RP: A Dinner Engagement

[shh_remus]

Date: 16 February 2005
Character(s): Remus, Ginny, Gilen
Location: Observatory Hill
Status: Private
Summary: Remus takes Ginny up on the invitation for dinner.
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[shh_remus]

Gilen held on, wrapping his arms around Ginny's neck. "Ja." He said, nodding and letting his head rest on Ginny's shoulder, the packet of gummis clutched in his hand.

Remus chuckled, looking like a proud father as Gilen took to Ginny. He was glad to see that he wasn't the shy boy he had met in Freiburg and was truly beginning to come into his own. Perhaps he'd start bringing him to the school and start his education. Maybe.

He set the bottle on the table, pulling down two glasses. A flick of his wand popped the cork, and Remus poured two glasses of Pinot Grigio. "I hope you don't mind white. I've grown away from reds." He handed her a glass, clinking his against hers. "And we're both looking forward to whatever you cook, mucking up or no. We're just glad to be out."

Taking one of the open seats, Remus sipped his wine thoughtfully. "Honestly, not too much."

"Walking!" Gilen said, nodding. "Lotsa und lotsa walking."

Remus chuckled. "Yes, walking. Gilen's been accompanying me while I've been exploring Stoatshead. We're still trying to find where the Muggle school was... with no luck."

[shh_ginny]

Taking a sip of the wine, Ginny hummed appreciatively. "You are an angel. I adore whites."

"So, are you a wizard, Gilen?" Pulling the chair beside her closer, she lifted Gilen over to it with a tickle and flicked her wand toward the kitchen, dropping the status charm and floating their plates to the table. "I'm lucky, there is a great butcher close to the Academy and he gave me a few tips. Bless him, too, because he was so patient with me."

Ginny tilted her head, curious. "Walking, eh? To find the old school? Remus... I've lived in this town all my life and I can't remember ever seeing a big school out here. It's entirely possible it was destroyed. So, does this school hunting mean you'll be pulling on the professor robes again?"

[shh_remus]

Swishing the wine about in his mouth, Remus was pleased with his selection. Sweet without being overly sweet. "I'm glad," Remus replied, not really wanting to go into why he didn't like reds.

Gilen giggled, climbing from Ginny's lap and into his chair. "Am Wizard?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. "I not sure. I remember dad use stick," he pointed to Ginny's wand. "But I never try."

It was more than Remus had ever heard from Gilen. Perhaps... they were due for a visit to Ollivander.

"Minerva seems convinced there is one, but I'm not so sure anymore. All that's left is checking out the extreme north of the town. That's for this weekend." A slight flush came to Remus's cheek as he nodded. "I am pulling them on once more. I'll be going back to Defence first of all, as I enjoy it much more than Charms." The blush deepened a bit, Remus's voice growing softer. "Actually, there's a bit more. You're... well, you're looking at the new Deputy Headmaster."

[shh_ginny]

She glanced from the little boy to Remus, registering the flash of surprise when Gilen spoke of sticks. Licking her lips absently, Ginny took a sip of her wine. "Perhaps you will find out soon, yes?"

"Headmistress was never one to be easily swayed, Remus. If she thinks there's one out there, I'm sure she's right. Besides, it's good exercise and you get to see more of the town." She nodded discretely to the little werewolf. "It's good bonding time."

"Deputy Headmaster! That's brilliant, Remus! You deserve that, of course. Long overdue if you ask me and Defense, too! Really brilliant. You were one of my best teachers. The kids are lucky to have you, honestly." Ginny exclaimed in surprise. "Will it be a... mixed school then? Muggle and magic?"

[shh_remus]

Remus nodded, wondering if calling a wand a 'stick' was the closest translation he could come up with. He was gathering that Gilen was rather intelligent, it was merely the language barrier that was holding him back.

"It is good bonding time," Remus said with a fond smile. "Though, I have to admit, he took right to me from the very first." The smile became a bit sheepish. "Which is a good thing because I took to him rather quickly too."

The flush deepened as Remus found himself nodding. "Well, I'm glad to be back to teaching for certain. And it always is nice to hear you all enjoyed my teaching. Trust me, I'd have been around longer if I could have." Remus leaned back in his chair. "Minerva and I haven't really discussed that far yet. I think we're looking primarily at Magical at the present. The majority of the children around are, we believe, Wizarding folk. Besides, it's been so long, I don't even know if I'd be able to know where to begin where a Muggle primary school was concerned."

[shh_ginny]

"Well, I can't fault him for taking to you so easily, I know I did." Ginny laughed warmly, reaching across the table to pat his hand affectionately. "You really shouldn't be so surprised, Remus."

Leaning over, she helped Gilen cut his meat into manageable bite sizes, giving him a conspiratorial wink as she did. Sitting back, Ginny chuckled. "Old habits die hard. I did too many stints babysitting I guess. I'm sure he knows just how devastatingly adorable he is."

