Chapter Twenty-six
In which Remus and Ginny are reunited
Remus stood at the entrance to the prefects' bath and ran his hands through his graying hair as he tried to remember the password. It was not one that he used very often. In fact he had not entered the bath since his own school days when he would come there to swim and horse around with James, who was a prefect, and Sirius, who had been the best mischief-maker of his day. That was many long years ago. And he felt certain that the password had probably changed. He had come to the end of his luck.
He considered trying to blast his way into the bath, but he what if he damaged the mirror, his only ticket home? What then? Remus knew that he couldn't risk it.
"Lemon scented." he tried. Nothing.
Remus leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. Why was it so difficult to remember? The old password ... He had heard James use it a hundred times and had even used it himself once or twice.
"Squeaky clean." he guessed, remembering vaguely that the password had something to do with cleanliness. Mister Filch had probably come up with it, or his predecessor.
"Pine fresh." he hesitated, holding his breath.
The door opened, and Remus exhaled with relief as he stepped into the bath. The picture frame on the wall that normally held an image of a mermaid was empty. Remus wondered what had happened to the inhabitants of all the castle pictures. When the facsimile Hogwarts had been made, had the Founders made it so that the images were not sent into the demon realm or had the demons somehow destroyed the occupants of the portraits? In all fairness, Remus did not wish to know, but he hoped that the first of those hypotheses were true.
Next to the empty frame was a small golden looking glass. Remus smiled when he saw it. It was just the sort of thing that might go unnoticed by nearly everyone who walked into the room, just another ornament on the wall. Who could have guessed the importance or the usefulness of something so small and seemingly inconsequential? Probably none of the prefects, past or present, who made use of the private bath. Remus chuckled as he stood before the mirror, looking at his reflection and raising his wand. It was finally time to go home. He hoped that Hermione had fared so well.
~
There was a brief moment as Remus was pulled through the mirror at some speed when he wondered if he would come out of the looking glass and land in the bath. He was, of course, quite relieved when he tumbled on the marble floor instead, skidding to a halt at someone's feet. He laughed aloud when he looked up at Professor Dumbledore, who was gazing down at him with an amused and rather pleased expression, and scrambled up from the floor.
"Well done, Remus." said the headmaster, clapping the young professor on the shoulder. "Some of us were becoming rather worried." he commented, glancing over his spectacles at Severus and Hermione by the door and Harry on the other side of the room.
While Harry had arrived quite a while ago, the potions' professor and Hermione had just arrived a few moments earlier. In the privacy of the prefects' bath, they were permitted to stand close to one another again, but the journey upward from the secluded reading room had been less amicable due to the fact that a few students wandering the halls after lunch had been watching them.
Any who had seen the two would have believed it to be business as usual. Snape had looked surly, and Hermione had looked thoroughly victimized by his constant nasty remarks and his feigned, but rather realistic attempt to shrug her off as she had helped him along the corridor. It had been completely necessary, especially since they had encountered several Slytherins whose loyalties Severus found rather suspect.
"You certainly took your sweet time. What kept you?" asked the potions' master.
Severus had been concerned and genuinely so, but he certainly wasn't going to let Remus know that. He would never have heard the end of it if he had.
"A hallway full of demons, one of whom wished to chat." answered Remus enigmatically. "And I had forgotten the password to the bath." he admitted with a half smile.
"Typical." snorted Severus, choosing to ignore the absurd seeming demon remark.
"Well, we are all very glad to see that you made it back safely, Remus." said Hermione, giving Severus a quick glare.
"And I am glad to be here." he told her with a nod. "Now, what about Ginny? Is she all right?" Remus asked Professor Dumbledore.
"She will be fine. Miss Weasley is in the hospital wing, where I believe another of our number also has an appointment." said Albus, looking at Severus quite pointedly. "Perhaps we should all go and visit her.
Ginny had regained consciousness not long after Madam Pomfrey had begun to apply a cooling and healing balm to the shallow scratches across her back, which were then bandaged. Ginny was very fortunate. The injuries could easily have been worse by far. Remus had acted faster than Hermione and Ginny had managed to act when Severus had been in similar straits.
