Chapter Three – The Idea

For whatever reason, Ginny always seemed to have her most brilliant ideas when she was sleeping. She figured her subconscious must have recognised her as having a problem and went to work on solving it while most of her other functions had powered down. Either way, when she sat upright in her bed the following morning it was like a lightbulb appeared over the top of her head and she knew what she had to do.

She rushed down to breakfast and was relieved to find both her mother and father were still present, although Mr Weasley had already put the Daily Prophet down and looked like he was preparing to leave for work.

'Mum, dad, can I talk to you for a minute?' she asked short of breath, having hurtled down the stairs at an unreasonable pace.

'Of course, you can dear,' said Mrs Weasley, looking taken-aback.

Ginny hesitated.

She wasn't quite sure how much to tell them, after all her conversation with Lupin about his job interview, and his lack of success in said interview, had been in confidence. But after a moment, she told them about it anyway, and that it made her feel bad that the owners had not wanted a werewolf working in their store. And she went on about how no matter how many glowing recommendations Dumbledore gives out, Lupin seems to continuously be shunted from every job he applies for.

And then she went on about her guilt of borrowing Lupin's precious books without so much as a dime for him in return, and how rewarding it would be if they could pay him in some way. Then she went on to say just how good of a teacher he was, easily her best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in all her time at Hogwarts, and that maybe if he agreed to tutor her, he could have some money, so he can find his feet and look for that elusive proper job.

Even as she was saying it all and processing it in her brain, it sounded like a perfect idea. The longer she spoke, the less comfortable Mrs Weasley looked about the idea. And when she finished speaking, it appeared to take all her mother's effort not to burst out and say 'NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT!'

'Well, that's interesting,' said Mr Weasley, as his wife raised her eyebrows at him. 'What do you think, dear?'

'I think it's sweet you have Remus' best interest at heart, dear,' said Mrs Weasley truthfully, 'but I don't think it's a good idea. We can't afford to pay him—'

'Not so fast, Molly,' said Mr Weasley, put up a finger. 'I actually think that it's a good idea, and although I agree we might not be able to give him much money, we might be able to work something out.'

'I—' Mrs Weasley opened and closed her mouth several times, attempting to come up with words to describe her disagreement. 'But Arthur, if she was at Hogwarts, then we wouldn't have to pay someone to tutor her.'

'Mum,' Ginny said, narrowing her eyes at her mother, as if reminding her she was still in the room.

'How about this,' said Mr Weasley, smiling at his daughter, 'why don't you send an owl to Dumbledore with your idea and see what he says?'

Ginny felt her heart skip a beat. 'Oh, that would be great dad, can I please?' she asked hopefully.

'That's foolish, Arthur,' said Mrs Weasley. 'Dumbledore has far too much on his plate already—'

'That may be,' said Mr Weasley, 'but he did inform Ginny to feel free and send any questions she liked about her correspondence. This falls under that category does it not?'

Mrs Weasley had a hard time disproving this fact, and as soon as she relented, Ginny was racing upstairs to write to Dumbledore.

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

I know you are probably very busy, so I will keep this short. For my correspondence homework I am currently borrowing books from Remus Lupin, and during a recent trip there, it came to my attention that he is struggling to find work. He has also stated that he would buy new books for me to read out of his own pocket, which I can't let him do without something in return. I wondered if it would be OK with you if he became my full-time tutor and helped with my work and study for my NEWTs.

Mum and Dad said they will find a way to pay him. Please let me know by return owl if this would be OK and not break any rules.

Kind regards

Ginny Weasley

Ginny re-read the letter several times over before finally accepting it to be acceptable. She had to pause and tell herself that she was writing to one of the most intellectually brilliant minds of the century and she hoped it didn't make her sound like a dummy. Once satisfied, she tied the parchment to Pigwidgeon (who her brother, Ron, had kindly left for her to send and receive mail) and sent the tiny little owl on its way.

