I do not own the Harry Potter series or Pokémon.
Some scenes and dialogue are derived from Prisoner of Azkaban.
Chapter Sixteen: Defence Mechanism
There were times that Moon hated being right, and discovering that a mass murderer could break into 'the most protected place in Britain' was one of them.
It didn't take long for the news of Sirius Black's break-in to circle around the school. The Fat Lady's portrait had been slashed beyond recognition. The portraits were all whispering and wailing, worried that they might be next. Every student had their own theory as to how the man had gotten in, ranging from Apparition to the ability to turn into a plant. Most theories were, of course, ridiculous and entirely impossible, as Hermione Granger liked to point out, but the fact was that Sirius Black had managed to break into the castle despite the supposed security of the place.
Moon pointed out as much and earned herself a surprisingly fierce glare from the Muggle-born witch.
"I told you that Filch would be covering all of the hidden passageways," the bushy-haired girl seethed. "Black couldn't have possibly gotten through them."
Moon refrained from reminding her that Filch was a squib who couldn't protect the castle from a stubborn stray dog, much less a murderer. She instead chose to stick to eating at the Slytherin table for the time being.
"Finally decided to drop Potter, Weasley, and the mudblood?" Draco asked during lunch the day after Halloween.
"Keeping my distance," she replied, ignoring the slur. She didn't believe it was right to insult someone based on blood status, but she wasn't in the mood to defend Granger or argue with Draco. "If Potter and his friends attract this much danger, I'd rather stay away."
"I thought you didn't have a sense of self-preservation?"
"You remembered. How sweet."
In reality, the main reason that Moon was keeping her distance was embarrassment. She couldn't really remember what she had been thinking when she decided to show off her pokémon to Harry. She doubted that he would go around telling everyone, but the chance that he would let her secret slip to Ron and Hermione was astronomical. And while Harry was observant in his own way, he was easily distracted. Hermione might try and figure out who Moon's father was, and that would open up a whole new discussion that Moon absolutely did not want to have.
Saddling up to the Slytherins came with a barrage of downsides. The first Quidditch tournament of the year was approaching, and with the game being Gryffindor versus Slytherin, tensions were higher than ever. Despite the fact that she had no opinion on the game and wasn't even a member of the house, Moon found herself nearly falling victim to a few nasty stray jinxes. Attempting to fight back had resulted in her getting caught by Filch, and she ended up with a week's worth of detentions with Professor Snape. He was incredibly lenient due to the circumstances, and she used the time to finish her homework.
The few glimpses of Quidditch practice that she managed to catch were not as impressive as she had hoped. Even though the game was played on brooms, she had managed to appreciate the skill and strategy that went into it. Seeing specks of bright red trail out onto the pitch in the rain and mud, only to stand around for minutes before getting into the air, dampened her opinion on the game. She would still attend the game, but she wouldn't be cheering for any particular side and would be paying the least amount of attention possible. She had stumbled across a spell that made things waterproof, and she was determined to bring a book or two along with her.
Until a letter arrived.
Moon was deliberately avoiding another conversation about the upcoming Quidditch match when a letter from Fawley arrived. She tore off the wax seal and pulled out the parchment.
Dear Moon
Good news; the cure works! Mostly.
Bad News; we need further testing, and we still have to keep an eye on our group. There's been some side effects that we need to watch out for. Some are more aggressive, some have mood swings, and some are heavily fatigued. I think it's based on how they took the venom.
We can't market it as a cure yet. To do that, we need to get rid of, or at the very least lessen, the side effects. I would like you to come over tomorrow so we can replenish our supply and discuss matters further.
Good luck with your schoolwork
-Aidan Fawley
"What's this about?"
She slapped the letter down on the table. Draco raised an eyebrow at her.
"Is it personal?"
"It's private."
The blond opened his mouth to say something, but Marcus Flint was approaching. Flint laid a hand on the Seeker's shoulder, and dragged him off wordlessly. Moon doubted that the blond would even remember that conversation.
When Moon walked into the DADA classroom, she was surprised to see Professor Snape flipping through a stack of essays that sat on Lupin's desk. His eyes flickered toward her. She headed for a seat, carefully avoiding eye contact with the Potions professor. The rest of the class filtered in slowly, each person taking time to stare bewilderedly at Professor Snape before he glared back.
"Where's Professor Lupin?" a lone voice asked, and Moon didn't need to move her head to know that it was Hermione.
"Indisposed at the moment," Snape said. "I will be covering for Lupin for the time being, although with the… vast quantity of information that has been overlooked, it will be impossible to teach you all in one mere day."
Moon raised an eyebrow at that. Professor Snape's lessons during the summer had been highly informative, much more so than the curriculum required, but Lupin's classes had been on-par with the Potions professor's. There wasn't anything she could recall that had been left out.
Apparently, though, Professor Snape disagreed. He was of the belief that the material Lupin had taught them was below their grade level, and that they should have moved onto topics that wouldn't be covered until after Easter. The jabs against Lupin were blatantly obvious, but any defence was snuffed out immediately with a deduction in points and another insult. It wasn't until Harry stumbled in, ten minutes late and babbling some apology, that Professor Snape paused.
"This lesson began ten minutes ago, Potter," he drawled, "so I think we'll make it ten points from Gryffindor. Sit down."
"Where's Professor Lupin?" Harry asked, not even moving towards a seat.
