Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
This story was inspired by my thinking about Twilight lately even though I am not a fan and this is not a crossover. This was also inspired by my other story "Breaking Time", however, this is not a sequel to that. I thought of doing a sequel to that, but now I'm focused on doing something more supernatural and with Ginny as the main character this time round. I thought I might turn this into a saga, the way Twilight does, if all goes well. And it would be a short saga at that, cause my time's limited.
So, this story can be read as Twilight-est, but it's not. Especially since I've only read the first book. By the way, this story takes place in Ginny's 5th year, which would be Harry's 6th, therefore Sirius has already passed.
Bite Me
Ginny's teeth were gritted in intense pain. Her brown eyes were wide and alert. The pale fingers of her left hand were clamped tight on the side of her neck where the wound was made. It wasn't doing her much good. The dark red substance still leaked like a flood. It ran down her neck and actually dripped in front of her, causing her to slip as she tried desperately to walk across the bathroom floor.
Ginny sucked in a breath, but concentrating on breathing was next to impossible. Her heart was racing fast. She couldn't be sure that the monster was gone. For all she knew, he could be coming up right behind her.
Ginny stopped in front of the mirror, staring at her frightened face. There was too much blood. Her hand looked like it was covered in a crimson glove. She couldn't make a move to reach for medical supplies. It already felt as if it was too late.
Her eyes slowly shut as the memory surfaced to her mind.
She was saying goodbye to Harry at the door. He was leaving with the majority of the Order, along with Ron and Hermione. They were standing awkwardly together. Neither one wanted to express the possible interest they might have in one another; not in front of the crowd outside. Not in front of her parents.
Ginny's eyes dropped to the ground.
"You'll be alright?" Harry asked her. She nodded. "With Lupin?"
"Tonks is here," she had told him. "Besides, don't you think I'm a big girl able to handle myself?"
Harry looked down and nodded.
"Suppose."
Ginny made to hug him, but stopped herself and settled for saying "See you later then. Be safe."
"You too."
Ginny gave a strangled yelp as a fiery pain started to burn in her neck. She found herself choking.
Ginny was seated on the couch, absentmindedly flipping through a wizard mag. Tonks came walking up behind her.
"Sure you'll be alright?" she asked.
"The wolfsbane keeps him tame doesn't it?" she had asked.
"Maybe I should stay."
Ginny had groaned. "I'm tired of everyone treating me like a little kid. I'm sixteen years old. I can watch Remus safely."
"Alright. Just be careful. Contact us in case you need help. He's shut up in Sirius's room. You're parents will be back soon. I'm really sorry about this."
She watched as Tonks stepped into the green flames, leaving on an important, secret mission. The moment she left, Ginny had felt she had been given a very unimportant mission. She had frowned and looked up at the ceiling when she heard Lupin howl.
Ginny gasped. He blood coated hand slammed against the mirror. Never before had she felt such agony. The red drops never stopped falling into the sink. Splash! Splash!
Lupin was making more noise than usual, when he should have just gone right to sleep. The new concoction of wolfsbane Professor Snape had made should have been much stronger than his previous batches. He was suppose to be no more dangerous than a newborn pup.
She had considered going up, but she didn't have to.
In an instant, the beast was leering at her.
Ginny gagged and her eyes popped open. The pressure on her neck increased to its maximum.
She remembered the shock she had felt. She remembered saying his name fearfully.
"Professor Lupin?"
There was no hesitation on his part after that. No time for her to grab her wand. He had lunged at her; claws out, mouth opened.
Ginny shut her eyes and gave several cries as her hand slid down the mirror. Tears were building up in the corners of her eyes. She couldn't take much more of this.
Ginny screamed as his paws hit her chest and knocked her flat onto the couch.
She felt her throat closing. It was like someone was strangling her with very hot hands.
She was staring up into his dark yellow eyes. He was drooling and readying himself to bite. Ginny was pleading, "No, no no, please, no." But the werewolf came forward anyways. His fangs sinking into the right side of her neck. Ginny let out a guttural cry.
Ginny let out an ear piercing scream as she felt the flames. She dropped to her knees, onto a bloody tiled floor. She watched it play in her mind. Watched the werewolf raise his head quickly, causing flecks of her own blood to shower over them both. She stared ahead, dazed. She saw herself with her mouth wide open, no longer able to produce another scream. She found herself sobbing like a babe.
Ginny lifted a weak hand to her neck and felt the tear. The other hand weakly trying to push him away. The werewolf leapt to the floor. Ginny rolled off the couch. She was just able to see the wolf bounding across the room.
Ginny was forcing herself to her feet, willing herself to make it to the bathroom in time.
Ginny's head hit the blood-tiled floor. Her eyes were still open in shock and confusion. Her hands had fallen away from her neck, allowing the blood to continue to flow. Her body had gone still as the darkness consumed her.
