Here's another long chapter. It has Moony in it. It also explains how Nina will get around the castle for the next month and a half. I realized I forgot to use the unicorn horn. I don't know when I will use it, but it may be in Last Olympian. Enjoy.

Chapter Thirty Six: Werewolves and Dementors

All too soon, it was September 1st. Lav, Vati, and I spent all day saying our goodbyes. Thalia and Percy were helping us get to platform 9 3/4. Thalia was a Lightning Mage and would be taking Vati and Padma. Percy and I would be taking Lavender since I couldn't do both of us by myself because of my back. I rode on Chiron's back up to the top of Half-Blood Hill where we met the others. My brother took me into his arms and Lav put a hand on his shoulder. Vati, Thalia, and Padma were all holding hands. We sure did look weird. With a flash of lightning and a covering of mist, we were all gone. When we arrived at the landing point, Percy put me onto my feet and slung one of my arms over his shoulder.

When we got into the station, I saw Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys. They waved and walked over to us. "Hey, Nina, Lavender, Parvati, Padma," said Harry. "WHo are those people?"

"This is my twin brother Percy and my cousin Thalia," I introduced them. They nodded when I said their name. "Perce, Thals, this is Ron, Hermione, Harry, Fred, George, Ginny, Percy, Mr. Weasley, and Mrs. Weasley." They raised their hand or waved when I called their name.

"Oh, my dear, you need to eat some more you look so skinny. You're paler than I remember too. Are you alright, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked me.

"I'm okay," I told her.

Thalia scoffed, "Nina you can hardly walk. We're supporting most of your weight right now."

I pouted at her. "I had an incident over the summer, Mrs. Weasley. I scraped up my back pretty bad and a, erm, chemical, yeah, a chemical got in it that prevents magic from healing it." I lied a little about the chemical part, but I couldn't just say I got in a fight with someone from a myth who had poison claws and that said poison prevents magic from helping me heal.

"Oh, be careful, dear. Fred, George, why don't you two help get her on the train."

"Sure thing, mother dearest," said Fred. He grabbed my left arm from my brother and wrapped an arm around my waist. George took the other side from Thalia.

"A little higher, George, your arm is on a gash.

He quickly moved his arm up and I sighed in relief. My brother kissed my forehead and Thalia hugged me carefully after maneuvering around the twins. "Take care of my sister, Lav, Vati, Padma. See you guys around," my brother waved.

"See you later, Fish Face, Barbies 1, 2, and 3," came my older cousins lovely voice. Everyone waved to them as they left the platform. I said goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley before Gred and Feorge helped me onto the train. I pointed them to an emptier compartment with a man that seemed to be in his early thirties. Something seemed off about him and I wanted to find out what it was. Lav and Vati sat between me and the man. They sensed that something was wrong with him too and incase he tried to attack, they wanted to make sure I wouldn't get hurt. Padma left to go see her Ravenclaw friends, Ginny left to see some of her friends, and Fred and George left to go find Lee. Ron, Hermione, and Harry were the only ones to stay with us.

Lavender helped me position myself so I could see everyone, including the man. "Hermione," I asked.

"Hmm?"

"Could you let the cat out? I would like to see him."

"I would," here she threw a glare at Ron, "but Ronald, here, thinks that poor Crookshanks is out to eat Scabbers." I could barely suppress my growl at the mention of the rat who got my cousin's son locked in jail. Wow, Sirius Black is Thalia's nephew. She'll get a kick out of that one.

"He'll stay in my lap, he won't harm your rat, Ron," he just grumbled and Hermione happily took Crookshanks out of his basket.

"Isn't he gorgeous!" she exclaimed.

"Aw, I love his face," Lavender giggled. "Do you guys think my mom would let me get a cat?"

"Yeah, I think she would. Silena would love you guys having a family pet.," I laughed.

"Who's Silena?" asked Harry.

