Chapter One – The Unemployable

For the first time in years, the Burrow on the morning of September the first was not in a rushed and hectic state. Ginny Weasley was able to make her way down to breakfast without having to rush or press up against the wall as people ran up and down the stairs getting things in order. Although it should have been her seventh-year, Ginny would not be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year by her own choice and would instead be doing correspondence.

Despite having made the decision weeks ago, she still wasn't entirely sure why it was she didn't want to go, the closest conclusion she had come to, was that going to Hogwarts when none of her brothers were there would be too weird for her. It might sound silly, and that teenage girls her age would thrive without her nosy brothers hanging off her tailcoat, but the reality was she just didn't think she'd be up to it.

The Headmaster of the school, Albus Dumbledore, was fantastic about it all and perfectly happy to arrange for her to do correspondence. She would be sent work fortnightly by owl, then once finished she would return her work in the same way and at the end of the year when she had to sit her NEWTs, she could decide to take an overnight trip to Hogwarts or visit the Ministry of Magic.

When she reached the kitchen, Ginny found her mother fussing over the stove cooking bacon and eggs like always. But this morning, she seemed a little less joyful than her usual self. She had not been particularly happy with her daughter's choice, she had tried even up until the last minute to change Ginny's mind, resulting it many arguments and tears. She greeted her daughter with a soft "morning" when she saw her but didn't make much conversation after that.

Ginny was thankful when her father appeared in his full suit, carrying his briefcase in one hand and his tie in the other. He had been the one to talk his wife into letting Ginny skip Hogwarts this year. His thought was that if their daughter wasn't going to be happy at school, then her grades would be affected, at least at home, surrounded by loved ones, her attitude may be boasted, and she could always get their help with the work.

'All ready for your first day then?' he asked his daughter happily, as he took his seat at the head of the table and unfolded the Daily Prophet.

'Yes,' said Ginny automatically, 'but I'm not expecting the owl with my work until tomorrow.'

'Oh, that's right,' said Mr Weasley, as his wife began to load up his plate with bacon.

'So, I thought I would go and see Professor Lupin,' she said, immediately getting the attention of both her parents. 'He did invite me to visit him and borrow some of his books.'

'That was nice of him,' said Mr Weasley, whilst Mrs Weasley stood behind him looking uneasy.

'I'm not sure about that, dear,' she said, putting a hand on her hip. 'Remus is a sweet man, but his condition—'

'There won't be a full moon for two more weeks, mum,' said Ginny, rolling her eyes. 'Besides, you're still angry at me about all this, I'd prefer to be out of the house.'

'I'm not angry, sweetheart,' said Mrs Weasley defensively, 'just, a little disappointed. I keep thinking about all your friends—'

'Let's not start up again,' said Mr Weasley as Ginny opened her mouth to retort. 'Ginny is seventeen, she is of age, it's her decision to do correspondence and if she wants to visit Remus Lupin, then we can't stop her, alright?'

'Alright,' said Mrs Weasley, reluctantly turning away and busying herself with breakfast again.

'Thanks mum,' said Ginny sweetly, smiling instead at her father.

'Don't mention it,' said Mr Weasley under his voice so his wife couldn't hear.

Then he cleared his throat and snapped his paper open. 'Do send our regards to Remus, won't you?' he asked, looking at her seriously. 'Tell him we should have him over for supper one night.'

Ginny nodded and began to eat her breakfast.

A little while later Mr Weasley headed off for work. Ginny was given the task to do the dishes and Mrs Weasley ducked outside for a bit to feed the pigs and the chickens. Half an hour later, after a shower and a little struggle finding a clean dress, Ginny threw a backpack over her shoulder and half-heartedly told her mother she was heading out.

Despite it being the first day of Spring, the moment Ginny stepped outside it felt like the middle of summer. By the time she reached the low garden wall at the end of the pathway, there was already a bead of sweat dripping down her temple. She swung a right and headed for the laneway at the back of the house from where she could apparate to Lupin's.

The benefit of having turned seventeen last August, was that she had been able to pass her apparition test at Hogwarts and be given permission to apparate. One of the first things she had done with her new power the minute she had got home, was pop in on Fred and George every day for a week and see how they liked it after them having done it to her so many times.

Her mother had made her stop doing that too, just another thing they disagreed on.

Once sure she about half-way down the laneway, she pictured in her mind the forest she knew Remus Lupin to live in, and span on the spot. The experience of suffocation whilst apparating was something Ginny thought she would never get used too, and when her feet met solid ground again, she took in the longest gulp of air.

