Is It Over Now?

Chapter eighteen

Remus sighs as he knocks on the door of the meeting house for the Order. Another moon had just passed only a few days before and his bones still ached more than they usually did. He'd known that the transformation was going to be harder and harder each year as he grew older and his body more worn, but he truly hadn't expected it to start so young. The twenties were supposed to be the prime of one's life. If this was that...

The door opened to reveal a shock of red hair and bright green eyes that always spoke of summer even in the middle of the winter.

"Remus," she greeted kindly, her smile not quite making it to her eyes. It hadn't in a long time now, not since school.

The false smile dropped altogether as she looked past the man's shoulder.

"What the hell, Remus?" Lily growled, a wand in her hand as fast as any dueler. It was pointed directly at Remus's head. "Why-" but she stopped as she finally recognized those behind him. "Sirius!"

Footsteps could be heard moving through the house, more than one set, as they rushed to the door. Lily gripped her wand tighter and it was then that Remus noticed the rings there. An engagement and a wedding band. He hadn't been told of either.

The first set of footsteps drew closer, stopping abruptly at the sight before them.

"You brought three marked Death Eaters?" James asked, his voice high with disbelief, but not the sort that came from an unforeseen betrayal.

"Three marked Death Eaters that are legally dead," the wolf corrected, reminding the man. He didn't exactly need to, not as Sirius joined them.

" Reg ," the elder Black brother breathed, his speech ragged as if he had just seen a dementor away from Azkaban. Remus supposed that this mustn't be too different. " How ?"

"You gonna let us in or what?" Regulus asked crudely, his voice gruff in a way that Remus knew that he had himself to blame for.

The three former Gryffindors' eyes were wide at the former Slytherin's word, as one of the others snickered behind Remus, but another slapped them to shut them up. They acted like children sometimes and Remus loved them for it.

James and Sirius drew their wands and joined Lily in pointing it at the five.

"Hand over your wands and we will," James said stiffly and Remus fought the urge to roll his eyes at the man.

"Yeah, whatever you need to sleep at night," he replied gruffly before nodding at the others and holding his hand out for the wands to be placed in. The others did so without question. "Here," he said, handing them over.

"And yours?" The Potter heir asked as he took the wands, his voice harsh in a way that never had been with Remus before.

"Left the bloody thing in the woods last year," the wolf replied shortly, not feeling too nice with the other either, "never went back to get it."

It was a shame, truly, Regulus had bought him that wand, but it was all but useless in his hands now. He didn't need it when he could do so much more without it.

The three inside of the house raised a brow at that, but there wasn't much they could do about it.

"Come in then," Lily decided, stepping to the side but keeping her wand at the ready just in case.

The five followed James into the house, with Lily staying at the back. Sirius tried to slip in with Regulus, but was forced to the back with Lily by Pandora.

"Good, Lupin," Moody said as he glanced up at the opening door, wondering what had been taking for so long. "We were just about to-" the man cut himself off and stood quickly with his wand in hand, the other Order members still alive now following suit, all of them trained on the group of five. "Knew there was something off about you."