A/N: Well, here's the epilogue to my longest, greatest epic fic ever written! Phew, am I tired after finishing this! It took nine solid months, and I am so thrilled this fic alone garnered a bit of a fan base. It's been quite a ride writing, and I said this in the beginning and I'll say it again so there are no questions: yes, I believe this is what was happening all along in the books, once you read between the lines. I consider this canon no matter how many interviews hapen to come out later, no matter what the wikis say.

To all of those who reviewed this fic along, even if just for the prizes, I thank you most humbly. You were the reason I carried on with this fic through hiatus and writer-block and busy work schedules! Please pat yourselves on the back. You all are just wonderful. Enjoy the final chapter in my epic Remus/Tonks story The Lone Wolf, and see you next fic!

Signed, Sadie Lovegood

The summer's evening was damp from the midday thunderstorms that had rolled on by earlier, but not altogether miserable. The humidity almost created a bit of evening haze, that when the sliver of sun that shown reflected off it, made the large acre of land appear orange. The whole area was deserted except for the tombstones lining the horizon, creating winding paths this way and that. Indeed, the Albus W. P. B. Dumbledore Memorial Cemetery, located just outside Hogsmeade, was quiet, still. Not even the crows bothered to disturb the peace. Not many witches and wizards had the nerve to do so, either. That is, aside from the three that had just made their way past the Hog's Head and through the wrought-iron gate.

Three people, three varying heights, shapes, and postures. The shortest of the three carried herself with an air of pride despite being where she was. Her hair was a golden red, wavy, tied in a loose braid running down until it stopped in the small of her back. Her eyes and her height were her mother's, but her carriage and her style belonged to her 'cool' father. She wore a navy blue suit that made her look mature for her twenty-two years.

Her hand was intertwined with the tallest person's hand. His hair tonight was a familiar mousy brown, but his eyes were his favorite shade of violet. His face was a spitting image of his own father's (handsome, a little thin, perhaps, but still symmetrical), but he walked with a slight forward lean like his mother and had a tendency to trip over trifles in the road. He was the reason the trio was in the cemetery to begin with. His free hand held a bundle of lavender lilies, and he wore a chain around his neck holding a ring on it, a ring with a purple paw-print-shaped stone. The ring itself meant little to him, but it was still somehow his most precious posession.

Behind the couple walked the third figure, of medium height. She used a cane to walk, for her old age had taken much of the use of her right leg. Okay, so she wasn't as old as some believed her to be, but her years of loss followed by her years of raising her grandson had aged her considerably. But she was not ashamed of it. Every wrinkle was proof that she had the strength inside her to carry forward, not only for her ward, but for herself as well.

The tallest man knew the intended pathway more than either of the other two. He went there every Hogsmeade weekend during his school days, now seven years past. The path he walked was practically worn down through the grass from the many times he'd walked there.

As they walked deeper into the evening haze, the red haired young woman suddenly stopped at a grave she was always mesmerized by. Her fiancé knew to stop when she did, but the old woman only halted after a few seconds. It was the grave of the uncle she never knew, her father's younger brother who had died only minutes before her fiancé's parents.

After a minute of somewhat awkward reverence for Fred Gideon Weasley, the trio moved on further down the hazy path. Thus far, none of them had said a word.

The young woman let go of her fiance's hand as he picked up speed in anticipation, and she let him go ahead of her. The young man with brown hair and the lavender lilies wound his way through the tombstones. Colin Creevey, the youngest casualty…Sirius Black, who's elaborate memorial had no body under it...Emmeline Vance, who's grave had obviously recently been visited as the base of the stone was covered in flowers…Michael Corner, who's stone had the proud shield of Ravenclaw on it…

Finally, the young man arrived at the two grave markers, laying side by side, under a small willow that had been planted between the two as if to shelter the graves from rain and snow. The man knelt beside the first stone and took half the bundle of lilies and laid them underneath the stone…

Remus John Lupin

1960-1998

Friend, Husband, Father, Brave Fighter

Order of the Phoenix Member I & II

This was always the awkward part for the young man. Talking to his father.

"Dad, I'm sure you know tomorrow's the big day. I just wanted to let you know saved a seat in the front row for both you and Mum, in case you felt like dropping in from heaven or wherever it is you are. Can't make as many promises about the cake, though…" The man paused and clicked his tongue and looked behind him. He was still alone. Perhaps they'd gone to look at his grandfather's memorial. He still had time.

"I failed Stealth and Tracking again for the third time, but I'm sure a few more private lessons with Uncle Harry and I'll finally be an Auror. Grandmum says I have Mum to thank for my uncanny ability to trip over thin air."

Sighing, the young man turned to the other stone, his Mum's stone.

