Here we go! I sincerely hope you guys enjoy this update. I've been working on it for a while.

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Thank you to everyone that's reviewed so far! For real, it helps me a lot. I know that the story is good and the characters are fitting together properly and everyone's doing what they should when you review, so keep them coming!

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Four days. Remus Lupin had four days until the full moon.

Standing in his office, he looked at all of the papers he was meant to grade and wondered if he'd have the time do tackle them before he was 'sick' for a few days. A groan escaped him as he silently cursed himself for assigning so many papers.

Begrudgingly, he slumped into his desk chair. The checklist in preparation for his leave of absence was longer than he'd anticipated. He still had to finish his grading, collect his materials for the next week's lectures, give Severus his lecture notes for the classes he'd be covering for him. Ugh. Snape's presence in his mind was something that was not welcomed at the moment. Ever since his meeting about his 'treatment' with the Potions Master, they'd been clashing ever since. Rubbing his forehead, he tried to erase the conversation, but it still rattled around in his brain like a rouge leaf in a windstorm.

"Thank you for this, Severus."

Remus stood in Snape's laboratory, his hands clasped in front of him, trying not to touch anything that looked important. Severus turned, handing him a clear vile filled with yellowish liquid. A grimace formed on Lupin's face as he took the potion into his mouth, trying to swallow quickly before the bitter taste could sit too long on his tongue.

"I'm not doing this for your benefit, you know." Severus sneered, watching the werewolf down the concoction. "I'm doing this as a favor for Dumbledore."

Remus handed him back the cup-sized bottle, pressing his mouth against his opposite sleeve to wipe away any remaining drops of the harsh potion.

"And Cordelia."

At the sound of her name there was silence. The two men regarded each other severely, their eyes narrowing sharply at the other. Remus opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Snape's dark voice.

"We are not friends, Lupin, you and I. Never forget that." He hissed, drawing nearer to the wolf, "If you ever hurt Cordelia-"

Something inside Remus snapped. Before he knew what he was doing, his hands were tangled in the lapels of Severus' robes, roughly jarring the Potions Master.

"I would never hurt her!" He growled, his teeth slightly bearing. Severus returned with a mocking laugh and mouth twisted in anger.

"I'm sure you said the same thing when we were in sixth year, but one day I found her crying in the Slytherin common room. She was hurt then."

"We're not sixteen anymore, Snivellous." The werewolf's anger had begun to subside, his fists loosening their grip on the black fabric. "We've grown up."

"You may have matured physically and even some mentally, Remus, but you cannot change what you truly are." Severus' face returned to its usual stoic expression, "You are a monster. All you are able to do is hurt."

Deep down, Remus knew Snape was right. He could only hurt, and he had hurt so many people. If he had gone to Godric's Hollow that night instead of staying to do Order work... If he hadn't been so caught up on Cordelia to actually take advantage of the relationships around him… If he hadn't been so stubborn when Cordelia asked him to let her in during their sixth year…

Another groan rumbled from within him. He should have tossed Dumbledore out of his home and slammed the door in his face when he approached him with the teaching position. He should have stormed out of the Great Hall when Cordelia burst through the double doors and took a place at the head table. He obviously wasn't ready to face this pack of demons, yet. Maybe, he'd never be ready.

He could feel his inner wolf toss and turn in frustration. Remus tried to soothe the beast, but really, it didn't do any good. He needed transformation, but he'd have to wait for that bitter-sweet release.

Even before Cordelia's hand touched the doorknob of Remus' office, he could smell her sweet scent. To a werewolf, everyone is known by their scent, allowing the beast to reach accordingly, and since it was so close to his time of transformation, he could probably pick up the smell of a baker working in his basement in Hogsmeade if he opened his window. James always smelled like laundry detergent and freshly cut grass, while Peter had the slight scent of cheese.

To him, Cordelia's scent was very distinct. He could pick out her light smell of wild flowers and new parchment in a room full of people, and now it was coming straight into his classroom.

