Selene || Remus Lupin

Ch. 70 - Remus and Romulus

Remus' POV

"Hi, Eliza, it's me – er – it's Dad again."

Remus sank to the ground in front of the little headstone on top of the hill, only about a mile from his and Selene's little cottage. There was a ring of slightly wilted purple lilacs already laid upon the grave; Remus supposed that Selene must have stopped by the week before on her way to Hogwarts.

He'd been coming to visit Eliza once a week since he'd found out the truth – that Eliza was his. The first time he visited, he'd barely been able to stand the sight of the little grave; he'd collapsed on the spot into a sobbing mess, Apparating away after a mere couple of minutes. Since then, however, he'd stayed longer and longer, usually sitting down for a while to talk about random subjects – anything that seemed of importance at the time.

The headstone was a neat little thing, and the grass around it was lush and green and trimmed. Selene had always taken great care of the spot, and now Remus found himself doing the same.

He brushed off a cobweb that a spider had been spinning across the face of the headstone, his eyes following along the carved words.

Elizabeth Selene Black

Beloved Daughter

December 30, 1981

Remus stared at the words for a moment, and then he pulled his wand out of the pocket of his travelling cloak, waving it across the words slowly and watching them ripple and change.

Elizabeth Selene Lupin

Beloved Daughter

December 30, 1981

Remus stared in grim satisfaction for another moment. He had discovered the glamour that Selene had placed on the headstone during his third visit to Eliza's grave; he supposed that Selene hadn't been able to commit to burying her under a false name – and she'd indeed admitted to him that Eliza's birth certificate said 'Lupin.'

"Well, your mother's back at Hogwarts," Remus said quietly, twisting a couple blades of grass between his fingers, "so it's just me again. I miss her a lot. I don't particularly like being alone, believe it or not... I suppose I should be used to her going off to school, but this year feels... different, I suppose.... Much worse, if I'm being honest.

"I know that she's glad to have her job back, though, and I am happy for her. She loves being a professor at Hogwarts... I did too, really. It's the one job where I actually felt... good? Useful?"

He paused, looking toward the sky thoughtfully.

"'Fulfilled' may be the word I'm looking for," he said finally. "I loved teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. I could've done that forever – and in an ideal world, I probably would."

Remus stopped again, laying back on the ground, his arms behind his head. "Can you imagine a perfect world? Your mother and I would be at Hogwarts, teaching together – Professors Lupin and Lupin. We'd be married, of course – oh, how I long to marry your beautiful mother – and you'd be there too. You'd be – er – a fourth year? That sounds about right. You'd be brilliant – intelligent, kind, beautiful – your mother in miniature, basically. You'd play Quidditch, I'm sure, for whatever House – because your mother and I would love you no matter what House you were in. We'd go to all your games, and I'd probably have to restrain your mother from fighting Madam Hooch if you ever got fouled."