus had put on a black wizard's robe, which Hermione had given him for his birthday. He didn't think he'd be wearing it any time soon, let alone for this kind of occasion, but he couldn't possibly go to a funeral in the same robes he used to teach in. He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. He was under the constant impression that he had failed. Mary was the first of his friends to die and it was that death that had brought them into the Order of the Phoenix. But Mary had been his friend and her death was no less painful, twenty years after the first. Remus had not spoken to Hermione about it until that day, because he did not know if it was avoidable. It had marked the end of their teenage years and they had been thrust into the adult world far too soon. Looking back, Remus had seen that one could be thrust into that world much earlier, like Harry.

But Mary, unlike her last death, had chosen to die. She had sacrificed herself for Hermione. Remus remembered vividly the day Hermione had run into his flat, looking exhausted and with tear streaks still visible on her cheeks, and told him that the witch knew everything. He had then learned that Hermione had the Resurrection Stone and that she had used it to talk to Harry and Ron. At the time he had been afraid of having to deal with another crisis but even though she had been upset about talking to her best friends, it had done her more good than harm and she had not tried to call them back to Earth.

"Rem"

Hermione's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. The young woman looked very beautiful in her black dress which contrasted greatly with her fair skin. She looked like she was straight out of a black and white movie. She had let her hair down for the first time in a long time and was nervously fiddling with her rings.

"If you don't want to do it, it's okay. No one will blame you."

"Nobody knows me. But I have to do it, for her."

Remus nodded and took a deep breath, before walking out of his chambers on Hermione's arm. The two friends walked with slight trepidation into Hogwarts Park, where the funeral was taking place. They stood at the back, behind the last chairs in the grounds. Mary's coffin was at the front, next to her family. Behind them were Dorcas, Lily and Alice and the marauders, then the Hogwarts students and teachers and friends of the family. The travellers stood back, funerals were already too familiar to them, and it made no sense for Remus to be crying when he had 'only' been her Force Defence teacher for less than a year. They had both promised themselves not to cry, not in public, but the closer the ceremony got, the less easy it would be.

"I'm proud of you Hermione."

"Why? It's all my fault she's dead."

"Not at all, you ran the operation brilliantly, you just lost your friend, the only one who knew our secret except Minerva. And you're getting up the courage to talk about her, in front of all these people who don't know us, only because her mother asked you to. She could have chosen anyone else, but no, she chose you. You were very close to Mary. You managed to create a relationship of trust in a few weeks, almost days. It took us much longer than that to have a similar relationship. You managed to get past the hardships to befriend her. Yes, she knew our secret, but so did Minerva. And you've never had a relationship like that."

"She's twenty years older than me. Here."

"I'm also twenty years older than you."

"It's not the same, we're friends. What we've been through will bind us forever, no one can understand that. The person I can always count on, my best friend, was not Mary, nor Sev'. It was always you, Rem. I don't owe you enough for that, but you always push me higher, you push me to do things the best I can. You are the friend everyone dreams of. You're a golden person and I don't thank you enough for everything you give me. And that's why I sometimes hide things from you. You are the one who can talk to me, understand me, read me. And I want to protect you. From me."

"I don't need your protection Hermione. And you're a wonderful friend too" he replied, touched that Hermione was finally confiding in him.

Suddenly they fell silent, the ceremony was beginning. Many people came to talk about Mary, to place objects in her coffin. There was a wizard conducting the ceremony and he called on people as they came to speak. A cousin of the witch's told stories about the young woman, Minerva had talked about how Mary was a brilliant student, doing well in the vast majority of classes and making the Gryffindors and Hogwarts proud. Finally, the wizard called Hermione to make a speech.

She clenched her fist and slowly made her way to the podium, under the questioning gaze of those present who either didn't know her or didn't know that she was friends with Mary.

"You can do it Hermione."

"I doubt it Ron," she whispered to the shadow that had emerged from the ring."

She turned to face the audience and sought Remus's gaze for courage. He nodded and she began.

