Her Single Rose (Remus Lupin)

One-Hundred & Twenty-Six

It was raining the week after Halloween. The clouds were dark and shadowing, pouring down its tears as angrily as Remus wanted to feel. Standing in the backyard of his childhood home with Estella and his father, under umbrella's and staring at his fiancé grave wasn't how he pictured this day to go.

Then again, he had never pictured it at all. At least she was next to Hope. It was where he would've wanted to be buried. But he didn't think that day would come for many more decades.

Everyone was supposed to be there at a funeral. Friends and family, loved ones, professors, everyone that made an impact in ones life. Of course Dumbledore had made an appearance, what was left of the Order had as well.

Alastor Moody even shed a tear, which had gone without say to be the second most shocking thing to happen.

That and the fact that the casket that was just buried was empty.

After Remus had received Aries message, he had never apparated faster. Finding Aries lifeless on the ground beside an even more lifeless James Potter had been enough to send him into a whole new set of emotions he had put away after Hope passed.

Remus stared at the tombstone, Estella's hand in his. None of their friends were there, because they were all dead. Marlene was murdered, Alice and Frank tortured, Honey and Ben hunted, Lily and James tracked.

Then there was Peter. Poor old Peter had been murdered as well. Sirius was supposed to be there for the funeral, he should've been. But because he murdered their best friend and got James and Lily killed too, he was on trial. He had been the spy after all.

Scratch that, he was supposed to be on trial, but got himself shipped straight to Azkaban because of the murders that he had caused.

Everyone Remus had ever held dear was in a grave because of this war. Well, the war that ended the night Harry lived and Voldemort died.

Estella removed her hand from her fathers, moving to her grandfather so he could pick her up, "My darling girl." Lyall spoke quietly. Though Aries was now gone, Lyall could still see her in every aspect of his granddaughter.

"Gigi, what is that?" Estella pointed to the red flower in her fathers hand. It had been too rainy to leave it on her grave.

Lyall followed Estella's hand, a sad smile gracing his lips. He remembered the day Aries and Remus had told him and Hope about their first date. How Remus had been so shy, but still so romantic.

"Remus gave her that on their first date." He explained, watching Estella smile at the thought of her mum.

"Huh...her single rose." Estella grinned at her own words. Lyall had been teaching her numbers, really more speaking terms to keep up with others her age.

Lyall glanced over to his son, noting the way Remus stared blankly at the matching tombstones. The tree that once held so many memories was barely shady them from the rain.

"Let's go play inside with the Weasley's, shall we?" Lyall put Estella down and walked with her back to the house, leaving Remus to his thoughts.

However, Remus wanted everything but his thoughts. They only replayed Halloween night over and over again as if they wanted to torture him.

He closed his eyes, feeling his fists clench, seeing the memories as if they had just happened only hours ago.

Remus apparated back to the house looking for Aries. Though it had been twenty minutes, he had given her a few more. Merlin knows Aries liked to take her time on occasion. The house was so quiet, it almost made him excited, maybe he could scare her while she did her makeup.