"Remus?"

Her soft voice echoed through his office, causing him to sit up in his desk chair and greet her with a smile. She was wearing a long, deep green robe with a hood and a pair of gloves; not necessarily her usual attire, but he quickly let that go.

The vampiress's face contorted into an expression of worry. He was paler than usual and his eyes had deep, bruise-like circles underneath them. She had watched him all through breakfast; him picking at his food before repeatedly dropping his head into his hand to run it through his thick hair or squeeze the bridge of his nose.

"I wanted to see if you were alright. You looked miserable this morning."

Remus shrugged, standing up to tend his tea tray.

"Coming down with something, I suppose." He lied, "It must be from all of these kids. I guess if it gets any worse, I'll pop over to Saint Mungo's for a check up. Would you care for some tea?"

He saw her nod slightly and mumbled about sugar as she turned her attention from him to his office. His eyes followed her as she browsed his bookcase, running her gloved fingers over leather and fabric spines. Finally, one captured her attention, as she pulled it from its home and let it fall open in her hands.

Picking up her teacup, he slowly walked to her, not making a sound. At the moment, she was completely entranced by the book she had chosen, so he knew he could have said anything to her and it would go unnoticed.

He was close to her. Closer than he'd been in a long time. She was completely off-guard in front of him, and if he wanted, he could do anything. Staring down at the nape of her exposed neck, his teeth clenched with possibility, sending a dark chill down his spine. Inwardly, his wolf howl and moaned, urging him to take advantage of his situation, but he quickly quieted it, clearing his throat and making Cordelia look back at him.

"Your tea."

She nodded in gratitude. Flipping the book closed, Cordelia flashed Remus the cover. It was one he'd gotten some time ago about vampires. He bought it about two months after Cordelia was expelled, when his curiosity about how a vampire actually functioned peaked. She took a sip of the dark liquid and let a slight sound of enjoyment before opening her mouth to speak.

"I teach from one of Vangar the Terrible's book in my class." She said, pointing to the author, "He's my favorite author. Never understood why they called him 'Terrible'."

Remus shot her a look. "You do know that he once burned down an entire village in Sweden?"

"I know that," Cordelia rolled her eyes, opening the book back to her thumb-marked page, "But, in his defense, the village was evacuated before he arrived, so he didn't actually hurt anybody."

Remus took a deep drink, letting it relax the urge to roll his eyes; instead they travelled down to the strange articles of clothing Cordelia adorned on her hands.

"Why the gloves? Are you going to attempt to kill me and leave no evidence?"

Still holding the book open in her thin hands, Cordelia turned slowly, smirking up at Remus.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would guarantee that I would leave no trace of you…" Remus shivered at the dark tone of her voice as it dropped to a whisper, "Anywhere."

Placing a mark between the pages and snapping the book shut, she broke eye contact with the man, shaking her head.

"No, today, I'm going to one of Hagrid's 'Care of Magical Creatures' classes in the forest. I took it in my sixth year, but didn't get to finish it, so I asked him if I could sit in every once in a while." A white smile appeared on Cordelia's face as she talked, excitement building up inside her.

"I'm going to get to see a Hippogriff. I haven't seen one in ages."

The thrill she held was almost infectious. To Remus, she looked like a child on Christmas morning right before she ripped into the largest box underneath the tree. He loved the fire that kindled behind her dark eyes when she talked about her research. A woman who was deeply passionate about something was very hard to resist, in his opinion.

"It seems like you have a full day ahead of you." Remus smiled, taking another sip, "And also that you're going to be late."

Cordelia's eyes widened in surprise as she looked to the clock sitting on the small coffee table beside his sofa and cursed softly. She turned her teacup up, draining the full contents into her mouth and swallowing harshly, breaking any rules of etiquette that she had learned as a young girl. Maybe her grandmother would be able to forgive her for being so inappropriate in front of a man, but at the moment, she didn't have time to ask for it.