"Where's Remus?" she asked Madam Pomfrey quietly.
"Quiet now. You need to rest while those nasty marks heal." Pomfrey cautioned her.
She had sent Ginny's brother with Professor McGonagall to speak to his family because the young man was making a nuisance of himself. Mister Weasley had been under foot in the hospital wing, which was something Madam Pomfrey never encouraged. She hoped Minerva would send him elsewhere when she returned.
"But I want to see Remus. Where is he?" she questioned with some persistence.
"On his way, I'm sure." was the mediwitch's answer.
Ginny closed her eyes and felt her stomach knot. Her faith in Remus was very strong, but not unshakable. She wasn't certain how long she had been unconscious. It was only about half an hour, if that, but Ginny had expected, when she opened her eyes, she had expected or at least hoped that Remus would be there. Ginny shivered. Something must have happened, or he would be there.
"Don't fret, child. Remus is much stronger than you think. He only looks frail and tired." Madam Pomfrey told her, sensing her rising anxiety. "Believe me, I've known him many years longer than you have, dear." she chuckled.
"Thank you." whispered Ginny.
Ginny was beginning to drift to sleep, thanks to the potions and treatments Madam Pomfrey had given her and applied to her injuries, when she heard the sound of quiet voices nearby and felt someone gently brushing her hair from her face. Fingertips lovingly caressed her cheek.
"And she will recover fully?" questioned a grave and quiet masculine voice.
"Oh, yes, Remus, Ginny Weasley will be just fine. She needs several days of bed rest, of course, and I would like to examine her again in a few days just to be safe. But otherwise I believe that she can be released when she wakes up." she heard Madam Pomfrey saying.
"Can I go now then?" Ginny mumbled as she lifted her eyelids and smiled sleepily at Remus.
Remus grinned when he heard her speak and leaned down to kiss her. She met him half way. They kissed until Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall both cleared their throats. Remus and Ginny both blushed slightly as they broke their kiss and he pulled away.
"Certainly." said Poppy, trying to look rather stern, but failing. It was impossible not to smile at the sight of the pair. "I have another patient to attend to." she added, nodding toward the privacy screens at the back of the ward where Severus and Hermione were waiting for her.
"Miss Weasley, your parents will be here shortly. I have asked your brother to have Miss Brown bring a change of clothes for you in anticipation of their arrival." Professor McGonagall informed her. Lavender Brown was a prefect for Gryffindor house.
"Thank you, professor." said Ginny.
"I am very glad to have all my students back where they belong, and I have been informed that you handled yourself very well. I must say that I am quite proud." said McGonagall before turning on her heel and leaving Ginny with Remus.
"That's a high compliment." Remus remarked when the older professor had gone.
"I know."
"You look much better than when you went through the mirror."
"I feel better too. It hardly hurts at all."
"It does my heart good to hear you say that." he said.
Ginny propped up on one elbow and told him, "You saved my life, Remus! You should hardly sound, much less feel, apologetic about what happened."
"But I should have protected you ..."
"You did." she insisted stubbornly.
Remus chuckled and said, "Whatever you say, Ginny."
They were quiet for a moment before she asked him, "Where do we go from here, Remus?"
"Well, I imagine you are going to Gryffindor Tower as soon as Miss Brown brings your things. And it looks like a night in the Shrieking Shack for me."
"What? Why?" she asked in confusion.
"The potions' accident destroyed the supply Severus had in this realm of existence along with many other draughts he keeps on hand in the classroom, though I don't really understand how, so there isn't enough Wolfsbane potion for tonight, especially since Severus didn't have sufficient time to brew that additional cauldron. I need somewhere to transform tonight, and the headmaster suggested that I return to my old haunt, so to speak."
Remus looked tired and uncomfortable as he glanced toward the door to the hospital wing. Ginny squeezed his hand and gazed questioningly into his sad eyes. She had not heard what the demon had said to him. She was not ready to understand such things, but one day, he hoped that she would be ready and that he could tell her how it felt walking through the ranks of creatures who considered him one of there own, hardly better than a blood-thirsty monster.
"What's the matter?" she questioned.
