1 Fic: Challenge 74
Title: Free at Last
Summary: "I will live forever, as dust or breath in the face of stars, in the shifting pattern of winds." -Joy Harjo
Remus moves on after being killed during the final battle at Hogwarts
Characters/Pairings: Remus Lupin, mentions of the other Marauders, Tonks, Dolohov, Madam Pomfrey
Genre: Gen
Rating/Warnings: G
Medium: Fic
Word Count: 766
The sound of the ongoing battle, the look of realization and horror on his wife's face, her scream, Dolohov's sneer, and a jet of green light, those were his last impressions before everything went black.
Upon opening his eyes he found himself in vaguely familiar surroundings, but it took him some moments to figure out why he almost felt at home. Then it began to dawn on him. He was still at Hogwarts, inside the castle all of a sudden, however. It was the hospital wing to be more precise, he noticed. And indeed, there was Madam Pomfrey standing in the doorway with that sad smile she had always seemed to have reserved for his regular visits.
Checking his body for injuries, he was surprised he didn't find any. He had been so sure that Dolohov's curse would be the end. He had let his guard down, distracted for just a second by his wife's arrival on the battlefield, and the accompanying worries. But here he was, sitting on one of the beds in the hospital wing, without as much as a scratch on him.
"It's time to go. We'll leave when you are ready."
He was still so used to those words that he found himself mechanically nodding his approval in Madam Pomfrey's direction. How often had he been showing exactly the same reaction to those words, despite never really being ready to go?
Side by side they walked through empty corridors in silence. His confusion only grew stronger when they stepped out onto the grounds. Just like inside the castle there was no one to be seen. What had happened to all the people fighting in the battle, where had everyone gone? For how long had he been unconscious? Just as he turned his head to ask Madam Pomfrey for clarification, he noticed moving figures in the distance. They were standing near the Whomping Willow, the destination Madam Pomfrey was apparently leading him to. After they had gone some steps closer, she stopped him though, and said with that same sad smile: "This is where I have to let you go on. I cannot go with you any further."
He noticed her eyes were filled with tears while she gave him a quick hug, and then left him to go on towards the figures in the distance on his own.
As he approached them, he was more and more able to make out their features, and as he managed to distinguish the three young men, he finally realized what had been going on ever since Dolohov had shot that curse at him.
James had one hand on Peter's shoulder, his hair was messy, and a grin was spreading across his face. Peter looked more relaxed and content than his friends had seen him for a long time before everything had gone so horribly wrong, and Sirius had a smile playing on his lips. All three of them looked about the age James had been at the time of his death. The age when despite the war they had still been somewhat carefree and adventurous. When they had still believed in their unity and strength. When even Remus himself had believed there might be a happy ending for him after all. Sirius was the first to talk, and the others soon chimed in.
"It was about time for you to arrive, Moony."
"You missed out on an awful lot of fun we had."
"Let's get transfigured so we can have even more fun!"
He listened to them, and felt the familiar, but long forgotten sensation of belonging that had always made their friendship so special for him.
"Unlike you, I cannot just transfigure at will. And it doesn't look like full moon that much right now."
"Sure you can change your form at will, Moony, that's how things go here. In fact I even think you have to transfigure to be able to completely go on with us."
Watching his three friends transform into their animal forms, and disappear at the foot of the Whomping Willow after Peter had touched the knot that froze the tree, Remus felt his body change with nothing more than concentration on his part. The sensation of becoming a wolf was familiar, and still it was different from all the previous transformations. This time it was painless, it had been his decision to change into this form, and he enjoyed being in control of his body for once.
After a last look at the castle and the grounds, the wolf followed rat, stag and dog into the next great adventure.
766 words = 15 points
challenge = 05 points
20 points for Ravenclaw
Iris//Ravenclaw
Summary: "I will live forever, as dust or breath in the face of stars, in the shifting pattern of winds." -Joy Harjo
Remus moves on after being killed during the final battle at Hogwarts
Characters/Pairings: Remus Lupin, mentions of the other Marauders, Tonks, Dolohov, Madam Pomfrey
Genre: Gen
Rating/Warnings: G
Medium: Fic
Word Count: 766
The sound of the ongoing battle, the look of realization and horror on his wife's face, her scream, Dolohov's sneer, and a jet of green light, those were his last impressions before everything went black.
Upon opening his eyes he found himself in vaguely familiar surroundings, but it took him some moments to figure out why he almost felt at home. Then it began to dawn on him. He was still at Hogwarts, inside the castle all of a sudden, however. It was the hospital wing to be more precise, he noticed. And indeed, there was Madam Pomfrey standing in the doorway with that sad smile she had always seemed to have reserved for his regular visits.
Checking his body for injuries, he was surprised he didn't find any. He had been so sure that Dolohov's curse would be the end. He had let his guard down, distracted for just a second by his wife's arrival on the battlefield, and the accompanying worries. But here he was, sitting on one of the beds in the hospital wing, without as much as a scratch on him.
"It's time to go. We'll leave when you are ready."
He was still so used to those words that he found himself mechanically nodding his approval in Madam Pomfrey's direction. How often had he been showing exactly the same reaction to those words, despite never really being ready to go?
Side by side they walked through empty corridors in silence. His confusion only grew stronger when they stepped out onto the grounds. Just like inside the castle there was no one to be seen. What had happened to all the people fighting in the battle, where had everyone gone? For how long had he been unconscious? Just as he turned his head to ask Madam Pomfrey for clarification, he noticed moving figures in the distance. They were standing near the Whomping Willow, the destination Madam Pomfrey was apparently leading him to. After they had gone some steps closer, she stopped him though, and said with that same sad smile: "This is where I have to let you go on. I cannot go with you any further."
He noticed her eyes were filled with tears while she gave him a quick hug, and then left him to go on towards the figures in the distance on his own.
As he approached them, he was more and more able to make out their features, and as he managed to distinguish the three young men, he finally realized what had been going on ever since Dolohov had shot that curse at him.
James had one hand on Peter's shoulder, his hair was messy, and a grin was spreading across his face. Peter looked more relaxed and content than his friends had seen him for a long time before everything had gone so horribly wrong, and Sirius had a smile playing on his lips. All three of them looked about the age James had been at the time of his death. The age when despite the war they had still been somewhat carefree and adventurous. When they had still believed in their unity and strength. When even Remus himself had believed there might be a happy ending for him after all. Sirius was the first to talk, and the others soon chimed in.
"It was about time for you to arrive, Moony."
"You missed out on an awful lot of fun we had."
"Let's get transfigured so we can have even more fun!"
He listened to them, and felt the familiar, but long forgotten sensation of belonging that had always made their friendship so special for him.
"Unlike you, I cannot just transfigure at will. And it doesn't look like full moon that much right now."
"Sure you can change your form at will, Moony, that's how things go here. In fact I even think you have to transfigure to be able to completely go on with us."
Watching his three friends transform into their animal forms, and disappear at the foot of the Whomping Willow after Peter had touched the knot that froze the tree, Remus felt his body change with nothing more than concentration on his part. The sensation of becoming a wolf was familiar, and still it was different from all the previous transformations. This time it was painless, it had been his decision to change into this form, and he enjoyed being in control of his body for once.
After a last look at the castle and the grounds, the wolf followed rat, stag and dog into the next great adventure.
766 words = 15 points
challenge = 05 points
20 points for Ravenclaw
Iris//Ravenclaw