Acquainted with the Night

Acquainted with the Night

Chapter 1

A Harry Potter Fanfiction by Kamikazee

Author's Note: Well, I got very good reviews for the first chapter, so here's the second. A little, not so subtle, foreshadowing at the end. This chapter is very... introspective. Oh well... R/R

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Remus Lupin looked down upon the sleeping redhead with a flurry of tangled emotions. When Dumbledore had owled him he was hit with two very opposing feelings. He pitied the young woman whose life was about to be ripped apart by a double identity, an uncontrollable dark side. But, at the very back of his mind, where his selfish thoughts roamed, came another idea. The idea that he no longer had to be alone, that someone had come that could share the burden of darkness and loneliness with him.

Remus was appalled at this thought. He didn't want a child with so many opportunities ahead of her pulled into his dark world of suspicion, mistrust and solitude. He would not wish this upon his worst enemy, let alone an innocent of which he barely knew, such as the one now lying prone on the bed.

The sight of her pale skin surrounded by a halo of blood red hair only served to strengthen Remus' resolve. He would help Virginia Weasley. Help her deal with the anger. Help her deal with the animal. Help her deal with the change. He would provide for her what he had never had the privilege of receiving, trust and support.

As Remus studied the bloody bandage covering the viscous bite wound on Ginny's right arm he was unconsciously pulled into the memory of his own turning. It occurred years and years in the past, but Remus could still remember the event as if it had come to pass yesterday.

*Flashback*

The night was eerily calm and quiet. The large full moon cast its unearthly glow upon the small muggle playground. The teeter-totter lay unmoving, with no children to rock it back and forth. A stray, fallen leaf fell lightly down the empty, old fashioned, metal, free-standing slide. The bright colors of the climbing structure were dimmed in the gloom of the night. A wisp of wind moved through the park, causing one of the swings to sway and let out a very audible creak, disturbing the oppressing silence. The young boy sitting in the mentioned swing's neighbor jumped at the suddenness of the seemingly loud sound.

He was nine, perhaps ten, years old. His light brown hair fell haphazardly over warm hazel eyes. Young Remus Lupin was dressed in old jeans and an oversized white tee-shirt. His eyes roamed about the playground nervously as he ran a hand through his unruly hair.

"C'mon Dad, where are you?" the boy was whispering apprehensively to his absent father. Remus' gaze could not penetrate the shadows caused by the towering pine trees surrounding the park and a sense of foreboding was heavy in the air.

Wind swept through the playground. Leaves scattered, the teeter-totter crashed as the balance shifted to the opposite side. The empty swing swirled without direction on the current, its chains creaking with rust and age. Remus shifted uncomfortably as the wind played with his hair, throwing it fortuitously about his face.

Remus stopped trying to tame his wildly flying hair as a low, rumbling growl emanated from behind him. The boy whirled around, only to find himself face to face with a giant wolf. Its panting breath was blown into Remus' face. It smelt like death and decay and a mer whiff of the nauseous gas made Remus sick to the very pit of his stomach. The wolf's shaggy gray mane was not kept, tangled with leaves and twigs and matted together in disgusting lumps.

In a flash, the wild canine erupted with fury and was upon young Remus, easily holding down the panicked child. Its razor-sharp claws scratched the boys legs and arms as he squirmed helplessly and hopelessly beneath this larger and stronger foe. The wolfs absurdly large canines descended upon a hysteric Remus.

The young boys terrified and pain-filled screams filled the night and strangers shivered safely in their tightly locked homes. None dared to risk their lives for heroism.

*Flashback*

"Arghhhhhhh..." Remus was pulled from the darkness of his memories as a groan erupted from the still prone form of Ginny Weasley. Her closed eyes winced at the stabbing pain emanating from her still raw bite wound.

Remus glanced around the room anxiously. Ginny had been taken to Hogwarts and was currently recuperating in the Hospital Wing. Remus had always strongly disliked the Hospital Wing. He had always thought that it was to sterile, to impersonal. White walls accented white ceilings, which were matched by white sheets covering stainless steel furniture. Antiseptic potions gave the air a tangible rank and medical smell. It made Remus sick. He had always hated hospitals. They reminded him to much that not all diseases had a cure...

