Silver Chain Chapter Nine
The Silver Chain: Chapter 9
Found Out
Ginny took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the Burrow. She was meeting with Tonks, Hermione and her mother to help prepare for Tonks’ and Charlie’s wedding. Ginny and Hermione were acting as bridesmaids, so there were dresses to try on for one last fitting, paper doves to enchant, a seating plan to finalise, and myriad of other things that required a group of females to chatter over. Ginny was looking forward to spending time with them, she really enjoyed Tonks’ and Hermione’s company, but they both knew. And their husbands-to-be, her brothers Charlie and Ron, would likely be there and likely knew as well. Ginny steeled her nerves and walked into the house.
“Ginny!” her mother exclaimed from the kitchen. “We’re all in here, honey!”
Ginny plastered what she hoped was an excited smile to her face and walked into the kitchen. Hermione and Tonks sat at the table, poring over pictures of potential centrepieces while her mother stood at the stove, enchanting several pots and pans to work on lunch.
“Where are Ron and Charlie?” asked Ginny with more than a little trepidation.
“We left them at home,” said Hermione, giving Ginny a significant look. “Tonks and I thought this would be better if this was a girls-only day.”
“I’m going to need a cup of tea, aren’t I?” sighed Ginny.
Tonks shrugged. “Whatever you think will help.”
Molly had already taken a steaming kettle off the stove and was preparing Ginny’s tea. She handed her daughter the mug, gave one last look at the food cooking on the stove, and took a seat at the table. “All right, girls, I’ve sent Arthur off on a day’s worth of errands and Ginny has her tea. What’s going on?”
Tonks set aside the books she’d been looking at and Hermione picked up her own mug of tea and sipped quietly. They both stared Ginny down as she sat at the opposite end of the table. “This is rather underhanded of you two,” she said, glaring at her sisters-in-law to be.
“It’s not entirely their fault,” said Molly, surprising Ginny. “I asked Hermione if she knew what was going on between you and Remus and she wouldn’t tell me. When I asked Tonks, she wrung her hands and told me I should ask you. Which, I would have thought that I wouldn’t have to ask. I would have thought that you’d have told me about him by now. After all, I get the sense that this has been going on for a while now.”
The other two had the grace to look sympathetic as Ginny squirmed in her chair. “What made you realise something was going on?” she asked, stalling.
“Ginny,” sighed Molly, exasperated. “Let’s set aside for a moment how well I know you. I’ve known Remus for a long time and throughout the war I had ample opportunity to get to know him as a person. He’s a werewolf, but you’d never suspect it as mild mannered as he usually is. He doesn’t give into that side of himself. Except when you’re around. Add to that, you always seem to disappear around the time of the full moon.” Molly paused and gave Ginny a searching, concerned look. “He hasn’t bitten you, has he?”
“No!” exclaimed Ginny. “No, he hasn’t.”
Molly let out a relieved sigh. “I was afraid that he had, and that was why you hadn’t told me anything,” she whispered.
“Oh, Mum!” cried Ginny and she got up and went to her mother. “I’m sorry, Mum. He’s... he’s chained up when he transforms. I just… I sit with him sometimes. I like to be there for him when it’s over.”
“You’ve seen him?” gasped Tonks. “How? He never…”
Ginny shrugged. “It was an accident the first time, but as angry as he was, I think he liked having me there to help him in the morning.”
“I’m sorry,” murmured Tonks. “It’s just Remus is a very private man. I don’t think he’s let anyone that close to him since Sirius died. He certainly never let me anywhere near him and I got very fed up with not being able to know all of him. We broke up when I tried to force the issue by showing up on the day of the full moon. He got very angry and I realised that he was never going to share that side of himself with me.”
Ginny shuddered. “Yeah, he can be very frightening when he’s angry, and he really doesn’t like being watched.”
They were all silent for a while. Tonks fiddled with her hands, Hermione sipped her tea and Molly just stared off into space. Ginny felt like she was shrinking smaller and smaller. She was in deep with Remus and it was a lot for her mother to handle all at once. Ginny wondered if the fact that Remus was so much older than her had even really crossed her mother’s mind yet. She seemed to still be dealing with the ramifications of her daughter being involved with a werewolf. Ginny had had to deal with Remus’ demons in such a close and personal way that she didn’t really think about the effect that it had on her. She knew being bitten was a possibility, perhaps even an eventuality, but it wasn’t something she dwelled upon. The wolf was a part of Remus, it defined him and she loved him.
“How on earth did you even end up in bed together?” asked Hermione, breaking the heavy silence. She blushed when she realised what she’d said. “I mean,” she continued, “he just doesn’t seem the sort to prey on a former student.”
