Disclaimer--Nothing here belongs to me--It's for the love of the craft and intended only as flattery. Most of this scene is from PoA and belongs to JKR, who is a MUCH more accomplished writer than me.
Author's Notes--
Strawberries and Blueberries--I try to give my reviewers what they want. *winks*
EEDOE--Awww...it was so sweet of you to leave reviews for 19 and 20! Thanks. *hugs*
I think Ginny knows that sometimes a side approach gets you to information more quickly than a direct question...and she also understands how what it's like to feel like no one really appreciates you, and she wants to help others through that as best she can. Lee and Ginny do have an interesting--and apparently complex--approach to their friendship (many facets of which probably are in direct response to the twins), but they both seem comfortable with it so far. It is too bad--for Ginny as well as any prospective suitors--Harry has already set the bar...or were you referring to Luna? *snickers* It made my day--at least, probably more--that you think Ginny has a quality about her that just makes people want to like her! I think so too! *beams* Lupin is a favorite character of mine, and it has occured to me that maybe his feelings about being a werewolf are similar to her feelings about Tom...which makes them quite an interesting mentor/student pair. *hugs*
Bill--I suspect Lee's confidence is due to both the belief the twins won't care about his friendship with Ginny and the fact that he simply doesn't care if they do. *grins* I suspect he--like the twins themselves--has the confidence Ginny sometimes lacks and is perfectly comfortable with going upstream if he wants. As for his reaction to Ginny's affection...I do suspect a possible future relationship has occured to him...and I'm even more certain he doesn't want it to occur to the twins...particularly as Ginny is still a bit young and he doesn't know how he'll feel in the future. Your comparison of Luna to the twins is interesting...very interesting indeed. What you say makes a lot of sense...*muses* I see you feel the same undercurrent of...familiarity between Lupin and Ginny I did *smirks* Why am I not surprised? (Perhaps because I'm too delighted) But, now that you mention it, what happened to Dumbledore is quite an interesting conjecture...*hugs*
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"It must be difficult," Professor Lupin said eventually.
"What?" Ginny said, bemused.
"Being such a good friend to people who don't appreciate you."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ginny said in a tone completely unsuitable for addressing a teacher.
Professor Lupin didn't say anything.
"Colin and Tempest are perfectly nice to me," Ginny reiterated. "And so are Bion and Luna and Lee and..."
"Of course they are," Professor Lupin said gently. "I never meant to imply anything different."
"Then--" Ginny stopped, feeling her shoulders slump. "How did you know about Harry?"
"And your brother?" Lupin added for her.
He sighed and shook his head as if reflecting on something. "When I came back a few weeks ago, the whole school was talking about the Quidditch Match I missed."
"Oh," Ginny said, feeling her cheeks heat familiarly.
Lupin nodded. "A dozen different people must have told me what you did."
Ginny sighed and rolled her eyes. "Made a fool out of myself in front of the whole school-again. That's what I did."
"Willingly put yourself in the way of danger to protect someone else," Lupin corrected.
"Not that it did any good," Ginny retorted a trifle bitterly. "Anyway, Harry...he..."
"No one really knows, but I did something stupid last year," she said on the other side of a lengthy pause. "Something that put a lot of people in danger. If it hadn't been for Harry..."
"Ginny," Professor Lupin said after an even longer pause. "I'm going to tell you something that would cost me my job if any of your fellow students were to find out...but...I trust you..."
She had just decided he'd changed his mind when he continued, "Everyone does something stupid-usually much more than once-throughout the course of their lives...I did something stupid when I was little-not even old enough to go to school..."
With a pang, Ginny saw he had tears in his eyes. He swallowed convulsively several times, staring into space as if seeing the past without being able to change it...she certainly knew what that felt like. "I was bitten."
"Bitten?" Ginny repeated slowly.
Lupin nodded, and something about his nod reminded her of a funeral march.
"I was bitten-by a werewolf."
"A werewolf," Ginny echoed, feeling stupid. "So, then...does that...are you...?"
Lupin gave that same funeral nod. "A werewolf."
"Oh," Ginny said through a tremble of fear she staunchly refused to acknowledge.
"Dumbledore knows," Lupin assured her. "He was the one who said an unfortunate mistake shouldn't mean I had to spend the rest of my life being punished."
Ginny nodded, deep in thought.
"Harry's a good kid," Lupin said. "And he needs your friendship, Ginny, even if he doesn't realize it."
"I know," Ginny said simply, and was surprised to find it was true. She had never doubted it.
Lupin smiled. "But that doesn't mean you should spend the rest of your life waiting on him to notice, either. Just because you made a mistake doesn't mean you should keep punishing yourself."
"I know," Ginny said again. Then added, somewhat sheepishly, "my brother Bill told me."
"He sounds like a smart man," Lupin said lightly. "You should take his advice."
"I've been trying," Ginny assured him. "But..."
"It's not easy," Lupin said with such fervor Ginny longed to hug him. "It never will be."
The companionable silence wrapped back around them like a comfortably worn blanket.
"Professor..."
"Yes, Ginny?"
"Could you...I mean...I want to learn how to defend myself...I mean...my mind."
"Occulumency," Lupin said softly. "It's not easy, Ginny."
Ginny knew he understood. She didn't care how difficult it was.
"Difficult well beyond the NEWT level," Lupin added, but she knew he meant the statement the way people said 'I think it might rain', and not to discourage her. "And a subject I don't know much about...But..."
Ginny tackled him with a war whoop and wasn't even embarrassed.
By the time she got back to Gryffindor late that night, Ginny was exhausted. But she wrote to Mum and Dad and got permission for Luna-who lived nearby-and Bion to visit for a day or two over the holidays before she went to sleep; she was surprised at how much she was looking forward to the prospect.
