Silvia and the Rising Moon [EDITING]

A Second Werewolf

James walked to his table at the Three Broomsticks juggling three mugs of butterbeer. He set one down carelessly on the wooden surface, allowing the froth to slosh around and drip onto the table. "Three butterbeers, coming right up," he said unenthusiastically.
Remus wiped the dripping glass with a napkin before passing it to Lydia. "Thank you, James."
He adjusted his glasses before preparing to leave with his butterbeer.
"Wait," Remus said quickly. "I was wondering if you have a date to the ball yet."
James rolled his eyes. "Very funny, ha-ha. No, I do not have a date yet. Lily said she's afraid to go with me because I'm too handsome." He beamed and puffed out his chest.
Lydia giggled. "She said that?"
"I'd like to doubt that," Remus announced.
"I second that doubt," said Lydia through a giddy smile.
James stormed away, muttering angrily.
The door to the Three Broomsticks opened to a gust of crisp autumn wind and an annoyed Silvia, followed by Sirius.
"Potter, Sirius has been following me around all morning bugging me and saying that you want to talk to me," she half-growled.
"That's correct," he said, handing her his butterbeer. "For you, m'lady."
"Oh, good lord." She rolled her eyes.
"Please, Cynthia Lupin,"
"It's Silvia."
"Silvia," James fell on one knee. "It would be my honor if you attended the ball with me." He looked up at her with a sudden charisma.
She took a deep breath. "Potter, I told you three times before, and I will not tell you again. I will not be your second choice when Lily says no. In fact, I don't even want to be your first choice. Take your butterbeer back, 'm'lady'."
She began to make her way out of the Three Broomsticks as James called out a vicious response. "You know what, Silvia? I thought you were a good person. I wanted to do this for you to make you known, to make you more than 'Remus Lupin's kid sister', but now I know that that's all you will ever be," he spat dramatically as she reached for the doorknob.
Silvia paused for a second, one hand wrapped around the pub's doorknob, the other wrapped around her wand. She considered, just for a moment, hexing James right there in front of everyone who had just witnessed her humiliation. Instead, the turned the knob and slammed the door as she stormed out of the Three Broomsticks.

Sirius sat down next to James. "That was harsh, man," he said as he sipped on Silvia's butterbeer.
"I didn't mean it," James sighed. "Although, she is a loser. I don't think anyone would know her name if it hadn't been for Hermes and Charlie blaming Remus for attacking them two years ago. Honestly, Sirius, I'm still upset and confused."
"What's got your panties in a twist?" asked Sirius.
"It's Lily. She usually avoids me and curses me. Today, though, she's completely ignoring me."
"Woah, that's deep. No attention means you have no chance." Sirius was completely shocked.
Peter slid in to the seat next to James. "Hey, buddy. What just happened with Silvia?"
James shrugged. "I took some anger out on her."
"Did she say no?"
Both Sirius and James looked at Peter in disbelief. "No, she said yes, Peter, of course she said no!" James yelled.
Peter looked around the room blankly, grimacing. "Hey, I'll be right back," he said, quickly getting up from his chair. He hurried out of the Three Broomsticks to find Silvia shivering alone on a bench. "Hi, Silvia," he said, awkwardly standing nearby.
"Hi, Peter." She moved over on the bench to allow him to sit, but he continued to stand.
"Quite a scene James made." He laughed nervously.
"Prick." She crossed her arms. "Can't take 'no' for an answer."
Peter shuffled and fidgeted with his coat zipper. "Were you interested in going to the ball?"
Silvia looked up and blocked the sun from her eyes. "I suppose."
"Well... we can go together, maybe, as friends."
A silence ensued.
Peter hurried to regain composure"I-I mean, I know you wanted to keep an eye on Remus... Sienna too, and-"
"Wait," Silvia quickly interrupted. "Sienna's not going to the ball. She doesn't have a date."
Peter squealed.
"Peter," she demanded.
"Sirius asked Sienna this morning after breakfast." He braced himself, as if expecting to be slapped.
"Sirius?" she pondered in disgust. "I trust him about as much as I trust James." She looked up at Peter, who was still cowering. "I'll go with you as friends, only to spy on Remus and Sienna."
Peter suddenly relaxed and grinned. "Great! I made a bet with James about getting a date and I won."
Silvia smiled. "What's your reward?"
"He correctly completes my charms homework for the rest of the semester!"

