The Unicorn and the Wolf
by Jennifer Allen
"Halloween"
Severus Snape, the most feared and hated professor at Hogwarts, scowled down at his cauldron. He was the potions teacher. He was an expert at brewing the most complex and dangerous potions in the wizarding world. In his eyes, he could have anyone eating out of the palm of is hand. His students cowered before his might. He was mighty proud that he had caused several first-years to revert back to bed-wetting.
He should have been happy. His crush had returned to Hogwarts. He remembered when he first saw her. He would have done almost anything for her. He would have begged Professor Dumbledore to admit him into Gryffindor if she would have just said the word. He remembered how tiny and frail looking she was when they first met. He adored her. No one would have thought that he, Severus Snape, had a heart. If they did, they probably thought it was a shriveled black prune. But he did have a heart and it was broken when she fell in love with one of his enemies. An enemy who still found a way to humiliate him. An enemy that he was currently brewing a potion for, wolfsbane.
He hated Remus Lupin with a passion. Severus frowned. He should have been the one to comfort her. He should have been the one to brighten her day. He should have been the one to rescue her.
'Lupin should be grateful that I'm gracious enough to make this for him.'
He stared down at the steaming liquid. He could easily poison the potion, that would get rid of Remus Lupin once and for all. He could do anything to the potion that would cause Lupin a great deal of suffering. But he wouldn't. No matter how much it might tempt him, Severus Snape had a sense of honor when it came to important details like brewing potions and not revealing certain secrets.
Artemis watched her class with fascination. She had brought some fairies and a potted plant to class. She showed the class where on a plant to find fairy eggs as well as how to tell if a fairy were nearby.
Lavender and Parvati were fingering the leaves of the plant. Lavender waved her wand, uttering 'Lumos,' which revealed a series of thin silvery lines on the leaf's surface.
Hermione was giggling as a couple of fairies began braiding her hair. They were glowing a bright purple around the brilliant Gryffindor. Every once in a while, one of the little glowing fairies would tug on her hair, telling Hermione that she was moving too much.
Every fairy glowed differently around the students. The ones around Ron were glowing red, but he swore that they were teasing him by glowing maroon. Harry had a blue one sitting in his hand. Draco was having a glaring match with a feisty yellow fairy, he was determined not to lose like those two blundering idiots Crabbe and Goyle. And Neville was trying to retrieve Trevor from a couple of playful green fairies. They were all so quiet. There wasn't any of the bickering between the houses. There were not snide remarks made at the expense of another. Maybe it was because today was Halloween. Maybe it was the fairies. Maybe hell had frozen over and Gryffindor and Slytherin called a truce. Whatever it was, she liked it. A lot.
A couple of fairies glided over to her, their translucent wings beating at a rapid pace, and hovered in front of her. One giggled and spun upside-down and blinked. The other wiggled her ears and began pulling Artemis'.
"That's weird," Hermione whispered to Ron and Harry.
"What's weird?"
"Those fairies near Professor Southerby."
"What about them," asked Harry.
"I thought that sprites and pixies were the playful ones. Why are they pulling her ears?"
The trio stared at Professor Southerby. She was smiling and trying to get the two fairies to stop tugging at her ears.
"Strange," muttered Ron. "Arrgh. Maroon. Stop being maroon!"
Ron glared at the fairies, which stuck their tongues out at him and began to glow brighter. The fairies sniggered at Ron before joining the two hovering around Professor Southerby. Soon all the fairies joined the Professor, including the ones playing with Trevor.
"Put the frog down."
The two fairies playing with Trevor squeaked unhappily and dropped the terrified frog into Neville's hands. Trevor shivered as Neville plopped the amphibian into a pocket.
"Class, I want a scroll on the differences between fairies and sprites." At hearing the word sprites, the fairies began squeaking and crying in protest. Some didn't want the attention being given to them from the students to stop. Others had taken a shine to the fifth-years. And a few hated the fact that they had to share parchment space with a sprite.
"Class dismissed."
