A/N: Well, I decided to change things a bit and make Harry and Teddy out to be twins. Harry was supposed to be an only child at first but I just love Teddy a lot and I wanted him to be in this story so I figured, why not? I really love the idea of them being twins and it surely will be fun to write. x

*RBW*

Remus Lupin was roughly awakened by a loud and demanding pounding on the front door. He groaned in annoyance and put his pillow over his head, trying desperately to go back to sleep. His parents would answer the door anyway. He merely prayed that the pounding would not wake Harry and Teddy up. Remus had had a hard enough time getting them to go to bed the night before and he did not wish to go through it again.

Remus sighed and gave up trying to go back to sleep when the pounding did not stop. What were his parents doing? Couldn't they just answer the door so that they could all sleep peacefully? He lifted his pillow up to look at the alarm clock on the nightstand where he could read 2:43 AM. It was way too early, or late, to get up. Harry and Teddy had gone to bed just three hours ago and Remus definitely needed more sleep than two and a half hours.

"Coming." He heard his father say quietly, mindful of the others sleeping in the house. Remus thanked Merlin that his father had finally decided to get out of bed and to go answer the door for he wouldn't have been able to stand the pounding a minute further. He wanted to curse whoever had decided to come bother at such an hour of the night. It was really unbecoming.

Remus put his head back on the pillow and sighed contentedly. He relished the silence that filled the house as he blocked his father's and the strangers' voices out. He wanted nothing more than to sleep the night through and that was what he intented to do. He listened for a second, looking for any noise coming from Harry and Teddy's bedroom that might indicate that Harry had actually woken up. Remus heard nothing but the boys' steady breathing. The three-year-olds were still sleeping peacefully. He turned around so that he was facing the wall connecting his and the boys' bedroom, a small frown on his scarred face.

The twenty-three-year-old man was relieved to hear his father climb up the stairs. It must have not been important for his father to go back to bed so soon, probably a mistake. However, Remus couldn't help the dread that settled in his heart. He didn't know why he felt that way but the feeling just didn't want to go away. He was surprised to hear his father knock twice on his door before opening it, but what surprised Remus the most was the look on his face. He was pale, deadly pale, and looked as though he had just seen a ghost or had heard about a loved one's death. Remus had never seen his father so close to fainting before.

"You should come, Remus." His father said, his voice nothing but a pained whisper.

Remus's frown deepened. "What is it?" He asked as he got up from the bed and put his dressing robe on.

His father didn't answer, he didn't even look at Remus in the eye. He merely waited by the door for Remus to come with him. Remus had never been so confused in his whole life, except maybe for the day he had realized he would have to live as a werewolf. He caught sight of his father's gaze, which was filled with sadness, pity and resignation, as he walked past him.

Remus sighed and went downstairs, it annoyed him greatly that his father wouldn't tell him what was happening but he was probably too shaken up to talk about it which only served to make him even more nervous. He nearly stopped dead in his tracks right in the middle of the stairs when he caught sight of the two aurors standing by the door. They looked way too solemn for it to be a courtesy visit. Something was wrong, and the dread that was slowly taking over Remus's body didn't make things any easier.

He took a deep breath, taking comfort in his mother's presence by the door and his father's right behind him. "Remus Lupin?" One of the aurors asked as Remus reached the door. He was short and plump with short dirty blonde hair. His pale skin made his black eyes awfully stand out.

"Yes?" Remus answered, trying to ignore his mother's teary eyes.

The second auror cleared his throat awkwardly, clearly ill-at-ease. "You should sit down, M. Lupin." He said, biting the inside of his cheek as he tried to hide his nervousness. "Perhaps we could come in."

Remus took a moment to look at the second auror. He looked familiar, perhaps they had attended Hogwarts at the same time. He was short but lean, with long strawberry blonde hair. His pale and unblemished skin was tainted with light freckles. "Yes, of course. Could you just keep it down, please?"

