selenophile || remus lupin

chapter eighty one

4 June 1977

11:24 pm

"You see those three in kind of a crooked line? That's Orion's belt. Follow those to the left, where my finger is, and that's Sirius. And if you go to the other side you can see the seven sisters constellation," Ophelia was pointing up at all of the stars, reciting the ones that she learned as a child. Remus and Ophelia were laying on their backs outside of the greenhouses, stargazing, and just enjoying each other's presence.

"You're not even looking," Ophelia laughed. Remus, instead of watching where her finger was pointing, was looking at Ophelia as she looked up into the night sky, fascinated by the stars.

"I can't help it. I find what I'm looking at much more beautiful than the stars," he said.

"Shut up," Ophelia rolled her eyes with a smile, glad it was dark for she was blushing. "But really, I want you to see the beauty of the night sky. I know what it means to you."

"And what does it mean to me?"

"Well, you've never really liked it. You despise it, to an extent. You fear it, because, in your mind, it turns you into a monster, which it doesn't. It makes you lose control, it doesn't turn you into a beast. You could never be a monster if you tried, Remus. I want you to see the beauty of the moon and the stars. Instead of thinking about how the full moon manipulates you, whenever you look up into the night sky, I want you to think of the beauty of it all. The colors, the light escaping the stars, how much is out there, and how small we really are compared to what's up above. I want you to think of the constellations and how humans have made our mark on something so incredibly far away, yet it's such a part of each and every one of us it feels much closer. They're shining for you and me, Rem."

"You want to know a secret?"

"Of course," Ophelia smiled and turned to face him.

"I don't think I've ever told this to anyone, not even the boys. It's not embarrassing or anything, it's just special and I don't want to waste it on someone who won't care."

"I want to know everything about you, Remus. Even the smallest of details, I care."

"Well, when I was younger, before I was bitten, so before I was five, I used to love the night sky. I absolutely adored it. Mum and I would watch, every night she picked me up and carried me outside or to my bedroom window, and we would spend the longest time just looking at the stars and the moon. I often fell asleep doing it. I would spend half an hour each night studying the stars before I fell asleep on my mum's shoulder and she would carry me to my bed and tuck me in. After I was bitten, she tried to still do it, but I quickly developed a deep loathing for the moon. It hurt to look at it. I couldn't find any sort of beauty in it because I know what it does to me. When I'm back home, I see her out on the porch looking at the sky, almost every night. Sometimes she'll catch my eye and I can tell she wishes I was out there with her, but I can't bring myself to do it. Whenever I stargaze, all I can think about is how much I hate the moon. And you're right, I'm scared of it. Absolutely terrified. Except the strange thing is, when I'm here with you, and you're pointing everything out, all of the things I miss when I'm too wrapped up in my hatred, I don't feel bad. I feel like I can actually appreciate it when I'm with you. You teach me to see what I often can't, and I think I'm learning to kind of love it."

Ophelia was about to respond when the couple heard footsteps walking towards them. Before they could react, a head of blond hair appeared above them, with a nasty grin on his face.

"Well, well, well. Look at you two. How adorably disgusting," Lucius Malfoy said.

"Malfoy," Remus and Ophelia sat up. "What are you doing?"