I'm sorry I've been away for so long; Germany was bloody amazing, hot, awesome etc. I hope this chapter is worth the wait

Thanks to Kacey for her review, it was just a school trip and also to BellatrixD – thanks for the reviews anyway, even if they are a tad irregular! Guest, thanks. That is all I have to say. And The souless ones, I await your verdict! Skipping back, also to cheeseandoreosHP for her lovely review on chapter 15, that is the best praise I could get.

Also, I have passed 10k views! Thank you all!

I don't own Harry Potter.

"And I'll surrender up my heart, and swap it for yours." - Lego House by Ed Sheeran

Chapter 24: I'll Be Your Gryffindor

Mother hardly ever mentioned him. My cousin, that's all I know of him.

And now… I don't know. I never knew, and now I never will. I think of him now, looking up at the moon. The moon, that large celestial object that I am named after. Selene, goddess of the moon. It's only when I can see the moon that I can relax.

I'll be back at school in a matter of weeks, away from 'home'. Always in inverted commas that. Away from the dust that seems to gather in our hallways now Dobby has escaped.

Two tears flop down my cheeks as I think of the house elf. I am pleased; my family routinely abused him even when he had done right. Made him shut his fingers in the oven, iron his ears out, set his head on fire… all to see him break. But he didn't, and as much as I know I shouldn't I miss him more than anyone could have thought possible.

He was my only friend, from when I was a toddler to when I left for Beauxbatons. I like to think I never pushed him aside, but that is a lie. I did, and now he's gone I will never be able to remedy that.

Father's anger is even more terrible these days. I don't know why, but something has gone wrong and he is still reeling from the blow Dumbledore shot him. The blow Harry Potter gave him. He is no longer as important, but he holds more power in his pinkie than the rest do put together.

Mother won't even look at me or Draco. Normally I would accept this as normality and move on, but for her to place Draco aside is abnormal. He is the perfect child, even though I am the clever one. He is the loved one, although I try so hard. And I love him unconditionally, through his tantrums and spoilt brat fits. Because I know that underneath his exterior, he is as innocent as everyone else, as much as he tries to hide it.

Our money might have brought him his nature, our status in society his arrogance, but I know that those things have not changed me as much. The only thing they have successfully done is build up my walls between reality and my memories. And right now, what I need to remember will not come to me.

Grey eyes and black hair. I can only remember one person with grey eyes and black hair, and it is not the person I am searching for. I don't want to remember that person, it hurts too much. I cried all night when I heard. I knew he understood me.

"Perfect!" Professor Flitwick squeaked as Selene produced a perfect Total Shield Charm. "You really have studied that book well Miss Malfoy, now if you'll look here…"

The old tome lay open in the middle of his desk, which was cleared of all clutter ready for her extra lessons. Selene pored over the book next to her Professor, smiling to herself. That charm had taken her a whole night to perfect, and praise just made the achievements seem more precious to her.

"If you could try the next step up – a Designated Shield Charm – for next Tuesday, I think that should sufficiently challenge you, If you have any qualms please do not hesitate to contact me. I'll see you at around 10 am; you have a free lesson then, don't you?"

Selene walked out of his office with a sight smile on her face, sliding the book back into its gap between her Arithmancy book and its Ancient Runes counterpart. Charms was such an interesting subject, there were so many disciplines you could study and its history and its roots…

"Did you have another private lesson?" Hermione asked her, catching up with Selene on their way down to the Great Hall. To anyone else they might have judged Hermione as mightily jealous about Selene's extra lessons, but she was in fact extremely impressed. "So you perfected that Total Shield Charm then?"

Nodding, Selene answered; "Just about. I've got a Designated Shield Charm next."

"Oooh!" Hermione gasped. "They're extremely hard; I've only ever read about them! If you manage that one…"

"I know." Selene laughed. "I'm not amazing Hermione, I just... try hard. Anyway, How's Harry getting on with his spells ready for the Third Task?"

"Quite good, actually, we've completed the Summoning Charm; obviously, I think I might teach him the Banishing Charm too, just in case."

"What about the Point Me Charm?" Selene suggested. "Um… it works a bit like a Muggle thing called a company or something."

"Compass." Hermione corrected gently. "It's called a compass. That does sound good, how do you do it?"

