Chapter Fifteen
In which there is a kiss and a bit of good luck
Ginny and Remus sat on the couch by the fire, flipping through the book that Severus had insisted that Remus take and searching it for any information, any clue that might help them. It wasn't a potions' book. It was merely a magical history text from the time of the Founders. Actually it was a reprint, but Snape had considered it important enough to risk his life for. And he did not take such risks out of idle fancy.
Even as he read and skimmed through the text, Remus was aware, keenly aware, of Virginia Weasley watching him out of the corner of her eye as she read through the book with him. Her long red hair cascaded over one shoulder, catching the light of the fire and the dancing shadows. She was the loveliest distraction he had ever had keep him from concentrating fully upon his work, at least since the days of a certain green-eyed redhead, who had tormented him during his school days before she discovered a certain dark-hared Quidditch player. Remus suppressed a sigh. What was it with him and girls with locks of bright auburn?
And Ginny was very much aware of him too, though she struggled terribly to keep her mind on the book and finding a solution to their predicament. She could feel his warm breath, a strong contrast to the cool dungeon air, as he leaned over to examine a particular paragraph more closely. She moved closer to him, sliding the large book that they held between them closer as well. He nodded his thanks silently and appeared to continue reading.
She had liked Remus for a very long time, since her second year in fact, but then he had gone away, and she thought that she would never see him again. Then he had returned! But now she was older, wiser, and more grown-up. The fact that her brother and his friends liked to treat her like a little girl couldn't change that. Nothing could. She had grown up fast because of the war and other things. Some of her professors, McGonagall for instance, had recognized this, but she wasn't certain that Remus had. And that was very unfortunate, in her opinion.
Of course, she realized, Remus was quite a bit older and her professor, but there had always been rumors about students and teachers. They said that Professor Sinistra had lost a lover during the first attack Voldemort had made upon the castle. He had been a seventh year Ravenclaw and a few weeks shy of eighteen. Someone had said that Sinistra was going to marry him after graduation, but that was a bit far-fetched, although it was a very romantic notion. Professor Sinistra had not been quite the same since. And when Ginny was in her first year there had been handsome and popular Professor Lockhart. She had heard a number of sixth year students exchanging more than just the usual gossip about him in quiet corners. And it was common knowledge that Madam Hooch's spouse was a good ten to fifteen years her junior. How had that happened unless she had married a student or more likely a former student? There were many ways, of course, but that was the going theory.
But all of this was presuming that Remus was even interested in her. Ginny had seen precious little evidence to suggest that she was anything more than one of his favorite students and that possibly because she was Harry's friend and Ron's sister, except perhaps for that morning and that was not particularly good evidence.
Remus could tell by the expression on Ginny's face, and her face always seemed very expressive to him, that she was thinking about more than the book in front of them. She looked sad. She wasn't afraid or pale anymore. She simply looked dispirited and a little down. Remus closed the book and put his arm around her shoulders.
"Homesick, Ginny?" he guessed.
She laughed softly as she looked up into his eyes and answered, "No, not really. It's hard to be homesick in a place that looks exactly like home, or at least Hogwarts. I always think of the school as my home away from home, but then they do say that home is where the heart is."
"Then you must miss your brother and Harry."
"A bit." she admitted. "But I don't mind the company here either."
"You don't?"
"I've enjoyed spending time with you, Remus. I mean, I would be enjoying it a lot more if circumstances were a little less desperate."
Remus leaned closer to her and said, "I know, Ginny."
"But I want to make the best of it." she said, looking into his golden brown eyes.
The impulse to kiss him was sudden, and it was undoubtedly brought on by their close proximity and perhaps even the very desperation of which she had spoken. One minute she was staring into his eyes. The next, their lips were touching, and she closed her eyes, savoring the softness and tenderness with which he returned the kiss. Then he suddenly stopped and pulled away.
Remus didn't know what had come over him. It was still early in the day to blame the wolfish part of his nature. Why had he kissed her? No, wait. Had she just kissed him? Remus was a little confused as he pulled away from her, breaking the blissful contact and feeling hungry for more at the same time. He could see disappointment as she opened her eyes, painful disappointment and confusion.