Ginny snorted in amusement at Hermione’s blunt words and her friend shook her head and turned a deeper shade of red. “Never mind,” she mumbled. “I can’t seem to-”
“No, Hermione,” interrupted Ginny. “A bit, um, straightforward, but I suppose it’s a fair question.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her mother and Tonks were doing their best to look disinterested, but she supposed it was only natural that they’d want to know. After all, Remus really wasn’t the sort to engage in a meaningless fling with a girl half his age. Except, he was. He’d been at the Rusty Groats that evening and had even hired a room.
“One of the girls at work had heard of this pub out in Yorkshire. I’d just finished arguing with Dad about moving out on my own again and the weekend before, Bill had showed up at the Leaky Cauldron where I’d been having a drink with a couple of wizards from the office. I was still fuming from the spectacle he’d made of me. When Emily started talking about giving the pub a visit, it sounded like a good idea. I was looking forward to spending the evening away from my meddlesome brothers at a dive they certainly would never approve of. I’d intended to get a little tipsy, flirt with a couple of dangerous looking warlocks and come home. I didn’t expect to recognise one of those warlocks.”
“So, that’s where you were.” Her mother had a knowing look on her face and was obviously putting all of the pieces together. “You looked like a pixie who’d been dragged through bogslime when you staggered home the next day. How much had you had to drink?”
Ginny gave a mirthless laugh. “I don’t remember, really. I drank the first one too quickly and Remus warned me to be careful. I think once he’d realised one of the witches who’d crashed the place was me, he decided to sit at his corner table and watch over me. He didn’t tell me off, I guess he figured I had a right to a little hell-raising, but he kept an eye on me. Emily and Dana were drinking more heavily than me and were laying it on pretty thick with the bartender. If Remus hadn’t been there, I probably would have left. Instead, I took my drink and went over and sat at his table. I’ll, um, spare you the gory details after that, shall I?”
“I don’t know,” said Molly with a mischievous glint in her eye. “I’ve always wondered what a werewolf would be like between the sheets.”
“Mum!” shrieked Ginny, mortified. Tonks blushed furiously and Hermione choked on her tea.
The humour quickly faded from Molly’s face and was replaced with a very serious look. “I really don’t know what to say about this, Ginny. I mean, if you and Remus had just been together that one time and chalked it up to the alcohol, that’d be one thing. You’re right, I really don’t want to hear about your cavorting about on the countryside. But, it’s more than that. You two have been sneaking around for close to a year. I really want to overlook all of the reasons why you two should have kept your hands off of each other but if you can’t be open and honest with your friends and family… If you have to sneak around… Maybe this isn’t right. It isn’t right for a man to start a sexual relationship with a girl half his age who also happens to be one of his former students.”
“I think I started it,” offered Ginny softly.
Molly’s voice was low and steady. “But, he didn’t have to finish it. He’s an adult. He’s more than old enough to know better, and your father and I trusted him. We trusted him with our children on several occasions. To find out that he’s been sneaking around with our daughter for the better part of a year? It’s unbearable, Ginny, I feel betrayed.”
Ginny felt shame course through her veins like ice. She shivered as tears began to stream down her face. Her body was soon wracked with sobs. She’d been so afraid what her family would say that she’d been blind to how much she was hurting them by keeping them out of her life. “I’m sorry, Mum. I’m so sorry.”
~ : ~ : ~
Remus knocked on Ginny’s door. He hadn’t seen her in over a week as he’d been working undercover in his job as a Muggle policeman. There hadn’t been any wizards involved this time, but Remus had already discovered that there was plenty of evil in the world to go around; Voldemort had not cornered the market on it. He’d spent the better part of the afternoon and evening at St. Mungo’s after having been shot several time with a Muggle gun. His fellow officers thought he was in intensive care at a London hospital. In order to maintain the illusion of being non-magical, Remus suddenly found himself on an extended vacation.
Ginny answered the door before too long and waved him in. He mumbled a “thank-you” as he crossed the threshold into her home. With a certain familiarity that came from repeated visits, he slung his jacket up on the coat tree, kicked off his shoes and followed her into the kitchen. She pulled out a mug and poured him cider from the jug without asking. The drink was slightly sweet, slightly alcoholic and very refreshing. He drank deeply and sighed in appreciation. “Thanks.”
She meandered back into the living room while he foraged around her kitchen for the makings of a sandwich. He found a perfectly rare roast beef in the fridge and some of the rye bread he liked. A peek around the corner showed her ensconced in her armchair with a novel. Remus joined her a moment later, his sandwich already half-eaten. Ginny grinned as he sprawled out on her settee with his feet up on the armrest.
“Your mum invited me to Sunday dinner,” he began without preamble.
She set her book aside. “Will you be coming?”
“I told her I would; it’s been more than a month since I’ve been out to the Burrow and she worries.”
“She knows, Remus.”
Remus wolfed down the last bite of the sandwich and gulped down his cider. “Yeah, I got that sense from my conversation with her. I didn’t press the issue, though. I’m just not sure exactly what it is I’m supposed to say to your parents, Ginny.”
“I don’t know either, Remus,” she whispered sadly. “Mum feels betrayed. She and Dad won’t say anything because I’m an adult, but we really hurt them by not being honest about this.”
