I do not own the following: Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, James and Lily Potter and Severus Snape. I am merely borrowing them from J. K. Rowling. I promise to give them back unharmed. *grins* I do, however, own Mackenzie Snape, Isabene Dumbledore, Selistina Snape and Kiley Lupin.

The song Serenity belongs to the band Godsmack. The lyrics for Serenity aren’t in any particular order; I just used lyrics where I thought them appropriate.

This is purely for entertainment. I am not making a profit off this.

Serenity

By Ibonekoen

The cry of a newborn baby filled the storage room of the Hog’s Head, a pub in the wizard village of Hogsmeade.

“Oh Remus,” Mackenzie Snape said as she gently bathed the baby in warm water. “She’s beautiful.”

Remus Lupin flashed a lopsided grin at his wife, Selistina. “Did you hear that, Sel? A girl!”

Selistina smiled weakly. “Kiley Elizabeth.”

He nodded proudly, smoothing back her hair, not seeming to notice her pallid complexion.

Down at the end of the pallet Selistina lay on, Isabene Dumbledore frowned. “Shit, Mack, c’mere.”

Mackenzie furrowed her brows as she carefully wrapped Kiley in a soft pink blanket and then passed her to Remus, who was beaming. She knelt beside Isabene, gasping as she saw her friend’s hands were covered in blood. “Oh god. . .” She cast a glance at Remus, who was cooing softly to Kiley. “Remus, you might want to wait outside.”

Remus glanced up from his daughter, his face taking on a panicked expression. “What do you mean? What’s wrong?”

“There’s nothing you can do now, Isa,” Selistina said tiredly. “It’s meant to be.”

“Damn it, no, it isn’t!” Isabene growled. “We’re not gonna lose you, Sel!”

“What’s going on?” Remus demanded, looking worriedly from Mackenzie to Isabene, who was cursing as she tried to staunch the blood flowing from Selistina’s body.

“Remy. . .” Selistina whispered.

“I’m here, my sweet,” he said in a choked voice, understanding dawning on him. He took her hand in his, raising it to his lips so he could press a soft kiss to her palm.

“Help Kiley remember me,” she begged. “Let her know much I love her and tell her how much we were looking forward to being a family.”

“You can tell her your god damned self!” Isabene hissed. “I’m not losing you, Sel! Now, damn it, help me!”

“Sel,” Remus whispered, his eyes filling with tears.

She smiled. “Tell Sev. . .I love him,” she implored.

“Please. . .” he pleaded, realizing what was happening. “Don’t leave me. Kiley. . .I. . .we need you.”

“I love you,” she whispered. She smiled once more before her eyes fluttered closed, her grip on Remus’ hand slackening.

“No. . .” Remus mumbled, shaking his head in disbelief. “Sel?”

“Oh god,” Mackenzie whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks.

Isabene sat back on her heels in shock, staring down at her blood-covered hands.

The door burst open and Severus Snape stormed in, followed by Sirius Black and James Potter.

“Jesus Christ, Isa!” Sirius cried, rushing to her side. “What happened?” He gingerly cupped one of her hands in his.

“I-it’s not mine,” she said numbly. “Selistina. . .”

Mackenzie glanced at her husband, tears streaming down her face. “Severus. . .we tried. We couldn’t stop. . .so much blood.”

Severus frowned, then glanced at his sister. His eyes narrowed. “What. . .?”

“Selistina,” Mackenzie sobbed. “She’s dead.”

Severus went rigid. “What do you mean. . .dead?” he asked slowly, his lips drawn into a thin line.

“Dead!” Isabene shouted, glaring at him through tears. In one motion, she rose to her feet, stalked toward him and thrust her bloodied hands under his nose. “She bled to death and there wasn’t a damned thing I could do about it!”

At the sound of Isabene’s shout, Kiley began to cry. Frowning, James knelt beside Remus, who had a shocked expression on his face and seemed oblivious to everything but Selistina.

“Remus,” he whispered. “Do ya want me. . .?” He nodded toward Kiley.

Remus blinked, glancing at his friend, then down at the crying bundle in his arms. A lump formed in his throat and tears burned his eyes. “Yeah,” he said, his voice thick as he practically shoved Kiley at James. “I-I just need a m-moment.”

James nodded, cradling Kiley gently as he rose to his feet. He began making soft shushing noises to her, rocking her soothingly.

Severus stood with one hand in the pocket of his robes, his eyes ablaze. Mackenzie hesitantly laid a hand on his shoulder. “Sev. . .”

On the other side of the room, Sirius was holding a sobbing Isabene close to him as she buried her face against his robes. “Shh,” he murmured as he smoothed her hair down with one hand.

