ATHENE {remus lupin}

THIRTY ONE

Athene Malfoy found the burrow to be one of the most welcoming places she had ever stepped foot in. Though no match to Malfoy Manor in size, or elegance, the small house was everything which she had wished her own home to be. Every morning, there was happiness and family time. The Weasley family really was full of love.

The house was currently occupied by nine people, if everyone was downstairs all at once, one could not help but feel a little trapped. Athene had been trying to stay in her room, but with Fred and George visiting every day and Tonks every other, she was frequently finding herself being dragged into the middle of the Weasley family. 

She was staying in Fred and George's old room with Hermione and Ginny, the twins were living above their shop. Ron and Harry were at the very top of the house, whilst Bill and Fleur occupied Ginny's old room. Charlie had also been visiting over the summer, he slept on a sofa. 

What Athene admired about Molly Weasley was that, no matter how difficult anything was, she found a way to persevere. Whether it be accommodating for over ten people in her small house, or coping with the death of a loved one. Molly had been friends with Sirius too, but Athene had not seen her cry, or show an ounce of pain once. Instead she was there for Remus, Tonks and indeed Athene. The woman really was miraculous. 

Fred had been taking her to the joke shop fairly frequently, showing her their new products and constantly joking that he was going to slip her a love potion, so much so that Athene had been checking her drinks and food for one. The most interesting character, however, was Bill Weasley's fiancee, Fleur Delacour.  Athene, had hated the witch, she hated the way that she carried herself as if she were above everyone else, but Ginny had informed her that that was in fact just as Athene used to be, so she found herself empathizing with the French woman.

"Bonjour, Athene," she had drawled, "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Athene had returned the pleasantries and turned her back to her to continue speaking to Molly. 

"You are the murderer, no?"

The entire room had stopped their conversations at that comment. Ron was sniggering in the corner whilst Hermione was looking at the French woman with a disgusted look on her face. Molly had dropped the plate that she was holding and was glaring at Fleur with pure fury. For Athene, however, this was the moment where she decided that she liked the new addition to the Weasley family. 

Weeks on from their first encounter, Fleur and Athene sat, smiling at how blunt she had been on their first meeting. 

"I did not mean to offend you!" Fleur was saying with a huge smile on her face. "I wanted to show you that I was not afraid of you! It was either that or to say that I expected you to be prettier."

Tonks had snorted at that, "since Athene's departure from the role as a pureblood princess, her vanity has significantly decreased."

"Well, I made the right decision then!" Fleur exclaimed.

In the short month that Athene had been staying with the Weasleys, she, Tonks, and Fleur had become a trio of sort. They would spend hours gardening and discussing the war, or topics such as Bill and Remus. 

"Do you hear from him, Dora?" Fleur asked. Dora was the nickname that Fleur had instantly given to Tonks, "that is a man's name," she had scoffed, when Tonks asked her to call her by her surname. 

"Who?" Tonks asked. Athene rolled her eyes at the witch.

"Remus, Dora. The man you love. I so look forward to meeting him properly," Fleur said as she messed with a daisy.

"No, I haven't heard from him in a while," she glanced towards Athene, "have you?"

"Of course not," she replied quickly. And truthfully, she hadn't seen or spoke to him since the day that he left 12 Grimmauld Place. She thought he was selfish. He had promised Molly that he would visit and yet was nowhere to be seen.