Everyone, save Neville left for their other classes. Neville shuffled his feet. Even now, he was still a little nervous around Professor Southerby. His little frog, Trevor, shuddered when it peeked out of Neville's pocket and glanced up at the fairies.
"Professor? Did...did you..."
"Yes, Neville. It was almost late, but your grandmother sent the permission slip back. You can come."
Neville's face lit up and his eyes sparkled. He thanked her repeatedly before turning to race back to the castle.
"Neville?" He stopped. "Your grandmother asked me plenty of questions about the class. She cares greatly for you. Why don't you send her an owl?"
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you!"
Neville turned to race back to the castle, but not before tripping over his robes and causing Trevor to slip out and hop off towards the school.
"Trevor!"
Artemis smiled. Neville was a good kid; he just needed more confidence. She hoped that the DADA class would help. The boy had some issues that even she couldn't help.
Remus felt terrible. No, scratch that. He felt horrible. He felt like he had gotten into a fight with Sirius and lost. He felt like he got into a fight with Snape and lost. He groaned and let his head slide onto the desk with a dull thump. He closed his eyes and tried to will the coming headache away. A tiny voice in his head, one that he had heard every month since he began the transformations, sniggered at him and howled.
'Shut up. Just shut up. Shut up.'
His inner wolf was taunting him. The wolf was pointing out students whose throats he could rip. The wolf knew which student would have the sweetest taste. His inner wolf even wanted to bite Severus, who he figured would taste like old leather...old leather and grease.
'Shut up.'
The wolf taunted him some more. Perhaps he was more brazen because it was Halloween. Or perhaps it was because the one that the wolf called his mate was at Hogwarts. He didn't know. All he did know was that the wolf was starting to get annoying. He nearly lost his cool when he was teaching the seventh-year Slytherins. The urge to bite had risen, which amused the wolf greatly. He wondered what Sirius would say about quiet Moony wanting to latch his teeth onto someone's leg. The old Sirius probably would have cheered him on, especially if it were Snape. He figured the current Sirius would probably do the same.
He was glad classes were over because his headache was starting to worsen. He needed some chocolate or some of those pills muggles used for headaches or something. He was almost desperate for relief. He looked outside and watched the last rays of sunlight disappear over the horizon. In a little bit, the moon would be out.
Relief came for Lupin in the most unlikely of forms: Severus Snape.
Snape had knocked on Lupin's office door and then let himself in. He had a smug smirk on his face as he looked at his rival. Remus was droopy and the dark circles under his eyes were becoming darker. Remus' stormy eyes, which were now starting to show hints of gold, stared hungrily at the potion in Snape's hand.
"Well, Lupin. You don't look so well. Are you feeling alright," sneered Snape.
Remus swallowed hard and stood to meet Severus. His legs wobbled as he took a step towards the snide potions professor.
"Severus, what a pleasure it is to see you this evening."
Severus handed Remus the potion, smirking.
"I don't need to tell you the details. It tastes awful and if you don't drink it all, you will suffer the consequences."
"Thank you, Severus."
Snape stalked out of the room with a sweep of his dark robes. Remus set the potion on his desk and walked over to the door. He closed and locked it quickly. He then placed the key into a desk drawer. He had no need for anyone bothering him now...not when the time was so close. He grabbed the goblet containing the wolfsbane potion and quickly gulped it down, wincing at its bitter taste.
