Yes, I'm posting ANOTHER new fic. I'm not even going to say anything, I'm simply going to kindly ask you lovely people to leave your thoughts and opinions in the reviews and thank you in advance. Really. To those of you who review, I mean it - THANK YOU!
Enjoy. :-)
"Bloody dementors on the train! Haven't even gotten to school yet and they're already trying to kill us," grumbled 15-year-old Anna Lowell as she stepped off of the Hogwarts Express.
"It was just a freak accident," Angelina Johnson, one of her best friends, piped up. "Besides, would you rather get killed by Sirius Black or have dementors floating around?"
"Well, if I'm going to have to choose between having my soul sucked out or being killed by Sirius Black, I'm going to choose Black, to be honest, Ange," Anna replied. Seeing Angelina's eyebrows skyrocket upwards, Anna cleared her throat and explained, "Because, think about it here - getting your soul sucked out would be slow and painful and it would be bloody awful. If I'm gonna die, I want to get it over with, so if Black killed me, he'd throw a curse at me or cut my jugular or something that'd make it go fast."
"You're positively morbid, you know that?" Angelina grumbled, shaking her head as she boarded the carriage and got out of the icy rain.
"We're all going to die," Anna shrugged.
She was unphased, and leapt into the carriage behind Angelina, with her beloved kneazle, Casper, tucked beneath her robes and clutched against her chest. He wasn't a fan of the rain, to say the least.
"Who's dying?" inquired Alicia Spinnet, fellow fifth year and other best friend of Anna. Together, Anna, Angelina and Alicia were the three amigos, the three musketeers.
"No one," Angelina muttered, rolling her eyes. Changing the subject, she then asked, "So, what do you two reckon Professor Lupin will be like?"
By Professor Lupin, Angelina was referring to the new professor they'd been hearing all about on the train since the dementor incident. Apparently, this Professor Lupin was going to be their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor (their fifth one in five years), and he'd single-handedly saved Harry Potter's life when one of the dementors supposedly tried to suck his soul out right there on the Express.
"Well, he sounds like he's got the skills to teach, at least," Alicia answered. "If what everyone's saying about him saving Harry is true, anyway."
"Yeah, at least he doesn't sound like a total wanker," Anna chimed in. "Lockhart was a complete wanker. I think he spent more time looking in a mirror than he ever did doing any of those things he's said he's done….and Quirrell, remember that idiot? I always wondered if he made that ridiculous turban out of toilet paper."
That comment garnered laughs from the other two girls, while Anna shrugged. She'd always genuinely wondered that.
"Toilet paper?" Alicia repeated, still chuckling. "Why on earth would he make a turban with that?"
"I don't know," Anna shrugged once again. "I bet he had a lot of spare time on his hands to do something pointless like that. He wasn't exactly hot to trot or partying or anything, was he?"
"I really don't understand your brain most of the time," Angelina sighed with a grin. "Does being a werewolf make you insane?"
"Oh, definitely," Anna nodded, with an endearingly manic kind of grin. "You know, the word 'lunatic' stems from the Latin word for 'moon,' because it was believed the moon made people crazy, right? So, since my entire life is governed by the moon, I must be a real nutter."
"You lost me, Fang," Alicia said, wide-eyed and confused.
Anna had earned the nickname Fang because Angelina and Alicia thought that her fangs looked particularly menacing when she transformed.
Yes, Anna Lowell was a werewolf. She couldn't help it, she'd been born that way. Her dad was terrified that she wouldn't be able to attend Hogwarts, but Professor Dumbledore had been kind enough to make accommodations for her by providing her an isolated place to transform. It was the Shrieking Shack, which she accessed via a tunnel through the Whomping Willow. Professor Dumbledore said they'd built all of it for a former student who was a werewolf as well, and that the screams heard from the Shrieking Shack were actually them in pain while transforming, though the ghostly rumours were encouraged to protect the student. She spent her first three and a half years locking herself in there, alone, while she transformed, and then missing a shit load of classes because of how ill transforming made her.
By the end of Anna's first year, Angelina and Alicia had done some detective work and deduced that she was a werewolf. At first, Anna denied it with all her heart and soul, but after Alicia and Angelina kept on her about it, she came clean. To her surprise, her friends were fine with it. They didn't hold it against her or hate her or think she was disgusting like she expected them to, but they actually wanted to help her. They saw the wounds and scars that she endured because of transforming, because she ended up hurting herself since she was locked away while in wolf form, and that's when they got the idea - Angelina and Alicia were going to find a way to be there safely while she transformed, to keep her from hurting herself. Sure, Anna had Casper her kneazle for company while she transformed, but he was far too small to prevent her from injuring herself.
