Disclaimer: My name is J. K. Rowling, and I own Harry Potter…. (wakes up from her dream, and looks around) Dammit!!! I was so close!!!!!!! (cries her pitiful eyes out)

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Blue Flowers of Celestial Years

Chapter 5: "The Medusa Goblin"

Ginny and Colin were in the Gryffindor common room, looking at the many pictures he took of her. What amazed Ginny is the fact that not one of her pictures was moving. How did that happen? Colin said that it had something to do with the developing process.

"So, which one do you like best?" Colin asked, looking over the pictures that are all laid out on the table.

"Hmm… I like… this one!" Ginny exclaimed and she picked up the picture of her looking at the camera from over her right shoulder. It was the last one they took.

"I think that one is the best, too." Colin agreed, looking over the other Ginny pictures again with warm eyes.

"Do you think it will at least get third place?"

"I think it should get first place."

Ginny smiled, handing Colin the picture they chose to try to win the contest. Colin smiled back nervously, and placed the picture in the folder, addressed to the Daily Prophet Photo Contest.

"Um… Ginny…"

"Yes, Colin?"

Colin opened his mouth and closed it several times before answering.

"Um… nothing…" he answered, blushing and looking away, leaving Ginny to wonder what he wanted to ask her.

"Okay, well, why don't we go to breakfast? I'm starved!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was very strange to not hear the regular buzzing of conversation that usually happened in the Great Hall. In fact, despite how many students there was, the huge room might as well have been empty for all the noise that happened; even the Slytherin table was unusually quiet.

That was when Ginny saw her boyfriend, Seamus and Neville, looking at the newspaper with Ron and his friends, all of them with grave expressions. Colin and Ginny quietly walked down the row of tables in attempt to sit with Hermione and the boys. That was when she noticed that practically everyone in the Great Hall, at all tables, was reading the Daily Prophet.

In worry, Ginny looked at the staff table while she kept walking, and saw Remus looking at her with a grave expression. As if reading her mind, he nodded his head once so only she could see, and confirm, what he said last night was true.

The poor Auror's wife and daughter were slaughtered.

"Uh, Ginny?" Colin's voice brought her back to reality, and Ginny looked, realizing that she was about to walk passed her original destination.

Ginny and Colin silently sat at the table, and she tried to look over Seamus' shoulder to read the report, although she already knew what it was about. Seamus looked over his shoulder, seeing Ginny trying to read the Daily Prophet.

"What's happening?" Ginny whispered because the hall was so silent her voice would have echoed.

"You-Know-Who's Death Eaters killed an Auror's family." Seamus answered, also whispering.

Ginny had to act her shocked and disgusted expression because she already felt it last night. For the first time, she was informed of something before even Harry Potter was.

"Are you guys finished reading?" Seamus asked Harry and his group.

All three of them nodded their heads; Hermione turned away from the paper, muttering, "I can't read something that awful any more." while playing with her breakfast.

Seamus brought the Daily Prophet closer to himself, Neville, Ginny, and Colin so they all could read. Ginny scanned the article, looking at the picture of the Dark Mark floating above the house the Auror and his family lived in, and then went back to reading the article:

"…a horrible discovery last night when he came home. 'It was awful!' he commented. 'I just came home from work because I had to work overtime, and I saw THAT mark above my house. I went into the house, calling for my wife and daughter. They killed my wife somewhat mercifully, but my daughter was another story…' he broke down crying, and could not say anything else. It is said that his daughter was, quite literally, in pieces all over her room; the sixteen year old girl was viciously assaulted, mutilated, and eviscerated. It is also believed that her dog tried to protect her because the animal was found, hanging in the closet by his neck…"

Ginny could not read any more, already feeling herself loosing her apatite for food. Apparently, the other three boys felt the same way, and Seamus folded the newspaper up, handing it back to Harry with a muttered, "Thank you."

"Um… what does 'eviscerated' mean?" Neville asked nervously, picking at his food with his fork.

Colin and Seamus looked like they did not want to answer, so Ginny took it upon herself to answer his question. "It means to… take all the intestines out of the gut area…" she answered, trying to define the word as lightly as possible.