"Nothing, Ginny. It's still early yet. I can stay and talk to your parents if you would like." he offered.
"Don't worry about it, Remus. Try to rest up for tonight. I imagine that you will need your strength." she told him.
Remus grinned. She understood so much. It took his breath away to think how understanding and how kind young Ginny was. He kissed her cheek and nodded.
"Then I will see you tomorrow." he said.
As Remus left, Ginny realized that he had never truly answered her question. Where would they go from there, she puzzled as she continued to wait.
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A/N: One more chapter to go!
Witchy-grrl: Probably not the only one. Thanks for reviewing!
Faith: Thank you for reviewing!
plastic: Yeah, not even a battle scar. Someone had to get lucky. Thank you for the review!
Freedom Rhodes: I'm glad you like those lines. Thanks for reviewing!
Serenity Raye: I have a tendency to write Harry as level-headed and reasonable (especially as he gets older). Er ... Ron's reaction ... I haven't found a way to squeeze that in. Thank you for reviewing!
Yukito Forever: Thank you!
Hermia: Thanks for the review!
BLV: Thank you for reviewing!
Enfleurage: I'm considering a sequel (because I when I started writing this it was supposed to be self-contained, like everything else I've written and it has taken on a life of its own), but I can't make any promises. I'm shocked and surprised that so many people have liked this story. I'll think about the contamination thing. It's interesting. Thank you very much for the review!
meeka: Thanks for reviewing!
calicat: Thank you!
Rhianna: I think that conversation will stay with Remus for a while. Thanks for reviewing!
JoeBob1379: Well, I'm one of those people who has fallen in love with the idea of Snape as a spy, so hiding the relationship was all but inevitable. Ginny and Remus are a bit luckier. Anyway, a hand full of people know about Hermione and Severus (Ginny, Remus, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Harry, Ron, and Madam Pomfrey), but any more would probably be a risk. Thank you for reviewing!
slytherinqueen87: Hmm... I don't know if she would mention the note or not. But knowing Hermione (*chortles at utter weirdness of the statement*) she will probably think about it a lot. Thanks for the review!
In which Remus and Ginny are reunited
Remus stood at the entrance to the prefects' bath and ran his hands through his graying hair as he tried to remember the password. It was not one that he used very often. In fact he had not entered the bath since his own school days when he would come there to swim and horse around with James, who was a prefect, and Sirius, who had been the best mischief-maker of his day. That was many long years ago. And he felt certain that the password had probably changed. He had come to the end of his luck.
He considered trying to blast his way into the bath, but he what if he damaged the mirror, his only ticket home? What then? Remus knew that he couldn't risk it.
"Lemon scented." he tried. Nothing.
Remus leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. Why was it so difficult to remember? The old password ... He had heard James use it a hundred times and had even used it himself once or twice.
"Squeaky clean." he guessed, remembering vaguely that the password had something to do with cleanliness. Mister Filch had probably come up with it, or his predecessor.
"Pine fresh." he hesitated, holding his breath.
The door opened, and Remus exhaled with relief as he stepped into the bath. The picture frame on the wall that normally held an image of a mermaid was empty. Remus wondered what had happened to the inhabitants of all the castle pictures. When the facsimile Hogwarts had been made, had the Founders made it so that the images were not sent into the demon realm or had the demons somehow destroyed the occupants of the portraits? In all fairness, Remus did not wish to know, but he hoped that the first of those hypotheses were true.
Next to the empty frame was a small golden looking glass. Remus smiled when he saw it. It was just the sort of thing that might go unnoticed by nearly everyone who walked into the room, just another ornament on the wall. Who could have guessed the importance or the usefulness of something so small and seemingly inconsequential? Probably none of the prefects, past or present, who made use of the private bath. Remus chuckled as he stood before the mirror, looking at his reflection and raising his wand. It was finally time to go home. He hoped that Hermione had fared so well.
~
There was a brief moment as Remus was pulled through the mirror at some speed when he wondered if he would come out of the looking glass and land in the bath. He was, of course, quite relieved when he tumbled on the marble floor instead, skidding to a halt at someone's feet. He laughed aloud when he looked up at Professor Dumbledore, who was gazing down at him with an amused and rather pleased expression, and scrambled up from the floor.
