Purgatory

Daylight in Purgatory is just as dangerous in nightfall, it is a never ending forest that is always gloomy, foggy or raining. When Remus woke up, he expected to see the castle he once called home. But unfortunately, this is not the case. Remus woke on hard, packed mud covered with falling leaves from the trees surrounding him. It was pitch black, cold, the air felt heavy, and he was alone... Or so he thought.

Standing, brushing the dirt and leaves from his person, Remus reaches for his wand only to find it's not with him. He continued to look around trying to figure out where he was when he heard an inhuman roar in the distance, followed by a man screaming. His Gryffindor bravery taking a front seat in his mind, he takes off running in the direction of said scream. Remus stops in his tracks a few paces away from where the noise originated.

A beast unlike Remus has ever seen was feasting on his kill. Slowly backing away, not trying to draw its attention when he steps on and snaps a twig causing the beast to rear its head in Remus' direction. The beast looks human from afar, but it is not. In place of its face was a giant mouth with long, sharp teeth and split tongue dripping blood from its kill. Remus didn't know what this creature was, only that he needed to get away from it as fast as possible.

Making the decision to turn and run back to where he woke up was an easy one. Finding somewhere to hide, not so much. Remus is exhausted, hungry, scared and wandless. That last thought scared him the most. How is he expected to defend himself with no wand. He knew some wandless magic, but he was not strong enough to cast offensive spells. A Lumos maybe, spells like Stupefy, or Bombarda would render him unconscious. So he ran, and kept running until he couldn't anymore.

Stopping to catch his breath, Remus leans against a tree. How far does this forest go? Is there no way out? Last thing he remembers was fighting alongside his wife while dueling Dolohov. His wife was dueling Bellatrix LeStrange. Then he woke up in this forest. Did he die? What about Tonks? Is she alright? They just had a son, Teddy. Is he ever going to see them again? Or is he doomed to keep running through this never ending nightmare?

Purgatory: Hell Entrance

Dean walks through the hidden portal in Hell into Purgatory. He takes a deep breath through his nose, rolls his shoulders and readjusts his makeshift dagger in his hands. Turning around to look at the entrance, it is gone. Spending a year in this place, he knew it is vast but there's a central point where all creatures enter. It was the one reassuring thing about Purgatory, no matter which way you head, you'll always end up in the center. Finding the exit after a yearlong stay was lucky. Even though Purgatory opened that door for him, searching for it was exhausting. Dean never gave up then and he will not give up now.

Looking up at the sky, he realized he can't see the moon. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe Remus won't shift while he's here. Better not chance it. Dean needed to find Remus and fast. He starts walking at a brisk pace through the wilderness towards the center. Knowing the possibility of Remus being in the general area is a long shot.

Walking for what seems like hours, killing several Leviathans, a few vampires and a couple of werewolves, Dean gets close to the center. He can feel Purgatory wanting to throw him out but not without Remus. "Remus!" Dean yells risking being attacked again. "Come on buddy where are you?" Dean thinks out loud. Continuing towards the center while looking every which way for his friend.

"Remus!"

'It can't be.' Remus thinks to himself. Remus is not sure if he actually heard a familiar voice call to him or if his mind is playing tricks. Crouching down behind an older, wide trunked tree, trying to hide from these creatures unknown to him. He would fight, but he doesn't know anything about what he'd be fighting. So he stays down and hopefully nothing will attack.

"Remus!"

The voice is getting closer. He knows he heard clearly. Someone is looking for him. Remus risks standing and looking around. Peering from behind the tree, he sees a familiar face in the distance. 'No, it can't be. Dean can't be here.' Remus is confused but also relieved. If it's really Dean, maybe he can tell Remus what's going on and where they are.

Cautiously moving from behind the tree into Dean's line of sight. "Dean!" The other man's head swivels in his direction. He starts walking towards Remus. "Thank Chuck I found you. This place is massive." Dean gives his friend a bro-hug. Remus chuckles a little, glad to see his new friend. "Good to see you too. Where are we? What happened?"

Dean inhales sharply, and explains what happened since the end of the battle and where they are. "That's why I'm here. You're not supposed to have died. Death was able to bring everyone back but since you landed in Purgatory he couldn't get to you. And you know I've been here, so I'm the one coming to bring you home. I can already feel Purgatory trying to push me towards the exit."

Remus sighs in relief, "Lead the way." Thinking about what Dean told him about what happened after the battle, "So, did I hear you right? Death himself brought everyone back and will be joining the Weasleys for Sunday dinner?" Dean nods his head, "Yeah, the guy loves his food. Molly even said if he doesn't show up she will take it as a personal insult." Both men laughed, catching the attention of more creatures. "Time to fight. Here, you'll need this." Dean hands Remus his machete while he shifts his weapon to his dominant hand, "Decapitate is the only thing that stops these things." Remus nods his head and gets into a fighting stance.