Neville looked horrified, and also ashamed of himself for asking. He put his gaze back on his plate of food, but did not touch it. Ginny remembered that Remus said her father knows this Auror that lost everything in his world. She tried to think back to all those times she was little, and of all the times she went with her father to his workplace, trying with all her might to think if she had seen him before.

No one knew that class was going to begin soon until Seamus looked down at his watch, and announced to the others that it was time for class. They all got up after gathering their things, as if they were headed to a funeral. After they got up, everyone else got up to go to class, as if Seamus was the one keeping track of the time.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Class did not get any better in the History of Magic class with Professor Binns teaching. Everyone was unusually silent, and awake, but they were all in their own world.

Ginny was not any different; her thoughts went all over the place from the report, to Remus, to the Auror who lost his family, and back to Remus again. She kept her eyes on her blank papers on her desk, pretending to take notes, when really she was just writing down nonsense; nonsense that even she could not understand.

Ginny crinkled up the paper with scribbles on it, trying to stay as quiet as possible. She looked around; neither Professor Binns nor her fellow students heard her. Ginny looked back at her new, black sheet of paper. She did not know what she was thinking, or rather, what possessed her, but she just started writing.

Ginny B. Weasley

Ginevra B. Weasley

Ginevra Blaithin Weasley

Blaithin - (BLAW-heen) Old Irish "flower."

Remus Lupin

Remus J. Lupin

J…

Joseph?

Jonathan?

Jay?

John?

Ginny folded up the paper she had been writing on when the bell rang, and she gathered up the rest of her stuff, headed to her final class: Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Her heart began to pound when she turned the corner. Ginny gripped her books tighter and her heart pounded harder with each step she took. She was so close to the door, just a couple more steps. Why does that damn door look so far away?! Why is she so desperate to reach it?!

"Ginny!"

Ginny jumped, her scream echoed off the brick walls in the hallway, turning around as her books fell to the ground with several loud clunks. Seamus stood in front of her with one eyebrow raised, waiting for Ginny to get her breath back.

"Please don't sneak up on me like that, Seamus!" she begged, taking a deep breath.

Ginny smiled nervously to the students who heard her scream, and stopped to see what was wrong. When they saw that it was the only Weasley girl, they continued on with their business. She turned back to Seamus, who was not there; then Ginny looked down, seeing her boyfriend gathering her almost forgotten books up off the ground.

"Oh, Seamus, you didn't have to do that." Ginny said and took her belongings from him.

"I don't mind." Seamus said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Is everything alright out here?"

Ginny's voice caught in her throat when she saw Remus standing behind her, looking concerned. She nodded her head, her face practically matching her hair; she also noticed that her teacher's left hand was bandaged up around the palm and the back of his hand.

"It's alright, Professor." Ginny answered, holding onto her books for her dear life. "Seamus just startled me a bit."

Seamus and Remus looked at each other as if noticing each other's presence for the first time. Remus nodded toward his student in greeting, and then turned back to Ginny.

"The way you screamed, you made it sound as if there were Death Eaters attacking the school." He said, turning to the classroom, but did not walk away.

"I'm easily startled?" Ginny laughed nervously.

"Well, class is about to start." Remus announced, looking at his watch, and finally went back into his classroom.

"Ginny." Seamus said to get her attention again.

Ginny turned her attention back to her boyfriend.

"There is a Hogsmeade trip coming up soon, and I was wondering if you would like to go with me?"

Ginny nodded her head without thinking about it, keeping a smile on her face at the same time.

"I would love to go." Then a thought occurred to her. "But I don't have any money…"

"That's okay, I'll pay for everything."

That was what Ginny hated the most. People already looked down on her family for being so poor, and confirming to not having any money made Ginny feel like a charity case. One thing about her is that she is fiercely independent, refusing any help unless she was in dire need of it.

"Are you sure?" Ginny asked, looking at the time on Seamus' watch.

"Sure, it'll be no problem."

"Well… okay."

"Great, I'll see you at lunch?"