For the next couple of years, Angelina and Alicia studied up on how to become Animagi, something that Professor Dumbledore subtly suggested they try. They didn't question how he knew that was exactly what they needed to do, but they did it. By the time they came back from Christmas break during their fourth year, they'd finally mastered the skill enough to accompany Anna during her transformations and stop her from hurting herself.
Anyway, the girls were now fifth years, and their carriage was dropping them off at the castle. Anna gave the thestral that pulled their carriage a thankful pet down the nose, before the three made a run for it through the rain, arriving inside of the castle soaking wet and shivering, like almost everyone else was. Each of the girls removed their wands from their cloaks, using them to dry themselves off before entering the Great Hall.
"Where the hell has McGonagall gone?" Anna inquired, referring to their Head of Gryffindor House.
She had noticed tiny Professor Flitwick standing in front of the hoard of assembled first years, standing in the hand of one of the knight statues so that they could all see him. It seemed that Flitwick was running the Sorting this year, when it was traditionally McGonagall's duty.
"I don't know, but that's strange," Angelina replied, glancing over her shoulder at Flitwick. "It's not like McGonagall to not be here."
"True, but Flitwick looks wonderfully ridiculous with that statue holding him," Anna chuckled. "He's adorable! He looks like a little doll up there, doesn't he?"
Both Angelina and Alicia shook their heads, but it was Alicia who said, "You've lost us again, Fang."
Anna shrugged, but didn't reply as they took their seats at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Their other friends, Katie Bell, Oliver Wood, Lee Jordan and Fred and George Weasley were all already occupying their usual seats.
Anna's smile faded a bit. They were all her friends, sure, but they didn't know her secret like Alicia and Angelina did, and she had a perpetual fear that they'd all find out, and when they did, they'd hate her. That fear always made her act quieter and more reserved when around all of them, versus how zany she could be when just around Alicia and Angelina.
Fred and George were already goofing off, as they were showing off the two miniature mummy figures they brought home from Egypt, which could be made to fight each other or do the 'walk like an Egyptian' dance. For some reason, the little things were ridiculously funny, and kept everyone laughing until the Sorting began.
The Sorting went as usual, with the exception that Flitwick was the master of ceremonies rather than McGonagall. The tiny professor set the ancient hat on the equally ancient stool, it belted out another song that was painfully long in Anna's opinion, and then, in his signature squeaky voice, Flitwick called each first year up by last name, then first name, and they were Sorted. Each table clapped when a new student joined their ranks, including Anna, though she found her claps less and less enthusiastic as she became more and more hungry.
The Sorting came to an end (finally), and the whole hall erupted in cheers and claps, though Anna rolled her eyes as she clapped. She just wanted to eat, and sighed dramatically as she collapsed into her seat once again. She glanced down the table full of Gryffindors, particularly looking at the terrified new first years. While doing this, she noticed Ron Weasley, Fred and George's bottomless pit of a younger brother, was without Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. That was odd. The latter two were nowhere to be found, though Anna almost always saw them together, like a package deal.
Immediately, Anna recalled the story everyone had been murmuring about since the dementors on the train - that Harry had actually been attacked. That would explain why he was gone, but what about Granger?
"Hey, Ron, where's…." Anna began to ask.
Just as she did, the doors to the Great Hall swung open once again, and in came McGonagall, Harry, and Hermione, as if they were right on cue. McGonagall simply took her seat up at the staff table, in her reserved seat that was previously empty, right next to who Anna immediately assumed must be Professor Lupin. She hadn't noticed him up there, because honestly, she hadn't been paying much attention to anything but her stomach for a while now.
Looking at him now, Anna could understand why she'd missed him. He looked very unassuming, with somewhat shabby robes and graying hair and a plain face. He didn't stand out, especially amongst his new colleagues, like the groundskeeper giant Hagrid, or the eccentric Professor Dumbledore, or the itty-bitty Professor Flitwick. He seemed happy to be up at the staff table, by Anna's observations, and she was happy to see he wasn't wearing a turban.
Back at Anna's own Gryffindor table, she noticed Ron mutter something to Harry as he sat down, but before she herself could butt into the conversation, Professor Dumbledore rose before the school.
