Love, Lupin

Part Eight

"What do you see El?" Professor Lupin asked as the student stood in front of the Mirror of Erised. This was a magical mirror that showed the deepest, most desperate desires of your heart. The happiest and most satisfied person in the world would gaze into the mirror and see themselves exactly as they were, for they have nothing nor no one more to yearn for.

"I'm with my mom...she- she's just sitting next to me on the couch, reading." she said as she gazed longingly into the mirror. Tears pricked Bobbie's eyes as her friend said this, she knew how terribly her friend missed her mother. Her mother was killed in the wizarding war by a death eater called Bellatrix Lestrange. El's father was a muggle and he had begged his wife not to fight, to stay with him and their toddler daughter. However, her loyalties lied with Dumbledore and she had no choice other than to fight, ultimately resulting in her death.

El rarely spoke of her mother, unsure of what stung worse, the fact that her mother abandoned her and her father to fight or the fact that she died before ever getting to truly know El.

George was next to discover the deepest desires of his soul, and El stepped aside. "I'm holding the Quidditch cup," the ginger boy smiled in delight. "Fred move away from the mirror!" George complained as he rolled his eyes.

"I'm sitting over here you dimwit," Fred chuckled, waving to his twin from his seat. Bobbie's heart warmed at the fact that part of George's happiness was having his twin brother by his side.

Bobbie sighed and walked to stand in front of the mirror. She saw herself as a powerful witch, knowing every single spell. Then she saw Remus Lupin come into her view, and she looked up to see him standing on the other side of the mirror. He gave her a curious glance, but she quickly snapped back to look into the mirror.

He came up behind her and circled his arms around her waist, burying his head into her neck. She leaned into his touch, and even though it was a mere reflection it truly felt as if he were standing behind her. Bobbie realized she must look foolish in front of the whole class and fled back to her seat.

"Well what did you see?" El asked, causing Bobbie's cheeks to blush.

"I-I saw myself as a powerful witch, being able to cast every spell there is," she told her friends. What she was saying was half true, she just left out the part where their professor appeared in the mirror with her.

What was this man doing to her?

***

The rest of her classes dragged on, and Bobbie simply wished to be alone. She opted to skip supper, deciding to talk a walk in the fresh air instead. She was suffering in silence with the way Lupin was making her feel, and she wasn't sure how to cope. For a good while she was able to pass her feelings off as a simple school girl crush, however as more time passed on she strayed further and further away from this idea.

She wished she could tell her friends, El at the very least, but she knew the way she felt was extremely wrong. Students are not meant to fancy their professors, that she knew for sure. However, she couldn't really help herself when she gazed into his honey colored eyes and became engulfed in his intoxicating scent.

The girl was seventeen, she had her fair share of silly crushes throughout her school years, even dating Oliver Wood for a term. But what she was feeling for this man far surpassed anything she had ever experienced in her entire life. It was so foreign to her she could hardly describe it to herself, even if she wanted to.

Bobbie realized she wandered a bit too far from the castle when she came upon the Whomping Willow, a large tree located near the ends of the campus. She saw a figure on the other side, though she couldn't quite make it out since the sun was nearly setting. She walked a bit further to see Professor Lupin come into view.

Normally she was thrilled to be in his presence, however he was the last person she wanted to see right now. She turned to head back to the castle until she heard her name being called. "Bobbie what are you doing out here, it's nearly dark."

She walked closer to her professor and saw him sitting on a stoop. "I just fancied the fresh air for a bit," she shrugged, taking a seat beside him.

Lupin quickly stood and backed away from the girl. "You shouldn't be out here," he barked at her.

She was taken aback by his harsh tone before he quickly apologized. The professor sunk down back to his seat on the stoop and Bobbie couldn't help but notice how her professor's appearance changed drastically. He was extremely pale with dark circles engulfing his eyes, and he looked rather thin. Overall, he just appeared sickly looking. "Are you feeling alright professor?"

"Just a little under the weather is all, I'd prefer if you'd just return to the castle. I wouldn't want you to catch this bug," he whispered, not daring to look up at the girl.

Bobbie respected that he wanted some privacy and turned on her heels to leave him be. As she was nearly back inside the castle she heard a loud howl from a distance away. Fear entered her body as she flung the castle doors open and bolted inside. It was likely a werewolf from the forbidden forest, and they wouldn't dare come near the castle. The howl still terrified the girl though, and she raced up to her dormitory to dive under her covers.

She gazed at the full moon that hung just outside her window, and it reminded her of how Lupin's Boggart was a full moon. Maybe he was just as terrified of werewolves.