The students talked of nothing but Sirius for days after he appeared at the castle. Some were still working on why he was here. Others were more focused on how he got inside. Either way he became the center of attention among the students. Even the teachers were worried about him and his intentions. They were all following Harry, finding any excuse to walk him to class. It looked really annoying; I didn't know how he put up with it…

On a happier note, the first Quidditch match was set for Saturday and it couldn't come sooner. For me anyway, Draco wasn't as excited as I. Then again, he was the one who had to play through the horrible weather we had been having lately. I was half expecting him to have come up with an excuse not to play but so far, nothing.

"Are you sure you should play Draco?" Pansy asked batting her eyes and pouting at him. We were in the common room wasting time until our Defense Against the Dark Arts class began. The weather was getting worse and with the first game being this Saturday Draco didn't look too thrilled about playing. "The weather is bad; surely you could find a way to get them to cancel"

"I'm not scared of a little rain" he huffed but I knew he was lying. He didn't like having to work for things and the weather certainly looked like it wanted him to work. If he wasn't so proud and admitted it maybe Dumbledore would've been kind and let them trade with another house. On the wall the clock informed us that it was almost time for class so we stood up.

"Must be difficult seeing as you're 'injured' and all" I said sarcastically grabbing my book bag.

"I am, aren't I" he commented with a gleam in his eye. I knew that look

"Oh no, Draco" I called but he was gone, up the stairs to the boys' rooms. I sighed and walked to class by myself. I walked in to find Professor Snape in Professor Lupin's place. The rest of the Slytherin students who were already in class were too happy to question why he was there. Figuring he'd just explain it to us I sat down and got my materials out.

"Hey" Draco grinned and sat next to me. He barely made it in time for class and I could only guess what he had done with the comment I gave him.

"Whatever that was, it was not my idea" I warned him but he smiled. At the head of the class Professor Snape began the lesson. He informed us that he would be teaching today but didn't bother to explain why. Although in all fairness no one bothered to ask. Since Professor Lupin had forgotten to tell our other professor where we had left off he decided to just skip ahead to page 394, Werewolves

"I don't suppose any of you can tell me the difference between a true wolf and a werewolf" our professor said more than asked as he walked around the classroom making sure everyone was in the right page. Nobody raised their hand at the question. We weren't anywhere near this part of the book yet and I only vaguely remember skimming through this part. "No one knows?"

"I might, sir" I said slowly raising my hand. Everyone, and I mean everyone, in the classroom turned to look at me. Some gave me curious looks as others, like Pansy, looked almost cynical. I ignored her and turned to our professor. "I don't know if it's right but…"

"Go on" he said in a calm tone. I sighed and tried my best to remember what I'd read

"Werewolves look just like regular wolves except for some of their features. Their snouts are shorter and their eyes look more human than not… They also have a habit of attacking humans even when not provoked." That was all I could remember but hopefully it was enough.

"Very good, Miss Volkov" our professor said with an approving nod before walking to the front of the class again. "I'm glad someone could manage to learn something with such an incompetent teacher. Twenty points to Slytherin"

I smiled wide happy I got it right. Sometimes it paid off to know random facts. The rest of the class had a mixture of impressed looks and resentful stares. There were two kinds of people I suppose. Draco gave me a half smile and raised his eyebrows. I smiled back before turning back to our professor for the rest of the class.

"You will each write an essay on the ways you recognize and kill werewolves. I think one roll of parchment on the subject will suffice. It is to be handed in to me by Monday. But an arrangement could be made if you need extra time seeing as your professor hasn't done a proper job of teaching." With that our class was dismissed.

"I guess it's a good thing I'm not playing this Saturday" Draco began smirking at me. My eyes narrowed instinctively

"I don't even want to know" I shook my head. He laughed and followed me out of the classroom. Some days passed and I found out what Draco's little plan had been. Because of his injury it wouldn't have been fair for our House team so they were allowed to switch the match with another house. Hufflepuff was given the first match instead and I sighed at the little blondie

Saturday morning the storm hit. It was muffled by the water of the Black Lake in the dungeon yet for some reason I couldn't sleep. I wasn't sure if it was the storm's fault or not but all I knew was it had been a couple of hours since I woke up and it was barely five in the morning. I yawned but my eyes refused to stay shut. In the common room I stared out the window as the thunder rumbled above layers of thick water.

For once, I was alone here. Everyone else was sound asleep in their rooms or just hadn't bothered coming downstairs since it was still a while before breakfast. Lev wasn't with me either. He looked so peaceful in bed that I didn't want to selfishly drag him away from it. I played with the hem of my shirt and stared down at my pyjamas. My mother had bought them for me and they were actually not bad. The top was a slouchy sweater and the trousers dragged a little on the floor but they were very warm. They were solid grey and plain but much better than the usual gaudy choices she gave me.

I laughed at my little attempt to distract myself. I was still worried about Black. My father had said I shouldn't worry but I couldn't help it. Anyone who could escape from Azkaban couldn't be some plain wizard. I knew he probably had no interest in anyone but Harry but still… I stared as the creatures swam about behind the dense glass. The water muffled it but the sounds of thunder became more violent

"What are you doing down here?" I heard someone grumble behind me

"I couldn't go back to sleep" I said not bothering to turn around to look at him. Draco grunted and made his way to the window seat I was on. He slumped down on it and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "So why are you awake?"

"Crabbe and Goyle's snoring woke me up. I couldn't go back to sleep either so I figured I'd come down here." He stretched out on the seat and his foot grazed mine. Either he didn't notice or he didn't think it was worth commenting on it.

"Great minds think alike" I said still not turning away from the window. In the reflection I saw him give me a sleepy grin. I wasn't mad or anything I just didn't want to look at him... "You must be glad you don't have to play today"

"What's with you?" he asked ignoring my comment. "You've been acting stranger than usual lately"

"I don't know" I said truthfully. "Maybe it's the full moon"

"Well stop it" he mumbled. I couldn't help but laugh at his serious tone. I found it funny whenever he tried to tell me what to do. Draco didn't look bothered by my laughter as he usually would. It was probably due to the fact that this was normal behavior for me and not the weird one I had been in lately. Truth was I didn't know what it was about. Maybe it was my sub consciousness worrying about Black. Once I stopped laughing we went back to normal. He made a snide comments and I replied with sarcastic ones. Eventually it came time and we made our way up to breakfast