"If I don't have too much to do." Ginny replied and went to class before her boyfriend could say anything else.

"Did you read the report?"

Ginny jumped and screamed, turning around to see her teacher looking at her, perplexed. Thankfully, she did not drop her books because she placed them on the desk. Ginny breathed rapidly trying, for the second time that day, to catch her breath.

"Why does everyone insist on scaring me?!" she demanded, looking around the classroom. At least Ginny and Remus are both alone in the room for now, and she did not embarrass herself like she did in the hallway.

"I didn't mean to." Remus informed, one eyebrow still raised.

"It's okay." Ginny replied, taking her hand off of her chest. "Did you mean the report in the Daily Prophet?"

Remus nodded, and Ginny's expression became very grave.

"Yes," she said in barely a whisper. "One would think that the editors would take out so much gore and violence when the victim is a minor."

Ginny's teacher silently agreed; most of the teachers at Hogwarts thought that the report was a bit too descriptive for their students to read first thing in the morning. The reaction of the students, and how they are behaving now, is a result of reading something so violent. It was enough to make the Slytherins silent for the whole day.

A couple of students came into the classroom, and Ginny realized that they were the same group of giggling girls the last time this class gathered. Now they were silent, not speaking a word, like everyone was at a funeral.

Remus gave Ginny a nod, and walked back to the backroom, carrying a cage with a hideous creature locked inside it. The creature looked like a mix between a pixie and a snake; it had yellow-green scales and boils all over its skin, large, red eyes, huge ears, and yellow teeth and claws.

It was ugly enough to make Ginny sit down hard in her chair. At that moment, the rest of the class came in, took one look at the caged creature, and they also sat hard in their seats. When the bell rang, Remus began speaking.

"Today, we are going to learn about the Medusa Goblin. How many of you have heard, or know of the Greek muggle stories of Medusa?"

Several students raised their hands, including Ginny. There was one time when she went to work with her father, and she noticed a book on Greek Mythology. Tempted, Ginny picked it up and started reading it.

"That's good." Remus said, pleased, as he walked over to the goblin. "A good number of you know the story. Now, for those who do not know the story, I ask if there is anyone in here that can explain it to the class."

A Hufflepuff girl in the back raised her hand, which Remus nodded to her.

"Medusa is the name of a creature that had snakes for hair, and a body of a snake. She was so hideous that if any mortal looked at her, they would turn into stone."

"Correct. Ten points to Hufflepuff. Now, can anyone tell me why this creature is called the 'Medusa Goblin'?"

Ginny would never forget Hermione talking nonstop about the goblin that she looked at in front of her. So, since she knew, she might as well raise her hand. Her teacher looked at her, and nodded.

"It is called the 'Medusa Goblin' not only because of how ugly it looks, but also because of how fatal it can be if provoked." Ginny explained. "When the creature's temper snaps, it will sink its teeth into the person who made it angry, thus releasing a poison that paralyzes the victim, forcing them to become still like a stone statue as the poison works its way to the heart, and kills them."

"Excellent description, Miss Weasley; fifteen points to Gryffindor." Remus said, and then looked over at the cage, where the Medusa Goblin was shrinking back from him. "When these goblins are babies, their poison is even more deadly than the adult. For everyone's safety, I caught an adult. Does anyone know where most of their habitat is?"

Ginny raised her hand again, which cause Remus to nod towards her once again.

"They mostly live in deep forests and marshes. Anywhere where there is shade and darkness."

"Correct, which is where I got this one; in the Forbidden Forest." Remus said, nodding towards the Medusa Goblin. "Now, two things you should remember for your N.E.W.T.S.: one, there is a cure for their fatal bite if you get to a wizard hospital on time, which is about an hour after receiving the bite. Two, because the poison paralyzes the victim in a stone-like state, it is impossible to Apparate to any place for help."

The students looked at their teacher with an expression that had "then what do you do?!" written all over.

"So, then anyone who gets bitten is S.O.L.?" a muggle-born Hufflepuff boy asked.