Author's Notes--
Strawberries and Blueberries--I try to give my reviewers what they want. *winks*
EEDOE--Awww...it was so sweet of you to leave reviews for 19 and 20! Thanks. *hugs*
I think Ginny knows that sometimes a side approach gets you to information more quickly than a direct question...and she also understands how what it's like to feel like no one really appreciates you, and she wants to help others through that as best she can. Lee and Ginny do have an interesting--and apparently complex--approach to their friendship (many facets of which probably are in direct response to the twins), but they both seem comfortable with it so far. It is too bad--for Ginny as well as any prospective suitors--Harry has already set the bar...or were you referring to Luna? *snickers* It made my day--at least, probably more--that you think Ginny has a quality about her that just makes people want to like her! I think so too! *beams* Lupin is a favorite character of mine, and it has occured to me that maybe his feelings about being a werewolf are similar to her feelings about Tom...which makes them quite an interesting mentor/student pair. *hugs*
Bill--I suspect Lee's confidence is due to both the belief the twins won't care about his friendship with Ginny and the fact that he simply doesn't care if they do. *grins* I suspect he--like the twins themselves--has the confidence Ginny sometimes lacks and is perfectly comfortable with going upstream if he wants. As for his reaction to Ginny's affection...I do suspect a possible future relationship has occured to him...and I'm even more certain he doesn't want it to occur to the twins...particularly as Ginny is still a bit young and he doesn't know how he'll feel in the future. Your comparison of Luna to the twins is interesting...very interesting indeed. What you say makes a lot of sense...*muses* I see you feel the same undercurrent of...familiarity between Lupin and Ginny I did *smirks* Why am I not surprised? (Perhaps because I'm too delighted) But, now that you mention it, what happened to Dumbledore is quite an interesting conjecture...*hugs*
******************************
"It must be difficult," Professor Lupin said eventually.
"What?" Ginny said, bemused.
"Being such a good friend to people who don't appreciate you."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ginny said in a tone completely unsuitable for addressing a teacher.
Professor Lupin didn't say anything.
"Colin and Tempest are perfectly nice to me," Ginny reiterated. "And so are Bion and Luna and Lee and..."
"Of course they are," Professor Lupin said gently. "I never meant to imply anything different."
"Then--" Ginny stopped, feeling her shoulders slump. "How did you know about Harry?"
"And your brother?" Lupin added for her.
He sighed and shook his head as if reflecting on something. "When I came back a few weeks ago, the whole school was talking about the Quidditch Match I missed."
"Oh," Ginny said, feeling her cheeks heat familiarly.
Lupin nodded. "A dozen different people must have told me what you did."
Ginny sighed and rolled her eyes. "Made a fool out of myself in front of the whole school-again. That's what I did."
"Willingly put yourself in the way of danger to protect someone else," Lupin corrected.
"Not that it did any good," Ginny retorted a trifle bitterly. "Anyway, Harry...he..."
"No one really knows, but I did something stupid last year," she said on the other side of a lengthy pause. "Something that put a lot of people in danger. If it hadn't been for Harry..."
"Ginny," Professor Lupin said after an even longer pause. "I'm going to tell you something that would cost me my job if any of your fellow students were to find out...but...I trust you..."
She had just decided he'd changed his mind when he continued, "Everyone does something stupid-usually much more than once-throughout the course of their lives...I did something stupid when I was little-not even old enough to go to school..."
With a pang, Ginny saw he had tears in his eyes. He swallowed convulsively several times, staring into space as if seeing the past without being able to change it...she certainly knew what that felt like. "I was bitten."
"Bitten?" Ginny repeated slowly.
Lupin nodded, and something about his nod reminded her of a funeral march.
"I was bitten-by a werewolf."
"A werewolf," Ginny echoed, feeling stupid. "So, then...does that...are you...?"
Lupin gave that same funeral nod. "A werewolf."
"Oh," Ginny said through a tremble of fear she staunchly refused to acknowledge.
"Dumbledore knows," Lupin assured her. "He was the one who said an unfortunate mistake shouldn't mean I had to spend the rest of my life being punished."
Ginny nodded, deep in thought.
"Harry's a good kid," Lupin said. "And he needs your friendship, Ginny, even if he doesn't realize it."
"I know," Ginny said simply, and was surprised to find it was true. She had never doubted it.
Lupin smiled. "But that doesn't mean you should spend the rest of your life waiting on him to notice, either. Just because you made a mistake doesn't mean you should keep punishing yourself."
"I know," Ginny said again. Then added, somewhat sheepishly, "my brother Bill told me."
"He sounds like a smart man," Lupin said lightly. "You should take his advice."
"I've been trying," Ginny assured him. "But..."
"It's not easy," Lupin said with such fervor Ginny longed to hug him. "It never will be."
The companionable silence wrapped back around them like a comfortably worn blanket.
"Professor..."
"Yes, Ginny?"
"Could you...I mean...I want to learn how to defend myself...I mean...my mind."
"Occulumency," Lupin said softly. "It's not easy, Ginny."
Ginny knew he understood. She didn't care how difficult it was.
"Difficult well beyond the NEWT level," Lupin added, but she knew he meant the statement the way people said 'I think it might rain', and not to discourage her. "And a subject I don't know much about...But..."
Ginny tackled him with a war whoop and wasn't even embarrassed.
By the time she got back to Gryffindor late that night, Ginny was exhausted. But she wrote to Mum and Dad and got permission for Luna-who lived nearby-and Bion to visit for a day or two over the holidays before she went to sleep; she was surprised at how much she was looking forward to the prospect.