Chapter 3
Bruises
Remus didn't see Avalon until his Advance Care of Magical Creatures class started. She didn't seem quite as upset as before, in fact, she seemed rather cheerful. She smiled at him and joined him at their shared table.
"You look rather cheerful for having just been spending hours being lectured to by the teachers," commented Remus.
Avalon suppressed a giggle, as Professor Fillensnight was starting class. She whispered back, "You should have seen Lucious' face! The bloke didn't get to a potion in time and is already turning black and blue!"
Lupin smiled but didn't say anything else, noticing that Fillensnight was glaring at them. He watched them for a moment longer and then went on talking to the class.
"After going over your first test and essays, I've concluded that you're ready to continue on to a more complicated category of creature. The Humanoids." His eyes traveled across the classroom and seemed to hesitate on Remus before continuing on, "This group consists of vampires, centaurs, werewolves, and a few others."
Lupin's stomach was churning. Avalon seemed perfectly calm and more thoughts raced through his mind. Briefly he wondered if she hadn't been cursed or maybe she just didn't know it. But how couldn't she know? Over and over he speculated on the thoughts. Finally, he wearily let his head rest on the desk and sighed.
"Is there a problem Mr. Lupin?" Inquired Fillensnight with only a hint of real concern.
"I'll be fine, sir," lied Remus, "I just didn't sleep well last night."
Fillensnight should know what the real problem is though, thought the teen, I'm sure Dumbledore informed all of the staff about my condition.
Avalon looked at him, frowning but said nothing. Fillensnight didn't speak to either of them for the rest of the class. He went on lecturing about centaurs and their history with the Ministry of Magic. He even mentioned trying to have one of the centaurs from the forest to come by.
"If you've any questions to ask of the centaurs," he commented, "who better to ask then a centaur?"
By this point, Avalon was doodling little creatures across her notes that immediately began chewing on her letters. Remus was so weary; he didn't even smile at the doodles' antics.
Professor Fillensnight continued to ignore them and gave out the homework assignment. "I want you each to read, in your books, over the chapter. I then want you to all write an essay about what you already know or believe about this subject and what you've learned so far. And it must be at least one meter in length."
While all of the Gryffindors groaned at the mention of the essay, many of the Ravenclaws brightened up. The werewolf still noticed nothing; he merely stared down at his blurring notes, trying not to pass out or anything. Something caught his eyes and he focused back on his notes to see a white dog chewing on his words. Without a word, he slid the page over to a confused looking Avalon. Obviously the mutt had managed to move from her notes to his. She smiled and he went back to staring into space.
Class was dismissed but before Remus had even stood up, Fillensnight called him up to his desk. Avalon smiled reassuringly at him and for a moment, he forgot all his worries. The professor didn't say anything until all of the other students had filed out of the classroom. At last he broke the growing silence.
"I'm worried about you Remus," he actually spoke with real concern, "I know tonight is the full moon and that what your experiencing right now must be hard. It's really hard for me to see one of my students suffering from such hardships." He paused for a moment as though trying to phrase his next few words, "I have an old friend, he and I go a long ways back, and he specializes in curses and how they work. Would you have a problem if I sent him a letter inquiring about any information he may have about yours?"
Remus didn't speak. He had no idea what to say. Someone who might be able to break his curse! Finally he sputtered out something along the lines of "Sure. That would be wonderful Professor!"
Fillensnight grinned and dismissed the student.
Remus quickly returned to the Gryffindor common room to tell the others. It seemed a bit more crowded then usual but as he caught bits and pieces of the conversations, he realized that they were all excited about the fight. He eventually made it over to his companions and sat down in the remaining empty chair.
"Well, this has been an exciting day, hasn't it?" He glanced around but no one said anything and they all seemed rather glum. "What's wrong?"
Lilly was the first to speak, "Avalon has trapped herself in the fireplace seats. Anyone who tries to go near her gets flames shot at him or her. She seems really upset about something."
He frowned, "Well it must have happened after our class because she seemed as happy as can be when I last saw her."
The brunette shrugged, "I don't know what else has happened since our first talk. She certainly won't talk to me now. Maybe you should give it try."
"She seems to like you more then any of us," insisted Sirius with no hint of sarcasm.
Remus sat in silence for a moment then slowly nodded. "I'll go and try to talk to her."
He got up and made his way over to the fireplace and discovered it to be quite clear of students. The werewolf neared the fire and just made out Avalon's form on one of the two seats that were on either side of the fire.
"Avalon?" he called out her name softly, wondering if she could hear him over the roar of the fire.
His question was answered immediately by a shot of flame coming right at him. Logic at the moment assessed that every part of him should be screaming to move. But he didn't. Instead, all he felt was a calm wave flow over him as the fire reached out towards his body. Remus braced himself for the heat but only received a hot blast of air. The flame was an illusion?
