Amelie wasn't surprised to hear Riyan talking excitedly about the Gobstone Club, when they met up with him later that day. While she was happy for him, she was starting to get the feeling that he wouldn't be returning to the Quidditch pitch until the first actual game.
The next day brought more lessons and a much-dreaded two hours in the dungeons with Professor Snape. Amelie tried, as best as she could, to follow the instructions for their potion to the letter. While it seemed ludicrous to think he would actually test it on them, she couldn't quite shake the niggling worry at the back of her head.
Their second Defence class the following morning turned out to be as great as their first one. Professor Lupin introduced them to the basic Shield Charm and gave them the rest of the period to practise casting it, announcing another duelling session for the end of the week.
Trudging back from Herbology, Amelie was grateful for a chance to lie down before Astronomy. Some of the Mandrakes had required re-potting and the resulting headache hadn't gone away by the time they were back in the common room.
"Where's Polly?" Amelie asked, looking around their dorm. She hadn't paid much attention on their way back.
"Quidditch training. I think she took off right after we returned," Patricia replied while slipping her shoes off and crawling onto her bed.
Amelie frowned. "She does know that we have Astronomy tonight, right?"
Hours later, when Beatrice told them to get ready, there was still no sign of her and Amelie was starting to get worried. She walked over to ask their prefect, who was wrapped in a bathrobe and didn't appear too eager to still be out of bed so late.
"Polly? Oh right! I wanted to tell you, but you were all asleep already," Beatrice said. "She's in the Hospital Wing. It's nothing too serious," she quickly added as Amelie, Linda and Patricia gave her shocked looks.
Rubbing some sleep from her eyes, Beatrice went on, "Caught a Bludger to the shoulder, from what Professor Sprout told me. She should be right as rain by tomorrow, but Pomfrey insisted she spend the night under observation."
They had made it almost all the way to the Astronomy Tower, when Linda asked Amelie about the pair project.
"Oh no, I completely forgot about that!" she gasped. With Polly in the Hospital Wing, would she be able to sign up the both of them?
Linda shrugged. "Just ask Professor Sinistra, maybe it'll be alright."
The teacher in question seemed less than thrilled at the news. She rubbed her temple and gave Amelie an uncertain look.
"The problem is, Hastings, the groups are supposed to start working tonight." Professor Sinistra seemed to ponder her options. "Aside from that, we've got another absence from the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw class, too."
She sighed. "Both classes are also unevenly numbered, so I'd rather match you up now and put McKinsey with the other class on Friday. I'm sorry, but we really don't have much leeway here."
"Oh. Okay, I- I see." Amelie felt a knot in her stomach. She had been looking forward to doing the project with Polly, but even in the middle of the night Quidditch had managed to snatch her away again. Nodding her head, she resigned herself to do the project with someone else.
There was just one problem. Her brow furrowed as Amelie took a mental tally of the remaining students and she came up with no Hufflepuffs left over. She nervously followed Professor Sinistra as she walked over to the Slytherin side of the class.
"Bole, you're still without a partner, right?"
"Uhm, yes...?"
Amelie's eyes widened as she spotted Cecilia, standing by herself and looking as guarded as ever, clutching her text-books to her chest. The other students around them were too busy speaking to their partners to pay much attention.
"Good," Sinistra exclaimed. "Then you'll be working with Hastings. McKinsey managed to land herself a free night in the Hospital Wing, so we now have an even number across both houses."
She gave both of them a critical look. "That's not going to be a problem, right?"
They both mumbled 'No, professor'.
"Great, good luck you two."
Sinistra returned to the front of the class and began handing out sheets of parchment with her wand, while explaining the details of the exercises they would be doing. The instructions seemed easy enough to understand, but it quickly became clear that each step would depend on the previous one.
All the while, Cecilia appeared determined to avoid looking at Amelie directly. It was enough to make even her feel irritated, although when she stole a glance at the Slytherin girl's face, she looked more tense than annoyed or angry. Her shoulders were hunched and her lips were pressed into a thin line, while her gaze remained straight ahead as they listened to Professor Sinistra.
