Selene was glad to have arrived back to the Burrow the following morning, completely exhausted from the events of the night before. As soon as they had walked onto the front lawn of the Weasleys' home, Molly ran out, frantically rushing to meet them.
"Arthur – I've been so worried – so worried—"
She embraced her husband tightly, throwing a newspaper that she had had in her hand to the ground.
"You're all right," Mrs. Weasley muttered, "you're alive... Oh boys..."
She abandoned her husband so that she could fling her arms around the twins' necks, knocking their heads together. Selene held back a smile. No matter how hard she was on them, Molly Weasley loved her children.
"Ouch! Mum – you're strangling us—"
"I shouted at you before you left!" Molly sobbed. "It's all I've been thinking about! What if You-Know-Who had got you, and the last thing I ever said to you was that you didn't get enough O.W.L.s? Oh Fred... George..."
"Come on, now, Molly, we're all perfectly okay," Arthur said soothingly, leading her away from the twins and towards the house. "Bill," he added quietly, so that his wife couldn't hear, "pick up that paper, I want to see what it says..."
They all ushered into the house, and Selene sank into a kitchen chair as soon as they had made it in. There was a hustle and bustle of chatter as they crowded into the house, but Selene's exhaustion drowned out their conversations. She had had enough excitement for the year in a single night. She was tired.
"Selene," Molly said hesitantly, breaking Selene out of her reverie. "You've had a letter while you've been gone."
By the look on her face, Selene immediately grew concerned. Had Sirius written her? Had Molly seen his name and realized that Selene was in contact with her criminal husband?
Selene's heart froze when she saw the name on the letter that Molly pushed into her hand.
Scrawled neatly on the front of it was merely Selene Black, but Selene recognized the handwriting at once. She tore it open without a word to Molly, completely unconcerned that the older woman was eyeing her curiously.
My Dearest Selene,
I know that I shouldn't be writing to you, but I couldn't help but indulge myself a little.
I've found a small cottage in Yorkshire, and it's done well enough while I've been looking for a job. It hasn't been very easy. The news of my condition has spread rapidly, so I've been working the odd Muggle job here and there. I suppose it's not been too bad, but they're never very happy when I have to be out for the full moon, so that's led me to jump around a bit.
I hope you've had a nice summer. I expect you've been writing Harry and Sirius both pretty often. I've heard from Sirius that you even got back in touch with the Weasleys; I'm sure that's made you happy.
I hope you won't be angry with me for long, and I hope that one day we'll be friends again. I miss you more than anything.
The truth is, I am a wreck without you.
I know that the decision I made was the right one, but I can't help but wish I was back with you, in your arms. I know that in the end, however, you are much better off without me, and some day, you will realize that too. Even so, I find myself wishing that I had never become a werewolf, and all would be well for you and me.
I don't expect you to write back, but if you did, I would welcome it. The temptation to be even that close to you is too great.
Yours completely,
R. J. Lupin
Selene screwed up her lips, tears threatening to spill through her eyelashes. In one way, she was relieved that she had gotten to hear from him, because she missed him so, but in another way, she was angry that he had dangled himself like this in front of her, so close to her reach, yet so far.
She felt a hand pressing itself against her shoulder, and she looked up to see Molly looking at her in understanding. The older woman said nothing but squeezed Selene's shoulder lightly, giving her a reassuring look. Selene smiled back gratefully.
As Molly bustled away, Harry came up behind her, looking at her cautiously.
"You need something, Harry?" Selene asked him.
Harry nodded. He looked a little anxious. "Can I talk to you?"
He turned to walk out of the kitchen, Selene standing up tiredly and following him. She was at his heels all the way up the stairs, and she was close behind when he led her into a room that already held Ron and Hermione.
"Oh," Selene said, surprised. "Is this supposed to be some kind of intervention?"
Ron laughed a bit, but Hemione's face showed that she knew what Harry was going to say, and it seemed important.
"Not really," Harry said. "You remember how I mentioned my scar hurting in that letter I sent you a couple days ago?"
Selene's face darkened. "Yes. I was going to mention it after the Cup... I didn't want to ruin your fun." She hesitated. "I guess it's too late for that."
Harry looked worried. "I was hoping that you not saying anything meant it was nothing."
"Harry," Selene said, frowning, "I don't think it's nothing. It's definitely something we need to tell Dumbledore about."
Harry's face fell. "I didn't really want to make a big deal out of it..."
Selene shook her head. "It's not just that. I know your scar hurt before and look how that ended. I don't think that Death Eaters showing up all of the sudden at the Quidditch World Cup just three days after your scar hurts is just a coincidence."
Harry hesitated. "That's not everything."
Selene stared. "What do you mean, 'that's not everything'?" She stepped closer to him, giving him a serious look. "Harry, you must tell me everything. It could be important."
And so, Selene listened intently as Harry delved into the dream he had had before he had woken up to the piercing pain in his scar. She listened as he talked about the old Muggle man who had discovered Wormtail, Voldemort, and the other unknown wizard in the abandoned mansion, and how the old man had been cruelly murdered by Voldemort. She listened as he even mentioned that they spoke of a plot to get to Harry, and how it would be of great benefit to Voldemort, whatever the plan was.
By the time Harry had finished, Selene was looking at him in horror.
"Harry, are you sure this was just a dream?"
Harry gave her a worried look. "I hoped it was."
She pursed her lips. She suspected that Harry knew she didn't think it was. Nevertheless, she didn't say anything; she just stared at him worriedly.
Ron spoke up, looking awkward in that moment of silence. "Come on, let's have a game of Quidditch in the orchard, Harry," he said. "Come on – three on three, Bill and Charlie and Fred and George will play... You can try out the Wronski Feint... Selene could ref for us if she'd like..."
For once, Selene didn't feel up to anything Quidditch-related; the fiasco at the Cup, along with the unsettling feel in her stomach from the information that Harry had just told her, was making it hard to think about anything else.
"Ron," Hermione said sternly, "Harry doesn't want to play Quidditch right now... He's worried, and he's tired... We all need to go to bed..."
"Yeah, I want to play Quidditch," Harry said suddenly. "Hang on, I'll get my Firebolt."
Hermione and Selene stared worriedly after the two boys, who rushed off quickly to gather their brooms.
"Boys," Hermione muttered irritably.
Selene gave her a look. "Tell me about it."
Much later that day, Selene mustered up the courage to write a response to Remus' letter. She tried to make it sound like she wasn't completely devastated by his leaving, hoping that he'd keep writing her.
A lump rose in her throat as she watched her own owl, Hestia, fly off with the finished letter. Selene knew something was coming, and she knew it'd be much easier to face it with Remus.
Dear Remus,
I can't say that I'm not hurt, but I do miss you as well.
I attended the Quidditch World Cup with Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys. The game was a dream come true... but everything after was a disaster. Can you believe that the Death Eaters were out and about again? It gives me an uneasy feeling. I don't think this is the last we'll see of them.
This all hits a little too close to home. I really don't want to be drawn back into all of this, but I need to be there for Harry. He has no idea of my past, and as much as I'd like to keep it that way, I know some day he'll have to know the truth.
I wish you were here. You'd know what to do... or at the very least, you'd know how to cheer me up. This is the longest we've ever been apart. I don't think you're making the right decision here, but I've long since realized that it's only up to you to change your mind. I just wish you'd do it soon.
I'll keep you updated on what's going on at Hogwarts. I'd assume that you'd want to know.
All my love,
Selene