"Ladies, ladies, save the nerd talk for the lessons, alright?" Lee Jordan overheard them talking about spells. "We don't want my fabulousness tarnished by your geekiness, now, do we?"

Hermione and Selene shared an exasperated look, eventually deciding to just continue on to the hall like nothing had happened. Lee ran up alongside them, apparently determined to stop them talking about work, at least for a little while.

"Now, let's move on to more socially acceptable topics now, should we? What do normal girls talk about anyway?"

Hermione looked at Lee distrustfully. "Boys." She summed up in one word.

Lee's face wrinkled and he pulled a face. "Thank Godric you two aren't normal then." He said, relieved, before realising what he'd just said.

"Thanks Lee." Selene said drily, patting him on the shoulder. "And you wonder why no girl will ever date you."

They had reached the Great Hall by this point, and Selene instinctively made for the Ravenclaw table, before being casually moved by Hermione. "Come on, sit with us." She invited. "Everyone else does it. No one will really care. Come on."

So Selene was sat down next to Hermione and a boy with slightly singed eyebrows that she recognised as Seamus Finnegan. Seamus shook her hand warmly, with a little grin. "You're that Malfoy chick, aren't you?" He asked in a thick Irish accent. "Pleased to meet you, the name's Seamus, Seamus Finnegan."

"Selene." Selene introduced.

"Harry, Selene knows a spell that might help you." Hermione cut in, talking to Harry, who was seated across from her. Harry's glum expression perked up when he saw the Ravenclaw.

"You do? Which one?" He asked eagerly, ignoring his food for the meantime.

"It's called the Point Me Charm." Explained Selene. "The incantation is simply 'Point Me' with your wand lying flat in the palm of your hand."

Hermione nodded, producing a piece of parchment and a quill from her pocket. She quickly noted all of this down, before finishing with a flourish and stowing them back in her robes. "Great, now I was thinking-"

She was cut off by Fred miraculously appearing and motioning for Seamus to budge up slightly. Hermione buried her head in her hands, obviously giving up any hope for sensibleness at this moment in time.

"Hello love." He pecked Selene on the cheek before looking at Hermione. "Why so glum 'Mione? Has your crazy cat eaten any more of Ron's multitude of mice?"

"He's not crazy!" Hermione snapped. "He's just… touchy. And Ron doesn't have a mouse any more, and Pigwidgeon's the mad one."

"Pigwidgeon?" Selene raised an eyebrow.

"Ginny." Ron didn't look up, just pointed his knife at where his sister was sitting with her friends. "She has terrible naming skills. I feel sorry for her kids; she'll probably call one Elvendork Englebreath or something."

Everyone laughed at the name, and Ron went back to his sandwiches with renewed vigour. Hermione rolled her eyes then looked up at the enchanted ceiling in surprise.

"Is that an owl?" She asked, pointing up at where a grey owl was swooping around. "They normally come at breakfast, don't they?"

The owl swooped down to the Gryffindor table, and Selene's eyes widened. "Apophis?" She asked. She could feel the gazes of everyone on her. "Um… my family's owl. I don't know why he'd be here though, I've got Cress and Draco's got Rudy."

The owl didn't stop, just dropped at letter in front of Selene before flying off into the ceiling again. Most were too focused on the owl to notice the recipient or even the letter, but Ron looked up from his plate and gaped at what the owl had given Selene. Hermione was next to snap out of it, picking up the red envelope gingerly.

"Open it." Hermione passed it to Selene quickly. "It's a million times worse if you don't."

"Have they sent you a Howler?" Fred asked, craning forward to see. "What have you done t-"

The rest of his sentence was drowned out as the envelope burst into flames and Ron jumped backwards. Selene, who was still holding the letter, dropped it quickly, and it landed on the Gryffindor table milliseconds before a loud voice boomed from it.