Few Hours Later

Panting, covered in blood and guts, the men close in on the opened rift leading to the 100 mile forest in Maine. They continue to walk uphill, the wind around the area increasing in strength, almost like a cyclone. Remus and Dean were a few feet away from the rift when three vampires showed up. "Well if it isn't Dean Winchester? Never thought I see you again. Let alone here in Purgatory." The first vampire says. "Gordon Walker. You look like Hell. How's the neck? Still sore?" Dean goads him on.

Gordon and another vampire lunge at Dean while the last one fights with Remus. The third vampire was a big burly brute dressed like he belonged in the turn of the century. Remus landed a punch to its face, only pissing it off more. The vampire tackles Remus. Knocking him down to the ground, and the machete out of his hands. Remus is struggling to knock the vampire off when the vampire is ripped away from Remus. Looking at the newcomer Remus scrambles away. Fenrir Greyback. The vicious werewolf grips the vampire's head and shoulder, easily pulling the head off, killing it instantly.

"Hey pup. Still getting the shit kicked out of you I see." Greyback sneers at Remus. "I was hoping to never see you again," Remus growls. Turning to Dean to see how he was doing, both vampires have been killed. "Remus? You ready?" Dean doesn't waste any time. He knows Greyback is a sore subject for Remus. Wanting to get away from his sire as fast as possible Remus snaps out of his stupor, and nods his head.

"Pup..." Greyback catches their attention. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. On the brightside, I'm somewhere I belong." Noting how easy it was for Greyback to kill that vampire, he is right. He belongs in Purgatory. "Thank you, Greyback." Remus nods to his sire then turns to Dean, "I'm ready." Dean performs the ritual needed to transport Remus' soul out of Purgatory.

100 Mile Forest

Sam, Draco, Dean T., and Ron are waiting for Dean to come through the rift. They didn't have to wait long. After maybe a half a day, Dean crashes to the ground, falling from an invisible opening clutching his left arm to his chest. Sam runs over to his brother and helps him stand, he notices his left arm is glowing a light blue instead of red.

"Sammy. We need to hurry." Dean struggles to stay standing. "I gotcha. We have a portkey, it's the fastest way. Harry and the rest are waiting with remus' body at their headquarters." Dean Thomas pulls a cloth from his coat pocket and unwraps the portkey, revealing a rubber duck. Ron couldn't help but chuckle, "My father definitely was responsible for this one." Draco pats Dean on the back as they circle around Dean T. They all reach for the portkey and the familiar tugging behind their navel whisked them away. The land ungracefully across the street from Grimmauld Place.

Grimmauld Place

The house appears after Ron says the memorized phrase. One by one they walk through the front door. Sam is still half carrying Dean to a spare bedroom where Remus' body is laying in the center of the bed. Tonks stands from her chair when the door opens, holding baby Teddy, her eyes are bloodshot from all the crying, "Were you... I mean, did it..." Sam sets Dean down next to Remus, "He was able to get Remus out. Now we need to step back and let Dean finish."

Taking a deep breath, Dean pulls his knife and slices into his left arm. The glowing of Remus' soul has gotten brighter, and more painful for Dean. He is surprised he's still conscious the pain is so bad. Cutting into his forearm to release Remus he chants the incantation, "Anima corpori Fuerit corpus totem resurgent." (The whole soul into the body again.) Glowing light blue 'blood' flowed from Dean's arm into Remus' body. Once the incantation was finished and last of the 'blood' stopped flowing Dean fell backwards off the bed onto the floor. Remus' body glowed a bright white, momentarily blinding everyone in the room.

Faster than thought possible, Remus gasped for air and shot up into a sitting position. He was trying to gain his bearings when he's tackled by his sobbing wife. Remus takes a moment to bring his arms around her and inhale the scent of his wife. Sam once again helps Dean stand and exit the room, leaving the reunited family alone.

Sam sits his brother down on the couch, then goes to the kitchen to let everyone know it's done. Dean leans back and closes his eyes. The exhaustion has kicked in, he could sleep for a month. But first his arm needs to be patched up. Sam returns from the kitchen with Hermione to heal his arm and any other injuries. After finishing up, Hermione informs the brothers that Sunday dinner with the Weasleys is going to be a huge celebration. It will be the first of many since there are no funerals to attend. However, they still have to stay alert, some of the Death Eaters have escaped from the Ministry. The names of the escapees were never released. The Order feels the escapees may have had help from inside, but don't know for sure. Only time will tell.

 The brothers settle in for the night. They will return home the next Monday morning, after dinner with Death.