The room that usually contained a busy Madame Pomfrey seemed lonely and bland without her. Dumbledore had insisted that it would be best if Remus were the one to explain what had happened to Virginia one on one with her. Of course, Remus completely hated the idea. He did not want to be the one to tell her that her life had practically ended that night. Remus also had absolutely no experience in dealing with hysterical teenage girls.

Not surprisingly, Remus had not been the only one to disagree with Dumbledore's chosen plan of action. Arthur and Molly had been quite adamant that they wanted to be at their daughter's side when the news was broken to her. That is, if they didn't tell her themselves. The Weasley parents wanted their youngest and only daughter to be aware that she had their complete love and support no matter what.

But Dumbledore had been equally adamant. He insisted that Ginny needed to be able to relate to someone, that she needed someone who utterly understand the new experiences she was experiencing. He explained that she would need time to adjust before having the will to face two of the most important people in her life, her parents.

Remus could find absolutely no reason to contradict and deny the old man's knowledge and wisdom. For that he irrationally resented the aged headmaster.

"Well, it's now or never, old chap," Remus muttered to himself as Virginia Weasley's eyes began to flutter open as she regained consciousness.

"Eurghhhhhhhh..." a second groan erupted from the, now not so human, girl on the bed, "Wha... What happened?" The choked words pushed from the dried out and dehydrated mouth terrified Remus. The time had come.

"Ms. Weasley," he began uncertainly, "do you remember me?" This was proving to be more difficult than Remus could ever have imagined in his most frightening dreams. Ginny looked at him carefully for several seconds before recognition dawned in her beautiful blue orbs.

"Professor Lupin?" she inquired softly. Remus simply nodded in response. He hadn't been sure if she would remember him, he had taught in her second year and she was soon to start her sixth.

"Good." Remus replied after a second of hesitation, "What do you remember about the attack?" The question was drawn out slowly, as if the man saying it was testing each word as it rolled of his tongue. Remus was purposefully keeping his voice soft and non-intimidating.

"I... I was in the woods, walking, during Harry's party," Ginny's brow furrowed in confusion as she sorted through her brain. "then... A Wolf! It attacked me! Oh my God! How am I still alive?!"

"Yes..." Remus confirmed her memories. At least she didn't forget, that would have made things much more difficult. "But, Ms. Weasley... Ginny, that wasn't a normal wolf, it was a werewolf. Like me... and I hate having to be the one to tell you this... but like you too." Remus finished his explanation. He then proceeded to wait for Ginny's reaction carefully with sorrow filled hazel eyes.

"Wh... Wha... What?" she finally spit out shakily, "Oh! Yeah... Ha Ha Ha. Yeah, some joke. Real funny." Ginny looked very shaken as she claimed to her joke theory. She began muttering about Fred and George's twisted sense of humor and having the both of them institutionalized.

"I'm sorry..." Remus stuttered uneasily, looking Ginny straight in her eyes. Hazel met blue. Then, a split second later, Virginia Amelie Weasley's world came crashing down around her feet. Remus realized later, in a moment of introspection, that she had probably seen it in his eyes, the truth, the pain, the utter helplessness. However, at the time, Remus was rather occupied with the teen hysterically crying on the bed.

Letting his instincts guide his actions, Remus sat on the bed and pulled Ginny to him. He cradled her as he would a baby and she clung to like he was her lifeline as she continued to cry uncontrollably into his chest, soaking the material of his already shabby robes. Remus simply held the girl and rocked them both back and forth in a soothing manner as they grieved lost and tattered lives.

He had no idea how many hours passed like this, but eventually the sobs diminished to light hiccuping. Remus easily made out the muffled words that followed the lull as they vibrated of his chest.

"Wh... What happens n... now?' The question was depicted in a way that indicated that the speaker had been drained totally of all energy. Ginny sounded so much like a child at that moment, lost and confused.

"Now... Now you live, you heal, you cope," Remus told her quietly, strength hidden behind the unassuming and simple words. "We will get through this, together."

They fell asleep soon after and never once changed their position. Remus had his arms wrapped around Ginny, holding her close, Ginny had her head buried in Remus' chest. The simple presence of one comforted the other.

Thus two lonely souls were brought together in one of the many melodramatic twist of fate that life includes. What is to come, is up to them, but whatever the choices they make upon their journey, nothing will ever be the same again...