Life Goes On

Chapter 2

There was a loud knocking heard at the front door. Ron got up and hurried to the front door to answer it.

"Hey sweetie!"

"What happened to your house keys?"

"I left them, could you please move aside so I can get inside?"

Ron grinned sheepishly. "Sure."

Eve stepped inside and quickly removed her coat. For the millionth time since their marriage, Ron looked at his wife with passion and awe. She was by far the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He felt badly for thinking this, but not even Hermione matched up with her and Hermione was the most beautiful girl at Hogwarts. Ron loved his wife and everything about her. She had short jet-black hair with bright blue eyes. Her cheekbones gave her a superior look. She was tall and slim. Best of all, she was a muggle.

Ron worked with his brother Percy at the Ministry for Magic and absolutely hated working with his pompous big headed brother with an abnormally large ego. What choice did he have? None. It had been five years since the death of his parents and his two eldest brothers. Ron scored highly on his N.E.W.T.S. and the Ministry wanted to hire him and put him in charge of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department. But Ron could not stand being in charge of the department his father was the head of previously. The other alternative was to move to Ireland with Percy and work on behalf of Great Britain there. He had met Eve in Ireland. Ron had been crossing the road and a hoodlum on a motorbike collided with him. Ron was taken to the Muggle Hospital and had been unconscious for 24 hours. His doctor was Dr. Eve Marilow. It had been love at first sight.

Ron was snapped back into his senses when Eve came tumbling down the stairs.

"Eve!" Ron cried with fright. He rushed to her side at once halfway up the stairs to prevent her from rolling down anymore. He examined her and she was unconscious. She had a steadily rising bruise near her temple and a large bump on the side of her head. He picked her up and carried her to the day bed in the living room.

"Enervate," Ron managed with a croaky voice as soon as he found his wand.

Eve’s eyes opened slowly as if it took all her strength to do so.

"Ron!" She cried.

"Are you okay, what happened?"

"I don’t know, I was coming downstairs then I felt dizzy, I think I feinted and here I am."

Ron got up from her side and went into his storage room and found a potion that should be able to help her. He went to the First Aid Cupboard and took out some Rubbing Elixir to get rid of the bruises. He made his way back to her shakily and gave her the potion to drink while he healed her bruises the "manual" way. He wasn’t very good with Medical magic. One would need his sister Ginny for that.

"Let me take you upstairs, you need some rest. You could have been killed."

She looked up at him and smiled wryly. "You’re one to talk. After all the adventures you have told me about I am surprised you aren’t seven feet under, rotting and providing a hearty meal for all the underground creatures," she finished with disgust.

Ron winced. He clearly remembered how frightened she had been when he told her about all his adventures with Harry and Hermione. He also remembered her reaction to him being a wizard.

…….

"YOU ARE A WHAT!?"

"A wizard, " he answered calmly, quite the contrary to how he felt. He had been brushing up on his memory charms in case they were needed for that moment.

She had promptly feinted.

………

"You had me scared, Eve love and all you can think about right now is being sarcastic?"

She glared at him. "How you think I felt knowing that you were knocked out by giant, transfigured chess pieces and worse yet, got your leg broken by a convicted murderer wanted in both of our worlds!?"

"You make it sound as if we live in two different worlds and that we are not married and bounded by one," he finished with a hurt tone and an angry glare.

"You know what I mean…." She started.

‘No, I don’t," he answered hotly, his face now turning the colour of his hair.

"Well I meant you being a wizard and me a non-wizard.."

"Muggle."

"Whatever, muggle or bat, I don’t care Ron. I feel as if I am out of place in this world of yours," she looked saddened by the fact.

Ron sat back on his heels and looked at her questioningly. He suddenly had an idea.

"Kwikspell."

**********************************

"Harry are you home?" Hermione shouted as she walked inside her house. It was hers and Harry's home. They had split the cost in half and bought it together when they decided to leave their first flat. Hermione had just taken her lunch break and decided to have lunch with Harry.

As she walked down the hall, she noticed something was not right. The oriental vase they got as a present from the Weasleys was smashed to smithereens. She quickened her pace and checked the living room. Empty. She ran into the kitchen. Also empty. She walked back out into the Hall and headed upstairs. She heard muffled, harsh and ragged sobs. She dashed up the remaining steps and into the bedroom she and Harry shared together. She saw him huddled up in a corner of their room. His knees were drawn up to his chest, rocking back and forth. She quickly took in the room. Everything was strewn across the floor and his glasses were shattered beside him. She ran towards him and knelt before him, he quickly withdrew and quickly stopped crying. She looked at him closely and saw that his green eyes were bloodshot and puffy. His face was flushed and his cheeks were smeared with tears. His lower lip trembled and he was sniffing uncontrollably. Her brave, handsome Harry now looked like a young child who had his first realistic nightmare and needed every ounce of comforting he could get.

Hermione reached forward and swept him in her arms. Harry clung on to her and held her tightly as if she was the only stable item in his whirlpool of a life. He started crying again until they became heart breaking sobs that seemed to rack your very soul within. Hermione then tightened her grip on him and tried to be as strong as she could possibly be. He needed her now and she needed to be there for him, whatever was troubling him, he needed her to hold him and make everything right.

"Harry," she began, "tell me what is wrong."

That is what Harry loved about Hermione. She always took control of a situation when he was practically "indisposed." He wanted her so much. How did she know he needed her now? Wasn’t she supposed to be at work? Why is she here? Oh he loved her so much.

Harry looked up in her face and gasped for air. He couldn’t talk. Not now. He couldn’t breathe, he was suffocating in despair and also from lack of air.

