Summary: The Potters didn't die that night for one reason and one reason only: Remus Lupin saved their lives. But James and Lily don't know how he did it, or even where he is now. So they set out to find him, only to discover the secret behind it all.

A/N: Andddd I'm back! Enjoy!

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Lily stared at the calendar taped to the side of the kitchen cupboard from her chair at the dining room table. It read the 1st November 1981, the day after Halloween. Despite the dozens of aurors that were frantically running in and out of the kitchen around her, Lily's mind felt quiet and still. Dumbledore had told her it was just the shock of it all after the events of last night but Lily wasn't so sure. She wasn't in shock. Both she and James knew that Voldemort would come after them at some point, that he would come after their son. They'd both been sure that they would lay down their lives before the so-called Dark Lord would lay even a finger on Harry. But after all their worry, all their preparation, when the night came and Voldemort was standing right in the middle of their landing, he was stopped.

By Remus Lupin.

Everyone had tried to tell her and James that it couldn't have been possible, that Remus was on a mission deep undercover in werewolf territory. But Lily knew what she saw. So did James. They could hardly mistake their best friend, could they? Although no one else seemed to be believe them. If it was Remus, they would say, then why didn't he stay? The newspapers had printed the story, describing the heroic act of a mysterious wizard who had saved the Potters' lives then disappeared into the night. Lily had told the reporters again and again that it was Remus who saved them but she supposed Dumbledore must have told them otherwise.

At least Sirius believed them though.

Of course he would. He was just as worried about Remus as anyone, even more so. He was upstairs in Harry's nursery at the moment, probably just watching over the cot even if there were dozens of aurors guarding the house. Even if Death Eaters from all over the country were surrendering or going into hiding. Even if Voldemort was gone.

Lily sighed, rubbing her eyes harshly. None of it made any sense. She knew she saw Remus. She knew that Remus had stopped Voldemort before James could even get down the stairs. But she just didn't understand how he knew. Moody had suggested that maybe Remus was the spy the Order had been after for months but Lily very quickly stamped out that idea. There was absolutely no way that Remus could have been the spy. Luckily, everyone's doubts were cleared when Frank Longbottom had dragged in a trembling Peter Pettigrew who, upon seeing Lily and James alive, quickly broke down into tears and confessed to everything. No one could deny the evidence, especially when James had reluctantly explained to Dumbledore how they'd switched the Secret Keeper last minute. So Peter had been taken away to the Ministry prisons to await trial and, even though Lily knew she should be angry, all she felt was so unbelievably sad that she'd lost sweet Peter Pettigrew as a friend.

"Lils?" She glanced up and spotted James standing in the threshold of the kitchen. She smiled tiredly, reaching out a hand which he quickly took. The aurors all seemed to have sensed the mood and quickly cleared out as Lily rose to her feet. "Lily," James breathed, drawing her into his arms and burying his face into her shoulder. "Merlin, Lily." It was the first real moment they'd had to themselves since the attack. Between the questionings and the reporters and the medi-witch examinations, neither of them had any time to breathe. But they relished it now, holding onto each other as tightly as they could because they'd almost lost the chance to ever do this again.

"Jamie," Lily whispered. "Oh Jamie, he's really gone, isn't he?" She didn't know who she was talking about, Voldemort or Peter or Remus or even all three. James didn't seem to know either but he said yes in her ear. She carded her fingers through his hair, drawing his head up again so she could kiss him. He responded immediately, caressing her cheeks and pulling her body even closer to his. For that moment, they were just desperate to be near each other, to touch each other, to hold each other when they so nearly lost everything important to them.

When they finally broke apart, they were both gasping for breath but feeling so much more reassured than they had been. But there was something missing. For Lily, winning the war had never been about just defeating dark wizards. It had been about keeping her family alive. All her family. And that meant Harry and James, Sirius and Peter, even Petunia and Vernon. It meant Remus.

"James," she said softly. "James, we have to find Remus. We have to understand what happened. He could be hurt, or worse. If we don't, then we haven't just lost Peter, but we'll lose Remus as well and then we might as well lose Sirius because he won't be able to recover and then Harry will have lost his Godfather and you your brother and I can't-" She broke off with a sob, stepping back and covering her mouth with her hand. James followed her, wrapping his arms around her again and shushing her gently.

"It's okay, love," he said, rocking her side to side. "It's okay. Don't think for a minute I'm going to let Moony disappear on us. Not again."

"Then what do we do?" Lily asked. "Where do we even start?" James bit his lip.

"We start looking."

***
Six months later, Lily stood outside a cottage with James at her side, clutching his hand so tightly that she might have broken his fingers. She took deep, nervous breaths, biting her lip almost bloody. Beside her, James looked equally anxious, his face pale and clammy. She didn't even know why they felt like this. It was just Remus. Or, maybe it wasn't. It all depended on whether or not their hard work would pay off with the prize at the end. This had happened before. They'd been so close to finding him only to realise that they had been following a cold trail all along. But this time, Lily was sure. This time, they'd find him. This time, they'd finally know what had happened that night and why Remus had run away.

