Dirty Little Game ♠ Professor Lupin

Six: I Will Get You

For the next few days, Lupin avoided me. It was so obvious even Ryley noticed it. Whenever the professor saw me, he was going in a totally different direction. The one time we had to pass each other in the entrance to the Great Hall, he acted like I wasn't there.

"What have you done to him?" asked Brook, with whom I was going to breakfast.

"I might've I gone too far." I admitted in a whisper.

I was following the plan, I thought it was a good time to let him know. It's been long since I started hanging around him, steps had to be taken. I began to fear for the success of this mission.

When the next DADA lesson was over, I waited for all the students to leave the classroom. He didn't seem to notice I was staying or he was just ignoring me. He didn't even look at me when I walked over to his desk.

"What's the matter?" he asked with his back turned to me.

"Is something the matter?" I answered his question with a question.

He stopped doing whatever he was doing and turned to face me. Earlier I saw that he had recovered, he looked much better, but now, up close, I could see the weariness on his face.

"Ethelyn..." He began with a tired voice.

"What happened with calling me Miss Jenkins?" I pointed out. He had been calling me by my first name for some time now, when we were alone.

"What are you trying to do?" Lupin seemed determined. He probably didn't know what was going on, maybe he thought I was trying to trick him, or that I was playing with him. Which, after all, wasn't far from the truth.

"I'll do whatever you let me." I replied, then walked around the desk to stand in front of him. I was so close I could touch him. I wasn't sure if I would do it or not.

He looked at me for a long moment. He didn't move away, shout at me or go to report my behavior to the headmaster. He liked it, he liked me. He only had moral concerns that had to be broken.

"I know what you're afraid of and I can tell you, you have no reason to feel so." I reached out to grab his hand, much larger than mine.

He shuddered. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them, he let out a loud breath and said "What's the point?"

This was not what I expected. "The point?"

Gently, he pulled his hand out of my grip. "Why me? What is so special about me that would make a beautiful young girl interested in someone like me?"

Back then, I thought the only thing he meant was the age difference. That I should go for boys my age, not someone a decade older than me. I thought he was wondering what an older guy supposedly had to offer me.

I had a problem answering this question and time was running out. Was I attracted to him? I'd never looked at older men that way, but I could admit he looked pretty good. The scars were making him look sexier. But weren't there any handsome boys at Hogwarts?

"I like the way I feel around you. How you make me feel." I blurted out. It was the first thing that came to my mind. "I can't stop thinking about you." I almost choked on how cheesy it sounded.

He ran a hand through his hair. He looked like he was fighting with his inner self.

"Please, don't shut me out." I said softly, trying to make my voice squeaky.

"You better go." His voice was strange, cold.

I froze. I couldn't believe that. He was so close to giving up. I've done so much and he's rejecting me? He? I'm probably the most beautiful girl he would find in this castle! I looked like a walking showcase of Slytherin - blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin, expensive clothes and flawless figure. What else did he want?

"Wait."

Before he knew it, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He gasped loudly and closed his eyes, swallowed hard. For a moment I thought I heard his chaotic heartbeat.

Our faces were millimeters apart. I had to stand on my tiptoes and it still wasn't high enough. All he needed to do was raise his head to spoil everything. But right now I had nothing to lose.

I put everything I had into that kiss. I so desperately wanted him to kiss me back I almost told him to do it. My fingers clenched on his clothes as if holding onto the fabric, I was holding onto hope that he would do something. But he didn't, not really, although we were both panting when I pulled away from him.

I couldn't meet his eyes. I couldn't look at him. It was so humiliating I couldn't cope with it.

I grabbed my bag and ran out of the room.

Everyone saw how grumpy I came back. They wanted to start asking me questions, but fell silent when I spat them a short "I'm done" on the way to my dormitory. I spent several hours there, undisturbed, until it was dinner time.

I was more than pissed off. My Slytherin pride didn't allow me to accept it. No boy has ever resisted me. I never had to take the first step myself. I never thought something like this would happen. I hit a hard wall of reality that I didn't know existed. I felt bad, I felt like a dog that was doing the best it could for its owner and still got hit.

Who did he think he was to do something like that? I was sure he'd never met a girl like me in his life. All you had to do was look at him to realize that. I would never have paid attention to him myself if he had not been my teacher. I was far beyond his reach - young, beautiful, from a high-ranking family. I couldn't understand why he'd pushed me away when such an opportunity would never come to him again.

I didn't want to show all that, so when it was time for dinner, I left later to enter effectively late. As I was probably the only student that wasn't already seated at the table, he noticed me right away when I showed up at the entrance. I gave him the widest smile I could. He immediately averted his gaze from me.

"Something happened?" asked Wilton, as I sat down next to him.

"This prick doesn't know what he's losing." I mumbled and put some food on my plate.

The boy almost choked on his food. He put his hand over his mouth, trying not to laugh. I wanted to stab him with a fork.

"Shut up or I'll punch you." I threatened, praying that he didn't draw unnecessary attention to us.

"What's going on?" I heard Ryley behind me. Although someone had taken the seat next to me a moment ago, it was suddenly empty, ready for him to take. People kept out of his way before you even thought about it.

"Something didn't go her way." Wilton coughed, starting to turn red.

"Lupin?" Ryley asked simply.

I nodded my head. Ryley didn't want to hear about my little 'mission'. When I was talking to my friends about it, he was mostly doing something else. He's never brought up this topic himself either.

When Ryley started taking an interest in me, my parents immediately made it clear that I should accept him. His father held a high position in the Ministry, so if I were to marry him, my family's social status would significantly improve. Honestly, I had no reason not to. Ryley was quite handsome and treated me with respect, which wasn't a sure thing with the Slytherin boys. The problem was, I was going to spend two more years here, but he was in seventh year. If I was going to marry him, I'd have to make the decision this year.

Wilton nudged me with his shoulder. "So you give up?"

"What? Of course not." I looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "I never give up. I'll get him whether he likes it or not."