Artemis Hexley and the Circle of Khanna

Chapter 17: Telling the Truth

Thankfully, Artemis was not the only one to emerge the morning after the full moon unscathed: Beatrice Haywood was discharged from the Hospital Wing the following day having shown no signs of lycanthropy whatsoever, much to the relief of everybody, particularly Penny Haywood and Chiara Lobosca. After the night in the forest, Artemis and Chiara had spoken at length, and Chiara had finally told Artemis the truth.

Chiara had been a werewolf since before she even started Hogwarts; that was the real reason she had her own room, and the real reason why she missed lessons so frequently. It was also true that she had, selflessly and somewhat irresponsibly, been giving her Wolfsbane potions to Mr Lupin for several months.

She had told the whole sorry tale to Artemis with a fearful look in her eyes, as if she were expecting Artemis to resent her or reject her, but instead, Artemis couldn't help but admire her for her bravery, her resilience, or her kindness. If anything, she only wished that she had attempted to befriend Chiara sooner.

As for Chiara's werewolf friend, it was not until a week later, whilst posting letters to Bill Weasley and her Great-Aunt Tina in Hogsmeade, that Artemis next encountered Mr Lupin, pale and drawn as he stood outside the Owl Post Office. After a brief moment of consideration, she decided to greet him.

"It's you," he said, frowning at her.

She blinked back at him. "Yeah."

"It's good to see you... alive," said Lupin, with a pointed look that did not match his soft voice and wearied face. Artemis pursed her lips. "You know, that was a very stupid thing you did last weekend. You're lucky that you weren't killed."

"I know," Artemis said truthfully. "I know that now. Thank you for trying to save me."

"Not that I helped much."

"But you tried, at least."

"Of course. Well, you're welcome," Lupin paused for a moment. "You know, I don't think I ever asked your name."

"It's Artemis. Artemis Hexley."

At the mention of her name, Lupin's eyebrows twitched upwards, the way all adults' eyebrows did around her. She braced herself, ready for the inevitable comments about her brother's disappearance or her mother's many talents. But Lupin mentioned neither.

"I heard about your friend," he said quietly. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Artemis swallowed and nodded her head. "Right. Thanks."

"Now it makes sense."

"What does?"

"What you did, that night," Lupin gave a smile that was somehow wry and sad, all at once. "How much you cared about protecting your friend. How little you cared about protecting yourself."

His eyes drifted out across the busy cobbled street, to a wooden stall selling spring flowers. Artemis looked from the flowers back to his eyes. They were a greyish sort of green in colour, and filled with a weariness that might have been mistaken for tiredness.

"You lost a friend, too," she said, frowning at him. "Didn't you?"

"I lost several. That's what happens when there is a war."

"How did they... Actually, no. You don't have to-"

"They were murdered," Lupin told her. "We were all betrayed by someone we thought we could trust." He paused, and added, "Not unlike your own friend, from the rumours I've heard."

"Did you ever feel guilty afterwards?" Artemis asked, before realising how rude the question was. "Sorry. I didn't mean... It's just that I... You probably don't want to talk about this."