"Remus, professor, I'm so sorry ... I didn't mean to ..."
"No, it's fine." he told her, touching her lips with his fingertips. He didn't want to hear her apologize. Far from it. "I'm glad you did it actually." he said with a slightly sheepish smile.
"You are?"
"It isn't every day that a beautiful young woman gives me a kiss."
Ginny giggled and said, "Maybe it should be."
Remus raised his eyebrows. That was a rather bold statement coming from her.
It was also something that Lupin had seldom heard, even when he was her age. He had been a shy youth with few friends. There were the Marauders and Lily Evans, of course, but few girls had been interested in the thin and frail young man with the piercing, yet doubtful eyes. Then when he reached adulthood, Remus had found few of his peers, and very few women, who could deal with his condition, with lycanthropy. It had been too hard for them to accept, although at least a couple of them had tried and failed. Even after the invention of the Wolfsbane potion, everyone wanted to keep their distance. And now here was this lovely young woman who had known of his condition for a long time and had even seen and accepted him in werewolf form telling him that he deserved to be kissed, and all of the comfort and affection that that implied. It was like a dream come true.
This time it was Remus who kissed Ginny.
Meanwhile, in the other room where an extremely bright Gryffindor and a dutiful Slytherin were still poring over aged tomes of magic, Severus shuddered involuntarily. Hermione glanced up from her book with worry written plainly upon her features. She tried to say something both questioning and comforting to Severus, who grimaced and waved her away. Not one to give up very easily, she felt his forehead and grasped his wrist to take his pulse.
"I'm perfectly all right. It's the wards, you silly girl!" he told her, shooing her away before bellowing, "Lupin! Whatever you're doing in there, stop it this instant!" For a moment Severus could have sworn that he heard the inexplicable sound of Ginny Weasley giggling rather loudly.
"The wards?" Hermione questioned, wincing at the sound of Severus yelling very loudly and nearly in her ear.
"Yes. Do you want me to describe the sensation? Would that make you happy?"
"Yes and no." she replied coolly, taking the book from his lap and marking his place in it.
"Imagine that you can sense through the walls, the floors, and the ceiling and behind them you sense demons, perhaps the entire hoard. They have their claws and ears pressed against these boundaries, straining desperately to hear something, concentrating all of their will of this endeavor. My skin prickles as they listen, like phantom claws tickling and prodding every inch of me. It is not painful in the traditional sense of the word, but it is quite uncomfortable." Severus explained to her.
"Can I do anything?" Hermione questioned.
Severus glanced toward the bath and suggested, "You can allow me to leave this bed."
"Can you manage it?"
"I believe so."
"Very well."
Severus slid from the bed and stood rather unsteadily on his feet for a moment before taking a step forward. Hermione moved very quickly to catch him before his knees and buckled and he fell. He tried steady himself against her with a look in his eyes that she could only identify as shame. Hermione held him until he managed to gain his feet again.
"Let me help you. I swear, Severus, that I don't want to embarrass you. I just want to help you." she told him with a quietly pleading tone in her voice.
"That's all you've wanted since we came here." he observed, putting an arm across her shoulders. A firm and guiding arm encircled his waist.
"It isn't a crime, you know." she told him, stepping forward as he did, moving slowly and patiently.
"I suppose not."
"For a moment there I thought you were going to say that it should be." she chuckled.
As they reached the door to bath, Severus removed his arm and grasped the door frame, using it to support him. The few steps from the bed had felt like a mile. The only good thing about it was that the prickling had lessened when she touched him. He had had something else to concentrate on perhaps.
"Thank you." he said stiffly before retreating into the room and closing the door.
Hermione smiled and shook her head. It was so difficult for him to say those two words. She could hardly blame him. It wasn't easy for anyone to admit they needed help and surely a thousand times more difficult than that for a Slytherin to be grateful for it. She didn't want him to be grateful. She only wanted him to be all right, even if that meant that he was his usual ill-tempered self. She was quite used to that. Although the man with washed hair and a less sharp tongue was rather refreshing, not to mention appealing.
She found herself blushing again. Was it really so difficult to accept these feelings? She had to wonder.
