Hermione Granger was in heaven. Or was it hell? The past few months of DADA class had been a whirlwhind of learning, and there was absolutely no hope of keeping up with all the books she was trying to read. Not that Professor Lupin ever assigned any reading (which struck her as rather odd), but she wanted to supplement her classwork with library work. Even with the Time Turner, she couldn't fully research every topic that Professor Lupin taught before he moved to the next one. Already they had covered boggarts, veelas, sphinxes, centaurs, vampires, manticores, and banshees. They had learned an array of healing spells, and he had taught them the Patronus Charm to defend themselves from Dementors. He had also given them some basic instruction in wandless magic, which was an incredibly powerful, but immensely difficult and draining form of wizardry. He taught each subject thoroughly, but it really did seem as though he was on a mission to cram as much information into one year as he possibly could. May was right around the corner, and with it came the prospect of final exams. Professor Lupin's evaluation at the end of the previous term had been difficult enough, Hermione didn't even want to think about how hard the final exam was going to be… she needed to find more time to read.

Professor Lupin seemed uncharacteristically uptight today. As Hermione walked to her seat between Harry and Ron, she noticed that the man was fidgeting – drumming his hands against his thighs in an indistinguishable rhythm as he perched on the edge of his desk. His left foot was tapping the ground rapidly, further demonstrating a strangely nervous energy. As soon as the last of the third year Gryffindors and Slytherins took their seats, he leapt to his feet.

"I hope you all had a good weekend," he said, beginning to pace slowly across the front of the classroom. By now, his students recognized this behavior. Harry and Ron exchanged rueful grins, and even Draco cracked a thin smile as they prepared themselves for another impassioned speech. Professor Lupin was nothing if not passionate, and they were beginning to love him for it.

"These past few months, I've taught you about a large number of the Dark Creatures that exist in the world today," he said, his eyes fixed on the floor. "You've learned how to identify them, how to defend yourselves from them, and – I hope – you have all learned to see them as much more than just Creatures to be feared. We have one more Dark Creature to cover before the final exam. Today, we're going to start talking about werewolves."

A small squeak of fear echoed from someone in the back of the room. Professor Lupin looked up, an unreadable expression on his face. His mouth tightened slightly before he continued.

"First off, what do you know already about werewolves? Let's see what we have to work with. Can anybody tell me what a werewolf is, for starters? Neville?"

The dark-haired boy – normally timid and quiet in class – had begun to emerge from his shell over the past year as the Slytherins had slowly stopped tormenting him, following Draco's lead. Now, Neville spoke with quiet confidence.

"A werewolf is someone who transforms into a wolf under the light of a full moon," he said.

"Very good, Neville," Professor Lupin said. "You're quite right. A werewolf is a human with a condition called lycanthropy. Once a month, the human transforms into a wolf, both in body and mind. If the individual drinks Wolfsbane potion, they are able to retain their human mind throughout the physical transformation. But otherwise, the wolf mind takes over and runs wild. There is almost nothing in the world more dangerous than a transformed werewolf who hasn't taken Wolfsbane. Can anyone tell me when the next full moon is?"

Hermione raised her hand eagerly. "The next full moon is in four days, on May 3rd!"

"Excellent, Hermione," he said. "It's always a good idea to keep track of the moon cycles, you never know when that knowledge will come in handy. How does a human become infected with lycanthropy?"

Draco raised his hand slowly, and Professor Lupin nodded at him, giving him a small smile.

"They're either bitten by a werewolf, or they're born with it," the blond boy said quietly.

"Very good, Draco. Bites or scratches from a transformed werewolf transmit the disease. Not many werewolves choose – or have the opportunity – to have children, but when they do, approximately half of the time the child inherits the condition. Also, coming into contact with the blood of a werewolf – even when the individual is human – can be infectious as well. That's why I stressed body substance isolation so strongly when we were learning healing spells – you never know what diseases a person might have. You don't want be infected with something like lycanthropy just because you forgot to put on gloves when you healed someone."

"Is it just blood?" Pansy asked. "I mean, if you kissed a werewolf while they were human, would you get it from their saliva?"

A titter of laughter sounded around the room, and the girl blushed self-consciously. Professor Lupin smiled broadly at her question, suddenly looking much more relaxed as he leaned his shoulder against the wall at the front of the classroom and crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's actually a very good question, Pansy," he said, eyes twinkling at the blushing girl. "No, you cannot get lycanthropy from someone's saliva. So if you meet a nice boy who also happens to be a werewolf, go right ahead and kiss him – he'll probably be absolutely ecstatic."

He grinned at the laughter this inspired before continuing.

"I'm glad you asked that, because I think most people have a very inaccurate sense of how dangerous werewolves are when it's not full moon. The only way you can get lycanthropy from a non-transformed werewolf is by somehow getting their blood into your own bloodstream."

"What about feral werewolves, sir?" Neville asked. "Don't they bite people when it's not full moon?"