"Well done, Remus." said the headmaster, clapping the young professor on the shoulder. "Some of us were becoming rather worried." he commented, glancing over his spectacles at Severus and Hermione by the door and Harry on the other side of the room.
While Harry had arrived quite a while ago, the potions' professor and Hermione had just arrived a few moments earlier. In the privacy of the prefects' bath, they were permitted to stand close to one another again, but the journey upward from the secluded reading room had been less amicable due to the fact that a few students wandering the halls after lunch had been watching them.
Any who had seen the two would have believed it to be business as usual. Snape had looked surly, and Hermione had looked thoroughly victimized by his constant nasty remarks and his feigned, but rather realistic attempt to shrug her off as she had helped him along the corridor. It had been completely necessary, especially since they had encountered several Slytherins whose loyalties Severus found rather suspect.
"You certainly took your sweet time. What kept you?" asked the potions' master.
Severus had been concerned and genuinely so, but he certainly wasn't going to let Remus know that. He would never have heard the end of it if he had.
"A hallway full of demons, one of whom wished to chat." answered Remus enigmatically. "And I had forgotten the password to the bath." he admitted with a half smile.
"Typical." snorted Severus, choosing to ignore the absurd seeming demon remark.
"Well, we are all very glad to see that you made it back safely, Remus." said Hermione, giving Severus a quick glare.
"And I am glad to be here." he told her with a nod. "Now, what about Ginny? Is she all right?" Remus asked Professor Dumbledore.
"She will be fine. Miss Weasley is in the hospital wing, where I believe another of our number also has an appointment." said Albus, looking at Severus quite pointedly. "Perhaps we should all go and visit her.
Ginny had regained consciousness not long after Madam Pomfrey had begun to apply a cooling and healing balm to the shallow scratches across her back, which were then bandaged. Ginny was very fortunate. The injuries could easily have been worse by far. Remus had acted faster than Hermione and Ginny had managed to act when Severus had been in similar straits.
"Where's Remus?" she asked Madam Pomfrey quietly.
"Quiet now. You need to rest while those nasty marks heal." Pomfrey cautioned her.
She had sent Ginny's brother with Professor McGonagall to speak to his family because the young man was making a nuisance of himself. Mister Weasley had been under foot in the hospital wing, which was something Madam Pomfrey never encouraged. She hoped Minerva would send him elsewhere when she returned.
"But I want to see Remus. Where is he?" she questioned with some persistence.
"On his way, I'm sure." was the mediwitch's answer.
Ginny closed her eyes and felt her stomach knot. Her faith in Remus was very strong, but not unshakable. She wasn't certain how long she had been unconscious. It was only about half an hour, if that, but Ginny had expected, when she opened her eyes, she had expected or at least hoped that Remus would be there. Ginny shivered. Something must have happened, or he would be there.
"Don't fret, child. Remus is much stronger than you think. He only looks frail and tired." Madam Pomfrey told her, sensing her rising anxiety. "Believe me, I've known him many years longer than you have, dear." she chuckled.
"Thank you." whispered Ginny.
Ginny was beginning to drift to sleep, thanks to the potions and treatments Madam Pomfrey had given her and applied to her injuries, when she heard the sound of quiet voices nearby and felt someone gently brushing her hair from her face. Fingertips lovingly caressed her cheek.
"And she will recover fully?" questioned a grave and quiet masculine voice.
"Oh, yes, Remus, Ginny Weasley will be just fine. She needs several days of bed rest, of course, and I would like to examine her again in a few days just to be safe. But otherwise I believe that she can be released when she wakes up." she heard Madam Pomfrey saying.
"Can I go now then?" Ginny mumbled as she lifted her eyelids and smiled sleepily at Remus.
Remus grinned when he heard her speak and leaned down to kiss her. She met him half way. They kissed until Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall both cleared their throats. Remus and Ginny both blushed slightly as they broke their kiss and he pulled away.
