Aurora couldn't take the staring. Everywhere she went, people pointed and whispered, and the instant she returned their gazes they ducked away, frightened. It wasn't even funny. She wished Draco could at least be around to lighten the mood, but he was still injured - and Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let Aurora even visit him - while Pansy preferred to try and distract Aurora by gossiping about the romantic ventures of the upper years, and Gwendolyn seemed both frosty and entirely unwilling to explain why. Aurora thought that meant it was her fault for whatever she'd done to upset her, but if that was the case why couldn't Gwendolyn just come out and say what bothered her so much. It wasn't as if her father was an escaped mass murderer responsible for the deaths of her mother, godparents, and once-close family friend. Frankly, she thought that if their argument was the greatest issue in Gwendolyn's life then she had very little to be worried about.

So Aurora stuck by Theodore and Daphne mainly. The former preferred to chat about books, one thing Aurora was still confident in, while Daphne had a great manner of commenting on everyone around them. "I don't know why Finnigan has taken to whispering so much," she said as they passed in the Entrance Hall, throwing the Gryffindor a contemptuous look "normally he's content to run his mouth off about everything and anything. Perhaps he's trying not to be so explosive."

"I prefer the Gryffindors when they're quiet," Theodore agreed, glancing over the top of his upside-down Divination textbook, "but I'm not sure there are any."

One of the first year Hufflepuffs saw Aurora coming and jumped out of her way with a squeak. "Say, what's the difference between a badger and a mouse?" Daphne asked, gaze cutting the little girl.

"Colouring."

"Badgers are more likely to engage in cannibalism."

"Is that true, Theodore?"

"It could be. I don't know."

The only non-Slytherin willing to talk to Aurora was Neville, though he did wear a certain expression of nerves when she approached him and their usual desk at the start of Potions. "I'm not going to murder you," she told him flatly, eyes flicking to Granger, who had set up just behind them. "If I wanted to I would have done so before now. I'd never get away with it when there's this much security."

"That - that isn't really comforting, Aurora."

She grinned. "Sorry, Neville. You know I don't mean it."

"My gran says to be careful around you."

"Why?" It came out harsher than she'd intended it to and Neville winced. She tried not to let her frustration at that show. "Look, Neville, just because my useless father has somehow managed to break out of prison does not mean I'm going to decide to follow in his footsteps. Or anyone else's for that matter," she added, gut twisting at the reminder of exactly why Neville may be warned against members of her family. Her father hadn't been the only one in Azkaban.

"I - I know," Neville stammered out. "I know you're alright, Aurora."

"Good," she said, with a faint smile. "But seriously, I'd appreciate if everyone stopped looking at me like I was about to jump them with a killing curse."

Draco didn't return to class until halfway through the lesson, with a determinedly brave expression. Aurora breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him, although his arm was heavily bandaged. Neville looked up curiously and then straight away again.

Potter and Weasley looked furious that Draco came into class late without any punishment, but Aurora didn't know what they'd expected. And besides, he was injured. As class wore on, Potter and Weasley seemed to be deliberately antagonising Draco, mutilating his gurdyroots and very poorly skinning his Shrivelfigs. Aurora sniffed haughtily at them and rolled her eyes, returning her attention to Neville. "Only one rat spleen," she reminded him as he reached for another, and he jumped to attention. "Neville, please relax. Just keep an eye on the board and your instructions, like I told you to. Your potion will be fine so long as you're careful."

Neville nodded, but went pale as Snape came over to them, having sufficiently annoyed Potter for the day. "Miss Black, I do hope you aren't helping Longbottom cheat."

"Not at all, Professor," she replied smoothly. "I was merely checking if he could pass over the bottle of leech juice."

Snape sneered at her. "You won't get away with this forever, Black."

She was honestly confused by that. "With what, Professor?"

"Longbottom!" Snape barked, and poor Neville startled out of his skin, dropping far too much leech juice into his potion. A surge of anger towards Snape rushed through Aurora. "You idiot boy!" Snape snapped. "A dash of leech juice! A dash! What do I have to do to get this through your thick head?"

Aurora quickly snatched the leech juice from Neville so he wouldn't spill any more. He was trembling a little. "Professor, an excess of leech juice can be remedied, can't it?"

"Please, Professor," Granger piped up before Snape could answer Aurora - which was just as well, because he looked furious - "I can help Neville fix it, sir."

