Warriors

Not long after Sirius and Remus stormed out of the kitchen Arthur and Molly left as well before the women could say anything hurtful. The rest of the order made sure their guests were all alright before serving them some food and retreating to the living room.

“Tonks, could you get Remus and Sirius? I’ll go get my parents.” Bill asked and Tonks nodded and went up to the sitting room.

When they entered the room they stopped and observed the scene for a second. The two men were sitting on the ground among the children of the house. Harry was sitting between them closely and both of them had an arm around the boy. It was obvious to Tonks that the men were drawing strength from their godson, to have enough strength to face the inevitable.

“So sorry to interrupt.” They spoke finally and the whole room looked at them. “We are going to discuss what to do next and we could really use your help. But if you’re not ready to face Molly then I’ll cover for you guys.” They said and the two men looked at each other, silently communicating.

“We’ll have to face her whether we want to or not. Better get it over with sooner than later.” Remus said and Sirius and him stood up from the circle. They both squeezed Harry’s shoulder, shared a smile with the kids, and went out of the room after Tonks.

When they got downstairs Molly and Arthur were already sitting on one of the couches. Remus cast a silencing charm then took a seat next to Sirius not letting his hands go for a second during the whole time.

“Can one of you give us a run-down of who exactly are in that room?” Kingsley asked breaking the awkward silence that settled on them.

“I’m guessing you already figured out Remus and myself.” Everyone nodded their heads. “There is also Mary Macdonald, Marlene McKinnon, Dorcas Meadows, Frank and Alice Longbottom, and Lily and James Potter. That’s all I’ve seen, though I didn’t really look around once I recognized them.”

“That’s all of them.” Snape said and Sirius nodded his head before falling into his thoughts.

“Did you ask them how they got here? Or how they got injured?” Remus asked.

“No, but they were probably in a battle with the Death eaters. All three of us know that not many people know the curse Remus and Dorcas were hit with.” Snape said.

“But how did they get here?” Sirius asked. No one was able to answer him.

“Tonks.” Remus said when he got an idea. “Could you go and talk with them about what happened?”

“Why me? You and Sirius know them much better.” They asked confused.

“Seeing us might mess with their heads too much. But you have an easy-going personality and a very calming presence so you’re the perfect to break them the news. You’re also the type of person everyone trusts right away.” Remus said, making sure to compliment his friend a bunch to make sure they’ll do it.

“You really can achieve anything with flattery can’t you Lupin?” They said rolling their eyes, but they still stood up and went towards the kitchen. “Anything I need to know about anyone?” They turned around looking at the two marauders.

“James can get very aggressive if he thinks you threaten his friends, Lily only listens to facts so explain everything you can, Alice and Frank usually listen and observe, Dorcas will question everything you say and do but if you win her over you also have Marlene who is very similar to Sirius so anything that works on him should work on her too. Mary also likes to observe but Merlin help you if she starts asking questions. Sirius and I are pretty much the same as we are now.” Remus said without having to think about it for a second.

“Remus will seem very hostile from the very beginning and will not believe a word you say until Lily gives him a talking, and if Sirius doesn’t want to believe you just tell him you’re Andy’s child because Andy is a goddess who can’t do anything wrong.” Sirius added then expertly avoided his fiancé trying to smack his head. Tonks laughed at the two of them and entered the kitchen.

“Do you guys have everything you need?” They asked as they entered the room.

“An explanation would be great yeah.” Remus said in a tone that Tonks was already used to since their entire friendship with the man in back and forth teasing.

“Right!” They nodded and took a deep breath. “Before I can give an explanation I need to know what happened before you got here.”

“Seems fair enough.” James said.

“In what world is that fair enough?” Remus asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Remus is right we don’t even know her! She could be a Death eater!” Lily said.

“Them and they please.” Tonks said and everyone looked at them confused. “I go by the gender-neutral pronouns. They/them.” They explained.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have assumed!” Lily apologized right away.

“It’s alright.” Tonks gave her a big smile. “And I am not a Death Eater. I work as an Auror and I’m part of the Order.”

“Then why have we never met you?” Remus asked.

“Once you answer my question I’ll be able to answer yours.” They said to the group.

The group shared a look and they all nodded at the same time and then Lily started telling the story.

“Trust Auntie Bella to invent time travel.” Tonks said when Lily finished retelling the events.

“Auntie Bella? Okay, Who the hell are you?” Sirius asked saying anything for the first time.

“Nymphadora Tonks.” They said. It was visible on Sirius’s face as he put things together.