"My half-sister," Lavender replied. She started to scratch Crookshanks behind the ears. He began to pur. I let my Mage senses go out. My magic encased the man. I sensed his magic.

I looked over at Lav and Vati. "He's a werewolf," I hissed to them. They gasped slightly.

"How can you be sure? I mean I sense something wrong with him and all, but how do you know he's a werewolf?" asked Parvati.

"I sense the venom in his magic. Should we tell him we know?"

"Yes, but not here. Hermione, Harry, and Ron shouldn't know. We need to find out just enough to see if he wants to attack us. We should tell him we're demigods too. You know, just in case he doesn't already know," Lavender said. We nodded our agreement. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at us strangely.

"What language was that?" asked Hermione.

"Ancient Greek," was Vati's short reply.

"Who do you think he is?" asked Ron.

"Professor R.J. Lupin," whispered Hermione.

"How do you know that?" Ron whispered back.

"It's on his case," said Lavender, pointing at the case on the luggage rack above the man's head.

"Wonder what he teaches?"

"That's obvious. There's only one vacancy, isn't there? Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hermione exclaimed.

"Well, I hope he's up to it," I grumbled. "It was rather boring when the teacher didn't know what he was doing." Everyone nodded their agreement.

"Erm, guys," Harry murmured. We all turned to him. "I need to tell you something about Sirius Black." Lavender, Parvati, and I tried not to start laughing as he told us about Sirius Black being after him. Sirius was trying to protect him, not kill him.

When he was done, Hermione became hysterical. Get a grip girl, that will just freak Harry out even more. "Sirius Black escaped Azkaban to come after you? Oh, Harry...you'll have to be really, really careful. Don't go looking for trouble, Harry-"

"I don't go looking for trouble," Harry grumbled. "Trouble usually finds me." Lies, he went after the stone. It didn't come to him. He's the one who went on the flying car. No one forced him into it. He went to the Chamber of Secrets. It didn't come to him.

"How thick would Harry have to be, to go looking for a nutter who wants to kill him?" asked Ron shakily. "No one knows how he got out of Azkaban." I do, he turned into a dog and squeezed out from in between the bars. "No one's ever done it before. And he was a top-security prisoner too." Hermione began to have another freak attack about the whole thing. I rolled my eyes and went back to scratching Crookshanks. He kept purring.

They moved onto Hogsmeade. Lav, Vati, and Padma had used Skittles to send the forms out to their mortal fathers. My mother never would have signed it, so I sent it out to my father. He signed it for me and sent me back a sea shell necklace that I wear everyday along with the one Tyson gave me for Christmas last year. Harry's guardians hadn't signed his form. Like the professors would have let him go anyway. Everyone of them except Severus (he lets demigods call him by his first name when we're not in public because technically, we are related) believes Sirius is out to kill Harry. As Ron started to complain about Harry not going, Hermione started to bad mouth Sirius. I bit my tongue to keep from snapping at her. I hate when people talk bad about my family. It annoys me to no end.

Soon enough, Malfoy and his cronies arrived. "Well, look who it is. Potty and the Weasel." Crabbe and Goyle snorted. Ron jumped up, knocking Crookshanks empty basket to the floor. The werewolf in a professor's clothing coughed. "Who's that?"

"New teacher," I shrugged as Lavender helped me slide over a little so I could see the door. "What were you saying Malfoy?"

He glared at me. Even he wasn't muto enough to pick a fight under a professor's nose. He left. I slid carefully back over and looked out towards the window. The rain was getting harder. The train jerked to a stop. I bounced slightly in my seat and I hissed in pain as my back hit the seat back really hard. Great, the wounds were just starting to close too. Suddenly, all the lamps went out and we were plunged into total darkness.

"What's going on?" asked Ron.

"Ouch!" squealed Hermione. "Ron, that was my foot!"

There was a squeaking sound and I saw a dim, black outline of Vati, clearing a patch of moisture off the glass of the window. She peered out. "There's something moving out there, I think people are coming on board..."

