Selene || Remus Lupin

Ch. 100 - The Meeting of the Minds

Selene's POV

"Ron, I hope you know that when all of this blows over, I'm making you be the one to tell your mother why I've been blowing her off for the last two weeks."

Ron had been about as humble of a guest at the Lupin cottage as one could expect. He helped Remus with the yard work, took the burden of housework off of Selene's hands, and even ran the occasional errand for the couple – all without complaint. Selene thought that perhaps he was trying to atone for his leaving Harry and Hermione, but while Selene would go on letting him think otherwise, Ron needn't have worried. She wasn't angry with him. She never truly was. If Selene was honest, she never doubted Ron's loyalty to his best friends, as well as his regret in letting his emotions get the best of him in a dire situation.

Selene, at the very least, had no room to judge. It's not as if she'd never been in a similar situation.

The red headed young man in question winced, and he hesitated in his response by way of setting the dishes from dinner to wash themselves. As plates began leaping into the sink and silverware began to dance after them, he finally said, "Selene, I can't thank you enough for not telling Mum where I am or what's happened."

Selene hummed in acknowledgement, a small smile playing on her lips. "Just another reason that I am the favourite cousin."

"You really are after taking me in like this," Ron said truthfully, tapping the faucet with his wand and causing a stream of water to run over the dishes.

"Oh, Ron, you act as if you are a burden," Selene said, waving a dismissive hand. "Besides, Remus is particularly pleased that you're around for the full moon. He's been so worried about leaving me as of late for – for obvious reasons, of course."

"Well, I'd be nervous, too, if I had a pregnant wife in a time like this," Ron said understandingly.

Selene shrugged. "I'm not worried. With the Fidelius charm, and the numerous other protections and enchantments that Remus has placed on the cottage, I don't think anyone could get in here that we would not want here."

"Does anyone come by besides my mother?" Ron asked curiously. The dishes had finished their wash, and Ron had chosen to dry them by hand, rolling up his sleeves to do so.

"Well, your entire family comes for dinner at least once every other week," Selene said. "Umm... Kingsley's been by at least twice, and so has Tonks. Both with well wishes and updates, of course. Though, if we get any sort of contact, it's mostly through letters. No one has any time these days to stop by and visit, I suppose."

She chose to omit the fact that Draco also stopped by weekly, sometimes even more often, in the last month that he'd so suddenly inserted himself into their lives. She thought – quite understandably – that Ron would be more than peeved to hear of such a thing.

Ron nodded. "I guess it's too dangerous for members of the Order to gather now, isn't it? Now that the Ministry's under You-Know-Who's thumb." He hesitated. "Harry – well, he had gone into Umbridge's office and looked through her files. He discovered that several of the members are under surveillance, like my dad and – and Remus."

Selene felt unsettled, but not the slightest bit surprised. "Well, Remus had suspected as such... He said we'd be fools to think that the Ministry would now let us roam around freely, uninhibited and able to carry on with our affairs." She eyed him carefully. "Is there anything in her files about me?"

"Only that you're considered M.I.A.," Ron said. "No one knows where you are or what you're doing, past the fact that you quit your job at Hogwarts this past summer."

"And who in their right mind could blame me?" Selene asked sourly. "I could easily predict the disaster that was going to take place there, now that Hogwarts was no longer under Dumbledore's protection. I may not have liked the old headmaster, but I can't deny that he had a strong grip on the school."