Blood of the Moon {Remus Lupin}

Chapter 33

New hobby: torturing my readers :)

Auriga knocked on Lupin's door that evening, clutching her bag in her hand and wishing one of them would answer quicker. Honestly! She'd been at work all day and they couldn't even be bothered to-

The door swung open to reveal Lupin, a gingham tea towel thrown lazily over his shoulder. "Evening," he said. Auriga ignored him and pushed into the hallway. "Bad day?" he asked.

"It was fine," said Auriga.

"Will you be joining us for dinner?" asked Black, appearing in the kitchen doorway. "Moony's cooked it himself."

"Did you catch it too?" taunted Auriga with a sneer. Black's grin dropped and she sensed Lupin's smile had disappeared. She pushed past the former and into the kitchen, slumping at the table and staring at the corner. The two men followed her through, Lupin heading to the stove and Black taking up his usual place on the sofa. All she'd been able to think about since her meeting with Fudge was how she couldn't celebrate her promotion with her parents.

With a flick of her wand, Auriga conjured a bottle of firewhiskey, and in one swift movement she poured herself a glass. She tipped it back into her throat, consequently coughing when it burned slightly more than expected. "First time you've defected?" asked Black. Auriga glared at him, poured herself another glass, and drank it, this time not spluttering at all.

"I've not defected," she retorted.

"Sure you have," said Black, sitting up as though he were enjoying himself. "You've joined Dumbledore, a bunch of blood traitors and..." Black lowered his voice to a whisper, "a werewolf." Lupin snorted from the stove.

"I've not defected," Auriga repeated, taking another drink.

"What's so bad about defecting?" asked Black, now taking a seat next to her. "I did it."

"You spent thirteen years in Azkaban," Auriga reminded him, drinking again.

Black frowned. "Touché," he said, before taking a swig directly from the bottle.

"That's disgusting," said Auriga.

"That's defecting for you."

Auriga reached to pour herself another drink, but her hand completely missed the glass, flopping onto the table next to it. Before she could reach again, Lupin was by her side, licking a bit of gravy off his thumb on one hand, and lightly taking her wrist with the other. "I think you've had quite enough of that," he said, his voice light and soft.

"Let go of me!" Auriga demanded.

"Auriga..." Lupin said gently.

She rose from her chair, trying to pull her hand free. Eventually she gave up struggling. "I said let go of me," she repeated through gritted teeth. "You dirty mutt!"

CRACK! Before she could quite register what she'd said, Black's fist collided directly with her nose. Auriga fell to the floor, feeling hot blood trickle down her face and a dull aching in her face. "Sirius!" she heard Lupin exclaim.

"I'm sorry, Remus, but I'm sick of the way she treats you! She walks in here-"

"She was drunk, Sirius! You could see that much!"

"It doesn't matter!" said Black. There was silence again as Auriga struggled to sit up. A moment later, Black's face hovered before her, looking grim as he pressed a towel to her nose to stem the bleeding. He wouldn't quite meet her eyes.

"I'll do it, Sirius," said Lupin, drawing his wand.

"Don't be silly, Moony," said Black, still not meeting Auriga's eyes.

"Sirius-"

"Episkey," said Auriga, and she felt her nose jump back into place. She stood up, ignoring Black's glare and Lupin's thoughtful stare. "I'm going upstairs," she said, before doing just that.

She'd only just got upstairs before she decided enough was enough. She crawled into bed, drawing the sheets tightly around her, and burst into tears. How was this fair? She'd done the right thing hadn't she? And she'd been abandoned. Completely and utterly abandoned.

Auriga had been there for about an hour, and she thought she was about to drift off to sleep, when there was a light knock at the door. It opened, and the top of Black's head peeked round. "Are you decent?" he called. Auriga mumbled a 'yes'. The rest of Black appeared, carrying a plate with a bowl of stew and some bread on it. "Moony said to bring you this. I didn't want to, but he insisted."

Auriga accepted the meal and began eating. It wasn't actually that bad. She'd go as far as to say it was very good, if a werewolf hadn't cooked it. Black sat down on the wooden chair. "Imaginative nickname," she commented.

Black laughed a little. "Yeah." There was silence. "Look, I know this has been hard on you. More than anyone else could." Auriga continued eating. "I had to leave my parents too. Well - they kicked me out. Sort of." He waited for her response, which didn't come. "It was the most difficult to leave my brother."

"You have a brother?" asked Auriga with a frown. She was sure she'd studied that part of the family tree. He was cousins with her mother after all.

"Had," Black corrected her. "He died in the last war."

"I'm sorry," said Auriga automatically. She finished up the last of her stew. "I offered my parents protection, which they rejected."

Black nodded. "Voldemort wouldn't just let them go. It's understandable, I suppose."

"But I'm so worried about my brother," she continued. She wondered for a moment why she was telling him this - just days ago she wanted him thrown into Azkaban. But then Auriga realised: he was the only person in the world who understood. "I can't protect him."

"I know," said Sirius, "But I'm sure you'll find a way. And if you don't I might even lend a hand." Auriga chuckled a little at that, and Sirius took her bowl from her. "You coming?" She shook her head and he nodded, "Probably for the best. You look like you need sleep." He was right. She had her eyes shut tight before her head touched the pillow.