It was March 21st, Stella's 17th birthday. Today, she was finally legal! She could drink, do magic outside school, the works! Jake and Will had planned to take her out to the three broomsticks that night, to celebrate. She was so excited. Was, being the key phrase. Considering the nurse just reminded her that it was the night of the month that she needs to sleep in the hospital wing.

"This is so unfair." Stella complained, banging her head into the wall in the Gryffindor common room.

"I just don't understand. Why is it you need to spend the night in the hospital wing once a month again?" Jake asked.

"I don't even know! It's just something I've always done. I guess she has to do testing of something?" Stella wondered.

"You mean you don't even know?" Will asked.

Stella shook her head.

"Well what does Madame Winton even do when you're there?" said Jake.

"I…I don't remember." Stella shrugged.

"You don't…remember?" Jake asked, astonished. "How is that even possible?"

"I don't know…I've been doing it at the hospital my whole life, that I was just used to it by the time I got here. I just go in, lay down for a bit, and fall asleep. Then I wake up the next day feeling hung over, she gives me some medicine to help with my head ache, and I take off. That's all I know." She explained.

"That is so-"

"Mental!" Jake hollered, outraged.

"I was going to say strange." William corrected him.

"I don't know. I just don't want to spend my 17th birthday passed out. I mean, unless it's due to firewhiskey, but no matter how much I drink I never seem to get too drunk." Stella chuckled.

"She's got a point there, I've never seen anyone hold their liquor quite as good as her." Said Will.

"Aren't you curious as to what happens while you're asleep? And why you wake up like that the next day?" Jake questioned.

"I suppose. I never really thought about it before." Stella admitted.

"Maybe me and Will should borrow the cloak, and we can follow you and find out." Jake suggested.

"No." Stella told him.

"No?" Jake and Will asked, shocked.

"No." Stella confirmed. "Not tonight. It's my 17th birthday. This is a big day for me, and I'm not going to spend it in the hospital wing like a bump on a log. Let's go out and live it up, let's celebrate!"

"But what about Madame Winton?" asked Will.

Jake added, "And finding out what happens?"

"I'll go tomorrow, one more day can't hurt. I don't know why she always has to be so exact anyway." Stella told them.

They agreed, and that afternoon, they set out for the Three Broomsticks.

"Cheers." They said, clinking their firewhiskey bottles together.

"To Stella." Jake grinned.

"To Stella." Will repeated, and the three of them threw their heads back and downed their drinks.

So they drank. And drank. And drank. Stella even managed to get the boys up on stage to do a karaoke number with her. A few minutes before curfew, they started heading back to the castle.

"I don't want to go back there." Stella decided.

"What?"

"I'm not ready for the party to end. Let's go visit the shrieking shack! We haven't been there in a while." She suggested.

"Stella, come on, we have to get back. We don't want to get in trouble. Plus I'm sick and exhausted and-"

"You go." Jake cut will off. "I'll take her there."

"Jake-"

"We'll be back in a bit. But she is the birthday girl; she does get to decide what we do for the rest of the night." Jake told him.

"Why thank you, Jakey." Stella giggled.

"It's getting late, the moon will be up soon." Will sighed. "Hurry up."

"Will do. Goodnight!" Jake waved, as Will headed back off towards the castle.

"So did you have fun tonight?"

"I did." Stella grinned. They had just reached the shrieking shack, and were heading inside. "How about you?"

"I always have fun with you." Jake confessed.

"Me too." Stella smiled, taking in her surroundings. She sighed happily. "I've missed this place."

"Yeah, we used to come here all the time up until 4th year." Jake said, reminiscing in the memories.

"Did I ever tell you why this is even here? And why it's guarded by the weeping willow?" Stella asked.

Jake nodded. "I know most people thought it was haunted, but your family used to come here to hang out…and get a break from school when they needed to."

"So I didn't tell you." She chuckled. "It all dates back to my grandfather…he was a werewolf, you know."

"I thought Bill's scratch didn't effect him enough to make the transformation?" said Jake.

