Blood of the Moon {Remus Lupin}

Chapter 89

It is fifty chapters since Auriga fell in love with Remus!! Whooo! :)

Auriga awoke to find it was still night, and she was still in Remus's arms. But something was wrong. The wind was carrying through the gap in the window frame, bringing with it the murmur of gruff voices. "Remus," she whispered, but she found a finger placed to her lips. She looked round to see him staring intently at the window, a frown line between his brows. Apparently he could hear them too.

Auriga removed Remus's arms from round her and padded carefully over to the window, unable to avoid the creaking floorboards. She drew the curtains back and peered out. There was a crowd of about eight, all sat down and muttering, with two more stood up and keeping lookout. She hastily dropped the curtain and turned back to Remus. "Death Eaters," she whispered, sitting in the bed and wrapping the duvet around her.

He nodded, having sat up as she walked away. "How many?"

"Ten," she replied. Remus's eyes grew wide and he launched out of bed, beginning to pull on clothes and flicking his wand to make things fly into two trunks. "They're planning a raid," she said, thinking. "Just waiting for the go ahead from You-Know-Who."

"I'm not sure it's me they're after," said Remus, his mouth set in a frown. "Where did you apparate to when you came?"

"Just down the lane," said Auriga quickly. "But why would they be there if it was the full moon?"

"Oh, they'll have kept their distance," said Remus. "There's a chance they didn't see you."

Auriga resisted the urge to look back outside. "They did," she said, her stomach twisting. How could she be so selfish? "Remus, I'm so sorry."

"No," he said, stepping over to her with his kind smile. "You needed me. It's OK." He paused for a moment, waving his wand as his trunks clicked. "I'm not sure who to go to though-"

"My safehouse!" Auriga said quickly as they hurried down the stairs. "We can't apparate straight there because of the wards, but I can guarantee it's not being watched."

"At all?" asked Remus with a frown as they fastened their cloaks.

Auriga shook her head. "They don't know it's there, let alone that it's Order related."

Remus nodded and they stepped outside, shutting the door lightly behind them and standing just before the final wards.

The Death Eater's voices drifted over to them. "-can't wait to see her fucking face," said a voice. "Oh, and when she finds out about her pathetic father!" They chorused into quiet laughs and wheezes. Remus shifted uncomfortably next to her. But Auriga didn't let herself act. Yes, her insides were twisting maliciously, and a cold had overcome her that had nothing to do with the wind, but years with her parents had taught her not to act irrationally. Ever.

She took his arm and he picked up his two trunks, and she apparated them to a little way down Oakenmore Way. She didn't say this to Remus, but she slightly preferred it to the moors. It was less chilly, and it rained more. Auriga loved the rain. "It's just down here," she said to him, feeling herself walk through the protective wards. Remus raised his wand to levitate his trunks. "You can't do that here," she said quickly. "The muggle village is only five minutes down the road."

Remus smirked at her as he began to drag them instead. "Why would a muggle see us at this time?"

Auriga attempted a shrug, but her shoulder stung. "The pub here's very popular."

"I'll have to take you for a drink," said Remus. Auriga didn't look at him, feeling a hot wave lapse over her face. But before she could respond, Remus spoke again. "Shit," he hissed, stopping in his tracks. Auriga froze, looking around. Had they found them? Had her mother given them away?

"What?" asked Auriga, drawing her wand and peering into the darkness, which was surprisingly clear.

"Your silver and dittany," said Remus. "We left it."

"Well we can't go back," said Auriga. "Come on. It'll be fine."

"It'll take almost the whole month to heal without it," warned Remus. "Are you sure?"

"We can't go back," Auriga repeated, pushing onwards down the lane again. She heard Remus dragging the trunks behind her. Moments later they reached the cottage in all its fairytale grandeur, embedded into the trees around it.

"It's huge," said Remus, a look of awe on his face.

"It's designed to keep multiple departments functioning at once," said Auriga, unlocking the door and stepping through. The bag of food was still on the floor, so she picked it up. She held the door for Remus and he stepped through, peering around with interest. "Want to know the best part?"

"What might that be?" he asked, looking down at her with an expectant smile. Auriga was very aware of the tight hallway and thus their close proximity.

"The floo's not monitored here," she said with a grin. The only reason she hadn't contacted anyone before now was because she had no idea who was still alive.

Evidently, this hadn't been what Remus was expecting, because Remus's smile dropped. "How so?" he asked, still as polite as ever.

"We can use it without being traced in any way, no matter where we go," said Auriga with a smile. "Which means-"

"Can I see Sirius?" Remus asked quickly.

"You can see Sirius," Auriga said. Remus hurriedly hung his cloak up, trunks forgotten. He paused, frowning at the five doors that led from the hallway. "That one," said Auriga, pointing to the first one. He nodded and flung the door open, making Auriga laugh. He was behaving like an easily excitable puppy.

She went and unpacked the stolen food, before joining Remus by the ground floor living room fireplace. She gently nudged him to the side and stuck her head into the emerald flames too.

She arrived just in time to say Tonks tumble inside, in her dressing gown, wand pointing at the flames and hair askew. It took her a moment to register what was happening and then her eyes grew wide. "Auriga!" she exclaimed. "But-but you're dead!"

Auriga chuckled. "Thank you, Tonks," she said. "But I'm perfectly well."

Tonks breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the sofa next to Sirius, who was also smiling. "So how can you floo to us without getting caught?"

"This house is completely off the grid," Auriga explained. "It's a Ministry safe house."

Tonks nodded and closed her eyes. "That's perfect. Strong wards, floo connection, well-stocked, and no one even knows you're there."

Auriga grinned at her. "So," said Sirius, grinning stupidly. "Who had to die to get you two back together?" Auriga's smile instantly dropped. "Oh, shit," said Sirius, looking panicked. "Sorry, I-I didn't realise."

"No, no," said Auriga, "It's OK." They sat in silence for a while, Sirius and Tonks waiting to find out who had died. "I'm going to go...and make some soup." She announced, before retracting her head from the flames. A few tears dropped down and she shook them off, before heading to the kitchen and making a cup of tea.