Selene || Remus Lupin

Ch. 6 - Happy Birthday, Selene

The end of the semester was a complete relief to Selene. The students were ready for the Christmas break, and it showed by their performance in their classes. Selene needed a break, that was for sure.

"Happy birthday, love."

It wouldn't hurt to mention that the last Hogsmeade trip for the students just so happened to land on Selene's birthday, which meant that Remus and Selene were joining them for an outing.

"Thanks, Remus," Selene said, accepting a kiss on the cheek from him.

She pulled on the Gryffindor sweater that she had stolen from Remus, wearing it over some black leggings and sneakers.

Remus raised his eyebrows. "I'll let that pass just this once." He smirked at her, wrapping her Slytherin scarf around his neck. "But only because I'm wearing your scarf today."

She giggled.

They ventured out together, arm in arm, passing students who were also on their way to Hogsmeade. They soon made it out into the snow, their heads covered in glittering snowflakes.

"So, thirty-four..." Remus said, grinning slyly at her.

"Please don't remind me, Remus," Selene said, shoving him playfully. "I already feel like an old lady."

"You're not an old lady," Remus said relentingly, and Selene smiled at him.

They walked together in silence for a moment, watching the snow fall all around them.

"You're almost an old lady."

Selene gasped, hitting Remus on the shoulder. "Remus!"

Remus laughed loudly.

Soon, they emerged into Hogsmeade, which was already bustling with students. All of the shops were dusted with snow, and Selene and Remus were not the only ones covered in the winter flurry.

"What's first on the birthday agenda?" Remus asked her.

"Well, I thought we could go to Honeydukes, maybe hit up Zonko's, go to the Three Broomsticks for a bite to eat and some butterbeer, then we could—"

Remus laughed, cutting her off. "Just like our old dates in Hogsmeade when we were back in school."

Selene grinned. "Obviously, it's been a while, if I'm nearly an old lady now."

"Okay, I deserved that," Remus said with chuckle. "I suppose we're both getting old."

"Or we can both pretend that we're still young," Selene said brightly, "and we're still sixteen, giggling like lovesick children."

Remus laughed again, a warm, rich sound that made Selene forget it was cold outside. "Well, then, come on, Selene Malfoy. It sounds like you've got quite the trip planned for today."

And so they began ticking items off of Selene's agenda. They went to Honeydukes, picking up some lemon drops for Selene – "The Muggles really know what they're doing when it comes to candy!" – and replenishing Remus' chocolate stash. On the way out, they passed Ron and Hermione.

"Hi, Professors!" Hermione said brightly.

"Hello Hermione, Ron," Remus said kindly.

"Enjoying Hogsmeade today?" Selene asked them.

"Oh, yes," Hermione said, smiling.

"We were just going in to grab Harry some stuff from Honeydukes, since he can't come," Ron said bluntly.

Selene frowned. She knew that it was for the best that Harry was kept safe in the castle, but she knew that technically she had the power to give him permission to go to Hogsmeade. She was his godmother, perfectly within her right to be his legal guardian. She knew that it was against Dumbledore's wishes, however, to reveal that.