He pushed through the illusion and sat down next to a very upset Avalon. She frowned at her failed ploy to be alone and then broke down in tears. Remus wondered briefly what could have happened so quickly to make her attitude change so drastically. The lycanthrope said nothing though. In one swift move, he pulled her close to him and held her gently.As he held her, he began to realize that her sobs were not out of sadness but out of shear anger. Remus could feel it radiating off her.
"Avalon," he began, "What happened?"
Her sobs quickly subsided and she clenched her fists. "Might I repeat what I said earlier, Lucious is an absolute bastard. After class, I went to meet with Sev for our Potions study and...Remus, he had been beat up really bad. I had reached out to grab his hand because I didn't think he had heard me calling. He jerked his hand away like my touch was acid."
Remus couldn't feel much pity for the Slytherin. How could this have made her so mad? She clearly wasn't finished yet.
"I'm pretty sure I know why, too." Her eyes narrowed, "You know that Severus was the only one to stand up for me when the teachers were trying to find witnesses that would speak freely and truthfully about what happened. Both Malfoy and I were there when he spoke. After his testimony, both of us had 50 points deducted and received detentions. Before, I would have been the only one punished."
Avalon went silent and Remus finished it, "So Lucious wasn't too happy and had Crabbe and Goyle teach him a lesson in loyalties." Now Remus had to pity Severus. The Slytherin had risked a lot by doing that.
"He doesn't want anything to do with me now because he's afraid of Lucious. Yet he really needs a friend right now. I'm not sure why but I just have this bad feeling. I fear that he will live out his life in a lie and become some wretched man that all loath."
They both sat in silence for a while, watching the fire crackle and slowly die. Remus didn't realize how much time had passed until James tapped him softly on the shoulder. Neither said anything but the message was clear. He glanced down at Avalon and discovered her sleeping form leaning into him.
"Avalon?" Remus spoke softly and she slowly opened her eyes and sat up.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"Time for supper," answered James.
They both got up and met the others in the center of the common room. Remus knew he couldn't go down with them, as much as he wanted too though. It was too close to dusk, the moon would be up soon.
"Go on with them Avalon, I'm not feeling too well." Avalon nodded and squeezed his hand (which he hadn't realized she was holding).
"Okay, you go rest and get better, " She caught up with Lilly who was already going out the portal.
Remus nodded to the Maraurders as they left. The werewolf waited for the room to clear out so he could go and answer the moon's call.
Bruises
Remus didn't see Avalon until his Advance Care of Magical Creatures class started. She didn't seem quite as upset as before, in fact, she seemed rather cheerful. She smiled at him and joined him at their shared table.
"You look rather cheerful for having just been spending hours being lectured to by the teachers," commented Remus.
Avalon suppressed a giggle, as Professor Fillensnight was starting class. She whispered back, "You should have seen Lucious' face! The bloke didn't get to a potion in time and is already turning black and blue!"
Lupin smiled but didn't say anything else, noticing that Fillensnight was glaring at them. He watched them for a moment longer and then went on talking to the class.
"After going over your first test and essays, I've concluded that you're ready to continue on to a more complicated category of creature. The Humanoids." His eyes traveled across the classroom and seemed to hesitate on Remus before continuing on, "This group consists of vampires, centaurs, werewolves, and a few others."
Lupin's stomach was churning. Avalon seemed perfectly calm and more thoughts raced through his mind. Briefly he wondered if she hadn't been cursed or maybe she just didn't know it. But how couldn't she know? Over and over he speculated on the thoughts. Finally, he wearily let his head rest on the desk and sighed.
"Is there a problem Mr. Lupin?" Inquired Fillensnight with only a hint of real concern.
"I'll be fine, sir," lied Remus, "I just didn't sleep well last night."
Fillensnight should know what the real problem is though, thought the teen, I'm sure Dumbledore informed all of the staff about my condition.
Avalon looked at him, frowning but said nothing. Fillensnight didn't speak to either of them for the rest of the class. He went on lecturing about centaurs and their history with the Ministry of Magic. He even mentioned trying to have one of the centaurs from the forest to come by.
"If you've any questions to ask of the centaurs," he commented, "who better to ask then a centaur?"
By this point, Avalon was doodling little creatures across her notes that immediately began chewing on her letters. Remus was so weary; he didn't even smile at the doodles' antics.
Professor Fillensnight continued to ignore them and gave out the homework assignment. "I want you each to read, in your books, over the chapter. I then want you to all write an essay about what you already know or believe about this subject and what you've learned so far. And it must be at least one meter in length."
While all of the Gryffindors groaned at the mention of the essay, many of the Ravenclaws brightened up. The werewolf still noticed nothing; he merely stared down at his blurring notes, trying not to pass out or anything. Something caught his eyes and he focused back on his notes to see a white dog chewing on his words. Without a word, he slid the page over to a confused looking Avalon. Obviously the mutt had managed to move from her notes to his. She smiled and he went back to staring into space.