When it was time to begin, Amelie pointed to one of the desks at the edge of the platform and asked, "Do you want to get started?"
She only got a nod in response, before Cecilia stiffly walked ahead and began pulling out her parchment and quills.
"Alright," Amelie began, scanning the instructions slowly, "do you want to start with sketching the moon-phase for tonight or do you want to set up the telescope?"
"Telescope's fine" was the mumbled response she received.
Her behaviour was starting to become a problem. Why was she suddenly so locked up, when they had already talked on the Hogwarts Express? Was it because she believed, like everyone else, that Amelie was muggleborn? But that hadn't been a problem back then.
While Professor Sinistra was answering questions at the other side of the Astronomy chamber, Amelie spotted a few of the Slytherins walking over and nonchalantly taking up position at the desk next to theirs.
A vaguely familiar-looking boy with dark, brown hair sauntered closer, a smug grin on his face.
"You really drew the short one again, Bole. Maybe should've begged Sallow or Greengrass to partner up and you wouldn't be stuck with the Mudblood now," he said, just quietly enough so that their teacher wouldn't hear it.
Amelie saw Cecilia freeze in place, her jaw clenched. Her other classmates, standing behind the brown-haired boy, were looking back and forth between the two, waiting for her to react.
Their looks, the playful viciousness, the grins on their faces. Amelie's hand tightened around her quill. She was back at Bow Creek, back in the yard with Tobias. The tight, awkward feeling in her chest was slowly replaced with something else. Anger.
Something clicked and she realised why the boy looked so familiar. The corners of her mouth curled up. Grabbing the parchment, along with their instructions, she walked over to Cecilia.
"I'm done with the moon-phase," she announced clearly. At once, all eyes were on her and even Cecilia looked startled to see her standing there.
Amelie turned towards the Slytherins. "Ah, Harper, right? From the Duelling Club last year?"
She saw the grin slip from his face as he seemed to remember who she was.
During the ill-fated Duelling Club session, they had been assigned to practise against each other. Despite Harper's likely home-taught knowledge of defence spells, Amelie had managed to get the drop on him, laying him out painfully.
She let a small smile appear on her lips. "How's your head?"
The resulting twitch in his cheek was beyond satisfying to watch. His eyes narrowed and Harper turned towards her, gritting his teeth, seemingly looking for the right insult to vent his anger and lingering humiliation.
Just as he took a step closer and Amelie was getting ready to reach for her wand, a voice from off to their side cut in.
"Is there a problem here?" Professor Sinistra was giving them a sharp look, her eyes lingering on Harper, who quickly stepped back.
"Not at all, professor."
"Good, then I suggest you all get started," she snapped, before walking over to the next group.
Shooting her another nasty glare, Harper turned around and marched back to his telescope with the other Slytherins in tow.
"Alright then," Amelie muttered, turning back towards their own chart and ignoring Cecilia's expression, somewhere between confusion and disbelief.
"Why did you do that?"
Cecilia's voice was so quiet, Amelie almost though she had imagined hearing it. She turned to her and replied, "Well, he was being a jerk, wasn't he? Does he think he's going to be Malfoy's new best friend by acting like that?"
"But why did-" Cecilia stopped, chewing her lip. "Nevermind..."
Pulling her sleeves up, Amelie tried putting on a happier face. "Let's forget about him. Do you have your telescope set up? The first constellation we need should be Orion."
Harper had apparently been blessed with a little more sense than Malfoy and they were allowed to work undisturbed.
Cecilia appeared more relaxed, the longer the class went on. She still seemed taken aback every time Amelie thanked her or had anything good to say about her work.
Near the end of the lesson they had made decent progress on the first task. From across the room, Amelie caught the eye of Riyan, who looked worried, but she just smiled and shrugged it off.
By the time Professor Sinistra called on them to pack up their things, the initial tension had almost faded.