They'd left Harry at home that morning with Sirius who still hadn't been able to leave the house after Halloween. He had pulled Lily to the side just before they left, hugging her tightly almost like he was afraid he'd never see them again. "Just bring him home," he had whispered in Lily's ear. "Please."

"I'll try," she replied, pecking his cheek.

"I just-" He ran a hand through his hair. "I need to know he's okay." She had been unsure what to say to that. If she was honest, she had no idea what was going on between Sirius and Remus before he had disappeared. So she only nodded before taking James' hand and disapparating away.

They'd appeared on the mountain side in Wales a few seconds later, facing the small, rundown cottage nestled between two hills. For months they had searched and searched for this place. Lily had used every resource they could spare just to get to this point. She'd lost count of the amount of letters she'd sent to friends and acquaintances around the country. James had used his position as an auror in the Ministry to weed out information from as many people as possible. Some were more agreeable to sharing it, wanting to find Remus themselves for completely different reasons. Some weren't as happy to share but James had tactics for that as well. All in all, their sources had confirmed where Remus was hiding. This cottage in Wales.

"What if he's not here, James?" Lily whispered, unable to walk another step. "What if this is just another dead end?" James look at her, bring her hand up and placing a small kiss on the back of it.

"Then we keep looking and try again," he said softly. "But I'm sure this time. I'm almost certain." Lily couldn't argue with that. She trusted James with her life so she would trust him with this. Taking a deep breath, she slowly willed herself to move forwards, treading carefully up the beaten path until she reached the door of the cottage. Once upon a time, it might have been painted a cherry red colour but now, after years of wind and rain and snow, the paint was peeling and the wood was cracked and splintering. Lily raised her hand, glancing back at James for encouragement, then knocked three times. There was silence for a moment and all Lily could hear was the sound of her heart thumping into her ribs.

Please be here, she thought. Please let us in. Please come back.

For a moment, Lily honestly thought that they were wrong again. She sighed, turning away to walk back to James.

But then the door opened.

Lily didn't think she was ever more happy or ever more terrified than when she saw Remus in that moment. Happy because he was here and standing in front of her and most importantly alive. But terrified because just by looking at him she could tell that the months he'd spent missing had taken a painful toll. Remus looked thin, almost impossibly so. His cheek and collar bones were sharp and prominent. He had always been leaner than the other boys but Lily had never seen him look this unhealthy.

Lily let her eyes travel up to his face and had to choke back a sob. It was clear that the six full moons that had passed without James and Sirius rhere had taken its toll. Fresh scars sliced across his skin, over his nose, cheeks and eyes. His eyes were the worst. The werewolf's claws had slashed at them, causing them to become cloudy and blank. And Lily realised the truth.

Remus was blind.

"Hello?" Remus asked tentatively. "I...I can't see so erm-"

"Rey," Lily said softly and Remus froze. His face drained of all colour and he stumbled backwards. Lily swallowed hard and stepped forwards. "Remus, it's me. It's Lily. And James is here too. He's here behind me. We...we're so glad we found you. You have no idea how long we've been looking for you." She took another step forwards so she was standing on the doorway of the cottage. Reaching out, she gently took Remus' hand and brought it up to her cheek. "It's me, Rey."

"Lily?" Remus whispered.

"Yes," she said, choking on her own relief. "Yes, it's me."

"And me, Rey," James said, finally snapping out of his stupor and hurrying towards the two of them. Remus looked up, staring down the garden path in shock. His gaze seemed pinned above James' head.

"James," he asked. James didn't seem to be able to control himself and he lurched forwards, wrapping Remus in a hug and making him yelp with surprise. "Merlin, Remus, don't you dare disappear on us like that again. What the hell happened?!"

Remus seemed completely lost for words as James pulled away. "I..." he stammered. "I-" Lily bit her lip, watching Remus' internal struggle. The wounds across his eyes seemed even more awful the longer she looked and she wondered what kind of a moon had caused them. 

"Hey," she said softly, reaching a hand out and touching Remus' shoulder gently. Even the softest of touches seemed to make him jump out of his skin. "How about we go inside, yeah? We can talk there." She didn't wait for an answer, only took Remus' arm and drew him through the door in encouragement. Over her shoulder, she shot James a look to tell him to follow but cautiously. After all, they hadn't had any idea what to expect, but Lily certainly knew she didn't expect this. 

Inside Remus' cottage seemed cozy, if not a little shabby. The furniture was all well-worn and old, much like the jumpers Remus loved to wear himself. There was a fire going in the hearth, filling the room with a warm glow. Everything looked in place and tidy though. 

"I-er-I'll put the kettle on," Remus said, withdrawing himself out of Lily's grip and through into the kitchen. Lily watched him as he moved about the kitchen in that deliberate way which showed he knew exactly where everything supposed to be. Lily was in awe of it. His sight may have been gone but Remus seemed to be overcoming it just like he'd overcome so many other things in life. The kettle boiled quickly and, as Remus was carefully pouring out the tea, James grabbed onto Lily's hand. 