"Thank you for the tea, Remus." Cordelia said softly, bowing her head slightly in appreciation before returning the book to its shelf and placing her cup in his waiting hand.

He was barely able to manage a 'goodbye' before she hurried from the room, the bottom of her robe slightly billowing behind her.

Cordelia Leonova was unlike any woman he'd ever met, but really, he wouldn't want her any other way.

The lengthy walk from the Defense office to the Forbidden Forest gave Cordelia plenty of time to entertain many thoughts. Continually, Remus' health fought its way to the front of her mind. She tried to remember why the way he looked seemed so familiar to her. Vaguely, she could recall him being ill while they were in school, but it never raised any red flags in her mind. He did miss classes sometimes, but that's when he was visiting his sick mother.

Pursing her lips at the thoughts, Cordelia decided to dismiss them, letting the nagging feeling drift back into the recesses of her brain. Maybe she'd revisit it later, but then again, maybe she'd just leave it to drift.

Reaching the edge of the castle's walkway, she pulled her hood over her head to protect her fair skin from certain burn. Clouds littered the sky, but not nearly enough to allow her to allow her any freedom. She skirted around the edge of the forest, listening to the far-off chatter of students as they waited for their class to begin. Nearing them, she could hear the distinct voice of Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy, ring out in a taunting manner. Cordelia had met Lucius once when she attended a banquet for her mother's division of the Ministry of Magic, at age fifteen. If Draco was anything like he father was then, well… he'd be an exceptional asshole.

"Professor?"

A familiar voice pulled Cordelia out of her thoughts. Hermione stood in front of her, a slight look of surprise on her face.

"Hello, Miss Granger."

Cordelia surveyed the children around her, staring up at her as if she were a Martian that had just landed ten feet away in a spaceship. Hermione was the only one that seemed somewhat at ease with her presence. Harry Potter stood with the rest of the on-lookers, probably trying to figure out whether or not she was going to be someone he liked. Oh God, he looked just like his father. Putting her gloved hand over her mouth, Cordelia had to fight an emerging smile thinking about James and Harry's resemblance. James would be so proud of his son's handsome appearance.

"I don't mean to be rude, Professor, but what are you doing here?"

Leaning on a tree beside her, Cordelia gave Hermione a defensive look.

"Oh," she started, pursing her lips lightly, "I have a free period, and this was one of my favorite classes when I was in school, so I figured I would revisit it."

Seeming to accept her answer, Hermione went back to looking through her book bag, while a redheaded boy beside her leaned over to Harry, whispering harshly into his ear.

"That's the vampire bird Fred and George are always on about." he mumbled, his eyes looking to her, evaluating her, "Honestly, I don't see what all the fuss is about."

Before Cordelia had time to be properly offended, Hagrid bounded toward the group, a string of dead ferrets dangling around his large neck.

"G'day, class!" His voice boomed out, calling attention to him as the class began. Reaching a spot out in front of the students, he turned to face them, looking around at their faces and stopping at Cordelia's.

Nodding slightly in her direction he smiled brightly, "Good mornin', Professor Leonova!"

Returning his gesture, Cordelia called back to him, "Good morning, Professor Hagrid."

A proud blush crept up from the giant's bushy beard. Cordelia always thought he was sweet and, since he was an expert on raising magical creatures, knew this was the perfect position for him.

"Today, we're gonna to be learnin' about one of the most fascinatin' creatures 'round these parts."

He disappeared into the thick of the forest, only to return with the magnificent beast. It looked as powerful as it actually was. Biting her lip in anticipation, Cordelia remembered when she first saw a Hippogriff with Dumbledore in her third year. Sometimes, they'd roam wild in the Forbidden Forest, crossing over into the part of the forest Cordelia was allowed to hunt in.

