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Celeste woke the next morning to find an empty dormitory. Looking at her clock she realized class would be starting in five minutes. Groaning, Celeste threw off her covers and jumped out of bed. She pulled off her pajamas and slipped into her clothes, buttoning her robes with one hand while brushing her hair with the other. Her head was pounding and she felt a little dizzy, but she ignored this as she grabbed her bag and flew down the stairs and out of the common room.

She ran through the castle and stopped in front of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom ten minutes after the start of class. Breathing deeply to catch her breath, Celeste pulled the door open. She tried to slip in without being noticed, but Professor Spriggin caught sight of her as she headed for an empty desk.

"Miss Potak," he called out sharply in his nasal voice. "Coming in late to class is unacceptable, I would have expected better from you. We are doing a review so that you will be ready for the O.W.L.s, your lateness has proved a distraction for the entire class, ten points from Gryffindor."

The entire class was turned to look at her; Celeste gave an apology to Professor Spriggin and sank into a chair. She accepted the quiz paper that was passed to her and scribbled her answers quickly. Her head was continuing to pound and she found it difficult to attend to what the professor was saying. Soon she ignored him completely and focused her whole attention on the matter that had kept her awake the night before.

Severus wanted her to choose between their friendship and a relationship with Remus. This was a horrible decision to be forced to make and Celeste knew Severus was stubborn enough that no matter how she tried to reason with him he would not back down. There was also the matter of Remus being a werewolf. Celeste had never been very frightened by the stories her Uncle had told her of the hairy monsters, so she wasn't mortified to know that her boyfriend wasn't quite human. What truly hurt was that he had never told her. There had been plenty of opportunities for him to confess his secret, why hadn't he? And what about her mother? She knew, the whole staff would have to know, why hadn't she told Celeste when she first heard that they were dating?

These thoughts haunted Celeste throughout her Defense lesson; Professor Spriggin reprimanded her twice for not paying attention during class. Spiteful old man, Celeste thought. He just doesn't like me because he doesn't like the fact that my mom is a better teacher than he could ever be.

After class, a few students wanted to know why she was late, she told them she had slept in. Celeste couldn't blame the four girls that shared her dormitory, she usually was eating breakfast by the time they woke up, they had seen the curtains closed around her bed and thought she was already gone. No one asked why she had slept late or why she looked as if she hadn't slept at all. Celeste tried to forget as they headed outside for a double session of Care of Magical Creatures with the Ravenclaws.

Her first class had been bad, but this one was worse. The students were charged with milking Slocks, ugly animals that looked like a cross between a goat and a cow but were really a cross between a Re'em and a Mooncalf. They were extremely gentle creatures that only gave milk the week following a full moon. The slock Celeste was supposed to be milking objected to the process and began shuffling about while Celeste was trying to keep hold of the animal's udders. Celeste lost patience with the creature and gave it a sharp slap on the rump. This cost Gryffindor another ten points.

Celeste's classmates began to worry about her behavior. Normally Celeste got on well with all the Professors, was gentle with the magical creatures and would never stomp away from a class. Which was just what she did.

After Professor Kettleburn had taken the points away from her house, Celeste felt like screaming. Her boyfriend had lied to her, her best friend wanted her to make an impossible decision, and now her Professors thought she was an irresponsible student. Only halfway through her Care of Magical Creatures lesson, Celeste grabbed her bag and marched back up the lawn and into the castle.

Once inside the castle, Celeste shoved her bag behind a statue and broke into a run. Celeste had been born two months early, barely survived a terrible illness at the age of seven and always took a while to recover after a cold, but she could run better, faster and longer than anyone at Hogwarts. She often ran just for the sheer joy of speed and the wind in her face, but today she ran because it was the only thing she could do. She ran because, while running, it was impossible to think about Remus, Severus, or even her Professors.

She ran silently through the castle, not realizing where her legs had taken her until an unpleasantly familiar voice called out sharply from the open doorway she had just passed.