"Certainly." said Poppy, trying to look rather stern, but failing. It was impossible not to smile at the sight of the pair. "I have another patient to attend to." she added, nodding toward the privacy screens at the back of the ward where Severus and Hermione were waiting for her.
"Miss Weasley, your parents will be here shortly. I have asked your brother to have Miss Brown bring a change of clothes for you in anticipation of their arrival." Professor McGonagall informed her. Lavender Brown was a prefect for Gryffindor house.
"Thank you, professor." said Ginny.
"I am very glad to have all my students back where they belong, and I have been informed that you handled yourself very well. I must say that I am quite proud." said McGonagall before turning on her heel and leaving Ginny with Remus.
"That's a high compliment." Remus remarked when the older professor had gone.
"I know."
"You look much better than when you went through the mirror."
"I feel better too. It hardly hurts at all."
"It does my heart good to hear you say that." he said.
Ginny propped up on one elbow and told him, "You saved my life, Remus! You should hardly sound, much less feel, apologetic about what happened."
"But I should have protected you ..."
"You did." she insisted stubbornly.
Remus chuckled and said, "Whatever you say, Ginny."
They were quiet for a moment before she asked him, "Where do we go from here, Remus?"
"Well, I imagine you are going to Gryffindor Tower as soon as Miss Brown brings your things. And it looks like a night in the Shrieking Shack for me."
"What? Why?" she asked in confusion.
"The potions' accident destroyed the supply Severus had in this realm of existence along with many other draughts he keeps on hand in the classroom, though I don't really understand how, so there isn't enough Wolfsbane potion for tonight, especially since Severus didn't have sufficient time to brew that additional cauldron. I need somewhere to transform tonight, and the headmaster suggested that I return to my old haunt, so to speak."
Remus looked tired and uncomfortable as he glanced toward the door to the hospital wing. Ginny squeezed his hand and gazed questioningly into his sad eyes. She had not heard what the demon had said to him. She was not ready to understand such things, but one day, he hoped that she would be ready and that he could tell her how it felt walking through the ranks of creatures who considered him one of there own, hardly better than a blood-thirsty monster.
"What's the matter?" she questioned.
"Nothing, Ginny. It's still early yet. I can stay and talk to your parents if you would like." he offered.
"Don't worry about it, Remus. Try to rest up for tonight. I imagine that you will need your strength." she told him.
Remus grinned. She understood so much. It took his breath away to think how understanding and how kind young Ginny was. He kissed her cheek and nodded.
"Then I will see you tomorrow." he said.
As Remus left, Ginny realized that he had never truly answered her question. Where would they go from there, she puzzled as she continued to wait.
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A/N: One more chapter to go!
Witchy-grrl: Probably not the only one. Thanks for reviewing!
Faith: Thank you for reviewing!
plastic: Yeah, not even a battle scar. Someone had to get lucky. Thank you for the review!
Freedom Rhodes: I'm glad you like those lines. Thanks for reviewing!
Serenity Raye: I have a tendency to write Harry as level-headed and reasonable (especially as he gets older). Er ... Ron's reaction ... I haven't found a way to squeeze that in. Thank you for reviewing!
Yukito Forever: Thank you!
Hermia: Thanks for the review!
BLV: Thank you for reviewing!
Enfleurage: I'm considering a sequel (because I when I started writing this it was supposed to be self-contained, like everything else I've written and it has taken on a life of its own), but I can't make any promises. I'm shocked and surprised that so many people have liked this story. I'll think about the contamination thing. It's interesting. Thank you very much for the review!
meeka: Thanks for reviewing!
calicat: Thank you!
Rhianna: I think that conversation will stay with Remus for a while. Thanks for reviewing!
JoeBob1379: Well, I'm one of those people who has fallen in love with the idea of Snape as a spy, so hiding the relationship was all but inevitable. Ginny and Remus are a bit luckier. Anyway, a hand full of people know about Hermione and Severus (Ginny, Remus, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Harry, Ron, and Madam Pomfrey), but any more would probably be a risk. Thank you for reviewing!
slytherinqueen87: Hmm... I don't know if she would mention the note or not. But knowing Hermione (*chortles at utter weirdness of the statement*) she will probably think about it a lot. Thanks for the review!