Chapter 11

Hermione was up with the sun the next morning, eager to eat breakfast and be off to her first class. She took the last few bites of her bacon to go since she was nervous about getting lost and arriving to her first class after it had already begun.

She trudged up countless steps, only stumbling the first two times the staircases moved on her, and eventually made it safely to the Transfiguration classroom. She was the first to arrive, save for the tartan-clad professor seated at her desk. Hermione set her things down on a desk near the front of the room and made to sit down when Professor McGonagall kindly said, "A word, Miss Granger."

Hermione remembered the note she had received from the Deputy Headmistress during the summer and quickly made her way forward. McGonagall straightened her half-moon spectacles, glancing at the door to make sure they were alone before she spoke. "Would you mind meeting with me after supper? We have several things to discuss."

Hermione nodded. "Where should we meet?"

McGonagall flitted a hand around her. "Here in my classroom is fine. If you don't find me here, I'll be in my office. Thank you, Miss Granger. You may return to your seat."

Smiling stiffly, still unused to having people other than her parents speak about her lycanthropy, Hermione sat down just as the first students started to file into the room. Malfoy and his goons sent her a sneer. Neville stumbled in next and chatted happily about breakfast and the unseasonably good weather. She noticed Potter and Weasley were missing just as McGonagall stood and started the lesson. Her lecture lasted about ten minutes before she instructed them to write down the instructions from the board for their notes. With that, she leaned forward and slid into the form of a tabby cat, jumping gracefully to land on the tidy surface of her desk.

Every quill in the room went still for a moment before the cat cast a sweeping glance around the room and stepped forward to the edge of the desk, as if to say, 'Back to work!'

The students resumed their note-taking, only glancing away from their parchments when the classroom door slammed open a few minutes later.

The two missing Gryffindors came running into the classroom, limbs flying and hair wild from their apparent race through the corridors.

The redhead perked up when he didn't see the professor in the room. "Blimey! We still managed to beat her here. Isn't that lucky?"

His scrawny friend only managed a nod before McGonagall was bouncing off the desk again, rising to her rather intimidating human form in an instant. She strode towards the boys and ushered them to the last two empty seats, scolding them all the while.

Hermione returned to her work, shaking her head.

Boys.

XxxX

Hermione had endured every transformation that she could remember, alone. Her parents often talked about the nice young man with the funny name, Sirius Black, who had come to help with her first transformation, but she didn't remember him. Apparently, he had been able to transform into a great, black dog and had made sure she stayed in one piece during the night of first full moon after she was bitten. He had warned her parents that he may not be able to come back since there was a war going on in wizarding Britain. She wondered about him from time to time, and she hoped he was safe.

In the years since that first full moon after she was bitten, the big barn on her family's land in the forest had served her well. She had only escaped in her wolf form the one time, and some Ministry employees had been able to outfit the barn with a large cage after that little scare. Luckily, she'd just woken up naked in the middle of the forest. No one had been hurt, but she welcomed the feeling of safety that the extra precautions of the cage and additional wards afforded her.

Now that she would be going off to school, she wasn't really sure how she would handle her transformations. Even though it made her uncomfortable, she was grateful Professor McGonagall was taking the time to show her what to do now that she couldn't get to her cabin during the school year.

Following McGonagall's instructions to meet after dinner found Hermione knocking on the Transfiguration Professor's office door while Neville and the other Gryffindors made their way back to the common room for the night.

"Come in," a muffled voice called.

"Good evening, Professor," Hermione greeted her respectfully, a shy smile on her face.

"Miss Granger, thank you for meeting with me. I thought it might be best to arrange your setup for the full moon once you had arrived at school so that I could show you the accommodations and precautions we have set up for you." Her normally stern face wrinkled with compassion and concern, and just a hint of old, sad memories.

Hermione nodded. "I have time now, if that would work for you, Professor?"

McGonagall gave a sad smile, blinking the nostalgia from her eyes. "That works nicely. If you'll just follow me."

She stood and swept from the office, leaving Hermione to scramble after her, down an assortment of moving staircases, mostly-empty corridors, and the stone steps from the Entry Hall. Hermione felt her heartbeat quicken as she realised they were probably heading out to the Forbidden Forest. It had only been the night before when the Headmaster had warned them all to stay away from the ominous line of trees spreading out along the perimeter of the school grounds, and she didn't like the idea of being out there by herself, even if she would be at least as dangerous as anything else out there for most of the night.

