Like a river to a stream, it's the famous last scene -- August 1991

It was finally time to say goodbye.  I was not sure if we could do this.  Nate had not spoken to anyone since he found out Dad died.  Penny was a mess; Mum was horrible.  My own kids were a mess; Chloe was being strong for me, but he was just like a dad to her.  I knew it had to be hard.  I had my moments.  It had been me and Dad against the world.  He gave up everything for me... I knew why he did, too, but he really did not.  He knew he angered Greyback and that was why I was targeted, but it was not up to my dad to try to always make that up to me.  I felt my throat tighten just thinking about what we left behind so my dad could protect me.  And I failed to protect him when he needed it.

I looked at myself in the mirror; I was barely a ghost of myself.  Tears brimmed my eyes.  I finished tying the knot in my tie and slipped my arms into my suit jacket shrugged my shoulders slightly to get it to lay correctly.  I was not going to be able to do this.  I put my hands on the dresser top which was about waist high and leaned forward, bowing my head down.  My shoulders started to shake as sobs came forth.  I needed to get them out before I saw Nate, Mum, or Penny... or my kids.  They needed me to be strong.

I had been running around for everyone, Cathie, Remus, the kids, penny. I had on my black dress with a little red flower on it. A splash of colour smiling as I walked around. Couldn't have colour for his funeral. Saying goodbye to the man who walked me down the aisle. Smiling as tears escaped from my eyes, I wiped them away quickly. I will shed tears in silence, I have to be there for Remus. Taking a deep breath I finished making tea as I headed up to our bedroom. Hearing the sobs coming from Remus I opened the door slightly as I slid into the room. Putting the tea down, I rushed over to my husband pulling him into a hug.

I put on a long black maxi skirt with a dark red blouse for underneath another long black sheer blouse.  Red was John's favorite color.  I wanted to celebrate his life... and not just the loss we were all feeling.  I went into the other room and saw Penelope in a black dress and a red flower pin on her dress.  Tears were staining her cheeks already and I went into her room, hugging her.  I kissed her head.  "It's about time to go," I said to her quietly.  "I'm going to get Nate and then we'll leave, okay?" 

When Penny nodded, I left her room.  I went back to the farthest bedroom and found Nathaniel.  He was wearing a black suit... but with converses.  He already had a hard time following tradition.  His hair was his normal brown, but there was a red streak in it.  It was shaggier than normal, but I was not going to argue.  "Bud," I said to him.  I put my hands on my son's shoulders.  His eyes were red with unshed tears.  "It's time to leave... "

I was merely ten years old and I had to say goodbye to my grandpa?  I had spent a lot of time crying.  It was so hard.  I loved going down the lane and visiting Grandpa and Nana -- and of course Penelope and Nate.  They were going to be moving, but this was much worse than just moving away.  This was... so final.  I was never going to be able to go to Grandpa's when Dad was having a bad day after a full moon -- or when Will was bothering me, whether it had to deal with a full moon or not.  Grandpa was the best guy ever.  

I knew Mum and Dad were busy getting ready, so I knocked on Will's door.  "Can I sit with you until we have to leave?" I asked, creaking his door open slightly.

I hated that the only grandparent we really knew was not even ours.  Now he was gone.  It was supposed to be fun this year -- it was my first year to go to Hogwarts.  And we lost Grandpa John.  We were told to wear red since it was his favorite color.  I was wearing a red shirt with black pants and a jacket over top of it.  I knew that I would end up getting warm, but Mum said that it was proper to wear a jacket and slacks.  I went to Elena's room and knocked.

"Need help?" I asked.

The top layer of my hair was pulled back and tied in a red bow.  The rest of my hair fell around my shoulders in the natural waves that it was.  I was wearing a simple black dress with a red belt under the bust.  I smoothed it out and slipped my feet into the black heels and walked towards the kids' rooms.  "Dean? Lenni?" I called out softly.

Chloe Murdock Lupin wrote:I had been running around for everyone, Cathie, Remus, the kids, penny. I had on my black dress with a little red flower on it. A splash of colour smiling as I walked around. Couldn't have colour for his funeral. Saying goodbye to the man who walked me down the aisle. Smiling as tears escaped from my eyes, I wiped them away quickly. I will shed tears in silence, I have to be there for Remus. Taking a deep breath I finished making tea as I headed up to our bedroom. Hearing the sobs coming from Remus I opened the door slightly as I slid into the room. Putting the tea down, I rushed over to my husband pulling him into a hug.

This was too much; how was I going to say goodbye to the one person who would do anything for me?  He walked away from his own happiness to stay with me and to help me with my curse.  Dad had not been with Cathie long -- only eleven years (not including the time he spent with her in my fifth year).  I just had no idea how to feel.  I had not heard Chloe come in until she had her arms around me.  I needed to pull it together.  My family needed me.

I finally had myself under control and took my last ragged breath.  "Chlo', don't worry about me," I said to her, my voice hoarse from my tears and hollow sounding because of the hole in my heart.  "We need to check on the kids."  They were probably a mess; this was their grandpa, after all.

