Acquainted with the Night

Acquainted with the Night

Chapter 3

As the sunset and the half moon rose in the clear sky, there would be little going on if you looked over the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There was no movement, and to the casual observer, there was no life. However, if you were to pay close attention to a specific rock beside the lake, you would eventually be able to distinguish the form of a man.

A man who was not always a man, who was busy brooding over a girl who would not always be a girl. And by that I mean, Remus Lupin was in quiet contemplation about the well being of Ginny Weasley.

Most men, when faced with the coldness he was faced everyday, would give up on humanity. Remus Lupin was not, as you may have guessed, most men. A jewel among men who had always, despite the circumstances, retained an unending resource of faith in everyone he met.

Suffice to say, many referred to him as a bleeding heart. When Remus Lupin decides to help someone, he will help him or her. Say what you will about him, but he is determined. This determination is advantageous in many ways, and in other ways it is the opposite.

That, coincidentally, was the reason for his current state of meditation. The determination that was instilled into his being made it very hard for him to deal with defeat. Remus Lupin feared that he had been defeated in his quest to help Ginny Weasley deal with her new condition.

No matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried, she refused to accept the new part of her existence. It was understandable, but frustrating. That, of course, explained the sadness the man was feeling at the moment. The anger was a whole different story.

Remus Lupin was not angry with Ginny Weasley. Even the thought of being so disgusted him. Who he was angry with was he. The frustration that had been building inside of himself at his inability to save the girl had culminated. He had exploded at her, raising her voice, accusing her. That was the reason for his anger.

Of course, what Remus Lupin didn't know of was the spark his outburst had awoken in the very girl he was trying so hard to help. Ever since he had parted, Ginny Weasley had sat in a similar silence of deliberation in her rooms.

The youngest Weasley had taken what he had said out of frustration to heart. The words he was angry at himself for saying were actually being more helpful than anything else he had already done. For the first time since the incident, she had actually listened to someone.

By listening, I don't mean conversation, lectures, and stuttered wishes for her to get well soon. I'm talking about the kind of listening that you take inside yourself, that you believe and think about.

The gears of her brain had been turning for hours, going through memories, possibilities, hopes and dreams. Throughout this self-evaluation she had realized what Remus Lupin had been trying to tell her all along.

She wasn't alone. What she did affected others. There was still a world that was moving, despite the aching hollowness she felt inside herself. Of course, the hollowness was still there. She liked to believe, however, that a small piece of it had been filled. Maybe, just maybe, it would be all filled up eventually.

For the first time in a long while, Ginny Weasley actually wanted something. She wanted to find Remus Lupin and thank him. To tell him that she understood. All of a sudden there were so many things that she needed to know. Of course, there was only one way to do what she wanted to do.

Therein lied the problem she was currently debating. Because, despite her new revelations, Ginny Weasley's psyche was still amazingly fragile. To leave the room would be to go back out there, where bad things could happen. You see, good things may not have happened in that room, but neither did bad things.

It was with frazzled nerves and shaking limbs that the red-haired werewolf slowly descended the stairs. The usually short trip was lengthened with her overwhelming fear and slight paranoia.

As a trip, that was both overwhelmingly long and crushingly short, came close to its end, Ginny found herself on the steps leading to the grounds. The darkness of night around her was real, as was the half moon that shone light on her, causing her to shiver, despite the warm temperature.

The fear was choking her, as she saw the trees of the Forbidden Forest. But, to her, they were not the trees of the Forbidden Forest. They were the trees of memory; a memory of a clearing and of a monster, a memory or running and of pain, and a memory of helplessness.

"Ginny?" the voice seemed so far away to the 16-year-old, who was losing herself to the memory, "Ginny!"

Suddenly strong arms were around her, holding her, comforting her. A warm voice whispered soothing nothings into her ear to chase away the nightmare. Slowly, the girl came back to herself.

"I was so scared..." came the tear soaked whisper, coated with pain and vulnerability.

"I know," Remus' soothing voice comforted her, "I know but it's all right. It's over."

"I don't ever want to be that scared again," was the sobbed confession Ginny made to her fellow werewolf."

"You won't," was his gentle replay, "You won't. I won't let you. Don't worry, I'll protect you."

"I don't want to be scared. I want to be happy. I want to be able to not be afraid." She rushed out, pleading him with her eyes.

"You will be able to. You just need to keep going. I'll help you. I'll always be there for you when you need it."

Wide teary eyes looked up at him before her next words came out. "Do you promise?"

A kindly smile spread over Remus Lupin's face. He stared the girl straight in the eyes and told her quite seriously, "Promise."

That was how they stayed for a while, in each other's arms, sharing the pain they both shared with the only ones who could understand it. Though it may have never happened if it weren't for terrible circumstances, a bond had been formed between the two. A bond can mean many things, and it will be up to them what they make of it.

"What happens now?"

"Now, we live."

~