She and Dumbledore watched two interact with each other; their bowing and squawking seemed more like a dance than a display of aggression toward one another.

"Who'd like to pet 'em?"

Harry was pushed toward the giant who gleefully accepted him as a volunteer. Hagrid's grin widened as he patted Harry's shoulder roughly and gestured toward the beast.

"Alright, 'arry. Just bow ta Buckbeak 'n if he likes you, he'll bow back. If not, well, we'll just get ta that later."

The boy was nervous. Cordelia could smell the fear radiating off of him, and off Hermione as well.

"Professor," the girl whispered, unable to rip her eyes away from the scene unfolding in front of her. "Is this dangerous?"

Involuntarily, Cordelia snorted. "Hermione, it's a Hippogriff, not a Puffskein." Hermione's head turned quickly, catching the woman's eyes with hers. Ignoring the glare from the girl, Cordelia just stared ahead. "Of course it's dangerous."

She couldn't blame him, really, for being so apprehensive. If she were forced to do the same thing at his age in front of an entire class, her hands would probably be quivering just as hard.

Her stomach began to churn around the moment Hagrid picked up the boy and sat him on top of Buckbeak. Endless possibilities of injury and death played out in her mind as she watched the boy who defeated Voldemort be whisked away by an extremely unpredictable creature and plunged to high altitudes. She gripped her wand, readying herself for the moment he came plummeting down to earth, but it never came. The beast arrived back to his designated area, Harry in tow.

Immediately, classmates, all impressed with his bravery and with the fact that he was still alive, swarmed him.

When his feet touched the ground, Cordelia loosened her grip on her wand, letting a feeling of relief wash over her. She would probably kill Hagrid later, but in the moment, she was sure that riding a Hippogriff was actually the coolest thing Harry had done at Hogwarts yet, so she let it slide.

"Oh please." An annoyed voice called over the fading cheers of the crowd. Draco Malfoy pushed his way to the front of the mob, glaring at Harry as he passed him. "It's not like anyone couldn't ride this over-grown chicken."

He was walking straight toward Buckbeak, his fists swinging at his sides as he stomped. Cordelia's eyes widened, her mouth flying open before she had time to actually process what was happening.

"Draco, stop!" she shouted, only to be ignored by the blonde Slytherin. Opening her mouth to order him again, she was cut off by Buckbeak's offended squeal.

Once, she read that Hippogriff's were so proud, that there had been cases of the creatures actually attacking their own reflection for refusing to bow first. So, a thirteen-year-old human boy with an already existent attitude problem was certainly not going to be on Buckbeak's good side. He proved this by rearing back, knocking the Malfoy heir to the ground. Draco's forearm flew up, trying to shield him in vain from the Hippogriff, but Buckbeak responded by bicycling his front legs, slicing the arm with his razor-sharp talons.

Cordelia's hands flew up to her face, trying to erase the scene from her mind, but failing. She could hear Draco hollering and yelling about his death being imminent, but all she could focus on when she uncovered her face was the disheartened look on Hagrid's. He scooped up the boy and gestured toward her with his head, telling her to follow him.

"Class dismissed." He grunted loudly, cradling a thrashing Draco in his arms as a small horde of Slytherin students followed closely.

"What was I thinkin', Professor?"

Hagrid slumped on a large couch in Dumbledore's office. His large hands held his head as his elbows connected to his knees. Cordelia sat beside him, dwarfed by his size. She extended her arm fully, but was still barely about to reach the middle of his back to pat it gently.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Hagrid." She consoled, letting out a deep sigh.

"I'm not fit for this job." He sighed, himself. His disappointment ran deep. "Who was I tryin' ta fool?"

She felt so bad for him. He had been so proud of himself for being chosen for the position, and now he was proving that he didn't have the skill to do it after all.

"Oh, Hagrid," Cordelia said, looking up to him, "I think you're a brilliant teacher."

His head perked up, as he looked down at her, a sad smile on his face.