As there was no way of knowing how long it would take to get an answer, Ginny put the idea into the back of her mind and went about reading the books she had already borrowed. It was so nice that she could shove a couple into a backpack, head out the back door of her house and go for a wander in the adjoining fields to find another tree to sit under and read. She got through Historical Magical Creatures quickly, because a lot of it she knew already, but Ancient Mythological Runes had her scratching her head almost instantly.

When she had told her mother with a flat out "no" after being asked if she was returning to Hogwarts, Ginny never stopped to think how important the teachers were in getting the correct information across. It never crossed her mind in the past that all the learning she'd done so far would have been pretty much impossible without the help and support of her teachers.

The amount of times she had follow up questions with Professor McGonagall about something she didn't understand were countless. And even the moments she would dread in Potions class, when she would raise her hand to get Professor Snape to repeat an equation, she couldn't believe that was something she missed. But probably the one benefit she would miss the most and knew that even if she had gone to Hogwarts it would not have been there, was tapping Hermione Granger on the shoulder and asking if the five-hundred word essay she'd written on Troll Wars was correct.

Hermione was working full-time now. She, Harry Potter and Ginny's brother Ron were all living out of a three bedroom flat in London and were officially part of the Ministry of Magic, fixing everything that was wrong with the wizarding world. Ginny didn't see them much anymore, except for Ron now and then, who along with Fred and George would return for a decent home-cooked meal and an evening to catch up with the family.

Ginny returned to the Burrow at about mid-afternoon, she poked her head in the kitchen to find it empty and so she wandered in. She heard her mother making noise in the laundry, so she called out to inform her that she was home and raced upstairs before she could be handed out chores. In her room she began to write an essay about Dragon's, making sure to write down everything she could ever remember her brother Charlie telling her about them.

She finished up around the same time her mother called her downstairs for dinner and figured although what she had written was not perfect, she was willing to take it to Lupin's tomorrow and see what he thought. Then, if she was bold enough, at the same time, tell him about the idea and the things she had put in place already.

When Ginny knocked on the door of Lupin's lodge the next morning, she had a sense of déjà vu because nobody answered, and the wooden door seemingly slid open on its own. She nervously stepped over the threshold, peered up the hallway and found there was no sign of him yet again.

'Remus?' she called out, her voice reverberated off the walls but there was no answer.

She pondered entering again without permission for all of two seconds, before closing the door and heading along the hallway. The kitchen was empty, as was the study area and the library when she went in there. Ginny placed the magical creature's book, and the essay she had finished on Lupin' desk and promptly raided the bookshelf.

'Ever heard of knocking?' said a voice a minute later, making her jump.

Ginny yelped and looked around. Lupin stood smiling with a grin and holding a tray with a couple of empty plates.

'Remus!' Ginny said, clutching her chest. 'You scared me!'

'Sorry to scare you in my own house,' Lupin said, beaming at her.

'I'm sorry,' Ginny said automatically, 'but, I could have hexed you!'

'And I you.'

'I'm sorry but the door was open and—'

'I'd have done the same,' he said, noticing the book she'd left on his desk. 'So, you've finished one already?'

'Yes, and thank you for lending it to me,' she said, trying to remain courteous. 'I brought the essay I wrote on it too, and… well this might be asking too much, but I was wondering if you could look at it for me?'

'Me?' Lupin asked, placing the tray on the table. 'Really?'

'Remus, who was that tray for?' Ginny asked, becoming slightly distracted.

'Huh?' Lupin looked back down at it. 'Oh— it's for me. You know, breakfast in bed. Thought I'd try something new.'

Ginny pursed her lips but said nothing.

'Why do you want me to look at this?' Lupin asked, picking up the essay and flipping through it.

'I thought you could give me some feedback,' said Ginny, biting her lip and treading carefully. 'I'd appreciate any help you can offer.'

Lupin looked at her funny before sitting down in the leather chair and beginning to read. Ginny wondered when to bring up the fact that she'd all but applied for a job for him on his behalf, but the moment didn't feel right.

Lupin was immediately very generous with his time in scanning over her essay and giving her some words of wisdom and things to change. She was so taken-aback by his input, that when he offered a cup of tea, she accepted automatically.

