𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐘𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 ❧ remus lupin

X. Stunned by the Silhouette

"Sometimes, things have a way of coming back in the end, if not always in the way we expect."

Juliet's POV

After my long study session with Sirius and Remus, I got ready to sleep in my dorm room. Although Marlene and Alice had already gone to sleep, Lily was still awake reading a textbook on Potions.

"How come you're back so late?" Lily asked as I walked into the dorm.

"Oh I was just studying with Sirius and Remus," I replied, telling Lily the truth.

"Oh, Remus, alright Juliet," Lily suspiciously added.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You really haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what, Lily?"

"Merlin's Beard! You poor oblivious girl!"

"Seriously Lily, I haven't noticed what?"

Lily jokingly looked at me as if I was a third-year student, debating whether or not I had the mental capacity to undertake whatever it was she was going to say. "Remus obviously fancies you, Juliet! Can't you see it?"

Bloody hell, Lily sees it too? I mean it's one thing to have Zoe, someone who rarely sees Remus and I together, say this, but to have Lily also? She spends so much time with both of us, apart and together. Ugh, that makes it so much more believable! Oh, my gods, I have no idea what to think about this, so I just quickly changed the topic and hopped into bed, trying to fall asleep as fast as I could.

And I don't even know how to feel about this whole thing! I'm honestly so confused and am dreading the full moon being tomorrow night. I can imagine the awkwardness already! Anyways, I just tried to fall asleep and forget about this. Avoiding my problems is something I do somewhat well, I'd say.

After going to sleep for the night, I woke up to Marlene's cat crawling on my bed, disturbing my sleep.

"Bloody cat," she said as I laughed at the cat, "never sleeps where he should."

After getting ready with the rest of my roommates, Lily and I split off from Marlene and Alice and joined the boys in the Great Hall for a breakfast. I couldn't believe how fast the school year was going, it was already mid-January, and the fifth full moon of the term was already tonight.

I spent the majority of the school day thinking about how to make tonight's full moon encounter with Remus as least awkward as possible. It's already half-way through my last class, and so far I've got nothing. I guess not being awkward really isn't my strong suit.

The rest of the day after classes flew by, and since it was still winter and the time of sunlight each day was shorter, nightfall came quicker than ever. Like every other full moon in my entire career at Hogwarts School, I prepared a bag equipped with a change of clothes, a textbook for reading, and my bottle of Wolfsbane potion mixed with water, of course.

On our way back from studying yesterday night, Remus and I agreed to meet at the shack in order to eliminate any suspicious coming from either of us. Since the sun was setting soon, I set off for the shack without Remus, avoiding anyone who asked questions about where I was headed.

Fortunately, I made my way past Hogsmeade, past where I had normally transformed, to the small shack across the way that Remus invited me into. I carefully opened the unsteady, creaking door, and entered the shack once again. There, I saw Remus sitting on the couch reading a book for our Muggle Studies class.

"Hello Jules," he said in his calm voice. He motioned for me to come to sit next to him on the ratty couch that took up a majority of the room.

"Hello Remus," I said as I sat down next to him, not too close. "So how exactly is this going to work?" I asked.

"Well, since there is a second floor to this shack, I was thinking that you could have the upstairs, and I have the downstairs. I'll lock the door to the stairs so that way we don't run into each other while the moon is out."

"That sounds good," I said as I got up from the couch, and started heading for the stairs.

"See you in the morning, Jules," Remus said. He also rose from the couch and walked in my direction towards the stairs. I had just opened the door and started heading up the stairs when Remus came up behind me to close and lock the door.

I walked up the wobbly wooden stairs and made my way into the only upstairs room in the tiny shack. Equipped only with a dust-covered armchair, this upstairs room was for the most part empty. After setting my bag down on the ground, I pulled the Wolfsbane potion out and drank the responsible amount needed for tonight's full moon.

The sun was nearly set, so after undressing from my clothes, I hid my bag underneath the sole armchair in the room, away from harm done by werewolf me. I patiently waited for the moon to rise, and once the darkness had taken over the night and I had seen the moonlight shine through the only tiny window in the room, I knew it was time to transform.

I felt myself begin to morph into a werewolf: my eyes turned a bright lemon yellow, hair began to sprout across my body, my neat nail turns into sharp black claws, and my body grew into the size of a werewolf's.

But with my last bit of sanity, with the final bit of human left in me, I saw someone from the outside of the shack open the only window leading into the room. The person who came into the room I couldn't identify due to the lack of light, but by their silhouette, I could tell that this person was muscular and strong.

As I faded from human to werewolf, I saw this mysterious person raise their wand, aiming it between my two eyes.

"Stupefy!" the person called out in a somewhat familiar voice, striking me in the face. I fell to the floor and my last bit of human faded from me. I had lost my sanity and was now a full-fledged werewolf, stunned by a person I couldn't identify. Bloody hell, this was going to be one sticky situation.

Word Count: 1073