Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the huge delay, but I've got major writers block, but I think this came out alright. Plus there was another virus on this computer, but it disappeared. I don't care how it did but I'm glad. Also, thanks to the people who reviewed! I appreciate all your comments :]

Chapter 3

Her skin was burning, itching, crackling in the heat.

Sinister black clouds rose to cover the night sky, sending the surrounding area into darkness. The silence was interrupted by the cacophonous sounds of sirens and was accompanied by screams of terror. Hurried footsteps and shouts of urgency was barely heard. The house was burning.

Jaylene was dimly aware of her surroundings. At the moment, her world consisted of the hard floor beneath her, the shocking enormous pain that sprouted from her side, the growing wetness around her that boiled in the heat. She gasped in hot air, immediately regretting the action as her throat burned. Her coughing fit ended when she opened up her eyes.

Everything was red and hazy. Her glasses had been smashed and were lying in front of her face. Her gaze traveled upwards, tears cutting through her soot covered cheeks. Somewhere above her something groaned, like wood about to break under great strain. Panic made her heart hammer, sweat beaded on her forehead as she tried to move, inch by inch across the wooden floor.

The girl suddenly stopped, a low wail rising in pitch as the ripped pieces of flesh that had once been her parents came into view. She struggled towards their bodies, her wail of anguish rising until that was all she could hear.

A loud noise cut off her scream as the roof caved in and her world descended into darkness.

… burning, itching, crackling...

Jaylene's eyes shot open, her mouth frozen in a silent scream. The girl sat up in bed, scratching her arms as she woke from the nightmare. Eventually, her breathing slowed until it was even, her body ceased shaking, the goosebumps on her arms vanished. It was all a dream Jay... just a nightmare, her mind whispered to her, easing her hammering heart. A very real nightmare...

She looked around, noticing that everyone was still asleep, and she sighed softly. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead and dripped down her neck, her chest. She was soaked. Jaylene quietly got out of bed, grabbing a clean set of clothes from her small dresser and went to the showers. The warm water washed away all the dirt and grime of the day before, and the remnants of her dream as well.

When she returned to the dorm to grab a hair tie she glanced at the clock on her nightstand. 9:00. That wasn't too bad. It was later than she usually got up. Today was the first weekend of the school year, and one look out the window told her that no one was going to go outside today. It was raining.

Though she had mostly gotten over her nightmare, Jaylene was still shaking slightly from fear. It had all been so real... The night had repeated itself in her dreams, and that shook her. She swallowed, her head jerking to look behind her as if her assailants were there to finish the job. Jaylene quickly put on some shoes and headed out of the Ravenclaw house. She wasn't in the mood for breakfast but she did want to pay a visit to Edmund. Seeing his familiar face would help calm her jitters. Still, as she passed through the hallways she couldn't help but feel as if someone was following her even though she rarely encountered anyone this early in the morning...

The spiral staircase that lead to the owlery gave off an echo of her footsteps as she climbed. Soft hoots and wings flapping greeted her as she entered the cold, stone room. Droppings and skeletons of unfortunate mice littered the floor. Owls of every kind were roosted in cubby holes, some sleeping, some awake, some even having a crunchy snack.. They acknowledged her presence by giving her a small hoot.

Edmund gave a particularly enthusiastic greeting when he saw her. He glided down to her outstretched arm and nuzzled her face. Jaylene smiled, returning his affection by giving him a small owl biscuit she had brought just for him. "I see you're doing well... maybe a little too well," she said softly, poking him gently in his stomach. He gave her a shocked look before ruffling his feathers and giving her an irritated hoot. She chuckled, leaning in to peck him on the head.

There was an old, wooden chair to the side that Jaylene sat on. It was better than sitting on the dirty floor. Honestly, these owls were so lazy."I had another nightmare," she confessed, grabbing Ed's attention. He hooted softly. "They always come before the full moon... as if reminding me about it... as if I need reminding," she added bitterly. "You're the only one I have left Ed," she whispered hoarsely, tears bubbling up behind her eyes.

Thunder boomed in the distance, masking her quiet sobs. Edmund struggled for breath as the girl crushed him against her chest. Jaylene sniffled a few minuets later, trembling as she recovered from her break down. The stress was just too much. Her professors had loaded them all with so much homework the past week that it could fill a small filing cabinet. For the first time in her Hogwarts history she wasn't at the top of her classes. The disappointment in herself only added to the pain and depression she had felt since summer.

Her mood was as solemn as the dark gray sky outside. She took off her glasses to wipe the fog from the lenses and stood. Edmund hooted and flew up to his cubicle. Jaylene fished for another biscuit in her pocket and handed it to him. Her own stomach grumbled, demanding breakfast, and although she didn't want to see anyone at the moment, she was pretty hungry...

As Jaylene exited the room, she unexpectedly collided with someone heading in. They both let out a surprised yelp and tumbled to the ground, Jaylene ending up sprawled across the boy.

"I-I-I'm so sorry," Jaylene stuttered, cheeks reddening from embarrassment. She lifted her head and torso, eyes squinting at the boy's blurry face.

Remus sat up, groaning a little and rubbing his head after helping the girl off of him. Just his luck. He had hoped to not run into anyone so he could deliver his letter and go back to the dorm before his head would burst. With the full moon coming in a couple of days, he once again found himself smelling things that he wouldn't normally notice, his sight and hearing were better as well, and the changes from senses overload left him with a huge migraine.