Class was dismissed but before Remus had even stood up, Fillensnight called him up to his desk. Avalon smiled reassuringly at him and for a moment, he forgot all his worries. The professor didn't say anything until all of the other students had filed out of the classroom. At last he broke the growing silence.
"I'm worried about you Remus," he actually spoke with real concern, "I know tonight is the full moon and that what your experiencing right now must be hard. It's really hard for me to see one of my students suffering from such hardships." He paused for a moment as though trying to phrase his next few words, "I have an old friend, he and I go a long ways back, and he specializes in curses and how they work. Would you have a problem if I sent him a letter inquiring about any information he may have about yours?"
Remus didn't speak. He had no idea what to say. Someone who might be able to break his curse! Finally he sputtered out something along the lines of "Sure. That would be wonderful Professor!"
Fillensnight grinned and dismissed the student.
Remus quickly returned to the Gryffindor common room to tell the others. It seemed a bit more crowded then usual but as he caught bits and pieces of the conversations, he realized that they were all excited about the fight. He eventually made it over to his companions and sat down in the remaining empty chair.
"Well, this has been an exciting day, hasn't it?" He glanced around but no one said anything and they all seemed rather glum. "What's wrong?"
Lilly was the first to speak, "Avalon has trapped herself in the fireplace seats. Anyone who tries to go near her gets flames shot at him or her. She seems really upset about something."
He frowned, "Well it must have happened after our class because she seemed as happy as can be when I last saw her."
The brunette shrugged, "I don't know what else has happened since our first talk. She certainly won't talk to me now. Maybe you should give it try."
"She seems to like you more then any of us," insisted Sirius with no hint of sarcasm.
Remus sat in silence for a moment then slowly nodded. "I'll go and try to talk to her."
He got up and made his way over to the fireplace and discovered it to be quite clear of students. The werewolf neared the fire and just made out Avalon's form on one of the two seats that were on either side of the fire.
"Avalon?" he called out her name softly, wondering if she could hear him over the roar of the fire.
His question was answered immediately by a shot of flame coming right at him. Logic at the moment assessed that every part of him should be screaming to move. But he didn't. Instead, all he felt was a calm wave flow over him as the fire reached out towards his body. Remus braced himself for the heat but only received a hot blast of air. The flame was an illusion?
He pushed through the illusion and sat down next to a very upset Avalon. She frowned at her failed ploy to be alone and then broke down in tears. Remus wondered briefly what could have happened so quickly to make her attitude change so drastically. The lycanthrope said nothing though. In one swift move, he pulled her close to him and held her gently.As he held her, he began to realize that her sobs were not out of sadness but out of shear anger. Remus could feel it radiating off her.
"Avalon," he began, "What happened?"
Her sobs quickly subsided and she clenched her fists. "Might I repeat what I said earlier, Lucious is an absolute bastard. After class, I went to meet with Sev for our Potions study and...Remus, he had been beat up really bad. I had reached out to grab his hand because I didn't think he had heard me calling. He jerked his hand away like my touch was acid."
Remus couldn't feel much pity for the Slytherin. How could this have made her so mad? She clearly wasn't finished yet.
"I'm pretty sure I know why, too." Her eyes narrowed, "You know that Severus was the only one to stand up for me when the teachers were trying to find witnesses that would speak freely and truthfully about what happened. Both Malfoy and I were there when he spoke. After his testimony, both of us had 50 points deducted and received detentions. Before, I would have been the only one punished."
Avalon went silent and Remus finished it, "So Lucious wasn't too happy and had Crabbe and Goyle teach him a lesson in loyalties." Now Remus had to pity Severus. The Slytherin had risked a lot by doing that.
"He doesn't want anything to do with me now because he's afraid of Lucious. Yet he really needs a friend right now. I'm not sure why but I just have this bad feeling. I fear that he will live out his life in a lie and become some wretched man that all loath."
They both sat in silence for a while, watching the fire crackle and slowly die. Remus didn't realize how much time had passed until James tapped him softly on the shoulder. Neither said anything but the message was clear. He glanced down at Avalon and discovered her sleeping form leaning into him.
"Avalon?" Remus spoke softly and she slowly opened her eyes and sat up.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"Time for supper," answered James.
They both got up and met the others in the center of the common room. Remus knew he couldn't go down with them, as much as he wanted too though. It was too close to dusk, the moon would be up soon.
"Go on with them Avalon, I'm not feeling too well." Avalon nodded and squeezed his hand (which he hadn't realized she was holding).
"Okay, you go rest and get better, " She caught up with Lilly who was already going out the portal.
Remus nodded to the Maraurders as they left. The werewolf waited for the room to clear out so he could go and answer the moon's call.