Selene || Remus Lupin

Ch. 101 - Come Home

It took Selene several moments after she woke up the next morning to realize that it was indeed Christmas. Being cooped up in the cottage had caused them all to lose track of their days, and regardless, the present climate hadn't been suitable for many holiday celebrations. With a pang, she thought it had been the least festive Christmas season that she'd ever had – and she'd spent her childhood at Malfoy Manor, for Merlin's sake.

Selene pulled herself out of bed and headed downstairs to the kitchen to make the cup of coffee she always tried to greet Remus with after one of his transformations. She tried her hardest not to make any sound, as Ron was still asleep upstairs, and she desperately wanted to cherish a couple of moments alone with her thoughts. She felt like her feelings were all over the place – more so than any pregnant woman's typically was.

She was, of course, terrified at the turn this war was taking. As much as she didn't want to acknowledge it, she knew that it was not faring well for the Order. They weren't making the difference that they had originally thought they could, especially without Harry at their forefront. They lacked the manpower to infiltrate and take back the Ministry, or Hogwarts, and they lacked the resources to plan any sort of act of rebellion. Voldemort was, in short, winning.

Selene could only hope that Harry was accomplishing the task that Dumbledore had set for him – though this was another source of Selene's anxiety.

She was a mother that was worried about the state and whereabouts of her son; she hadn't the faintest clue as to where he was or what he was doing. She was still angry at Dumbledore for setting such a task for a barely-of-age boy to achieve in order to finish off the darkest wizard of all time, though she knew if anyone could do it, it would be Harry.

That didn't trump her wishes for him to just come home and be with her and Remus, especially since he was missing out on such an important time for their family – a sentiment that brought her to her next round of feelings and emotions.

She was, on top of all this, simultaneously excited and terrified for the arrival of the new baby. She was excited, obviously, because she was already consumed in love for the new little boy or girl and knew that the baby would be a wonderful addition to the life that she and Remus had built together. She was, however, also terrified that something had still yet to go wrong. She could lose the baby. She could turn out to be a terrible mother. She or Remus could die or be horribly injured.

Something could go wrong.

And yet, while feeling all of this, Selene knew she had to push through. She had to be strong. She had to be brave.

And so, she put the coffee on, and she waited for Remus to come home.

As it turns out, she didn't end up having to wait very long. Or so she thought.

When she heard the front door bang open and slow footsteps thud down the hall, Selene automatically assumed it was Remus, coming back home.

"Remus?" Selene called, heaving herself off of her kitchen stool. "I've got coffee waiting for you."

A redheaded figure came around the corner, bundled in a coat, his cheeks and ears pink from the cold. "It's not Remus, it's Ron," he said, his teeth still chattering. "Do you happen to have enough for a cup for me though? It's freezing outside. Oh, and Happy Christmas."

Selene nodded, moving to grab Ron a mug. "Happy Christmas, Ron! What were you doing outside? I thought you've been asleep upstairs all this time."

Ron shifted on his feet uncertainly, his hands shoved in his coat pockets. "I've been – I've been –" he stammered hesitantly, eyeing her hands as she poured a stream of steaming dark liquid into a dark green mug.