Ginny, strangely enough, awoke to a quick sound of whooshing. She knew right away wizards had apparated. She blinked and turned her head. She was on the bathroom floor—a bloodied bathroom floor. With a gasp she quickly pulled herself to her knees and scooted away from the puddle. Her hand flew to her neck as the events of that night came to her.
There was no blood leaking from her neck.
There was no wound. She glanced at her bloodied hand, then she quickly pulled herself to her feet and stared at her neck in the mirror. There was no massive wound from the bite. It had completely healed over. If it weren't for the slight blood staining the area, it was as if nothing had ever happened.
She heard the front door open, and her name being called by Harry.
"Just a minute!" she cried out.
Her mind was in a whirl as she made to wash off all the blood from her hands, then her neck. Where was Lupin? There were no screams from Harry and the others to indicate he was still lurking about. There wasn't anything, except her blood on her hands, and the floor.
"Ginny!" Harry called. He sounded a lot closer.
"I'm in the loo. I'll be out in a minute!"
She quickly soaked up the mess with paper towels and stuffed them into the bin. She covered them as best she could. After another quick check of her neck, she left the room.
Harry was standing just outside the door. There was no look of fear or concern on his face. She couldn't say the same for herself.
"You're back," she declared.
"Yeah. It didn't take too long. Are you alright? You seem a bit pale."
For a moment, all Ginny could do was stare at him, searching his eyes for any sign that he understood what had happened without her having to say so.
"I'm, fine," she said shakily. "Where's Lupin?"
"Upstairs where he's suppose to be, isn't he?"
Ginny moved past Harry, headed for the stairs.
"Ginny, wha—"
She didn't stop to hear Harry. She simply continued on and found Tonks, Shacklebolt and Mad-Eye heading up the stairs to check on Lupin.
"Tonks!" Ginny cried. She came to a stop and looked down at her.
"Ginny dear, how did it go? Wasn't too much trouble was it?"
"N-no," she struggled to say. "Do you mind if I come up too?"
Tonks looked around at Shacklebolt who shook his head.
"Best to not risk it," he told her.
"We'll be back in a bit and let you know how he is."
They continued up, unaware that the beast was more wild than they thought. Ginny, for some reason, found she could not warn them, but she did not hear the howls to indicate that Lupin was mad.
"Ginny? Are you sure you're alright?"
She turned to see Harry giving her a concerned look. Behind him, she saw Hermione and Ron walking up.
"Ginny, you throw a party while we were out or something?" Ron asked.
"What do you mean?"
"There's things knocked over, and cushions on the floor," he replied.
"No," she quietly snapped as she walked past him and back into the front room, the site of her attack.
There were indeed a few things knocked over, but nothing to indicate that something horrid had happened, except for an obvious something someone had missed by not looking too closely.
A medium sized stain of blood on the dark couch. She hurried over to it and proceeded to turn the cushion.
"What are you doing?" Ron asked, as he and the others followed after her.
"Nothing, I just, accidently spilled a drink there," she lied.
"And you think you can cover it up?" Ron asked.
"Ginny, you shouldn't—" Hermione started, but Ginny cut her off.
"I'll take care of it myself," Ginny quickly said.
The others were momentarily taken aback by her sudden seriousness and nervous demeanor.
"Ginny, are you sure you're alright?" Harry asked.
"I'm fine. Just hungry."
"Well let's go eat!" Ron cried. "Working on secret missions works up an appetite."
"Oh Ron, we can't eat until you're parents show," Hermione informed him.
"They should be here soon, I hope."
He and Hermione walked away, but Harry stayed behind, observing Ginny who was standing quite still.
"Are you coming?" he asked.
"I'll be there in a minute."
He walked away, but ended up glancing around at her one last time.
"Nothing happened, did it Ginny?" he asked tentatively.
She quickly shook her head.
"I'm just hungry, and tired."
He nodded and walked away, leaving Ginny to collapse on the couch; specifically on the cushion she had turned over to hide her blood. Nobody knew, unless Tonks and others were discovering a monster with her blood dripping from his fangs. She stared wide-eyed ahead, unsure if the whole event had really happened or if it had all been some kind of delusion. But what would explain the blood in the bathroom? What would account for her being on the floor? It was as if reality and a dream were intermixing and she couldn't pull them apart.
Ginny was pulled out of her shock when Tonks stepped into the room with a great cry.
"GINNY!"
She jumped and turned around. Tonks was looking at her with a look of panic.
"Ginny, the door was ajar! He didn't get loose did he! He didn't…"
"I just..I just…peeked in on him," she lied. "I'm sorry. It was stupid of me really. I must have left the door opened."