Remus then looked out the window and watched the moon begin to rise. He was glad Snape was such a skilled potion maker. Hairs began to sprout on his chin. He quickly pushed his chair out from under his desk and took off his clothes, except for his boxers. He folded his robes and clothes neatly and set them on his desk next to a clean pair of boxers. He felt a jolt of pain shoot through his back and he felt his teeth begin sharpen. He winced as his bones began to twist. With over 30 years of suffering with the curse, he had learned to control his screaming. Unlike his days at Hogwarts when he spent his cursed hours at the Shrieking Shack, his wanderings had taught him that if he screamed, people would come and people would die. He controlled his pain just enough to keep from screaming. He would rather die than to hurt someone else. He heard a rip and soon found himself glaring with golden eyes at his tail. His hands soon twisted into paws. Tears of pain slid down his now lengthening face. More hair sprouted on his body and he soon found himself standing on all fours. With a stifled whine, the wolf replaced the teacher. The wolf let out a large yawn and paced the room, sniffing everything he could see. He was tempted to mark his territory, but controlled that urge. The pure gray wolf stared up at the moon and sighed before crawling under the desk. Snape was an expert potion maker alright. The wolf curled up on the blankets his human self had set up. He yawned again and closed his eyes and slept. He was comforted in his dreams by his mate, who was smiling and laughing. She was with his friends and they were all having a good time. He ran to join them.
Artemis tensed as she looked at the bright orb in the sky. Remus was locked up and alone on Halloween. She wanted to spend Halloween with him. She wanted him to sit next to her and talk. She glanced over at the Gryffindor table and smiled. Harry was laughing and talking up a storm with his friends. Neville kept glancing over at the Slytherin table. Draco smirked and glared at Neville. She could hear a little of what Draco was saying to his friends and she did not like it.
"Stupid git. If it weren't for Potty, Weasle and mudblood, he'd be long gone from here."
Artemis remembered that when she was a few years younger than Neville, she was afraid of the Slytherins too. They were all terribly mean to her, all except for Severus. She had a rather nasty memory of meeting Lucius Malfoy and his gang in a dark hall and ending up the victim of their hatred for those not from a pure blooded wizard family.
She was twelve and rather tiny. Everyone seemed taller than her, even some of the first-years. She was hurrying down the hall towards the great hall for dinner. She was always late. She hadn't been paying attention when something, namely Peeves, tripped her and she was sent flying into someone. Unfortunately for Artemis, this person did not take kindly to her accident.
"So, freak...did you think it was funny to knock into me," Lucius snarled. His two goons, Crabbe and Goyle, blocked her from leaving.
"I'm sorry. I tripped. I didn't..."
"Sorry isn't good enough. You have to pay for what you did," he sneered.
Artemis cringed. She wanted to run but there was no where else to go. Lucius' friends were by far bigger than she was and with them blocking her way, she had no where to run. She wanted to cry but didn't.
"You are a Gryffindor and not of a pure wizarding family. You are lower than dirt. STUPIFY!"
She fell to the ground and knew nothing.
When she did wake up, she was very disoriented. She was swaying back and forth. When she then noticed that she was tied up and gagged. To her horror, Malfoy and his goons had found a way to tie her to the ceiling and left her dangling. She cried and tried to scream.
No one noticed she that she hadn't arrived for dinner. She had spent the entire night stuck up on the ceiling, dangling. She wept and watched her tears hit the floor below. She wondered if anyone would notice. She wondered if anyone would care. She felt so invisible.
"ARTEMIS! ARTEMIS!"
Artemis tried screaming as Lily Evans came running below her. Some boys and Professor McGonagall followed Lily. Artemis cried more and her tears hit Professor McGonagall's glasses. The Transfiguration professor looked up and her eyes narrowed. The boys and Lily stared up, too, and gasped. Artemis was crying and sniffling as McGonagall uttered a spell that caused Artemis' bindings to break and send the frightened girl floating towards the ground.
Artemis stared up at the bats on the great hall's ceiling. She had been just like those bats, only her being upside-down was involuntary. She looked around, watching the happy faces of the children. Severus was sitting next to her, drinking some pumpkin juice. He seemed awfully smug at the moment. She knew exactly why he was happier than usual. With it being a full moon, Remus was forced to be locked in his office and away from everyone else.
Artemis stared down at the cauldron cake sitting on her plate. She didn't know why she put it on her plate because she wasn't really hungry. She briefly paid attention to the chatter going on around her. Professor Sprout was talking to Minerva about how well the students were doing in Herbology. Madame Hooch, the Quiddich coach and flying teacher, was discussing brooms with Dumbledore. The students were talking about homework, Quiddich and relationships. All of this was extremely boring to her. Excusing herself, she left for the staff quarters.