The compartment door opened and someone fell on top of me. I whimpered as they pushed me back against a metal bar and it dug into my back. "Sorry-d'you know what's going on?-Ouch-sorry-"

"Hullo, Ginny," Harry said. I felt the body get lifted off of me.

"Harry? Is that you? What's happening?"

"No idea-sit down-" I heard a flop as Ginny sat down. "Ginny, that was me."

"Whoops, sorry, Harry. Can't see in the dark." I didn't think that Ginny sounded sorry at all. The door slammed open again.

"Hey, guys. Any of you know what's going on?" It was Neville.

"No, Nev. Come sit down." I shifted over just in time for Neville to sit next to me and not on me. I leaned onto Lavender to help support my back. Everyone started talking.

"Quiet," hissed a new voice. I guess that's the werewolf. He must have finally woken up. He's probably so tired because the full moon was two days ago. There was a crackling noise and a shimmery light appeared. The werewolf was holding a handful of flames. They were small and grey. Kind of like our moods. That's probably the same type of fire they use for the campfire. "Stay where you are." I gulped, was this his doing? Did he find out we're demigods? Is he going to eat us? He slowly rose to his feet. Lav, Vati, and I huddled up together. Neville seemed slightly afraid too. I wonder why.

The door slid slowly open. Did he invite more of his werewolf friends. Vati was clutching her dove charm, ready to expand it into a sword at the last second. Standing in the doorway, was a hooded, cloaked figure. It seemed to float into the room, bringing with it freezing cold and a sense of despair. I shivered, memories flashed through my mind. Every time Sally looked at me with an angry glare, every time she yelled at me, every time Gabe threatened me, and everytime he hit me. All of these memories floated through my mind at high speed. The cold felt like it was eating away at me. I sank to the floor as my screams of pain filled my head. The last memory was of Agrius holding me hostage as Oreius threatened to kill Annabeth and Grover. Luke had my brother at sword point. I slipped from the seat to the floor. The thing came closer to me. Slowly, it began slipping its hood off. I could now see its face. Where eyes should have been, skin stretched over empty sockets. Instead of a nose, there were two slits in the center of its face. The mouth is what scared me the most. It was a gaping hole. That was it. Just a gaping hole of grey tissue slightly lighter than the skin around the mouth. I could feel it sucking away my happiness. All of my happy memories seemed to disappear. "Expecto Patronum!" I heard.

A silvery light burst forth from the werewolf's wand. The creature quickly covered its face and fled from the room. The light was in the shape of a wolf. It came over and nuzzled me before disappearing back into the werewolf's wand. I looked over to see Harry unconscious on the floor next to me. Lavender and Parvati carefully helped me back into my seat. "Here, eat this." The werewolf was shoving something in my face. I was whimpering, my back hurt so much. I trusted him, he just saved my life and his magic seemed trustworthy as well. I wanted to reach out and grab it, but I couldn't it hurt too much to move. My wounds felt like they were on fire. "I haven't poisoned it, if that's what you're thinking." His voice lowered to a whisper, "Your friends told me that you know I'm a werewolf. I know you're demigods. I swear on the Styx, it won't hurt you."

Vati gasped from where she was standing next to me. "Professor, she can't move. She has a really bad back injury from Agrius, you know the bear twin." Lupin nodded. "Well, when she fell to the ground, she hit her back against the seat. She probably can't lift her arm without making it hurt way worse." I weakly nodded my head. Lav took it from Professor Lupin and fed it to me. I felt so weak and helpless. There was a monster in here and I couldn't do anything to save my friends.

"Thanks," I whispered. The pain in my back wasn't lessening at all, but my migraine was going away. Professor Lupin smiled at me before turning to Harry. He gave Harry a huge trunk of what I realized was chocolate. Wow, a nice werewolf. That's a new one. After he gave everyone else chocolate, he strode out of the compartment to talk to the driver. Before he left, he told us those were the dementors of Azkaban. I gulped, poor Sirius. He didn't deserve that.