Tonks stared at her, and Ginny lowered her head. She was certain she could see through the lie. Who would believe she could be that stupid after all?
"You peeked..Ginny! You must be more careful!" Tonks scolded.
"I thought it would be alright, with Professor Snape's new wolfsbane," she lied again.
"Well, you shouldn't have," Tonks scolded. Ginny dropped her eyes to the floor as she tried to figure out why she was lying for Lupin. Why not confess what happened. She looked up and caught the fear on her face and understood. "I'm surprised you were even capable of removing those locks and charms. Oh if he did anything…I…I don't know what I'd do."
"How is he?" she asked in a desperate attempt to ease her fears. Tonks calmed down some and formed a slight smile.
"Snoozing away, just like a little lamb." Ginny almost scoffed at the remark. He most certainly haven't been acting like a lamb. "I have to thank you for watching him, as risky as it was for you to look in on him."
"Sorry bout that," she muttered. She kicked herself for not stopping herself right there and confessing.
"Well, he should be back to normal by morning, and well…we'll see."
From her disappointed tone with "we'll see", Ginny knew Tonks was on the hunt to win Lupin's heart. Perhaps it was why she kept silent. How could she possibly tell her what he had done to her?
When Tonks left the room, Ginny's gaze went to the ceiling where she knew Lupin was staying, supposedly asleep like a lamb in Sirius's room. In a way, she felt as if she could actually hear him breathing peacefully from where she stood. The next sounds she heard were her parents coming through the fire.
If she couldn't tell Harry, or Tonks or her brother, she definitely couldn't tell her parents. She bit her lip as she felt them near her.
"Everyone back already?" her mum asked.
She nodded.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes mum, just a bit tired…and hungry."
"Well, your mother can fix that," said her father. "Shall we?"
She allowed them to escort her into the kitchen without a word.
Much later that night, Ginny found herself sitting upon the edge of her bed, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Dinner had occurred quietly, yet normally. She had perfected an act that told everyone nothing out of the ordinary was wrong. That she was simply tired, and would go to bed early after eating. Not once had she broken her silence.
But now, she felt like breaking it, however not with her friends or family. She wanted to see Lupin, but considering the state he was in, and the risk, she wasn't so sure she should. Then again, she had already met the ultimate risk with him.
She got to her feet.
It was so late at night, everyone was in a deep sleep.
She made her way out the door and further up the stairs. She stopped part way when she saw Sirius's room door. Shacklebolt was slumped before it on a chair, guarding the werewolf within. New charms and locks had obviously been placed to keep her from peeking in again. Ginny gave a hard swallow and was surprised to feel slightly angered at Lupin's lock-up. She had a terrible urge to push Shacklebolt aside and free Lupin from the room.
She gave a slight groan then shook her head.
It was for the best. It was for the sake of Lupin, as well as herself and the others. Little did they know, it was much too late for her. Then again, she would only truly know when another full moon came along. Until then, she felt determined to protect Lupin by keeping the truth. She would not talk about his rampage, but she could not help thinking about it.
She turned away as she puzzled it in her mind. Why had a mad werewolf come straight to her, then retreat quietly back to his room? He should have escaped the household once he'd gotten loose; should have jumped through a window and attacked others, or at least wander around the house until the others showed up, then bite them on the neck.
Of course she didn't wish any such thing upon anybody, but the bizarreness of the attack made her wonder.
'Why me? Why me?
She glanced back at the door, now wanting to charge in there and demand an answer, but she knew he could not answer her at the moment. He could not tell her why his attack was somewhat quiet and practically unnoticeable. Was it an affect of the new wolfsbane? Was it simply because she was in the wrong place, being she was the only prey he could find in the house? Or was she, for some odd reason, chosen?
She didn't know why she thought the latter. It should have been a random attack, being she was the only one home. The way he looked at her was no different than a mad animal, but a part of her wondered if his mad look was indicating something else.
She turned back and headed for her own room, then closed the door quietly behind her. She wanted to know the answers, at the same time she desired not to.
Okay, first chapter of what I plan to be a five chaptered story. If all turns out well, and you really want a sequel out of this, this really will turn into a saga. The story will be written somewhat fast-paced like this chapter was. It's all about getting to the point. Normally, I'm a lot more detailed by stretching things out, but I wanted to change up my written a bit for this story. There will still be details, where it counts. Next chapter, we'll meet with Lupin and discover if Ginny has been affected.
In reality, the odds of her being left alone with a werewolf are unlikely, but for the story's sake, it had to be so. Besides, Snape introduced a new wolfsbane, and there were locks and charms on the door. So that's my excuse as why they trusted Ginny alone.
As for those questions of the odd attack, we'll keep reading and perhaps you'll find out!
Review, review review if you want to see what happens next!