Daphne was right about everything she had mentioned in her letters. There was not a single day when Astoria did not learn something new as the school continued to amaze her with its magic and its mysteries. She and Tallulah constantly became lost around the castle during their first week, but luckily the professors were already used to having first-years wandering around the hallways in bewilderment.

Although the shy and fragile personality was still lingering inside her, Astoria was starting to know her strengths. She had only just realised her capability of excelling in charms and flying. Before her first flying lesson, she had never expected herself to conquer her fear of heights and soar around the Quidditch pitch in relaxation. And by the time her second charms lesson had started, she had learnt how to cast the hover charm without any difficulty.

Like most of the girls in her house, she was still crushing on a certain Draco Malfoy. Being one of the wealthiest and most handsome boys at the school, Astoria could never help but hide her blush whenever she caught sight of him. Although just recently, her infatuation was starting to fade away. It was too often that she caught him picking on younger or weaker students just for the fun of it. He just wasn't the Draco Malfoy that she had met at the train station. And more importantly, Pansy Parkinson was skipping around the school telling every second person about her new relationship with Draco, much to Astoria's disappointment.

She had been at Hogwarts for at least a few weeks at this point when she had her first free period with her fellow classmates. Seeing that Professor Lupin was not able to teach for that particular day, the first-years were instead studying in the great hall. Astoria and her four friends were seated at the end of the Slytherin table, discussing the professor's odd absence.

"Since when would a teacher miss one of their lessons?" Anna asked in a surprised manner.

Claude was quick to reply. "Since now! I mean, come on Anne! It's perfectly fine for a teacher to be sick for a day or two!"

"But the professors never get sick here at Hogwarts!" she emphasised. "Even you should know that!"

Astoria lifted her eyes off her Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook and faced her conversing friends.

"Daphne told me something a little while ago."

All four friends slowly turned their heads to stare at the petite flaxen haired girl.

"What'd she tell you?" Malcolm asked curiously.

Astoria paused and gave out a quiet sigh. "She told me that Professor Lupin gets sick every month, like there are certain days when he can't teach because of it."

Most of the group gave short shrugs of understanding, but nobody noticed Malcolm's thoughtful expression. Before they could refocus on their studies, he finally found the right words to say.

"I've got a theory." It was his turn to gain every one of their attentions.

"He disappears once a month, doesn't he Tori?" she nodded slowly at this. "This may sound pretty crazy but... I think he might be a werewolf."

All four of the attentive group members burst out into laughter, attracting the attention of their nearby classmates who were jolted from their studies. Professor McGonagall stood nearby, not looking too impressed with the amount of noise they made.

"Can you five please, quiet down?" she commanded.

The noise gradually died down much to McGonagall's relief. However this was only short-lasting as she peered out of the door and gave out a loud gasp.

The students abruptly looked up at her and were quick to follow her gaze as she rushed out of the hall. It was all too tempting for the first-years as every single one of them rose from their seats and followed her out to see what the huge shock was. Tallulah and Astoria were one of the quickest to rush out through the doors to view a horrific sight.

Hagrid stood there, obviously in shock as he held something in his arms. None of the students could recognise what he was holding, but Minerva flinched at the sight of it. Astoria wondered what the big fuss was about until the professor opened her mouth to speak.

"My goodness, Hagrid! What happened to him?" she exclaimed.

Hagrid stammered, "H-h-he...my Hippogriff-!"

"Never mind that!" McGonagall quickly half-shouted. "Take him up to the hospital wing! Now!"

It did not take long for Astoria to realise that she was referring to a student. Without hesitation, she looked at what was being carried by the groundskeeper. Just before Hagrid disappeared through the corner she recognised that to her shock, he was carrying Draco Malfoy.

She immediately flinched at this sight. To her eyes, he was almost unrecognisable. So much blood had stained his cloak and his pained expressions made him look like a completely different person. Right before he disappeared from the hallway, Astoria could have sworn that he caught a momentary glimpse of her. Or at least that was what she had hoped she saw.

Tallulah was half-panicking and was violently tugging on her best friend's sleeve, snapping the girl out of her dreamy thoughts.

"What?!" Astoria was slightly annoyed by this.

Tallulah stopped her actions but her expression still lingered. "Did you see that? There was a HUGE slash on his arm!"

Astoria paled, she had not seen the gore on Draco's right arm. This was definitely not an ordinary classroom accident, it was too obvious that he had been attacked.

Malcolm pushed through the crowd and suddenly appeared next to Tallulah who was then met with her violent tugs.

"My gosh! You were right, Malcolm! You were right!"

He stood in a confused yet slightly frightened daze. "What are you on about, T?"

"There's a werewolf in this school!" she shouted.

It was finally Malcolm's turn to laugh.