Pointing at the large scroll of parchment they had been writing on, Amelie offered, "I can finish up the fixed stars around this part and give you the chart before Charms tomorrow. What do you say?"
"Oh, okay." Cecilia nodded slowly, still not looking entirely convinced as Amelie gave her a smile.
Several minutes later, after they had dragged their tired bodies back to the Hufflepuff common room, Riyan pulled her aside.
"Are you alright? I don't know what Sinistra was thinking, pairing you up with a Slytherin like that."
"I wasn't so bad, really. Just Harper being an idiot. But if he tries anything I can send him flying onto his backside again."
Grimacing, he mumbled, "If you say so."
Polly did not return until just after breakfast the following morning. As they walked back from the Great Hall, they met her near the stairs leading to the Hufflepuff den. She had changed into her regular school robes, but it wasn't hard to see that Polly hadn't slept well.
"I am so sorry," she moaned, her head hanging low, as they sat down in their usual spot in the common room. "Patricia told me about Astronomy."
Amelie shook her head and lowered her Potions text-book. "Don't worry about it, really. I doubt you were looking forward to getting hurt during your first week on the team."
"And now you're stuck with some Slytherin..."
"It's actually Cecilia Bole. From the train, remember?"
"Oh?" Polly raised an eyebrow. "Is she actually talking now or does she still act like everyone is beneath her?"
Amelie scratched her head. It was true that Cecilia hadn't left a very good impression, neither on the Hogwarts Express, nor during the start of their Astronomy lesson. Yet Amelie couldn't ignore how she had reacted after Harper had been sent scurrying back with his tail between his legs.
"I think she just needs some time getting used to working as a team. We were actually getting a lot done last night." Amelie stuffed her book into her satchel and said, "By the way, what are you going to do about your own project now?"
"I got a note from Sinistra," she replied, rubbing her sore shoulder. "She wants to talk to me later. I suppose she'll send me to the other class with the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors."
They eventually made their way to the dungeons and got to work finishing their Flame Resistance potions. Thankfully, Snape had either forgotten about his threat of testing it on them or he was too busy to care.
Instead of walking around and criticising them for the sin of being born, he spent most of the lesson working on a potion of his own. Blue smoke was bubbling from the cauldron and even from across the room, they could smell its disgusting odour.
Amelie used the star chart as an excuse to skip lunch and instead finished her part of the diagram.
As they crowded into Flitwick's classroom, she walked over to the other side and handed the scroll to Cecilia, who almost looked surprised she had actually come.
"I finished the sketches for Orion. You can get started on the labels if you want, then we can finish the rest tomorrow night."
"Alright." Cecilia took the scroll, hesitating for a moment. "Uh, thanks."
Back on the other side of the classroom, she plopped down into her seat next to Polly and dug out her text-book and quill.
Sitting alone on the bench at the Quidditch Pitch every other day was starting to wear Amelie down. Getting any of her homework done was rather awkward out in the open, especially as it started getting cold and wet.
Riyan was usually busy with the Gobstone Club or sitting in the common room. She couldn't fault him for his lack of interest. Thankfully Polly was understanding when Amelie explained that they'd be staying in the Hufflepuff den for the most part.
While she wasn't lacking in reading material, Amelie, for the first time, started feeling too bored to actually get into it. Even her French text-book spent most of its time tucked away in her bag.
For a while, she considered visiting the club with Riyan, just to have something else to do, but playing or trading Gobstones didn't seem particularly appealing. It wouldn't be fair to come to their meetings while only looking for company.
On the way back to the dorms, she saw that the schedule for the year's Hogsmeade visits had fallen from where it had been stuck to the notice board. When she walked over to put it back, Amelie noticed an old piece of parchment that had been half-hidden underneath.
~ Join the Charms Club ~
Want to practise charms, experiment or expand your repertoire?
The Hogwarts Charms Club meets every Monday and Thursday at five in the large classroom in the north corridor above the Library.
