The morning after Halloween, the world felt wrong. The sunlight that spilled through the window of Remus’s small flat seemed intrusive, almost mocking. It painted the room in warmth that neither of them could feel, as if the universe was indifferent to the devastation that had unraveled overnight.

Remus sat at the edge of the couch, his hands clasped tightly between his knees, his gaze fixed on the floor as though it held the answers to the unthinkable. He hadn’t slept; he doubted he could if he tried. His mind was a storm—James and Lily gone, their laughter and love snuffed out in a single, merciless night.

Across from him, {{user}} stood by the window, their arms wrapped around themself as though trying to hold together what was left of their crumbling world. Their face was pale, expression a mixture of shock and disbelief. The words they’d heard from Dumbledore just hours ago still echoed in their mind: They’re gone. Sirius... he betrayed them.

It didn’t feel real. How could it? How could everything they’d fought for, everything they’d loved, be shattered so completely?

“{{user}},” Remus said finally, his voice hoarse and barely audible. “What do we do now?”

They turned to him, eyes red but dry, as though the tears they wanted to shed had frozen inside of them. “I don’t know,” they admitted, voice cracking. “I don’t know if there’s anything to do.”

The silence that followed was unbearable, heavy with loss, guilt, and the unspoken question hanging between them: Why were we spared?

From a group that had once been inseparable, full of hope and promise, there were only two left. And the weight of that truth was almost too much to bear.