Selene || Remus Lupin

Ch. 55 - Selene Tackles Sirius

Selene's POV

"SHE WAS MY DAUGHTER!"

A tear rolled down Selene's face, dropping onto the table with a tiny splash.

"You lied to me – for fourteen years!"

Another hit the table. And another.

Selene knew that she had royally messed up. She couldn't take it back either. She wished she could say that she had felt justified in her reasoning for lying to Remus, but he was completely right to be angry with her.

They hadn't spoken in over two weeks. In fact, this morning was the first time Selene had even ventured downstairs since Christmas night. She hadn't been able to pull herself together long enough to be around other people, so Sirius had been bringing her bits of toast and cups of coffee, in the hopes that it would be enough to coax her out of bed and stop crying. Today, though, she had it as far as the kitchen, though not by her own will.

Molly had come upstairs and dragged her out of bed unceremoniously, raging all the while.

"I don't know what you were thinking, Selene," she was saying, while she took out her frustration on a bowl of eggs. "Surely you knew it wasn't going to end in a way different than this."

"Please, Molly," Selene pleaded weakly, rubbing the tears out of her eyes. "I don't want to hear it. Even Sirius hasn't said 'I told you so.'"

"Well, he should have," Molly said shortly. "Quite honestly, I'm astounded that he even went along with it."

Selene couldn't say anything in her own defense. Molly was right, of course.

Molly sighed, abandoning her whisk in the bowl of eggs and coming to sit across from Selene at the kitchen table. "Selene, I don't know how to help you."

"There's no helping me, Molly," Selene said. "Remus will never speak to me again, and Sirius can't look at me without that dreadful worried expression on his face. I deserve it, too."

"Yes, you probably do," Molly said honestly, frowning at her.

"Is Remus even here?" Selene asked, looking around frightfully, as if he was going to appear out of thin air to start shouting at her again.

"No," Molly said. "We haven't seen him since the day after Christmas. I think he's gone to see his father for a while."

"Oh no..." Selene whispered into her hands. "That means Lyall will know what I've done, too."

"I'm sure that goes without saying, Selene," Molly said.

Before Selene could say anything else, the door to the basement kitchen swung open, and the last person Selene ever wanted to see at that very moment strode in.

No, it wasn't Umbridge.

So, perhaps it was the second-to-last person.

"What's wrong with you?" Snape asked, his tone disinterested.

"Oh my Merlin," Selene groaned. "What could you possibly want?"

"Certainly not to ask how your Christmas has been, or any other dreadful small talk subject," Snape said carelessly, rolling his eyes. "I've been sent by Dumbledore. I need to speak to Potter."

"I'll go get him," Molly said quickly, rushing upstairs and leaving Selene alone with Snape.

"Honestly, what's up with you?" Snape asked again. "You're typically more... disgustingly cheerful."

"I don't really want to talk about it," Selene said, "especially not with you."

Snape shrugged just as the basement kitchen door opened again.