Flaithri Erkens was was utterly homesick.
He had lived in a hidden, aging mansion outside of Dublin, forgotten by muggles, and ignored by wizards. He spoke fluent Gaelic Irish, had a family coat of arms, and memorized a procedure on what to do when the light of a full moon would shatter the bleak darkness of the midnight sky.
Remus Lupin was no longer the only werewolf on Hogwarts grounds.

Since the day Flaithri was born, he knew that his life was different from those of other wizards. For his mother, Clarice O'Hara, this fact had been hard to adjust to. Flaithri never had to adjust. This was his way of life, this was all he knew. He was quite fond of Remus. Although the two were forbidden to talk about lycanthropy, Flaithri knew about Remus's condition. He idolized the fourteen-year-old werewolf's bravery and strength.
It was a werewolf who summoned Remus to his classroom.
Professor Conri Erkens was tall and lean, with a friendly face, despite his sharp cheekbones and dark, sullen eyes. That moment, for the first time in his life since his attack, Remus stood face to face alone with another werewolf.
"Recognize this, Lupin?" Erkens held up a vial of wolfsbane. Remus shook his head as Erkens poured the vial into two goblets. He held one out to Remus, who cautiously accepted it as he watched Erkens drink.
"Professor," Remus said in sudden shock. "You've been missing classes. Every full moon you've missed classes. I didn't even realize."
Erkens smiled. "Dumbledore informed me of your existence, Remus, and to be quite honest, I am impressed." He unbuttoned the first three buttons on his shirt, exposing three long gashes. "It's a shame you can't cover yours as well as I can.
Remus stared at the marks, almost relieved to see someone like him as a Hogwarts teacher.
"Who did this to you?" Remus asked cautiously as Erkens buttoned his shirt.
Erkens smiled knowingly. "I suppose it was the same man who did that to you." He waved a finger around Remus's face, pointing out the faded scars.
"Greyback?" asked Remus. A sudden coldness swept into the room.
"We were kids, hardly adults, Greyback and I. He was only fifteen when a group of werewolves living off the land attacked him. It wasn't long before he gained a refined taste for blood and flesh. Good old Fenrir. He was one of my closest friends at school. It didn't take a lot of time for someone like myself to notice that something about him was odd. We had been learning about werewolves in my DADA class. It was as if fate led me to this conclusion."
Remus nodded. "We haven't discussed lycanthropy all year. You did that on purpose."
"Of course," Erkens agreed. "I can't have Potter, Black, and Pettigrew jumping to conclusions. I don't want any of them meeting my fate. Of course, I do not believe you to be the type to resort to violence."
"Never, Professor. What happened when you found out about Greyback?"
"Well, I confronted him. I asked him if my suspicious were true. He said they were. That was when I told him that I feared for my safety and I no longer wanted to be associated with him."
Remus shrugged. "He didn't take very kindly to that I suppose."
Erkens laughed. "No, not at all. I was his first real attack. He was so angry. It shocks me to this day that he spared my life. He could have killed me then and there, but he let me go with nothing but a collection of scars and a new condition that would follow me for as long as I live." He stared up at the ceiling and leaned back against his desk. "Sometimes, however, I wished he wouldn't have spared me, and instead let his blind rage take over."
"I felt that way for a long time," Remus admitted for the first time. A tear slid down his cheek, and he quickly wiped it away.
"I bet it was hard for you to grow up like that. When I was younger, it was hard for me to cope with my difficulties. I wished that he had killed me. It wasn't until I met my wife, Clarice, who gave me Flaithri, that I realized how delicate and precious a life is. Look where I am now, Remus." He extended his arms and looked around the classroom. "Can you believe that someone like you, someone like me, can make it as a Hogwarts teacher?"
"I never thought it would be possible." Then, Remus let another secret unravel itself. "I've always wanted to teach at Hogwarts when I get older, but I didn't think I could do it."
Conri Erkens smiled bleakly and set a hand on Remus's shoulder. "No matter what you are, no matter where you came from, you can be anything you put your mind to.
Remus grinned in response. "I know that now, Professor Erkens, you made me believe it."