I felt despair coming on again.  I knew that I had to face this day at one point in my life... but I always assumed it would be with my best mates.  But they were all gone, too.  I had Chloe.  Ems was going to be there, too, but she had to worry about Dean and Elena.  I did not want this all to fall on CHloe's shoulders, though.  And I had to be there for Nate and Penny, too.  They were his children as well.  They needed their big brother to be strong for them.  End of discussion.  But it did not mean that it wold keep this feeling at bay.

I had heard about John's death and it shook me greatly.  I had always loved him, but when he and Remus disappeared... I had no idea where they had gone.  Then Remus suddenly showed up to my wedding... things were bad.  I did not want to make a scene, but I needed to say goodbye to the man who stole my heart back in the woods.  My husband and daughter, and step-daughter, did not know where I was going.  They had no idea why I was upset.  I would not speak of any of it.  Desdemona would be attending Hogwarts this year and I knew Remus was a professor... I wanted to talk to her about my other family, but it hurt so much to even think about having been left behind.  

I had seen Remus's wife and daughter one day... but Remus warned me to stay away from them.  Away from his whole family.  I would keep my distance, but I wanted to pay my respects to my ex-husband and soulmate.

Cathleen Clearwater wrote:I put on a long black maxi skirt with a dark red blouse for underneath another long black sheer blouse.  Red was John's favorite color.  I wanted to celebrate his life... and not just the loss we were all feeling.  I went into the other room and saw Penelope in a black dress and a red flower pin on her dress.  Tears were staining her cheeks already and I went into her room, hugging her.  I kissed her head.  "It's about time to go," I said to her quietly.  "I'm going to get Nate and then we'll leave, okay?" 

When Penny nodded, I left her room.  I went back to the farthest bedroom and found Nathaniel.  He was wearing a black suit... but with converses.  He already had a hard time following tradition.  His hair was his normal brown, but there was a red streak in it.  It was shaggier than normal, but I was not going to argue.  "Bud," I said to him.  I put my hands on my son's shoulders.  His eyes were red with unshed tears.  "It's time to leave... "

I was standing in my room, unsure of what to do wiht myself.  My converses were tied, my suit looked decent, my hair had the red streak in it.  I remembered how Dad would tell all about the different things I used to do when I was a baby with my hair and appearance.  I could easily change my hair and eye color, but facial features were still a bit difficult for me.  But I was getting better.  Dad was helping me with it... I looked at my mum when she came in and nodded.  "Okay," I said, my voice was hoarse with the unshed tears.  I was not going to cry.  I was not going to cry.

I nodded and Nate walked out of his room and went to the living room.  I walked into that room as well and saw Penny waiting there with tissues in her hand.  "You know it's the Rankin Place?  Make sure to speak clearly.  I'll be right behind you," I said to them, using the Floo network to get to the funeral home.  We went Wizarding with this so we could put out proper magical pictures so people could remember Jonathan with his exuberance that he had in life.

Cathleen Clearwater wrote:I put on a long black maxi skirt with a dark red blouse for underneath another long black sheer blouse.  Red was John's favorite color.  I wanted to celebrate his life... and not just the loss we were all feeling.  I went into the other room and saw Penelope in a black dress and a red flower pin on her dress.  Tears were staining her cheeks already and I went into her room, hugging her.  I kissed her head.  "It's about time to go," I said to her quietly.  "I'm going to get Nate and then we'll leave, okay?" 

When Penny nodded, I left her room.  I went back to the farthest bedroom and found Nathaniel.  He was wearing a black suit... but with converses.  He already had a hard time following tradition.  His hair was his normal brown, but there was a red streak in it.  It was shaggier than normal, but I was not going to argue.  "Bud," I said to him.  I put my hands on my son's shoulders.  His eyes were red with unshed tears.  "It's time to leave... "

I nodded at my mum and smoothed out my dress.  It was one that Dad bought for me saying that no matter her age, every woman needed a little black dress.  I had pinned on the red flower to the side of the waist of the dress because we were all wearing red.  I waited in the living room and saw Nate and Mum come in.  I nodded at her again.  "I remember," I said.  I stepped into the fireplace and took a pinch of Floo powder and said, very clearly, "Rankin Place!"

Ember Potter Black wrote:The top layer of my hair was pulled back and tied in a red bow.  The rest of my hair fell around my shoulders in the natural waves that it was.  I was wearing a simple black dress with a red belt under the bust.  I smoothed it out and slipped my feet into the black heels and walked towards the kids' rooms.  "Dean? Lenni?" I called out softly.

I poked my head out of my bedroom.  "Yeah?" I asked, walking out in my dress slacks and shirt.  I was mostly ready if I could just get my tie on.

I bent down and helped to tie Dean's tie onto him.  "We're going to be needing to go soon," I said to him.  "Go downstairs and I'll check on Elena so I can help her finish getting dressed."

I followed my sister and went to the Rankin Place.  I shoved my hands in my pockets and went away from my sister.  I felt horrible.  We were the first ones there and I really wished Remus would get there.  I avoided looking towards the front where Dad was, though.  I was not sure if I could handle that.

I took a deep breath and then followed my children to the home.  I saw that everything was in place and I knew that guests would be arriving shortly.  I hoped that Remus was doing alright.  I went over to my children.  "I know that this is really hard.  It's okay to be upset," I said to both of them.  "Just know that everyone that will be here is here to help if you need it."