Dislcaimer: I do not own any characters in the Harry Potter universe. They are all J. K. Rowling's babies. However, Addison Malvae is my own.


"You might want to be careful."

Addison Malvae wasn't a girl that tended to scare easily. However, with her nose practically shoved against the glass of a murky water filled tank with quite an interesting little creature inside while being out after curfew, her nerves were a little on edge. She spun around, her eyes wide and words instantly forming in her mouth- "I didn't do it."

The man standing before her was one she didn't recognize. She tilted her head slightly to the left, as if it would help her memory as her eyes scanned his face. He was older than she, obviously not a student. His robes were worn and there were lines on his face. As her green eyes met his amber ones, she admitted to herself that he was handsome-for the new Defense professor, that is. A small smile played on his lips as he spoke, "You're not the one who decided to sneak into my classroom and frighten my Grindylow?"

"Frighten him?" She asked, her voice shooting up a few octaves in tone. "He frightened me!"

He tutted at her, shaking his head as moved closer to observe the Grindylow as it finally came out of the murk to shake a fist at the two of them. "A Gryffindor scared by a mere Grindylow?"

Addison narrowed her eyes at him before she spoke again, "Not scared...I've just never seen one in person. None of the other professors really ever brought anything in...actually, come to think of it, Quirrell brought in some sort of lizard once but he turned out to be quite daft, didn't he?" She ended her statement with a raised eyebrow and a smirk in his direction. He seemed to take the hint. He cleared his throat and tapped a few times on the glass of the tank before straightening up and walking over to his new desk at the head of the room. She followed his example and moved to where she always sat: second row on the left, a few seats in. "Well, you obviously know who I am. But I haven't the slightest idea who you are and why you're out after hours and in this room of all places."

"Well, here are your answers then," she started, pushing her dark bangs behind her ear. "My name is Kate Walker. I'm out after hours because I'm an insomniac...walking the castle for an hour or so usually winds me down enough to where I can sleep. And I ended up here because I was taking the walk I usually do when lo and behold, I find the new Defense classroom." As she spoke the words, she knew that she was caught. There was something in the way he was looking at her-he knew something.

"Well, your name is not Kate Walker," he replied after a few moments.

"Oh really?"

"Really."

"How's that?" she asked, crossing her arms on the desk in front of her.

"Because Kate Walker happens to not only be in Ravenclaw, but she is blonde," he answered, getting up from his desk to walk over to where she was sitting. He took the seat in front of her and sat in it backwards, his arms resting on the backrest. "Now why don't you tell me who you really are."

"Addison Malvae," she replied, obviously beaten in her own game. "Everyone usually calls me Addie. Addison's too...old."

"Well, it's nice to meet you Addie. However, it is after hours and I'm sure we both need some sleep before the first day tomorrow."

She nodded lightly, and stood only after he moved to do the same. As she made her way to the door, she was acutely aware he was following her. She turned abruptly at the door. "Why are you following me?"

"Well, you said so yourself-you like to wander around the castle. I'm afraid I can't let you do that and have someone else catch you. They won't be as lenient as I am."

"You can say that again," she muttered, her mind instantly registering her many run-ins with Professor Snape. She gagged slightly just at the thought of him. "But I get it-straight back to the dorm."

"Exactly," he said, following her out of the door and shutting it behind them. She wasn't sure what to say to him, or if she should say anything at all. He was walking her back to the dorm, which was a nice thing for him to do but it also would make it extremely difficult to get back out again afterwards-what if he waited around to see if she left again? Would he really do that? She figured that if he found it necessary enough to walk her back personally, he probably wouldn't appreciate it if she left right after he turned to leave.

"I assume you're taking Defense?" he asked, his hands shoved deeply in his pocket.

"You assume correctly, Professor...?" she said, trailing, hoping he'd take the hint.

"Lupin." He did.

"Well, you assume correctly, Professor Lupin. I'm a seventh year. I'm taking the Advanced course."

He didn't say anything at first and she wasn't sure why-did he find it hard to believe that she would be in the Advanced section? "I'm actually quite nervous about that class," he stated after another minute or so, as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, her snores loud as ever.

"Don't be," Addie said, a smile on her face. She yawned as she turned toward the Lady, trying to think of the password. "Fortuna Major." She furrowed her eyebrows at the Fat Lady simply snoozed on and Lupin uttered a noise somewhere along the lines of a laugh. She glanced back at him momentarily, raised her voice a bit more and said the password again. This time, the Lady jumped awake, muttering to herself as she awoke and swung open. She put her hand against the frame, holding it open as she turned to say goodbye. Addie glanced someone over Lupin's shoulder but couldn't tell who it was. Knowing her luck, it had to be either Snape or McGonagall. She frowned, thinking of consequences. Neither of them was going to let her get away with being late again. "Thanks for walking me back. I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow. Goodnight Professor."

"Goodnight Miss Malvae," he said, nodding slightly, a smile still on his face as he turned to head back downstairs.

"It's Addie," she muttered, rolling her eyes. The portrait swung slowly shut behind her as she made her way into the Common Room. No one was awake anymore and the fire barely had a crackle left. She waved her hand towards it, the small amount of light it gave out now gone.