ATHENE {remus lupin}

SIXTY NINE

Remus Lupin and Bill and Charlie Weasley arrived at Shell Cottage in the early evening. The three looked completely shattered. Fleur jumped up at the sight of her husband and threw her arms around him lovingly, Athene gave a small smile to Remus which he returned. 

They told them that Harry had returned to the Burrow with the rest of the Weasleys, and that he seemed okay. Remus said that he felt a little weak, but that after technically dying that was surely inevitable. 

The five sat around the kitchen table, each clutching mugs of coffee. It all felt too normal.

"It was Narcissa, you know..." Remus said cautiously to Athene.

"What was Narcissa?"

"She knew that Harry was alive, she told Voldemort that he was dead."

Athene looked up from her coffee slightly with an eyebrow raised, "good on her."

"Give her some bloody credit," Remus said.

Athene shrugged, "how are you, Charlie?" She asked, looking away from Remus.

The man had tears in his eyes and he seemed to snap out of a trance at Athene's voice.

"Oh-well-I-Fred," his voice broke as he spoke and he rested his forehead against the table. Bill put a hand on his brother's shoulder and Athene felt her eyes once again fill with tears.

"You should summon your mother, 'theney..." Fleur said delicately.

Athene shook her head and looked out of the window, wanting to avoid the inevitable conversation. Remus huffed at her and she glared at him sharply.

"Dora would think that you should," Fleur whispered.

Athene stood up from where she sat and stormed out of the house. Remus and Fleur looked at each other.

"Summon her," Fleur said gently to the man.

"It's not my decision to make-"

"They'll be arrested soon, she might not get to speak to her again for years. She'll regret it. She doesn't deserve to live with that."

Remus inhaled sharply and looked to Bill and Charlie, the two men murmured words of agreement.

Remus sighed and ran a hand through his hair and quickly conjured his patronus.

"Narcissa Malfoy," he murmured to the wolf.

Fleur smiled at him when he did that, "you'll have to teach me to produce a patronus now that the war is over, Remus."

The man smiled and nodded.

"My dark arts teacher at Beauxbatons was awful... think he ended up being a death eater in the end... probably couldn't produce one himself..."

"You will be able to."

"What makes you say that?"

"You're surrounded by love, you surely have happy memories."

Fleur nodded, "what do you think of, Remus?" She asked teasingly.

Remus allowed himself to quickly look towards the door where Athene had vanished from- an action that did not go unnoticed by Fleur.

 "The marauders, sometimes."

"And the other times?" Fleur pressed.

Remus shook his head at the woman and laughed, before leaving the house.

Athene was sat on one of the rocks in front of the sea when Remus Lupin found her, he sat beside her and waited for her to look at him, when she didn't, he spoke.