“You,” Severus growled in a dangerously low voice as he glared at Remus, who had risen to his feet. The young man appeared to be in a daze, his eyes downcast.

“Sev,” Mackenzie said warningly.

“This is your fault!” Severus hissed.

“Severus, no!” Mackenzie cried as he whipped his wand out of his pocket and aimed the tip at Remus’ heart.

Remus slowly raised his eyes to gaze disinterestedly at Severus, whose anger was visibly etched on his face. “You killed my sister!” Severus shouted. “Av-”

“NO!” Mackenzie cried. Without even thinking, her left hand shot out, firmly wrapping around the shaft of her husband’s wand just as he was gathering up the energy to cast the spell.

Severus’ face took on a horrified expression as Mackenzie gave an agonized scream and crumpled to the ground. “Mackenzie!” he whispered in a panicked voice as he sank to his knees beside her.

“You son of a bitch!” Isabene hissed. She had raised her head from Sirius’ shoulder in time to witness Snape’s attempted spell-casting. “How dare you!”

“Isa,” James warned as she reached for her wand. “I think there’s been enough of that today.” He glared at Severus, who was cradling Mackenzie’s head in his arms.

“Moony!” Sirius cried angrily. “Why did you just stand there?! He was going to kill you!”

Remus stared at his friend, disenchanted. “Maybe I wanted him to.”

Sirius and James exchanged startled glances. Before either of them could speak, Remus bolted from the room. He raced out of the Hog’s Head, Sirius calling after him, and disappeared into the crowd milling around Hogsmeade.

Remus didn’t stop running until he’d reached the Shrieking Shack. Immediately, he went inside, stumbling into the parlor. He leaned against the wall, then sank down to the floor, closing his eyes. As he bowed his head, the tears came.

It was well after dark, and Remus still sat on the floor of the Shrieking Shack. His tears had long since dried, but he couldn’t find the energy to move. He knew he should be getting back, after all, his daughter needed him. . .but suddenly life didn’t seem worth living without Selistina there beside him.

He closed his eyes, feeling tears spring to his eyes once more. He’d thought that he’d cried all he could. His tear ducts should be beyond dry by now. . .

His beautiful Selistina. They’d gotten married almost ten months ago, in a secret ceremony held on the grounds of Hogwarts. They’d had to marry secretly, due to the fact that Severus thought his sister could do better than Remus.

Remus sighed, thinking Maybe Snape was right. . .at least she’d be alive.

He started, his hand automatically diving into his pocket to grip the handle of his wand as he heard a noise near the front entrance. “Who’s there?” he demanded, hearing the sound of the door opening.

“It’s Peter.”

Remus relaxed his grip on his wand, removing his hand from his pocket. “I suppose the others have sent out a search party,” he mumbled.

“Yes, actually,” Peter Pettigrew said as he timidly stepped further into the room. “I can leave, if you want.”

Remus shook his head. “James or Mack would just get mad because you left me here alone to wallow in guilt.”

“You’ve nothing to feel guilty over, mate,” Peter protested.

“I wish I could believe you, Peter,” Remus said softly.

“Funny, Isabene said the same thing,” Peter commented, casually putting his hands in his pockets. “Siri had to take her back to their apartment. She couldn’t stop crying. She blames herself.”

“I just can’t believe this happened,” Remus whispered. “Pomfrey said there might be complications. . .but I never thought. . .this.”

“I know,” Peter said sympathetically. “She had a weak heart, Remus. Even a Muggle doctor couldn’t have saved her.”

“What do I do now?” Remus asked. “All our plans, all our dreams. . .faded away.”

“You still have Kiley,” Peter pointed out. “You’re all she has left. You know we’ll help you any way we can, but Kiley needs her father. You have to be strong, if only for her.”

Remus raised his grieving eyes to his friend’s face. “I don’t know if I can,” he whispered.

James stood in the living room of Remus’ apartment, pacing back and forth. A brooding Severus knelt beside the couch, on which Mackenzie lay. Her left hand was wrapped up in a bandage, and her complexion was still pale. Across the room, Lily Potter, seven months pregnant, sat in a lounge chair, watching her husband as he paced.

“James, please, sit down,” she pleaded.

He ignored her, his head whipping up as the front door swung open. Peter entered the room, followed by Remus.

“Found him at the Shrieking Shack,” Peter said as he removed his coat and hung it on a peg near the door.

“Remus,” Mackenzie said as she attempted to sit up, only to have Severus firmly push her back onto the couch with a glare.

