Final exams were bearing down upon them. For the fifth and seventh years, who were both sitting rather more strenuous exams, there was a considerable amount of pressure. But for Remus, who had always excelled academically, there was more time for leisure.

Studying or not, he could usually be found in the library. But that area was off-limits today. He knew that if he were caught in some nook reading, Evans would force him into another study session with Snape.

Instead, he decided to spend his free afternoon with Hagrid. A dugbog had recently come into the groundskeeper's possession, and Remus was curious to see it. He had read about the strange creatures in one of the textbooks Professor Corvus had loaned him...

Remus paused in the middle of the hall. Professor Corvus had been absent from many of her classes lately. The headmaster himself had been stepping in to cover for her. Remus still caught glimpses of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at the staff table or in the halls. He knew that her final transformation had not yet arrived, but it had to happen soon. He suspected she was missing class because it was getting harder and harder to change back.

When he remembered her kindness to him over the past year, he suddenly felt the urge to see her, to talk with her, fearing that perhaps it would be the last time. He withdrew his map of the staircases from his pocket, consulting their current position. He was in luck. If he took the staircase in front of him now, it would lead him straight to Professor Corvus's office.

Tucking the map back into his pocket, he dashed down the stairs before it decided to move again. He thought of his excuse for visiting the professor on the way. He could always pretend he had some question about their final exam, like the difference between zombies and inferi. This would almost certainly not be on the test, but it didn't really matter what he said. He had a feeling the professor would see through him, anyway.

When he reached her office door, he paused to collect himself. After racing down the stairs, he had not stopped running until he arrived. Now he felt a little ridiculous for his haste. Catching his breath, he raised his hand and knocked politely at the door.

Nothing. There was no sound within the office. No shuffling feet or a voice calling for him to come in. Now he really felt foolish. All this urgency, and the professor wasn't even there! Of course, Remus knew that his professors did not spend all of their time in their offices when they weren't teaching, but he felt crestfallen all the same.

He started to turn away, resolving to try again tomorrow, when he heard a rustling, fluttering sound within the office.

"Professor?" Remus said hesitantly. Perhaps she hadn't heard his knock? He raised his fist again, ready to rap a bit more forcefully against the door, when from the other side he heard a thud and the sound of breaking glass.

"Professor!" Remus called again, throwing caution aside as he seized the doorknob and threw the door open.

He feared some accident, but the office was empty. Everything seemed in order. The professor's desk rested in the center of the room, surrounded by shelves loaded with books and family photographs. The room had the feeling of being recently occupied, and yet the professor was no where in sight.

The crash Remus heard seemed to have originated from a glass inkwell that had fallen from the desk. Glittering crystal shards lay among pools of black liquid, like stars in a night sky, while still more of the ink had been splattered across the desk.

The inkwell had not fallen on its own. Remus took a hesitant step forward, searching for some other clue as to what had happened. A sheet of parchment rested on the desk, a black feather quill sitting on its surface, as if someone had been in the middle of penning a note, but was suddenly called away.

He feared what he might find on the other side of the desk. Perhaps the Professor had been hurt, and was at that moment laying unconscious on the floor. Or perhaps she had transformed again. He still didn't now what animal she became. If it were something dangerous, like him, then he may have more to worry about than the professor's wellbeing.

As he braced himself to peak over the desk, the parchment on its surface naturally caught his attention. He saw his own name, written neatly in the professor's handwriting, right at the top of the page. There were words underneath, but they were mostly obliterated by the ink splattered across the page. He withdrew his wand from the pocket of his robes, hoping to siphon off what he could of the still-wet ink...

Something swooped just over his head, close enough to ruffle his hair, and Remus leapt back, screaming in terror. It was only a bird. A magpie, judging from its black and white feathers and the blue-black sheen of its wings. That color calmed Remus in an instant. It was familiar, like Professor Corvus's raven-black hair when it reflected blue in the sunlight. The bird took no notice of Remus. It had landed on the desk, its scaly feet stepping into the puddles of black ink.

"Professor?" Remus asked in a soft voice.

