Quidditch Reserve League, Season 1, Round 9: What If?
Position: Captain
Prompt: What if Remus Lupin had bitten a student upon his transformation on the night Pettigrew escaped in PoA? (Note: Your story does not need to focus on Remus Lupin or the student, though it can if you wish. E.g. Another student/professor's reaction to the news.)
Word Count: 1,644
~End of Author's Notes~
Cameron hummed to herself as she crossed the border of Hogwart's grounds. The sun shone bright overhead, the clear air filled her nostrils, and there was not a single Dementor in sight, which rather pleased her. Those things had a habit of seeping away from Azkaban and causing trouble all over Britain, which proved rather troublesome to the Ministry's Official Magical Creature Incident Investigators. And, as the only Junior in the increasingly-small office, it was always her job to deal with the depression-inducing monsters.
She longed for the day she'd earn that prestigious Third Rank Investigator badge and could shunt those jobs to someone else.
"Miss Hollygot, a pleasure to make your acquaintance," came the all-too-familiar voice of her old headmaster. She spun where she stood to see one of the many prismatic robes Dumbledore had in his wardrobe, along with the person wearing it. A cursory examination revealed that, yes, it was, in fact, double-D himself, Dumbledore. "I hope the trip wasn't too difficult?"
"E-er, no, Headmaster, Sir. Mister." Cameron cleared her throat and stood up straight, though she still barely reached his shoulders. "Mister Dumbledore. I'm here to investigate a recent incident involving the recent escape of Sirius Black."
"Another, and so soon?" Dumbledore quirked an eyebrow. "I'm flattered the Ministry is visiting so often. I hope I'm not blushing."
"N-No, I don't think so..." Cameron cleared her throat. "I'm here for the girl, the..." She threw her mind back to report. She could just reach into her robe and retrieve it, but here, in front of him? She'd look completely unprofessional! "Mels Wrock."
"Ah, Melissa. Of course; she's currently in the infirmary. Would you like to visit now?"
"Yes please, Mister Dumbledore."
Dumbledore started walking and Cameron followed. She had to remind herself to walk at his side, rather than a few steps behind him. She was official! She had proper robes and everything!
Her mind wandered as they walked through Hogwart's halls. It hadn't been so long ago that she was a student, learning how to sling spells and take care of magical creatures. The former was a rarity, except for Apparition, the Scouring Charm, and the Summoning Charm whenever she ran out of ink. She did run into a few magical creatures, but they tended to be handled already or the sort that didn't lend themselves to a nice bit of petting. They were more the venomous, exploding type.
"Tell me again, Mister Dumbledore, please, why Miss Wrock is still here when the rest of the students have gone home?" Cameron asked. She knew the answer, but she had to ask, else she was going against protocol. And that, apparently, was very important.
"Her parents thought it best that she finishes her treatment under the care of Madam Pomfrey. She is, after all, nearly completely healed."
"Nearly healed…?" Cameron frowned. "But you can't do that!" she exclaimed, then paused. "I mean, you cannot heal a werewolf bite, Mister Dumbledore." Or maybe it was a turn of phrase. Those tended to tangle her up; straight lines of phrase only, thanks.
"You'll find your explanation in a moment, Miss Hollygot." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as they arrived at Hogwarts' infirmary. They were greeted by familiar sterility, from the way the curtains were open just enough to let light in without searing anyone's eyes, to the spotless stone floor and the old Matron, Madam Pomfrey, sat diligently at her desk with a book at hand. "Madam Pomfrey, we have a guest from the Ministry."
"Another?" Pomfrey replied with barely-restrained fatigue, as she turned in her seat and laid eyes on Cameron. Her lips formed a thin smile. "Oh, Cameron. You're with the Ministry now?"
"Y-Yes, Madam Pomfrey." Cameron cleared her throat. "I'm here as a Magical Creature Incident Investigator and am looking into the case of Melissa Wrock." She gestured deeper inside the infirmary, just how Dumbledore used to do it. And presumably still did. "Shall we proceed?"
"Yes, let's," Madam Pomfrey said as she rose. "How's the old Fairy wound treating you these days? I hope the Ministry has been taking good care of you."
"Fairy wound?" Dumbledore interrupted. "I don't believe I've heard this tale before. They're normally such passive creatures; vain, yes, but harmless."
"It's fine!" Cameron squeaked. "It's fine. Everything's fine. A-And I'll forgive you for attempting to breach Patient-Doctor Confidentiality, Headmaste- Mister Dumbledore."
"Ah, forgive me." Dumbledore held up his hands. "I've been getting nosier now that I'm getting on in years. Here we are. Miss Wrock, are you decent?" he called to the curtained-off bed they stood beside.
