Selene || Remus Lupin

Ch. 84 - Battle at Midnight

Curse Gryffindors.

Curse them and their need to run headlong into battle, into chaos and conflict, without even a thought of the consequences.

Some things needed to be thought out and considered before people raced towards death and destruction, not knowing where they'd make it out on the other side alive.

This was why Selene was not a soldier. She could not fight a war. She could not run into battle without a second thought.

She was a Slytherin. She was a coward.

Self-proclaimed, of course. There was no need to point out the obvious.

But, blimey.

Curse Gryffindors, right?

Crash.

Selene shot upwards – half-asleep, so it felt like she could've hit the ceiling.

"Did you hear that?" she asked.

But Remus was already out of bed, grappling for his wand, blinking his eyes, straining to see in the dark.

"Stay here," was all he said.

"What?" Selene asked, scrambling out of bed, nearly tripping over the hem of her much-too-big flannel pyjama pants. "What are you doing? Where are you going?"

"Just stay here, Selene."

"Why don't you stay here, dammit?" she muttered, reaching for her wand. "We don't even know what that sound was. It could've been Peeves."

"Would you just hang on?" he said quietly. He was already at the door to Selene's living quarters. "Just wait here while I'll go see what it is."

"Why does it have to be you?" she pressed on stubbornly. "I mean damn you, you incorrigible Gryffindors, running into situations you know nothing about." She hesitated, and then she pushed him out of the way of the door. "I'm going first, I actually work here."

Remus merely gestured something unintelligible at her, exasperated.

Selene threw open the door then, and she nearly stumbled backward in surprise.

"Selene!"

Ginny was standing on the other side, beads of sweat dotting her forehead, her eyes wide in alarm.

"What's wrong, Ginny?" Selene said.

It wasn't a question. It was a demand for information.

"No time to explain everything," she panted. "Death Eaters... here in the castle..."

"What?" Selene gasped, gripping her wand tighter in her fingers. "How'd they get through the wards?"

But Remus was already past her and out the door, running down the corridor, his wand pointed ahead of him at unseen enemies. Ginny followed closely behind him, letting him lead her into the fight.

But Selene, the Slytherin, was rooted to the spot. Delayed. Hesitant. Afraid.

Harry's face flashed across her mind.

"Damn it!" she cried sharply.

And then she was after them.

It didn't take long to find the fight. Like honestly. They rounded the corner at the end of the corridor, and there were the Death Eaters, throwing curses around like confetti at a party.