"Of course, if he knew, he would only make fun, regardless of how he felt himself, and once we're out of here, I would never hear the end of it, and I plan to teach at Hogwarts someday. He would make my life utterly wretched. I know it." she told herself, half realizing that she was lying, or at least exaggerating. Severus was so complicated, such a complex person, that it was difficult to judge what he would do.
As Hermione pondered these thoughts, she walked over to the looking glass on the wall adjacent to the door to the bath, intending to check her hair and see if it really looked as bad as she imagined.
When she looked into the ancient looking glass, her jaw dropped. Hermione couldn't believe what she was seeing!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: I know. That's a rotten place to leave it. But I'm having an evil weekend.
Black Sparkles: Your wish is my command. No really, but it worked out that way. Thanks for the review!
Rosmerta: The touched-by-Darkness theme is popular in a lot of Ginny/Remus or /Snape stories. I think it's kind of cool. Thank you for reviewing!
Yukito Forever: Thank you very much for the review!
Redone: The last chapter was supposed to be transitional, kind of. Sorry it was short! Thanks for reviewing!
Aine Deande: The hair net thing came from one of the books (I think PoA). Yep, the story is Lucius-free (except that he was mentioned in an earlier chapter). It takes quite a bit of daring to write him. Thank you for reviewing!
Helen: Thank you!
Serpenthe: I cannot leave a story alone, which is why I'm posting slowly: I keep changing and rewriting things. I have never read a Minerva/Tom. Are there any good ones? I read a couple of Ginny/Remus stories a few months ago. I think a number of them were unfinished. It's a fairly unique ship right now, but I bet there will be more of them once the next movie comes out (and people have a face to put with Remus and Ginny is older). The reason Snape has become a bit nicer in the last chapters can probably be readily attributed to the blood loss (it takes more energy to be mean) and healing potions (all drugged up). It's nice to hear that you like the chapter titles. I don't know if I should post a link or update at WIKTT since SS/HG is only one of three pairings. Thank you very much for the review!
Dixiehnsnluver: Thank you for reviewing!
coolgirlchic16: I am glad to hear that you like the pairings! Thanks for the review!
For people who like the Albus/Minerva pairing, visit:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlbusandMinerva/
In which there is a kiss and a bit of good luck
Ginny and Remus sat on the couch by the fire, flipping through the book that Severus had insisted that Remus take and searching it for any information, any clue that might help them. It wasn't a potions' book. It was merely a magical history text from the time of the Founders. Actually it was a reprint, but Snape had considered it important enough to risk his life for. And he did not take such risks out of idle fancy.
Even as he read and skimmed through the text, Remus was aware, keenly aware, of Virginia Weasley watching him out of the corner of her eye as she read through the book with him. Her long red hair cascaded over one shoulder, catching the light of the fire and the dancing shadows. She was the loveliest distraction he had ever had keep him from concentrating fully upon his work, at least since the days of a certain green-eyed redhead, who had tormented him during his school days before she discovered a certain dark-hared Quidditch player. Remus suppressed a sigh. What was it with him and girls with locks of bright auburn?
And Ginny was very much aware of him too, though she struggled terribly to keep her mind on the book and finding a solution to their predicament. She could feel his warm breath, a strong contrast to the cool dungeon air, as he leaned over to examine a particular paragraph more closely. She moved closer to him, sliding the large book that they held between them closer as well. He nodded his thanks silently and appeared to continue reading.
She had liked Remus for a very long time, since her second year in fact, but then he had gone away, and she thought that she would never see him again. Then he had returned! But now she was older, wiser, and more grown-up. The fact that her brother and his friends liked to treat her like a little girl couldn't change that. Nothing could. She had grown up fast because of the war and other things. Some of her professors, McGonagall for instance, had recognized this, but she wasn't certain that Remus had. And that was very unfortunate, in her opinion.
Of course, she realized, Remus was quite a bit older and her professor, but there had always been rumors about students and teachers. They said that Professor Sinistra had lost a lover during the first attack Voldemort had made upon the castle. He had been a seventh year Ravenclaw and a few weeks shy of eighteen. Someone had said that Sinistra was going to marry him after graduation, but that was a bit far-fetched, although it was a very romantic notion. Professor Sinistra had not been quite the same since. And when Ginny was in her first year there had been handsome and popular Professor Lockhart. She had heard a number of sixth year students exchanging more than just the usual gossip about him in quiet corners. And it was common knowledge that Madam Hooch's spouse was a good ten to fifteen years her junior. How had that happened unless she had married a student or more likely a former student? There were many ways, of course, but that was the going theory.