"I don't remember telling you to show off, Miss Granger," Snape snarled. "Longbottom, at the end of the lesson we will feed a few drops of this potion to your toad. I do hope you don't mess it up and poison him."

He swept away and Neville looked down in horror at his potion, having gone pink. "Don't cry," Aurora told him sharply, and slid a silk handkerchief over to him anyway. "I'll help you fix it, just keep your act together until the end of class. It's a simple enough fix - and you almost did it right, if Snape hadn't startled you." She smiled at him, a gesture which he returned weakly. "Come on, let's see to this. If we stir anti-clockwise now, it should counteract the leech juice a little. Can you think of any plant ingredients that might diffuse the effects?" She knew the answer was right in front of them, but thought it might make Neville feel better if he figured it out himself.

"The g-gurdyroots, right?" She nodded and Neville sniffled. "What if it hurts Trevor?"

"I promise it won't," she said, holding his shoulder gently. "You slice the roots, I'll stir and attend to my potion - it's almost done."

She gave Neville's potion two anti-clockwise stirs while he cut two more of his roots. She was tuned in absently to a conversation the next row over - Seamus Finnigan claimed Aurora's father had been spotted in Dufftown, not far from Hogwarts. She kept her head down, not wanting to be involved in a conversation about it, but the idea of him being so close scared her. She focused on her work, trying not to think about it. Once Neville had cut up his roots, they added them in together, and Neville had just stirred them enough to juice when Snape said, "You should have finished adding your ingredients now. This potion needs to stew before it can be drunk; clear away while it simmers and then we can test Longbottom's."

Neville went white again, so Aurora tidied up the knives and other potentially dangerous objects just to be on the safe side. She caught a snippet of Potter and Weasley's conversation by the water basins - "Why would I go after Black? He hadn't done anything to me - yet." - and hurried away again, feeling nervous. It was good that Potter didn't know, but she worried what he might do when he did inevitably find out. He didn't scare her, she reminded herself, or at least no more than her father did. But he was still a Gryffindor, and most of them were a bit mad.

As the lesson drew to a close, Snape gathered them all around Neville's cauldron. Aurora gave him an encouraging smile, and Snape glared at her. That was nothing new, though.

"Now I will be demonstrating Longbottom's Shrinking Solution. If he has brewed it correctly, then his toad here-" he held up Trevor, who looked frightened as a toad could be "-should shrink to a tadpole. If not, then I suspect he shall be poisoned."

Neville shook, and Aurora grabbed his hand underneath the table. It would be fine, she thought to herself, and breathed a sigh of relief as Snape ladled the potion and it turned out green. With a grimace, he ladled a couple of drops into Trevor's mouth; a second later there was a loud POP and he shrank into a tadpole.

Aurora breathed a sigh of relief and let go of Neville's hand to clap politely. With an extremely sour look, Snape put another couple of drops of a different potion into Trevor the toad's mouth, causing him to return to his regular size.

"Five points from Gryffindor," Snape said, to a mass of groans. "Miss Granger, I thought I told you not to assist Longbottom."

Granger went pink. "I didn't, sir."

"I don't appreciate liars in my classroom, Miss Granger. Another five points."

Aurora felt bad at the expressions on the Gryffindors' faces, though mostly Neville's. He looked as though he expected her to come clean, so she sighed and compromised. "Neville brewed it himself, Professor. I watched him." She smiled at Neville. It was true, she'd only suggested he add gurdyroots. The vast majority of the work, he had done by himself.

Snape looked at her with intense dislike. "Detention for speaking out of turn, Black. And for cheating and lying." A nasty smile curved his lips. "Make that three detentions, then, one for each crime."

She looked sourly at him, but didn't say anything more. He ordered them to clear out of the classroom and Aurora did so happily. She meant to speak to Draco, but he got swept along with Pansy and Neville caught her arm inside. "Thank you, Aurora," he told her breathlessly. "You didn't have to stand up for Hermione."

She smiled awkwardly. It really hadn't been Granger she was looking out for. "You did do most of everything yourself, Neville. You have the ability and the knowledge, it's only a matter of having the confidence to apply it."

This seemed to bring a smile to Neville's face at any rate, though he soon dropped back into step with the other Gryffindors, leaving Aurora to hurry up and find a seat at the Slytherin Table next to Draco. Thankfully, he'd left one open for her, and she hugged him carefully around the shoulders before sitting down.

"Does it still hurt awfully?" she asked.

