Selene || Remus Lupin

Ch. 63 - Life After Death

Flash. Flash, flash.

"On behalf of the entirety of the Ministry of Magic, we award this Order of Merlin, First Class to Sirius Black, accepted by proxy of Selene Black, his wife and widow, for his heroic services to the Wizarding community."

Remus pinched Selene's side, and her hands shot out to take the golden plaque from Cornelius Fudge.

The Minister was wearing a tense smile, and as soon as the plaque left his hands, his eyes flickered to a nearby camera.

Selene averted her eyes from him, looking down at the floor. She wanted the cameras to go away. She wanted to go home.

She became only dimly aware that the Minister had stepped closer to her and was talking lowly, as if to ensure the press couldn't hear him.

"Can I, Mrs. Black, say on behalf of the Ministry, how deeply regretful we are about the way things happened?"

Selene could not look at him. "Minister, if I can be quite frank?" She didn't wait for a response. "You all let my husband sit in Azkaban for twelve years for a crime he did not commit."

"You have to understand," Fudge said, his face stricken, "that the evidence was against him! How could we not think –"

"The evidence was against him two years ago, yes," Selene said in the same calm, yet cold tone. She could feel Remus' hand tighten on the small of her back. "But one year ago? The evidence supported Voldemort's return and you ignored it. And if you had believed us... you would've known my husband's innocence. So, in all honesty, Fudge, you are the reason my husband is dead."

She pushed the plaque back into his trembling hands.

"I don't want this, either. Sirius wouldn't have wanted it," she said, and she turned away from him. A few more cameras flashed. "Don't contact me again, Minister. Or my son, Harry."

It had been two weeks since the fiasco at the Ministry. Two weeks since – since –

Since Sirius' death.

And for two weeks, Selene had been running around numbly, trying to make some sense of the remaining pieces of her life.

It was hard though, when flashes of the ordeal at the Ministry kept rolling like waves through her head.

Selene's ears stopped hearing.

Sirius did not appear on the other side of the veil. Selene numbly peered around it to check.

She wondered where he had gone. She didn't think this was a very funny prank. Now wasn't the time, didn't he get that? They were surrounded by Death Eaters!

A mere few yards away, Remus was running to catch Harry around his middle. The teenaged boy thrashed, fighting against the older man, fighting to reach the veil. Selene saw them, but she couldn't comprehend why Harry was so upset. Selene wondered if perhaps Harry was angry at Sirius for hiding.

Sirius always liked his jokes, but this one wasn't funny. Selene looked at the other side of the veil again; he still hadn't come back through.

He's not coming through because he's dead. He's gone. Forever.

Selene shook her head, trying to rid it of that thought. That lie.

It's not a lie. It's the truth. Sirius is dead, and there's nothing you can do. Sirius is dead, don't you get it?

Selene dropped to her knees. She couldn't believe it. It couldn't possibly be true. Sirius was alive, he had to be, he had to –

SIRIUS IS DEAD! WAKE UP! SIRIUS IS DEAD! SIRIUS IS DEAD! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!