My Hero, My Friend, My Love

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Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the plot.

Chapter Nine: New Things and Old Enemies

Ginny awoke the next morning and went down to the kitchen. Sirius was at the stove, cooking. She made herself and cup of tea and sat at the table. She briefly glanced at the Daily Prophet before Sirius set a plate of food in front of her. She looked up at him. "Thanks."

He smiled back at her. "Sleep well?"

"Like a rock," she said. "I guess I was exhausted after last night. It was fun, wasn't it?" She began eating, as did Sirius.

Sirius thought back to his conversation with his best friend. "Yes, it was. It was good to see everyone before we left." He took a sip of tea. "That reminds me. Don't take too long to get ready this morning. We've got a lot to do."

She looked quizzically at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we have to Floo to Hogwarts tomorrow, so I can get settled in before the students arrive on Monday. And since I'm your guardian..." he trailed off, hoping she'd get the picture.

"Since you're my guardian, I have to go too," she said with finality. She groaned and leaned her head back. "All right. I guess that means I have packing to do tonight."

She finished her breakfast and took the remainder of her tea up to her room and began to get dressed. She and Sirius would be going to Diagon Alley to get her school things. And she'd have to go to Gringott's first. The money she'd earned in her brother's shop wasn't near enough to afford everything.

When she was ready she and Sirius flooed to the Leaky Cauldron and set out into the busy thoroughfare. She began to make her way to the Wizarding Bank, but Sirius took her by the elbow.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Um, to the bank so I can have enough money to get my things," she said as though it were obvious.

"You don't need to. I'll take care of your school things," he said. "And no arguing about it either," he concluded before she could say anything.

A few hours later, Ginny and Sirius returned home. She had brand new schoolbooks, parchments and quills, and new robes. She didn't want to know how expensive they were, but they felt so luxurious. She'd never had new school things before, and she had to admit, it felt good. She had thanked Sirius profusely, to the point that he threatened to take it all back if she thanked him again.

It was late in the evening and Ginny was getting ready for bed. She'd finished packing, but left out an old quill and one piece of parchment. She wanted to write Remus a letter before they left in the morning.

Dear Remus,

Sirius and I leave for Hogwarts in the morning. I think he is actually nervous, though he would never admit it. He's going to be a great teacher, though no one will be as good as you were. In all my years at Hogwarts, you have been my favorite teacher. I never thought to tell you that.

I was very pleased to see you and spend some time with you last night. I will miss being able to see you while I'm away at school, but I will have to wait until Christmas. Thankfully, I have the bracelet to remind me of you. I noticed it throughout the day today, and each time it brought a smile to my face when I thought of you. You are truly one of the dearest friends I've ever had. You are also one of the few people I completely trust. I feel like I can confide in you, and I'm thankful for that.

I wish I had something for you to remind you of me, but I don't. I will have to trust that my annoying letters will be enough. I hope to hear from you soon, as I'm sure I will need you to keep me sane during the year.

Take care of yourself, Remus. I know the full moon is coming soon, and I want you to know that I'll be thinking of you when it happens. I wish I could be there for you in person, but being with you in spirit will have to do.

Yours truly,

Ginny

She left the letter on her desk, as a reminder to send it with her owl in the morning. With that, she climbed into her bed and fell immediately to sleep.

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Upon arriving at Hogwarts the next day, Sirius and Ginny were greeted by Professor Dumbledore.

"Greetings! I'm glad to see you've arrived," he said, his eyes twinkling. "Ginny, I believe you may go get settled into Gryffindor Tower, and I will show Sirius where he will be staying."

Ginny left and began the familiar walk to her dorm, while Sirius followed the Headmaster to his quarters.

Sirius was getting his office organized a little while later, when someone knocked on the door. He looked up with a smile, thinking it would be Ginny. He was sorely mistaken. His smile faded as the Potions Master entered the room.

"Is there something I can help you with, Severus?" Sirius asked with as little emotion as he could muster. Even though the two had put aside their differences during the war, they were back to hating each other now.

"No, just making sure you're not getting into trouble...yet," replied Snape icily.

"What's it to you?" Sirius spat back.

"Nothing at all, just concerned," Snape sneered back.

The two glared at each other. Sirius was about to tell the Potions Master what he could do with his "concern" when Ginny interrupted.

"For the love of all that is pure and holy, can you two cool it? You haven't even been in the same castle for a day yet and already you're bickering," Ginny said, rolling her eyes at the two.

