Selene || Remus Lupin

Ch. 27 - The Yule Ball

After Harry had told Selene about the terrible noise that had come out of the golden egg, Selene had had a terrible time keeping the secret of the clue from him. She, of course, knew that the second task was at the bottom of the Black Lake, but she wasn't supposed to tell him that.

Anyway, Harry obviously had bigger things to worry about at the present time.

"How are you supposed to ask a girl to the Yule Ball if you can't get one alone long enough to actually ask her?" he said frustratedly one December night in Selene's office. He was sitting in one of the cozy chairs in front of Selene's desk, while she was bent over a student's essay, examining it carefully.

Selene looked up from the parchment and grinned. "Aww, is ickle Harry having girl troubles?"

Harry groaned. "Selene! Please! Help me!"

"Harry, are you really that scared to ask a girl? Surely someone will say yes," Selene said.

"I guess it's not that," Harry admitted. "There's just a specific girl that I'd like to ask..."

"And you're scared to?" Selene said, a knowing smile on her face.

Harry groaned again, putting his face in his hands. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this."

"Because I'm your godmother, and I can help," Selene said. "Look, I can be cool. Who is it you want to ask?"

Harry shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

"Come on!" Selene said, poking his arm. "You can tell me."

Harry looked at her reluctantly. "I don't know..."

"Harryyyy..." Selene said in a sing-song voice, leaning over her desk towards him.

Harry sighed. "It's... it's Cho Chang."

"I knew it!" Selene exclaimed.

"You-you did?" Harry said, startled.

"Yeah," Selene said. "I'm not blind, Harry." She scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Honestly, Harry, I can't give you any advice other than to just ask her."

"But what if she says no?" Harry asked.

Selene shrugged. "You won't know unless you ask. Anyway, if she does, it's not like you couldn't find a date. I'm sure plenty of girls here are lining up for a dance with Harry Potter." She grinned again.

Harry reddened. "Selene!"

She laughed.

Harry could only shake his head.

"Well," Selene said, glancing out her office window at the dark grounds outside. "Thanks for hanging out with me this evening while I graded papers."

Harry smiled at her. "Of course, Selene. I hope you had a good birthday."

Selene smiled back at him. It had indeed been her birthday that day. It hadn't been so bad of a day at all. She had woken up to a parcel from Molly that contained a large strawberry birthday cake and a pair of hand-knitted, multi-colored socks. She had gotten to eat pancakes for breakfast, and her students had been relatively well-behaved and interested during her classes. Then, Harry had shown up in her office after dinner carrying plates of treacle tart from – Selene suspected – the kitchens.

All in all, it had been a very good day, as long as she didn't think too hard about how she had spent her last birthday.

While part of her was happy that she had a godson who had wanted to spend her birthday eating treacle tart with her, a small part of Selene wished that she was back in Hogsmeade with Remus, roaming through shops and drinking butterbeer, like she had done last year.