If He Lived (Rewrite)

Before and Inbetween

The last thing he realized were the sounds of various cracks outside his home before everything around him became dark. 

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Six Years Later

Remus Lupin was a quiet man. He kept to himself and always kept his head down. He never was like this when he was younger, not when he had his friends by his side to ensure his safety. To let him know that he wasn't alone. That they loved him despite his condition that caused so many others to fear him. 

But he no longer had that safety net of his friends. All of them had been taken away in one fell swoop in a night. One night was all it took for every single one of them to be ripped away. Peter Pettigrew, dead. Killed by Sirius Black who was now locked away in Azkaban for his murder and many others including Lily Potter. And James Potter who was stuck in a magically induced coma inside Saint Mungo's Hospital. 

For the first time since he was eleven, Remus was alone. 

He didn't want to believe Sirius to be the traitor, to be a murderer. Something deep inside Remus was screaming at him, begging him to listen that it wasn't Sirius. He had tried to get the man a trial, just to see what the man had to say for himself. Just to be sure. Remus didn't want to believe that Sirius would do this. He couldn't believe it. His heart wouldn't let him. He loved him too much. But no one would listen to him, to a Werewolf. So Sirius went without a trial and sat in the dingy cold cells of Azkaban. 

Maybe Remus would get his answers when James awoke. It was the only way he had. 

Remus sighed tiredly as he walked down the brightly lit hallways of the hospital. He's always disliked Hospitals, especially now. But he still went, sat in the quiet room as his friend lay motionless. He had made this trip so often Remus was sure he could make his way to his best friend's room with his eyes closed. 

When he entered the room everything was how it always had been since the first day he came in. That horrible nightmare of a day. He was used to seeing James injured and in the hospital wing at school, but this was different. James had lost a lot of blood, had been seriously injured, and was on the verge of death. Unmoving. Hardly breathing. It made Remus feel sick and useless all in one go. James was never supposed to be this injured, this hurt. Only Remus was supposed to be like this, not James who always seemed to be indestructible. He always bounced back like his injuries were nothing. Always. 

Not this time. There was no joking, no waving off concerns with a bright cheeky smile. James laid there motionless as nurses and doctor's fretted over his unconscious form and Remus felt like the whole world got shattered into a hundred tiny pieces. 

And now Remus calmly sat by his bedside nearly every day that he could. Quietly reading whatever book he could find to keep his mind distracted from everything that was happening around him. He used his hearing to ensure himself James' heart was still beating, that he was still breathing. It was the only comfort he had.

Minerva has come once every week, of course, she loved James despite all the trouble he caused during his time at Hogwarts. And she would sit with Remus and gently hold onto his hand as she talked to him, asking him how he has been. If the full moons were getting too much. 

Augusta Longbottom would come in after her visits to her own son, a haunted look always deep within her eyes. She would always try to flatten the mess of curls on James' head every time she came in out of habit. She took it upon herself to introduce her grandson to him as well, and as Neville got older he would begin quietly talking to the unconscious form of his Godfather. 

The Weasley's, shockingly, have come in as well. Remus and the others didn't know Auther or Molly that well considering they were a bit older than them, yet they still came to visit James and bring Remus food. He had gotten quite close with them during their visits, and sometimes their kids would be with them. They were a lovely family, so kind and warm. It made the hospital room feel less...hopeless.