Sirius' gaze never left Snape's eyes. "Stay out of it, Gin. This doesn't concern you."

"Sirius, with all due respect, it most certainly does. Professor Snape is my teacher and my friend. And you are my guardian, and I will be damned if I'm put into the middle of your childish disagreements," she practically yelled at them.

Finally, both men looked at her. Snape's expression was one of surprise, while Sirius' was angry.

"Young lady, you'll do well to watch your language. And need I remind you that you may want to rethink raising your voice to your teachers. You will show respect," he said to her.

Ginny's face turned red with rage. "Sirius Black, don't you dare begin to tell me how to act. YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER!" she roared at him before exiting the room in a huff.

"Good job, Black. Excellent parenting," Snape said sarcastically.

Sirius glared at his colleague and rushed to follow Ginny. "Shut it, Snivelus," he said under his breath.

Sirius didn't find Ginny, and she didn't join the staff for dinner that night. He figured she needed time to cool down, so he didn't go to her dorm to talk to her. However, after dinner, an unexpected person had a visitor from the youngest Weasley.

Professor Snape was surprised to see her in the dungeons that evening waiting for him outside his Potions lab.

"Professor, I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. It was wrong of me to yell at you," she said sincerely.

He opened the door to the lab and ushered her in.

"Miss Weasley, I assure you I thought nothing of it. However, Black and I- our differences go back many years, and I highly doubt we will ever get along." Snaped sighed and continued. "But I will make a concerted effort to be civil, if only for your sake and that of the other students."

Ginny smiled at him. "Thank you, sir." She turned to leave, but he stopped her.

"You know, he does mean well. Black, I mean. He cares for you, and he isn't trying to replace your father," he said softly.

Ginny didn't turn to face him. "I know. I know he loves me in his own way."

"Perhaps you should make amends?" he questioned.

She nodded and left the lab to go find Sirius.

She found him waiting for her outside her common room. He was sitting with his back against the wall. He smiled, sheepishly at her. "Damn portrait wouldn't let me in. I'm a professor for God's sake."

She smiled at him and sank down in the hallway next to him. She could feel his eyes on her, but she didn't look at him. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier, Sirius."

"Please don't apologize. I should be the one doing that. I know I'm not your father, nor would I ever think that I could come close." He sighed briefly and reached over to take her hand. "But I do care about you, and it is my responsibility to see that you're taken care of. And I will do anything to assure that."

She finally looked him in the eye. "I know, and I don't mean to come across as an ungrateful wench." She winked when she said that. "I guess we are still getting to know each other."

He hesitated. "So, are we okay now?" She nodded. "Good because I would hate for you to be mad at me before classes even start!" He stood and reached down to pull her up beside him. He wrapped her in a hug and kissed the top of her head.

She hugged him back tightly and said very softly, "I love you. Thanks for taking care of me."

Sirius smiled to himself at her words. "I love you too, Ginny dear." He released her from his hug and reached up to smooth her hair down. "Get some rest. I'll need your help tomorrow to set up my classroom."

She nodded and entered her common room, leaving Sirius in the hall, beaming with fatherly pride.

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A week later, Ginny was exhausted. Her first week of classes had been a royal pain. It seemed as though all her teachers, Sirius included, were trying to put the fear of Merlin in the Seventh Years about their N.E.W.T.S. She was seriously considering pulling a Fred and George and just leaving, but she knew she couldn't. She was just sitting down to breakfast when her owl flew in, dropping a letter into her lap. She immediately recognized the writing and smiled. She tucked the letter into her pocket and went back to her breakfast.

Sirius noticed Ginny's reception of a letter and her smile thereafter, and shifted in his seat. He knew whom the letter was from, and it made him slightly uneasy. He'd hoped that when they left for Hogwarts, their friendship would die down. It seemed as though he were mistaken. He finished eating and made his way back to his office. He needed a quiet place to think.

Ginny, on the other hand, finished eating and walked quickly outside and down to the lake. She got comfortable and pulled out Remus' letter.

My dear Ginny,

It never fails. Your letters always warm my heart and make me feel better about everything. I'm pleased that you think of me when you look at the bracelet. However, I need nothing to remind me of you. Everywhere I look, I see you. In the sunset, just as the horizon glows numerous shades of red and orange, I see your hair shining. While walking through the gardens on my way home, I see the tiny green flecks in your eyes echoed in the clover. Looking out into the starry sky at night, I see your eyes twinkling when your smile.

