Slowly but surely, the group walked up towards the castle. Seeing Remus struggle to keep up with them, Gwen walked up to him, "Mr. Lupin, do you need some help? You look ill."
Remus smiled, "No, I'm fine thank you. I just got out from the hospital and I just feel a bit weak." He assured before trudging onwards. The group looked at each other and followed him. "Before I forget, you are not to reveal your identities to anyone except the Headmaster." Remus said. The group nodded.
A few moments passed in silence before they heard a low growl. The group looked at Remus, whose eyes had turned gold, then at a small woman walking towards them. The woman was petit, wore a lot of pink, had short brown hair, and a face that resembled a toad. "Who is that?" Gwaine whispered.
The woman neared them and smiled creepily. She looked at Remus, "Greetings half-breed, I'm surprised to see you still here." She said in a sickly sweet tone.
"What brings you here Umbridge?" Remus spat the name.
"I was talking to Dumbledore. He has yet to see reason; I have yet to convince him to fire you."
Remus growled again, his eyes glowed brighter, "You are no longer a part of the ministry Umbridge. You have no right to take my job away. The Head of Magical Creatures is Hermione Granger."
"Pity, why anyone would care for half breeds like you is unfathomable to me." She turned to the group of time travelers, "I would be careful on who you associate with, his kind are a menace and should be dealt with. Have a good day" She said sweetly before walking down the path to the lake.
The group watched her for a moment in shock. "Who in the world was that?" Gwaine asked.
"Dolores Umbridge, an evil woman who hates anyone who isn't human." Remus responded.
"Not human?" Leon asked.
Remus looked around at the curious and slightly anxious looks and sighed. "When she called me a half breed, she was talking about my status as a dark creature."
Uther unsheathed his sword "So she was right, you are not to be trusted."
Merlin turned to glare at the king before stepping up to Remus, "If you don't mind my asking, what kind of creature are you?"
"I'm a werewolf"
"What's a werewolf?" Percival asked.
"A werewolf is someone who transforms into a blood-thirsty wolf every full moon. With one bite a person can turn into a werewolf." Gaius explained.
"Well, is that all? That's not that bad." Gwaine smiled and waved his hand.
Everyone turned to him. "What do you mean Gwaine?" Arthur asked.
"Werewolves are only dangerous on the full moon right? That doesn't make them dangerous beyond that does it?" Gwaine elaborated.
"Not at all, I agree with Gwaine, being a werewolf doesn't affect your personality that much." Merlin said. "You don't seem bad at all."
Remus smiled. "Thank you, that means a lot."
"No problem. So, shall we continue, I'm getting hungry."Gwaine stated. Remus laughed and led the group up towards the castle.
They were close to the castle when they heard someone call out. They looked and saw a large man walking towards them. "Ah, Hagrid, how are you today?" Remus asked cheerfully.
The man neared and the group gaped at the size of him. He was at least two heads taller than all of them, a scruffy beard and a long coat.
"Good ter see ya Professor. I'm surprised ter see ya out. Aren't ya supposed ter be in da hospital wing?" Hagrid asked.
"Yes, but I decided to escape for a while and take a walk." Remus smiled.
"Madame Pomfrey is gonna 'ave your head." Hagrid laughed.
"I'm sure she'll be fine."
"Who's tha wit ya?" Hagrid asked, pointing to the group, who were still staring at Hagrid with surprise.
"These are administrators from Wales. They have come to evaluate the school." Remus lied easily.
"Oh, well I best be off, I was just showin' Teddy da baby Hippogriffs that just arrived."
"Be careful Hagrid, Teddy is still young; I don't want him getting hurt." Remus said.
"Not ta worry Professor, your son's safe wit me. I'll look after 'im." Hagrid smiled and walked off.
"Who was that?" Gwen asked.
"Hagrid, he's the grounds keeper and the Care of Magical Creatures professor." Remus said.
"He's HUGE!" Leon exclaimed;
"He is half giant I wouldn't expect anything less."
"Half giant, how…no, I don't want to know." Lancelot said.
"Wait, he said you were supposed to be still in the hospital, is it because of you being a werewolf?" Gwen asked.
"Yes, my condition makes me weak. I look a lot older than I really am. The transformation is very hard on the body, since it rearranges the skeleton, it's very painful. Being a werewolf is a curse and most stay away from people because they don't want to infect anyone. I was lucky, I have a family that loves me and they refuse to let me seclude myself." Remus said.
"That's nice; at least you have family and friends." Merlin said. They walked up to the large doors and stepped through when they opened.
"Come along, time to see the headmaster."