Nymphadora Rhea Tonks-Lupin

1973-1998

Loyal Wife, Mother, Auror

Werewolf Rights Advocate

Order of the Phoenix Member II

"Mum, I hope you don't mind Vicky uses your wedding dress tomorrow. She fits it perfectly, or so I've heard. She won't let me see her in it until tomorrow morning. I found it in Grandmum's attic and she agreed to let her wear it. I bet you looked just beautiful in it. Anyway, if you think you're getting grandchildren, don't hold your breath—metaphorically speaking—for a few years. She needs to finish her Healing studies and I still need to pass that damned Auror final," he said to his mother's tombstone, taking the second bunch of lilies and placing them under her headstone.

"And Grandmum said how you liked making your hair pink, let me assure you it will not be that way tomorrow. I hope you'll approve of sky blue instead."

"Teddy?" cooed a voice from behind the young man. He turned around to see his two female companions with him. He smiled.

"Yes, Grandmum?" he asked. Andromeda Tonks nodded at the graves.

"You need another minute?" she asked her ward. The creases under her eyes were deepend as she gave a smile to her only grandchild. The younger woman stepped up beside her fiancé and kneeled beside him, looking at her parents-in-law's memorials.

"Ted, if you want to be alone, Gran and I can wait with the Portkey," she assured. Ted shook his head.

"Aren't we eating with Harry tonight, Victoire?"

She shook her head. "You and Gran are. Mummy's taking me and my girlfriends to London for my bachelorette party, remember?"

"That's right," Teddy said. "I…I just felt like I needed to do this before we got married."

Victoire nodded with understanding. "Of course. Do whatever you need."

Teddy looked back at the graves again. He'd never known either of them. All he ever knew he learned from his grandmother. But she kept non secrets from them, and when Teddy had a question about his parents, Andromeda always answered in full, and he was grateful for that.

Of course, she couldn't answer everything, especially when Teddy asked how they had died in the battle. Andromeda could only provide him with rumors she'd picked up from surviving Order members, like Kingsley and the Weasleys. According to Kingsley Shacklebolt and Mr. Weasley, Remus had died first, and Tonks survived him for almost a half hour before she fell at the hands of Andromeda's own sister, Bellatrix. Mr. Weasley claimed they'd fought side-by-side until Remus fell. Kingsley, on the other hand, said that Tonks had never found Remus at all. Then, there was Lee Jordan and Mrs. Weasley, who both stuck by their story that Tonks fell first, and Remus had actually allowed Antonin Dolohov to kill him when he saw Tonks fall, as if seeing her dead made him lose his will to live. She never knew which story to believe, nor which story she wanted to believe. But in the end, the conclusions were always the same, and both Andromeda and Teddy developed their own separate ideas over time.

Andromeda walked a little closer. "Your father always called himself a lone wolf, you know," she recalled. "He's not a lone wolf anymore."

"I don't think he ever was, Grandmum," Teddy said fondly. "I never knew the man, but something tells me that all along, he was never alone. There was Mum, and Uncle James and Sirius, right?"

Andromeda smiled. "You need to stop sneaking around through his old schoolbooks. Just because I gave you a key to the attic does not mean you have a right to snoop."

"What can I say? I'm a Marauder by blood!" Teddy declared proudly. Andromeda winced.

"Stop calling yourself that. It makes you sound like a deviant!" Victoire giggled.

Teddy snickered and stared at the graves. What would his parents say about how he lived his life up to this point? He was a bit of a rebel at school, yet at the same time became Hufflepuff's male prefect because of his ability to charm the professors. He had his heart set on only two things now: Victoire and becoming an Auror.

But he knew about one thing: whatever possessed his father into thinking he was a lone wolf wasn't true. Sure, he was a werewolf, scarred and seemingly defeated. But that's why his Mum was brought into his Dad's life. And he had friends, and a kind heart. Lone Wolves cared only for themselves. Remus Lupin cared about his whole pack. That was all that mattered.

Sometimes Teddy dreamed about them. Often, he'd see a man with a face almost exactly like his, holding the hand of a shorter woman with spiky pink hair. They'd sometimes be spiraling around a dance floor in each other's arms. Other times he saw two silhouettes against a full moon, wrapped in each other's embrace. But his most frequent dream was when he saw two Patronuses, both wolves, prancing beautifully along a country meadow, past a windmill, over the forests and through valleys. It was a beautiful dream, and oftentimes Teddy would cast his own Patronus, a coyote, to follow them as they wandered.

"You coming?" Teddy snapped out of the small trance he'd placed himself in. Victoire had gotten up and was now holding out her hand to Teddy to help him to his feet. Teddy took her hand and got up.

"I'll be fine," Teddy said.

Victoire caressed her lover's cheek with a long, thin finger. "Oh, I had no doubt you would be," she replied, brushing his lips with her own, briefly.

"Not in front of Mum!" Teddy said quickly, jokingly pointing at the graves. Victoire giggled and let Teddy lead her out of the graveyard, out of the haze, and into life. A life his parents had died giving to him.

Well, he would not let them down. He would make the most of the gift his parents left him. He would not be a lone wolf. It was a promise that would hang in suspension over the hazy graveyard forever, never to be broken or let down.