wheresmytoad: No subject.

Sara has been at work, but she hasn't been on the bus for the past two days. Apparently, she's been getting a ride.

We've barely spoken to each other. I can't decide if she's avoiding me or I'm avoiding her.

Mr. Takakura watched the two of us not talking to each other all morning. When Sara left the greenhouse to go to lunch, he came over and said to me quietly, "Guy said you saw Sara's old boyfriend Jeremy last week."

"Is that his name? Jeremy? I didn't know." I added a bit bitterly, "We weren't exactly introduced."

Mr. Takakura sighed. "Guy never liked Jeremy, and so perhaps he was a little spiteful. There are some things about Jeremy, however, that Guy doesn't know."

He waited. I didn't want to ask, but I finally did. "Like what?" I said, heaping dirt into flowerpots.

"His mother died of cancer last spring. It's true, he wasn't very kind to Sara, but it was a difficult time for him."

I stared at him. "How do you know that?"

"We're cousins, of a sort, related by marriage. He got the job last year on my recommendation."

I looked down at the flowerpot, and after a moment, I asked, "Would he be kind to her now?"

"I don't know. I'm not very skilled in divination. Perhaps." He eyed me thoughtfully for a moment. "You're trying to decide whether or not to tell her you're a wizard, aren't you?" I looked at him, amazed, thinking that for someone who thought he wasn't good at divination, he'd certainly guessed what I was thinking spot on. He shrugged.

"Can I?" I asked.

He pursed his lips. "The law is perhaps unclear in a situation like this. But if you decide to do it, and she reacts badly, I can do the memory charm for you. I don't think you would get into trouble with the Ministry." He leaned closer. "What you need to decide, Neville, is why you want to tell her."

I'll have to think about that.

lupercus @ 2003-08-18 06:23 pm UTC

Neville, I didn't think it was my place to interfere in your personal life, but I want to offer you a piece of advice:

When I was told by Dumbledore and my parents that I could not tell anyone, not even whatever friends I made, that I was a werewolf, it was the most empty and lonely feeling in the world. I was so relieved when my friends figured it out on their own, but in hindsight I wish I could have just told them. I wish I'd the nerve to tell them. And I wish that I could have told everyone back when I first started teaching here in '93.

Hiding yourself from the people you care is never the right thing to do. It's not fair to you, and it's not fair to them.

If you think she's going to be a substantial part of your life, Neville, then you owe it to the both of you to tell her exactly what kind of life it is. If she takes it well, then you're on the right track. If not - well, thank God for Memory Charms, eh?

Good luck.

- Professor Lupin

PS: There is a U2 concert coming up in Leeds on 27 August. Perhaps Sara would like to go?