Save Me: Professor Lupin x Student!OC

Chapter 11

     It was the weekend, which meant trips to Hogsmeade for us upperclassmen. Many were flooding the dress shop in preparation for the upcoming Halloween ball, so Hermione and I decided to walk around for a bit until things died down.
"Has anyone asked to go with you to the ball, Quinn?" Hermione piped up, looking at me with glittering eyes. It was hard to forget how young she is, she always has this hopeful look in her eyes like a young child.
"Erm, no, not yet anyway," I answered awkwardly. I always got like this when the topic of relationships came up. I'm not exactly the most popular girl in school, and I highly doubt anyone's itching to date an orphan (Sorry, Harry).
"Is there...anyone you're wanting to ask." She asked with a mischievous smile on her face. I all but rolled my eyes at her and laughed.
"You're nosey, you know that Hermione?" I ruffled her hair and we both giggled, now making our way to the dress shop to see if it was empty yet.
A couple of girls walked out of the shop with what looked like a dozen bags filled with their dresses and accessories. I'm not often one for fancy or extravagant things, but even I got a bit excited as we both walked into the shop.
Each wall was home to many lovely dresses, all of which were gorgeous and handmade. I wasn't really sure what I was looking for but honestly, I just hoped I could pick out something quickly and get it over with.
Hermione squealed as she saw a beautiful red sparkly dress that had a v-neckline, silky material, and a ruffled skirt. She picked it up immediately and told me she was going to go try it on, and I nodded. I continued to walk around the store, though nothing was catching my eye.
At the center of the store, however, I nearly gasped at the dress that stood there shining beautifully in the light. It was a strapless, floor-length ball gown made of lace and silk, with a sheer skirt that I adored. It was perfect for me.

I asked the store clerk to take it off the mannequin for me and I went to try it on. I hurried out of the clothes I was wearing and slipped it on over my head, using my wand to zip it up. I turned to look in the mirror and gasped at the regality of it, taking it all in with awe as I looked at how beautifully it hugged my figure. It really was perfect.
I took it off to Hermione's dismay because she had wanted to see what the dress looked like, but I told her it was gonna be a surprise. We bought accessories to go with our respective outfits and left the store with gleaming faces, excited for the upcoming ball.
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There were only a few days left until the ball, and everyone seemed to be bustling with energy. It was quite funny seeing all of the boys who got rejected by girls who wanted nothing more to dance with their friends on the special night, but also endearing to see those who were young and in love with each other. A part of me envied them.
At breakfast, Hermione wouldn't stop pestering me to get a date to the ball, though I insisted no one really piqued my interest, which wasn't completely a lie. After all, there weren't many boys my age who weren't snot-nosed weasels, and any other potential bachelors already had dates to the ball, so no luck. But of course, the real issue here was that the one person who I'd love to go with, can't go with me for very obvious reasons
     I sighed at my plate and shoveled the rest of the food in my mouth. I've had quite a big appetite lately for some reason, I suppose because of my "condition". I guess that's a good thing since I had lost so much weight during the investigation/search for my parents.
     I told Hermione I was going to head to class and left the Great Hall. I had Transfiguration this morning, so it would be easy enough to get through.
     "Good morning, Professor," I said quietly as I entered McGonagall's classroom. She smiled at me and set down her quill, which she was using to write on a piece of scrap paper.
     "Ah, Quinn, I was hoping you'd get here early, I have something for you, "  She said. I raised an eyebrow as she handed me the aforementioned paper, which was folded in half haphazardly.
     "What's this?" I asked her, though she stood quiet for a moment.
     "It's from Professor Lupin," My ears perked up at that, "He's asked you to meet him in his office after dinner tonight. I believe he wants to discuss your monthly transformation, only if you're comfortable of course. Those were his exact words."
     "Oh...well, yes of course. Do you have any idea why? I haven't spoken to him about it before, and he certainly could've asked me directly, I wouldn't have minded." I said.
     "Well, I do have some idea, but I feel it's best to let him tell you himself. He has information that could help you, Quinn, He knows-" she stuttered and paused for a moment, "He has experience with this sort of thing and he wanted me to tell you because he knows your one of my most excellent students."
     My face reddened a bit at that and I thanked her and sat at my desk. A million thoughts ran through my head as I wondered what he was going to tell me. I felt immature as I got excited at the idea that I'd be going to his office at such a late hour, though I knew it was a serious matter and shut down any inappropriate thoughts immediately.
     Regardless of my crush, I did genuinely appreciate that he put so much effort into wanting to speak to me about this. I of course hadn't told anyone I knew personally, and I didn't exactly chat with my teachers regularly either, who are the only ones that know of my condition. I suppose he probably knew this and wanted to make sure I got the help I needed.
     Like most things, I pretty much just kept it to myself, but for some reason, I knew I'd feel comfortable opening up to Remus about the experiences I've been having each month. I had a feeling he'd understand, considering he's a D.A.D.A teacher and has therefore probably learned quiet a bit about werewolves.