Forgive me, I'm a little sentimental this close to the full moon. I don't wish for you to be here with me then, or ever for that matter. It would be too much to handle. I don't want you to ever see the wolf.

I miss you, Ginny. I miss our friendship. Even though we didn't see much of each other during the summer, it gave me comfort to know that you were never far away. I hope that you and Sirius will come home for the holidays and we can see each other again. That thought alone will be my consolation until then.

I hope school isn't too terrible so far. If I remember, they try to instill the fear right at first, but it gets better. Not much better, but some. I remember how the other Mauraders and I would play pranks and cause mischief just as a way to relieve the stress. I don't suggest doing that, though. Sirius would have a fit!

Please give him my regards and make sure he takes care of you. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Always,

Remus

Ginny looked at the letter in shock. If she didn't know better, she'd think this was a...love letter. "No, it couldn't be," she thought. "He's just lonely so close to the full moon. That's all." However, she couldn't help noticing that fluttery feeling in her stomach that seemed to occur whenever she thought of Remus.

She stayed down by the lake for a while, reading his letter again, before heading up to the library to study.

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Ginny couldn't help noticing several weeks later that Sirius was harder on her than the other students in his class. She knew it was because of their close relationship, but she couldn't help resenting him just a little because of it. He always called on her for questions when no one else knew the answers, and he always asked her to demonstrate difficult defenses. However, whenever she did well, which was often, he praised her for it.

He, of course, was going out of his way to not show partiality, but he wondered if, in doing so, he alienated her from him. He decided to discuss this with her one Saturday morning. He'd also received an interesting note that morning, and wanted to test the waters of it with her. As he was leaving breakfast that morning, she was entering the Hall. He flashed her a smile, which she returned, and he reached out to hug her.

"Care to join me for tea later?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied. "It's been a while since we've talked."

He smiled at her again, and went off to grade papers.

Later that afternoon, she knocked on the door to his office and entered. Sirius was busying himself with the tea, so she sat down in one of his comfortable chairs.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked while stirring some sugar into her tea.

"What? I can't just spend quality time with my favorite student?" he asked incredulously.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You? No. It's always something else," she said teasingly. "So? Out with it."

He sighed. He could never get anything past her. "Well, I know it seems like I pick on you in class, and I wanted to make sure you knew that it wasn't personal." He looked at her, trying to gauge her reaction.

"Is that all?" she said dismissively. "It's no big deal, Sirius. I know you're trying to overcompensate for our personal relationship. It's fine. I promise." She smiled reassuringly at him.

"Good, I hate it when you're unhappy with me," he replied.

They chatted about her schoolwork and his other classes for a while before he broached the real reason for their visit.

"So, you know my third years and going to be studying werewolves right before the holiday break, right?" he asked casually.

At this her ears perked a little, but she didn't show it. "Oh?" she commented.

"Yes, I was thinking of having a guest lecturer for one of their lessons. And of course, Moony is the obvious choice. In fact, I got an owl from him this morning, agreeing to come. What do you think?" He was baiting her and she knew it.

"That's an excellent idea. Remus was the best D.A.D.A. teacher Hogwarts ever had, present company excluded, of course," she winked at him.

"Of course," he smiled back at her grandly. He paused before continuing. "Moony didn't say much else in his letter. I hope he's all right. Have you heard from him recently?"

Ginny narrowed her eyes at Sirius. She worded her answer carefully. "Yes, I have. Last I heard, he was extremely busy at work. Perhaps that's why he didn't write a grand epistle."

"Yes, that must be it," he agreed. "Of course, it will be good to see him." He glanced in her direction. "Don't you agree?"

This time, she outright glared at him. However, her voice was calm. "Yes, it will be good to see him, Sirius. After all, he is my friend." She enunciated the last word for effect. "And you can stop beating around the bush. Not that it's any of your business, but yes, Remus and I still correspond. In case you haven't noticed, all my friends left last year, save for Colin and Luna. And they're too busy sucking face half the time. So I'm glad I have a friend like Remus. His letters keep my company when I feel lonely. I wish you'd respect my privacy a little more, Sirius. I know your heart's in the right place, but you're worrying for nothing."

Sirius knew he was fighting a losing battle. Besides, she didn't seem to be getting all gooey-eyed talking about his friend. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

She smiled weakly at him. "It's okay." She stood, as did he. "I need to go. I want to catch up on my reading before dinner." She kissed his cheek and left, trying not to fume until she got back to her dorm.