Remus, not having any idea what the newest slang, or code, in the muggle world is now, looked at his student with a questioning look.

"What does 'S.O.L.' mean?" he asked and notice the boy hesitantly answer.

"…Shit Out of Luck."

Remus raised an eyebrow at the choice of language. To everyone else, it was a great surprise when their teacher took humor in it.

"S.O.L…" Remus repeated to himself with a chuckle, which only Ginny could hear him because she was sitting the closest to him. "I have to remember to tell Arthur that one." He said to Ginny with a smile.

Remus cleared his throat before continuing with his lesson.

"No, you are not 'S.O.L.' because there is a spell that you can use to paralyze them before they bite you. If you brought your wands, please take them out."

Everyone brought their wands, so Remus taught his students the paralyzing spell, pronouncing it first, and then deciding to use it on the Medusa Goblin.

"Okay, who would like to go first?" Remus asked his class.

One Gryffindor girl timidly raised her hand, and Ginny noticed the irony in that situation. Remus smiled and nodded towards the girl. Another thing Ginny noticed is that Remus does not smile at other people like he smiles at her. For some reason, her heart started to pound uncontrollably at that realization.

The Gryffindor girl walked up to the cage which caused the Medusa Goblin to screech, and stick his hands out of the cage, trying to claw the girl. The screech sounded high, worse than a fat woman in an Opera, and even broke a couple of classes. The girl, plus the other students, had to put their hands over their ears.

The screeching still echoed throughout the classroom; the Gryffindor girl held her wand up, performed the movement, and shouted the incantation at the same time. The screeching suddenly stopped, and everyone looked to see the Medusa Goblin was completely still, its mouth still opened as if it was petrified like that.

The whole class, especially Remus, heaved a sigh of relief.

"Good thinking." Remus commented his student. "Ten points to Gryffindor for a wonderful job, and quick thinking."

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Everyone got their items together and headed out the door. At the same time, their teacher took the goblin back to the backroom.

When Remus came back out, he was carrying a small bowl in his hand that was not bandaged. He set the bowl down on his desk, and looked up when he saw that a certain red head did not leave yet.

Ginny got up and walked up to the desk that seems to be very familiar with her presence. She looked into the bowl and saw some kind of clear cream; Ginny recognized it as a pain reliever and healing cream. Why would Remus need it?

"What is the cream for?" Ginny asked turning her gaze back to Remus.

Remus unwrapped his left bandaged hand and showed Ginny. His hand had a very deep bite on it where the pink was. The teeth marks were on top of his hand and on his palm.

"Ouch!" Ginny exclaimed, concerned. "Where did you get that?"

"I was supposed to capture two Medusa Goblins; however, the one that bit me is the one that got away."

Everything about today's lesson sank into Ginny's brain, and she suddenly, but gently, grabbed Remus' hand, holding it by his wrist, using both her hands. She looked more closely at the wounds and was surprised when Remus did not snap his hand back from her.

"You said that the Medusa Goblin's poison paralyzes the victim." Ginny said, looking back at Remus again.

"It is, but not towards… werewolves. We seem to be immune to the poison, or it doesn't have any affect on us. Either way, we are not killed by the poison; however, it does leave a very nasty, painful wound that takes forever to heal. I got this last night, and if was any other wound, it would have been almost healed by now."

Ginny got some of the cream on her fingers, and carefully dabbed it on the bite marks, starting with Remus' palm. She carefully worked her way to the wound on top of his hand, very carefully dabbing the cream on it. Ginny noticed that his skin was a purple-black bruised color, but Remus did not hiss in pain, or flinch, in any way.

"Do you have a clean cloth?" Ginny asked, still looking at the wounds on his hand, not able to look at his eyes only to see that Remus only notices her as his student.

"I can use the one I just had on." Remus suggested.

At that suggestion, Ginny used one hand to grip Remus' wrist tightly.

"That cloth is filthy!" Ginny scolded in a Molly Weasley way. "You should know better than to put something filthy on a wound!"

A bit taken back, Remus just nodded, and pointed to his desk drawers.

"There should be some clean clothes in there."

