A shorter one...
The day of the beginning of Spring Holiday came along. The only ones of the Marauders that went home were Remus, Edith, and Lily.
Remus needed to see his Mum and Edith tagged along.
He'd gotten a letter just a week before that Hope's condition was deteriorating fast.
They knew she wouldn't make it til the end of the month.
Edith couldn't let him go alone. This was her last chance. Maybe she could save Hope.
When the pair arrived at Lupin Cottage Edith could tell the air in the home was different than she was used to. It was dark. With the scent of death looming just around the corner.
Lyall had been the one to pick them up from the station. He wasn't all that great at apparating so they drove back to the cottage.
Remus and Edith's first stop was Hope and Lyall's bedroom where she was stuck on bedrest.
Despite the dense sickness in the air, the room was lovely. Covered in flowers and books. Remus got his bookworm nature from Hope.
"Remus, Edith, I'm so glad you're here." Hope said with a smile as she sat up on the bed. Remus walked over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Hi Mum." Remus gave her a small smile. He was breaking, seeing her like this. But he had to put on a strong face for her.
"Hi Mrs. Lupin," Edith also gave her a smile.
"Oh posh dear. You know by now to call me Hope. Especially since you're dating my son." Hope raised an eyebrow at Edith.
"Oh–Mum we're not–" Remus began but was cut off.
"Works for me. Might as well start calling me Edith Lupin then ay?" She joked, coming to the other side of Hope's bed and taking a seat on the edge.
Remus blushed heavily at the use of the name Edith Lupin. Merlin how he hoped that would become a reality one day.
Hope softly laughed at that. But her beautiful laugh turned into a cough. She put a hand over her mouth as she tried to catch her breath.
"I-I'll go get some water." Remus quickly got up and rushed out of the room.
Edith leaned Hope forward a bit so she could rub her back.
Lung Cancer. A horrible thing. At first they thought it was pneumonia. But after multiple tests, they knew what it was.
It was invasive. And non curable. In the muggle or wizarding world.
It stole your breath as it stole your life.
And for the Lupin Family...
It was stealing their light.
And that light was fading quickly.
~
Hope was already having trouble speaking. And by the end of the first week, she could only speak in very hushed tones.
Remus had to watch as his Mother went from happy and laughing to barely surviving. There was absolutely nothing he could do. And it was killing him.
Right now, he was sitting on the back porch of the cottage on a swinging chair. He was just staring aimlessly into Hope's dying garden.
Edith walked outside, looking around for her mate. "Leannan?" She got no reply, but she spotted him on his favorite swinging chair.
She walked over, sitting down next to him, taking his hand in her own. "Hope is asleep. I read Jane Austen until she fell asleep."
Remus' head didn't move. He just sniffled. "One of her favorites.." His voice was low and hoarse. She could tell he was holding back tears.
"Oh Rem.." She moved her hand to wrap around his shoulder. She pulled his head to her chest. The minute he made contact with her he started to sob.
He hadn't let himself cry yet. He thought he needed to be strong for her. But he couldn't anymore.
He clutched onto his lover as tight as he could as her shirt soaked with his tears.
She just ran a kind hand through his hair. A few tears even slipping passed her eyes. "To weep is to make less the depth of grief." She whispered to him as he broke in her arms.
He cried for a good few minutes. She just quietly ran her hands through his hair and rubbed his back. She hummed a small tune to him to help him calm down.
~
In the middle of the second week of break, Remus and Lyall were out of the house. They were at a potions shop in the wizarding world. They knew her fate. But they couldn't give up.
Edith sat in a chair next to Hope's bed, her leg tapping incessantly.
Hope was reading a book in her lap when she looked over at Edith. "What's on your mind sweetheart?" She said in a very hushed voice. If it weren't for Edith's Lioness hearing she probably couldn't hear her.
"Hope... if I told you I had a way to heal you. But I wasn't completely sure if it would work... would you do it?" She asked, looking up at Hope.
Hope just smiled weakly at Edith. "No. No I wouldn't."
"Why.. Why not?"
Hope reached down, taking Edith's hand and holding it with whatever strength she had left. "I've made my peace. Death has come for me."
A tear rolled down Edith's cheek. "But I could help you... Atleast give you more time."
"But it is my time, love. I've known since we found out. Its fate. I've accepted it." Hope ran her thumb over the back of Edith's hand. Just as Remus did. "I know you'll be there for him. You'll be his new light. You surely are bright enough."
