Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; especially not Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

A/N: Fanfiction has been taking a bit of a backseat these days, but I of course made time to write my yearly Halloween fic and I've finally decided to put this one and all my future Halloween fics into a drabble. So, without further ado, raise your wands today to James and Lily Potter. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. ~HogwartsPrincess89

Remus walked down the corridors of Hogwarts feeling things he hadn't felt in twenty years. He felt that he could almost see James running down the corridors with Sirius, laughing. He could almost hear Lily talking for hours on end to him about charms and theories she had for new ones. He could taste the way Peter's spells always blew up in their faces when he didn't mean them to. Could hear Marlene's cutting laugh, could almost feel her arm sneaking around him, playing at seduction as she did with almost everything that moved. Just there, in that corridor he could spy Frank and Alice locked at the lips, his tie hopelessly askew, her skirt hitched higher up her legs than it should be.

All of his ghosts felt real tonight, for it was Halloween. And none felt more real than James and Lily. Dead for twelve years, their son almost a stranger to him. He should have been an Uncle to him. His thoughts always tended to be darkest on All Hallows Eve. He shook his head, hoping to dislodge them. Mercifully, he made his way to his office and pulled out a nice thick stack of papers to grade to hopefully make his mind and grief go quiet for at least a little while.

He looked up at the sound of footsteps. It was Hogsmeade and only the smallest children were still in the castle. For a moment he thought the young man who walked by was a ghost, for he looked very much like his father. But Remus pulled himself from the past and realized that it wasn't James prowling around the castle.

"Harry?" he called. Harry reappeared in his office doorway looking lost and forlorn. He would never get used to how very much like both of his parents Harry looked. His eyes were not the only thing inherited from Lily. But his precise way of smiling, and the slight differences in his nose told you exactly who his mother was. "What are you doing?" Remus asked. And why was he alone on Halloween, of all days? "Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"Hogsmeade," Harry responded, trying to be casual.

"Ah," said Remus. The poor boy had suffered enough and now he had no one to sign his Hogsmeade letter. What had possessed Dumbledore to leave him with Petunia of all people… The thought almost made Remus snarl aloud. A familiar shame filled him. He should have fought harder to be in his life. He couldn't change the past. But he could make sure that he, that neither of them, were alone tonight. "Why don't you come in? I've just taken delivery of a Grindylow for our next lesson."

"A what?" said Harry. He followed Remus back into the office and regarded the Grindylow with awe. And for the first time on a Halloween in twelve years, Remus smiled.

Remus went to see Harry not long after Moody died. He wanted to make sure he was alright. Remus knew he had been kind of standoffish lately, owing to the nasty anti-werewolf sentiments floating around and the fact that he now had a wife to protect. He wanted to tell Harry something, and he thought he'd better do it before it was too late.

He found his best friends' son sitting forlornly on the Weasley's couch holding a cup of tea. He was alone. Likely because Molly wouldn't let him, Ron, and Hermione talk much due to her fear of them leaving and going on the run. Remus didn't blame her in the slightest, though he didn't quite agree with her methods.

"Good evening Harry."

"Good evening Prof-Remus," he said, changing direction at the last second. Remus smiled. Harry looked out the window distractedly, still clutching his tea.

"How are you?"

Harry blinked at the question. "How…how am I?" Remus frowned and wondered how long it had been since someone had asked him that. Should haves and might-have-beens flooded his brain, but Remus ignored them and sat down across from the younger wizard.

"Recent events can't have been easy," Remus said gently.

"No. No they haven't. I'm alright. But I don't…I don't want to talk about any of it, if that's alright. Not Madeye or the Dursleys or the mission or the war. Not any of it. Please, Remus." Those piercing green eyes beseeched his in such an intense way that it was unnerving.

Remus eyed him and not for the first time wished he could take all of Harry's troubles away. He used to be able to, back when Harry was very small. Uncle Mooney had always made him smile after he'd been feeling rubbish. Pain stabbed through Remus' heart. This was precisely why he was talking to this very much grown-up Harry. He was a young man now, Remus admitted to himself. He even had stubble. How the times fly.