Jaylene felt a little worried when he didn't say anything right at the moment. She started to feel along the ground, hoping that she would locate her glasses before she did anything else embarrassing. "U-um, m-my glasses a-"

At the sight of Jaylene, Remus's breath was caught in his throat. It was her, the Ravenclaw girl that was so odd. He found her glasses on the other side of him and picked them up as well as his letter. Instead of handing them to her though, he put them on himself. "Here you go," he said, watching with slight amusement that her cheeks darkened to a deeper red.

The cool metal slipped onto the bridge of her nose and her surroundings instantly become clearer. "T-thanks..." she said faintly, realizing who she was talking to, who she had bumped into. "U-um..."

"You're Jaylene Kather, right?" Remus asked, getting to his feet. He held out a hand to her and watched her take it hesitantly. She had been somewhat of an obsession over the past week. They had only two classes together, and at those times he had felt and acted so abnormal that his friends were starting to worry. There was something about Jaylene that made his heart hammer and his second skin to itch like crazy. She wasn't particularly good looking, but for some reason she felt... he couldn't even think of a word that properly described what he was feeling.

"Y-yes, I am," Jaylene said, a little voice in the back of her head wondering why they were still holding hands. "And you're R-Remus Lupin..." her nervous voice trailed off as a gust of wind blew through the tower, carrying a peculiar and familiar scent that she had never thought, in all her life, would ever smell at Hogwarts. Her brown eyes widened at the same time as his. The gentle clasping of hands turned into a death grip.

"Werewolf."

The word was exchanged in a whisper between the two of them.

The blood drained from Jaylene's face, leaving her skin almost white, her vision grew dimmer and dimmer until she collapsed at his feet.

Crisp, lightly scented linens...

The bitterness of medicinal potions...

Rustling of clothes...

Chocolate...

Jaylene opened her eyes to see a blurry world. She reached to the side to find her glasses and put them on while sitting up. It didn't surprise her that she was in the Infirmary, but what did surprise her was the person sitting next to her bed.

Remus was looking at her with concern in his blue eyes, and he smiled slightly at her when her gaze met his own.

"Glad to see you're awake Miss Kather," Madame Pomfrey greeted, coming up and pointing her wand at Jaylene's head. The tip glowed white for a second, and the nurse made a noise that sounded like a mix of good and bad review. "You're alright enough to leave, but I'm going to give you a potion for the headache. Would you like some as well Remus?" she asked kindly.

Remus switched his smile to the medi witch and nodded. "Yes please."

"Excellent."

All was silent when the two students exited the Infirmary. Jaylene nervously fidgeted with her robes and looked down at her feet sullenly.

"Have some chocolate," Remus said suddenly, producing the sweet from his robe pocket. His voice was quiet and kind as he held out the chocolate bar to her.

"So that's what I was smelling..." Jaylene replied just as quietly, taking the candy from Remus's hand and putting it to her lips.

"Yes. For some odd reason I could always keep chocolate down. The smell isn't terrible either, and it's common and cheap," Remus seemed to realize that he was rambling and his voice faded away. "Let's walk."

Silence again as they wandered aimlessly through the halls.

"I..." Jaylene faltered for a moment, then she continued. "I'm s-sorry I fainted on you."

"I'm sorry I didn't catch you in time. I was afraid that you would have had more than a headache," Remus replied quickly.

Jaylene's cheeks reddened. "You dropped me."

"I was... sorry."

The girl looked up at Remus, cheeks still red. "No it's alright. I was surprised too... obviously." Why was she so calm about all of this? She had just met another werewolf at Hogwarts, collapsed in a dead faint, and here she was, walking alongside him and chatting. Remus was right about the chocolate though. It was soothing her upset stomach and her fears. Remus still looked worried though, and so Jaylene broke off the rest of her chocolate bar and handed it to him. "Here, take the rest."

Remus started and eyed the candy before taking it back and putting it to his mouth. He smiled at her as he chewed. "Thanks."

"Moony! There you are mate!"

Remus bit back a groan as he turned to face his friends, Sirius, Peter and James. Sirius and James were grinning widely while Peter sulked in the background. He glanced at Jaylene and bit back another groan. She looked so nervous...

"We were wondering where you went off to," Sirius continued, flashing his eyes at Jaylene for a moment and winking.

"Yeah. When you didn't come back to the tower we gathered our search party and well, here we are!" James chimed in, also glancing at Jaylene. "And who is this Remus?"

Jaylene's cheeks grew red again and she looked down at her shoes.

Remus glared warningly at them before speaking. "This is Jaylene Kather-"

"Oh the Ravenclaw!" Sirius exclaimed. "Remus talks a lot about you, you know," he continued, ignoring Remus's glares.

Jaylene's startled gaze flew up to Remus and then down again, cheeks darkening to a deeper red.

"Shut up Padfoot you're scaring her," James said, eyes glowing mischievously.

"Sirius, James," Remus practically growled, getting another startled look from Jaylene.

"I-I need to go now, R-Remus. T-Thanks f-f-for the chocolate," the girl stuttered, hurrying from the four boys as if demons were on her heels.

"And now she's gone," Remus said tiredly. And he thought he was getting along pretty well with her... that is until his friends showed up.

"Aw, don't look too down Moony," James said. "She's only in the tower next door."

"On the other side of the school," Sirius chimed in.

Remus sighed angrily, turning away from them. "You don't understand!" He began to walk towards the Gryffindor tower, the others trailing behind him.

Peter, James, and Sirius looked at each other. They had rarely seen Remus like this, and while they could blame it on the full moon messing with his emotions, something about their friend's attitude made the mirth leave their eyes.

"What is it Moony?" Peter asked quietly, sniffling.

"There's another 'furry little problem' walking around Hogwarts."