S n a p s h o t s O f P a r a d i s e

A Beginning and An Ending

(And I do believe it's true
That there are roads left in both of our shoes
But if the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too
So brown eyes I hold you near
Cause you're the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere)

--Soul Meets Body, Death Cab for Cutie

The first thing he notices is that it's bright. Shards of sunlight pierce his eyes as he calls out, his voice reaching into the distance like a pair of hands grasping for something that cannot be seen.

"Dora," Remus bellows, "are you here?"

Wherever here is, that's the logical progression, because all he knows is that he's in a field, and that the air is crisp; he can feel the wind whistling through his clothing, rustling the bottoms of his trousers and his hair.

"Dora," he tries again, "Dora!"

He listens intently, but there's nothing except a haunting silence. He takes a few ginger steps forward, trying to figure out when and where and how, because he has no recollection of how he got here to this land of rolling hills and green –

- green, he remembers that. He remembers flashes of light and searing pain and a hollow pit of emptiness, before falling, and landing here.
Remus takes another step, and another, much like a baby learning to walk – oh crap, Teddy, what has happened to him? – and slowly, the pieces fall into place; he waits for the euphoria of success to wash over him, and yet it's only more of that emptiness.

He's dead. And that means that Dora shouldn't, won't, can't be here.

Stumbling forward another few steps, Remus realises that he's actually on the edge of a precipice; he can feel his heart drop into his stomach as sharply as the rocks plunge down to the ground below.

"Dora," he calls yet again, ignoring how fruitless and insane it is.

"Yes, Remus."

--

They stumble along together, hands entwined and destinies written on the same page. For a fleeting second, Remus thinks she should be sad – his body wracked with strident tears even – but instead, he feels nothing but the warmth of her palm in his and hears nothing but the steady rhythm of her heart.

"Why are you here?" he asks finally, "you didn't -"

"Didn't die, you mean?" she says with all her typical enthusiasm, the sun shining on perfect white teeth – one of the many advantages of being a Metamorphagus – and her glittering brown eyes. "Of course I died, but I gave that bitch what she deserved first." For a moment, there's silence, and then Remus speaks again.

"You're so … so nonchalant."

"Well, what else am I meant to be? A whinging, cynical, depressed idiot. I'm sorry, but that's a role reserved for you."

"And one I fill with pleasure." They've been joking about this for months now, their laughter spurred on by a futile search for something, anything to avoid the war that lingered at their doorstep, and it almost makes him sick that they're still doing it now.

Silence isn't a concern for them as they continue to walk, because Remus knows that now, Tonks is here with him, and he can't be sorry anymore. He feels a small tinge as he thinks of his son, gurgling happily in his cot, remembers the sweetness of the milky tea he drank with his mother every Tuesday afternoon. All those normal things, and yet they feel like an age ago.

--

The field stretches on for eternity, Remus thinks.

--

Finally they reach the edge of the meadow, each absorbed in their own thoughts of life and death and what's going to happen next? The cliff is next to them, an eternal drop into a pit of Merlin knows what. It's all yellow sunshine and green grass and blue sky – the sort of perfection you only usually see in paintings.

"How do we cross?"

Tonks lets out a chuckle, immediately stifling it with a fist in her mouth, but her reaction is too slow, and Remus' notices her sense of hilarity.

"Why are you laughing?" he questions her, confused, because today, tonight, whenever it is in the grand scheme of things, she's been the quiet one, brooding and mourning, and he thinks she hasn't quite adjusted to this yet.

"You're so … you. You've always been the practical one, and I've always had my head in the clouds. I guess it's nice to know that some things haven't changed, when everything else has."

--

What feels like eternity passes, in a rush of emotion. Suddenly, Remus feels like he's suspended in the air, two worlds crashing together underneath him like a wave bashing mercilessly against the silent shore.

"I've figured it out," he says, as though it's nothing more than the crossword in Sunday's Daily Prophet or a particularly difficult charm he's finally managed to master, without the help of his friends.

"Master Moony," Dora teases, biting back the question that follows – are there full moons in heaven? – "Master Moony has solved the riddle."

"Thanks Dora."

"You're welcome," she says, stretching up on her tiptoes to give him a chaste kiss on the cheek.

"Anyway, we have to jump."

--

"Jump?" she echoes in disbelief, her eyes as round as saucers and her mouth even fuller.

Remus nods solemnly, even though he's so worried that he's surprised his heart hasn't escaped its chains and burst through his ribcage yet. "Jump."

When he thinks about it, everything makes perfect sense. It's the perfect test of faith, the perfect way to see who's ready, and who's not. He never expected Death to be this harsh and his cruel, but then again, a lot of things today have been unexpected.

"You're kidding me," Dora splutters. "We have to jump … down there."

Together, they lean over the cliff, clinging to each others shirts and hair and limbs in an attempt to stay balanced as the wind continues to whistle. Remus can feel the grass brushing at his ankles, and he shakes his feet in a hasty endeavor to remove the tickling sensation. It's so jagged, so far from the perfection of the field they've just spent hours traipsing through. Rocks jut out from the cliff face like daggers, and for all the times he's been stabbed in the back throughout his lifetime, he can't help but wonder if this one will hurt the most.

"Together," he says finally. "We're jumping together." A single glance at her face reveals that she's as scared as he is, and somehow, that makes his ultimate decision all the more easier.

Gently, he takes her hand in his, first gracing it with his eyes, his lips, his soul. And then he smothers it completely with his body heat, beginning to count.

"One, two, three!"

There's a moment of suspension in which Remus thinks oh crap, this was a bad idea, oh crap, we're going to die, even if we're already … and then …

"Moony!" shouts an achingly familiar voice, even if it's been two years since he last heard it.

--

They're home.

--

A/N: And that, my friends, is the end. I've really enjoyed writing this - something which I know you'll struggle to believe, what with the inconsistency of updates - and it's one of my favourite pieces. However, I claim no ownership to the idea of the afterlife, which has been used successfully in many fics before mine - Ghosts, by Prieda Solo and Memento Mori by Lexie H come to mind - but it works really well here. My favourite chapters are probably Chapter 5, for writing style and imagery, and Chapter 7 for characterisation and use of humour. I'd love to know your favourite chapters, and any of your opinions on this chapter, especially if you've stuck with this story since the beginning.

-Cuba ...x