"Harry, "she commanded quietly. "Come with me."

He grasped her tightly not wanting to move. He wanted to stay there with her. Don’t move….Don’t move….just stay with me.

Hermione slowly got up and Harry started screaming with despair. She’s leaving me, he thought, no don’t leave me. But then she reached down and held his arms and helped him off the floor. She wrapped one arm around his waist and led him out of the bedroom and down the stairs quietly. She guided him into the living room and opened all of the doors leading out into the garden to let some light and fresh air in. Harry made his way to the couch and sat heavily still sobbing. Hermione made her way to the kitchen and took out two cups and brewed a strong pot of tea. She had a mind to put some Soothing Potion in his cup, but thought better against it. Whatever he had on his chest needed to come off naturally. Magic is not the best thing right now. She prepared the tea and went to sit beside him. By now his sobs had quieted and he just stared and watched her every move and took in every feature. She gave him his tea and sat back and watched him closely. Their eyes met and he felt braver and safe.

"I can’t see," he said slowly, "my eyes are not focusing, I can’t see."

Realization dawned on Hermione and she rushed upstairs into the bedroom and found Harry’s smashed glasses on the floor. She quickly mumbled the repairing spell and hurried back to give them to him.

He took them gratefully, but his hands trembled, so she helped him put them on.

"Now," she began, "please tell me what happened between 8:30, when I left this morning and now in a period of," she consulted her watch, " four and a half hours."

Harry breathed in deeply and sipped his tea a few times, then began.

"I was in the shower a little while after you left and I heard Hedwig hooting loudly. So I hurried out of the bathroom and saw another owl there. I hurriedly put on some clothes and took the note from the owl." He then got up and went upstairs. Shortly after he came back down and handed Hermione the piece of parchment.

Dear Harry and Hermione,

Please sit down. I have some very sad news. I found out earlier on this morning that Remus Lupin was found dead by the side of the Highway leading to the Muggle Heathrow Airport in his werewolf form. He was picked up by some Ministry officials and taken to St. Mungo’s after some memory charms were performed. Last night was a full moon and he apparently didn’t take his wolfsbane potion. The was a large silver spear plunged straight through his heart and note was attached to it saying, "Voldemort’s legacy continues, signed Chief Death Eater." I am sorry. I have tried to contact Sirius, but I haven’t received a response. Take care of yourselves. I will contact you with the funeral details. Bye for now.

Albus Dumbledore.

Hermione stared down at the piece of parchment for a very long time until Harry took the parchment from her and threw it in the fire place.

"Incendio," he muttered. He watched as the letter from Dumbledore was consumed in flames.

He looked back at Hermione who was staring at her hands in utter shock. He put an arm around her shoulders and started to pull her towards him, but she pushed him off.

"No!" She shouted, "Harry, tell me what I read was not true! Tell me Professor Lupin is alive." She waited for a response. There was none. "Harry tell me that Dumbledore is lying! Tell me Harry!"

Harry looked up at her helplessly. He wished he could tell her Lupin was still alive and looking forward to seeing them next week as they had planned. He wished he could laugh and say it was a joke, a really sick joke, but one anyway. He couldn’t. He felt tears running down his cheeks.

Hermione let out a wild animal’s shriek. She screamed and collapsed on the floor in a bundled heap and shook uncontrollably. Harry looked down at her and he started to cry again.

They hadn’t moved from their positions. They were a room apart from each other. They cried Hermione’s lunch break away. They cried into the night. It was dusk when Hermione finally stopped wheezing. Harry was lying on the couch shaking and stared at the chandelier. He gulped in some deep breaths and finally calmed down. Despite how far apart they were now physically, they felt the same way. All the crying felt like an exorcism. They felt better.

Harry crawled off the couch on to the floor and crept to Hermione who was now looking at him. He leant over her and gathered her into his arms. He knew her pain and she knew his. Lupin had become not only a professor, but a friend, he was their secret keeper up until last year. They visited each other regularly. He was always sharing new facts with Hermione and talking to Harry like a brother as Sirius was already Harry’s Godfather. Hermione lost a friend and brother, Harry lost a brother and a Marauder. That’s three Marauders dead, Sirius could be dead too for all they knew, they haven’t heard from him for a year.

Harry rocked back and forth and he remembered when she had comforted him earlier on. She needed comfort now.

"Harry, he really is dead, isn’t he?" Her voice was hoarse with all the crying and screaming.

"Yes Hermione, he is gone." Harry tried to sound as sure as possible.

He shifted and looked into her eyes. They were dry. It looked as if she had cried all the tears ever shed in the world and they now resembled deserts, dry, full of despair, death.

"It will be alright Hermione," he reassured her. "We will get through this together. We are in this together. We both loved him and still do and we love each other, we will survive," he finished. He then leaned forward and softly placed a kiss on her now swollen lips. She responded and they kissed for a few moments just sharing the moment they had together.

"I love you Harry," her eyes looked lively again.

"I love you too Herm."

They cuddled up together in the corner of the living room and didn’t move until they finally drifted off the sleep.

*************************

Sirius just stepped through the front door into his small flat. He saw an owl perched outside on his windowsill. He strode across the room and opened the window to let the owl in. The owl hooted softly as he untied the parchment from its leg.

Sirius quickly read the letter over and over again. He stared in horror as the words materialized in front of him the third time and he let it fall to the floor without a sound. He felt this overwhelming surge of anger rise through him and he picked up the owl and threw it out the window, the slammed the window shut. He walked up the stairs heavily. All the weight was in his heart. He decided to go to bed rather than wait for Rose to come home.

"Good bye Remus," he muttered softly, then turned off the light.