Chapter Twenty Two

A/N: No reviewers.

"I'm trying, Lena!" Teddy exclaimed, three lines of text away from banging his head repeatedly on the pile of books beside him. "I've read my way through about five different books looking for this stuff."

The boy took one look at his twin sister's face and any further complaints died in his throat, worried that she would burst into tears with one more word. They had been searching these books for hours, ever since their last lesson of the day, searching for the smallest clue that could help them find out what was wrong with Lena. So far, they had found nothing at all.

"I feel like we're never going to find it." Lena murmured dejectedly. Teddy reached for his sister's hand, trying to offer what little comfort he could. With every book they rifled through, it seemed that any hope slipped further and further away.

"We've got a whole library full of books we can check, Lene." Teddy pointed out. Even as he spoke the words he was not quite sure if this was encouraging or daunting. Judging by his sister's reaction she had interpreted it as the latter.

"We'll be here until we graduate at this rate." she sighed, reaching for another leather-bound volume, slamming it down on the table with more force than was strictly necessary.

"I'm sure we'll find something soon." Teddy reassured. He did not even believe himself, but it seemed to be enough to calm her a little.

The two worked in silence for a while, the occasional turning of pages the only interaction between them. Lena was so absorbed in her own racing thoughts she hardly focused on the words she was reading; she had read the same sentence three times before she realised its significance.

"Merlin." she breathed, hardly able to believe what she was reading. She had thought so long that she was mad, a freak, and yet here were people, hundreds of people who had experienced exactly the same. She was so relieved; or at least, she would have been, in any other circumstance.

"What have you found?" Teddy asked eagerly. He was watching her intently, looking for the tiniest of reactions. Lena opened and closed her mouth, unable to form a response. Instead, she handed her brother the book, resting her finger on the applicable paragraph. Teddy cleared his throat quietly, then began to read aloud. "The moon has long been associated with lupine diseases, which have ravaged the magical community for centuries. Because they are held so much in its thrall, infected persons may find moonlight painful to feel, often experiencing a sensation similar to burning on their skin, as well as dizziness and nausea. As a result of these symptoms, victims often experience stress and fear at the thought of further exposure to moonlight, both because of the pain and the potential mortification of having their peers discover their lupine tendencies."

The passage went on for a further two pages, but Teddy stopped reading at that point. Selena already looked as if she might cry. Teddy nudged her gently.

"At least we know now." the boy reasoned, his voice little more than a murmur. It was almost like he did not want her to hear him. Maybe he did not.

"I'd rather have stayed in the dark, if I'd known that was what was happening to me." Lena's voice was closer to a whimper. Tears were swimming in her eyes, slowly tracing their way down her cheeks. "Don't you understand what this means Teddy? Lupine diseases… that makes me a… a…"

Selena broke off into sobs, not even able to speak the word. If she spoke it, then that would make it too real, even if both she and her twin knew the truth in their hearts. The girl rested her head down on the table, shielding her face from view with her arms. She could not risk catching Teddy's eye. She could not stand to see his eyes narrow with disgust.

"Lena, it's alright." Teddy tried to reassure her, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder. The girl might have laughed, had the situation not been so grave. The gesture was so familiar. Teddy was always the one to comfort her; in fact, of late it seemed to be the only thing he did. Feeling his warm hand stroking her arm through her jumper, she could almost pretend everything really was alright.

"It's not alright." she argued in a whisper. It was too quiet for her brother to hear, which she knew; it was probably the only thing giving her the courage to keep speaking. "It's never going to be alright again."

"Selena, look at me." Teddy instructed. His sister obliged. Teddy never used her full name, just as she never used his; if he had abandoned her affectionate nickname, that meant it was serious. "It is going to be alright, because we can find a way to work around this. We know what's wrong with you now, so it'll be easier to find out what to do to solve it. That's all we need, a solution. We could even go and ask Madam Pomfrey-"

"No!" Lena exclaimed, sitting up so fast her head almost collided with Teddy's chin. "No, you can't tell anyone else! Promise me, Teddy, you can't tell anyone! I don't want people to know what I am, to know about this thing I'm turning into! They'd hate me."

Teddy knew he would have to give up soon. Occasionally, when Lena got herself trapped in such a spiral of pessimism, there was nothing he could do but let her emerge from it on her own. Sighing heavily, the boy stood, brushing the wrinkles out of his Gryffindor robes. He considered heading straight for the door, leaving his sister alone to stew- the vengeful part of him would like to, a punishment for her disregard of all the effort he had gone to trying to help her- but he could not do it. She was his twin and he could not stand to see her upset.

"I love you, Lena." Teddy spoke, his voice loud this time. He had to make sure she heard him. "It doesn't matter what happens to you, or what you do. You're my twin sister and I love you so much. You'll never be a thing to me."

Having said all he had to say, Teddy left his sister alone. Selena watched until he had disappeared, hearing his footsteps fade into the distance. Her heart was lighter now, happier, but she could not shake the weight pressing down on her shoulders. 'Teddy loves me, that's all that matters. He doesn't care what I do, as long as I'm still me.'

But the rest of the world would not feel the same way. She knew enough about lupine diseases to know the sufferers were shunned from society, that parents pulled children closer because to be within three feet of the afflicted was to be placed in infinite danger. No matter how many campaigns went by, these so-called monsters had never been accepted among the wizards, and likely never would be. They were not even allowed the courtesy of their proper names, even the term shunned like the disease. The aversion had done its job, it seemed, as the truth sent a shiver down Selena's spine. Yes, she had found the truth, but it was not the way the world would see it. She was not a victim of lupine diseases.

She was a werewolf.

A/N: Not the best chapter I've ever done, but I started writing it and it just kept going! Hope you enjoyed and please review!