My first weekly update! The plan is to release a new chapter every Monday evening. I wonder what you guys think so far. Let me know in the reviews!

Chapter six: Dragons & werewolves

Things had changed since that night in the Hospital Wing. They had in multiple ways. Alicia had a different mindset about her entire "relationship" with Remus Lupin. She started to wonder what the worst was that could happen. She was nearly done with school anyway. She wished to see how far she could push him. She became more and more flirtier during classes and whenever she saw him outside the classroom. On occasion she made him blush, and it fuelled her to go on.

On a darker note, the world around them changed as well. After the break-in, the rules were stricter regarding going outside. Curfew was an hour earlier than normal, and the trips to Hogsmeade went on with guidance from teachers. Everyone was talking about Sirius Black, and how he would come to kill Harry Potter. Alicia didn't know the boy personally, but whenever she saw him he looked like he carried a big burden on his shoulders. Alicia wondered what it did to a person when everyone seemed sure you would get killed soon.

On a crisp November morning Alicia wandered down the hill towards Hagrid. Her visits to the kind half-giant were frequent, even more so in her last year. She was really going to miss him. The ground was layered with a filter of snow and most of the trees were bare of leaves. The grass crunched under her feet. Because it was a Saturday, she didn't have to wear her Hogwarts robes. She was wearing trousers, a warm sweater and a coat that used to be her mother's, with the Ravenclaw scarf wrapped around her neck. Her long hair was loose and ran down her back, catching snowflakes as she walked.

She knocked on the door, first five times then two, to signal to Hagrid that it was her. She could see smoke coming out of the chimney, so he should be home. After a short pause the door opened.

'Hello Alicia! You look cold. Come in, come in,' Hagrid said cheerfully. Alicia wiped her shoes and got inside. She was in the process of taking of her coat and scarf when she noticed Hagrid wasn't alone.

'Hello,' she said to the stranger.

'Hi there!' he responded back enthusiastically. The man sitting at the table looked a couple of years older than Alicia. He wore dark leather robes that had a lot of scratches and scorn marks on them. His brilliant orange hair fell to his shoulders and his face was heavily freckled.

After a good second look, Alicia decided she had seen him before. 'I know you, I think.'

He stood up and shook her hand. 'Charlie Weasley. Lovely to see you. Alicia Doreen isn't it? It's funny how we never talked while I was in school here. I graduated two years ago.'

'Ah now I remember! You were a prefect and found me once late at night out of bed when I was studying nocturnal behaviour in Mokes. Terribly difficult creatures to find,' Alicia rambled on. Charlie and Hagrid had a good laugh and Hagrid set down a steaming cup of tea in front of the girl.

'So you like magical creatures then?' Charlie asked as he eyed the younger girl. She nodded and used the tea cup to warm her cold hands. Charlie laughed and gave Hagrid a look. 'Something tells me this meeting between us isn't accidental, Alicia.'

She raised an eyebrow and looked from the one to the other. 'What do you mean?'

Charlie leaned forward, a spark lighting in his eyes. 'Do you like dragons?'

Her eyes were round with fascination and her mouth hung slightly open. 'Of course! I've seen a Welsh Green dragon when I was little, and it was the most magnificent beasts I have ever seen! I wish I could tell you that I have experience with more species, but I haven't really travelled all that much. Why do you ask? Have you seen more dragons?'

Charlie's mouth twisted in a grin. 'One or two in my time. Don't they scare you?'

Alicia wanted to enthusiastically tell him how creatures rarely scared her and that she would go to great lengths for them, but then remembered how concerned Hagrid was last time she went too far. She sat back and shied down.

'Oh this girl isn't afraid of anything, you might say. Sometimes she forgets to take care of herself, if she thinks a beast comes first. I'm telling you Charlie, you aren't going to find anyone better than her,' Hagrid said.

Alicia gave him an appreciative smile, but then frowned. 'Find anyone better for what?'

Hagrid and Charlie exchanged a look, and then the redhead faced her. 'Alicia, I work in Romania. I work with dragons. We capture them out of places where they attack muggles and bring them in a save area. There is a whole program of saving almost extinct species and learning more about their behaviour. I came here because I am looking for an assistant that I can train. Hagrid said he knew someone that might be interested.'

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. All she could do at the moment was blink at him.

'You're serious?'

'Absolutely.'

'You offer me a job…to work with dragons?'

'That is what I am doing, yes.'

'And you'll wait until I am graduated?'

'Oh yes of course! But I was thinking maybe I could tell you this early so you could pick up the dragon studies. So you have time to prepare. You have to move to Romania, logically. We have accommodation settled at the camp. All you have to do is graduate, pack your bags and come and live in a world of dragons. How does that sound?'

