Selene || Remus Lupin

Ch. 81 - Selene's Day Off

"SELENE BLACK!"

Selene and Remus jolted upright in bed the next morning, woken by the violent banging on the door to Selene's living quarters.

"SELENE BLACK, YOU WAKE UP THIS INSTANT!"

"Sounds like McGonagall," Remus said, rubbing his eyes and peering blearily at her. "What'd you do to make her so mad?"

"I-I don't —" Selene stammered in confusion. She looked around, squinting at the clock on her wall. Then, she gasped, throwing off her covers. "Oh no! Oh no! My first class was supposed to start over an hour ago!"

Remus stared at her in horror. "We slept in?"

"I slept in," Selene moaned. She looked around the room desperately. "Remus, where are my clothes?"

"Er – I seem to remember tossing your dress somewhere on the floor in the kitchen, I think..."

Selene groaned, hurrying over to her closet. "Oh, forget it, I'll find something –"

"SELENE, OPEN THIS DOOR!" McGonagall shouted, banging on the door even harder.

Selene pulled a shirt over her head hurriedly, and she seized a pair of pants that had been tossed carelessly on the floor and began tugging them on.

"SELENE!" came McGonagall's voice once more, a hint of exasperation present now amidst her anger.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Selene called weakly, rushing to open the door. She pulled it open, revealing a furious McGonagall on the other side.

"Have you realized that you've officially missed teaching your first two classes?"

Selene winced terribly. "Minerva, I am so sorry —"

"You'd better have a really good excuse, Selene," McGonagall said irritably, cutting her off. "Somebody had better be dead, or — or —"

"Good morning, Professor."

Remus appeared behind Selene, looking over her shoulder. He seemed to have managed to wrangle on his shirt and trousers from the previous day, though his shirt was clearly buttoned up unevenly and his hair was sticking up on one side.

McGonagall's tirade fell silent, and she ogled him. "Mr — Mr. Lupin! What are you — actually, don't answer  —"

"I'm afraid it's my fault Selene slept in, Professor," Remus said smoothly, a small smile on his face, apparently unbothered that McGonagall was probably judging his messy appearance.

McGonagall coloured red, but she stood firm. "That's — that's no excuse. Selene, you can't be late to your own classes!"

"I really am sorry, Minerva," Selene said desperately. "It won't happen again! This time — well, it was a particularly special occasion —"

She hesitated, and then she held up her left hand, wiggling her fingers. Her new engagement ring glittered in the firelight emitted by the torches in the corridor.

McGonagall's eyes widened, and they flickered between the ring on Selene's hand and Selene and Remus' faces. Then she gasped.

"You don't mean —" she said quickly, "the two of you — engaged?"

Remus and Selene exchanged a look and then grinned sheepishly. "Surprise..." Selene said awkwardly.

McGonagall stared at the pair of them for another moment, and then her shoulders relaxed. "I'll tell the headmaster that your classes will be cancelled for the rest of the day."

"Minerva!" Selene said, wide-eyed. "I can teach the rest of my classes today! Really, it was an accident!"

But McGonagall was shaking her head already. "No, no, absolutely not! With how long I've been waiting on the two of you to get a move on and get together? You're staying in for the rest of the day — to celebrate. It would do the two of you some good anyways."