After swaying on the spot, she regathered her bearings and focused on the scenery around her. There were tall trees in every direction, she could hear running water and the sounds of a motorway in the far distance. Having made the journey to Lupin's house before, she knew generally where she was and what direction she needed to go to find it.

She rearranged her backpack over her shoulder and headed northeast. After a five-minute walk, the line of tall trees began to open out into a clearing and Ginny found herself looking up at a structure. It was a typical English lodge; it looked old-fashioned, made of old mortar and brick, it sat about two stories tall and was overgrown with the surrounding shrubbery. She approached the front door and knocked softly on it a couple of times.

Thirty seconds went by without an answer. There weren't many windows for her to peer into, the one she could see through was the sitting room and that was empty. She knocked on the wooden oak door again, this time a little harder, hoping maybe he just hadn't heard her.

'Professor?' she called out, craning her neck up a the second-floor window, wondering if she'd see a head pop out.

There was a creak that made her jump, and when she looked down, the oak door had slid open an inch on its hinges. She raised her eyebrows and attempted to peak through the gap, to see if someone was on the other side of it. She couldn't see much, so she pushed the door open a little more and saw the hallway on the other side was deserted.

She stood on the threshold weighing up her options. Ordinarily speaking she wasn't someone that liked entering another person's house without invitation. But having said that, Lupin had said she could come over at any time and it wasn't like they were strangers. But if her mother knew she was contemplating entering a known werewolf's home without really knowing what was inside, she would kill her.

But this was Remus Lupin's house, the kindest and gentlest werewolf that ever lived, if there was ever a place that she was safe, it was within the four walls of this place.

She took charge of the situation and stepped over the welcome mat and closed the door behind her. For the first few steps she was nervous, but with her ears on high alert, she couldn't hear any movement besides her own. She peered into the first doorway on the left and saw the empty sitting room she'd seen through the window. The first door on the right turned out to be the library, which she passed for now to find Lupin.

The second door on the left was a guest bedroom, and the door at the end of the hall was the kitchen.

'Hello?' she said, stepping onto the tiled floor and observing the room in front of her.

The kitchen left much to be desired. It didn't appear as though breakfast – or even any meal – had been prepared in the place for several days. She only guessed this because there were no dishes on any surface.

Ginny retreated into the hallway and made her way over to the staircase which lead upstairs. But at the bottom of the stairs, something stopped her from heading up. She felt as though entering someone's bedroom without them knowing was a different line to cross than say a kitchen and so she decided against it. It was a pretty fine line if she was being honest, nothing she'd done so far would be considered acceptable anyway, she just thought that if he was to come home and catch her, she'd rather be found reading something in the library than going through sock drawer.

Not that she'd ever do that.

After calling out his name one last time, Ginny decided that he must indeed be out, and so she headed into the library to search for something of interest. She would just read something until he returned home and, in the event that he wasn't back by the end of the first chapter, she would vacate his house respectfully and leave a note of apology on the front door.

Lupin's library was one of the most impressive ones Ginny had ever seen. Although it could never compete with the likes of the Hogwarts library, or a book shop like Flourish and Blotts, it was a genuinely resourceful selection he had. Ginny ran had finger along the spines of the books and realised that he just about had every subject covered. And the obsessive-compulsive part of her appreciated the fact that Lupin had alphabetised and numerated his precious books when possible.

Ginny could have picked any one of her subjects to start on, and there would be a dozen books here for her to read. However, a particular book caught her eye, which fell on the side of one of her interests rather than school studies. She picked up Hexes for Exes with a giggle and sat down in one of the large leather chairs, which turned out to be way more comfortable than she initially thought and began to read.

Her one-chapter rule went out the window quite quickly. She enjoyed what she was reading so much that before too long, she forgot where she was and who she was waiting for. It made her jump when the front door of the house closed suddenly, and when she looked up, Lupin was there, his wand out and a look of alarm on his face to find her sitting there.

'Hi Professor,' she said nervously, biting her lip and closing the book.

'Ginny,' he said, taking a deep breath and lowering his wand, 'what're you—?'

'I was just reading this hexes book,' she said, climbing out of the leather chair, 'you said I could come and borrow one when I wanted, right?'

'Right, of course,' said Lupin, and he gave her a small smile, 'but… how did you get in?'

