Woot! I am catching up.

So, most everything has been updated. I really hope you're all enjoying the changes. Sorry the last chapter was so short but it was really an event all its own.

I want to give a big shout out to my four newest subscribers: ImaBiteChu, MaxximusPrime, candokid1, and Charlie300895!

Thank you all!

*Points to the Review button at the bottom of the page and gives everyone puppy dog eyes.*

Read, review, enjoy! =)

Disclaimer: Like every other fanfic writer, I bow to the genius that is J.K. Rowling

Chapter Ten - Rumors

November passed by quickly. Hermione was nervously avoiding Professor Lupin in the halls, though she tried to act as normal as possible otherwise. She just couldn't help but think He's a werewolf every time she saw him, nor could she avoid counting down the days til the next full moon. She really wished that she could talk to him about it... but what would happen if he found out she knew?

At least Harry was feeling better. Ravenclaw flattened Hufflepuff in their Quidditch match at the end of November and Hermione was glad to see Harry's mood take a definite upturn. Quidditch practices were becoming more frequent despite the weather, but it seemed to be helping.

Hermione managed to make it through November without too much difficulty because thankfully there were no more rows with Ron about Crookshanks and no sign of Sirius Black. The only problem was Sir Cadogan, the crazy knight that had replaced the Fat Lady. He spent half his time challenging people to duels or making up complicated passwords that he changed sometimes as much as twice a day. At least he wasn't smart enough to spot her time discrepancies if she time-turned in Gryffindor Tower.

November passed into December and Hermione and Ron talked about staying at Hogwarts over Christmas break to be with Harry. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

oOoOo

It was Wednesday December 10th.** Hermione had just finished another triple elective hour and was in the girl's bathroom on the 6th floor. She was just sitting on the toilet with the lid down (after an extensive cleaning charm over the entire cubicle) and was working on an Ancient Runes essay for Professor Babbling when she heard a couple of girls come in talking about Professor Lupin.

There were three voices that Hermione could make out, and they were all joking with each other as they stood somewhere to Hermione's left - probably fixing their hair in the mirrors. Hermione listened intently.

"I mean, he's a fabulous teacher, and if he wasn't so old, he'd be kind of hot," one voice said.

A giggle and an 'ew' responded to this pronouncement.

Must be 6th or 7th years Hermione assumed because she didn't think anyone younger would be talking about professors being 'hot'.

"Professor Lupin is probably old enough to be your father. That's not hot."

"He's not nearly as old as he looks, but I guess you're right. Still, it's nice to have another younger teacher around besides Snape."

"Oh don't even go into that again," the third voice said. "Tall, dark and slimy is not attractive either."

"Did you notice that Professor Lupin looked tired again?" Hermione tried keeping track of the voices as best she could but sometimes she wasn't sure how had asked the question.

"Yeah, though I don't know why. Hangovers don't usually last three days, do they? Unless you think he hits the bottle before bed?"

"I suppose that would account for it. Pity though."

Hermione gasped. She hadn't meant to, but she did. These girls were accusing Professor Lupin of being an alcoholic!

"Who's there?"

At first Hermione didn't know what to do. Should she get up and show herself, or should she just speak? And what was she supposed to say to these older girls about professor Lupin? She cleared her throat.

"Sorry, didn't mean to eavesdrop. But do you really think Professor Lupin is a drunk," she called from her stall, hoping her voice didn't quaver.

"Wicked isn't it? But there's no way to know for sure. He just doesn't usually look so hung over," the leader of the voices responded.

Hermione was thinking fast. The full moon had been just two days ago. This must have been the first day Professor Lupin had been back to class. What should she do? Could she maybe spread more rumors to keep people from figuring out his secret? "I suppose it makes since, though a -" what grade and what house should she use? "- a 5th year Ravenclaw -" (Oh, please don't let them be from Ravenclaw) "- told me that she heard Professor Lupin was in St. Mungo's this weekend."

"Really?" One of the voices asked eagerly.

"That's what I heard," Hermione said. "But a Gryffindor told me that Professor Lupin was an undercover Auror and was leaving the school now and then for some important Ministry thing."

Well, that had done it. The other three voices started spinning even more ridiculous ideas about Professor Lupin's 'secret life' and left the bathroom. Hermione sighed hoping she had not made things worse.

oOoOo

When Hermione joined Ron and Harry for lunch, she could hear the gossip circling. How could her rumors have spread to most of the school in just under an hour? Well, at least most of the rumors had been sufficiently distorted, and more than once she swore she heard someone exclaim, "That's complete bollocks!" At least now people would wonder what mysterious things Lupin was up to when he 'left the castle' and wouldn't connect it to the full moon, and that was something.

oOoOo

The next two and a half weeks passed without incident. Thank goodness for the short attention span of teenagers! The rumors about Lupin were quickly dismissed and overshadowed by the upcoming holidays, including the next Hogsmeade trip that was scheduled the Saturday before winter break.

Harry's mood quickly deteriorated again as he knew he'd be the only third year left behind again.

Like last time, Hermione and Ron banded together to try to cheer him up and promised another lot of sweets. Hermione also hinting that he'd be getting double Christmas presents this year, which caused the corners of his mouth to twitch.

**I really went and looked up the lunar calendar for December of 2003. Most authors, astronomers, etc. tend to agree that a full moon lasts 3 days before there is a noticeable waning. In this case, peak of the full moon was on Monday December 8th, which means he missed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and came back to teach someone's class on Wednesday. I apologize if that wasn't more clear, but with the way Hogwarts schedules seem to randomly change I hope it's not too far out of the realm of possibility.