"He says he is feeling too ill to teach today," Snape said. "I believe I told you to sit down?"
"What's wrong with him?"
There are many things, and the full moon is just one of them.
Professor Snape deducted another five points before continuing with the 'lesson'. He brushed off Dean's defence of Lupin, claiming the man hadn't been expecting much of them. It wasn't until he directed them to the back of the textbook that Moon discovered what his plan was.
"Werewolves."
"But sir, we're not supposed to do werewolves yet," Hermione argued, "we're due to start Hinkypunks—"
"Miss Granger," Professor Snape said in an overly calm voice, "I was under the impression that I was taking this lesson, not you. And I am telling you all to turn to page three hundred and ninety-four."
No one moved.
"All of you!" the professor ordered. "Now!"
The class, with varying degrees of annoyance, opened their textbooks.
"Which one of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?" Professor Snape asked. Hermione's hand shot into the air, same as always, but the Potions professor took no notice of her. Reluctantly, Moon raised her own hand.
"Miss Blakesley?"
"The werewolf has a few features that set it apart from a normal wolf," she said, "for example, the snout of a werewolf is much shorter than that of a true wolf. It also has a tufted tail, and human-like eyes."
"Correct. What else?"
"The thicker claws and the larger ears," she said, ignoring the way the class was staring at her.
"Correct again, although I am surprised that you are the only one who knows the material."
Shouts of dissent erupted throughout the classroom as Hermione Granger turned an impressive shade of red.
"Hermione knows more than any of us—"
"Ten points from Gryffindor, Weasley," Professor Snape interrupted, a sneer settling on his face. "I recommend you begin reading before anything more drivel spills out of your mouth."
The class was spent in general silence, only breaking when a page was being flipped or Professor Snape made a disparaging remark about the quality of the essays he was marking. When the bell rang, the class rushed towards the door only to be stopped by the professor.
"You will each write an essay, to be handed to me, on the ways you recognize and kill werewolves. I want two rolls of parchment on the subject, and I want them by Monday morning. It is time somebody took this class in hand."
Moon avoided joining in on the gossip sessions that followed. Unlike the Gryffindors, she didn't hate Professor Snape, and wasting time gossiping about how horrible he was wasn't a good use of her time.
That didn't mean she agreed with his behaviour.
Later that day, she was working on the essay that Professor Snape had assigned, flipping through all the books she had in her possession on the subject of lycanthropy, which was a considerable amount more than the average student. The Potions professor was marking another set of essays that were, judging by the way he was massaging his temples, written by incompetent Slytherins.
"So, do you dislike werewolves in general or is it just Professor Lupin?"
He raised his eyes from the parchment and gave her an appraising look. "You managed to determine Lupin's condition within a few hours. Impressive. What gave it away?"
"I've had reason to believe he is a werewolf for some time now," Moon said honestly. "Potter mentioned that you brought him a potion a few days ago. I presume that it was the Wolfsbane Potion?"
"Yes."
"If he was simply ill, he would have gone to Madam Pomfrey," she continued, "so I figured that for you to take the time to brew a potion personally, it would have to be extremely complicated and presumably expensive. I did some research, and the Wolfsbane Potion was one of the few that matched Potter's description of what you brought in. This assignment confirms it."
She scribbled down another line on her second piece of parchment. "So, is it all werewolves or just that one in particular?"
"What is the difference? Lupin is a monster, just like the rest of them."
"You believe all werewolves are monsters, regardless of their actions?"
"They turn into ravenous beasts that will devour anyone close by."
"Only on a full moon."
"They live on the outskirts of civilization," he said harshly. "They spend their weeks scraping together every available resource to waste on themselves between their transformations. They beg for charity one night and destroy lives the next. How are they not monsters?"
"I doubt that they choose their way of life, and choices say everything about whether someone is a monster or not."
She punctuated the remark with a sharp glare. Professor Snape did not waver visibly, but she could tell he was lost for words. She turned back to her essay.
"Werewolves are not cuddly creatures needing TLC, I know," she said. "But the strict rules and regulations, plus the social stigma, only further the behaviour you claim to be monstrous, sir."
Moon continued writing, and the Potions master focused on his own essays. She could hear the gears turning in the man's head, but she didn't dare ask a question.
"Will you be informing anyone?"
She paused, her quill held over the spare pot of ink. "Who is there to inform? All of the staff are aware, I presume, and slipping this detail to the other students would be cheating, considering that discovering Professor Lupin's condition was the point of the whole assignment."
She double-checked her grammar before handing Professor Snape the pieces of parchment. "I believe this should suffice. And my detentions are now officially over. Good night, professor."
Moon strode out of the dungeon, shoulders tensed and temper high. She had known the truth prior to the class, and most students were horribly oblivious when it came to interactions between the teachers, but it would only take one person slipping for there to be repercussions. She couldn't afford to let anyone slip on anything.
She had to stay on the lookout for people smart enough to discover what Professor Snape was really trying to teach them.
I'm getting tantalizingly close to finishing this story, and I'm close to the part that I've been wanting to write since I started this story. So do I continue on writing like a good author?
No.
I leave the chapter at 600+ words and go read a bunch of other stories, play my copy of Pokémon Sun, and just generally waste my time.
That being said, I'm AM still edging towards a huge scene. I've had so many ideas as to how it could play out, and I'm starting to freak out because I don't know which one to pick.
Ugh.
Anyways, thanks for the 50 reviews! You guys are awesome!