"Not him, my other grandpop. On my dad's side. Remus Lupin. He died in the war…my dad was only a baby."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay…I'm proud of him." Stella admitted, with a small grin. "Anyway, he used to come here on a full moon to phase, so he couldn't hurt anybody. It was built to accommodate him. That's where all the scratches on the wall came from."

"Oh, I see…That's interesting." Said Jake.

"I always thought so." Stella said, tracing the scratch marks with her fingers. "I wish I could have met him."

"I'm sure he would be very proud of you." Jake smiled, looking out the window. "Looks like it's a full moon tonight. Let's hope your grand pop didn't leave behind any friends."

Stella chuckled. "Now wouldn't that be a funny- ah."

She stopped mid sentence, sucking in a sharp breath and clutching her head as it started pounding. She squeezed her eyes shut tight sand sank to her knees.

Jake was at her side in a second. "Stella? What is it? Are you okay?"

"I- ah! I ca…I can't think. My head it's-ah." She had to keep gritting her teeth together to block out searing pain shooting through her head, but it wasn't helping much.

"It's what? Stella please tell me. So I can help you!" Jake pleaded desperately. He was trying to remain calm, but he was freaking out. He had no idea what was happening, or what to do.

"Please stop talking." Stella whimpered, backing up against the wall. "You're making it worse."

"I- I'm sorry." Jake whispered.

"It's not your fault." Stella choked out, in between breaths. Now she was trembling slightly, and sweating. "It's just…ahhh….I don't know what's…h-happening…my head…it's…my body…ahh…everything's burning!"

She threw her head back against the wall, hitting it with a loud bang.

"No! Stella, don't do that! You'll hurt yourself." Jake said, trying to pull her away from the wall. She shrugged him off.

"Don't touch me." She growled through her teeth.

Jake held up his hands, not sure what to do. He wanted to get help, but he couldn't leave her. He suddenly wished Will had accompanied them…he would have known what to do.

Suddenly Stella started tossing and turning on the floor, it looked like she was having a seizure. She was biting her lip so hard it was bleeding, and Jake knew why. She was trying not to scream. But occasionally, a few painful howls would slip out.

Jake had tears in his eyes watching the horrible sight unravel before him. Every scream was like a knife piecing his ears. The worse part was that he was frozen in fear. He didn't know how to help her, or if he could even move. She could be dying for all he knew, and there was nothing he could do.

That thought snapped him out of his daze, and he bent down by her and tried to calm her down.

"Shhh, Stella, its okay. You're going to be alright. You'r- oh my gosh." His eyes bugged out when he saw her skin crawling and bending in all different shapes. He could hear noise…like twigs snapping. But it was a sick sound, that gave him goosebumps, and made his blood curdle. Finally, he put two and two together and felt like he was going to be sick. Her bones were breaking.

She was twitching around, trying to control herself as tears streamed down her face. Her nails were digging into the wooden floor boards, and then her own arms. She drew blood all down her arms as she scratched at herself…fighting her body to try and make the pain stop.

Jake's hands were shaking as he tried to process what was going on, and the Stella dug her nails into her stomach, leaving a deep gash all the way across.

"No!" Jake gasped, grabbing her wrist and pinning them at her sides while she thrashed helplessly to get out of his grip. Her fingers were digging into the floor again, trying not to scratch him.

"Jake," She gasped breathlessly, trying to pull away.

"No, Stella come on. You can do this. You have to fight this." He told her, now crying himself. For the first time in his life, he was scared. It was not a good feeling.

"I- I can't. J-Jake just…ahh…please…let me go." She begged, tugging restlessly to get her arms back.

"No, we can do this together." Jake insisted, keeping his grip firm but gentle.

"It hurts." She croaked.

"I know." He breathed…he felt like a thousand daggers were stabbing him in the chest.

He noticed the black pupils in her eyes widening, taking over most of the blue and green.

"S-Stella?"

"Get away." She whispered, her voice cracking.

"Stel-"

"Get away from me!" She growled, trying to keep her teeth gritted as tightly together as possible…but she was slipping away. She was loosing it, and she could feel it.

"It's okay, just take a breath, and-ah!"

The rusty taste of blood dripped down from Stella's mouth, and she realized it wasn't hers. That was the last thing that happened before she blacked out…