But all of this was presuming that Remus was even interested in her. Ginny had seen precious little evidence to suggest that she was anything more than one of his favorite students and that possibly because she was Harry's friend and Ron's sister, except perhaps for that morning and that was not particularly good evidence.
Remus could tell by the expression on Ginny's face, and her face always seemed very expressive to him, that she was thinking about more than the book in front of them. She looked sad. She wasn't afraid or pale anymore. She simply looked dispirited and a little down. Remus closed the book and put his arm around her shoulders.
"Homesick, Ginny?" he guessed.
She laughed softly as she looked up into his eyes and answered, "No, not really. It's hard to be homesick in a place that looks exactly like home, or at least Hogwarts. I always think of the school as my home away from home, but then they do say that home is where the heart is."
"Then you must miss your brother and Harry."
"A bit." she admitted. "But I don't mind the company here either."
"You don't?"
"I've enjoyed spending time with you, Remus. I mean, I would be enjoying it a lot more if circumstances were a little less desperate."
Remus leaned closer to her and said, "I know, Ginny."
"But I want to make the best of it." she said, looking into his golden brown eyes.
The impulse to kiss him was sudden, and it was undoubtedly brought on by their close proximity and perhaps even the very desperation of which she had spoken. One minute she was staring into his eyes. The next, their lips were touching, and she closed her eyes, savoring the softness and tenderness with which he returned the kiss. Then he suddenly stopped and pulled away.
Remus didn't know what had come over him. It was still early in the day to blame the wolfish part of his nature. Why had he kissed her? No, wait. Had she just kissed him? Remus was a little confused as he pulled away from her, breaking the blissful contact and feeling hungry for more at the same time. He could see disappointment as she opened her eyes, painful disappointment and confusion.
"Remus, professor, I'm so sorry ... I didn't mean to ..."
"No, it's fine." he told her, touching her lips with his fingertips. He didn't want to hear her apologize. Far from it. "I'm glad you did it actually." he said with a slightly sheepish smile.
"You are?"
"It isn't every day that a beautiful young woman gives me a kiss."
Ginny giggled and said, "Maybe it should be."
Remus raised his eyebrows. That was a rather bold statement coming from her.
It was also something that Lupin had seldom heard, even when he was her age. He had been a shy youth with few friends. There were the Marauders and Lily Evans, of course, but few girls had been interested in the thin and frail young man with the piercing, yet doubtful eyes. Then when he reached adulthood, Remus had found few of his peers, and very few women, who could deal with his condition, with lycanthropy. It had been too hard for them to accept, although at least a couple of them had tried and failed. Even after the invention of the Wolfsbane potion, everyone wanted to keep their distance. And now here was this lovely young woman who had known of his condition for a long time and had even seen and accepted him in werewolf form telling him that he deserved to be kissed, and all of the comfort and affection that that implied. It was like a dream come true.
This time it was Remus who kissed Ginny.
Meanwhile, in the other room where an extremely bright Gryffindor and a dutiful Slytherin were still poring over aged tomes of magic, Severus shuddered involuntarily. Hermione glanced up from her book with worry written plainly upon her features. She tried to say something both questioning and comforting to Severus, who grimaced and waved her away. Not one to give up very easily, she felt his forehead and grasped his wrist to take his pulse.
"I'm perfectly all right. It's the wards, you silly girl!" he told her, shooing her away before bellowing, "Lupin! Whatever you're doing in there, stop it this instant!" For a moment Severus could have sworn that he heard the inexplicable sound of Ginny Weasley giggling rather loudly.
"The wards?" Hermione questioned, wincing at the sound of Severus yelling very loudly and nearly in her ear.
"Yes. Do you want me to describe the sensation? Would that make you happy?"
"Yes and no." she replied coolly, taking the book from his lap and marking his place in it.
