Several days later, Astra and Starbeam were on Astra's bed. Starbeam stood on the foot of the bed, eating from her bowl of cat food, while Astra sat on the other end of the bed. As usual, Astra had the curtains pulled down, to give them some privacy.

Astra had multiple things laid out on the bed, before her, including a bag of sugar, a spoon, an empty bottle, and the flask of potion. Professor Snape had not been able to give it to her after Potions class today, because she did not have potions class today, so her brother had met her and given it to her.

Astra uncrooked the bottle, spooned several spoonful's of sugar into it, poured the potion in, corked the bottle, and started shaking it up. Shaking the sugar into the potion never made it taste good, but spoonful's of sugar did help it to go down.

Astra recalled a time, several months ago, when Professor Snape had delivered the potion to Malfoy Manor, and stuck around long enough to see Astra's mother mixing sugar into it. He had laughed, and then told them about how there was a myth that adding sugar to this potion lessened the effects, and that she should be happy that her parents knew better than that, which she was.

In the morning, Astra sat down for breakfast beside Hermione. Heather, who had started sitting with them regularly, sat down on the other side of Astra.

Harry could not help but notice that Astra looked really tired. "Hey, Astra, are you alright?" Harry asked.

A look of fear flickered across Astra's face. "Yeah, I um… I just didn't get enough sleep last night."

That seemed odd. She had retired to her dormitory early the night before.

Several minutes later, Astra excused herself to go to the bathroom. Once she was out of earshot, Hermione looked over at Heather.

"Heather," Hermione asked, "did you notice anything odd about Astra this morning, or last night?"

"Well, yes," Heather said. "Last night she asked me to make sure she got up in the morning, which she usually has no trouble with, and then she went to bed really early. Now, this morning she's been really tired."

Later that day, after their last class before lunch, Hermione had an interesting request. "Do you guys mind going to the kitchens with me, before we go to eat? I want to talk to Dobby, without Astra around."

Minutes later, they arrived in the kitchens, where all of the house-elves. This included Dobby and Winky. Winky had not gotten over what happened, but she seemed to be doing better and better each day, as she tried to make the house-elves her new family.

"Dobby," Harry called.

Dobby rushed up to him. "Yes, Harry," he said.

"Could you come talk to us out in the hall?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," Dobby said, and they all went out into the hallway.

"Is Astra a werewolf?" Hermione asked.

Harry and Ron gasped.

Dobby looked very nervous. "How did Hermione know?"

"The other day I was looking for a library book, and when I entered a new aisle I saw Astra with Draco, and Draco was handing her a flask. In the evening, she had retired to her dormitory strangely early, yet she seemed really tired this morning, and it had been a full moon last night. There's also the fact that she's clearly not a pureblood supremacist. Also, I would expect a Malfoy to be all confident, but she's instead really anxious. There was that time when you were worried that you had startled her, and she had told you that she wasn't as easily startled as she used to be, as though something scary and traumatizing had happened to her as some point, like maybe getting bitten by a werewolf."

"I hate to speak ill of my former masters," Dobby said, "but it's true. A werewolf once got in through a window that had been left open. Dobby woke up when Dobby heard screaming, and then Dobby heard Mr. Malfoy yell Avada Kedavra, and then Dobby was standing in the doorway to Astra's bedroom, where everyone else was, to see Astra covered in blood and in hysterics, Mrs. Malfoy getting down beside her, and a dead werewolf. Mr. Malfoy and Dobby brought the werewolf outside, and buried it, while Mrs. Malfoy took care of Astra as best as Mrs. Malfoy could without taking Astra to a healer.

"The only people Mr. Malfoy and Mrs. Malfoy told were their son and Mr. Snape. They only told Mr. Snape because they needed him to make Wolfsbain potion for Astra, as Mr. Malfoy and Mrs. Malfoy were very insistent that Astra would never turn into a werewolf. They were also very insistent on hiding the fact that Astra was a werewolf, even though that makes Astra feel awful."

"Wait," Ron said, "wasn't Draco's boggart a werewolf."

It was. When Professor Lupin gave the students who hadn't gotten a chance to face the boggart previously the chance to do it, Draco had been first up. He had freaked out, like the coward he was, been unable to do it, and refused to try again.

"It makes sense," Hermione said. "His sister was bitten by a werewolf, and she's probably never actually changed into one. Dobby, do you think Astra would feel better if we told her we knew."

"No. Astra was taught that other people finding out was a very bad thing."

"But, we can't reassure her that it's nothing to be ashamed of, unless we tell her we know."

"What if we make sure you're around, Dobby, when we tell her?" Harry said.

After dinner that day, Hermione, Astra, Starbeam, Harry, and Ron went and met Dobby, outside the kitchens.

"Sit down everyone," Dobby said. "We have something very important to discuss."

They all sat down, in a circle. Hermione was in between Harry and Astra. Astra was in between Hermione and Dobby. Starbeam was in the middle of the circle, but she quickly went up to Astra and curled up in her lap, which Hermione was glad to see.

"So," Hermione began, "we have something to confess."

"What?" Astra asked.

"The other day, I saw your brother giving you a flask of something, in the library," Hermione said. "Last night you went to bed early, yet you were all tired in the morning, and have been pretty much all day. The moon was full last night."

Astra looked scared.

"We don't think any less of you," Harry said.

"If-if you're suggesting I'm a werewolf, your-you're wrong," Astra said, her hands clutching her cat, as her cat rubbed against her.

"We don't think any less of you, Astra," Ron repeated, "but Dobby already confirmed that you are."

"I have never changed into a horrifying werewolf," Astra said, clutching her cat to her chest.

"It's okay Astra," Hermione said. "It doesn't make you an inferior, and it was wrong of your parents to make you think it did."

"That's not what happened!" Astra said, practically yelling. "They were protecting me, and the entire family from discrimination."

"That actually does make sense," Ron said.

"And I am an inferior, because ever since the attack I've been afraid of everything, prone to nightmares. I'm not as easily anxious, as I used to be, but I'm still too wimpy to go anywhere without my cat. The attack also made me lose my metamorphmagus abilities, and my pure-blood status."

"Most witches and wizards aren't pure-blood, and Astra and Mrs. Malfoy were the only people Dobby has every met who had metamorphmagus abilities. Astra is courageous enough to face the world, after that," Dobby said. "There is a reason why Astra is in Gryffindor." He held out his hand to Astra.

Astra took Dobby's hand, keeping her other hand on Starbeam. "Maybe you guys are right," she said, "but if I'm not inferior to any of you, then neither is Dobby."

"Dobby thanks you, Astra," Dobby said.

"Dobby, remember that time when I found out that you couldn't read, and I offered to try to teach you how, and you said no and that house elves aren't smart enough to be capable of reading."

"House elves are not capable of reading, and I was worried Mr. Malfoy would get get mad if I even attempted it."

"You don't have to worry about Astra's father anymore," Harry pointed out.

"If Astra believes that she is just as good as anybody else, then Dobby will attempt to learn how to read."

"Alright," Astra said, with a smile.

Hermione had not been planning on S.P.E.W. teaching Dobby how to read, but she liked that idea.