"Of course." The plump auror replied. Remus nodded absentmindedly as he led the aurors to the living-room, his parents short on their tail. He sat on the couch while the two aurors remained standing in front of him. His parents had stopped on the threshold, allowing their son a bit of privacy.

Remus looked up at the aurors expectantly, waiting for them to tell him what had happened. He worried his lower lip as he tried not to think about all the possiblilities. He didn't want to think about what could have happened, his mind would imagine all sorts of horrible things and he would end up crying for something that had probably not happened.

The strawberry blonde haired auror cleared his throat once again. "Well, we were sent to investigate on a case earlier tonight, at Godric's Hollow. We found Lily Evans's burnt house, we also found...bones. We managed to identify them and it turned out that they belonged to one Lily Evans and one James Potter."

A nervous laugh escaped Remus's lips. "You're kidding, right?" He expected the aurors to laugh along with him but they did not. Remus's smile turned into a grimace when it finally sank in that they were not kidding at all. "You're not kidding." He said matter-of-factly.

"I'm sorry." The dirty blonde haired auror said softly.

Remus couldn't believe it. James couldn't be dead. He couldn't leave him, Harry and Teddy alone. Remus could feel his wolf howl and thrash in protest and sadness and grief. Remus blinked rapidly, trying to prevent his tears from falling but his fast blinking caused one single tear to run down his cheek and it was all it took. Remus burst out in tears as he let his head fall in his hands, his whole body shaking with heavy sobs. He barely felt his mother's arms wrap themselves around him.

James was dead and the last thing Remus had told him was that he hated him. Remus felt guilt and sadness eating him up. It was all his fault. They had had a fight three days ago and Remus wished he could go back in time. They had had a fight over something stupid, they had had a fight because James had been spending more and more time at work and out with Sirius lately and Remus had grown tired of it. He had decided to confront James while Harry and Teddy had been playing outside with Sirius. They both had ended up angry and telling things they didn't mean. Remus then had decided he had had enough of James's pathetic excuses and he had gone to his parents', taking the boys with him.

Remus hadn't heard from James since then but Sirius had told him that he had been quite miserable and that he felt really bad about them having a fight. Remus had decided to ignore it all and to not talk to James for a few more days but he actually regretted it now. He wished he and James had never fought. If they hadn't had a fight, then James wouldn't have gone to Lily's and would have stayed at their own home in Godric's Hollow with he and the twins.

Remus wished he had never acted like an irrational, stubborn and jealous lover.

"Mummy?" A sleepy voice pulled Remus out of his musings.

He lifted his head up to look at a three-year-old Harry who was standing by the living-room's door, holding his stuffed stag tightly and rubbing his tired eyes. Remus realized that he had been crying hard and that he couldn't let Harry see him that way and so he quickly turned his back to him. "Go back to bed, Harry." He said in a shaky voice.

"But Mummy-" Harry protested weakly.

"Come on, Harry." Lyall said as he picked Harry up. "We should let Mummy alone for a moment."

"But-" Harry started again.

"No buts, he'll join you later, okay?" Lyall offered as he started to walk away.

Harry sighed. "Okay."

Remus took a deep breath, relieved that he wouldn't have to face his son now. He didn't know how he would handle things once he would be alone with him. He couldn't just tell Harry and Teddy that their Daddy was gone.

"Oh, God." Remus whispered as it sank in. "I'm going to have to tell Teddy and Harry." He bit his lower lip to hold back a sob that threatened to make its way out. "I can't tell them that James is gone." Remus said, looking pleadingly at his mother.

"I know but you are going to have to." His mother said as she ran her fingers through Remus's light brown hair in a soothing motion.

A throat was cleared and Remus realized that the aurors were still here and that he had basically broken down in front of them. He felt ashamed of himself for being so weak.

"We're sorry for your loss." The strawberry blonde haired auror said, smiling sympathetically at Remus.