When Professor Lupin came back, he told us we'd be at Hogwarts in ten minutes. "Are you alright, Harry, Nina?" Harry and I both nodded.

"Wait, how did you know my name?"

"Lavender told me," he said simply. I nodded and leaned back against said girl. Very soon, the train stopped in front of the Hogsmeade station.

When we got into the Great Hall, I heard, "Potter, Jackson, Granger." The three of us turned to see Professor McGonagall. "I want to see the three of you." I groaned. The pain in my back hadn't gone down at all and now she expects me to walk to her office? Great, just great.

Lav and Vati helped me walk up to her, but she snapped at them to get into the Great Hall. I fell sideways as soon as they let go. Luckily, they had made sure I was only a few inches away from the wall. "Stand up straight, Miss Jackson," she barked at me. I struggled to get up, but couldn't do it. "What on earth is wrong with you?"

"I have a severe back injury. It hit part of my nervous system, so now I can't walk or stand up straight. It should heal in about a month, though. Then, I'll be able to walk perfectly again. That's why Lavender and Parvati were helping me."

"Oh, you poor thing. Why didn't you tell me. We'll have Madam Pomfrey fix you right up."

"No!" I nearly shouted. "I mean, magic just makes it take longer to heal, when I got the gashes, a chemical got in them that reacts badly with magic. It should finish healing in about a month and a half."

"Well then, dear, we'll have to teach you a spell so you can float around the castle."

"You're joking!" I looked at McGonagall, ready for her to say 'Ha! Got you!' It didn't come. She was smirking as if the thought of me floating around the castle amused her.

Just as Hermione and Harry got there, she pointed her wand at me and said, "Mobilicorpus!" I floated up into the air a few inches. It felt so cool to just float there. "Follow me," said McGonagall, still smirking slightly. Harry was staring at me, confused at why I was floating. Hermione rolled her eyes, annoyed by my antics, until she realized Professor McGonagall was the one to cast the spell. Professor McGonagall pointed her wand in front of he and I floated in that direction at the brisk pace the others were walking at. This was so much fun! When we reached Professor McGonagall's office, she flicked her wand. I stopped moving. Aw. She opened the door then floated me in. Yay! She gently set me down in a soft chair.

Madam Pomfrey soon came bustling in. "Oh, it's you two, is it?" I grinned and waved at Madam Pomfrey. I spent far too much time in the Hospital Wing for her liking. I was in there more than Harry! "I suppose you two have been doing something dangerous again?"

"Yes," I said.

At the same time, McGonagall said, "It was a dementor, Poppy." She didn't seem to approve of them being around students.

Madam Pomfrey didn't seem to hear me say yes. "Setting dementors around a school." She pushed back Harry's hair and felt his forehead. "They won't be the last ones to collapse. Yes, he's all clammy. Terrible things, they are, and the effect they have on people who are already delicate-"

I'm not delicate!" Harry and I grumbled crossly.

"Of course you aren't dears." She handed us both chocolate. Harry told her we both already had chocolate and that Professor Lupin gave it to us. She seemed pleased by this.

"Wait, you're supposed to eat chocolate after you encounter a dementor? I thought Professor Lupin was just a chocoholic." Both adults stared at me and Harry started laughing.

Madam Pomfrey shook her head and pressed the back of her hand to my forehead. "Oh, dear, are you feeling alright? You're burning up." McGonagall explained to her about the injury I had received. Madam Pomfrey tutted at me disapprovingly before leaving. McGonagall floated me outside and made Harry walk out behind me. She was talking to Hermione for a while. When she walked back out with Hermione, she walked with us downstairs. When we got to the Great Hall, she floated me over to the Gryffindor table and when Lavender grabbed my arm, she gently put me down. Lav and Vati helped me sit down. I informed them of what happened in McGonagall's office and of the floating charm. They agreed to float me around the castle.