Once more she sat very still. Then, out of nowhere, she slammed her palms down on the table, making the teacups splash around. The motion made Charlie flinch and he looked as if he had insulted her and was about to apologize. However, she spoke first.

'Of freaking course I want to work with you! Are you kidding me?! This is the greatest thing to ever happen to me! I'm going to be a freaking dragon handler! CAN YOU IMAGINE?' Alicia shouted. She got out of her seat and started walking in circles. Sarah noticed her mommy and slithered out of her nest to follow Alicia around.

'I'm going to be working with dragons! I don't have to worry about a job after school. My parents will be super concerned though. Whatever! Mom should know how awesome it is to work with dragons, she occasionally sees one. I cannot handle this. Merlin's beard!'

Charlie seemed amused by her behaviour. 'Are you okay? Did I break you?'

She laughed. 'A little. I'm going to need some time to process this. But the answer is yes, yes, YES! I will move to Romania and come to work with you!'

After the initial shock went down and Alicia quiet down again, they sat there discussing details. With great admiration she listened to Charlie's stories. Hagrid seemed just as fascinated. They were completely lost in time when the clock announced that it was one o'clock in the afternoon.

'Blimey! I should get going. The match is about to start,' Charlie said as he started packing his things.

'Right you are! Gryffindor vs Slytherin, my all-time favourite. Are you comin' too, Alicia?' Hagrid asked as he reached for his furry winter coat. The girl in question rolled her eyes. 'Well all right then. Ravenclaw is still way ahead of the rest, so I guess it shouldn't matter too much if I am seen between the Gryffindors. Assuming that is where you are going.'

Charlie laughed. 'Of course! Everyone in my family was a Gryffindor. By the way, I was also invited for a party in the Gryffindor tower might they win. Will you join me?'

Alicia shrugged. 'I suppose it couldn't hurt.'

'Great. I'm sure my brother will appreciate you being there,' he said with a cheeky smirk and a wink. Alicia didn't have to ask which brother he was talking about.

As expected, Gryffindor won the match. The party was big and loud, as Alicia would have expected. Someone had enchanted the Common room to be twice as big so there was place for all the party-goers. She wasn't the only non-Gryffindor in the room. Several Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were walking around, but no Slytherins. Not that that surprised Alicia.

She had just spend some time talking to a Gryffindor girl in her year, when she decided to settle down on the couch in front of the fireplace. There was a couple sharing a chair next to her, and they were kissing each other like it was their last day on earth. She was sure the firewhisky had something to do with their behaviour, which is why she was sticking to butterbeer.

It was hard to look away from the passionate couple. The boy was sitting normally, as the girl was sideways on his lap. His hands rubbed her back and sides, as hers were tangled in his hair. She started to see herself in a similar position, with a man she wouldn't mind kissing…somewhere private where no one could judge them.

'Bottoms up!'

Shaken awake from staring at the couple, two people were sitting down on either side of her. One of them set their cup to her lips and urged her to open up and drink it. She squeaked in protest but couldn't help the liquid pouring in her mouth. When the cup was gone from her lips she had some trouble swallowing, but managed and coughed afterwards.

'Did you just pour a mouthful of firewhisky down my throat?' she managed to say between coughs.

She heard both boys chuckle. 'And you downed it wonderfully Nessie. Careful, maybe you will breathe fire now!'

She shook her head in annoyance, but realised that was a bad idea. The effect of the alcohol was already reaching her head. She sighed and looked him in the eye. George was of course the one who had forced her to drink, while Fred on the other side looked a bit guilty. Just a bit.

'You two are the worst,' she complained as she leaned back again.

George laid an arm over her shoulder and pulled her to him for a moment. 'But you love it Nessie. How did you think we did at the game?'

She disentangled herself from George his arm and scooted a little closer to Fred. 'I think more than enough people have already told you how great you are tonight. There is only so much ego-boost that one can handle.' She flipped her hair out of her face and looked at Fred. 'But I suppose I can congratulate you on the victory. Good luck catching up to Ravenclaw though.'

Fred huffed. 'You think these little birds scare us? They wouldn't know what to do when they face a lion!' It was Alicia's turn to laugh at that. 'Oh you showed them good at the practice at the beginning of this year. Fifty points difference, wasn't it?'

Fred couldn't argue their failure earlier in the season. He looked down, seemingly lost his ego for now. 'Oh we'll get you, don't worry,' he said without much confidence.

'All you Ravenclaws should be scared of our team. No one beats Harry!' a new voice said. Alicia looked up to see yet another redheaded boy standing in front of them. His face was painted with red and gold and he wore a supporter scarf around his neck. Moments later the boy he was talking about, the famous Harry Potter, appeared next to him, followed by Alicia's newest study partner, Hermione.