"Hello everyone. You probably don't know me and are wondering what I am doing here. I doubt I have a place to talk about Mary, whom I have known for less than a year. Lily, Alice, Dorcas, surely you would be more legitimate to be in my place and I am sorry to have taken that right away. I met Mary on the first day of school, in the Gryffindor common room, but to say that we become friend at first sight would be a lie. We didn't speak much, but I always saw Mary as a good person. She helped the younger children to adjust to Hogwarts, to get their homework in on time. She was a great support to her friends. Mary was very clever. She saved me from myself. She accepted me knowing my faults, and through Morgana, I have many. Mary, once she got to know it, didn't care about my past, but about my future, the future of us all. Mary was a golden person, she was infinitely kind, always ready to help. Mary was a very brave person, which led her to be assigned to Gryffindor, to the great pride of our founder and our school. Mary has left us. She will not return. Some people will resent me for saying so, but it's the truth. And that is why I must honour her memory today. Mary was the best person I have ever met since I arrived. Death unjustly took her life and the culprits will pay for taking her from the world of the living far too soon. During our long discussions, she made me promise that if she were to pass away, I should definitely read poetry, the art she loves so much. So Mary, I hope you like the poem I have chosen for you.

Hermione took a deep breath and launched herself, trembling but confident.

I couldn't get a glance or a smile out of you,

You left too quickly and without warning...

My regret is immense. I would like to tell you

Beyond sorrow, beyond sighs.

Your death haunts my life. To fill your absence

I keep stirring up precious memories.

I find comfort in deceiving my suffering

Beyond sorrow, beyond sighs.

My tenderest thoughts go to you at dawn,

I call and talk to you before I fall asleep,

And strangely enough your voice still lulls me

Beyond sorrow, beyond sighs.

"Thank you Mary for bringing me into your life. I will fight every day, for the rest of my life to make you proud. Thank you."

Hermione finally glanced at the assembly, which she hadn't looked at the whole time she was speaking. Mary's parents looked pleased with her speech, the witch's friends were crying, but still looked amazed that Hermione was talking about Mary. Remus had tears in his eyes, but looked very proud of Hermione.

She turned and walked towards her friend's coffin. She took it upon herself not to run away in long strides, but she promised herself she would. She took the Gaunt ring off her finger and squeezed the stone one last time.

"You're doing the right thing Hermione. I too am proud to have had you in my life. I know we don't have the same relationship as Harry, but you are my best friend. I love you Hermione, don't forget us."

"It's a good thing we don't have the same relationship as Harry, that's what makes it so rich. We know the location of the ring from that time, so I should call you back soon."

"Be careful, the power of this horcrux is more dangerous than the others, it's part of what killed Dumbledore."

"Don't mention him. I'll see you again Ron, and I'm proud to have had you as a friend."

She pulled her hand away from the ring and Ron's shadow disappeared. She took Mary's hand and looked at her. She was beautiful, her blonde hair framed her head to form a crown, her eyes were closed, she had been washed clean of blood. She looked so peaceful you would have thought she was asleep, only one thing kept Hermione's feet on the ground, her hand was ice cold. The young woman passed the ring to Mary's without a word and then gave her friend one last look before running off without a glance at the bewildered faces of those present.

She sat down by the black lake, a little way from the funeral. A short time later she heard someone join her and guessed it was Remus.

"It was very nice what you said to her. I am sure she is proud of you, and moved that you chose such a beautiful poem for her."

"The poet managed to put my feelings into words. That is exactly how I feel. I discovered it when Harry died, but there was no funeral so I didn't read it, and the same for Ron. As for the other dead, we buried very few and I wasn't close enough to them to read a poem. When she told me that she liked poetry, I couldn't help but think of that poem. Of course, my relationship with her is nothing like the one I had with Harry and Ron, or even with Neville, it's much weaker, but this poem made me think of herI hope I haven't offended anyone by telling it like it is. People often don't like the word 'dead' at funerals."