He winced dramatically. "Only when I move it."

"But it isn't broken or anything, is it? It is going to be alright?"

"Hopefully not," Draco said. "It hurts like anything, though. That thing could have taken the whole thing off - I could have lost my arm if it hadn't been for Madam Pomfrey."

"Oh, that brute," Pansy said with a shudder. "He ought to get banned from teaching, don't you think, Aurora?"

"He should certainly be restrained more," Aurora said. "We hardly got a fair assessment of his teaching, but starting us off with Hippogriffs was foolish and irresponsible. I don't know what he was thinking."

"I'd thought we'd see unicorns and things," Daphne put in. "Not those! Unicorns wouldn't try to rip Draco's arm off, would they?"

Everyone made a great fuss over Draco at lunch, but then it was time to go to their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Aurora hoped Lupin was as good as the upper years had said he was.

She, Draco and Pansy arrived and sat down promptly, and most of their fellow Slytherins were excited about the class. "Shame old Snape couldn't take the post," Draco said. "This Lupin seems rather shabby to me."

"I'm sure he's better than Lockhart at any rate," said Aurora diplomatically, as the Gryffindors came in. No one could disagree with that; Lockhart really had been useless. Professor Lupin seemed to take his time to join them; Potter spent most of that time glaring at Aurora and Draco, which they of course reciprocated. She wanted to sneer that she'd really done Gryffindor a favour earlier by telling Snape that Granger hadn't helped Neville, but it was unlike Potter to give a damn what she had to say anyway.

"Oh, if we have another Cornish pixies incident, I think I might cry," said Pansy, who hadn't forgotten how they had ruined her hair this time last year.

Aurora snickered. "Maybe Draco will need me to save him again."

"Shut up, Aurora," he muttered, going scarlet. "My arm's injured anyway."

"Poor dear," she teased, But was careful not to get to close in case she accidentally bashed it. "Has your father replied to you yet?"

"No," he said grumpily. "But I'm sure once he does I'll get a wonderful letter telling me I won't have to take that beastly class again."

"Oh, I wish I could drop it," Pansy said. She was fluttering her eyelashes at Draco, though Aurora thought this was very much not the time. "When I think of what that brute let happen to you - I couldn't bare seeing you hurt, Draco."

Aurora was about to reply with how she had been the first to respond to Draco, not Pansy, but Professor Lupin chose that moment to enter the classroom, setting a battered looking suitcase down on the desk. He smiled somewhat tiredly, sweeping back his patched up robes. Draco sneered, but Aurora leaned forward interestedly. Maybe she could figure out where she recognised him from; it had been nagging at her all week.

"Good afternoon," he said pleasantly. His voice was relatively quiet and gentle, but he had that great quality of being able to pull in a room's attention regardless. "Would you all please put your books, parchment and quills back into your bags. For today's lesson you will need only your wands."

"Please not pixies," Draco said, eyes turned upwards like he was praying, and Aurora smiled.

"At least he isn't making us do a quiz all about him," she said, stowing her things away in her bag and taking out her wand with a feeling of great excitement.

"Right then," Lupin said as they got up. "Follow me then, please."

Aurora watched Lupin carefully as they all left the classroom together. She didn't know him by his stature or his walk, but something still nagged at her. "I don't suppose any of you know him?" she whispered to a handful of the other Slytherins, all of whom gave her blank looks.

"Not a clue," said Millicent.

"As if I'd know someone who dresses like that," Pansy said, scoffing. "Why? You don't know him, so you?"

"I don't know. He looks familiar."

"It's probably just one of those things," Daphne said. "He must have a generic face. Common, you know?"

It seemed Professor Lupin was leading them towards the staff room; unfortunately for him, Peeves was loitering around the door. He looked up and a brilliant light came into his eyes as he cackled, "Loony, loopy Lupin. Loony loopy Lupin! Loony loopy Lupin!"

Draco laughed, but Aurora was just staring at Peeves. Rarely did he outright make fun of a teacher, but it seemed Lupin was taking it in his stride. He just smiled as though he were amused. Aurora thought it couldn't have been long since he had been a student; despite his tired eyes, his face was still young and he seemed to be around the same age as Snape. "I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, Peeves. Mr Filch won't be able to get into his brooms."

Peeves didn't care, as Peeves rarely cared about anything. He blew a giant wet raspberry at Lupin, and Robin snickered. Lupin sighed, taking out his wand. "This is a useful spell," he told the class over his shoulder. "Waddiwasi!"