'Coming right up,' said Lupin, picking up the tray from the table and moving swiftly from the room.

Ginny grabbed a book about advanced Transfiguration and followed Lupin into the kitchen. He had already made his old metal kettle hop from the shelf and fill itself with water with a swish of his wand, and before they knew it, it was whistling away and rattling against the metal on the stove top.

The two of them enjoyed their tea with some biscuits and talked about some trivial things like the weather and family. Lupin asked what subjects Ginny was most interested in, what she hoped to do the best in and what she wanted to do when she finished her NEWTs. It was like Lupin was already her tutor and was finding out for himself how to approach teaching her and guiding her through her subjects.

She decided against telling him that her main passion was Quidditch, and instead focused on her love of Charm casting, describing the enjoyment she had of perfecting certain hexes and spells. Lupin seemed interested in what she had to say and offered to make a list of his books that would be best suited for such a passion.

Ginny didn't know what to say to that. Feeling guilty that she was taking up too much of his time, Ginny told him not to go out of his way for her and the promptly made the excuse that she ought to be getting home for lunch. He escorted her down the hall, handed over her essay that had now been covered with notes and comments and waved after her as she went on her way.

When Ginny got home, her mother was busying herself in the kitchen like always and turned to greet her.

'Ginny, dear, this came for you while you were out,' said Mrs Weasley, grabbing a brown envelope from the kitchen table and handing it to her daughter.

Ginny knew a Hogwarts letter when she saw one.

'Thanks!' she said, ripping it open. 'This'll be from Dumbledore.'

Her mother read it with her over her shoulder.

Dear Miss Weasley,

It sounds like a wonderful idea. It is with indescribable joy that I give Remus John Lupin my full permission to be your tutor whilst you study at Hogwarts by correspondence for your NEWTs.

It is also my pleasure to inform you that under such circumstances, school rules permit the governors of Hogwarts to pay wages for any teacher teaching an enrolled student, even when outside of school grounds. Therefore, you parents need not worry about money.

Please send Remus my regards and inform him that a letter will be sent at a later date to arrange payments. He should also know how fortunate he is to have a caring person like yourself looking out for him. I hope, in time, he will come to know that.

Yours sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

'Oh my,' said Mrs Weasley, after reading through the letter with her daughter

'Admit it,' Ginny said, putting the letter down, 'you didn't think he would allow it, did you?'

'I wasn't sure, dear,' said Mrs Weasley, picking up the letter to read it through again. 'I suppose it's official now.'

'He'll be a great help for me mum,' said Ginny, being serious to her mother. 'He already has been, look.'

She showed her mother the essay she had written and taken to him and the comments and corrections he had made whilst reading it.

'He's a great teacher and he has all the books,' Ginny said quickly, 'I hope you understand.'

'Of course,' said Mrs Weasley, nodding. 'I'm just concerned for your safety.'

'Let it go, I'll be fine,' said Ginny, rolling her eyes, 'I'm not stupid enough to visit him during a full moon or anything.'

'Well, good,' said Mrs Weasley, 'I guess that's something—'

'I am going to go tomorrow though,' said Ginny happily, twirling on the spot.

'Ginevra, no.'

Her mother always defaulted to Ginny's real name when she was trying to get something across to her daughter. It was a kind way of her saying no, without completely yelling at her. Ginny's brother would get the similar treatment, she would yell "Ronald" at him when angry, and the twins; well, they would know when they were really in trouble, because she wouldn't use their names at all, she would instead head for the utensil draw in the kitchen to get her rolling pin.

'That would be your third visit in three days,' she said cautiously, 'he needs his space, dear, you know what it's like, you have six brothers—'

'But he needs to know about this mum,' said Ginny, indicating the letter on the table. 'Anyway, beside me, I don't think he gets many visitors. There are some people who don't visit him because of what he is, but I'm not going to be that person, it doesn't matter to me that he's a…'

She trailed off and Mrs Weasley eyed her.

'We're going to finish this conversation with your father present,' said Mrs Weasley, and as if her word was final, she walked off to make lunch before her daughter could make her own case.