Edith smiled at that. "Has he... told you?"
"That your his mate? No." Hope weakly laughed. "But the way he looks at you... i knew. I've always known. Took you two long enough."
"Far too long." Edith let out a small laugh. "He thinks he's a monster. I know he's not. If he's a monster.. Then he's not the only one."
Edith had made a decision. She would tell Hope of her secret. Hope was entrusting the life and love of her son to her. She deserved to know.
Edith stood, slowly letting go of Hope's hand. She closed her eyes, letting her flaming wings sprout from her back. She opened her eyes, the normally blueish gray eyes were fiery crimson.
Hope just looked in amazement. Her Remus truly wouldn't be alone.
"I believe Remus told you I spent ten years in an orphanage?" Edith asked as the flames on her wings simmered and she took her seat next to Hope. "That was a lie. I spent the first ten years of my life in a lab. Their main goal, to create eternal life. I'm the only living survivor of fifty years of experiments on children to create a Phoenix Hybrid."
She retook Hope's hand. "I don't know what will happen if I die one day. But I promise... I'll always be there for Remus. I always knew from day one I'd be bound to him. We're both misfits in a large world. And I love him. With every part of my being."
The world lost the wondrous Hope Lupin early Easter morning.
She passed in the presence of her husband, son, and a girl she considered a daughter.
The end of her life came quick and painless from potions Edith had given her. She'd suffered for too long. Edith wanted to give her a calm passing.
Hope left this plane with a soft smile on her face and a Jane Austen book in her lap.
~
Remus was getting ready for the funeral two days later. The Lupin Cottage felt unbelievably empty. He was staring at himself in a tall mirror in his bedroom. An all black tux. Something he hoped he never would have to wear.
Edith saves a soft knock to his open bedroom door before walking in. She was in a simple black dress that went just passed her knees. She came up next to him, wrapping an arm around his back and pressing a kiss to his shoulder.
"Ready Leannan? The boys are already at the church. Car's all ready." She asked, looking at his face through the mirror.
"Will I ever be ready for this?" He quietly asked.
She just shook her head. "No. Never. But this is what she'd want. A beautiful send off. I helped decorate the church myself so you know it's amazing."
He leaned into her touch, exhaling. "I've known for so long... it doesn't make it any better."
"I know, love. But she went calmly. She told me she made peace weeks ago." She walked in front of him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she leant up to press a kiss to his cheek. "Let's go. Lyall needs you."
Remus leaned his head down onto her forehead and slowly nodded. "Don't leave me... okay?"
"Gheallaidh."
~
The funeral was a small affair. Close family and friends, nothing more.
The pastor's speech was beautiful. It detailed the amazing life of Hope Lupin perfectly.
Remus got to say goodbye to his mother for the last time surrounded by his three best mates and the love of his life.
The Marauders plus the Potters returned back to Lupin Cottage after the funeral. Mia and Monty were talking with Lyall as the group of Teenagers sat outside. Edith sat on the swinging chair next to Remus as the others took up various lawn chairs.
"Thou know'st tis common; all that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity." Edith spoke up in the silence.
"Who wrote that?" Lily asked from next to James.
"Shakespeare. Hamlet. Act one." Remus responded. His gaze was still off in the distance. He was completely numb. Even Moony was silent for once in his life. He'd lost a member of his pack.
"When I croak, I wanna be cremated. And thrown in the Black Lake." Sirius said from the ground. He was laid back on the grass. "That way i can go out as hot as i was in the living world." He always tried to joke through pain.
I guess that's just what Remus needed. Edith could see a small smile crack into the corners of his mouth.
"I wanna be buried. Be one with the worms." James said, carrying on the conversation.
"The worms eat your decaying flesh, James." Regulus sat next to Lily, his arms up behind his head.
"Free buffet then." Peter added. Which caused each of the Marauders to laugh. Even if it was a sad one.
Each of their laughs died off until Edith spoke up.
"I've decided something."
"What would that be, Goldeye?"
"We're never going to die. Never. We're all gonna grow old like Albus and become the world's most mischievous Professors.".
"Sounds like a plan. The Marauders, Immortal Pranksters." James announced. "Deal?"
"Deal." They all said in unison.
Unfortunate for our young friends,
The Fates had other plans.
~
RIP to our lovely Hope Lupin
I actually bawled my eyes out writing this chapter
Until Next Time,
~Airshii