Professor Lupin pushed away from the wall, running a hand through his hair.

"Technically yes, that has happened. But victims of feral attacks never contract lycanthropy unless, again, they are unlucky enough to either ingest some of the werewolf's blood or get it into an open wound."

He paused for a moment, starting to pace again.

"Neville has brought up a very important point. Some of you may not be familiar with the term 'feral werewolf'. A feral is someone who acts like a wolf even when they are physically human. They are also the only kind of werewolf it is worth being afraid of. I'm sure you've all heard stories about people going insane and biting others in broad daylight. Most people believe this happens because the wolf mind is always present, ready to take over the human mind when it is vulnerable. However, this isn't strictly true. Going feral, in reality, has less to do with being a werewolf and a lot more to do with mental illness.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, confused. Professor Lupin frowned, obviously trying to think of the best way to explain.

"The life of a werewolf is hard," he began. "Very hard. Even with Wolfsbane, transformations are agonizing and exhausting. Without it, the wolf mind rages against any restraints the human might have put on it. People with lycanthropy will use anything – a cage, a magically warded room, even chains – to control the wolf during full moons, and quite often this leaves them badly wounded afterwards. Without any other form of distraction, the wolf will take to biting and clawing itself, and since werewolf bites and scratches cannot be healed with magic, the individual is left in an almost constant state of pain and ill health."

The students were staring at their professor in mute horror, but his eyes were fixed resolutely on the floor as he continued.

"Add that to the endless fear and shame of living in a world where everyone hates you for something you cannot change, and you get a very unhappy individual. Not many people are strong enough to deal with it alone, which is why most werewolves live in very close-knit communities of friends and family members, many of whom also have the disease. The Ministry refers to these communities as packs, probably because they like to make werewolves sound as much like animals as they can. But being around other people with lycanthropy makes it easier to bear, especially during the full moon, when the presence of other werewolves calms the wolf mind somewhat."

Professor Lupin took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair.

"People who turn feral are often individuals who don't have that support, for one reason or another. Some of them may be predisposed to mental illness, some of them simply cannot handle the pain… whatever the reason, they turn to the only thing they have left – the wolf. I can't say I fully understand the mentality of it, but I do know for a fact that a feral is not a wolf mind inside a human body. The wolf mind only surfaces during the full moon. Perhaps ferals think that since the world has decided they are animals, then they may as well embrace it. Perhaps it is a way of coping with the lack of control they have over their own bodies and minds. Some of them truly want to inflict pain on others. Whatever the motivation, ferals make no effort to restrain themselves during the full moon, and are therefore the most common spreaders of the disease. During the War, people like Fenrir Greyback and Alastair Smythe would kidnap children and keep them captive until the full moon, when they would unleash the wolf on them."

The students were far from unfamiliar with the names he had mentioned, or with the horrific things they had done. Professor Lupin continued, his voice almost shaking with intensity.

"There are some truly horrible werewolves out there in the world, people whose minds are so twisted and so damaged that they have no amount of human compassion left. But do you remember what I said when we were talking about vampires? You take people one at a time. Do you know how many ferals there are in the world?"

Nobody offered an answer, morbid curiousity hanging in the air.

"Less than a hundred. I know that for a fact, because I helped gather the data. Do you know how many werewolves there are in the world?"

More silence.

"Over twenty thousand," he said, letting the number echo around the room for a moment. "Twenty thousand people who are just trying to live peaceful lives while dealing with a terrible curse. Twenty thousand people who chain themselves to walls during the full moon; who would rather die than spread their disease. Does that mean there aren't accidents, awful mistakes? No. But I guarantee that if more werewolves had access to Wolfsbane, the number of accidents would decrease exponentially. I guarantee that if people with lycanthropy were offered support and sympathy instead of hatred and rocks aimed at their heads, there would be a lot fewer ferals, and a lot fewer attacks. Again, if we solve the root of the problem, instead of just trying to burn all the branches, then we might actually make the world a better place for everyone."

There was a long, contemplative silence. Professor Lupin was breathing rather heavily, clearly impassioned. Then, after a long moment, he suddenly smiled self-consciously and ran a hand through his hair sheepishly.

"I apologize, I seem to have wandered off track a bit," he said. "Got a little carried away there. This was supposed to be an introduction to werewolves, not the whole damn textbook. Let's backtrack a little, talk about something practical instead of my usual philosophical rant. Can anyone tell me a way you could defend yourself from a werewolf, if it was attacking you on the full moon?"

Hermione raised her hand tentatively. At his nod, she spoke.

"You can't use magic on them. Don't you have to use weapons made of silver?"

"Yes, but they don't necessarily have to be made of silver. Hermione is quite right, and this is one of the most important points of the lesson – magic does not work on a transformed werewolf. You can send as many spells, jinxes, or even Unforgivable curses as you can think of at a werewolf on a full moon, and they will just bounce right off. The only way to defend yourself from an attacking werewolf is through physical violence. Banish something sharp in their direction, hit them with a club, shoot them with a gun… Silver severely burns werewolves, even when it isn't the full moon, so that always helps. The Ministry's Werewolf Capture Unit carries tranquilizer guns that fill a werewolf's bloodstream with traces of silver, which is an extremely effective weapon."