Come and have a look!
The notice was a bit wrinkled and the sides had small tears, as if generations of other posters had been pinned on top of it.
"I didn't know that there was a Charms Club," Amelie said as she sat down with the others and pulled out her Herbology essay.
Linda looked up. "There is? I never heard about that."
"The notice on the board is out of date, I think," Patricia explained, carefully tracing the outline of a Leaping Toadstool on her parchment. "Besides, Penelope Clearwater was one of the people who got petrified and she's the one who used to run the club."
"Hmm." Taking out her quill, Amelie got started on her own homework, but her thoughts remained on the old notice. As much as she would've wanted to keep spending her free time with Riyan and Polly, she couldn't split herself between them. Perhaps some club activity was exactly what she needed.
The Astronomy project was coming along well, despite the sometimes awkwardly one-sided conversations Amelie had with Cecilia. It didn't feel to her as if the Slytherin girl resented her for talking, but there was a strange stiffness in the way she answered. She wanted to tell her to relax, but that wasn't likely going to make Cecilia open up any faster.
"Harper hasn't been giving you any trouble, has he?" Amelie asked, adjusting the focus of her telescope.
Standing at the table, bent over their chart, Cecilia shot her a brief look. After a moment, she replied, "No." Her lips were pressed together and she frowned slightly. "He's probably scared my brother would hex him."
"I see. That's good then."
There was another moment, before Cecilia added quietly, "Lucian's always getting involved."
Amelie didn't need her superhuman ears to hear the resentment in her voice. Looking up from the telescope, she said, "It sounds like he cares for you a lot."
Cecilia scoffed. "You don't have any older brothers, do you?"
"No. I'm an orphan."
"I- uhm, it's just..." Her quiet seething appeared to have been derailed by Amelie's confession. Gathering herself, Cecilia went on, "He's always breathing down my neck. Even on the train to school."
Amelie nodded. "I suppose that can be annoying. Did he not let you sit with your friends instead?"
"No, that's... nevermind."
Stealing a glance over her shoulder, Amelie could see a tinge of red around Cecilia's ears. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen her chatting with anyone else in class since the start of the year. Did she even have anyone to talk to?
The more Amelie thought about it, the more her strange behaviour was starting to make sense. Perhaps the gossipy, tightly-knit Hufflepuffs had given her a misleading impression about how easy or hard it was to make friends at Hogwarts. After all, Ginny had also been by herself most of the time, despite how approachable the other Gryffindors had appeared.
If so, then how would things be for someone in Slytherin? Since none of them seemed too keen on talking with others outside their house, Amelie could only guess.
She wasn't the only one with things on her mind and when Cecilia reached for her text-book, her sleeve caught on her inkwell and knocked it over, spilling what was left inside all over their parchment.
"No! Damn it!" Fumbling with her quill, Cecilia pressed her robe against the quickly spreading blob of ink.
Drawing her wand, Amelie stepped closer. "Wait, let me try." She gave it a small, swirling motion and uttered "Tergeo."
The wet patch of blackness slowly reversed course as the ink evaporated into nothing, leaving the underlying parchment almost as good as new.
For a moment, Cecilia looked from Amelie to the chart and back again. "How did you do that? Flitwick said we're not even starting the normal Scouring Charm until next year."
"The text mentioned other cleaning spells, so I looked it up," she replied with a smile. "Honestly, I'm just glad it worked."
"Yes, but," Cecilia blinked, tracing her fingers across the parchment. "It's pretty impressive for a Muggleborn."
Amelie winced inwardly. The compliment felt rather back-handed, even if it didn't sound like it was intended that way.
"I've been practising charms since the first week with my friends," she explained curtly. "Hard work doesn't care about where you're from either."
"Oh... okay." Cecilia looked flushed. At least she seemed to understand Amelie's meaning.
They worked in silence for a few minutes, the only sound being the background chatter of the other groups around them. Amelie put down her quill.