Remus let his head fall back and he let out a heartfelt sigh. “I know, Ginny. Your parents are very dear friends and I’ve wronged them in this. It’s just that… I don’t think we’ve ever figured out what exactly this is.”
“I just wanted a life of my own, Remus.”
He raised his head and smiled at her. “I know. All you ever wanted was that little taste of rebellion - the excitement of doing something on your own. And all I wanted was a few moments of comfort. That’s all we wanted.”
“Then how did this all become so complicated?”
“You saw more than just the man. From that very first night, you tempted the wolf, drew him out.”
“I was in the mood for a little danger that night, Remus.”
He felt himself harden at the memory of their first night together. “Well, you certainly got it.”
“I don’t want to stop seeing you. I’m ashamed for sneaking around and hurting my family in the process, but I don’t feel any shame for what goes on between us.”
He lay silent for a moment. If he walked away from her now, it would send out the message that what they were doing was indeed wrong. If leaving her was the right thing to do, he wouldn’t hesitate, even if it meant saying to Molly and Arthur that he had used their daughter in a most depraved and despicable manner. But, Remus didn’t feel any shame over what he’d shared with Ginny. He didn’t know where they could possibly end up, but he intended to see this through.
“I think we should go to your parents together, on Sunday. Hold our heads up high and suffer the consequences.”
“You would do that?” she whispered. “You would stand with me in front of my family?”
Rising from the settee, Remus walked over to her chair. “Ginny, I’m beginning to think I would stand in front of a herd of raging Hippogriffs for you.” With that he lifted her up out of the chair and carried her up to bed.
~ : ~ : ~
Remus awoke suddenly and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He glanced at the clock. It was only eleven. Not horribly late, but still, he didn’t think Ginny got many visitors besides himself at this hour. She moaned in her sleep as he disentangled himself from her and slipped out of bed. She rolled over and continued to snore softly as he pulled on his button fly jeans which lay on the floor. He didn’t bother to fasten them, or to pull on any other clothing as he crept from the room.
He padded lightly down the stairs and sniffed the air. The intruder was male and he’d already entered the house. Remus stole silently down the hall, his wand at the ready, and turned the corner into the kitchen. “Bloody, fucking, hell,” he groaned.
Bill Weasley spun around and dropped the pen he’d been using to leave a note. “Remus!”
He kept his wand up. He’d had the slight advantage of surprise, but it wasn’t going to take Bill long to take in his state of undress and realise what was going on.
“Where’s Ginny?” Bill asked in a deadly soft voice. Yup, not long at all.
“Upstairs, asleep. What are you doing sneaking around her kitchen at this time of night?” he asked, neatly turning the tables on Ginny’s eldest brother.
“I was leaving her a note. She left the light on. I thought she might’ve still been awake.” Bill glared at him and went back on the offensive. “Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t kill you now.”
“Because I’d hate you for it.” Bill took his eyes off of Remus, startled by Ginny’s sudden appearance in the doorway.
Remus shook his head. He’d been surprised by Ginny as well, but long experience had him keeping his wand ready and his focus on the other man. The Weasley whelp should have known better. “Expelliarmus,” he said almost lazily and raised his hand to easily catch Bill’s wand.
“No need for all that, Ginny,” he said, advancing on Bill. “Your brother was just leaving.”
“You bastard!” growled Bill. “Wand or no, if you think I’m going to let you touch my sister-”
Remus barked out a laugh, interrupting him. “Weasley, you’re a bit late on that, mate.” He followed Bill’s angry gaze over to Ginny’s shoulder, which was revealed by her sleeveless sleeping robe.
Bill collapsed against the counter and moaned in despair, “Ginny! No!”
Ginny crossed the room, furiously snatching Bill’s wand from Remus’ hand on her way. “I ought to hex you into next week for that,” she muttered angrily and Remus grinned wolfishly. She set the wand on the counter and took a hold of Bill’s face. “It’s just a mark, Bill, like the scratches on your face. I’m not a werewolf.”
“But you’re with him,” Bill ground out, glaring at Remus.
“That’s right, I am, and one of these days he may bite me, but he hasn’t yet. I am intimately acquainted with the danger and I accept it.”
Remus lowered his wand and ran his free hand through his hair. He desperately wanted to pull Ginny close and never let go. She never ceased to amaze him with her ability to speak of his lycanthropy in such simple and unassuming terms. She truly accepted him, nothing held back, as the werewolf that he was.
“Go on, Bill,” he sighed. “We’ll be at the Burrow on Sunday. You and your brothers can gang up on me then and see if you fare a little better with help.”
Bill’s eyes hardened at the insult, but he didn’t respond to it. “Ginny?”
“Sunday, Bill. It’s almost midnight. You should be home with your wife and son.”
Chapter 8: Tonks' Discovery
Chapter 10: Dishonourable Intentions
Index