"What about when it's not the full moon?" Seamus Finnegan asked eagerly. "Does magic work on werewolves when they're not transformed?"

Professor Lupin nodded shortly.

"Yes, it does. The only spell that affects werewolves differently when it isn't full moon is the Cruciatus curse. Werewolves have incredibly high pain thresholds, so it takes a very powerful crucio to have any effect."

Most of the students winced at that. The idea of shrugging off a crucio was absolutely ludicrous.

"That's not the only difference though, is it?" Harry asked. "Between a human and a werewolf, I mean. Besides the obvious transforming into a wolf every month, how can you tell if someone's a werewolf?"

There was a very long silence. Professor Lupin was looking at Harry with a strangely intense gaze, and the black-haired boy began to get slightly uncomfortable under his scrutiny. Finally, Lupin spoke, every word careful and measured, as though he was putting immense thought into each one.

"There are… signs to look for, that would indicate if someone had lycanthropy. This is Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and I know there may come a time when you all need to know those signs. There may come a time when you need to be able to recognize if someone is a werewolf. But…"

He ran a hand down his face, looking suddenly weary. He propped his lean body against the edge of his desk, looking out at them with wary, golden brown eyes. When he finally spoke again, his voice was soft and his gaze was distant, as though he was mostly talking to himself.

"I don't think any of you fully comprehend how much of a weapon that knowledge could be. How easily you could ruin, even end someone's life, even if you had nothing but good intentions. There are hundreds, possibly even thousands of werewolves in Britain who live in constant fear of being discovered, of being registered and branded as Dark Creatures. The moment that brand is on their skin, they face endless persecution here. And their only other option is emigrating to places like Bulgaria, where Dark Creatures are hunted down and murdered every day by people who hate them for no reason. Knowing what these werewolves are hiding from, knowing just what awaits them if they are discovered… how can I give children the tools to expose them?"

"We're not children!" Harry exclaimed, feeling defensive for some reason he didn't fully understand. "And we're not going to go around pointing out all the werewolves we see! You've spent the past year teaching us to see Dark Creatures as people, do you really think none of that has sunk in?"

His classmates were nodding in agreement, but Professor Lupin looked unconvinced.

"Harry, while I appreciate the sentiment, I am under no illusions that there aren't still people in this room who, if they actually met a werewolf, would run screaming to the nearest Auror. And it is perfectly natural for them to have that reaction, they have been conditioned to it for their entire lives."

"I've been terrified of werewolves ever since I was three, and my brother told me about Fenrir Greyback," Lavender Brown called out boldly from the back of the room. Professor Lupin's eyes swung to meet hers. "A werewolf was my Boggart, and I still have nightmares about it sometimes."

Lupin's eyes dimmed slightly, but Lavender wasn't finished.

"But I think… I think I'm scared of werewolves mostly because they've always just been some sort of ghost story to me. Scary things that my brother told me to keep me up at night. I don't know how I would react if I actually met one in real life. But maybe, if they were a normal person like you say they are… maybe I wouldn't be so scared of them anymore."

Professor Lupin stared at her for so long that she blushed and ducked her head. The room was absolutely silent as the students watched their teacher having what looked to be a fairly intense internal debate. Finally, at long last, Professor Lupin stood and walked behind his desk, sticking his hands in his pockets and leaning against the chalkboard that he never used. He took a deep breath, hesitated, then spoke rapidly in a quiet, strangely monotone voice.

"A werewolf will always have scars. Scratches, bites, marks from chains and other restraints. Werewolves have heightened senses of smell, taste, sight, and hearing. These become especially strong right before the full moon. Werewolves are physically stronger than humans, and heal much faster. They often feel quite ill in the days leading up to a full moon, and this, combined with a heightened metabolism, can cause some werewolves to have dramatic shifts in weight throughout the month. Some werewolves experience other changes throughout the month, such as increased libido, or changing eye color."

Professor Lupin came to an abrupt stop, his ramble of facts complete. The classroom was eerily silent. His eyes were fixed on the top of his desk, his shoulders hunched tensely. He looked like he was expecting a harsh blow at any moment, and when the bell suddenly rang he flinched violently.

Nobody made a move to pack up and leave. Nobody breathed. They simply stared at him, waiting for him to look up at them. But he never did. He wiped a shaking hand across his mouth, and simply said, "I would appreciate it if you all kept this information to yourselves. Not everyone is as open-minded as I hope you all are."

Still purposefully avoiding their eyes, he walked briskly to the door and left, leaving them in stunned silence.

To give credit where credit is definitely due, much of the inspiration for this scene was taken from Jess Pallas's wonderful fic Oblivious. Thanks so much for all the reviews! :)