"Duh." came the faux-exasperated voice from the other side of the curtain. Dumbledore pulled it open to reveal a young woman sat in the bed, clad in an infirmary gown with some bandages around her left arm and a little cap on her head that gave her eyes some shade. "Hello, Headmaster, Miss Hollygot." She flashed the kind of smile that only the confidence of youth could give. Oh, to be five years younger…
"Hello, Miss Wrock." Cameron shook those thoughts from her head. "I've been informed that you're the subject of a werewolf attack."
"Yep."
Cameron was in the middle of taking out her quill when the answer was apparently finished, so she finished fishing it out in silence.
"Alright then." Cameron cleared her throat. "I have to fill out an incident report. Where were you bitten?"
"Guess."
"L-Left arm. Right." Cameron nodded. "When did you start exhibiting symptoms of the werewolf curse?"
"I didn't."
Cameron frowned.
"You didn't?"
"Nope."
"That's not possible."
"Sure it is."
"No, it's not."
"Miss Wrock," Dumbledore interrupted. "Perhaps you could explain the details of the attack?"
"Fine." Melissa sighed. "I went for a walk in the Forbidden Forest. I know it's not allowed, but I went there every year until the Dumbentors showed up and this is my last year at Hogwarts, so I wanted to see it. I had a Disillusionment Charm up and everything."
"I seem to have become temporarily deaf," Dumbledore said.
"You shouldn't teach us so well, Headmaster." Melissa grinned. "Anyway, where was I? Right, I was going for a walk, a little dark, but no problem for me. Then a Werewolf started running through the forest, not far from me. I stayed quiet, still."
"But Werewolves have good noses," Cameron pointed out. "It could smell you!" She smiled victoriously.
"Well, yeah, that's why it found me. I couldn't Scourgify myself when it was right there, could I? So I remembered a few tricks Professor Lupin had told us about fending off Werewolves."
"The Werewolf who taught here until just a few days ago?" Cameron asked, raising an eyebrow. That was a very important part of her report. Her supervisor had drilled it into her head: Ask about the Professor. It didn't seem quite fair to assume it was Lupin's fault, given that there were Werewolves in the Forbidden Forest, but rules were rules.
"Yeah."
"Can you describe the werewolf you saw?"
"I was in the middle of a story, but fine." Melissa sighed. "It was big, bigger than your average werewolf, and ruddy – you know, red? I couldn't tell what gender it was, because I was busy not dying, but it had all the other werewolf things. Tufted tail, human-y eyes. I think they were grey? May have been blue. That good enough?"
Cameron nodded. That probably wasn't Remus Lupin, then. Werewolf colors tended to match the human's, with a little variance, and Remus Lupin had greying brown hair with green eyes.
"Good, then here's what happened next: It spotted me and I thought of what to do. They're quick, so I only had one spell. They're resistant, so stunning, all that? Not very handy. I could have taken the ground out from under it, but it'd be out quick enough. I knew I couldn't take it on my own, known Wizard-Killers and all, so I had to make sure I lived. How do I do that?"
"Apparation?" Cameron suggested.
"Not on Hogwarts, Miss. Not for us, anyway," Melissa reminded her. "No, I cast the Hardening Charm on my robes and turned them to stone. It limited my mobility, but you're not going to get through stone easily, werewolf or not. Then I cast Red Sparks in the air to let anyone looking know I was in trouble. Headmaster Dumbledore got there just as it was biting down on my arm, couldn't get through, but it did make the stone shatter and all the shards go in. Anyway, the Headmaster sent it off and got me back here."
"I..." Cameron frowned. "So you got bitten by a werewolf, but its teeth didn't make contact with your skin."
"That's right, Miss." Melissa nodded. "I've been stuck in here because the stone shards went right deep, but that's about it. No curse, thanks to Professor Lupin. I wouldn't have thought of it if he hadn't suggested it first."
"Right." Cameron nodded. That made sense. Rules are rules whether it's for magic or work, and if the werewolf didn't make contact...well, it wouldn't make another Werewolf. "Well, good for you." She smiled. She might not be able to bring back 'good news' on Remus Lupin, which meant a promotion was probably out of the picture, but at least another kid wasn't subject to a lifetime of suffering.
"Do we really have to fill in a whole form, given it wasn't a proper bite, then?" Melissa asked. "I want to hear about you getting attacked by Fairies. I mean, Fairies, really?"
"Yes. Yes, we do." Cameron pursed her lips as she sat on the seat beside the bed and pulled out the first page of the extended incident report. "What is your full name? Please provide an etymology or the sentimental reasoning behind each name if you are aware of them..."