"Mary's mother asked you to do this. She knows what we went through. She knew you wouldn't take it lightly. You spoke in the past tense and talking about her death is the truth, those who don't understand it aren't worth caring about. Come on, Mione, what's the matter?"

"I'm wondering if I made the right choice."

"About the ring?"

"No, of course not, I was sure. I'm talking about taking the place of Lily, Alice or Dorcas. They knew her better than me, they'd been friends for years. I feel like I took away their right to express themselves and tell their own memories."

"That is not the case."

The two time travellers turned abruptly, hearing Dorcas speak.

"It's true that we were surprised to see you speak, we had no idea that you and Mary were friends, but your speech was very beautiful and the poem truly magnificent. You have honoured her memory, and that is the most important thing."

"Come with us. You were a friend of Mary's and my friends' friends are my friends."

"Thank you, Alice."

She glanced at Remus who urged her to go. She gave him a small smile and told him they would talk later. She walked uncertainly behind the three Gryffindors. The ceremony was over, but Mary was not going to be buried at Hogwarts, but in her birth village, in a small ceremony, with only her family present. This funeral reminded Hermione a lot of Dumbledore's funeral. Mary's was much smaller, there were far fewer people, but then again, Hogwarts was in mourning and it showed.

The marauders were sitting on the grass at the edge of the forbidden forest. The girls had joined them and Hermione hesitantly approached them.

"Helena, come with us."

"I'm not sure I want to intrude."

"Grace! Come along."

Hermione sat down next to them and listened to their discussions with a distant ear. She was still thinking about the battle, the horcruxes, the Order.

"Helena?"

"Sorry, I was thinking about something else."

"How did you know about the counter-spell to save Sirius?"

"It was a sectusempra. Let's just say I've dealt with this spell before. Luckily for Black, I know the counter spell."

"Mary wasn't so lucky, if I had the person who cast that spell…" James threatened.

"Rodolphus Lestrange."

They all stared together at Hermione who didn't seem to understand why.

"Did you see him? How can you be sure?" asked Sirius.

"I saw a shadow and I think it was him. Your brother is not capable of casting such a spell and there was no other Black on the horizon."

"Why are you talking about Sirius' family?"

"You didn't tell them?" she asked, turning to the young man in question.

"Told them what?"

"The spell that killed Mary was invented by a Black. Your crazy cousin" Hermione shuddered at the mention, "wasn't there and who else could have done it?"

"How do you know that this spell was invented by my crazy family?"

"Um, I've read a lot of books and some of them written by your ancestors have fallen into my hands" she said.

The marauder looked at her suspiciously but did not retort.

"And you're sure it was Lestrange? He's not the only person married to a Black," Lily asked to cut the conversation short."

"I've dealt with Malfoy, it can't be him."

"Did you kill him?"

"I don't know. I threw a sectusempra at him and left him there. Maybe someone cast the counterspell on him. Don't look at me like that! Lily, Potter, there's a Death Eater who's lost an eye because of you. So what if he did? So maybe he's the one who cast the cruciatus spell on third years, maybe he's the one who tortured you. So if I killed Malfoy, I don't give a damn."

"Have you ever killed anyone?" asked Remus, hesitantly.

"Lupin, don't start that again! Of course I've killed people. And before you ask me, I have absolutely no idea how many. I don't regret any of the deaths I've caused, I've saved lives because of it. Don't think I'm like those bloody Death Eathers, we have to fight evil with evil, or we'll never get there and we'll fail miserably. I've killed people and I don't care. I felt guilty at first, but I tell you, you get used to it.

At the shocked looks on the seventh year Gryffindor's faces, Hermione realised that she might have gone a little too far. It had been a shock when Remus had seen her kill someone for the first time and she shouldn't have said what she was thinking like that. But never mind, they would have found out anyway when they fought in the Order.

"Excuse me" she mumbled and quickly slipped away.

The Gryffindors watched her run away but didn't hold her back, they didn't really know what to say. Murder was something unforgivable to them and they had never had to deal with someone who seemed proud to have killed someone. Lily replayed the conversation in her head and something caught her eye.

