Howling at the Moon

3. Full Moon

"Hello professor." Diondre greeted pleasantly.

"Miss Gargoyle." He smiled politely, happy to see her without a wand. "What are you doing wondering around alone?"

"Off to find my friends actually, I like your jumper." She looked over it, it might not be much now but it held his  character well. The old worn out professor with scars to show he's been through so much. Diondre really did like it.

Lupin looked down at the raggy piece of brown fabric, tugging at the sleeves self consciously. "I've put a lot of repair charms on it over the years, they always wear out."

"I think it's charming, like you, a little worn but full of memories."

Lupin chuckled, she was every bit the Hufflepuff.

"I can fix it up for you if you like, the muggle way so it will last." She said. A lot of her evenings were spent fixing broken things by hand, and occasionally making new things. 90% of the oversized, over-colored jumpers she wears, she made herself.

"Oh, no. I wouldn't want to wish you any trouble. But thank you."

"No, please, it won't be any trouble for me, I enjoy it. Call it repayment for tying you up on your first lesson!"

"Oh hell, sure." He tugged the sweater off over his head and passed it to her. Without it he felt suddenly very vulnerable.

"You won't regret it, I made my own jumper, look!" She twirled around showing off her vibrant orange and purple patterned jumper, then she bounced off, his sweater trailing behind her. Remus silently made peace with the loss of his jumper.

_______

Remus began to dread Diondre's presence in his class a little less every week. Whatever she lacked in magical skill she made up for with charm and wide smiles that shone out of her eyes. She had returned his jumper to him that next class on from their conversation, and he was amazed with how good it looked, now a dark grey with darker elbow patches and not another tear in sight. He would wear it every class and marvel at its new warmth, before it felt as drafty as the Slytherin dungeons.

The other Hufflepuffs would banter back and forth with him, he enjoyed striking debates out in the classroom and marveled at the intelligence of the most underrated Hogwarts house. Remus found it was the one he most looked forward to teach each week. He felt a little ashamed it wasn't one of the Griffindor classes to which he owed loyalty to, but the older Hufflepuff students were too much of a joy, he felt that Diondre helped with that. She took her delightful energy with her wherever she went, almost like her moods were contagious.

"Goodbye everyone!" Professor Lupin waved to his class, settling down behind his desk to prepare for the next one. He found his eyes trailing the brown haired girl through the door.

____

"Potions!" Diondre whined to her friends the second they were out the door.

"Yes, that is our next class!" Penny Quill teased. She was the only one of them that took potions as an option, the rest managed to drop it. Diondre had tried but having failed to turn up to her O.W.L's exam she was forced to take it for her N.E.W.T's. Entirely unfair and nonsensical she thought.

"Boy, I'm glad I don't have to join you lovely people there anymore." Tahlia said grinning. "You could just shag him, he might let you pass."

Penny screwed up her face tightly in disgust, Di just laughed at the thought of Snape being so forgiving.

"I would love to see his face if I just bent over his desk one day and hiked up my skirt."

If it was possible for Penny to look more disgusted than she was she would have managed it, however her face had reached maximum scrunch.

"Oh Jesus, so would I! Do you think he has ever seen a woman's bum before?" Tahlia asked.

Diondre opened her mouth to answer but got distracted by a group of third years talking.

"It is weird though, isn't it? To have a silver orb as a boggart. What could possibly be so scary about that?" A scruffy haired boy asked.

"Maybe professor Lupin doesn't like suprise parties and it was a balloon?" Said a girl, obviously bored with the conversation.

"Nah it can't be that, he turned it into a balloon!"

And then they were too far for her to hear anymore. She filed this little bit of information with the potion that Snape had brought him on the first day, she wasn't sure what to make of it yet so for now she put it on the back shelf of her head.

"Di?" Tahlia said concerned.

"Oh, sorry zoned out. What were you saying?"

"You know it's not all that bad, you just remember a few facts, you're good at that!" Penny brought the conversation back to what she was comfortable with.

"I don't see how you stand it, he's even more strict with you! Not overseeing even the smallest mistakes." Said Diondre.

"Oh, that's because he's trying to push me to be better, I just take the challenge."

Diondre couldn't relate, she shut down when the pressure was too much, finding it impossible to retain information. Her shoulders were slumped by the time they entered the classroom.

"Shoulders back Miss Gargoyle, I will not tolerate laziness in my class." The Professor spat out the second her foot passed through the door.

"Yes professor," she put her shoulders back and smiled at him. It never hurts to be nice, even to mean people.

Once the students were seated he scanned his eyes over his more promising students, trying to find fault. The class began.

_____

"...and Miss Gargoyle would you care to tell me the fifth ingredient for the drought of the living dead." Drawled the potions professor looking at her accusingly.

Diondre wracked her brain, they'd gone over this last lesson. She should know but for the life of her she couldn't remember. If only she had actually done the potions homework instead of reading that book about arachnids she could have been able to answer him, instead she shook her head with a shrug.

"You.. don't... know?" He said threateningly. She only shook her head again. "Your ignorance is unbelievable. This is a potion you should have been able to brew in your 4th year! 10 points from Hufflepuff."

With a swish of his cape Snape moved onto a different student to answer his question, they did so instantly.

Diondre knew not to be hurt by her teachers words, he was well intentioned really. Believing tough love was the only way to get his students to shed their arrogance and actually learn in his lessons. It still wore her down on days. She did try, sometimes.

"Next week we will be working on a Wolfsbane potion, it is perhaps one of the hardest potions you will attempt to brew, have a 30 inch essay on the topic on my desk at the beginning of our next class. That is all, you may leave." He dramatically threw out his hand as a gesture that they can go.

Diondre was the last the leave as she had the most to clean up, she could have sworn he said something under his breath, something about Lupin. It was so quiet however she only heard the professors name and the mention of Wolfsbane.

_______
Professor Lupin.

What terribly big secret could be hiding behind those eyes?

In that first week he had looked awfully sick, getting worse and worse as the week continued, eventually taking the day off. Diondre remembers that day, he wasn't in for any of the meals causing her to glance frequently at the teachers table thinking he would reappear. He never did.

She'd gone for a small walk around the grounds before bed, the castle looked especially pretty that night, with the full moon hanging over it.

Full Moon... Those words swirled over and over in her head.

She quickly grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled on it.