"They never did find the Sorting Hat, did they?" Ginny asked softly, remembering the odd, magical device with some degree of fondness and regret, her memories of the Chamber of Secrets always twined with the hat.

"I suppose Ollivander will be able to help with determining who actually is magical but the age thing is so tricky. I know I was a late bloomer and I imagine my folks were probably concerned about that but I turned out alright... Well, mostly." She laughed but sobered. "I'm just rambling, I'm sure you and the Headmistress have all this stuff figured out."

[shh_remus]

Remus was content, watching Ginny dote on Gilen. It was things like this that convinced Remus he was doing the right thing in adopting Gilen. Yes, he wanted to take care of the boy, but at the end of the day, he was a middle-aged, gay wizard. There were times he wasn't sure he was completely cut out for this. But seeing the look on Gilen's face made it all worth it.

"Well, you've just volunteered yourself for babysitting," Remus teased, brandishing his knife playfully at Ginny. "I do believe he will quite enjoy spending time with you, provided you don't mind of course," he said with a wink.

Remus chewed his food thoughtfully, at last shaking his head. "No, it hasn't been found. To be honest, I don't know what survived the wreckage and what has been lost to us forever. There are times I wonder if the Hat, in the end, was part of the problem."

"To be honest, Minerva and I haven't figured that out yet," he said softly. "I'm sure Ollivander may have to be employed in the beginning to tell us who has wands, but that won't account for Muggle Borns yet." Remus sighed. "While it hasn't been figured out, I'm confident things will fall into place. They usually tend to do and the more one worries, the harder it is for those things to fall into place."

[shh_ginny]

"Mind? Nope, not at all. Saves me from trying to hide him under my cloak." Ginny laughed in delight. "Believe me, he won't be any trouble and I'll love having the company. I daresay he can help me with my German, ja, junger mann mein? She winked at Gilen who giggled mischievously.

"If you want, I can take the old broom out and do a once-over but I'll be honest, some of the smaller muggle schools weren't really obvious from the outside." She offered with an apologetic grimace.

Sobering Ginny glanced at the little boy before speaking. "I suppose you want to scold me for staying with Bill but honestly, I was in no danger and I took notes like he asked me to, I have them in the living room if you want to look at them after dinner."

[shh_remus]

Gilen, by this point, had dug into his dinner with relish. He attempted to reply, his words coming out an unintelligible mutter around his food. Remus gave him a look and he went back to eating (more like shoveling) and nodding where appropriate.

"I don't know if it'd help or not," Remus replied. "Something tells me that, if it hasn't been found yet, it's either non-existent or completely overgrown with weeds. If I don't find it after this coming week, I will take you up on your offer."

Remus nodded, setting his fork down. "Yes, I do want to scold you. I appreciate the notes, and yes, I do want to have a look at them following dinner. However..." Remus chided. "Anything could have happened, especially with him trying the experimental Wolfsbane. Things could have gone very wrong and I hate to think of anything happening to you, Ginny."

[shh_ginny]

Sipping her wine, Ginny looked at her friend over the rim of the glass and set it down as she said. "You're more than welcome to, Remus, but I'd do it again if he asked. He's my brother, Remus, and I'm a Healer."

"I'd hate for anything to happen to you, as well, Remus, but I trust you enough to know you wouldn't put yourself in a situation you couldn't handle." She smiled softly, conveying her affection for the older wizard to take the sting off her words.

Picking up the wine bottle, she refilled his glass and her own, setting it down again before looking up at the wizard. "I'd have done the same for you, Remus, and I daresay you'd want me to look out for Gilen as well."

[shh_remus]

Somehow, Remus felt as if he'd been chastised. Perhaps it was because he just had been. Rather than replying immediately, Remus reached for his wine, swallowing his meat with a gulp of wine.

"I know you are and I know he is," Remus said softly. He ran out of things to say. How could he explain how temperamental they could be? How things could be fine one moment then in a horrible situation the next?

The smile took away some, but not all of the sting. All Remus could do was shake his head. "I know what you're trying to say, and no I would never put you or anyone in that situation. Or a situation I couldn't handle. But accidents happen." Remus closed his eyes, breathing deeply. His biggest fear was to turn someone. Anyone.

"I don't know how to explain this Ginny. I'm glad you were there for Bill and I appreciate the sentiment as well. But at the same time, I don't know if I can impress upon you how dangerous what you did was. In the blink of an eye, things can go terribly wrong."

[shh_ginny]

"The cellar door is enchanted, Remus. He couldn't have broken through it even if he tried and trust me, he tried." She gave a little shiver at the memory. "And my wand was in my hand the entire time."