"She said, 'Don't start that again.' Did you ever talk to her, Remus?"

"Not about murders, no" he answered dumbfounded.

"Why did she say do it again then?" Lily wondered, more to herself than to anyone else.

Hermione had rushed to the edge of the lake, hoping that Remus would still be there. She hadn't been gone long but they couldn't know that then, maybe he had gone back to his chambers. She spotted him near the castle gates and rushed towards him.

"Rem!"

He turned abruptly and the young woman ran into his arms, crying before he could open his mouth. He patted her back as he looked around for the seventh year Gryffindors, what could they have said to her to make her get so upset?

"I blew my cover" she sobbed.

Remus held back a sigh and waited for more explanation from his friend.

"I told them who killed Mary and Sirius told me how I knew it was invented by a Black and I read the books and said I killed a lot of people" she muttered.

"You can explain it to me again more calmly, I didn't understand a thing."

Hermione nodded and began to tell what had happened, drying her tears. Remus, this time, didn't hold back a sigh but said that it was nothing serious, they just had to be more careful from now on.

"Well, I think we've largely failed on our bet" laughed Remus, pointing to their respective tears.

Hermione smiled between her tears and turned towards the park. She saw a blonde woman walking towards her. She recognised her immediately and came over to meet her.

"Hello Helena, I'm Eleanor McDonald. You must be Remi Lucas" she began, shaking Hermione's hand and then Remus'. I need to talk to you, follow me, we need somewhere quieter.

The three wizards walked towards the edge of the forbidden forest and Mary's mother cast silence spells around them.

"I would like to thank you for the speech you made about my daughter. She has always loved poetry, ever since she was a child, and the poem you chose represented the sorrow of us all beautifully."

"But that's not why you're here, is it?"

"You are right Remi. Mary sacrificed her life for the cause and, no, don't apologise, it's not your fault, I'd be grateful if you'd explain in detail what happened."

After a look of hesitation, Hermione recounted that painful moment, she took it upon herself not to cry and to make her story as accurate as possible. She even recounted her abandonment of herself as she released her dark magic.

"You are a very powerful person Helena, perhaps even more so than the Founders themselves."

"I don't think so, Mrs McDonald. I am powerful, and I know it. But I am not more powerful than all the Founders"

Eleanor looked thoughtful and her gaze fell on Hermione's ring, she stifled an exclamation of surprise, she looked up at Remus and saw a chain hanging from his neck, but she couldn't see the end of it.

"You are the Time Chosen."

Hermione choked on her saliva and Remus stiffened, his eyes ready to pop out of their sockets. He finally pulled himself together and patted Hermione on the back.

"Don't ask me to repeat it. I'm sure you won't. You couldn't have come from the future with a simple time-traveller device and the formulas that allow travel from one era to another were destroyed centuries ago. There is no doubt about your ring, the magic that emanates from it is incredible."

"How, how did you know?

"I have been working on magic for many years, time magic was my thesis for my exam. Of course at the time I didn't know about the Jewels of Time but I learned about them afterwards."

"We are the first chosen ones for three centuries. You never got to meet them, and Hogwarts assured us that its chosen ones were even rarer. No matter how many theses you have done, there is no way you could have discovered them."

"My dear, there is still much you do not know. Nicholas Flamel and Tom Riddle have each explored different paths to immortality, but they are not the only ones."

"Are you immortal?" asked Remus, who wasn't sure what he had just understood.

"Did Mary know? When were you born?"

"My family does not know about my work with magic. My immortality, as you call it, is part of it. As for my birth, my friend Nicholas should know better, I am much older than he is."

The old woman, who did not look it, left, the two wizards had answered her questions, far beyond her expectations. Hermione and Remus looked at each other dumbfounded as the woman left, as if she had not revealed anything shocking. This was the strangest funeral they had ever had the misfortune to attend.

The poem was written by Isabelle Calis-Sabot