"Did your parents teach you spells at home before you came to Hogwarts? I suppose it's different if you've grown up with magic all your life."
Cecilia gave her a sideways glance, chewing on her lower lip, before replying, "A bit. We're not allowed to use magic yet, after all."
"Can the ministry even check for that?" Amelie asked innocently. Being able to actually use magic at Juniper Hall might be useful, as long as she wasn't found out.
Rolling her eyes, Cecilia scoffed. "Oh, they can. Lucian actually jinxed our uncle once when he was in third year, thinking nobody would notice, but of course we got a letter almost immediately and mother made him clean the kitchens and basement by hand. Then he put everything back in the wrong place when she wasn't looking and pretended that a poltergeist did it."
Amelie felt a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she listened to Cecilia talk, ranting about her brother's exploits.
The following Thursday, with Polly at practice and Riyan busy getting crushed by Morgan at wizarding chess, Amelie made her way towards the Library Wing. The corridor, mentioned on the pamphlet, appeared deserted and it took her several laps around the first floor before she found the classroom in question.
She stepped up and gave a careful knock, listening for any sounds coming from inside. Hearing no reaction, Amelie grabbed the handle and slowly pushed the door open.
"Hello?"
For a moment, the large room appeared empty, aside from the various desks and chairs pushed up against the sides. A few sun-bleached posters hung on the walls, some advertising books on spells, another showing a full spread of what looked like a magical music band called 'The Weird Sisters'.
At a second glance, Amelie saw a tall, blonde girl, wearing Ravenclaw robes, sitting in one of the chairs with her back to the door, nibbling on a half-eaten sandwich and reading a book. The cover featured a witch, looking longingly at a wizard who bore an uncomfortable resemblance to Gilderoy Lockhart.
Shuffling closer, she cleared her throat. "Uhm, excuse me?"
The tall girl gave a startled shriek, nearly falling out of her chair. She whirled around and started coughing, slapping her chest and trying to dislodge a piece of food that must have gone down the wrong way.
"Sorry! Sorry, I didn't- are you okay?"
Amelie quickly moved closer to help, but the girl waved her off, trying to collect her composure.
"'s nothing, just-", she coughed again, "just give me a moment." Audibly clearing her throat, she wiped a few tears from her face. "Blimey, I didn't even hear you come in."
A few moments later, the Ravenclaw girl had somewhat gotten her breathing under control again.
Rubbing the back of her neck nervously, Amelie said, "I was looking for the Charms Club, actually."
"Well, you found it, I suppose." The girl didn't sound particularly enthusiastic, gesturing half-heartedly at the empty room. "We haven't had a meeting since last year. And with 'we' I mostly mean myself, since everyone else either jumped ship or graduated in June."
"So you're Penelope Clearwater then? I heard you were leading the club."
"In the flesh. I guess it's better than my other claim to fame. Getting petrified by a snake-monster," she replied dejectedly. Looking up, she mustered Amelie closely. "Wait, aren't you the Hufflepuff firstie who got attacked before Christmas?"
"Uhm, yes. I'm Amelie," she replied quickly. The topic of the attack and her quick recovery were shaky ground. Thankfully nobody had bothered to wonder why everyone else got petrified except her.
Penelope sighed. "I suppose you're not here to swap horror stories."
"I was looking to join. Well, I mean if the club is still meeting."
Looking at the state of the room, that possibility was looking slimmer by the minute. Heaving another sigh, Penelope discretely stuffed her book into her bag, before leaning back in her chair.
"I'd love to say that it does, but after last year we lost most of our members. To be honest, the club had aged quite a bit already and the ones who were leading it before me were often too busy with their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s to organise meetings."
Penelope brushed her hair back and went on, "By the time the whole disaster started around Halloween last year, it was only me and a few others. After Granger warned me about the Basilisk and we got petrified, the club was shut down."
She gave her an apologetic smile. "I'd love to have you on board, but there isn't really any club left to join, I'm afraid."