The chewing gum that had been stuck in the keyhole flew out of it and zoomed up Peeves' nostril. He went soaring away and the whole class burst into laughter, Aurora included. "Cool, sir!" said Dean Thomas, one of the Gryffindors.

"Thank you, Dean," Lupin said, and Aurora raised her eyebrows. It was impressive how he knew some students' names already - or maybe he had met him on the train, too. "Shall we proceed?"

They continued on towards the staff room, where Lupin led them inside. A large wardrobe stood there, and Snape glanced up coolly as they entered. "Leave it open, Lupin," he said as Professor Lupin made to close the door. "I would rather not bear witness to this." His robes whirled around his ankles as he stood up and stride over to the door, shooting Aurora a nasty look as he did so. She reciprocated with a cold glare. "Perhaps no one warned you, Lupin, but Neville Longbottom is in this class. I would advise you not to trust him with anything difficult, unless Aurora Black is assisting him in cheating." She tightened her jaw, glaring. "I must warn you, you have quite the sneak on your hands here."

Lupin raised his eyebrows, looking between them both. "As a matter of fact, I was rather hoping that Neville here could assist me with a demonstration. I am sure he will perform most admirably."

Snape just sneered and left, giving Aurora a nasty look as he did so. "Arsehole," she muttered under her breath. He'd completely ruined her chance to make a good first impression on her new teacher, and she was sure he was glad of it. Although, she could have sworn Lupin smiled at her.

"Now, then," Lupin said, leading them over to a rattling wardrobe. Neville was looking rather red, and so Aurora gave him an encouraging smile.

The wardrobe gave a shudder, causing many people to leap back in alarm. Potter trod on Aurora's foot and she hissed at him. "Watch it, clumsy."

"Not my fault you were standing so close, Black!"

"Not my fault you're so woefully unaware of your own surroundings, Potter!"

"Quiet, please," Lupin said, and Aurora shut up, going red. He glanced between her and Potter curiously. "There's no need to be alarmed. What we have in this wardrobe is a Boggart."

Aurora remembered reading about them in her textbook: they took the form of whatever their victim feared most, which was why although not particularly dangerous, they were widely feared, and could cause serious distress and hysteria, which in turn caused their victims to endanger themselves. "Boggarts like closed, dark spaces," Lupin went on. "Wardrobes, under beds, cupboards underneath kitchen sinks. I even met one that had lodged itself inside a grandfather clock. This Boggart moved in yesterday, and I asked the Headmaster if the staff might leave it so you students could have a bit of a practical lesson." He grinned, and Aurora found herself smiling back. He knew better than Lockhart and Quirrel at any rate, and from the way he'd spoken to Neville she could tell he was at least a nicer teacher than Snape. "So, the first question we must ask ourselves, what is a Boggart?"

Aurora raised her hand. Granger's, predictably, flew into the air like a balloon. But Lupin's eyes fell on her instead, almost seeming interested. "Aurora?"

"Boggarts are shape-shifters," she told him. "They take the form of their victim's greatest fear, in order to cause distress, hysteria and panic. They aren't necessarily dangerous in a predatory sense, like a lot of other Dark creatures, but their mental effects can cause people to endanger themselves, as well as seriously strain people."

"A very sound definition," Lupin said with something of a smile. "Five points to... Slytherin, is it?"

She smirked at Granger, who seemed extremely put out. "Thank you, Professor."

"So," he continued. "The Boggart in here has not yet taken on a form. It does not yet know what may frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like alone, but when I open this door he will become whatever each of us fears." Neville made a little terrified sound. Aurora wasn't sure it was a good idea to use him as a demonstration, but she kept telling him to believe in himself and if this went well, it would hopefully boost his confidence. "This means we have a huge advantage over the Boggart. Has anyone spotted it? Harry?" Of course he would ask Potter.

"Er..." He seemed stumped for a moment. "Because there are so many of us, the Boggart won't know what form to take?"

"Precisely." He smiled warmly at Potter. Aurora didn't fail to notice it was a warmer smile than the one he had given her, even though Potter's answer had been nowhere near as detailed and thought out as hers had. It was more or less a guess. She would bet money Lupin had been a Gryffindor. "That'll be five points for Gryffindor, Harry. Now, it's always best to have company when dealing with a Boggart. This confuses him, as he received different signals from different people and therefore finds it harder to take a single form that will frighten everyone. He might become caught between the choice of a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug. I once saw a Boggart try that very combination - in an attempt to frighten two people at once - and instead became simply half a slug. Rather amusing, actually.