"Thank you, I guess?" Remus replied, wiping his cheeks as he tried to compose himself.

"We worked with James and we knew about you and little Harry and Teddy so we thought you would want to have that." The plumper auror said, handing a box over to Remus. "It was in his office, it was hidden so we thought it might be important."

"Thank you." Remus said as he took the box.

The aurors smiled kindly. "We'll leave now." The leaner auror said and they left without another, Hope showing them to the door.

Remus took a shaky breath, willing himself not to cry again. He bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood and opened the box. The first thing he saw was a folded piece of paper. It looked rather old as though James had kept it for several years. Remus opened it. The first lines looked like they had been written by a child but the further they went, the more recent they seemed. Remus's eyes watered as he read.

Things to do before I die (with Remus):

-Become friends with Remus Lupin X

-Spend more time with Remus X

-Become Remus's best-friend in the whole world X

-Become an Animagus to be with Remus X

-Visit Remus over the summers X

-Tell Sirius that I like Remus X

-Kiss Remus X

-Buy Remus a chocolate house

-Tell Remus that I love him X

-Become Remus's soulmate X

-Love Remus until the day I die X

-Visit Paris with Remus X

-Visit Rome with Remus X

-Visit Greece with Remus and Harry and Teddy

-Buy a house with Remus X

-Marry Remus

-Have children with Remus (have two but want more)

-Spoil Harry, Teddy and Remus rotten X

-Leave on a cruise with Remus and the twins

-Quit my job to spend more time with Harry, Teddy and Remus, don't need to be an Auror anyway

-Give the twins a little sister

-Have grandchildren (counting on you boys)

-Grow old with Remus

-NEVER HAVE A FIGHT WITH REMUS AGAIN

Remus was a sobbing mess by the time he had finished reading it all. There were so many things James had wanted to do with him and the twins but had not had the occasion to. Remus wanted more time, more time to be with and love James. He felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest.

He quickly wipped his tears away and looked through the full box. He found a few pictures; one of James and Sirius laughing, one of Remus and James kissing, one of Remus and Sirius playing chess, one of James, Sirius, Remus, Peter and Lily on their last day at Hogwarts, one of Remus sleeping, one of Remus reading by the fire, one of Remus with a slight baby bump, another of a seven months pregnant Remus, one of James holding baby Harry as Remus held baby Teddy and looked exhausted by the birth, one of a three-weeks-old Harry holding a stuffed stag while Teddy was holding a stuffed wolf, one of Sirius holding a one-year-old Harry and one of James, Remus, Teddy and Harry celebrating the twins' third birthday. He found a few scans of his pregnancy. He found a little wooden wolf which Remus had bought James on their sixth year. There were some of the twins' drawings. The last thing he found was the most surprising though, a little black velvety box. Remus frowned slightly and opened it. A new wave of tears invaded his eyes as his gaze fell on a ring. It was beautiful. It was a simple silver ring with a crescent moon embedded in it.

Remus pulled it out and looked at it more closely. He caught sight of an engraving on the inside. He swore he had heard his heart break when he read it.

I love you, Moony.

Remus quickly slipped the ring on his left ring finger, relieved to see that it fitted perfectly. He took a deep breath and blinked fastly, willing the tears to go away before closing the box.

"Are you okay?" He heard his father ask from the door.

Remus looked at him for a moment, wondering whether he should tell the truth or not. His father was no stupid man, he would know that Remus was lying if he said yes. He had merely asked the question to make his presence known. Remus sighed, he knew that he would never be able to be okay but he would have to pretend. For Teddy and Harry. Perhaps one day the excruciating pain would reduce to a dull ache and Remus would learn to live with it.