'Ron, I presume?' Alicia asked politely. 'Haven't had the pleasure yet.' She stood up to shake his hand. Despite the paint on his cheeks she could see his skin turn to a darker red shade. 'Nice to meet you. But I mean it! Your team doesn't stand a chance.'

Hermione huffed and sat down in an armchair, a book in her hands. 'Not everyone is so addicted to Quidditch, Ronald.' Alicia chuckled and heard Harry chuckle at the same time. Their eyes locked and she gave him a warm smile. 'And the wonderboy seeker. Harry. Nice to meet you,' she said as she shook his hand too.

'I've seen you around Hagrid's place a lot. Are you friends with him?' Harry asked as he and Ron took seats on the floor, backs to the fireplace. Alicia nodded. 'Hagrid is the best. I really enjoy talking to him and taking care of creatures together.'

'I've heard about you,' Ron suddenly said. He looked up at the twins before looking back at Alicia. 'You're the girl they call Nessie.'

Alicia couldn't help but laugh. 'Yep. That is true.'

Fred and George couldn't help giggling as they drank more of their firewhisky. Hermione looked secretly amused too, but Harry seemed lost.

'Why do they call you that?' Harry asked.

Alicia rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat. 'I sort of saved a boy from the huge kelpie that lives in the Black Lake. There are ways to compel and tame kelpies, and I was studying just that when a boy decided to go for a swim and make a lot of noise.'

'Were you attacked too?' Ron asked, leaning forward. Alicia bit her lip. 'A bit. He tried to grab my legs. But I got away and the scratches have healed.'

'I still don't understand why they call you Nessie,' Harry said, looking very confused.

Alicia took a swallow from her butterbeer before she replied. 'The Loch Ness monster, you are familiar with that one yeah? Well, it is known that that monster is also an overgrown kelpie. Therefore, Nessie.'

Understanding crossed Harry's face as he nodded and laughed with the others. Alicia found herself relax more and more in this group. She even took up on George's offer to get herself a glass of firewhisky. Tomorrow was a Sunday anyway!

A lot of the conversation was about the match, recreating motions they did on the brooms and talking about what they had to do better next time. Ron wasn't on the team, but he was pitching in like he was. Hermione had actually managed to zone out and read in the middle of all the chaos, and Alicia stared at her in wonder.

It was clear to Alicia that the firewhisky had effect on all the people who were drinking. The party got louder and weirder, with people performing magic tricks and bets being opened. She could also have sworn that Fred and George were sitting closer and closer to her. Her hips were squished between theirs, and on many occasions did an arm brush past her upper leg. She had known that Fred had a little crush on her, but did George too? Or was he trying to push her as close to his brother as he could? She was confused, but thinking too hard wasn't working. Her brain refused more and more.

Then someone came up with the brilliant idea of playing truth or dare. At first she refused but the rest pulled her back in. At this point they were joined by Seamus, Dean and Neville, three boys from Harry's year.

'Alright Hermione! Truth or dare?' Seamus started off.

'I'm not playing,' she replied, not looking up. Harry pulled the book out of her hands and threw it in a corner. Hermione looked ready to scold him for handling a book so roughly, but swallowed her anger and decided to play along. 'Dare.'

The boys went in a simultaneous ooooooh what only made Hermione roll her eyes.

'Alright then! I dare you to down this bottle of butterbeer!' Seamus presented her with a half-full bottle. They were all shouting, some in protest that she would get all of their drinks, some that she wouldn't do it anyway.

Hermione simply took the bottle and put it to her lips. She started drinking like it was water. Everyone seemed deeply surprised, but then Alicia noticed that the witch had her wand out and was casting a spell. When she looked closely, she could see the colour of the drink change just before it entered her mouth. She was turning the beer into water.

As she set down the bottle everyone expected her to burp or sway or even fall over, but she simply wiped her lips and said: 'Neville. Your turn.'

Alicia couldn't help laughing and clapping at Hermione's brilliant portray. The girl smiled back. The game went on as Neville was dared to eat some terrible flavoured candy, as Harry was dared to fly to the ceiling and do a flip upside down and as George confessed that he had cheated on three exams, but that he wouldn't tell them how.

'Alicia!' George said full of energy. He turned to sit sideways on the couch, resting his head on his hand and staring her down. Alicia stared him back down with an amused and defiant look on her face. 'Truth or dare?' he asked seductively.

Alicia wasn't fazed. 'Truth.'

He giggled and looked around the room for inspiration. 'If you had to do a teacher, which one would you choose?'