     Transfiguration went by quicker than I expected and I went about the rest of my day going to a couple more classes and then lunch. One great thing about being a seventh year was that we got lots of breaks throughout the day since we didn't have so many classes to take. In previous years I had advanced quicker than many of my fellow peers and took extra classes when I could, which meant I spent most of my days studying or wandering around the school grounds, rather than going to actual classes.
     If I had wanted to, I probably could've graduated from Hogwarts early, but there were courses like Transfiguration and D.A.D.A that I potentially wanted to specialize in when I get a job, so any extra classes I could take relating to those subjects, I did. Luckily for me, I'm great at teaching myself, considering up until this year, the D.A.D.A position has been taught by so many incompetent teachers. But Professor Lupin was more than proficient at his job, and I could tell that he must've been an excellent student when he went here as a kid.
     I sighed and headed up to the common room, deciding that I needed to relax for a while before this meeting with Lupin. One of my favorite thing's to do was sit in front of the fireplace and draw. I'm not the best at it, but I find it relaxing, and occasionally I can draw something that resembles real art. I began drawing a bird, one of the ones that I'd always see flying outside Hagrid's hut. He always gets mad at them because they peck at the pumpkins he's growing, as they're not at all scared of the scarecrow he's placed out there. I don't know why he doesn't just cast a protection charm on his crops, but I suppose he's just not as angry at those birds as he seems.
     My fingers dirty with charcoal, I blew at the paper to get any unwanted specks off, and continued working on the dark feathers of the bird. That is until I became startled by the sound of one of the logs shifting in the fireplace as it burned. I heaved a breath and focused back on the paper, now working on the bird's beak. The fire made a loud crack, nothing out of the norm, but still startling. I shifted my position so that I was now sitting cross-legged, my journal in my lap as I continued drawing.
     Now the fire made a peculiar noise, almost like a groan, which made me set down my supplies completely and I stared into the fire curiously. No one else was in the common room so I had no idea if I was just hearing things or not. Surely I wasn't that crazy right? As I looked at the fireplace I became very puzzled. I could've sworn I saw a face in the flames, but I must've been seeing things. My brows furrowed deeply as I inched closer, which made me much too warm in my tweed sweater, but I didn't pay too much mind.
     There-I know I saw an eye blink or something, I can't possibly be making this up in my head. Feeling bold, I called out, " Who's in there?!"
     The fire grew slightly, flashing brightly and crackling as if it was excited about something, before calming down again. My back straightened a bit and I decided to press further questions, "I know I'm not just seeing things, right? Show yourself to me, you don't need to be afraid."
     I waited patiently for an answer, but no luck. Maybe it was just in my head after all. I got up and shoved my journal and charcoal pencil back in my bag, deciding to head to lunch. I swung my bag over my shoulder and headed to the common room door.
     Just as I touched the door, a voice, clear as day, came from the fireplace, leaving me nearly paralyzed out of shock.
     "I haven't seen you in so long, Quinn. Not since you were a baby."
     The voice was rough and had an accent that I couldn't quite place. I slowly turned around before walking back to the fireplace, kneeling once more before the flames.
     Now I could clearly see the face of a man in the embers, who had long, slightly curly hair, and a mustache.

I recognized him almost immediately.

It was Sirius Black.

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{1902 Words}

ahhh I hope this chapter isn't too short everyone. The next chapter should be quite exciting and hopefully, this one was as well! Have a great day everyone, and let me know what you think!

-Ren /*