Remus froze, his hand on the doorknob, as he saw Severus. Panic flashed across his features and he started to bolt. James grabbed his arm, forcefully pulled him the rest of the way into the room and shut the door.

“C’mon,” James said firmly as he dragged his friend toward the hallway leading to the back of the apartment. “There’s somebody you need to spend time with.”

“James,” Remus protested as he tried to free his arm from his friend’s grasp. “I need more time!”

“No, Remus, she’s your daughter,” James growled as he shoved Remus into the nursery, where Kiley lay in her crib.

Remus stilled, scarcely daring to breathe, as he gazed down at his daughter’s face. She was awake, staring up at him, though he knew she was too young to really recognize what she was seeing.

“She has my nose,” he whispered.

“You should be bloody thankful for that one,” James said, crossing his arms over his chest. “She could’ve inherited the Snape nose.”

He nudged Remus’ side with his elbow. “Go on then, mate,” he urged. “Pick her up.”

“James. . .” Remus protested.

“What?” James snapped, scowling. “C’mon, mate, she’s your daughter. Do you really think Sel would be happy knowing you’d rejected her final gift to you?”

Remus glared at him. “That was low, even for you.”

“Just hold her,” James begged, gently picking Kiley up--being sure to support her neck--and offering her to Remus.

Hesitantly, Remus took the baby, cradling her carefully in his arms. He stared down at her and then smiled as she yawned and gazed up at him with beautiful blue eyes.

Suddenly he gasped, looking up at James, a startled expression on his face. “She smiled at me!” he said proudly.

James grinned. “Well then, I’ll leave you two to get better acquainted.”

As he backed out of the room, shutting the door behind him, Remus carried his daughter over to a rocking chair that had been set up by a large bay window overlooking the city. Once he’d settled down and started a rhythmic rocking, he looked down at Kiley, who had her hands balled into tiny fists.

“You have your mother’s eyes, Kileybeth,” he whispered, leaning down to gently kiss the top of her head.

He sighed, reflecting on his first glimpse of Selistina Snape. She had been two years younger than the rest of them. Yet there had been something about the first year that had drawn the attention of third year Remus. Perhaps it was her charisma, her charm or even the fact that she was nicer than her older brother that held his interest.

It had been in his fifth year that Remus had finally started to realize how hooked he was on Selistina. It made no difference to him that she was a Slytherin, nor did he care in the slightest that Snape had forbidden him from cavorting with his sister. Remus was lovestruck and had to have her.

Lucky for him, Selistina had been just as enthralled in him as he was in her. With the help of Lily and Isabene, the two carried on a secret romance within the halls of Hogwarts, right under Snape’s nose.

After Selistina graduated from Hogwarts, she’d almost immediately moved in with Remus, despite her brother’s disapproval. Remus had taken a job as an Unspeakable for the Ministry of Magic. She had decided to pursue a career in the medical field, taking a job at St. Mungo’s in the Spell Damage wing.

They’d lived together for a few years, and then one day Remus proposed. She’d accepted and, with the help of their friends, planned a wedding on Hogwarts ground.

As much as Selistina had hated excluding her brother, they had decided it was for the best. After all, Severus was furious enough about them living together. They knew he would try to prevent them from marrying.

And so they’d married on August 13, because Selistina had thought it was good luck. Notice-me-not spells were cast on their rings, allowing only those the couple wished to see the rings. Anyone else--Severus, for example--would just overlook the rings.

They’d even managed to hide Selistina’s pregnancy from Severus for the first four months. After that, her belly had gotten so big, even her robes couldn’t hide the bulge. Naturally, Severus had been furious.

Remus and Selistina couldn’t have been more excited. They’d bought a new, bigger apartment, and turned the third bedroom into a nursery. They’d outfitted the room in neutral colors, choosing to wait until the baby’s birth to find out whether it was a girl or boy.

Madam Pomfrey, who had been in charge of the hospital wing when they’d attended Hogwarts, had watched over Selistina. She had warned the proud parents that there would be complications in the pregnancy, but Remus had never dreamed he would have to lose Selistina to gain his daughter.

Forcing away the memories, he glanced down at his daughter, only to discover that the gentle rocking of the chair had lulled her to sleep. He felt tears spring to his eyes once more as he looked upon her. She was beautiful, just like her mother.

Rising to his feet, he carried the sleeping baby over to her crib, gently laying her on her back and covering her with a soft blanket. Lightly, reverently, he ran his fingertips over her hair and down her cheek.

He was all that she had left. He intended to make sure she never wanted of anything. He would ensure that Selistina’s memory carried on through their daughter.

And perhaps. . .somewhere along the way. . .he would find his serenity.

The End