Of all the questions in the universe he just had to ask this one. Could she lie convincingly? What options were there? To say Snape and make everyone laugh and/or vomit? Or to just say the truth and hope no one would ask any questions? Shit.

'Lupin, probably,' she said. No wait! That sounded too sincere. 'Who doesn't want a ruffian like that?' She mimicked the line of scars that ran over her teachers face. To her great relief, most of them were simply laughing and shouting things like no way! And He's so weird! She actually felt guilty for making fun of his injuries, but thought it was best not to continue on the subject. She addressed Ron and continued the game.

Somewhere deep in the night, the game stopped and most people had gotten to bed. For the remainder of the game Alicia wasn't asked anything too uncomfortable. She was also afraid someone would dare Fred or George to kiss her, but that didn't happen either. She did end up dancing with Harry, in a terrible recreation of a tango. All and all the evening was fun, but she was ready to turn in for a good night of sleep.

When everyone got up to go to bed, Hermione stayed seated, and asked Alicia to stay behind too. As they said their goodnights and had blown kisses to both girls, the boys left. Alicia looked around and noticed that they were the last ones left, apart from a boy snoring very loudly in a corner.

'What's up?' Alicia asked.

Hermione looked nervous. 'I'm not really sure if I should tell you this. I haven't said it to anyone else, in fear of what they might do. But I feel like I should tell you.'

Alicia's muddled brain wasn't comprehending everything she said. 'So tell me.'

Hermione sighed and looked at her directly. 'In the game, they asked you what teacher…well you said Professor Lupin. I've also heard from people that you were seen multiple times walking around the school with him. So…I feel like you know him a bit. But I must warn you.'

Alicia held up a hand. 'Hold on. First: we were playing a game. I wasn't serious! Second: you don't have to tell me not to grow close to a teacher. My friends have already given me that lecture. All I do is talk with him, is that so bad?'

Hermione shook her head. 'No you don't understand. I'm trying to tell you that he is dangerous, and that getting close to him can get you injured, or worse…killed.'

Alicia stared the other girl down like she was seeing pigs fly. 'Do you honestly believe our DADA professor would kill me?'

She looked down. 'Not by choice.'

Alicia's brain tried very hard to concentrate. What was she trying to tell her? Did this have anything to do with his reoccurring sickness? He had already missed his classes three times. Every time with some interval in which he looks fine.

Another piece of information suddenly popped up in her head. Why do wizards walk around with scars? Most wounds can be healed. Apart from a couple of exceptions. Wounds inflicted by dragons or werewolves for example…

Hermione did just say that he was dangerous. That he could kill her, but not by choice.

He missed three classes. In three months.

She nearly cried when the realisation hit her like a river breaking through a dam.

'Professor Lupin is a werewolf?' she whispered. When she looked up, Hermione was nodding with a concerned look on her face.

'How long have you known?' she asked the younger witch.

'Since Professor Snape gave us an essay on werewolves. I don't think that was a coincidence,' Hermione replied.

Alicia groaned. 'Snape was trying to get student to figure it out? Such a snake.'

Hermione frowned. 'So you think firing Professor Lupin is wrong? I've been stuck with this dilemma. What if no one else knows? What if he could get someone killed? He is a very good teacher, the best we had so far for DADA, but there is a risk…'

Alicia didn't really know what to say or do with this information for now. All she knew was that she had to talk about this with him.

'Hermione, you have to keep this a secret. I don't believe he would have come to Hogwarts if he was a potential threat. He is gone every full moon, remember? He is probably far away from the castle. I don't believe he would ever want to risk bringing someone in danger. So it isn't our secret to tell, okay?'

Hermione was quiet for a moment. Alicia was afraid she was going to protest, but in the end she nodded. 'Okay. But should we talk to him? Or to Professor Dumbledore?'

Alicia bit her lip. 'Let me do that. Please just try and forget it, okay? I will handle this.'

She nodded again. 'I hope this turns out well. I really like him as a teacher, and I know Harry does as well. He is getting private lessons from him to learn the Patronus charm. It seems Professor Lupin knew Harry's parents, and Harry wants to learn more about them.'

Alicia sighed. 'Believe me Hermione, I don't want him gone any more than you. We'll protect him, for now.'

They said their goodbyes and Alicia rushed out through the portrait. She ran for a while before her emotions started catching up to her. She stopped and leaned against the wall. Suddenly everything made sense! Why he looked so tired. Why he was often covered in fresh wounds. Why he couldn't tell her. The teacher she had decided to develop a crush on, was in fact a werewolf. She rushed back to the Ravenclaw tower and slept poorly that night.