Title: Gone

Author: shadowcat15

Rating: G

Summary: Remus Lupin is told by Dumbledore that Lily, James, and Peter are dead, and Sirius is in Azkaban.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: I just bought the Prisoner of Azkaban DVD today and this popped into my mind. Please forgive any spelling or grammar mistakes, my computer does not have spell check, and I suck at spelling.

A soft chiming sound echoed through the house of Remus John Lupin, causing him to awake from his dream with a start and fall off the bed. A glance at the clock by his bed told him that it was three in the morning, and as he slowly made his way downstairs to answer the door, he muttered to himself about "stupid people who stayed up this late" and "why do they have to wake us normal people up".

Tripping over a coffee table he was sure was not there when he went to sleep a few hours ago, he finally managed to make it to the door. Remus half expected to see James there, telling him that Harry was crying again, asking to sleep over. But that thought vanished when he opened the door to see Albus Dumbledore there.

Not saying a word, he stepped aside to let his former proffesor into his house. Dumbledore did so with a slight nod. Dumbledore was the head of the Order of the Phoenix, a group of people dedicated to the defeate of Voldemort, and he would only show up at someones house in the middle of the night if something had gone wrong. A million things ran through Remus' mind as he thought about his friends and wondered if he'd ever see any of them again.

He led Dumbledore into the kitchen, and sat quitely at the table. Many people he had known in Hogwarts had been lost in the war against Voldemort, as well as many people he hadn't known.

"The war is over." Dumbledore said these words so simply, but Remus could tell that there was much that Dumbledore had yet to tell him. If that was all, Dumbledore could have sent a letter to everybody, he wouldn't have come to Remus' house. "The bad news is that we lost more people. Remus, there is no easy way to tell you this, so I shall hae to do it bluntly. Lily, James and Peter are dead. And Sirius is in Azkaban."

The world stopped where it was, and all was silent except for the ringing in his ears. Lily. James. Peter. All dead. And Sirius was in Azkaban? That didn't make sense. But all Remus could think of right now was that the four people who he had cared about most in this world were gone.

He barely noticed when Dumbledore left him alone, his eyes staring into the distance, and his body and mind numb.

If Lily and James were dead, then Voldemort must have gotten to them. Peter must have gotten in the way or something. And Sirius……Sirius had been the Secret-Keeper……that meant he must have been the spy. Remus could hardly believe that Sirius would betray Lily and James, but the evidence all pointed to him. The only way that Voldemort would have been able to get into Lily and James' house, was if the Secret-Keeper had told him where it was. And Sirius was the Secret-Keeper.

Still in his trance, he climbed the stairs, and got into his bed. He stared at the ceiling, and tried to fall back asleep, hoping that when he woke up in the morning, this would all be a horrible nightmare, and his best friends would still be alive and out of prison.

But Remus Lupin did not fall asleep again.