'Oh, the door was open,' said Ginny with a shrug, 'and if you don't mind me saying so Remus, maybe you should think about locking the door when you're out?'

'I usually do,' said Lupin with a nod, scratching his chin. 'I must have just forgot about it this time, you know, getting old and everything.'

Ginny giggled. 'You're not old,' she said sweetly, 'Not really old, anyway.'

'Well thanks, I suppose,' he said, the side of his mouth twitched. 'Would you like a cool drink? It's pretty hot in this stuffy house.'

'Yes please,' said Ginny, only just realising how warm she was.

'Come on through to the kitchen then,' he said, beckoning her out of the room. 'The library is a liquid free zone.'

'OK,' said Ginny, she put the book she had been reading down on the chair and followed Lupin into the kitchen.

Lupin went over to his fridge, opened it and frowned at what he owned.

'What'll it be?' he asked in amusement, looking around at Ginny. 'I have pumpkin juice?'

Ginny made a face. 'I'll just have water please,' she said, and Lupin nodded as he closed the fridge.

'I'm not a fan of pumpkin juice either,' he said, and he went about pouring two glasses of water and fetching some ice cubes from the freezer.

'Thanks,' said Ginny when he handed her a glass. She placed it against her forehead and asked, 'so what have you been up to this morning?'

'I had a job interview,' said Lupin with a sip of his water.

'Oh?' Ginny raised her eyebrows as her former Professor slouched in his chair. 'For where?'

'A small book shop in Gloucestershire,' he said obligingly.

'That sounds like it would be perfect for you,' said Ginny, nervously sipped her water. 'How did it go?'

Lupin sighed.

'I hope you don't mind me asking,' Ginny said quickly, shifting in her chair, 'I know I'm prying, I'm not usually nosy, I was just curious—'

'I don't mind you asking,' said Lupin with a smile. 'It went well, except… well it's run by some Wizards, so they know what I am of course, so I'm sure nothing will come of it. Dumbledore keeps trying his hardest, but no one likes hiring werewolves if they can avoid it.'

'I'd hire you,' said Ginny matter-of-factly, nodding her head.

'I'm flattered. But you know me, you know my story,' said Lupin, smirking. 'But if you didn't, and even if Albus Dumbledore gave some werewolf a glowing recommendation for a job at your store, I'm certain you wouldn't take that risk.'

'Not everyone is that shallow, Professor,' said Ginny, trying to raise his confidence.

'Call me Remus, please,' said Lupin, shaking his head.

'Oh,' Ginny twisted the glass of water in her hand nervously, 'Remus… sorry, it's just weird, I'm not sure if I could ever get used to calling you that—'

'Well I'm not your Professor any more,' he said firmly, 'and I definitely won't answer you if you start calling me Mr Lupin.'

Ginny snorted into the water she'd been drinking. 'I still think you are my Professor, because you were so brilliant at it,' said Ginny, wiping her face with the back of her hand. 'And you're generously allowing me to lend your books, which are rich with information, isn't that what teachers do?'

Lupin surveyed her smartly from across the table.

'I stand corrected. Maybe you needn't bother yourself with my books, Ginny,' he said, giving her a wry smile, 'you're clearly intelligent enough, you would definitely ace your NEWTs without help from my books.'

Ginny felt her cheeks turn a slight pink.

'If it's all the same to you,' she said, 'I'd still like to borrow some.'

Lupin made a gesture with his arm to show he was not bothered. 'By all means,' he said, 'did you pick some out already? That one you were reading when I found you perhaps?'

'Oh yes, could I borrow just that one for now?' she asked hopefully. 'I will bring it back to you as soon as I can—'

'There's no hurry, Ginny,' he said, smiling, 'keep it as long as you need.'

'Thanks,' Ginny said, standing up suddenly. 'I really should get moving now anyway.'

'Oh alright,' said Lupin, standing up also to escort her out.

They walked into the hallway and Ginny nipped into the library to grab the book off the chair and her backpack in the corner.

'I don't know when I'll be back—' Ginny started to say.

'Whenever is fine,' said Lupin, 'and if you're fortunate enough to find the house open again without me in it, feel free to browse.'

'I'm really sorry about that,' said Ginny immediately, looking distressed.

'It's fine, it's fine,' said Lupin seriously, and when Ginny continued to look apologetic he added, 'really.'

'OK, bye,' said Ginny, and she waved goodbye to him and after turning on the spot, she disappeared.