Amelie nodded sadly. Perhaps it had been too much to hope for; finding a little piece of what she had shared with Riyan and Polly over the last year.
"Well, unless...", Penelope mumbled.
"Unless what?"
Rubbing her chin, the Ravenclaw stared into space for a moment, before answering, "Unless we could find enough people to get the club started up again."
"Oh, of course!" Amelie replied excitedly, but Penelope quickly held up her hand.
"Before you start celebrating, there's still a few problems. For one, most of the people I know are going to be taking their N.E.W.T.s this year, including me. I think I can make time for the club, but I'm not so sure about the others."
She rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "Aside from that, I don't really know many of the younger students, to be quite honest. So if we're going to start recruiting, I'm going to need your help. You can probably also ask the third years or even some of the first years, too."
"Uhm, okay."
Asking the other Hufflepuffs wouldn't be too hard, but what about the rest? While Penelope could probably put up a new pamphlet in the Ravenclaw common room, Amelie had no idea how she would reach the Gryffindors, much less the Slytherins.
"The other problem is that we're seriously lacking material. Books, especially," Penelope explained. "So unless you know someone who's ready to donate charms text-books or has a lot of Galleons lying around, I think that's going to be our biggest hurdle."
Yes, if only there was someone with a vault full of gold.
Grinning, Amelie asked, "Does Flourish and Blotts deliver in bulk?"
Ordering books via mail had been a bit awkward, but in the end she managed to find the right words and send the school owl on its way. The next part would be trickier.
At Amelie's urging, they had agreed to spice the notices up a bit, adding decorations and making the letters stand out. She had watched eagerly as Penelope used a spell to copy the ink to a few blank pages.
Finding a free spot, Amelie pinned the much more appealing looking advertisement to the notice board in the common room.
"What've you got there?"
Amelie turned around and saw Hannah casually walking up, nodding at the piece of parchment.
"I'm reforming the Charms Club with Penelope Clearwater and we're looking for new people." She gave the third year a meaningful smile. "So, if you're interested..."
Hannah chuckled and quickly scanned the piece of paper. "Well, I've been wanting to have a look since first year, but it seemed a bit out of our league two years ago, what with there being mostly older students."
"We're trying to get people from all years, if possible. Since we're starting fresh, we can make sure there's something for everyone."
"Sounds great," Hannah exclaimed, giving her a thumbs-up.
Emboldened by success, Amelie told the other second years about her initiative. While Patricia and the boys were supportive, only Linda expressed an interest in joining up.
The next day, after their double Defence lesson, she approached the Gryffindors about hanging up the new notice. It wasn't until breakfast the following morning, that she saw Ginny walking over from across the hall.
"Hey, do you have a minute?" she asked, looking a bit nervous with the rest of the Hufflepuff table throwing glances at her. There probably wasn't anyone at Hogwarts who didn't know about her being possessed last year.
Happy for an excuse to skip the meal, Amelie replied, "Sure."
"I put up the parchment. Colin and Neville already said they're going to come and take a look," Ginny explained. Rubbing her arm, she added, "If it's alright, I'll come too."
Amelie beamed at her. "Of course! Why wouldn't it be?"
Looking away, Ginny just shrugged.
Chewing on her quill, Amelie stared at the parchment, torn between pouring her heart out or simply scrawling 'Everything's fine here, say hello to Lady Duras from me'.
The idea to write a letter to Arabella had come rather delayed, what with everything else going on, much to Amelie's embarrassment. Having someone to write 'home' to was a new experience and she wondered if she should have sent an owl sooner.
In the end, she settled on telling a bit about her first week back, even at the risk of boring Arabella.
With the letter on its way, she made her way from the Owlery to the Faculty Tower.
Walking up to the door, Amelie knocked three times, while trying to hold down the nervous feeling in her chest.
A muffled voice said, "Come in."
Lupin's office had finished its transformation and it was impressive how much it could actually look like a study for Defence against the Dark Arts, instead of Gilderoy Lockhart's personal walk-in dresser.