"THE THINGS I HAVE HEARD! I CANNOT BELIEVE YOUR AUDICITY! AFTER ALL THE CHANCES WE HAVE GIVEN YOU, AFTER EVERYTHING WE HAVE GIVEN YOU, EVERYTHING YOU COULD EVER WANT, AND YOU THROW IT BACK IN OUR FACES! WE FORGAVE YOU THE FIRST TIME, WE FORGAVE YOU WHEN YOU DISAPPOINTED US, WHEN YOU CHOSE TO MAKE FRIENDS WHO WERE BENEATH YOU, BUT THIS IS TOO FAR. DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THIS VERY MOMENT? DO YOU EVEN CARE? WHAT IS HAPPENING WILL AFFECT ALL OF US, AND YOU'RE TOO BUSY OFF WITH YOUR PATHETIC GRYFFINDOR FRIENDS TO CARE. YOUR BROTHER HAS TOLD US EVERYTHING, AND YOU ARE TREADING A VERY FINE LINE GIRL, YOU ARE ON THE BRINK OF IT. IF WE HEAR ONCE MORE THAT YOU ARE CONSORTING WITH MUDBLOODS AND BLOOD TRAITORS ALIKE, THEN YOU CAN CONSIDER YOURSELF A MALFOY ONLY BY NAME!"

The letter exploded into a million tiny fragments, and the Great Hall was in a shocked silence. Everyone had heard every single word of the Howler, and were now staring at the unfortunate recipient.

Selene felt light-headed, staring down at the faintest shadow of ash that outlined where the letter had fallen. She wished the ground would open up and just swallow her, anywhere was better than here. She couldn't meet anyone's gaze.

The look on George's face would have terrified even the bravest Gryffindor. He looked almost mutinous as he gritted his teeth and glowered at Draco over at the Slytherin table. Selene wanted to stop him, he wasn't worth it and it would just make things worse for her, but she couldn't move. Fred wordlessly placed a hand on her shoulder, shocking Selene out of her petrified state.

If she was braver, less scared, then she would have made a joke about how her father would have no voice after yelling all of that at her. But she was never brave; she was just scared, and nervous and shy. She could wish for a proper family, not a father that would yell verbal abuse at her and think nothing of it, and a mother that saw her as a way to uphold the Malfoy's pureblood status. But you can't choose your family.

She ran out of the Great Hall, not looking back, just wanting a way out of the deafening silence and the probing stares. There were only so many times that you could pretend that everything was okay, that everything wasn't falling apart, and the limit had just been crossed.

The air was pleasantly warm, but not hot, and the sun was high in the sky, Selene wished it was night, then she could see the moon and feel less alone. Ever since she was a tiny girl the moon had always seemed like a friend, and that nothing bad could happen when she could see it. That wasn't true of course; the moonlight shining over that body had proved her wrong.

And there was next to no point complaining about it, even if she gave it all up in this very spot, then she would still love him. Feelings aren't easy to manipulate, and every time she saw him she would feel a pang inside of her. She could pretend, but she couldn't actually stop loving him.

She loved his slightly crooked smile, and his chocolate-brown eyes, and his promise that he was probably going to make her prank Professor McGonagall in the near future, and the way he somehow got her to sneak out of school after curfew. And though she'd never admit it, his hair was amazing. She'd never admit it to Fred anyway; his ego was far too big as it was.

But that was beside the point.

"Selene?" Someone was calling. Selene didn't look up; she didn't really want to face him just yet. She had to keep so much from him, and for good reason. If he realised everything that was so fundamentally wrong with her, then he might not want to love her anymore. She'd fallen for him so quickly and so easily, and now she couldn't see life without him. It was like the beginning of a sick fairytale.

"Selene?" Fred called again, spotting her by the lake. "Selene." He repeated, slightly quieter.

"Hey." Selene answered as he sat down beside her. She didn't meet his eyes, she just kept on looking over the lake and to the hills beyond.

"George is busy getting told off by Professor McGonagall." He stated. Selene didn't look around at him. "He punched him. Your brother, I mean. George punched Malfoy."

Again, she didn't react, fiddling with her sleeve and biting her lip. "Draco's not worth it." She protested; looking straight forward with all the force she could muster. "It won't make him stop and he'll just tell Father that a Weasley punched him."

"You know I love you, right?" Fred asked, finally accepting that Selene wasn't going to look at him. "I know you're not telling me much at all, but I want you know that it won't change a thing between us. Everyone keeps secrets, even me and George, and it's no big deal.'

Feeling a tear fall down her cheek, Selene took a deep breath and curled her legs up to her body, resting her head on top. She closed her eyes. "I'm just scared." She admitted. "I'm no Gryffindor, I don't know the first thing about bravery, it's just me trying to help people and forcing myself to say and do things."

"You are brave."