"Welcome!" Dumbledore greeted, extending his arms. As always, he looked eccentric, with his flashy robes, long beard and hair, half-moon spectacles and crooked nose, all of which glowed with him in the candlelight. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…."
Pausing, Dumbledore cleared his throat, and then continued, "As you will all be aware of after the search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."
Anna knew, almost everyone knew. The damn dementors were at Hogwarts because the infamous, insane serial killer Sirius Black was on the loose.
"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore continued. "And while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave the school without permission. Dementors are not fooled by tricks or disguises - or even Invisibility Cloaks. It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors."
Anna noticed Percy Weasley, Fred and George's painfully obnoxious older brother, puff out his chest to make his Head Boy badge more noticeable. Anna did the same thing just to mock him for her own pleasure, though Fred and George saw her from the corners of their eyes and couldn't help but to snigger, causing Percy to glare down at all of them.
"On a happier note," Dumbledore said, catching their attentions again. "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year."
"Two?" Angelina whispered. "I don't see anyone new but Lupin…."
They all followed her glance up at the staff table, and saw that Angelina was right.
"First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Lupin gave a slight wave as a rather scattered kind of applause rose in the hall. The Gryffindor table was undeniably the most enthusiastic, as the story about Harry and the dementors on the train had impressed them all. Across the way, Anna saw the Slytherins whispering and sniggering, and shook her head. She wasn't a fan of the Slytherins.
"Look at Snape!" someone whispered somewhere near Anna.
Craning her neck, Anna focused her eyeballs up towards Snape's end of the staff table. The expression he wore could was one that she could only sum up in two words: pure hatred. It was no secret that Snape had been after the DADA job for years now, but never ever had she seen him react to the person who actually got the job in such a nasty way.
She groaned and turned back towards the table, where she and Fred locked eyes and exchanged slightly confused shrugs at Snape's reaction. The rest of what little applause there was died down, just in time for Dumbledore to continue talking.
"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore picked up. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who was agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."
"Wicked," Anna grinned.
From what she knew of Hagrid, she liked him, and she knew he had a penchant for interesting and dangerous creatures, which was sure to make one of her favorite classes a whole hell of a lot more interesting.
Standing up there to accept the applause, Hagrid looked a bit like a fool. Anna saw that he was crying, dabbing his enormous eyes with the tablecloth. It was a pretty funny sight, almost as funny as the statue holding Professor Flitwick.
"Well, I think that's everything of importance," said Dumbledore. "Let the feast begin!"
As soon as Dumbledore had finished speaking, golden plates and goblets appeared all over each and every table, and the feast had begun. Anna couldn't help diving into things and loading her plate up with anything and everything she could get her hands on. Angelina jabbed her in the ribs with her elbow.
"What's that for?" Anna inquired, though her voice was very muffled through her mouthful of food.
"You look like an animal!" Angelina scolded.
With a wink, Anna whispered cheekily, "Well, technically…."
"Don't worry, you look completely civilized compared to that one," George piped up, gesturing towards his younger brother with his eyes.
It was true, Ron Weasley was making Anna look like a courtly lady over there. They chuckled.
"What?" Ron asked through his mouthful of food, looking up to the older students.
"Oh, nothing," George shrugged.
Seeing that Angelina gave Anna another glare, Fred said, "Ange, let her eat, won't you? She is a growing girl, after all."
He accentuated the word growing by making an extremely obvious gesture to her breasts, which earned laughter from the boys and eye rolling from the girls. Anna kicked him hard in the shin beneath the table.
"Merlin, you're stronger than you look," Fred commented, lowering himself to rub his shin below the table.
"It's the tit power," she replied. Angelina groaned, Alicia laughed.
"They're not bad looking, y'know," Lee said. "I mean, you're no Angelina, but you're not bad."
"You're lucky I can't reach you over there," Anna mumbled, shaking her head.
"Good thing I can," Angelina grunted.
She took the opportunity to kick Lee in the shin, probably even harder than Anna had kicked Fred, which made her laugh.
From there, the conversation glazed over the topic of Sirius Black again, then went back to the dementors on the train, though nobody dared to ask Harry about his experience, because he didn't exactly look like he was in the mood to talk. Then, of course, everyone had to talk about Quidditch, because they were all on the Quidditch team. This drove Anna crazy, because she wished she could play as well, but, due to her condition, it wouldn't really be practical for her to join. She'd miss weeks of practices throughout the season, so she decided to be fair to everyone else, she just wouldn't try out at all.
