‘Sirius?’ Remus knocked on the door. ‘Sirius, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have got angry. Sirius? Sirius?’ He was pounding now, louder and louder. ‘Sirius? Please let me in! I promise, I swear, I swear I’m not the spy. It’s not me!’ A sob burst through him and he choked. ‘Please believe me!’
There was still no answer and he saw strange looks coming from some of the trick or treaters who had been knocking on doors, the children hyped on sugar, the adults sick of them.
Remus scribbled a note begging Sirius to call him and made his way down the street. Once it was quiet, he apparated to his temporary flat.
He opened the door and there on his mattress was Dumbledore.
‘Remus,’ he said. ‘Sit down.’
‘What the hell are you doing here?’ asked Remus.
'You should probably sit down.'
'Tell me first.'
‘Fine, it's Lily and James,’ Remus immediately felt the blood leave his face and his stomach drop. ‘They’re dead.’ The words physically took his breathe away and he gasped desperately for oxygen. ‘And it was Sirius who betrayed them.’ Remus stared at Dumbledore.
‘No that’s not possible. That’s not possible, Sirius would never. James is his best friend, his brother. James is his brother!’ he screamed the last word.
‘Now, now Remus, quietly now, we don’t want to disturb the muggles,’ Dumbledore said calmly. ‘Harry’s going to live with his aunt and uncle.’
‘The Dursleys? That will be awful for him, how can you leave him with them-' but Dumbledore was already gone. Remus slumped against the wall and slid to the ground. His body shook but no sound came out.
Remus had headed to Mary’s house, his face still white and tear streaked. His body was still shaking uncontrollably but he tried to ignore it, feeling it was more important that Mary heard, having too low an opinion of Dumbledore to think that he might have told Mary.
‘Mary?’ he called as he knocked on the door. She opened it and looked startled to see him as well as his grief stricken face. ‘Have you heard?’
‘No? What is it?’ she said, quickly pulling him inside.
‘It’s James and Lily.’ And he explained the whole story which he had gotten from Mad Eye Moody after he had recovered enough to send him an owl. The story of Sirius’s betrayal, James and Lily’s tragedy and Peter’s bravery, it all too twisted to make much sense but Remus told the facts.
After he had finished, he and Mary held each other sobbing their hearts out, unable to do anything else.
‘I loved him Mary, I loved him so so much,’ Remus repeated over and over again as she stroked his back. ‘I thought he loved me too. He dared pretend he thought I was the traitor. And I was desperate to prove I wasn’t.’
‘We’re the last ones left Rem,’ Mary sobbed. ‘First Marlene and then Dorcas and now James, Lily and Peter all in one swoop. And then Sirius is gone too. I wish I’d never learned about the wizarding world, I was happy as a muggle, like my parents are.’
‘You don’t mean that?’
‘I absolutely do, I wish I could just forget everything.’
‘Well,’ Remus said slowly. ‘We could…’
Mary slowly understood what he was saying.
‘Would it actually work?’
‘I can’t see why it wouldn’t, we’ve got nothing left to stay here for. Harry’s with the muggles and everyone else is dead.’
‘I can’t stay here in the war anymore,’ Mary said decidedly. ‘Too much pain and suffering for no good cause.’
‘Dumbledore just wants me to keep going on his werewolf missions and I can’t say no while I’m still here, he allowed me in Hogwarts, no one else would have done that. I can’t spend another year with a stinking pack with werewolves like Greyback,’ he physically shuddered at the name.
‘Let’s do it then, we’ll leave the wizarding world behind and join the muggles, we both know more than enough to be able to live with them.’
Remus got his wand out. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes,’ tears filled Mary’s eyes and started to slip down her cheeks. ‘Are you?’
‘Yes,’ his eyes flowed over too.
He pointed his wand at his own head and Mary did the same.
‘Goodbye Mary’
‘Goodbye Remus’
‘Obliviate.’