"I'm his sister, Remus... that doesn't make me overlook reality." Ginny reached across the table and gave his hand a squeeze, winking with a feigned mischievous smirk. "I'd never be incautious. Merlin knows, I'd never give you a reason to say 'I told you so'.

Ginny took another sip of her wine, looking down at the little boy beside her. "We've known each other a long time, Remus, and I'll always respect your counsel but I need you to understand... I know all about how terribly wrong things can go."

"I know you look at me and see that little girl in Hogwarts, desperately wanting approval but that girl is long de... long gone." She glanced back up to her friend. "I'll show you the notes after Gilen is done with dinner. I have a toy that he might enjoy playing with."

[shh_remus]

Remus sighed, knowing he wasn't going to convince Ginny otherwise. Later, perhaps, when they weren't sharing a nice dinner and Gilen wasn't at the table with them, he'd make a more passionate case. Enchanted doors and spells and wands were one thing, but Remus wondered if Ginny truly knew the full strength of a werewolf, even one in Bill's strange condition.

"I never want to find ourselves in the position of 'I told you so'," Remus agreed, swallowing the last of his wine. "I simply have to impress upon you how unpredictable werewolves can be. That is all." Perhaps one day Remus would show her his own scars.

"It is true," Remus said softly, "I do see you as that. But there are times I still see Harry in the same light." He sighed, wiping his mouth with his serviette. "I'd appreciate seeing the notes."

"Toy?" Gilen asked, pushing his plate away. "I done." He nodded, looking back and forth between Remus and Ginny.

"I suppose that means he's done," Remus said with a chuckle. "Lead on. Notes for me and a toy for him."

[shh_ginny]

"Yes, a toy, sweetheart." Ginny ruffled Gilen's hair affectionately. Pushing back from the table, she took the little boy's outstretched hand and chuckled, leading them both into the living room. Gesturing to the two leather chairs by the fireplace, she said. "I'm just going to bring the toy out for Gilen. I guarantee it will keep him enchanted and we can chat."

Opening her bottom desk drawer, she felt a soft pang of sadness as she drew out the small, wood-carved kitten and put it on the floor. "This is magic, Gilen. Think of kitty and it will play."

Crouching beside the little boy, she pointed at the toy and filled her heart with the happiness she felt in the company of her dearest friend and his little boy and the toy began to move, slowly at first and then lifting a wooden paw to Gilen and cocking it's head to the side. Slipping away from the little boy was easy then and Ginny grabbed her notes from the desk, moving to the chair opposite from Remus.

"It was a... gift. I think he will enjoy it." Ginny tried to keep her tone level, handing Remus her notebook before her gaze turned to the flickering flames. "I would never want you to be in a position where you would think 'I told you so, Remus'. I will keep what you said in mind. I know that he's not my brother when the moon rises and it's something I have to accept."

[shh_remus]

Remus watched, entranced as Gilen played with the small cat. The fact that Gilen was able to work with it so easily and quickly began to put one worry of his to rest. He most likely was a Wizard and not a Squib. Well, in any case, they'd know in a little under a month.

He pulled his attention away from Gilen, content that he'd be occupied for a while. Remus sat, taking the offered notebook when Ginny handed it to him. He carefully paged through, wincing at a few key spots. Remus simply couldn't help it. And at times was ready to say 'I told you so' to Ginny.

"He is far from your brother," Remus said softly, committing some of the notes to memory. "Until we can find a derivative of Wolfsbane that even has a chance from working, he's as feral as any wolf, only without the fur, claws and teeth. Though, I have a feeling that's only a mere technicality as of late." He set the book in his lap, looking at Ginny evenly. "I am concerned. For you as well for him. If something were to happen while you were taking notes and your life was in danger, would you have it in you to hex first and ask questions later? The slightest of hesitation could be more dangerous than I'd even want to contemplate. I am only talking in a 'worst case' scenario. But still. It's a question that must be broached."

[shh_ginny]

While Remus read, Ginny accio'd their wine glasses and the bottle from the kitchen, setting the bottle on the floor in front of the stone hearth.

Nodding to the notebook, she gestured with her glass. "You can keep that. It's a copy I made for you. Bill has one as well."

"Look, werewolves aren't in my field of study. Not even a footnote in it to be honest, which I find deplorable since it technically is an Incurable and those moronic heathens continue to label it Unspeakable. Anyway, I'm only familiar with the layman's basics of Wolfsbane but judging from his reaction to that potion... Merlin, Remus... something back-fired in a big way."

"Hex, yes. Curse, no. I won't lie, Remus. I adore Bill more than you could possibly know and I'd be completely lost if anything happened to him but I'd protect myself if I had to." Ginny sighed softly, the conflict easily read upon her face. "I admit, it would hurt me to cause him pain but I'm a realist, Remus. I can't help him if I'm dead and frankly, I fear what he would do to himself if he hurt me."