The feast ended, and all the food and drink magically disappeared from the table, and Anna rubbed her full belly with a happy grin. She didn't know if it was just her, or if it was because she was a werewolf, but she had a hell of an appetite.
Anna and gang then joined the gaggle of Gryffindors exiting the Great Hall and going up the marble staircase. She felt tired, something she often felt, and another thing she assumed was a symptom of her lycanthropy. She was so tired that she leaned on Alicia for support, and couldn't help but to utter a few enormous yawns. Anyone but Anna would've been embarrassed to yawn like that in public, but she'd learned not to care in her fifteen years.
"You need to get to bed," Alicia said. Everyone had come to a standstill in front of the Fat Lady's portrait, because no one knew the new password yet. "I can't have you falling asleep on me, you drool too much."
"Some people think its cute," Anna said in response, wiping her face as she lifted it from Alicia's shoulder. Alicia was right, she had been starting to drool.
"Like who?" Alicia asked.
"I don't know, but I'm sure some people do," Anna shrugged.
In reality, she had no idea. No one had ever called her cute but her dad. Of course, Alicia and Angelina called her cute in a friendship sort of way, but no one else ever had. And her dad didn't really count, did he?
"Coming through, coming through!" came the voice of obnoxious Head Boy Percy Weasley. He shoved his way to the front, announcing, "The new password is 'Fortuna Major'!"
As soon as he uttered the words, the Fat Lady's frame swung open, revealing the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. Everyone clambered inside, and Anna let out a happy sigh being back in the place she loved. Sure, she hated some of the classes she had to take, but when it came down to it, she loved Hogwarts. She was happy here. She had friends here, and she was free here. Even when she transformed, she could go into the Forbidden Forest now (okay, she really wasn't supposed to, but she could, and she did), which was loads better than having to be locked in the basement back home. She understood why she had to be locked up at home, but that didn't mean she liked it.
She did like the Gryffindor common room, however. She loved it because it felt like home. The warm fire, the view of the grounds from the window, the cozy couches and armchairs, and all the fun she'd had in here really made it a special place for her. As soon as she walked in, she spotted Casper, her black and orange mess of a kneazle, curled up by the fire on his favorite cushion. He was purring happily, and continued to do so as she scooped him up into her arms and smacked a big kiss onto his fat, fluffy head.
"I don't know how the hell you could love such an ugly thing," commented Lee.
It was a well known fact that Casper was rather ugly. His face was kind of squished, his right ear was nearly completely chewed off, and his left eye was missing, all because he'd been quite scrappy in his younger days.
"I wouldn't talk about being ugly if I were you," Anna retorted, rocking Casper in her arms like he was a human baby.
"He's not ugly, he's just tough looking," George piped up in her defense.
"Yeah, he's just got some battle scars," added Fred, giving Casper a scratch behind his less damaged ear.
The twins liked Casper because he had a mischievous side to him, like they did. He enjoyed running with an end of yarn in his mouth, undoing people's knitting from the other end, as they became more and more bewildered as to why their project wouldn't grow. He also liked casually dropping bugs in girls' hair as he passed by, stealing shoe laces to chew on, and appearing out of nowhere to give students a good scared. He'd done that so many times to the Slytherins now that most of them were actually mildly scared of him.
"Battle scars or not, he's still ugly," Lee shrugged.
"You just don't like him because he takes your shoelaces," Anna replied with a shrug of her own. "And the more you call him ugly, the more he'll do it."
Casper mewed in her arms, as if he were agreeing with her. Well, in fact, he was agreeing with her, because she was pretty good at understanding him. That was another symptom of lycanthropy, and the only one she didn't mind.
"Well, Ugly Cat and I are headed to bed," Anna sighed, turning towards the girls' dormitory. "Night."
She retreated up the stairs, and immediately collapsed into the bed that had been hers for years now, the one in the corner with all the cobwebs that freaked Alicia and Angelina out. With a couple flicks of her wand, she hung up all her posters that she liked to have up, and then curled up under all the warm covers with Casper snuggled up beside her, purring. She reached into the drawer in her nightstand, and pulled out the one thing she had to look at, even if she hated it - her lunar calendar.
She only had a bit of time until the next full moon.
With another sigh, she rolled onto her back, and allowed herself to fall asleep.