"Really?"

"Oh yes." She nodded, "I'd much rather you'd been my 'Care of Magical Creatures' professor in school. I mean, really, who wouldn't want to ride a Hippogriff?"

She placed her hand on his enormous forearm, offering him a smile. Patting her small hand with his, he returned her smile.

"Thank ya for tryin' ta make me feel better, Professor."
The eagle statue turned slowly, allowing Dumbledore to walk quickly up the stair from the hallway into his office where the two professors waited for him.

"How is he, Professor?" Hagrid stood, his hand ringing. Dumbledore nodded to the giant.

"He is fine, Hagrid. Just a cut on the arm. Nothing Madam Pomfrey can't handle."

Cordelia heard Hagrid let out a heavy sigh of relief. Standing, she reached her hand up, she patted him on the shoulder supportively.

"However,"

Hagrid cringed at Dumbledore's word, waiting for his doom.

"Draco Malfoy's father has been known to be difficult. He will be here for a meeting about this situation tomorrow."

Cordelia groaned inwardly, and by the exasperated look on Albus' face, he shared her sentiment. He narrowed his eyes on her.

"I'm asking that you attend the meeting tomorrow, Miss Leonova. As a witness to the incident, of course."

"So, I have to go to this meeting tomorrow with Draco and his father present."

Severus sat in his office, an emotionless look adorning his face as he listened to Cordelia's account. He certainly didn't envy her. Lucius Malfoy was grating on his best day.

"How unfortunate for you." Snape's monotone voice called out to his friend that sat with her legs crossed on his table he used for preparation of ingredients for his potions. She shot him a look, her eyes holding no amusment.

"Sev, I-"

"Not that I haven't enjoyed your recount of your entire day, I really must ask you to go." He said, his hand running through his hair impatiently. "I have a meeting."

Cordelia pursed her lips, gazing at the clock on his wall.

"It's almost midnight, Sev."

Looking back to him, she saw his back turned to her, seemingly working on something.

"Good night, Cora." He replied, not turning to face her.

Sliding herself forward, Cordelia slipped off of the table. He was very lucky that she was able to put up with a lot of abuse from him. Most days he wondered why she was still friends with him, but she returned to him over and over again like a kicked puppy.

"Good night, Severus."

Walking down the hallways, making her way toward her room, Cordelia had underestimated how utterly exhausted she was. Her eyes fought her tooth and nail to close, but so far she was winning the tussle.

A deep yawn rip through her as she followed the glowing tip of her wand through the castle, letting it light up subtle twists and turns in the corridor. Her fading eyes had become so transfixed on the point of light that when she encountered someone coming around the corner in one of the halls, she almost had a heart attack. Letting out a yelp of surprise, she jumped, covering her fluttering heart with her hand.

"Cordelia?"

Remus stood on the opposite end of her wand, her light held close to his squinting eyes.

"Remus." She breathed. "I almost died of shock."

A look of amusement broke out across his face; a look that Cordelia was too tired to be entertained with, herself.

"What are you doing out so late?" he questioned, pushing her wand lower so he wouldn't be permanently blinded by its intense glow. Her eyes instantly narrowed at him.

"I could ask you the same thing." She said defensively, her arm crossing across her stomach. Remus raised his eyebrow at her.

"I asked you first."

She almost growled at his childish response, but stopped herself and saved time by simply answering the question.

"I was visiting Severus. I had an eventful day after I left your office, if you care to know."

Remus rocked on his feet, a soft smile on his face, "I do care, but right now, I'm late for a meeting."

"Hm." She laughed slightly, "Sev had a meeting."

The werewolf's eyes widened faintly, his body stiffening. Clearing his throat, he stepped away from Cordelia.

"Yes, well," he looked down to her, smiling slightly and nodding, "Good night, Cordelia."

The vampiress let out another deep yawn before continuing on her way to her soft bed.

"Good night, Remus."

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