"I don't know what to say," he whispered to her. "I just- I..." Lily knew what he was trying to say. James had always protected Remus whether that be from Slytherin bullies, prejudice bigots or, in worse cases, Remus himself. But this was the one thing that James hadn't been there for and he had no idea how to process. 

"One step at a time," Lily said softly just as Remus came back in, carrying a tray with three cups of tea and some chocolate biscuits. He carefully set it down on the coffee table before retreating to the armchair in the corner. For a moment, they sat in silence with only the sound of James nibbling on a biscuit to break it up. Eventually the silence became to heavy to bear and Remus spoke, his voice almost raw.

"I suppose you want to know what happened," he said quietly. Lily gave him a meek smile and a small chuckle.

"Well...yeah," she replied. "So much happened that night and...we were hoping you could explain it." Remus rubbed the back of his neck, sighing and biting his lip.

"I should probably start with why I was there in the first place," he said. Lily and James nodded and they settled in for his story. "I was spying on Greyback and the werewolves for Dumbledore. I couldn't tell anyone what I was doing, not even you guys or Sirius. It was vital that Greyback never found out that I was the spy. Merlin, he'd rip me apart if he did. So I was out there and doing my job when Greyback decided to break into a nearby village pub on the night of Halloween. He said that they had something important to celebrate. So we were in the pub and everyone was drunk off their heads when Greyback asked me to walk with him." Remus paused for a moment, reaching out and fumbling for the handle of his tea cup. He took a slow sip, taking a breath to compose himself. 

"He took me outside and told me how Voldemort was going after Harry that night. He went on and on about the prophecy and how once Harry was dead then nothing would stop them from taking over the country. I...I panicked. I couldn't just stay there when you were all in danger but Dumbledore had told me not let Greyback out of my sight for even a minute. So I did the only thing I could. I stupified him."

"Damn," James whispered. "Bet he didn't see that coming."

"No," Remus said with a small chuckle. "He didn't. I knocked him out completely. Then I disapparated to your house."

"When you rescued us," Lily said. Remus shook his head slightly.

"Not quite," he murmured. "When I got there, there was this...well, this ghost that was blocking my way. At least it looked like a ghost to me. I don't know who it was even now but it stopped me from going into the house." Lily glanced at James, looking slightly apprehensive. A ghost outside their house? That was certainly something new. 

"The ghost told me that I couldn't go in," Remus went on, rubbing his hands together. "It said that if I did, then the timeline that had been laid out for this world would shift and I would have to pay a price for it. I didn't understand what it was saying. You guys were in there and I could see Voldemort in the living room and all I could think was that I had to save you. So I ignored the ghost. I went in and fought Voldemort off. I...I don't know what happened after that. Everything just hurt. So I disapparated away to here somehow. A miracle I didn't splinch really. But then...then everything started to go wrong." 

Lily listened as Remus described the ghost like creature coming back, warning him of the consequences of his actions. It told him that he couldn't return home until the dust had settled from the timeline that had been obliterated from Remus' actions. Remus apparently had tried to leave but every single time he was blocked by some invisible force that wouldn't allow him to return home. Worse was still to come though.

"I lost my sight two full moons ago," Remus said softly. "The ghost said that there would be consequences. I suppose a bad full moon was it." Tears came to Lily's eyes as she looked at Remus' face, where the wolf had clawed its own eyes out in its moon-crazed haze. She couldn't comprehend how terrifying that must have been. To wake up covered in your own blood but finding only blackness in return. How had Remus coped on his own through all of that?

"Can you..." Lily choked out. "Can you come home now? Please?" Remus looked up, his expression becoming scared.

"I'm not sure," he whispered. "The ghost just said I had to wait. Maybe it meant I had to wait for you..." Lily launched herself forwards before she could stop herself, grabbing onto Remus' hand. She squeezed it tightly. 

"You're coming home," she said forcefully. "I don't care what any ghost says. We're taking you home right now."

"Lily..." Remus whispered.

"No, she's right, Rem," James said, rising from his seat. His face was pale and clammy from the obvious shock of Remus' story. But now he looked determined. "We're taking you home. No excuses, nothing. You belong with us." Remus' hand was shaking in Lily's. He covered his mouth with his free hand, holding back an emotional sob.

"Okay," he said. "Okay."

That was all Lily needed.

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So there you have it! Please vote for your next oneshot below! :)

A) Harry James Potter has just been born and the Marauders couldn't be happier. But Remus is the only person who hasn't held him yet. It's up to Lily to find out why. - REMUS AND LILY BROMANCE HURT/COMFORT

B) Remus had a rough day but Sirius is always there with a comforting hug...oh yeah, and a record player. - WOLFSTAR HURT/COMFORT AND FLUFF

C) Magic AU where you share dreams with your soulmate. - JILY AND WOLFSTAR FLUFF AND ANGST WITH MENTIONS OF DORLENE

Vote for whatever one you want next! 

Love y'all! Stay safe!