Disclaimer: Again, all this belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling. The new character is all mine.
A/N: Thank you all so much for reading! I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to know someone somewhere took a moment to give this a try and maybe even enjoyed it half as much as I do. And thanks to those of you who reviewed! I know much had not happened, but any thought you can take a second to share is a great encouragement and insight. As promised, Remus!
Chapter Two: Instinct
"Professor Dumbledore, Sir?" Remus inched his chair closer to the headmaster on the first morning of classes.
"Hmm?" The headmaster replied absentmindedly over his breakfast sausage and The Quibbler. The newest professor might have been preoccupied by any numbers of concerns, but only one question demanded to be asked aloud.
"It's about that student, the first year. Miss Green."
"Oh? What about her?" He glanced up from his reading with mild curiosity.
"I sensed something about her."
The older man only raised an eyebrow.
"Smelled something actually." He lowered his voice as much as he could. Dumbledore understood, but said nothing. "Well, it's just," Remus pushed. "Is she—I mean does she have…is she like me?"
Dumbledore's amused glint surfaced in his eye a moment. "Like you?"
"Is there another reason you wanted me here this year?" He tried. Dumbledore would not deny admittance to someone just because of their condition, but it was something one could endure more readily with some sort of help, say perhaps even a teacher. He had been quiet and underdeveloped too when he had arrived, the moons weakening him.
"My dear, Remus," He folded away his reading, being quite serious. "I have always wanted you here."
Lupin's polite smile and lifting shoulders did not begin to express the wave of warmth he felt at those words. It was rather like a good bite of chocolate in the wake a dementor.
"Thank you. What I mean is, the girl is she, that is, does she have the same problem?"
Dumbledore looked down a little darkly, but his tone was unconcerned. "No, not that I know of, but you say you smelled something canine perhaps?"
"I'm not sure what it was," he shook his head. "But it reminded me of, well, it was very familiar, but I'm certain I don't know her or her family."
"No," He thought again, a long finger on his lips. "Perhaps then you could keep an eye on her for me, Remus. I've rather got my hands full what with that friend of yours' child." He nodded towards the Gryffindor table, his slight smile back in place.
"Of course, professor." Remus returned his smile. His eyes darted automatically to Ravenclaw table. One small, golden head first year sat alone at the table, nibbling her breakfast. Swinging under her back and forth were a pair of shinning new, black boots.
He breathed deeply. Leather. Grass. Hogwarts linen. Innocence. Something about her smell was very familiar, too familiar.
She turned then and looked at him.
-00-
"Welcome to Defense against the Dark Arts!" Remus held open his arms, beaming at his nervous first years. They squirmed in their seats, especially the Hufflepuffs. Several Ravenclaws had their books out, quills at the ready.
"This class is about learning to recognize danger and then defend against it. So first things first, shall we?" Hands in pockets, he moved to the front of the room. He had their attention as, with a swish of his wand, he removed black cloths from six glass orbs at the front of the class. Some people jumped, a few gasped, and several boys leaned forward in their seats.
He was silent, a grin playing at his lips, as he held them in suspense another moment, taking them all in. She was there, the familiar one. The flecks like gold leaf in her iris were close now.
He broke eye contact. "Now sometimes, we are taught to avoid something because it's dangerous, like this." He pulled from his pocket a dangerous weed, a poison. They were murmurs or recognition around the room. He flipped it between his long fingers, watching them, before pocketing it again.
He moved to the window, opening it. "Others," he stared into the distance to the dark corners near the forest where the dementors lingered. "We can sense something, instinctively, deep within that tells us, not this. This is dangerous." He turned to them. "Run. Hide."
"Now!" He clapped his hands together, smile returning. "Today we are going to see using what we know and our own instincts how good we are at spotting danger. At the front of class are six displays. I want you to go in rows to the front of the room, without talking, please." He walked to the front to demonstrate exactly. "I want you take a small stone and place it in the glass bowl next to each exhibit. I won't know how you answered individually, so no need to worry about being wrong.
"Put in a red pebble for dangerous, a blue one for somewhat dangerous, and a green one for safe. Then, take your seat, and again, no talking. We can't have anyone giving it away. Now go on!"
They thought very hard about their answers, often taking so long their classmates got restless and annoyed. He was able to watch her through this. Her instincts and knowledge played a role, certainly, but if there was a wolf, it would recognize them all.
At the first station, she examined the dark mixture, lights seeming to move around in it, pulsating, disappearing. She dropped in a red pebble. Folding his arms as he leaned against the wall, he pretended not to be watching.
The next one was blue, then red, blue, green, and the last one he missed while defusing an argument between a Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw at station three.
"Alright, let's see how we did." He rubbed his hands together. He held up the first glass bowl, mostly filled with reds and blues. "This is deluarean mist. Very, very dangerous."
There were groans from those who got it wrong. He lifted the next one. "Now these I see many of you recognized this. These little pixies are small, but they can be extremely troublesome, and they bite, so they are somewhat dangerous. Blue was the correct answer." She got that one right as well.
She was not excitedly telling her neighbor, nudging them with an elbow or smiling across the room. She was not smiling at all or saying a word. She watched him intently with her kind, golden eyes.
"Now, this one looks gentle enough, smells nice even." He inhaled the perfume of the delicate pink flower. "But even smelling too deeply will make you ill, and a bit of petal mixed in with your tea leaves will kill a full grown man."
"Told you!" One Ravenclaw boy informed his mate. There were laughs, then shushing. Anna Green was correct again.
"Here we have a potion. This particular one, like the effects of many potions can be used for good or ill. Also with potions, as I'm sure professor Snape has or will teach you, when brewed incorrectly, they can either be very deadly or completely useless, which, depending on their use, can either be a good or bad thing. Therefore, this particular potion can be harmless or very dangerous." The correct blue stones were scarce, but one was hers, he knew.
Her eyes were trained on the next contained sample. The average looking pearl sat on a pillow. To anyone slightly sensitive, the darkness emanating from it was palpable. One touch and they would be cursed.
"Many guessed correctly. The curse on this pearl is extremely powerful. Many of you felt that." She had. "Well done."
The room was silent as he stopped at the last station. He waited a moment. From his pocket, he took a glove, tugging it on one hand. He lifted off the top of the glass container, reaching towards the pillow inside. He could hear the gentle ticking of the watch, sharp intakes of breath as he pressed it in his fingers. He rubbed it, examining it. "This," He held it up for them to see, "This students," he paused, letting his smile spread slowly. "Is a simple, ordinary watch."
"What? It's not cursed?"
"Oh come on!"
"I knew it!"
Anna sat back in her seat, looking satisfied.
"Quiet!" He held up his hands. "Quiet. Clearly, we all have something to learn, but not to worry. That's why I'm here. Better to learn about all this is Hogwarts, where you're safe. You are safe here." He reminded them, looking several in the face. His eyes rested on hers. Had she gotten the last one right? "You're dismissed."
He returned the watch carefully to its glass box. Slipping off his glove, the scent behind him was so strong it made him turn. Anna Green stood there, books in hand.
"Can I help you, Miss Green?" He asked nicely.
She did not respond, at least not in words. Instead, she plucked a single stone from the table and dropped into the now empty bowl by the watch. Red. Very dangerous.
Gold eyes caught his for a moment, and then her head was down and she was on her way out before his open mouth could form words.
She had understood. Was it because the watch was dangerous to her too? Because it was silver.
A/N: Hope you are enjoying it so far! Anything in a review is helpful-just letting me know you're out there waiting for the next chapter, suggestions, guesses as to what is coming or who you'd like to see. Can't wait to share more! Severus, anyone?