Aurora couldn't sleep that night. She tossed and turned, the bedsheets tangling around her legs as she wrestled with her restless thoughts. No matter how hard she tried to clear her mind, it seemed determined to churn over the events of the past few months. It was one of those sleepless nights that tormented her every now and then, where every small worry felt magnified under the weight of the quiet darkness. Eventually, she gave up. She didn't have the strength to force herself to sleep anymore.
Sliding out of bed, Aurora wrapped herself in a soft cardigan to ward off the chill in the air. Her bare feet padded softly on the floor as she began pacing around her bedroom, the sound of her movements the only noise breaking the silence. She glanced at the stack of students' essays sitting on her desk, their parchment edges curling slightly. For a fleeting moment, she considered grading them, but her mind was far too tired for analysis. Her eyes skimmed over the first essay before she sighed and turned away.
The last few months had been a relentless whirlwind, a rollercoaster ride that left her reeling. Moving out of her childhood home, stepping into her role as a professor at Hogwarts, navigating Harry's precarious situation, her evolving relationship with Remus, and now... marriage. Marriage. The very word felt surreal, like it belonged to someone else's life, not hers. How had all of this unfolded in such a short time?
Aurora rubbed her temples, trying to soothe the ache building in her head. Without even realizing it, she left her quarters, her legs carrying her down the dark, empty corridors of Hogwarts. The stone walls, cool and rough beneath her fingertips, seemed to ground her as she walked aimlessly. Her thoughts churned like stormy waters, each one crashing into the next.
She still hadn't told her parents about the marriage. The very idea sent a jolt of anxiety through her chest. How could she even begin that conversation?Mum, Dad, by the way, I got married. Oh, and I might soon be Harry Potter's legal guardian.It was a disaster waiting to happen. She could already picture their reactions, the disbelief, the anger, the barrage of questions that would come faster than she could answer them.
And then there was Lucrecia. Merlin, what would she even say to her sister?Look, you were right. I married your professor, and we became parents.The thought was so absurd it almost made her laugh, but it was the kind of laugh that caught in her throat and turned into a lump of dread. It sounded like the setup to a bad joke, not the reality of her life.
Aurora stopped walking and leaned against the cold stone wall, pressing her forehead to its surface. She closed her eyes, exhaling slowly. She was trying to make sense of it all, trying to convince herself that it wasn't as overwhelming as it seemed. But in moments like this, alone in the stillness of the castle, the enormity of it all threatened to crush her.
She didn't know what led her to Remus' quarters. Her feet seemed to have made the decision for her, carrying her down the winding halls of Hogwarts without her conscious consent. The castle was eerily quiet, the flicker of torchlight casting long shadows on the ancient stone walls. Aurora stopped outside his door, hesitating.
It wasn't that she didn't feel welcome. Remus was her husband now, technically. But they lived separately, she in her chambers, and he in his. While they often spent time together in one or the other, this was different. This was the dead of night, and she didn't want to overstep boundaries that were still so new and unspoken.
Her hand hovered in the air for a moment before she finally knocked.
Inside, Remus had already sensed her presence. One of theperksof being a werewolf, he thought wryly. He could smell her familiar scent even through the door. He waited, unsure whether she'd just come in or stay standing there. When the knock came instead of her entrance, he smiled to himself. Typical Aurora, always polite, even when she didn't need to be.
He opened the door almost immediately, his expression soft.
"You don't have to knock, Aurora," he said gently, stepping aside to let her in. "My quarters are always open to you."
Aurora entered hesitantly, her eyes flicking around the room as if she might be disturbing something. She noticed the stack of books on his desk and the faint glow of a half-burned candle. He wasn't asleep. Why wasn't he asleep? It was the middle of the bloody night.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. His touch was warm and grounding, and it melted some of the tension she hadn't realized she was carrying.
"I couldn't sleep," she admitted, her voice quiet. "I was walking around Hogwarts, and somehow, I ended up here. Sorry if I interrupted you."
"Nonsense," he said with a reassuring smile, guiding her further into the room. "Come on."
He led her toward the bedroom with an easy familiarity that made her heart ache with a mix of gratitude and something she didn't quite have words for.
"Is something bothering you that you couldn't sleep?" he asked as they walked.
"Life," she confessed simply. "There's been a lot going on lately, but you know..." She let out a nervous laugh, one that felt too sharp for the quiet room.
Remus gestured to the bed, inviting her to get in. Aurora hesitated for a moment, feeling the oddness of the situation, she hadn't planned to end up here, but eventually, she climbed into the bed, letting the warmth of the sheets envelop her. Remus joined her almost immediately, his presence beside her as natural as breathing.
"What's it going to be like when we move in together?" she asked, the first thought that came to her. "Still in separate bedrooms?"
Remus didn't answer right away. He seemed to be considering her words carefully, as he always did.
"That might be a problem," he said at last. "My house isn't huge. It only has two bedrooms. One will, of course, be Harry's if you manage to get custody of him. I'm afraid we'll have to share a bedroom. If that's okay with you. At most, I can sleep in the living room, on the couch."
Aurora sat up slightly, shaking her head. "Don't even say that. We can sleep together—that's fine. That's what most married couples do."
Remus nodded, though a flicker of relief crossed his features.
"Are you going to change your last name to mine?" he asked after a moment.
"Not really," she admitted. "I've already filed all the necessary paperwork. Once everything's approved by the Ministry, I'll have a double-barrelled last name, but here at school, I'll only use mine."