Artemis hurried into her room and shut the door. She stared out the window and up at the full moon. Her eyes wandered down to the Quiddich field. Two small figures wandered along the perfect grass. The first was short, fluffy looking and swayed a little when it walked. She knew by the animal's haughty sway that it was a cat. Its companion was a tall, dark and menacing creature. She squinted to get a better look at the animal. She had seen it before...in the Shrieking Shack when she was a teenager. It couldn't be him. Sirius wasn't crazy enough to come prowling around Hogwarts. The cat seemed to notice that they were being watched and quickly led the dog towards the Forbidden Forest. Artemis shook her head.
'No. That can't be Sirius.'
She ignored the cat and dog and got ready for bed. She needed to be up early in the morning.
The wolf snored and rolled onto its side. He kicked his legs once in a while and his tail whapped the floor. Slowly, the wolf started to feel cold. His tail disappeared and his paws began to elongate into fingers. The wolf's long nose and pointed ears morphed into the face of a man in his 30s. The soft gray fur disappeared, leaving the man almost naked, with only the blanket that he had set down earlier to protect him from the elements. He lay curled up under his desk, snoring. He shivered a little before pulling the blanket up closer. A small voice in his head told him that his bed would be more comfortable than the floor at the moment, but he told the voice to sod off. He groaned and kicked one of his legs out from under the blanket. He was sore already. His throat was parched, a side effect of the potion. He forced himself to open his eyes.
'Moony! Moony, it's time to wake up and go to bed!'
Remus smirked. Sirius had thought he was clever when he said that. He found that phrase fairly amusing. He often poked Remus with his wand, trying to get him to wake up. And if that didn't work, cold water did.
Remus crawled out from under the desk. The sun was beginning to rise when he changed into his clothes and unlocked the door. He sleepily stumbled out of his office and up to the staff quarters, where, upon entering his room, he collapsed onto his bed and went to sleep.
by Jennifer Allen
"Halloween"
Severus Snape, the most feared and hated professor at Hogwarts, scowled down at his cauldron. He was the potions teacher. He was an expert at brewing the most complex and dangerous potions in the wizarding world. In his eyes, he could have anyone eating out of the palm of is hand. His students cowered before his might. He was mighty proud that he had caused several first-years to revert back to bed-wetting.
He should have been happy. His crush had returned to Hogwarts. He remembered when he first saw her. He would have done almost anything for her. He would have begged Professor Dumbledore to admit him into Gryffindor if she would have just said the word. He remembered how tiny and frail looking she was when they first met. He adored her. No one would have thought that he, Severus Snape, had a heart. If they did, they probably thought it was a shriveled black prune. But he did have a heart and it was broken when she fell in love with one of his enemies. An enemy who still found a way to humiliate him. An enemy that he was currently brewing a potion for, wolfsbane.
He hated Remus Lupin with a passion. Severus frowned. He should have been the one to comfort her. He should have been the one to brighten her day. He should have been the one to rescue her.
'Lupin should be grateful that I'm gracious enough to make this for him.'
He stared down at the steaming liquid. He could easily poison the potion, that would get rid of Remus Lupin once and for all. He could do anything to the potion that would cause Lupin a great deal of suffering. But he wouldn't. No matter how much it might tempt him, Severus Snape had a sense of honor when it came to important details like brewing potions and not revealing certain secrets.
Artemis watched her class with fascination. She had brought some fairies and a potted plant to class. She showed the class where on a plant to find fairy eggs as well as how to tell if a fairy were nearby.
Lavender and Parvati were fingering the leaves of the plant. Lavender waved her wand, uttering 'Lumos,' which revealed a series of thin silvery lines on the leaf's surface.
Hermione was giggling as a couple of fairies began braiding her hair. They were glowing a bright purple around the brilliant Gryffindor. Every once in a while, one of the little glowing fairies would tug on her hair, telling Hermione that she was moving too much.
