Selene || Remus Lupin

Ch. 102 - Reflections and Dreams

Remus' POV

A week or so after Christmas, a knock on the door distracted Remus away from his reading, though thankfully its startling sound didn't wake his wife, who was napping upstairs. He rushed to open it, knowing it could only be one of a few people.

"Lupin," Draco greeted from the front porch, clad in a dark travelling cloak, the wind mussing up his blonde hair.

"Draco," Remus said, holding the door open wider to admit him. "We weren't expecting you."

"Well, I've got news," Draco said, allowing Remus to close the door behind him as he shrugged off his cloak. "You won't be pleased."

"I won't?" Remus asked, leading Draco into the sitting room and gesturing for him to take a seat on the sofa. "Why not?"

Draco looked around as he settled himself on the edge of the sofa. "No, you won't... Where is Aunt Selene?"

"She's asleep," Remus said, crossing his arms, "and I beg you not to disturb her. The farther along she gets, the more irritable she is. She needs her rest, that's for sure."

Draco smirked. "Are you in the doghouse, for whatever reason? Trouble in paradise?"

"Never," Remus said, and he was being truthful. His wife had every reason to be miserable; carrying a baby was no easy task, he surmised. He'd let her rage at him all day long if it meant she'd come to bed with him in the evening ready to take on the next day. "Now what's your news? You still haven't said."

Draco clasped his hands in front of him. "Well, like I've said, you won't be pleased. I've heard more talk of Potter."

Remus nearly staggered. He set himself rather heavily in the armchair across from Draco and stared. "Nothing bad, surely. Otherwise we would've heard about it before now –"

"No, no, nothing bad," Draco amended lazily. "Or at least, not really. He's not been captured or anything of that sort. They caught sight of him, however,  at the Lovegood house, before he, Granger, and Weasley got away. Apparently he was trying to get a word in with Xenophilius."

"Whatever for?" Remus asked, surprised. He wasn't aware that Harry had ever had any dealings with Xenophilius, much less knew who he was. The man was the editor of the Quibbler, a magazine that had taken to publishing articles in support of Harry (and Remus could not help but respect the man because of this) but he still couldn't see any reason that Harry would risk his security to go and speak to him.

"I – I have no idea," Draco said, a hint of perplexity flashing in his eyes. "No one seems to know why, and Lovegood's not sharing. Good for him, I suppose, but the Death Eaters aren't happy, and they're threatening –"

His words died in his throat, and his jaw snapped shut as he stared at Remus wide-eyed.

"Threatening what, Draco?" Remus asked curiously. "What is it?"

Draco shot him a guilty look. "I wouldn't like to say. It won't reflect well on me."

There was a flash of a memory twinkling bright in Remus' mind.

"It's your brother, isn't it? Lucius? What's he done?" Remus asked, staring intently into Selene's stormy blue eyes.

She frowned up at him, her resolve stiffening at his questioning. Her gaze flickered past him uncertainly, as if she was buying her time to determine how to respond.

"Oh, leave it, Remus. I'm not likely to tell you, or anyone else for that matter. It won't reflect well on me."

"Won't reflect well on you? Or won't reflect well on your family?" Remus asked, as he had all of those years before.