Luckily, McGonagall slowly turned and started making her way towards...a rather knobbly-looking tree. Hermione's brow furrowed, and she wondered why they seemed to be heading away from any building, forest, or other sensible destination. When they were nearly within hitting distance, the tree sprang to life and made to swat at the witches daring to intrude upon its space. The professor stopped and sent an unusual stunning spell toward the tree. The branches went from twitching and twirling to utterly still within an instant, and Hermione followed McGonagall's lead to the tree. She watched as her professor pointed out a specific knot in the tree, prodding it with her wand. A small door swung open in the rough bark of the tree, and the two witches disappeared inside it.

The walk through the tunnel beneath the Whomping Willow stretched on for an uncomfortably long moment. Hermione could hear and smell too many dead - and almost worse, living - things taking up residence in the loamy dirt of the tunnel's walls, and she cringed as she tried to block it all out, focusing on the smell of something different above the trapdoor at the end of the passage.

McGonagall took her hand and helped her up through the hole in the floor when they arrived. Hermione turned around in a slow circle, inspecting the building that was to be her home for one night a month.

It was ancient. And dusty. And riddled with so many claw and bite marks that Hermione couldn't help but feel a little terrified.

Her voice shook as she asked, "Who - who did this?"

McGonagall sighed. "You are not the first werewolf to attend our school, Miss Granger. A number of years ago another student made use of this building as a safe haven for his transformations. I suspect he may have had some help from his friends when he was older, but he endured most of the transformations…" she dropped her head, still pained to admit it, "...alone."

Hermione tilted her head in confusion. "I've never done anything like this. I might dig up the ground a bit or turn something nearby into a chew toy, but this is...so much worse. Did he hurt himself doing this?" She waved a hand around the room, feeling something strange and new crawl beneath her skin. What was wrong with him? Was the same thing wrong with her? Or would it be, someday soon?

McGonagall nodded. "It was fairly commonplace to find him taking up residence in the hospital wing for a day or two after the full moon, poor boy. He looked sickly and beat up on the best of days, but those just after his transformation were the worst."

Hermione nodded, intrigued. Maybe his transformations were worse than hers for some reason. It certainly sounded like it. She decided asking more questions might promote a feeling of anxiety more than one of peace, so she dropped the subject.

"And I can come here on my own?"

McGonagall nodded. "I have recently come to understand that Animagi can safely interact with werewolves when in their animal forms. If I had known this years ago, I would have tried to do more. As it is, I would be happy to join you for your transformations if that would be helpful for you."

The younger witch considered the offer. "Maybe for the first moon or two, until I feel comfortable and safe here. I don't foresee it being an issue, though. As long as the wards hold strong, I should be just fine here." It wasn't the homiest place she'd ever been, but she didn't remember much of her time in her wolf form anyway. She could leave first thing in the morning and get back to her studies.

Professor McGonagall nodded briskly. "I will plan my schedule accordingly. Never be afraid to ask if you wish for company, Miss Granger. As your Head of House, and as your friend, I would very much like to help in any way that I can." She smiled sadly again. "It feels a bit like I'm making up for past shortcomings."

Hermione didn't know quite what to say to that, so she just smiled in understanding and gestured for her professor to lead the way back down into the passageway that led back to school.

As they clambered through the trapdoor, she realised she'd neglected to ask a question that had been niggling in the back of her mind ever since they'd arrived at the old, dilapidated house. "What is this place called, Professor?"

McGonagall looked over her shoulder, her eyes sharp and haunted with memories of another book smart Gryffindor with shaggy brown hair and scars, inside and out.

"The Shrieking Shack."

A/N: Thanks for all the love on the last chapter! This little story is only five reviews away from hitting 400 reviews, and I am in complete shock. Thank you for loving it as much as I do. :) I know this one is a little shorter, but this is where it felt like it needed to end. :) Don't worry, if I keep up with my momentum we'll continue to have weekly updates! The people have spoken, and Monday updates won by a landslide. I will do everything I can to keep that up but do keep in mind that I'm a busy mama and may need to switch things up or take a week off here or there.

Beta brownies for Mahawna and Synoir. You two are the best!