A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's taken me a little longer to update...I've been watching the Winter Olympics! There aren't any events going on today that catch my fancy (Apolo Ohno doesn't skate again until tomorrow, I have to support my love :P) so I thought I'd put up a couple of chapters while I have some time.

Again, I don't claim anything in this story as my own except for my character, Meredith. I hope you enjoy these next few chapters, some of them are kind of short but again, I've been caught up in the Winter Olympics and the wonderfully talented Apolo Ohno :-)


"You son of a--" Meredith reached for her wand but Oliver was already out of sight. She put it away, then looked over at Percy.

Percy just stood there, eyes wide with shock, staring at Meredith. "Are you...really?"

Meredith took a step towards Percy, reaching out a hand to touch his shoulder but he jumped backwards as if he was terrified of her. Sighing deeply, she nodded. "Yes, Percy, I am." She said, biting the inside of her cheek. Meredith already knew what was about to happen; she counted down in her head; 3...2...1.

Percy turned around and ran away from her without saying another word. Meredith turned to her left and kicked a pile of snow, causing it to fly everywhere. Exasperated, she sat down at the base of a statue, tucking her knees up to her chest, crying hysterically.

Lupin was walking back from Hogsmeade, hugging himself to keep warm when he came upon Meredith sitting in the snow crying. He sat down next to her and hesitantly put his arm around her shoulders. "Meredith, what's going on?" He said.

Meredith sobbed, wrapping her arms around him and digging her head into his shoulder. After a few minutes she managed to compose herself, taking several deep breaths and wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry, it's just...everything was going so well, and then it was all ruined," she said, hiccuping.

"Come to my office, we can talk there," Lupin said, helping her out of the snow. They walked through the castle together, Lupin keeping a careful distance from her. Once they got to his office he boiled water and poured tea for the both of them. "Now, tell me what's going on," he said with the tone of a concerned friend.

Meredith repeated the story to Lupin, holding back tears. "And then he just ran off, you know, like he was afraid of me or something," she said, biting her lip.

Lupin sighed, walking over to her and putting his hand over hers and squeezing it gently. "Meredith, I'm sorry that happened to you," he said, biting his lip.

"Why do people view others that are...like us, as monsters?" She said, running her hands through her hair.

"It's just the stigma...when people hear the word 'werewolf' they think of nightmarish things," Lupin said, "it comes with the territory."

"But we're NOT monsters," Meredith said, slamming her hand on her lap. She stood up, pacing between her chair and the windows. "I just...I hate it! Being...being this! This outcast! I can't have normal relationships with people, when I tell them what I am they look at me like I'm going to transform and bite their heads off or something," she ran her hands through her hair again.

Lupin walked over to her, catching her in his arms, stopping her frantic pacing. With hands on either side of her face, he spoke slowly, "Meredith, calm down. I know exactly how you feel, I do. I've had to deal with that my whole life...but hey, there's one thing that you need to know...This. Is not. Your. Fault."

"I know, it's just unfair!" Meredith said, resting her head on his shoulder, sighing.

Lupin wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him; they stayed that way for a while, wrapped up together. Meredith closed her eyes, breathing deeply, wrapping her arms tightly around him. She leaned up on her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on his lips; he responded, kissing her back, holding her tightly.

After a few moments, Meredith broke the kiss, looking at her Professor in horror, "I...um...I should probably go...thanks for the tea, Professor," Meredith said, blushing furiously. She opened his office door, stumbling over her own feet as she hurried to leave. On her way to the common room she ran into Fred, who forced her to go to the Great Hall with him for dinner. "Fred, really, I'm not hungry... I don't want to go!" Meredith protested, trying to break free of Fred's grip on her arm.

Fred pulled her along the corridor, humming quietly. "Nonsense, you're eating," he said, forcing her to sit in between him and George.

Meredith sighed dejectedly, fiddling around with her food. "Fred, seriously, I don't want to eat," she said, trying to get up from the table.

"What's got your knickers in a twist?" George said, smirking.

"I had a bad day today, can we drop this, please?" Meredith said tiredly, getting up and leaving the Great Hall before they could respond. She snuck into the Prefect's bathroom and treated herself to a relaxing bath, trying to calm her nerves.

"It's not a big deal, I just made out with my Professor, it's not that big of a deal...it isn't." She tried to reassure herself as she dove down under the bubbles. Meredith leaned against the wall of the tub, still talking to herself. "It was just a little kiss, nothing major...besides, he kissed me back...and I am of age so it wasn't illegal...but he's my Professor, it's fundamentally wrong...it shouldn't have happened...but it did happen, and I really liked it. Maybe I should talk to him about it, I don't know...Damn it!" She got out of the tub and changed back into her clothes and walked back to her dormitory, tossing and turning for what seemed like hours before she was able to fall asleep.