"Celestina!" Celeste stopped quickly, overbalanced, and fell backwards, landing at her mother's feet.

"Get up and come in here at once," an order. Celeste climbed to her feet and clutched a stitch in her side as she followed her mother into her office.

It was a fairly large office, two windows looked out over the Forbidden Forest, one wall was covered with fully stocked bookshelves, and a crest bearing the Gryffindor lion hung over the mantelpiece.

Celeste seated herself at the large mahogany desk and waited for her mother to deliver a lecture on running in the castle. Minerva McGonagall sat behind her desk, but didn't speak. In the silence Celeste's mind began to wander towards her problems with Severus, but the sound of her mother's sigh brought her back to her current predicament.

"Celeste," Minerva began. "I realize the O.W.L.s are coming up and that this is a very stressful time, but your behavior recently concerns me. I tried to find you in the common room last night but Lily told me you had already gone to bed, she told me you seemed distant, and that you had skipped dinner. Celeste, what is going on? Have you, er, had a fight with Remus?"

"Not yet," Celeste mumbled.

Minerva raised her eyebrows. "Not yet? What is that supposed to mean? Cice, what is going on?"

"Mom," Celeste began, taking a deep breath. "I know that Remus is a werewolf. I'm obviously not supposed to know that, but Severus and I were fighting and he let it slip. He also told me how Sirius and James tried to kill him and he thinks that Remus was in on it too, and so now he's mad and he wants me to choose between him and Remus and I just..."

Minerva held up a hand to silence Celeste, who had started speaking hesitantly but had sped up as she rushed to tell her mother everything.

"Does Remus know you've been told?" Minerva asked softly.

Celeste looked away, tears springing to her eyes. "No," she answered, "I, I haven't confronted him yet, I'm not sure what to say. Oh, mom, why didn't he tell me himself? Doesn't he trust me? Or does he think I wouldn't love him if I knew the truth? I just don't understand!"

Burying her face in her arms, Celeste burst into tears. Minerva walked around her desk and sat upon it before gently pulling her daughter's head into her lap.

"Best Beloved," Minerva said gently, as she ran her fingers through Celeste's dark brown hair. "I don't know why Remus hasn't told you the truth. Perhaps he was worried you would despise or even fear him for what he is. Tell me, do you feel any differently towards him, now that you know the truth?"

Celeste raised her tearstained face and thought a moment. "No," she said finally. "But I feel terrible that I had no suspicions. I mean, all those disappearances, I never questioned them."

Minerva sighed. "Yes, well, Albus has taken quite a few precautions to make sure no one discovers where Remus goes or why. I suppose Severus told you about the Whomping Willow and the Shrieking Shack?"

Celeste nodded. For a time both were silent, then Minerva spoke:

"Well, I do hope you and Remus can work things out. But Cice, when you confront him please remember, the life of a werewolf is not easy, there is such a strong prejudice against them in our society. No doubt he thinks you would feel the same way."

"But, mom," Celeste protested, "I would never be prejudiced against someone just because they were a werewolf. Just because he's a werewolf doesn't make him a monster."

"No it doesn't," Minerva agreed, smiling sadly. "But many people will not believe this. I believe young Severus may be against him, although for more reasons than one."

"Yes," Celeste said heavily, "Severus hates him. He thinks Remus tried to kill him. Mom how can I choose between them? I know Remus didn't want to hurt Severus, but Severus is just too stubborn to believe this. Severus and I have been so close for so long, now it's as if we've grown apart."

Minerva spoke, choosing her words carefully. "Celeste, I don't know that you and Severus can ever be as close as you once were, you're right, the two of you have grown apart. And the truth is, Severus has already made the choice for you.'

She looked down at Celeste sadly, 'Perhaps one day he'll see things differently."

Celeste was saddened to admit her mother was right, her friendship with Severus was drawing to an end.

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