Remus Lupin waited. The lights above him flickered briefly and went dead; even those lit by magical means. Hogwarts had been infiltrated by escaped criminal Sirius Black. His arrival in that dark, empty History of Magic classroom was inevitable. Lupin had earlier gone to the Ministry of Magic, the Wizengamot, and even Professor Dumbledore himself with warnings. They all underestimated the threat that Sirius Black presented to Hogwarts, and ignored him. Now that the folly of their ignorance was laid bare it was too late.

"What can we do?" cried the excitable Rubicon Cattermole. "Surely we are sitting ducks here. We must look for a means of escape."

"To where do we escape, Mr. Cattermole?" replied Professor Joson. "This castle is dangerous enough with the lights on, and Sirius is a born hunter that has no need for the illumination that we now find ourselves without. We are no less safe here than we would be in any of the corridors."

Cattermole persisted, "B-but I am not willing to just sit here and wait for him. I know of a secret passage not far from here that leads outside. At least then we'll be able to take one of the stabled dragons out of here. Sirius might be able to cover a lot of ground but he cannot fly!"

The Professor was not so easily persuaded. "What about you, Remus? After all, no one knows Black better than you do."

"Rubicon is right." he replied after a few seconds of thought. "But maybe I should stay here alone. In his attack he will prioritize me, and your chances are better if I stay here to lure him away from you."

Before his companions could protest this unexpected moment of selflessness, a large figure burst into the darkened room and charged at the three men. Just as Cattermole screamed "He is going to kill us!" the creature had bounded across the room and without any noticeable weapon attacked Lupin and pinned him to the ground. Professor Joson was heard saying "Don't worry, I've got him in my sights." as he fired a few spells at Black and sent him careening through the wall. Through some act of physics that none of the men in the room properly comprehended (as none of them possessed the relevant post secondary education) the ceiling gave way and they were all buried beneath the rubble.

After a few minute passed Remus awoke to find himself covered in dust but was otherwise, and perhaps miraculously, unharmed. As the shock of his circumstance subsided, he found himself overcome with rage. "I must find Sirius Black!" he shouted, but received no answer. How could he have allowed himself to be taken so off guard? Indeed, he thought back to his youth when he and Sirius were great friends, only to have that trust utterly shattered as they reached young adulthood. Lupin's own father had warned him that the boy was dangerous, but those words fell on ears as deaf as those possessed by the Ministry officials who would scoff at his own warnings all those years later. In that moment he had great respect for his father's foresight.

Several hours later Lupin was rescued from the debris and released from Madam Pompey's healing ward after being patched up. The only injury he took directly from Sirius was a series of small scratches on his right arm, as though Sirius had scratched him with his own nails. As dangerous as he was, Sirius' attack seemed desperate and unplanned. What he had hoped to accomplish, Lupin did not yet realize.

Of course, dozens of fantastical rumors were spread throughout Hogwarts the next day, each more incredible than the last. Some said that Sirius had made a pact with demons, and others claimed that he had taken the form of a werewolf. Professor Dumbledore held a press conference where he expressed his outrage over the gross negligence of the Ministry of Magic and the Wizengamot for their failure to take Sirius into custody despite overwhelming evidence of a plan to attack the school that included a heavily annotated blueprint of Hogwart's security systems and a video declaring his intentions to the wizarding world. Thankfully few children were injured in the attack, and words of encouragement were given wishing Harry Potter a speedy recovery. (Years later subsequent headmaster Fletcher would wisely have the swinging blade traps uninstalled.)

As exciting as the day promised to be, Lupin decided that he needed to take a lengthy vacation. He had just finished packing a small suitcase as Inspector McGonagall approached him.

"Sorry to bother you Mr. Lupin, but I was going over the testimonials we gathered from the eyewitnesses with my partner Ludo Bagman and we think we've uncovered something. Mr. Black was not at any point seen with a weapon, and a detailed forensic analysis seems to indicate that none of the wandfire was connected with an implement registered in his name. He may not be above buying a wand on a black market, but the fact that no one can recall seeing him with one makes that theory less tenable. Furthermore, these same witnesses claim that he was almost animalistic in the way he moved and acted. He may be suffering from some sort of unforeseen psychosis, perhaps brought on by magical contamination from a failed spell, but if so this might be a severe case and as we have not yet apprehended the criminal I wanted you to know this."

"Thank you for coming to me with this information." he said, trying not to let the exhaustion show on his face. "But I think I'll be fine. Sirius may consider me his enemy, but if last night is any indication he's not nearly as dangerous as I'd been led to believe. I've prepared a few particularly nasty immobilization hexes just in case he thinks this scratch on my arm is not sufficient retribution for whatever it was that has him so angry with me."

"Be that as it may," she said with some concern on her face, "I want you to know the services of my department will be at your disposal should you ever feel unsafe. We were unprepared for Sirius once, but it will not happen again."

They parted ways, and Lupin collected his belongings and headed out the front gate of the castle. He had planned to take the Hogwarts train to a remote cabin that he often visited during the summer. The night air was cool, and the full face of the moon shone in all its glory.

"Wait up a moment, Mr. Lupin!" It was esteemed Professor Joson, this time with his arm in a sling. "It seems that you have wasted no time in exiting the school. I can't say that I blame you. If I'd had some madman attack me I would likely do the very same."

"Good to see you're doing well, Professor." Lupin responded. "What would cause a man to live his life as Sirius has? Does he think that this attack will go unanswered? There are repercussions for the evil that he perpetuates! I don't put much stock in the rumors going around, but last night he acted almost as if he were really a demon. A superstitious man could be forgiven for thinking so, at least. "

The Professor laughed. "My friend, over the years I have learned to become very superstitious. Truth be told, there's a demon in all of us. All it takes is the right set of conditions to bring it out. Who knows, in a different life either you or I might have chosen Sirius' dark, lonely path."

"Perhaps you're right. Take care, my friend!" They then parted ways.

Lupin was about to board the train. He took one last look at the moon, and began to feel a little strange. He thought of Sirius, and for a brief moment he experienced great pity for his former friend. Could it be that he was simply a misunderstood victim of circumstance? He remembered Professor Joson's last words to him. Maybe the demon truly was within him as well. The scratch on his right arm began to burn fiercely.

And then Remus Lupin was a werewolf.