Amelie's eyes lingered on charts depicting wand-movements for duelling spells, accompanied by drawings of wizards shifting on their feet and side-stepping curses. Before she could get too engrossed, she was pulled back to the reason for her visit.
"Good afternoon, professor. Thank you for inviting me over."
The letter had thankfully arrived near the end of breakfast, making it easy to conceal from Polly and Riyan. One meeting was easy to explain. Another one would've raised questions.
Professor Lupin gave her a smile and gestured towards the chair in front of his desk.
"Of course. Please, have a seat, Miss Hastings."
She let herself sink onto the chair, while Lupin swiped papers and scrolls from his desk, setting them aside.
"Actually, just 'Amelie' is fine, sir."
"Well," he replied with a grin, "as you wish. Now then, is there something in particular you wanted to ask me? I'm probably not the ideal person to counsel a young witch on her school-life, but I'll do my best."
"I'd just like to hear a bit more about how Hogwarts was for you back then," Amelie explained, folding her hands in her lap. "After all, I think no other teacher has first-hand experience going to school as someone not entirely human."
Lupin nodded. For a moment he stared into space, collecting his thoughts. Not for the first time, Amelie realised how much the grey hairs and the lines on his face were making him look much older than he probably was.
"As I mentioned, I was bitten years before starting school. Back then, there were no potions or spells to help me keep a hold of myself during transformations, so each month I had to be locked in a cage."
He caught Amelie's look, but gave a sad smile and shook his head. "It might sound rough, but it was only an inconvenience in comparison to making sure that I wouldn't run around and attack someone."
Lupin sighed, tapping against the surface of his desk.
"By the time I had turned eleven, I had all but given up on the idea of getting a Hogwarts letter. But through sheer luck, Dumbledore had heard of my situation. As he had recently succeeded Dippet as headmaster, his position allowed him to arrange for me to attend anyway."
The smile returned to his face and he nodded slowly.
"I don't think I need to explain how grateful I am to Dumbledore. I still remember getting my letter and being dumbstruck, unable to believe that I had been given that chance.
Certain arrangements were made, but chief among them was that, on every full-moon night, I was brought to the Shrieking Shack to be locked inside for my transformation."
Lupin's grin widened. "And yes, that is indeed how the house got its reputation."
"Uhm, what house, professor?"
"Goodness," he ran a hand through his hair, "I'm sorry. That's right, you won't be visiting Hogsmeade until next year. My mistake."
Taking a breath, Lupin explained, "The Shrieking Shack is an abandoned house on the outskirts of the village. Ask anyone and they'll tell you that the place is cursed and haunted by violent spirits. Dumbledore naturally encouraged those rumours, seeing as how they'd help to keep people away. Especially on the nights I was forced to transform."
Amelie's brow furrowed and she asked, "Why would people hear you transform from far away?"
The mirth drained from Lupin's face and he nodded sadly. "Well, the truth is, a werewolf's transformation is quite a painful process. On top of that, the wolf's anger and aggression needs an outlet. Locked in a cage, it will eventually turn claws and teeth on itself."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"
"Amelie, please," Lupin said gently. "It's alright. Besides, nowadays there's the Wolfsbane potion, which allows a werewolf to keep control during the transformation. Thanks to that, I can easily stay in my office during the full moon and simply curl up in front of the fireplace after I change shape."
Amelie perked up and noted, "So it's a bit like my Sanguinaris Potion then. Is Madam Pomfrey preparing it for you as well?"
Lupin chuckled. "I wish that were the case, but the Wolfsbane potion is far too complicated. Instead, Professor Snape is brewing the potion. On Dumbledore's orders, I suppose."
There was an undertone, when he spoke about the Potions teacher, that Amelie didn't fail to notice. She wrestled with herself whether to ask the question that was on her mind.
"Sir, have you known Professor Snape before you started working as Defence teacher?"
Lupin raised an eyebrow, his blue eyes fixating hers. "Now what gave you that idea?"