“Nice try but you’re a bit old to be her.” He said, crossing his arms.

“Rat, stag, dog, werewolf.” They said, pointing to the people they were talking about.

“But… How?” Lily asked, sitting down looking absolutely lost.

“My guess is that whatever spell Bellatrix used and you guys trying to apparate created something that caused you guys to travel forward in time. But I’m sure Dumbledore will have a much better explanation.” Tonks said sending a sympathetic smile to the woman.

“And when did we end up exactly?” Remus asked.

“1995.” Tonks said.

After answering some more of the time-travelers’ questions, Tonks decided to let them process everything and go back into the living room. They seemed to have been arguing but when Tonks entered they stopped and looked at them.

“They were fighting Death eaters here. Remus and Dorcas got injured and they wanted to apparate out. Right as they were about to disappear Bellatrix hit them with something and it caused them to not move in place but rather in time.” They explained then sat down next to Sirius.

The room fell silent. Everyone was deep in thought, the only time anyone made any noise being the soft sniffling from the people that used to fight beside the time-travelers before their death. They were waiting for somebody to finally snap or tell them what to do. No one knows how long they sat like that but it seemed like hours and seconds at the same time, before Sirius finally broke it.

“What are we even supposed to do now? Do we tell them anything? Do we tell the ministry? Do we tell Mary? Or Harry and Neville? Do we tell them about the boys? Do we pretend like everything’s normal or do we tell them that they almost all died? Do we..” His outburst was interrupted by James Potter coming into the room.

“We died?” He asked. “How? When?” He asked and Sirius saw everyone else coming in behind him. “Who died exactly?”

“Everyone who you don’t see here apart from Mary is either dead or as good as.” Remus said quietly. He expected the people who used to be his family to start crying and find comfort in each other. And in a way, they did just that. He just didn’t expect to be a part of it. But Lily and James almost immediately went to him and Sirius, hugging them strongly and everyone else followed their lead.

Once everybody settled down they decided to keep the identity of the new residence of the house a secret from the children at least for the night so they can think about it. They also decided against saying anything to said new residents and Emmeline and Tonks took them to rooms far away from the rest of the house.

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Sirius and Remus were laying in bed after they had dinner and they both showered. There were many questions unsaid between them and both of them were afraid to start asking.

“I can’t believe we’re the last ones alive.” Remus said with tears in his eyes.

“Me neither.” Sirius said, and snuggled in closer to his lover.

“I wonder how we managed.” he said, hugging the Black man stronger.

“I wonder how we managed to stay together with our tempers.” The man said, trying to lighten the mood.

“We really must have true love.” Remus said with a soft smile that soon turned into a grin. “Or sex just never got boring.”

“Lupin!” The other said, lightly hitting the brown-haired man on his chest. “And here I was thinking you were going to be romantic for once!” He said shaking his head and they both started laughing. “How do you think we’re doing without them?” He asked once they both calmed down. He didn’t have to tell who he was talking about. They both knew it was about James and Lily.

“Judging by the way we look? Miserably.” Remus said and Sirius just nodded in agreement. They fell into a comfortable silence both of them trying to process the conversation. “How about…” Remus whispered in a low voice and started to nibble on Sirius’s ear. “We test my previous theory?”

“About the sex or the love?” Sirius asked with a grin.

“Both.” Remus said and kissed Sirius hard on the mouth.

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“Should we tell Harry?” Sirius asked Remus. They were snuggled up close in their bed much like their younger selves.

“We probably should. Even if we don’t tell James and Lily who he is, he’ll still have a chance to get to know his parents.” Remus said, running his fingers through the other man’s hair. “It’s not every day someone get’s to know their dead parents for themselves and not based on other’s memories. I’d hate to take that away from him.”

“Yeah me too.” Sirius sighed. “We’ll tell Neville as well. He has just as much right to get to know his parents.”

“I agree. We also need to tell Mary. It’s not fair that we get this extra time with them and she doesn’t.” Remus said, making a list in his head. “The rest we’ll figure out tomorrow, okay love?” He asked kissing the other’s temple.

“Okay.” He replied with a smile only Remus could get out of him, snuggled closer to his fiancé, and closed his eyes. “We could get married while they are still here. That way it can be just like we imagined all those years ago.”

“That’s a brilliant idea love.” He said, closing his eyes as well. If he was anymore awake, the thought would have been bittersweet, if not downright the saddest thing he ever heard. But with a haze that was a combination of sleepiness and the utter love he felt for the man beside him, it seemed like a very sweet idea.