Not Alone
@remadoramicrofics
Remus caught her scent in the air before he heard her following him. He thought about telling her to go back to Grimmauld Place, but he didn't have the strength. Today was always a hard day, no matter what the moon phase was. He kept walking until he reached the familiar headstone. Part of him couldn't believe that it had already been 14 years. The other part felt like it had been so much longer.
He didn't know why he came again this year. Last year, he had yelled and screamed until he was hoarse. His voice was completely gone the next day, but he hadn't felt any better. No matter how many lies had been told in the lead up to that horrible day, the outcome would never change. He would always be alone.
He knelt by the headstone and began clearing away the dead leaves that had gathered during the previous year. Normally this manual labor helped to clear his head, but this year all he could focus on was her scent. It was bright and fruity, unmistakenly her's. Everything about her felt dangerous. But not in the way he had felt every day for the last 14 years. No, this danger reminded him of how he felt when he was in school. Back then he thought that maybe he could have a future. He knew better now.
"Isn't it weird knowing that that grave is empty?" she asked when she caught up to him.
"It's always been empty," he responded without looking up. "All they ever found was his finger."
Tonks knelt down beside him, helping him clean the area around the headstone. "You know what I mean. He betrayed everyone. Sirius spent more than a decade in Azkaban and Harry grew up alone because of Pettigrew's actions. I would think you would go to Godric's Hollow instead."
"Too many people, especially today."
"I can see that. Got to be annoying listening to all of their tears and hand-wringing too. Especially since they didn't even know James and Lily." She was quiet for a moment before asking, "how often do you come here?"
He thought about ignoring her, but he knew that wouldn't stop her. "Once a year, since the funeral."
She knelt quietly beside him after that, not saying another word until he stood up to leave. Then she grabbed his hand before he could walk away.
"I lost one of my gloves," she said as he looked down at their joined hands. "Really, you're doing me a favor by making sure my hand doesn't freeze."
He almost smiled when he saw the mischievous look in her eyes as they walked away hand in hand.












