Selene || Remus Lupin

Ch. 14 - Back to the Beginning

"Alright, class," the professor announced. "Settle down."

Remus slid into a spot next to Sirius, who was flicking paper balls back and forth with James.

He turned around slightly in his seat, trying to be discrete. He knew that it was silly, but he just wanted to check to see that Selene had chosen the seat behind him, like she did every week.

She was indeed there, sitting in her usual seat next to Lily. She caught his eye as he looked back, and he grinned at her awkwardly.

Remus was pleased to see that she blushed.

As he turned back around in his seat, he was startled to see Sirius smirking at him.

"You two are disgustingly adorable," he said, and James, who had been watching them as well, nodded in agreement.

Remus felt the tops of his ears redden. "Shut up, Sirius, you don't know what you're talking about."

"The hell I do," Sirius said, laughing. "When are you gonna ask her out?"

"I'm not asking her out. It's not like that. We're just friends," Remus said in a lowered voice, glancing behind him. "And would you shut up? I don't want her to hear you."

Sirius merely shook his head, still grinning.

Ahead of them, their DADA professor cleared his throat loudly, gaining their attention. "So today's class is all dedicated to werewolves," he said from the front of the classroom, as the class began to quiet. Remus' shoulders tensed. "How to recognize them, how someone becomes one, how they're killed..."

Remus took his notes and paid an appropriate amount of attention to the professor's lecture, as usual, that class period, but it didn't stop him from noticing the fact that none of his friends did either of those things – at least, they didn't while the professor droned on and on about the real focus of his lecture.

"I can't believe all that old crone could talk about was how werewolves are such 'dark creatures,'" James said angrily, as they walked out of the classroom after the lesson was over, "as if they aren't normal people too. I'm sorry about that, Moony."

Remus shrugged. His chest hurt strangely, but he was determined to look nonchalant. "He wasn't wrong. Werewolves are dark creatures. I don't blame someone for wanting to kill them. They're monsters."

The other three Marauders stared at him, their jaws dropped open. Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but a familiar voice from behind Remus beat him to it.

"Are you serious, Remus?"

Remus spun around, coming face-to-face with Selene.

She looked undeniably angry.

"I –"

"I can't believe you'd be so narrow-minded," she said irritably. "Werewolves are human beings, who did not make the decision to put themselves through such a painful transformation every month. They don't deserve to die. They deserve to be treated just like everyone else, and we should be trying to help them!"

"Selene, hear me out –" Remus began, but Selene cut him off angrily.

"No!" she said. "Leave me alone."

She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving him staring at her with mouth wide open.

The other three Marauders stared after her as well.