Ethereal [George Weasley]

𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 - 𝙡𝙪𝙥𝙞𝙣'𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚

We sat down on the stairs in the large classroom, as Lupin began to speak.

"I was born to my father - Lyall Lupin, a world-renowned authority on Non-Human Spiritous Apparitions - and my mother - Hope Howell, a muggle. I was an only child growing up, and the first few years of my life were very happy, despite the fact that it was around the beginning of the uprising of you-know-who."

"My father was among those asked to join the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, which he did gladly. It was there that he came face-to-face with a werewolf called Fenrir Greyback, who had been brought in for questioning about the death of two Muggle children. But Greyback insisted that he was a muggle tramp, to save himself from being sentenced to Azkaban. If they knew that Greyback was a werewolf, then the consequences would be large. My father detested any non-human, and so laughed at werewolves. This angered Greyback, as he himself was the creature that my father jeered at."

"After the trial, Greyback went back to his pack and told them of my father and how he spoke about them. So on the night of my fifth birthday, the pack broke into my room and attacked me. Father came just in time to save me from dying, however from that day forwards I was a Lycanthrope."

I blinked rapidly, my hands shaking. That sounded awful. Imagine being a child and getting attacked viciously because of somebody else's faults. That wasn't fair at all.

"My father despised himself for what had happened." Lupin continued. "Him and Mother were so upset that I had to go through that excruciating transformation once a month, the same exact one I go through now. Father did his best to find a cure, but there was nothing that could stop me from becoming that vicious beast."

"From this time onwards, my family's lives was dominated by the need to hide my condition. We uprooted ourselves from village to town, leaving the instant that rumours of my odd behaviour started." Lupin sighed. "Because of my condition, I was forbidden from playing with other children, and so despite having loving parents, I was very lonely."

"That's terrible." I whispered.

I could only relate to an extent. Grandma had always been overprotective of me, and the only time I saw any other child was when we visited the Diggory's.

"Worry not, Jessica." Lupin smiled. "That was a long time ago. Soon after that, Professor Dumbledore visited us. He insisted that I attended Hogwarts, and somehow persuaded my parents into agreeing. I was to transform in an empty house in Hogsmeade every month."

"The Shrieking Shack?" I realised.

"Yes. Though the nickname was given long after I had left Hogwarts. I was so happy to attend school and meet other children. After I was sorted into Gryffindor, I made three friends - James Potter, Peter Pettigrew... and Sirius Black."

I let out a gasp before covering my mouth with my hands.

Lupin... he was friends with the man who betrayed Harry's father and killed his loyal friend. I couldn't help but be shocked.

"I didn't know you were all in the same year." I admitted.

"I do look older, don't I?" Lupin laughed, before continuing his tale. "We self-titled ourselves the Marauders. We were inseparable. Sirius was the so-called heartthrob extraordinaire, James, the athletic but lovesick puppy, Peter, the ever faithful sidekick." Lupin smiled to himself. "Then there was me. The conscience of the group. But I liked to think that I was the brains of the operation, which in most cases I was."

I smiled. That sounded familiar.

"Despite being the best of friends, we all had our faults. James and Sirius would often bully a Slytherin boy." Lupin smirked. "You may know him as Professor Snape?"

"What?" I spluttered. "Snape was bullied?!"

"That he was." Lupin laughed. "I didn't like their relentless teasing, but I never stopped them anyway. I was quite shy, and didn't want to lose my friends because we had different morals. But then, they started to grow suspicious. Like you, they questioned why I would disappear once a month, only to return more bruised than ever."

"And one day, in my third year, they found out about who I truly was. I was so scared they would tell everyone, or that they would kick me out of the group... but they didn't." Lupin looked at me. "Instead, they became unregistered Animagi to help me during my transformation. I was forever grateful."

"A little while after, things had started to change though. As we grew older, our feelings and such developed. Now, Sirius, he came from an abusive Slytherin-loving home and we were his only family. And so he became quite attached." Lupin cleared his throat. "Since James was so in love with Lily, Harry's mum, and Peter wasn't exactly... well, he wasn't the ideal person to talk to, Sirius turned to me."

"We began to confide in each other. I'd tell him about my Lycanthropy and my ill mother, and he'd tell me about the abuse he underwent at home at the hands of his parents." Lupin swallowed. "We became close... until he betrayed us all."

I tried to wrap my head around the last part. How could Sirius, do that? After all those years. That was heartbreaking.

"And then, after a few years at Hogwarts, the incident happened. I had lost my three best friends within 24 hours." Lupin looked sad, and I felt terrible. "The years after that involved a lonely life - with no parents, no partner and no friends, I was left with only myself. Until Dumbledore saved me, and offered me a job here."

"Without Hogwarts, I would be nowhere. This is my home." He smiled. "It brings back good memories from my youth."

"Professor, I won't tell anybody." I said. "Not even my friends. I solemnly swear it."

"I appreciate that, Jessica." Lupin smiled kindly at me.

As I left, my hands automatically reaching up to my necklace, I made a promise to myself. I wouldn't tell anybody until it was safe to do so. And that was a promise I planned to keep for a long time.

#

Not in the mood to eat or see my friends, I skipped lunch and only came down for dinner. I wasn't sure whether to sit with my friends or not - but it seemed as if they were ignoring me. So I instead sat with Fred, George and Lee. They were talking about a prank they were planning to pull on Snape, and as Lee and George wrote down the idea on a corner of parchment, Fred turned to me.

"Harley and your friends asked about you." Fred said. "I told them what you told me to say, but they knew I was lying."

"Great." I muttered. Another thing added to my plate.

"They seemed ticked off." Fred continued. "I tried to save you though."

"How?" I said between a sip of pumpkin juice.

Fred grinned.

"I told them that you and George went off together for some alone time."

I spat out my juice onto my turtleneck.

"Fred!" I shrieked. "Why on earth would you do that?!"

"They totally bought it!" Fred offered a cheesy smirk. "Since you were who-knows-where and George was in detention, it made sense."

"Fred, I hate you." I groaned. "Why would you do that?"

Fred laughed at my reaction and soon, dinner was over. Waiting for the backlash as I stood in the dorm for my friends to come up, I sighed. I had dug myself a very deep hole. But the backlash never came.

As they came into the room, they completely ignored me, instead talking about other things that didn't involve me.

I sighed. I didn't want to apologise, but I also didn't want to fight. In the end, I just climbed into my covers and fell into a deep sleep from my long day.

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