Dances with Wolves- A Remus/Ginny Cookie

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The Weasleys were supposed to stick together, but Ginny was feeling a bit annoyed at her large collection of brothers for practically abandoning her there, all alone to be bored at the graduation party. Yes, she realized that Ron would only graduate once from Hogwarts, as would Harry and Hermione, but still... Fred and George were hanging out together, so how could she go and butt into their conversation with Alicia and Angelina? They would be mad for ruining their chances at scoring some dates. And neither could she go talk to Bill and Charlie, who were debating the merits and demerits of installing dragons at Gringotts in London.

So Ginny just huffed a bit, sighed heavily, and scanned the party once more to see if there was anyone... anyone at all who she could carry on a conversation with. And again, for the fifth or sixth time, came up quite empty handed. She felt like she was inferior and bored out of her mind... but above all, she felt alone. A feeling she was not used to, what with tagging along behind Ron and Harry and Hermione... but obviously that plan was out of the question, because Ron and Harry had plenty of harem as it was. So instead, Ginny just sat placidly on her stone bench hidden in a corner of the backyard garden, out of sight, out of mind. And completely annoyed that no one remembered her existence.

A lone wolf, he thought. That's what they both were. She was the lone Weasley daughter, quite fiery, and yet as pristine as the day she was born, all peaches and cream skin with that bright red hair that spilled over her shoulders in such an unruly way one might think it was quite alive; her nose spattered with orangey freckles that blended to red to match her scarlet cheeks in anger and embarrassment. He was alone as well, with not a person to talk to or a chance to open his mouth to congratulate any of the graduates; he was just as left out, yet not as angry because hey, he was only a teacher that Harry, Hermione, and Ron would remember from school.

Remus Lupin stared, bemusedly at Ginny, as she tapped her foot and threw her shawl over her shoulders every two minutes because it incessantly kept slipping down her creamy, smooth and bare shoulders. And finally, he had enough courage to go talk to his student, knowing that he had better control his inner animalistic ways, lest he try anything on her out of want.

"Ms. Weasley," Remus greeted, standing in front of her, hands in the pockets of his khaki trousers, his dress shirt untucked and unbuttoned at the top.

She started, and turned towards him, replying, "Oh! Professor Lupin, hello... Please, sit down with me." She moved over to one half of the bench leaving Lupin a good two feet to sit on. He couldn't restrain himself from sitting near her, as opposed to a respectable distance from her side.

"A bit bored, Ginny?" he asked, not unkindly, with a warm smile upon his face.

Ginny sighed lustily in response and then told him, "A bit is putting it kindly, Professor Lupin." She watched his face, watched the smile upon his lips reach his eyes and warm their color as he chuckled lightly at her exaggeration. He had such beautiful eyes. they now sparkled with some kind of gleefulness, a kind of lighthearted foolishness she had never seen upon his usually haggard face; and Ginny couldn't restrain herself from asking a cheeky question.

"What's got you all happy, Professor? Looking quite excited, you are."

"Nothing, nothing, Ginny. It's just... you make me smile, a bit," he replied easily, amazed that he was not getting shy at the prospect of explaining his emotions to her. Ginny looked to Remus again, caught his eye, again, and didn't break the gaze as she turned her body to face his.

"I feel left out, Professor," she told him, "with all these people around... It's like everyone in my family has someone to talk to except for me. I'm like a lone wolf around here." And as the weight of her words echoed around them, Ginny winced as she realized just what she had said to Lupin. "Sorry for the wolf reference, Professor," she apologized.

I'm like a lone wolf around here.

"It's of no importance, Ginny," Remus assured her. "I know how you feel. I do." She smiled a bit apprehensively, and then let out a peal of laughter. "What's so funny?" Remus asked.

"We're two lone wolves, Professor... yet we aren't because we've got each other," Ginny explained. "Sort of."

"And two lone wolves aren't lonely?" Remus clarified.

"Exactly my point."

"Ms. Weasley," Remus said, just as the band striked up a new song from the yard closer to the house, "would you care to dance?"

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