Title: Golden
Rating: mostly PG-13
Summary: Follow Remus Lupin through his year as a Hogwarts professor as he faces his demons, comes to terms with his past and finally learns to move forward.
Characters: Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Ginny Weasley, Lily (Evans) Potter, Harry Potter
Pairings: past!Remus/Sirius, onesided!Remus/Lily, Remus/Ginny
Setting: Year 3, primarily at Hogwarts
Warnings: Some sexual themes and strong hints of May/December, though nothing too graphic
Spoilers: PoA and beyond
Word Count: 613
Author's Notes: Feedback and constructive criticism are definitely appreciated. I'm fairly new to fic writing, so don't be shy about letting me know what works and what doesn't. Reviews are love!
Looking back, it was probably her hair that did it.
"Professor Lupin?"
The soft, shy voice, laced with insecurity dragged me from the issue of the Daily Prophet I had been reading scarcely a moment before. I glanced up, affixing a patient expression on my lined face, allowing the corners of my lips to perk up into something resembling a professor's disinterested smile, and then I saw her hair. Falling over her shoulders in a cascade of red, it gleamed as though infused with sunlight, despite the shadowy interior of my office.
"Yes?" I managed.
"I --" she shifted awkwardly, one foot to the other, and wrapped a coil of hair around her right index finger. For a moment, she seemed to be struggling with herself. Finally, she spoke. "I wanted to thank you," she told me. "For Harry. I mean --" she blushed, her cheeks flooded brilliant pink. "I mean, for protecting Harry." Her eyes scanned the floor. "I heard about what you did."
The events on the train rushed back to me and my hands shook slightly as I carefully folded the newspaper and set it down. I'd encountered Dementors before, of course, but I was rattled by the fierceness of their attack, the way they had broken ranks and attacked a young boy. And not just any young boy, I reminded myself. James and Lily's son, Harry. A young boy who had already seen too much.
Looking up at the girl before me, watching her bright eyes gleam with appreciation and discomfort, I felt a rush of familiarity. I knew I had seen her before, but I could not place her. Her hair, of course, reminded me of a young Lily, and I was distantly aware of schoolboy memories: of running after Lily across the wide, green lawn near the rippling surface of the lake; later, watching her as she perched under a familiar tree with a dark-haired and pale Severus Snape, exploring advanced Potions manuals. However, although I recognised her, I could not place the child before me.
As if I had spoken my confusion, she smiled a little, shrugging thin shoulders. "I've met you before," she began. "I think so, anyway. I'm Ginny, Ginny Weasley."
"Ah, Ginevra," I smiled, the thoughtful crease in my forehead smoothing. I had not seen her since she was a young child, perhaps six or seven. From my subconscious rose a recollection of her racing across the yard of the Burrow in pursuit of an anonymous brother, a child's toy wand in hand and her hair streaking behind her in a rippled flag. She looked far more subdued now, a bit wan in fact, her face rather pale beneath the rose blush staining her cheeks. Instead of the faded cotton shift of memory, she was wearing an overly large set of regulation robes, inherited, no doubt, from a bring and fly sale or an elder brother. The long hem of the robes obscured all but the toes of her battered shoes.
"Are your parents well?" I questioned, clearing my throat and glancing away when she caught me looking her over. My fingers plucked at a quill and I spread out a roll of parchment, pretending to be busy with professional duties, despite the fact that classes would not begin until tomorrow, and I had no tasks left for this evening aside from obtaining a good night's sleep.
She nodded, her expression reserved. "I think so." She picked at imaginary lint on her sleeve before turning to go. "I better get back to the feast," she offered, and then, without waiting for my reply, she walked away, closing the heavy wooden door behind her.
New updates should be posted every Friday or Saturday, with the exception of the next chapter, which is already up. Current chapters and other fic can be found on my livejournal (see profile). Reviews are appreciated:)