"Do you keep everything in there?" Ginny asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Just about everything…" Remus chuckled to himself, seeming to share a private joke with only himself.

Ginny shrugged her shoulders, opened a drawer, and dug through it, pulling out a clean handkerchief.

"This will do." Ginny stated, and grabbed Remus' wrist again, this time more gently.

She wrapped the handkerchief around the wounds in particular, willing herself to be gentle with Remus' hand. She tied to two ends together at the top of his hand so a knot would not get in his way until he changed the cloth again.

"There, all done." Ginny said, still holding Remus' hand. She was sorely tempted to place a kiss where a wound is, but she scolded herself for not having more control over her "motherly" impulses.

"You know, with your knowledge in potions, charms, and other classes, you would make a great medi-witch… plus your gentle."

Ginny looked up at Remus, who was merely smiling at her with one of those smiles that only she has seen; Ginny inhaled shakily, not noticing that she was still holding her teacher's hand.

"Maybe… I was only gentle because it's you, and I know you." Ginny whispered.

"Nah, I bet you're gentle with everyone you treat. You're a very kind, gentle person, Ginny."

Ginny smiled as a question came to her mind.

"Uh, Remus," she exclaimed, still not yet comfortable with using his first name. "Why are we on a first name basis? Not that I mind… I was just wondering."

"Well, the way I see it, you and your family knows who I am, and we spent a lot of time together during the summer of your fourth year. Remember? Number Twelve, Grimauld Place?"

Ginny nodded, remembering the summer that her family practically lived at Sirius' house.

"Remus… you seem to be taking Sirius'… loss well…"

Remus' eyes became downcast as he looked away. Ginny mentally slapped herself for not thinking of his feelings before she plunged into a very sensitive subject.

"I'm sorry…" Ginny said also looking away, only in shame. "I shouldn't have brought something like that up…"

"It's okay." Remus whispered, and was completely honest about it. "It's just that the Order and I have been so busy that I haven't had time to think about Sirius. I'm glad that someone other than Harry and me remember him."

Ginny gave a small smile for Remus, knowing that he is not holding out as well as he shows.

"So, how are things between you and Mr. Finnegan?" Remus asked, not knowing what possessed him to ask such a question.

After that question, Ginny realized that she was still holding Remus' hand; she promptly let go, her head lowered so she could only look at her feet.

"It's going well, I guess." She said, locking her hands together behind her back.

"So… would you like some tea?" Remus asked, trying to get the atmosphere to lighten.

"Sure…"

Ginny sat down at her teacher's desk while Remus got a tea pot, filled it with water, and tapped it with his wand. The water instantly became hot, and he got two cups for them, and put tea bags in the pot.

Remus poured tea into Ginny's cup, filled his own, and then took a seat. They drank in silence for a little until Remus started talking again.

"So, how are Fred and George doing in their inventions? Do they have any more ideas?"

"They are doing very well… I heard that Zonko's products are going to go out of business. And, you know those two; they never run out of ideas."

"So true…" Remus said, taking a sip from his drink.

Suddenly, Ginny remember what Fred, George, and herself talked about that day at Diagon Alley, in their shop.

"Did you know that Professor Snape has a hernia?" Ginny asked innocently.

Unfortunately, it was that exact moment that Remus decided to take a sip of his tea, and he promptly spewed it out when he heard Ginny ask such a question.

"What?" he choked, taking his napkin and wiping up the liquid.

"Professor Snape has a hernia according to Fred and George."

Remus looked at Ginny for a little before he cleared his throat, trying so hard not to laugh.

"Um… hem… I'm sure that they were only joking."

"What is a hernia, anyway?" Ginny asked, sipping her tea.

At the point, Remus started to wonder if it was alright to have tea and a conversation with Ginny at the same time. He placed his tea cup down, deciding to wait until later to drink it.

"You don't know what a hernia is?" Remus asked.

When Ginny nodded, Remus wondered why Molly sheltered Ginny so much. Sure, Molly sheltered all of her children, but not like she shelters Ginny.