Every fairy glowed differently around the students. The ones around Ron were glowing red, but he swore that they were teasing him by glowing maroon. Harry had a blue one sitting in his hand. Draco was having a glaring match with a feisty yellow fairy, he was determined not to lose like those two blundering idiots Crabbe and Goyle. And Neville was trying to retrieve Trevor from a couple of playful green fairies. They were all so quiet. There wasn't any of the bickering between the houses. There were not snide remarks made at the expense of another. Maybe it was because today was Halloween. Maybe it was the fairies. Maybe hell had frozen over and Gryffindor and Slytherin called a truce. Whatever it was, she liked it. A lot.
A couple of fairies glided over to her, their translucent wings beating at a rapid pace, and hovered in front of her. One giggled and spun upside-down and blinked. The other wiggled her ears and began pulling Artemis'.
"That's weird," Hermione whispered to Ron and Harry.
"What's weird?"
"Those fairies near Professor Southerby."
"What about them," asked Harry.
"I thought that sprites and pixies were the playful ones. Why are they pulling her ears?"
The trio stared at Professor Southerby. She was smiling and trying to get the two fairies to stop tugging at her ears.
"Strange," muttered Ron. "Arrgh. Maroon. Stop being maroon!"
Ron glared at the fairies, which stuck their tongues out at him and began to glow brighter. The fairies sniggered at Ron before joining the two hovering around Professor Southerby. Soon all the fairies joined the Professor, including the ones playing with Trevor.
"Put the frog down."
The two fairies playing with Trevor squeaked unhappily and dropped the terrified frog into Neville's hands. Trevor shivered as Neville plopped the amphibian into a pocket.
"Class, I want a scroll on the differences between fairies and sprites." At hearing the word sprites, the fairies began squeaking and crying in protest. Some didn't want the attention being given to them from the students to stop. Others had taken a shine to the fifth-years. And a few hated the fact that they had to share parchment space with a sprite.
"Class dismissed."
Everyone, save Neville left for their other classes. Neville shuffled his feet. Even now, he was still a little nervous around Professor Southerby. His little frog, Trevor, shuddered when it peeked out of Neville's pocket and glanced up at the fairies.
"Professor? Did...did you..."
"Yes, Neville. It was almost late, but your grandmother sent the permission slip back. You can come."
Neville's face lit up and his eyes sparkled. He thanked her repeatedly before turning to race back to the castle.
"Neville?" He stopped. "Your grandmother asked me plenty of questions about the class. She cares greatly for you. Why don't you send her an owl?"
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you!"
Neville turned to race back to the castle, but not before tripping over his robes and causing Trevor to slip out and hop off towards the school.
"Trevor!"
Artemis smiled. Neville was a good kid; he just needed more confidence. She hoped that the DADA class would help. The boy had some issues that even she couldn't help.
Remus felt terrible. No, scratch that. He felt horrible. He felt like he had gotten into a fight with Sirius and lost. He felt like he got into a fight with Snape and lost. He groaned and let his head slide onto the desk with a dull thump. He closed his eyes and tried to will the coming headache away. A tiny voice in his head, one that he had heard every month since he began the transformations, sniggered at him and howled.
'Shut up. Just shut up. Shut up.'
His inner wolf was taunting him. The wolf was pointing out students whose throats he could rip. The wolf knew which student would have the sweetest taste. His inner wolf even wanted to bite Severus, who he figured would taste like old leather...old leather and grease.
'Shut up.'
The wolf taunted him some more. Perhaps he was more brazen because it was Halloween. Or perhaps it was because the one that the wolf called his mate was at Hogwarts. He didn't know. All he did know was that the wolf was starting to get annoying. He nearly lost his cool when he was teaching the seventh-year Slytherins. The urge to bite had risen, which amused the wolf greatly. He wondered what Sirius would say about quiet Moony wanting to latch his teeth onto someone's leg. The old Sirius probably would have cheered him on, especially if it were Snape. He figured the current Sirius would probably do the same.