Moreover, he had the twins. His sons were his only reason to live now and Remus wouldn't let them down. He had no doubt about what he would have done if they hadn't been born. But they were there and they needed Remus. They would need him even more once they heard about their daddy's passing. Remus didn't know when he would tell Harry and Teddy yet but he knew that the sooner, the better. They would probably ask for James in the morning as they had done for the past three days anyway and Remus knew that he wouldn't be able to lie to his sons.

Remus sighed and shook his head. "I don't think I'll ever be." He admitted softly. "Is Harry sleeping?"

"Not yet." Lyall replied.

"Go back to bed, we'll take care of Harry." Hope said as she appeared behind her husband.

"No, it's okay. I think I need to be with he and Teddy right now." Remus said, swallowing the lump that was slowly forming in his throat.

He got up from the couch, hugging the box to his chest. He wasn't ready to let it go just now. It was all he had left of James right now. He walked past his parents without a word, not even allowing them to take him in their arms. He knew that if either his mother or his father were to hug him, Remus would just break down once again and he didn't want that. He was going to see Harry and he needed to be strong for that.

Remus took a deep breath before opening the twins' door. He couldn't help the teary smile that made its way on his face. Harry was sitting in bed, playing with his stuffed stag, waiting for Remus to come up while Teddy was still sound asleep. He wrinkled his little nose as his glasses started to slip down. He pushed them up in one swift move. Remus knew Harry's eyesight would improve once he experienced his first shift in a few months but he had insisted on him wearing glasses anyway.

Remus still got amazed at how much Harry looked like James. Their likeness made Remus's heart ache right now. He ached for his mate. He ached for James.

"You not sad 'nymore, Mummy?" Harry whispered, mindful of his sleeping twin, as he looked up at Remus.

"I'm okay, Sweetheart." Remus whispered back, a soft smile on his lips.

"Good." Harry sighed and kissed Remus's cheek as the man sat down on the bed. "Wha' is it, Mummy?" Harry asked, pointing at the box in Remus's arms.

"Nothing, just some old stuff I need to put away." Remus kissed his son's forehead, taking great comfort in his presence. "How about you sleep with Mummy tonight?"

"Really?" Harry asked, his eyes shining with happiness and excitement. Remus nodded. "Yay!" The little boy cheered, ripping a small chuckle out of Remus. "Is Teddy comin' too?"

I think we should let him sleep. Don't want to wake him up, right?" Remus said, getting a nod of agreement from Harry.

The three-year-old jumped into Remus's arms, mindful of the box, with his stuffed stag in a deadly grip.

"M'sleepy, Mummy." Harry mumbled as Remus lied him down on his own bed beforing slidding in himself. "I said Gran'pa I was no' ti'ed 'cause I wan'ed to wai' fo' you."

"You didn't have to wait for me, Baby." Remus said as he let Harry climb half on him and rest his head on his chest.

Harry shrugged slightly. "Men we' meanies 'cause they made you cry, Mummy." Harry mumbled, his eyelids already heavy with sleep.

"It was not their fault, Sweetheart." Remus said as he ran his fingers through Harry's messy black hair.

"Wan' Daddy t' be 'ere." Harry mumbled before falling into a deep slumber.

"Me too, Baby, me too." Remus replied absentmindedly as he buried his nose into Harry's mop of hair.

Remus tried to think about what he would tell Harry and Teddy in the morning but nothing came up. His mind was blank. But he couldn't tell the twins that their Daddy was gone, just like that, right? That was when it really sank in. James was gone. Forever. He was never coming back. Remus would never get to hear him talk and laugh, to look into his beautiful hazel eyes, to feel his lips on his own, and his arms around him. He had lost his mate forever.

Remus couldn't stand it anymore. He couldn't be strong anymore and he thanked Merlin that Harry was already asleep. Remus took a deep breath, relishing his son's scent which was so much like James's, and broke down. He wept, heavy sobs shaking his whole body and soul, fat tears running down his cheeks and falling into Harry's hair. He had lost the love of his life. He was alone now. He didn't want to live in a world where James was not.

*RBW*