Infatuation

Nymphadora Tonks, Ginny Weasley, and Hermione Granger sat at the table in the kitchen of Order Headquarters, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. It was summer before the two girls had to return to school. It was stifling hot, and the air in the kitchen was barely moving. The trio had been chatting about all sorts of things: school days, what little Order work they could discuss, and of course the persecuting heat.

In an attempt to avoid discussing the weather, Ginny brought up a new topic, "Tonks, have you ever had a crush on a professor?"

Tonks pointed a finger to herself. "Me? No way! I'm not that much older than you, Ginny. I had most of the same professors. None of them are exactly heartthrobs." Tonks paused a moment to visualize her old teachers. Dumbledore, Flitwick, Filch, Snape. Nope, not a looker among them. "I mean, can you imagine what sort of girls would have a crush on Snape?"

Ginny nodded and conceded her point. Who would like Snape? "True. But did you ever have a Defense teacher that you crushed?"

She took a moment to run through a mental list of Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. "Hmm. Nope, most of them were pretty creepy. I was so jealous as a fifth year when I heard stories about a group before me. Seven years of school and a good looking DADA professor each one! None of mine were even close."

"Oh. I just wondered." Ginny sent her a look Tonks couldn't quite name and turned to the Daily Prophet lying on the table.

"Well, what about you? Ever had a crush on a teacher?" Tonks asked. Who would Ginny crush out of her professors?

The younger girl shook her head vigorously. "Not me." She seemed to think a moment and then added in a quieter voice, "The boy hero of the wizarding world maybe, but never a professor."

Tonks grinned. It was fairly common knowledge that Ginny liked Harry. "What about you, Hermione?"

Hermione glanced up from her own newspaper. She blushed slightly and looked as though she was considering answering at all. Ginny and Tonks sent her pointed and innocent expressions, and she sighed and replied. "I did have a bit of an infatuation with a professor once."

"But not a crush?" Ginny asked.

Tonks raised an eyebrow. "What's the difference?"

When presented with a question she could easily answer, Hermione snapped into her own teacher mode. "An infatuation is a short lived admiration that really has no chance of an actual relationship. I suppose a crush is similar."

Tonks smiled at her. "Thanks for the dictionary definition. So who were you infatuated with?" As an afterthought she added, "Please don't say Snape."

Tonks was pleased and relieved to see that Hermione looked appalled. "No! Um, there was a time when I found Gilderoy Lockhart rather charming."

"Gilderoy Lockhart? That bogus hero who can't remember how to spell his name?"

Again Hermione blushed. "Well, yes, him. I was only a second year, and he did appear very dashing. Of course finding out he was a fraud and then the bit where he lost his memory did have a dampening effect on it."

Ginny looked rather surprised. "Wow, Lockhart. I guess my brother really is a step up."

Hermione's blush had overtaken her face and now matched Ginny's hair. Tonks couldn't hold back a laugh at her expense. Ron and Hermione would never admit to liking each other in this lifetime. Ginny joined in, and Hermione hid her face behind her hair.

She likely would have formulated a crushing reply if the door to the kitchen had not opened and admitted a tall, poorly dressed man.

Remus Lupin smiled at the three women, but addressed Tonks first. "Hello, Nymphadora." The smile he sent her was slightly different than the one he gave his former students. "Excuse me, Ladies. I'll be out of your way in a moment. I was just fetching something for your mother, Ginny. Sorry for interrupting." He strode quickly to the counter and opened a cupboard.

Tonks swiveled in her chair to follow him with her eyes. Luckily the action did not send her on a graceless trip to the floor. "Oh, you're fine, Remus. We're not really in the middle of anything important."

He sent her a smile that could have just as easily floored her, and retrieving the article for Molly, he exited the room. Tonks struggled hard not to sigh audibly.

The younger girls exchanged a glance and a smile before turning to face the Auror. "So you've never had a crush on a professor, Tonks?" Ginny inquired again.

Tonks blinked and turned away from the door. "No, I told you guys, there was never really anyone worth crushing." She glanced at each girl and back again. "What's that look?"

Ginny chuckled before staring Tonk in the eye. "It's just that we don't quite believe you. It certainly looks like you have a crush on one Professor R. J. Lupin."

Tonks gaped at the girls. "Remus? We're friends, sure, but Merlin!" They knew she liked Remus? "And he was never my professor, so I don't see how that even counts."

Ginny grinned wider and Hermione gasped happily. "So that's a yes, then? It's a crush on a professor, so it counts. Finding out about Hermione and Lockhart was an added bonus, but all along I wanted to know if you fancied Professor Lupin."

Tonks shook her head. Well, they knew now. "Fine. You got what you want." She sighed, but wasn't terribly angry. A slight grin crept across her mouth. "Guess I have an infatuation with a professor."