"The charm that repels a Boggart is a simple one, though it does require force. You see, a Boggart is banished by laughter, the very opposite of fear. You must force it to take a form that you find amusing. We will practice the incantation without wands first. After me... Riddikulus!"

Despite feeling rather foolish, Aurora repeated, "Riddikulus!" along with the rest of her class.

"This class is ridiculous," Draco muttered, though Aurora thought he was mostly jealous he didn't get to take part, due to his injury.

"Very good, though I'm afraid that was the easy part. Saying the word alone is not enough. This is where you come in, Neville."

Neville looked white as a sheet. He looked around him nervously, eyes settling on Aurora. "You'll be fine," she told him quietly. "Go on."

Shaking a little, he stepped forward. Aurora wasn't surprised when he revealed his worst fear to be Professor Snape, though it did disturb her. What right did Snape have to make Neville fear him so much? He was his teacher! It made her blood boil. She was greatly looking forward to Lupin's promise of making the Boggart Snape wear Neville's grandmother's clothes - a tall hat with a vulture on top, a long green dress, a faux-fur scarf and a large red handbag. The class was told to think of their worst fear, though Aurora was sure she didn't have any, or at least none that sprang to mind. Failure, perhaps. She hated failing at anything, but she didn't know if that could manifest, or indeed what it could possibly manifest as. She was scared to lose people, too, but she wasn't sure there was any way for her to make that funny. There were a lot of small things she was scared of - rats freaked her out because they were disgusting, and she hated anything with holes in it, and maybe she'd admit to being scared of Snape just a little bit, too, or Voldemort. That thought hit her. She couldn't think of a single way to make the Dark Lord appear humorous, either.

Maybe she'd stick a blonde wig on him and call it a day. That thought didn't cheer her up, but then another lurched into her mind. Her father. She glanced at the wardrobe. She really, really didn't want that Boggart to turn into him because how could she ever explain how utterly terrifying everything he symbolised was to her, and how could she ever find humour in the ways he'd destroyed her family?

"Everyone ready?" Everyone leaned forwards eagerly as Lupin opened the wardrobe and a shape lunged out, twisting sharply into the form of Professor Snape. It was clear it wasn't Snape - he did not insult Neville, nor did he glare at Aurora or Potter like he always did - but his figure was still just as imposing.

Neville trembled, but Aurora felt immensely proud as he stuttered out, "Riddikulus!" And with a crack, the Boggart took on the clothing of Augusta Longbottom. Snape's figure was very confused, and baffled by the class that had suddenly burst into laughter at the sight of him. Even Draco and Pansy were beside themselves at the sight.

"Wonderful!" Lupin beamed.

Aurora rolled up her sleeves as her classmates started to form a line before the Boggart. It turned to a rattlesnake, a mummy, a headless corpse, a giant spider, a bloody eyeball, a severed hand, and then Gwen's became a Rottweiler that turned into a chihuahua, and then Aurora found herself at the front. There was a loud crack as the Boggart shifted, and she felt her stomach lurch. A second later, her father was staring down at her.

A few people screamed. She stood still, frozen in shock at the sight of him. He looked as unkempt as in his wanted posters, but there was something familiar about his face, the sharpness of his eyes, the turn on his nose, that reminded Aurora of her own reflection. He seemed more like her than he did in pictures, even the curve of his eyes the same. Her breath caught in her throat. The family resemblance made her want to throw up. She didn't want to be like him, look like him, she didn't want him to be here, she didn't want anything to do with her. The idea of them bearing similarity... That was terrifying especially after what everyone said about her.

Murderer's daughter. And here was the murderer himself, standing before her, sharp and dangerous but looking at her. Looking at her like he cared. Bile rose in her throat.

Lupin was ushering the class back, looking quite white. All eyes were on her, and though she was shaking - and hated herself for it too - Aurora tried to imagine him in a curly blonde wig and bright pink dress, something completely the opposite of herself "Riddikulus!" she cried, and with a crack, he took on that appearance. She managed a shaky laugh before hurrying away so that Pansy could take her place.

"Was that-" Gwen started.

"Yes," Aurora said quickly.