He was glad classes were over because his headache was starting to worsen. He needed some chocolate or some of those pills muggles used for headaches or something. He was almost desperate for relief. He looked outside and watched the last rays of sunlight disappear over the horizon. In a little bit, the moon would be out.
Relief came for Lupin in the most unlikely of forms: Severus Snape.
Snape had knocked on Lupin's office door and then let himself in. He had a smug smirk on his face as he looked at his rival. Remus was droopy and the dark circles under his eyes were becoming darker. Remus' stormy eyes, which were now starting to show hints of gold, stared hungrily at the potion in Snape's hand.
"Well, Lupin. You don't look so well. Are you feeling alright," sneered Snape.
Remus swallowed hard and stood to meet Severus. His legs wobbled as he took a step towards the snide potions professor.
"Severus, what a pleasure it is to see you this evening."
Severus handed Remus the potion, smirking.
"I don't need to tell you the details. It tastes awful and if you don't drink it all, you will suffer the consequences."
"Thank you, Severus."
Snape stalked out of the room with a sweep of his dark robes. Remus set the potion on his desk and walked over to the door. He closed and locked it quickly. He then placed the key into a desk drawer. He had no need for anyone bothering him now...not when the time was so close. He grabbed the goblet containing the wolfsbane potion and quickly gulped it down, wincing at its bitter taste.
Remus then looked out the window and watched the moon begin to rise. He was glad Snape was such a skilled potion maker. Hairs began to sprout on his chin. He quickly pushed his chair out from under his desk and took off his clothes, except for his boxers. He folded his robes and clothes neatly and set them on his desk next to a clean pair of boxers. He felt a jolt of pain shoot through his back and he felt his teeth begin sharpen. He winced as his bones began to twist. With over 30 years of suffering with the curse, he had learned to control his screaming. Unlike his days at Hogwarts when he spent his cursed hours at the Shrieking Shack, his wanderings had taught him that if he screamed, people would come and people would die. He controlled his pain just enough to keep from screaming. He would rather die than to hurt someone else. He heard a rip and soon found himself glaring with golden eyes at his tail. His hands soon twisted into paws. Tears of pain slid down his now lengthening face. More hair sprouted on his body and he soon found himself standing on all fours. With a stifled whine, the wolf replaced the teacher. The wolf let out a large yawn and paced the room, sniffing everything he could see. He was tempted to mark his territory, but controlled that urge. The pure gray wolf stared up at the moon and sighed before crawling under the desk. Snape was an expert potion maker alright. The wolf curled up on the blankets his human self had set up. He yawned again and closed his eyes and slept. He was comforted in his dreams by his mate, who was smiling and laughing. She was with his friends and they were all having a good time. He ran to join them.
Artemis tensed as she looked at the bright orb in the sky. Remus was locked up and alone on Halloween. She wanted to spend Halloween with him. She wanted him to sit next to her and talk. She glanced over at the Gryffindor table and smiled. Harry was laughing and talking up a storm with his friends. Neville kept glancing over at the Slytherin table. Draco smirked and glared at Neville. She could hear a little of what Draco was saying to his friends and she did not like it.
"Stupid git. If it weren't for Potty, Weasle and mudblood, he'd be long gone from here."
Artemis remembered that when she was a few years younger than Neville, she was afraid of the Slytherins too. They were all terribly mean to her, all except for Severus. She had a rather nasty memory of meeting Lucius Malfoy and his gang in a dark hall and ending up the victim of their hatred for those not from a pure blooded wizard family.
She was twelve and rather tiny. Everyone seemed taller than her, even some of the first-years. She was hurrying down the hall towards the great hall for dinner. She was always late. She hadn't been paying attention when something, namely Peeves, tripped her and she was sent flying into someone. Unfortunately for Artemis, this person did not take kindly to her accident.
"So, freak...did you think it was funny to knock into me," Lucius snarled. His two goons, Crabbe and Goyle, blocked her from leaving.
"I'm sorry. I tripped. I didn't..."