Those three words could be interpreted so many different ways, but Selene just shook her head. "No, I'm not. If I was brave I could confront Draco myself, not have others do it for me. If I was brave I wouldn't be out here, I'd be inside getting over it. I'm a Ravenclaw, not a Gryffindor. I'm smart, not brave."

"I'll be your Gryffindor." Fred said, taking Selene's hand. "If you're not brave then, I can be brave for you. And you can do my homework."

Selene gave a strangled sob before throwing her arms around Fred, clutching him desperately. "Typical… Gryffindor…" She sobbed into his shoulder. "Always… trying… to get… out of work…"

Fred chuckled quietly, hugging her to him. "Calm down love, its okay. George has already done the physical damage, and I know Hermione isn't very happy either. It'll all be alright."

They sat there for a number of minutes, arms around each other like if they let go the other might leave. The sun went behind a cloud and the bright sunlight seemed diminished somewhat in the resulting shadow.

"Hi." Said a very bemused voice behind them, and Fred looked around to see George, a huge grin on his face. "Have you progressed to hugging now? Wow, kids these days grow up fast."

Fred's look would have made a lesser man shrivel up and die, but George didn't seem fazed. Selene flicked her eyes upwards from Fred's shoulder and stifled a little shriek, catapulting away from him and hoping that her hair wasn't giving George the wrong idea.

"I have to say Selene." George said evilly, a little twinkle in his brown eyes. "Punching your dear brother was a lot of fun. Can I do it again sometime?"

His expression made Selene giggle despite herself. "No, sorry." She apologised.

There was an almost angry look on George's face now and Selene self-consciously scrambled backwards when he started to advance towards her. "No, okay, you can! It's okay!" She squeaked.

"She fell for it." George deadpanned, before cracking a grin. "You plonker. You actually fell for that?"

Selene realised, and she stood up, feeling her face turn read when she realised she'd been tricked. "I hate you." She whined. "And no, you can't punch him again. Where did you punch him anyway?"

"Jaw." George sounded very pleased with himself. "Broke his pretty face too; I've got detention until the end of the year but it's definitely worth it."

"You didn't need to." Selene protested, biting her lip.

"Yes I did!" George countered, flinging an arm carelessly around her shoulders. "Mum's going to want to meet you now I've written to her explaining that Freddie has a girlfriend-"

"You told Mum?" Fred's eyebrows shot into his hairline. "I could kill you right now."

"-Anyway." George continued. "That is for another time, and as I was saying, now Mum knows she's going to want to meet you. And she's going to love you – 'You'll be such a good influence on him!'." George mimicked a high pitched voice. "Urgh, actually, really? Fred, remind me why you had to fall in love with an ickle Prefect?"

"I could kill you right now." Fred repeated ominously. "And we're the ones influencing her; and what better day to do it then April 1st?"

Selene looked from George to Fred as they began to silently exchange information. "Guys?" She asked, slightly freaked out. "What's so special about April 1st?"

Fred looked at her, aghast. "What's so special about that date? It's only the day to-"

"-prank-" George added.

"-annoy-" Fred explained.

"-and joke." George finished. "And not to mention-"

"-it's our birthday." They completed in tandem. Selene snorted.

"That's kind of a coincidence isn't it?" She asked. "You two, biggest pranksters in the history of pranking, born on the biggest day for pranking?"

"She's catching on." George said to Fred. "I'm starting to think she isn't as bad as I thought she was."

"Hey." Selene frowned. The twins chuckled, and Fred slipped his arm around the shoulder not currently occupied by George's arm. Together they began to walk her towards the castle, ignoring her protests. "Guys, I don't want to go back yet, people are just going to stare at me."

Fred rolled his eyes. "Then I'll punch them. Remember, I'm your Gryffindor. I do all the fighting, you do all the homework, and we share the snogging."

George face-palmed. He didn't say anything; he just wordlessly pretended to vomit into a nearby bush. "If you want my help dear brother, then you need to stop flirting with Selene here right under my nose."

Moving his arm from her shoulder to her waist, Fred pecked Selene's cheek and George rolled his eyes. "No can do Georgie."

The amount of people that turned to look at the trio as they re-entered the Great Hall was staggering, and Selene felt compelled to leave again, but between them the twins managed to guide her back to the Gryffindor table.

"Are you okay?" To Selene's surprise, it was Harry that spoke first. "Malfoy shouldn't have told your parents, it's your choice to tell them or not, not his."