"Imagine that you can sense through the walls, the floors, and the ceiling and behind them you sense demons, perhaps the entire hoard. They have their claws and ears pressed against these boundaries, straining desperately to hear something, concentrating all of their will of this endeavor. My skin prickles as they listen, like phantom claws tickling and prodding every inch of me. It is not painful in the traditional sense of the word, but it is quite uncomfortable." Severus explained to her.
"Can I do anything?" Hermione questioned.
Severus glanced toward the bath and suggested, "You can allow me to leave this bed."
"Can you manage it?"
"I believe so."
"Very well."
Severus slid from the bed and stood rather unsteadily on his feet for a moment before taking a step forward. Hermione moved very quickly to catch him before his knees and buckled and he fell. He tried steady himself against her with a look in his eyes that she could only identify as shame. Hermione held him until he managed to gain his feet again.
"Let me help you. I swear, Severus, that I don't want to embarrass you. I just want to help you." she told him with a quietly pleading tone in her voice.
"That's all you've wanted since we came here." he observed, putting an arm across her shoulders. A firm and guiding arm encircled his waist.
"It isn't a crime, you know." she told him, stepping forward as he did, moving slowly and patiently.
"I suppose not."
"For a moment there I thought you were going to say that it should be." she chuckled.
As they reached the door to bath, Severus removed his arm and grasped the door frame, using it to support him. The few steps from the bed had felt like a mile. The only good thing about it was that the prickling had lessened when she touched him. He had had something else to concentrate on perhaps.
"Thank you." he said stiffly before retreating into the room and closing the door.
Hermione smiled and shook her head. It was so difficult for him to say those two words. She could hardly blame him. It wasn't easy for anyone to admit they needed help and surely a thousand times more difficult than that for a Slytherin to be grateful for it. She didn't want him to be grateful. She only wanted him to be all right, even if that meant that he was his usual ill-tempered self. She was quite used to that. Although the man with washed hair and a less sharp tongue was rather refreshing, not to mention appealing.
She found herself blushing again. Was it really so difficult to accept these feelings? She had to wonder.
"Of course, if he knew, he would only make fun, regardless of how he felt himself, and once we're out of here, I would never hear the end of it, and I plan to teach at Hogwarts someday. He would make my life utterly wretched. I know it." she told herself, half realizing that she was lying, or at least exaggerating. Severus was so complicated, such a complex person, that it was difficult to judge what he would do.
As Hermione pondered these thoughts, she walked over to the looking glass on the wall adjacent to the door to the bath, intending to check her hair and see if it really looked as bad as she imagined.
When she looked into the ancient looking glass, her jaw dropped. Hermione couldn't believe what she was seeing!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: I know. That's a rotten place to leave it. But I'm having an evil weekend.
Black Sparkles: Your wish is my command. No really, but it worked out that way. Thanks for the review!
Rosmerta: The touched-by-Darkness theme is popular in a lot of Ginny/Remus or /Snape stories. I think it's kind of cool. Thank you for reviewing!
Yukito Forever: Thank you very much for the review!
Redone: The last chapter was supposed to be transitional, kind of. Sorry it was short! Thanks for reviewing!
Aine Deande: The hair net thing came from one of the books (I think PoA). Yep, the story is Lucius-free (except that he was mentioned in an earlier chapter). It takes quite a bit of daring to write him. Thank you for reviewing!
Helen: Thank you!
Serpenthe: I cannot leave a story alone, which is why I'm posting slowly: I keep changing and rewriting things. I have never read a Minerva/Tom. Are there any good ones? I read a couple of Ginny/Remus stories a few months ago. I think a number of them were unfinished. It's a fairly unique ship right now, but I bet there will be more of them once the next movie comes out (and people have a face to put with Remus and Ginny is older). The reason Snape has become a bit nicer in the last chapters can probably be readily attributed to the blood loss (it takes more energy to be mean) and healing potions (all drugged up). It's nice to hear that you like the chapter titles. I don't know if I should post a link or update at WIKTT since SS/HG is only one of three pairings. Thank you very much for the review!
Dixiehnsnluver: Thank you for reviewing!
coolgirlchic16: I am glad to hear that you like the pairings! Thanks for the review!
For people who like the Albus/Minerva pairing, visit:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlbusandMinerva/