There's so much more about me... -- Winter 2016

Serenity was, again, giving some lame excuse to one of the professors -- and, no doubt, taking one of her uncle's treats to skive off class -- to get into the Hospital Wing.  She wanted to check up on me, i supposed.  But I had not told her all about me.  I could tell that she was feeling strongly towards me... I was towards her, too, despite the short time knowing each other.  I just wanted her to know what she would be getting into.  Obviously she already knew I was ill with cancer.  But she did not know that I was a father or just recently divorced.  I would play the card of not wanting to hurt her if I had to.

I walked out of my quarters and saw her laying on one of the beds flipping through The Quibbler.  I sighed and went over to her, sitting on the bed next to hers.  "Ren... madam promfrey and everyone else is going to start catching on," I pointed out to her, a smile playing at my lips.

Thanks to my uncles Fred and George, I had the perfect excuse to leave class:  Nosebleed nougat.  I had already eaten the end that made it stop, but I kept up appearances with bloody tissues near me.  I flipped through the pages with ease and I ignored Graham at first.  "Hmm, I wonder if Hogwarts has a nargle infestation," I mused, though I could not ignore the intense gaze that Graham was fixing me with.  I sighed and closed the magazine.  I looked over at him.  "No one has said anything to me yet."

I rolled my eyes at Serenity.  "I realize they haven't.  But yet is the operative word in that sentence," I pointed out to her gently.  "We need to be more careful... no more missing classes..."

I wished that he would loosen up a bit about everything.  "Oh, stop it," I said to him easily.  "It's not like you're an actual administrative person here yet or anything... so it's not against the rules."  I smiled at him and put a hand on his, only a bit frustrated when he pulled it away.

I kept my hand out of her reach because I had to make a point to her.  "Ren, this isn't something to joke about. I need this job," I said to her quietly.  "I don't want to ruin anything here."

I sighed, trying not to act immature.  "Alright... you need this job," I said slowly.  "Just because you're adulting or...?" I wanted to know more things about Graham.  I knew that he was sick -- we met him while he was with Quinn getting treatment.  But I still wanted to know more than what was on the surface. It was why I was trying to be withhim.

I smiled at Serenity's vocabulary.  "That's part of the reason," I said to her.  "The other is to make sure that things work alright wiht my health and everything.  ...and for my daughter."  I hoped that me adding on that little tidbit of myself would not freak Ren out.  I had not revealed that I had a child until now.

I was barely listening to him because he was just making excuses -- until I heard him mention having a daughter.  I stopped flipping through my magazine and looked at him.  "You have a daughter?" I questioned.  I did not mind him having a kid... but he was so young... and that poor little girl having a dad going through cancer treatments.

I nodded, unsurprised by the shocked look on her face.  "Yeah, she's merely two," I said to Ren honestly.  "I'm hoping to gain full custody, but right now she's still in Australia with her mum."

I could not believe what I was hearing.  "So you barely get to see her?" I asked sadly.  "That's horrible... every girl needs her dad."