I own nothing but the plot.


Ron lay in his bed in the Hospital Wing, thinking about how fast everything had changed for him. His parents were staying the night with him and helping him to process the change this would mean.

"The night started so well," Ron explained. "Me and Lisa have been getting on amazingly. Last night we were looking for a place for some privacy but ran into Dean and Lavender. They were looking for a spot to be alone in, too. There's only one broom closet near Gryffindor Tower big enough to... well, you know... in, and Dean said he claimed it first."

"It's ok, Ron," Mr Weasley said. "Your mother and I have been there before, and while you're starting a little younger than we'd like, we know how it is. Why didn't you postpone till a different night?"

"Or just wait for the next Hogsmead weekend," Mrs Weasley added, giving her husband a look for advocating breaking curfew. "And I'd like to know how far along you've gotten with her."

"Lisa suggested a different night," Ron said, hanging his head. "But she's my first girlfriend. I didn't want to wait. She didn't want to either, she said. We haven't been doing anything but snogging. Fred and George had told me about a passage that led from the painting of Gregory the Bold to the grounds near the greenhouses. We took it and went there since it was night and no one would be around."

"But it was the full moon!" Mrs Weasley protested. "You shouldn't have been out of the castle at night at all, but especially not on a full moon, not with everything going on right now."

"We forgot about the full moon," Ron mumbled.

"You were nearly killed by a Werewolf on the train here," Mrs Weasley ranted, "and there have been attacks monthly since. How could you have forgotten?"

"I understand," Mr Weasley said, calming his wife down. He had been a boy once himself and well remembered how early days in a relationship could muddle your mind. "It's not something I think you'll ever forget again."

"Lisa is going to leave me, isn't she?" Ron asked, his eyes downcast. "She won't want to stay with me now that I'm... this."

"I don't think she'll leave," Mrs Weasley said comfortingly. "She practically had to be dragged out of here by Professor Flitwick at curfew."

"But I'm a Werewolf now," Ron argued. "I haven't turned into one yet, but I will in a month. How long could she deal with that?"

"If she does leave you over this," Mrs Weasley said, "then she wouldn't be right for you. But really I don't think you need to worry about it. She seems very taken with you."

"Is there any chance the test was wrong?" Ron asked hopefully.

"I don't think so," Mr Weasley said, placing his hand on Ron's. "But whether the test is right or wrong, whether Lisa stays or goes, we'll face whatever comes next together. As a family."


The following morning was clear and cold. The Minister for Magic was sitting in a guest chair opposite Dumbledore's desk. He had hurried to confront Dumbledore as soon as he'd heard the report.

"Now you have two Werewolves at Hogwarts," Cornelius Fudge complained, "and you've gotten rid of the one professor who could make the Wolfsbane potion!"

"I assure you that Professor Slughorn is more than capable of brewing the potion," Dumbledore said, pouring himself and the Minister cups of tea. "There is no danger from either Professor Lupin or the unfortunate student."

"I'm well aware of who the student is," Cornelius said. "I'm afraid I can't let Mr Weasley remain here any longer. The Weasleys are a well-respected family, and I've managed to keep their name out of the papers so far, but I cannot allow a Werewolf to be taught at Hogwarts. The public would go mad."

"It is not your decision, Cornelius," Dumbledore said. "It is bad enough that you allow laws to pass that will make the young man's life miserable once he leaves the school. I will not allow you to remove his education from him, too."

"Not allow me?" Cornelius snorted. "He is a Werewolf. He doesn't belong around normal folk. How do you propose to stop me?"

Clouds suddenly darkened the sunlight streaming through the Headmaster's Office windows. Thunder rolled over the castle, causing the windows to tremble in their frames. The rumbling swelled to feel like an earthquake. A book fell from a pedestal as it swayed with the tremors. The grandfatherly look on Dumbledore's face remained, but his eyes nearly glowed with power.

"Meep!" Fudge squeaked as he backpedalled out of his chair and away from the Headmaster.

"If you ever propose harming one of my students again," Dumbledore said in a conversational tone, "we will disagree."

Dumbledore took a sip of tea as a bolt of lightning hit the Headmaster's Tower, illuminating the office with a flash. The clap of thunder that accompanied the lightning felt like an exclamation point to the Headmaster's statement.

"Of... of course," Fudge stammered. "I meant no harm, of course. I just want to protect the students."

"We are united in that goal," Dumbledore said, and the light from the windows began to return to normal. "If that will be all, Cornelius?"

"Yes," Fudge said, picking up his bowler hat from where he had dropped it. "Yes, I do need to be going. If I might use your floo?" He was clearly desperate to leave.

"Of course," Dumbledore agreed, gesturing at his fireplace. The flames flared and turned green without the need for floo powder. Fudge stared at it for a moment, then approached the fireplace.

"Minister for Magic's office," he called out and scuttled through the flames, more frightened of Dumbledore than of the possibility the fireplace might burn him without floo powder.


"A Werewolf?" Hermione screeched, then clapped her hand over her mouth. Harry, Hermione, and Neville sat with Ron at the far end of Gryffindor table in the Great Hall for breakfast. Several people had looked over at them, hearing Hermione, then returned to their breakfast when no further outbursts seemed forthcoming.

"I'm sorry," Hermione apologised. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Ron said dejectedly.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Harry said. "You can count on our help for anything you need."

"Absolutely," Neville agreed.

"I don't know what I'm going to do after Hogwarts now," Ron said. "I was going to be a Quiddich manager, but they'll never hire me now."