"I'm fine thanks Harry." Selene lied, biting her lip. "I'd have to tell them anyway, and it'd probably be better anyway for Draco to tell them, not me."

"So…" Hermione began gingerly. "Is that it then?"

Selene shook her head. "No, they're going to want me back over summer, try and b-get some sense into me. I've got one last chance, that's what I gathered from that Howler. If I don't retract back to just my Ravenclaw friends, then…" She didn't continue her sentence. Lily spoke up from nearby.

"It's decided." She announced suddenly. "You're coming to Hogsmede with me next weekend, and you're going to meet my sister Dora, your other cousin. Mum will want to meet you too, no doubt about it, and so will Dad. They aren't all psyco in our family Selene. Come on, you know you want to."

"Thank you Lily." Selene said gratefully. "I'd love to meet Aunty Dromeda."

"And I know Mum and Dad would love to meet you too." Hermione cut in. "They are extremely interested in the Wizarding World, and it'll be nice for them to meet someone who has completely been submerged in it their whole life. And I know you're interested in the Muggle world too."

"And as I was saying, Mum will want to meet you." George added. "Our family is actually nice, unless you count Aunt Muriel which none of us do. She's a right bitch, never happy."

"You can have my aunt and uncle if you want." Harry groaned. "And my cousin Dudley. Seriously, just give me the word and they're yours."

"I'm okay." Selene grinned. "They can't be that bad. At least they don't- anyway."

Only Hermione noticed her near slip-up, and shot Selene a curious glance. Selene didn't meet her eyes.

Fred kissed Selene's cheek again, and Harry blushed and his head in his lunch. "I love you." He whispered into her ear. "My Ravenclaw."

Selene could feel her face heating up at the comment, and the look Ron gave them was terrifying. What did they all think Fred just said to her? Damn it. Her face was much too easy to blush. Now everyone thought he'd just made some innuendo or something.

"You look cute when you blush." Fred whispered again. Selene shot him a look as she flushed again. Was he doing this on purpose? He was doing this on purpose.

"It's not funny…"

"Yes, it is." George interjected a devious grin on his face. "You are incredibly sweet together, you know."

Now it was Fred's turn to glare at his brother while Ron laughed. "Oh, and I happen to know what you feel towards a certain Gryffindor Chaser too. Do you want me to tell Lily? Then keep quiet like a good boy and don't complain when I flirt."

Ron took a sip of his pumpkin juice at this point and promptly spat it out all over Hermione, who gave him an exasperated look and muttered "Scourgify.".

"Is it me or does he look jealous?" Fred murmured to Selene again. "Anyway, I think it's just fun to aggravate you by making you blush. You blush an awful lot though love, are you entirely sure it's normal?"

There was a slight commotion over at the Slytherin table and the group all looked around. Draco, still cradling his jaw with one hand, was hastily slipping into his spot between Crabbe and Goyle, trying not to attract too much attention but evidently failing.

Professor McGonagall walked over towards the Gryffindor table, stopping so she could see the clustered people around Selene. "Mr Weasley, please refrain from attacking Mr Malfoy again."

"Yes Professor." George droned, catching Selene's eye and shooting her a wink. "You have to admit though, he deserved it."

A smile twitched at the corners of Professor McGonagall's mouth. "It is not your place to say such a thing Mr Weasley, however I believe detention for the rest of the year is a little harsh. A month." She looked around the group some more, her gaze resting on Selene. "Miss Malfoy, I know that I am not your Head of House, but Professor Flitwick always speaks most highly of you and your abilities. So, if you are ever in need of someone to confide in."

She left off here, nodding curtly at George and giving Selene a tight-lipped smile. Then McGonagall was striding off towards the top table. "Did she just let you off?" Hermione asked, sounding disgusted. "I can't believe you! First you punch someone in the jaw – yes, okay, he deserved it! – And now Professor McGonagall is shortening your sentence. If I were her, I'd give you detention for two years."

"Thank Godric Hermione isn't a Professor then." Fred said dramatically, pretending to wipe sweat off his forehead. "Phew, you had me worried there."

Selene laughed at Fred's over-dramatic expression and he grinned at her, running a hand through his hair slightly nervously. "Oh, for the love of Gryffindor you two, stop flirting!" George groaned, face-palming. "And this is why I try not to get involved with your love life Freddie; you always turn out sickly-sweet."