"Uhm," Amelie fidgeted in her seat, "well, I sort of heard it from someone who kind of said she might have seen you two arguing in the corridor."
"Ah, of course, the Hufflepuff grapevine. Word among the badgers spreads faster than Fiendfyre. Good to see that some things never change," Lupin remarked, but his smile still lingered.
"Yes, I've known Severus Snape since my time at Hogwarts. Him being a Slytherin and me a Gryffindor, well, things were never going to be peachy. Then again, I mostly managed to keep things civil between us. It was always James and-"
Lupin suddenly straightened up and shook his head. "Nevermind. That's in the past now. We're colleagues and I'm grateful that he's brewing the potion for me."
Amelie decided not to prod any further. Although it was sobering to hear that Snape had always been a problem. Some people would drag their misery with them all their lives.
"So," Lupin began, sounding a bit more upbeat, "now that we've poked into my past, would it be alright if I ask a question or two in return?"
"Of course, sir."
"You're starting your second year at Hogwarts and you've known about magic for about the same time, so I've been told. How do you feel about the turn your life has taken?"
He leaned forward, waiting patiently for her response as Amelie chewed on her lip.
"To be honest, I haven't thought about it that much. When Professor McGonagall picked me up, everything changed so quickly. And since I have my amulet and look human, I've started like most other Muggleborns. Being a vampire didn't really mean anything at first."
Lupin raised an eyebrow. "So have things changed in the time since?"
"Well, just this summer I finally met some other vampires and they've explained a lot to me. Professor Dumbledore helped me find a coven, so I would have somewhere to live and people to look after me."
Once again, Amelie felt unsure about how much she should reveal. Surely, the mere existence of the Circle wasn't a secret. And Professor Lupin had already trusted her with his own, so it was only fair that she should open up a bit as well.
"Are you happy with where you ended up staying?"
"Oh, it's alright." She shrugged. "Lady Duras can be intimidating, but Arabella and Christof are nice. They're the ones teaching me. Still, I'm glad to be back at Hogwarts. Everyone at the coven is at least two hundred years older than me," Amelie admitted.
"And has meeting other vampires given you some perspective on what life is like for them?" Lupin asked.
Amelie scrunched up her face, trying to put her thoughts into words.
"In a way. I was a bit worried at first, because they're not all that fond of wizards, from what I've been told. Supposedly there's some... issues between the ministry and vampires."
It was a far cry from Lady Duras' description of the matter, but Amelie didn't feel comfortable talking badly of the Ministry of Magic, especially to a teacher. Then again, the encounter with the Dementor was still fresh on her mind. Perhaps some criticism was well deserved.
To her surprise, Lupin scoffed. "Well, that sounds familiar. Werewolves aren't exactly held in high esteem either. It was only thanks to Dumbledore that I got this position, too."
"But you're a great teacher. Why wouldn't they let you work at Hogwarts?" Amelie asked with a frown.
"That's nice of you to say, but people are scared of werewolves. All too often for good reason."
Lupin's words were calm and, despite the sad tone in his voice, it seemed like he had come to peace with being looked at like a monster. The realisation made Amelie feel worse about her initial reaction to meeting him not too long ago.
"Well, but not all people are like that," Amelie said, before quickly adding, "I suppose."
Studying his face, she wasn't sure if Professor Lupin had noticed the slip-up in her words. Getting Riyan or Polly into trouble was the last thing she wanted.
For his part, Lupin smiled and gave her a nod. "That is true." He paused for a moment, before revealing, "There actually were people back then who figured me out after some time. I suppose it wasn't too difficult, considering my frequent absences from class."
"What happened then?" Amelie asked eagerly.
"For a while I was convinced they'd turn on me. Either telling everyone at school or refusing to ever speak to me again." A small smile played around his lips. "Turns out I was wrong. They stuck with me and, eventually, we became good friends."
Lupin looked down at his desk.
"The best friends I ever had."