"We'll think of something," Hermione said, placing her hand on his arm.

"I think you should talk with Professor Lupin," Harry said. "He's a Werewolf, too. I'm sure he'll help you."


Fred and George sat uncomfortably on hard wooden stools in front of Professor McGonagall's desk. She was glaring at them.

"I want to know every secret passage in or out of this castle that you are aware of," she said. "I want to know how you learned of them and why you kept this knowledge from the teachers."

"Honestly, Professor," Fred said, "we didn't mean for him to get bitten!"

"That's right," George nodded. "We told him about that passage weeks ago. We didn't know he was going to use it last night!"

"Be that as it may," McGonagall said, "your brother used the knowledge he obtained from you to leave the protections of the castle and was thus bitten by a Werewolf. If I thought that was on purpose, believe me when I say I would have already called the authorities to escort you out of this castle this morning."

Fred and George gulped.

"Now," she continued, "start listing them."


Delores Umbridge lay in her bed, whimpering. Every bone in her body ached. It was her first time turning into a Werewolf, and she hadn't known how much it would hurt.

She had dipped into her dwindling savings to purchase Wolfsbane potion from the apothecary but was dismayed at how much it cost. She had managed to rent a very inexpensive apartment in a horrible part of London, but if she had to keep buying the potion, she would only last a few months.

She had tried to find a job, but no one in the Wizarding world would hire her since they knew she was a Werewolf. Part of her legislation the Ministry had passed made it a crime for an applicant or employee to lie to a magical employer about the condition.

She shuddered, remembering how she had tried to include Muggle employers in the bill, but the Statute of Secrecy would not allow it. That loophole might end up being her only hope, but she had yet to fall far enough to try and apply for a Muggle job. She felt dirty just thinking of associating with Mudbloods just to earn a paltry living.

The one person she knew who would hire a Werewolf was Dumbledore, and she knew he'd never hire her/ He had always opposed her legislation. The Headmaster obviously hated her, and his famous generosity would not extend to her.

Delores dragged herself out of bed and stumbled to her tiny kitchen to make something to eat. She was almost out of food and would need to think about where to shop. The upscale stores were out of the question now.


"This is most extraordinary," Dumbledore said. He was examining The Maurader's Map, which Professor McGonagall had brought to him along with two very uncomfortable-looking Weasley twins.

"They told me they 'found' it in Mr Filch's cabinet back in their first year," McGonagall said.

"Ahh..." Dumbledore said, giving the boys a slight wink. "Don't be too hard on them, Minerva. I trust any other items they have discovered will make their way to your desk by nightfall."

The twins gulped again.

"This map, of course, will remain with me," Dumbledore said. "If you have any additional items you know you should not have, I highly suggest you turn them in. I will allow you to keep any items you created for your pranks so long as they are not harmful. You will not be punished, as I don't believe you had ill intentions. You may go."


"What does it feel like to change?" Ron asked. He was sitting in Professor Lupin's office, drinking a cup of tea that the Professor had made him.

"I'm not going to lie to you," Professor Lupin said. "It is not pleasant. The day before you start to hurt in your bones like you're having growing pains. It can make you very irritable, so you'll have to work on not lashing out at those around you. It gets better when the moon isn't visible. Then when the full moon rises, it begins."

"Does it hurt?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Professor Lupin answered. "It doesn't take long, though, and the worst of the pain only lasts until the transformation is complete."

"How long does it take?" Ron asked.

"It depends," Professor Lupin said. "Most Werewolves transform in under a minute. It can take longer the first few times, but I've never heard of it taking longer than four or five minutes at most.

"How will I keep from hurting anyone?" Ron asked.

"The Headmaster is preparing an area that is secluded from the rest of the castle," Professor Lupin answered. "I'll be with you, and we'll both be provided Wolfsbane Potion by Professor Slughorn. While it doesn't taste very good, it will allow us to keep our minds."

"What does that mean," Ron asked, "to keep our minds?"

"Without the potion," Lupin said, "a transformed Werewolf is wild. You wouldn't remember much of any of it, and you would be incredibly dangerous. With the potion, you'll stay yourself. You'll still have many of the instincts of the wolf, which is why you'll still need to be contained, but you'll keep your ability to think."

"Thank you," Ron said. He looked down at his lap. "I wish we'd waited for another night."

"I know, Ron," Professor Lupin said. "Try not to worry too much about what you can't change. You'll get through this."


Severus Snape was in a towering rage. Not one apothecary or potions store in the United Kingdom would hire him. Word had evidently spread that he was looking for a job because the last few shops he had tried told him to leave the moment he walked in the door.

He was throwing clothes and potion equipment into a trunk with little regard for their organisation. Severus knew he'd regret that later, but he was in such a fury that he couldn't be bothered to care at the moment.

With a slash of his wand, he cast a spell that would close and secure the house. He hated the place but would need a secure bolt-hole if he also failed to find employment on the continent.

He apparated to the Ministry of Magic and entered the red phone booth that was the visitor's entrance.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic," a female voice said. "Please state your name and reason for your visit."

"Severus Snape," he answered. "I am leaving this country and all its dunderheads behind, hopefully for good."

With a rattle, a badge was dispensed. Severus picked it up and scowled at the inscription that read 'Severus Snape, Having a Temper Tantrum.'

After entering the atrium and having his wand checked by a security guard he remembered as being particularly atrocious in class six or seven years ago, Severus stalked to the Portkey Authority. When asked what destination he wanted to purchase a portkey to, he didn't hesitate.

"Albania."