"Sorry isn't good enough. You have to pay for what you did," he sneered.
Artemis cringed. She wanted to run but there was no where else to go. Lucius' friends were by far bigger than she was and with them blocking her way, she had no where to run. She wanted to cry but didn't.
"You are a Gryffindor and not of a pure wizarding family. You are lower than dirt. STUPIFY!"
She fell to the ground and knew nothing.
When she did wake up, she was very disoriented. She was swaying back and forth. When she then noticed that she was tied up and gagged. To her horror, Malfoy and his goons had found a way to tie her to the ceiling and left her dangling. She cried and tried to scream.
No one noticed she that she hadn't arrived for dinner. She had spent the entire night stuck up on the ceiling, dangling. She wept and watched her tears hit the floor below. She wondered if anyone would notice. She wondered if anyone would care. She felt so invisible.
"ARTEMIS! ARTEMIS!"
Artemis tried screaming as Lily Evans came running below her. Some boys and Professor McGonagall followed Lily. Artemis cried more and her tears hit Professor McGonagall's glasses. The Transfiguration professor looked up and her eyes narrowed. The boys and Lily stared up, too, and gasped. Artemis was crying and sniffling as McGonagall uttered a spell that caused Artemis' bindings to break and send the frightened girl floating towards the ground.
Artemis stared up at the bats on the great hall's ceiling. She had been just like those bats, only her being upside-down was involuntary. She looked around, watching the happy faces of the children. Severus was sitting next to her, drinking some pumpkin juice. He seemed awfully smug at the moment. She knew exactly why he was happier than usual. With it being a full moon, Remus was forced to be locked in his office and away from everyone else.
Artemis stared down at the cauldron cake sitting on her plate. She didn't know why she put it on her plate because she wasn't really hungry. She briefly paid attention to the chatter going on around her. Professor Sprout was talking to Minerva about how well the students were doing in Herbology. Madame Hooch, the Quiddich coach and flying teacher, was discussing brooms with Dumbledore. The students were talking about homework, Quiddich and relationships. All of this was extremely boring to her. Excusing herself, she left for the staff quarters.
Artemis hurried into her room and shut the door. She stared out the window and up at the full moon. Her eyes wandered down to the Quiddich field. Two small figures wandered along the perfect grass. The first was short, fluffy looking and swayed a little when it walked. She knew by the animal's haughty sway that it was a cat. Its companion was a tall, dark and menacing creature. She squinted to get a better look at the animal. She had seen it before...in the Shrieking Shack when she was a teenager. It couldn't be him. Sirius wasn't crazy enough to come prowling around Hogwarts. The cat seemed to notice that they were being watched and quickly led the dog towards the Forbidden Forest. Artemis shook her head.
'No. That can't be Sirius.'
She ignored the cat and dog and got ready for bed. She needed to be up early in the morning.
The wolf snored and rolled onto its side. He kicked his legs once in a while and his tail whapped the floor. Slowly, the wolf started to feel cold. His tail disappeared and his paws began to elongate into fingers. The wolf's long nose and pointed ears morphed into the face of a man in his 30s. The soft gray fur disappeared, leaving the man almost naked, with only the blanket that he had set down earlier to protect him from the elements. He lay curled up under his desk, snoring. He shivered a little before pulling the blanket up closer. A small voice in his head told him that his bed would be more comfortable than the floor at the moment, but he told the voice to sod off. He groaned and kicked one of his legs out from under the blanket. He was sore already. His throat was parched, a side effect of the potion. He forced himself to open his eyes.
'Moony! Moony, it's time to wake up and go to bed!'
Remus smirked. Sirius had thought he was clever when he said that. He found that phrase fairly amusing. He often poked Remus with his wand, trying to get him to wake up. And if that didn't work, cold water did.
Remus crawled out from under the desk. The sun was beginning to rise when he changed into his clothes and unlocked the door. He sleepily stumbled out of his office and up to the staff quarters, where, upon entering his room, he collapsed onto his bed and went to sleep.