The magpie glanced at him with hard black eyes. There was no look of recognition there. No sign that anything remained of the professor in the animal. Instead, the bird began hopping across the desk, leaving a trail of footprints across the parchment, as if writing the conclusion of the unfinished note.

Remus stood on the train platform, waiting to board the Hogwarts Express back to London. Their exams were over, and Remus was looking forward to two long months of summer vacation. In the back of his mind, he knew he would be locked in the cellar again for two full moons, but Potter and his friends had been getting uncomfortably close, and it would be a relief to spend some time with his parents without worrying that someone would discover his secret.

Professor Corvus's condition was now common knowledge. Dumbledore had made an announcement after administering their final exams himself. And while gossip buzzed among the students, only Remus seemed to really care about the fate of the professor... No, he corrected himself. He wasn't the only one.

When he hadn't known what else to do, Remus had taken the bird to Madam Pomfrey. It had been surprisingly cooperative, only pecking at his fingers twice, and once cawing loud enough to draw stares from some second-years he had passed in the hall. He ignored them as he hurried up to the hospital wing, where Madam Pomfrey had confirmed his fears. The magpie was indeed Professor Corvus.

Seeing the bird in his arms, the school matron had taken action without a word. Remus had watched as she performed spell after spell and administered what potions and tonic she had stored in her cupboard. Nothing seemed to help. Professor Corvus had not turned back.

Madam Pomfrey had put on a brave face while Remus was present. She had said that Professor Corvus made arrangements for this day, but no one had known it would come so soon. She seemed sorry that it had been Remus who found her, but he wasn't sorry for himself. He only wanted to know what would happen to the professor now?

"She has family…" Madam Pomfrey replied after a moment, "Her brothers have been caring for her mother. Ravena wanted… Professor Corvus requested that she be sent to them. I should… I should write to them…"

Remus had taken the hint. He took his leave of Madam Pomfrey, and though Professor Corvus still showed no signs of recognizing him, he said goodbye to the magpie, as well. The bird had merely preened her feathers, perched on the end of one of the hospital beds.

That had been a week ago. Now he stood waiting for the train, lost in thought, wondering if Professor Corvus's brothers had come to collect their sister yet...

He felt something being pressed into his hand. Startled, he looked down, then up into the face of Lily Evans, who was grinning at him. Slowly, he opened his hand, revealing a small piece of parchment.

"That's my address," Evans informed him, "I expect you to write to me over the summer. At least two letters, if not more."

She did not stay to argue the point. Snape was waiting for her further along the platform, scowling at Remus as Evans tripped lightly back to his side. No doubt she had shared her address with him as well, though that did not stop him from feeling jealous. If Remus had been in a more playful mood, he might have given him a cheeky wave, just to tease the Slytherin boy a little more before they parted ways for the summer. But he refrained, and eventually climbed onto a separate car.

He sat alone as the train began to make its way down the track. He had not glanced at the address Evans had given him, though he rolled the paper between his fingers. He was thinking of another note. The one Professor Corvus had been writing when she transformed for the last time. The one that had been addressed to him. He wondered what it was she was trying to say. Finally, he thought of Madam Pomfrey, and the letter she must have written to the professor's brothers. Of the sadness in her voice when she and Professor Corvus inevitably parted...

Perhaps Dumbledore was right. Perhaps there were people who would accept Remus for what he was. But what was the point in making friends if all he brought them was pain and sadness? He wasn't like Professor Corvus. His transformations, though incurable, were temporary. And yet a werewolf was more dangerous than a magpie. He couldn't think of his father's scars or the premature gray in his mother's brown hair without knowing the harm he could bring to those close to him. He refused to be the cause of any more misery.

Evans's address was still clutched in his hand. His resolution formed, he stood and opened the window of his compartment. He tossed the paper onto the wind, watching as vanished from sight, while the train continued to carry him further and further away from Hogwarts.

Author's Note:

And so we come to the end of Remus's first year at Hogwarts! Thank you to everyone who has left comments so far. I will be taking a break from this story while I focus on other projects, but fear not! You will see Remus again for year two. In the meantime, check out Harry Potter and the Spiteful Sorting Hat for more sad werewolf content. Thanks again for checking out this story!