"I'm here to talk to you about security measures, actually," Remus said calmly.

This seemed to startle Harry even more, his green eyes went wide behind his glasses. Remus chuckled.

"Whatever for?" Harry asked him, bewildered.

"Well…with the way the war is, and the uncertainty of it all…I wanted you to know why I asked you the question I did to confirm your identity."

Harry put down his cup of tea and fixed Remus with his full attention. He looked rather like his father when he did that, and it made Lupin tremendously proud and tremendously sad all at once. "The question you asked me, it was about the Grindylow in your office, wasn't it?" he asked uncertainly.

Remus nodded. "Yes. I asked you 'what creature sat in the corner the first time that Harry Potter visited my office at Hogwarts'." Harry continued to stare at him. "That moment held significant meaning for me, and so it was the first way I thought of to identify you."

Harry's brow furrowed. "Significant meaning?"

"Do you remember what day it was that I showed you that Grindylow, Harry?" Remus asked quietly, not quite looking at the seventeen-year-old.

Understanding dawned on Harry's face. "It was a Hogsmeade day, wasn't it? The first one in my third year." He though harder and Remus saw when it dawned on him, for a shadow fell over his features. "It was Halloween," he said quietly. He chanced a nervous look at Remus. "The anniversary of my parents' death."

"It was the first anniversary of their death that I did not spend alone," Remus answered quietly, infusing those few words with more meaning than he could ever fully explain. "After all those years, I was still devastated and very much alone. And then there you were, walking by. You brought James and Lily to life for me that day. You made it the happiest Halloween I'd had in years. Until Sirius broke into the castle later that night. Though I must admit even then that the feat made me a little proud." Harry snorted.

"I love you, Harry. I've never said it, and I should have. Fate was so cruel to us. It took all of the people who ever loved me and made us strangers when you should have been raised with me as Uncle Moony. I wish it had been so. I am so, so sorry I couldn't raise you."

Remus had the strong feeling no one but Sirius had ever said that to him before, but he needed Harry to know how much he cared. Because you never knew when it might be too late. Nymphadora always chastised him for thinking that way, and she was right, most of the time. But sometimes you needed to tell those you love how you felt. She'd taught him that, too.

Those eyes were grateful and full of compassion, and they misted over slightly at the confession. Harry stood, and when he did he was nearly as tall as Remus. Taller than James had ever been, Remus thought to himself. And then the man who should have been his nephew put his arms around Remus and hugged him tightly. They both cried.

"I love you too, Uncle Remus," he said with a lopsided grin that was all his mother. More tears fell down Remus' cheeks and he didn't bother to remove them.

"De be careful saving the world, won't you?" he asked Harry quietly.

"I promise. You be careful as well, and let Tonks take care of you," he lectured.

Remus laughed. "Alright. I promise."

"Thank you. For telling me that. I needed to hear that now. With everything…that's been going on."

Remus nodded. "I thought you might, because with everything that's been going on I very much needed to tell it to you. One more piece of advice, if I may." Harry raised an eyebrow. "Don't cut out the people closest to you now, because now is when you need them the most."

"I don't know what you mean," Harry said coolly, only Remus was rather sure he knew exactly what he meant.

Remus simply smiled. "Ginevra Weasley is a remarkable young woman, and I quite enjoy her company, as does my wife. It never does good to wait to tell people how you truly feel." Harry blushed red and Remus' mouth twitched. "Just an old man's two cents," he said dryly. "Be safe, Harry."

"You too, Remus."

Remus smiled and felt himself filled with pride as Harry walked away. He had grown into the most remarkable young man. He was probably the bravest man Remus would ever know, and that included James. This feeling would only intensify when he walked Harry to face his death, and again when Harry basically adopted Teddy as his son. His love for that boy was as fixed and immutable as the phases of the moon.