"Oh. I'm sorry-"

"Don't be," she said shakily, avoiding Gwen's pitying gaze. She didn't want anybody's pity, nor did she need it.. She tossed her hair back with a breezy smile. "It's quite funny, I've always wanted to see what my father would look like blonde. Maybe I should considering dyeing my hair the same colour." She was sure if she ever saw herself as a blonde, now, she would simply die.

"I'm sorry," Gwen whispered, "by the way, that we argued, I know you must be scared."

That made the anger tick over in her chest. "Sure," she ground out. Gwen looked at her uneasily and Aurora moved back, standing by Draco.

"I didn't realise it'd turn into him," he whispered, eyes wide and shining with worry. "Are you alright?"

"Course I am," she said briskly, forcing a neutral smile. "It's only a Boggart, after all."

Professor Lupin made a start towards Aurora, but at that moment Potter was pushed to the front and his attention was diverted. He lunged in front of Potter, and the Boggart shifted again, becoming a strange silvery orb that hung in front of them. He shouted, "Riddikulus!" and it turned into a shiny, glittery Christmas bauble like the ones Arcturus had used to hang on the trees. "Forward, Neville, and finish him off!"

The Boggart changed back to Snape in Neville's grandmother clothes and exploded as everyone but Aurora laughed in uproar.

Aurora breathed a sigh of relief when it was gone. She hadn't expected the Boggart to have turned into her father, but now she wasn't fully surprised. The thought of having to see him again, having anything to do with him - the failure of the family, the traitor who had caused the death of her mother and so many others - was one that haunted her even more so since his escape from Azkaban.

"I think that's all for today," Professor Lupin said briskly. "Everyone who handled the Boggart, take five points for your houses. Neville, take ten points, because you managed it twice." He smiled. "Homework for next lesson is to read the chapter on Boggarts and kindly summarise it for me. That will be all. Aurora, could I have a word before your next class, please?"

Gwen sent her a sympathetic look which she hated; Draco, Daphne and Pansy raised their eyebrows; Theodore bit his lip in concern and Potter, predictably, glared at her. As if she'd done it on purpose.

She hung around the staff room as the others departed, holding her bag strap tightly. This was intensely awkward. She hoped Lupin didn't think she'd made the Boggart take her father's form on purpose to scare anybody, and yet she also felt embarrassed by the idea that he might realise she'd been genuinely scared.

"What is it, Professor?" she asked as evenly as she could, once the final prying Gryffindor had left the room.

Lupin smiled tightly. "I have to say, I was rather concerned by the form your Boggart took."

"I didn't mean it to!" Aurora found herself saying, before she could stop the words from spilling out. She looked down, abashed. "I'm sorry, I know I must have scared everyone."

"That isn't my main concern," Lupin told her. His voice was surprisingly kind. "I understand this year must be... Difficult for you."

She bit back a scathing comment about how difficult was an understatement. "I'm sure I can manage, Professor. I don't intend to let this situation interfere with my schoolwork."

The look on his face seemed caught between concern and amusement. "It is... A terrible thing, for a daughter to have to fear her father."

She looked up at him, surprised by his heavy tone. "I'm not sure if you're aware, he is a mass murderer and had spent twelve years in a prison designed to drive him more insane than he already was, so I don't exactly think he's going to have a soft spot for me just because I'm his daughter."

Lupin looked rather taken aback by her frankness, and she wondered if in the heat of her shock she had overstepped. But then he smiled wanly at her. "I understand this is a difficult time for you, Aurora. I'm sorry you had to do that today."

"Everyone else did it," she said with a shrug.

"Even so." He looked troubled as he picked up his briefcase. "Anything you need, Aurora. I'd like you to know that you can trust me, not only to help, but to refrain from judgement."

She stared at him. "Thank you?" It came out as more of a question. Why did he care? "I mean, that's very kind of you, Professor. But I'm alright, really."

The look in his eye told her that Lupin didn't think she was handling things alright at all. "I couldn't help but notice your... Attitude with Mr Potter."

That took her quite by surprise and she laughed shakily. "Well, he is a Gryffindor, Professor. I'm a Slytherin. We've never gotten along. Trust me, it is not a recent development."

Somehow, this seemed to trouble Lupin even further and a deep crease formed between his brow. "Enjoy your evening, Aurora. And remember that homework. I expect a wonderful essay from you."

She smiled confusedly at him as she left. "Thank you, Professor. I'll see you in class."