Chapter 3

Lightning branched through the darkness like flaming trees. The day had been miserable. No sun came through the thick clouds that hovered in the air as if hiding from the earth in fear of seeing its inhabitant's sad faces. The winds' keening was like the deadly wail of a banshee, piercing even the continuous crashing of the thunder.

Kyra had wanted to talk to Hagrid about the night before last, but it had been storming all day and there was absolutely no way in the Abyss was she going to get her cloak and hair drenched even for that. She had wanted to go when the storm had stopped but the gods seemed to laugh at her today. It had not gone well. Then, surprisingly, she got a letter from a teacher asking for her assistance. The letter brightened her spirits and she quicklly got ready for her very first time in an actual classroom.


Professor Lupin had invited her to sit in on his DADA class right before dinner. She had been truly delighted and excited about seeing him in action, him being one of the best and most interesting teachers in Hogwarts. Things went smoothly until the class had separated into pairs to practice a brand new warding spell.

"I've got a spell that'll take care of those pest instantly... Poof!" One chubby faced 6th year exclaimed as he watched a billywig flutter on his table. He seemed to try and impress his partner, a curly-haired girl whose face was very pretty, but she was truly affronted by his comment.

"No! Absolutely not, with my luck, you'd turn it into a troll!" His mind wandered for few seconds.

"I wonder if I could...?" Face brightening, he turned to the insect and cast a spell upon its back.

POOF!

He was right. The insect vanished but its stench remained. Globs of green splattered everywhere. Students quickly cleared their tables and scattered, trying to make it to the door before the smell stuck to their clothes. The student who had cast the spell upon the billywig flushed, half-angry, half-frightened, and wholly embarrassed.

Green goop stained everything and anything in its path. One girl had muck stuck in her hair while another student had half covering her face and more on her shoulder sliding down her arm to harden at the tips of her fingers.

"Please, do not panic." Boldly trying to gain control, Lupin muttered, "You have gone through worse things in this class, so please calm yourself." With a flick of his wand and a few muttered words, the green ooze and the sickly smell vanished. "Return to your desk, please. And you, Mr. Longbottom, I'd like to speak to you after class." His voice was stern but there was a hint of laughter hidden within it that made Kyra wonder what exactly he planned for the frightened boy. She watched Remus and soon after, when his gaze fell to his desk, a grin appeared on his lips.


"You understand what I'm saying?" A quizzical eyebrow rose as he patiently waited for an answer.

"Yes, Professor. I understand." Neville Longbottom answered quietly.

"Good. Now if you don't mind, I have things to discuss with Ms. Nellenbach. You are dismissed, Mr. Longbottom." He nodded and smiled at the chubby boy who stood before him and turned to talk to Kyra.

He noticed that Neville hadn't moved and stood there as if waiting for something. Staring into the void, the boy's mind raced. "What is it, Mr. Longbottom?" Remus asked with a soothing yet obviously tired voice.

"I was just thinking... that... well... do you think that, uh, just maybe, um... Well, that, uh, Hermione may have any interest... in me? Maybe?" His pleading eyes held Lupin steady. The boy watched as his professor shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"Neville, I'm not in the position to handle your love life. I'm sorry. The only thing I can tell you is that nobody can give you wiser advice than yourself." Neville gave a small smile of understanding. It wasn't exactly the answer he was hoping for, but it gave him hope and he figured it was probably the best advice he could get from a teacher anyhow.

"Thanks, Professor. I'll remember that-"

"Maybe you should write it down, just in case," Remus interrupted with a sympathetic smile and a touch of sarcasm, reminding himself of Neville's bad memory.

"Oh yeah. That might help." Neville quickly (but very clumsily) retrieved a quill and parchment. Before he started to write, he realized that he had forgotten to get out the ink, therefore, he searched once again inside his cloak for the correct pocket.

As the boy hastily scribbled down some notes, Remus turned his attention to the woman standing behind him and smiled. "Thank you, Ms. Nellenbach for joining my class today. Did you enjoy it?"

She thought of what to say. It hadn't occurred to her that the professors might want some comments or criticism from her. "Um, well yes, of course! It was... quite interesting." She smiled as she caught a glimpse of Neville's nervous glance.

Lupin gave her an all-knowing smile and retrieved his winter cloak from the back of his chair and swung it carelessly about his shoulders. "Well, madame, shall we walk down to dinner?" He held out his arm in mockingly good humor.

"Why, yes, good sir. I would gladly accompany you down to the Great Hall, thank you." Her smile brightened and after shooing Longbottom out of the classroom, Lupin directed her to dinner.

"So, Ms. Nellenbach-"

"Please, it's Kyra. I hate all that formal mumbo-jumbo. It reminds me of my homeland." She shook her head not wanting memories to disturb her at the moment.

Remus studied her for a moment, thinking if it was okay to ask her some questions. Ah, what the heck, why not? he thought. "Kyra, if you don't mind me asking, and forgive me for being so blunt, but, what are you exactly? I mean, what exactly is your race? You seem to be Elvin, but something tells me otherwise."

"Well, if you'd really like to know, I am a Dark Elf." Seeing obvious confusion in his eyes, she quickly continued, "I'm not evil or anything, I just prefer human magic over my own kind. And so I have been banished from my homeland. I am now cursed to live outside the light of the elven society, or so they believe." Her eyes darkened and her checks paled. Remus was amazed at how beautiful she looked. Her black hair had a slight tinge of blue making it almost metallic in the star's holy light that streamed in through the window. Her posture imposed her to be one of honor and pride. Her pale skin outlined her dark green eyes that matched her forest green cloak. And on her neck, a symbol that spread from below her ear to just right of the middle of her throat.

"That must be terrible. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked seeing that it causes you pain." His voice was filled with sorrow as he spoke. Gently taking her arm once more, he started to lead her to the Hall again but was stopped in mid-stride by her soft voice.

"It does not cause me pain. It was my choice to leave. I did not agree to their plans and therefore they requested that I go. So I left in fear of being consumed by their weak minds and troublesome rules. I learned later that they had soon fallen into the grasp of Lord Voldemort after I left. I felt responsible, so I decided to get my dignity back by way of revenge. I remember going back to fight, but I have yet to recover what had happened." Her heartbeat hastened as thoughts of those dreadful events came rushing back into her mind, hitting it like a tidal wave.

"What do you mean by that? You can't remember?" The concern that filled his voice calmed her rage.

"Yes. That is exactly what I mean. I awoke in a cavern far west from my homeland. I was too weak to journey back, so I decided to seek out the only person of who Voldemort was afraid of, Albus Dumbledore. He gave me food, water, and shelter. He also gave me a way to fight back. I soon became a hunter, finding and puting those so called 'Death Eaters' into some kind of prison... I think it's called Azkaban." Pausing, she thought of her adventures between when she first saw Albus and now. Shaking her head, she concluded, "Well, I think that's enough of me, don't you think?"

"Oh, yes, we're going to be late." A smile crossed his face but Kyra could see the sadness that lay within them.