"Oh, so you don't want to be Mrs. Lupin?" he teased, a playful glint in his eye.
"That sounds weird. And... old."
He chuckled at that. "I get it."
For a while, neither of them said anything. The quiet between them was comfortable, words unnecessary. Aurora rested her head on his shoulder, letting herself sink into the calmness of his presence. His breathing was steady, soothing in its rhythm.
And so they stayed like that, wrapped in warmth and silence, finding a moment of peace amid the chaos of their new reality.
"Remus, when do you think Sirius Black will finally be caught and handed over to the Ministry?" Aurora asked unexpectedly, her voice breaking the stillness of the room like a stone shattering the surface of a quiet pond.
The question left Remus completely speechless. It wasn't often that Aurora brought up Sirius Black, in fact, he could count on one hand the number of times they had discussed him. Each time, Remus had deftly changed the subject, unwilling to let the conversation linger on that name. But now, the question hung in the air, unavoidable and sharp.
Remus hated talking about Sirius Black. The mere mention of him stirred a maelstrom of emotions, anger, grief, betrayal, that he kept buried as deeply as he could. Sirius was the man responsible for shattering what remained of Remus's world. One terrible day had cost him almost everything: three of his closest friends, his sense of safety, and any illusions he'd held about trust and loyalty.
He could still see the scene in his mind as vividly as if it had just happened: Dumbledore and McGonagall appearing at his doorstep, their expressions grave and their words heavier than any curse. They had told him about James and Lily's deaths, Sirius's betrayal, and Peter's murder. They had explained how one-year-old Harry had been left with the Dursleys for his own protection. That day had marked the beginning of the darkest winter of Remus Lupin's life.
The memories haunted him, replaying in his mind whenever he let his guard down. It wasn't just the loss that hurt; it was the betrayal. Sirius, his best friend, the man he had trusted with everything, had sold the Potters to Voldemort. And yet, somewhere deep inside, Remus wanted to believe it wasn't true. He had clung to the faint hope that it was all some horrible mistake, that Voldemort had found another way to discover the Potters' location.
It was a hope he could never voice. He had hidden Sirius's darkest secret from the world for so long that it had become second nature, a weight he carried in silence. The Fidelius Charm worked in a very specific way. Only the Secret Keeper could reveal the truth. And the Secret Keeper had been Sirius Black.
Remus's jaw tightened as he tried to find the right words to respond to Aurora. How could he explain the tangled mess of grief, rage, and denial that swirled inside him every time he thought of Sirius? How could he tell her about the part of him that still wanted to see Sirius as the friend he used to be, even when the evidence screamed otherwise?
"Aurora," he said finally, his voice low and measured, "I don't know. Maybe he'll be caught tomorrow, maybe not for years. But... it's not something I spend much time thinking about. What matters is keeping Harry safe. Sirius Black... he's just a ghost of the past."
He looked at her, his eyes shadowed with a pain that he rarely allowed anyone to see.
"My mother is convinced that Sirius Black was responsible for my grandmother's death," Aurora revealed, her voice steady but her hands trembling slightly. The weight of her words hit Remus like a Stunning Spell, leaving him momentarily breathless.
"What?" he finally managed, his voice barely above a whisper, his mind racing to process what she had just said.
"I've been thinking about telling you for a long time," she admitted, her eyes downcast, as if ashamed of the revelation. "Right after what happened to the Potters, when the Ministry revealed that Black was responsible for everything, my mother started connecting the dots." She took a shaky breath before continuing, her words measured but tinged with lingering fear.
"That night when my grandmother was murdered, my mother saw him," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "He was walking by our house, calmly, almost casually, looking directly at it. She didn't think much of it at the time, but when she found out Sirius was one of the Death Eaters, everything seemed to fall into place for her. She became convinced he must have been the one who killed my grandmother."
Aurora paused, her hands wringing together as she tried to steady herself. "But there was no proof," she continued. "No one else could confirm he had been near our house that night. My father stopped her from going to the Ministry, saying it was all speculation and that we didn't have enough evidence. So she let it go. But she's never truly believed anyone else was responsible."
Remus listened intently, his face drawn and pale. Every word she spoke felt like a fresh wound opening. He had known Sirius almost his entire life; they had shared secrets, mischief, and brotherhood. To hear Sirius implicated in yet another heinous act was like salt rubbed into the scars of his memories.
"That's why you were so scared the night Black snuck into the castle," he said softly after a moment, his mind piecing together her reaction that night.
"Yes," she admitted, her voice barely audible. "I was afraid he would come for me too. If he's capable of... all of that, why wouldn't he?"
Remus hesitated, his brow furrowed deeply as if he were weighing something monumental. Finally, he spoke, his voice carrying the weight of a revelation he had been holding back. "Aurora, I have something to tell you," he said, his tone serious, his words deliberate.
Aurora tilted her head, her expression curious but wary. "What is it?"
"The last time I looked at the Marauder's Map," he began, his voice barely above a whisper, "I saw something, or rather,someone,I didn't expect. I noticed the name Peter Pettigrew walking around the castle."
Aurora froze, staring at him as if he had just spoken in Parseltongue. "But Peter is dead," she pointed out, her voice trembling with disbelief. "He was murdered by Sirius. Everyone knows that. Maybe the map..."
"That map never lies," Remus interrupted her firmly, his voice tinged with an unshakable conviction.