"Um… a hernia is…" Remus looked terrified about teaching the youngest Weasley about that. This definitely was not in his teacher's requirements on his contract.

Remus nervously cleared his throat, and whispered to Ginny what a hernia is. Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped a bit, yet her brain processed that information.

"Oh…" was all she could say when the information was processed. Ginny decided to change the subject.

"Why did that Medusa Goblin back away from you, fearfully, when it did not do the same with the girl who volunteered to freeze it?" Ginny asked.

"Well, there is only one thing that the Medusa Goblin fears: werewolves. Why they fear werewolves, I do not know."

Ginny nodded, excepting that, and continued to speak.

"So… what made you want to become a teacher in the first place?"

"I just wanted to teach young people, try to help them."

"With anything besides academically?"

"Yes… why?"

Ginny hesitated in answering, and then decided to settle with a shake of her head, letting the subject drop.

"It's lunch time…" Ginny said, gathering her things. "Do you want me to put the tea cup in the sink?"

"No, I'll get it later." Remus answered, and watched Ginny walk out the door.

Ginny headed towards the Great Hall, the corridors completely vacant of all life except for herself. Suddenly, when she was about to turn the corner, Ginny ran into someone and was knocked to the ground.

"Watch where you are going, Miss Weasley." A cold voice informed her.

Ginny looked up, seeing Professor Snape towering above her as she gathered her fallen items together.

"Good afternoon to you too, Professor." Ginny mumbled, walking passed him.

Entering the Great Hall, Ginny saw her boyfriend, Seamus, and she walked over to him quickly.

"Hello, Seamus." Ginny breathed. "I'm sorry I'm late. I had to talk to one of my professors."

"That's okay." Seamus said as Ginny sat down across from him. "So, what is the latest news?"

"I was informed that Professor Snape has a hernia."

Seamus blinked, and then started laughing like he never laughed before in his life. Ginny smiled weakly as her boyfriend continued to laugh without an end in sight.

As the students headed to their own destinations because their classes were over, Professor Snape headed back to his dungeons, walking through the flood of students.

Suddenly, someone shouted through the crowded corridors.

"Professor Snape has a hernia!"

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October 25th: (starts singing in a horrible, off-key, tone deaf voice) Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me… Happy birthday dear, me/deal-with-it, you're… (mumbles her age) today! Yes, that day is my birthday. How old am I? Well, if I told you readers, then most of the readers would think, "God! She's that old and she's still into Harry Potter?!" Yes… but I'll give you a hint, if not the answer… I am two decades old. I know, I know… I'm old… (sigh)

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LupinFan227: How Ginny seems to have a crush on her teacher? Well, some people get confused with their feelings, and I think that Ginny seems to get confused with her emotions. Chamber of Secrets is a good example of how she gets emotions confused because she first has a crush on Harry, and then has a crush (or it seemed like it) on Tom Riddle, and then back to Harry again. So poor Ginny is just confused with her feelings for Remus. Remus will probably scold himself for even thinking about having feelings for Ginny, like he has been doing; I just haven't mentioned it yet. Yes, I am doing some foreshadowing on Ginny's arms, which the answer to that is coming up quickly. Thank you for your review!!!

Branmuffinpower: Thank you for such a wonderful comment! I always wanted a twin, and if you were my twin that would be even better! Tom Riddle is evil to our poor Ginny. He just won't die! But for some strange reason, I love Tom… I think it's because I fell in love with his movie self 'cause Christian (the dude who plays him) his just a HOT English man!!! You weren't rambling, and I am glad I can brighten up your day. Please don't resort to cannibalism; that would be bad. Thank you for your review!!!

Elizabeth Turner: No, I haven't read that book, but I'll see if they have it at the library. It sounds interesting. Older guys are the best!! Even though a guy friend said something bad about older men… and Remus… and my guy friend is hurting right now. He's also has a cast on his arm cause I was hitting him constantly for saying something bad about sexy wolf-boy, and he got so annoyed that he punched the wall… and broke his hand. So I was laughing hysterically, and said, "That's what you get for saying mean things about the sexiest man alive!"