Selene || Remus Lupin

Ch. 36 - The Most Un-Dursleyish Rescue

"Would you kindly pass me that bundle of carrots, Selene?"

"Yeah, sure," Selene said, reaching across the table.

Molly grabbed them from her, carrying them over to the sink to rinse them off.

"I must say, as dirty as this place is, the kitchen is quite spacious," she said, her back to Selene. The faucet to the sink cut on. "Much larger than ours at home."

Selene hummed in acknowledgement, her head resting on her fists. She was lounging in one of the kitchen chairs, sitting in front of Molly while she cooked.

The summer had passed by with maximum awkwardness. Remus and Sirius had stayed in Selene's cottage with her for two weeks past the uncomfortable moment in which Selene had first discovered them there, before they had all moved to the brand-new headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.

Grimmauld Place.

Selene hated the place. The memories she had had from it were less than desirable.

She had spent the odd occasion there at gatherings of the pureblooded families, and while Sirius had always been there with her, the two of them had always known that they were the odd ones out.

Selene supposed that if she disliked the place, then Sirius truly hated it.

Her husband had grown a lot more sullen when they had arrived. He had, in fact, volunteered the place to Dumbledore to use as headquarters, but Selene didn't think that Sirius had realized just how hard it would be for him to be staying there day-in and day-out for the foreseeable future.

It had been better once the Weasleys had arrived to stay with them, for a family like the Weasleys seemed to bring life into any space they occupied.

Selene had found it unusual to have her cousin, Molly, and her husband, the would-be criminal, living under the same roof. Even though Dumbledore had told her at the end of the last school year that Sirius was to be trusted, for the first week of their living together, Molly would jump violently every time Sirius would walk into a room or speak to her.

Selene had tried not to laugh every time it had happened.

Now, Molly had gotten used to Sirius' presence, but Selene could already see that they were going to be at odds. Indeed, Sirius' reckless personality was certainly at odds with Molly's matriarchal position in the state of things.

"I wish he'd just – UGHH!" Molly said angrily while chopping up her bundle of carrots. One of the carrots had just flown across the table, and Molly was glaring at it as if it had jumped there on its own will. Above them, there had just been a large crash, followed by raucous laughter from the twins, Ron, and presumably Sirius.

"I'm sorry," Molly uttered out irritably, glancing at Selene. "I know he's your husband, but he's just so –"

"Irritating? Moronic?" Selene offered, smirking. "Idiotic?"

"Infuriating," Molly said finally, shaking her head at the younger woman's antics. "But I'll make do. I raised the twins after all."

"Just be glad James Potter isn't also present to help him cause trouble," Selene said. "Honestly, though, I'd cut him some slack. He's been wrongfully imprisoned for twelve years, and on the run for a year after that. He just wants to have a little fun... get back to normal..."

Molly nodded wordlessly, her lips pressed tightly closed.

Selene glanced at her apologetically. "I'm sorry, Molly, I know things are completely thrown out of balance for you."

Molly shook her head. "Never mind that. Things were thrown out of balance the moment You-Know-Who chose to rear his ugly face again. I suppose now we just focus on getting rid of him."