Full Moon

Ottoline

"This is Anne. She teaches Muggle Studies, she is also the best chaser Gryffindor house has ever seen" Ottoline said with a smile.

Anne blushed furiously at this comment. She knew she was easily one of the best chasers in Hogwarts history but it wasn't something she liked to talk about. After her injury in the seventh year, she'd hardly been back on a broom since. She brushed off the comment with a little laugh.

Luckily, Ottoline introduced everyone, first Fred and George, the Weasley Twins. Anne learned the one she had spoken to outside was George. He winked at her when he was introduced and thank goodness she didn't blush. Last was Lupin. He nodded at her, there was a glint in his hazel eyes like something darker resided behind them. He didn't smile but his face showed some reserved curiosity that perhaps he knew what monstrous scars lay beneath her dress.

There was a reason Anne dressed rather modestly. She wore mostly long pants or dresses that reached to her calves and sweaters or blouses that ran to her wrists. Behind her large knitwear and tweed trousers there were many scars on her body from the full moons she either inflicted upon herself or had been given to her in fights with animals in the forest. Usually she locked herself in the cellar of a small farmhouse in Northern England that her grandfather had left to her ten years ago. Before that, she was locked in an enchanted dungeon by McGonagall during her fifth, sixth, and seventh years. During those three years after Hogwarts and before the farmhouse she was forced to apparate to remote parts of England or Northern Europe, as far away from people as possible. Anne counted herself very lucky she had never hurt anybody but she felt guilty about the dozen or so Scottish sheep she'd eaten over time. She'd been bitten by a werewolf when she was 15 on a camping trip. At the time she hadn't known what it was. Needless to say her first full moon had been a great surprise. By some miracle she had been out with friends near that forbidden forest that night and had escaped into the forest when she realised what was happening. The next morning Ottoline had found her naked, scarred, and sacred in the wilderness after searching for hours for her. They had gone to McGonagall who had helped them take precautions and agreed as long as Anne was careful, to not report her to the Ministry as a werewolf.

Ottoline was a rather exuberant storyteller and entertained them with tales of her travels in India that summer. Ottoline had gone to visit some of her family and had travelled across the country for a few weeks with some of her cousins. Ottoline had been born and raised in Ireland but still went back to see her grandparents in India as often as she could. She had long black hair that was loose and wavy this evening. She had dark brown skin and big eyes, that as a child she said she thought made her look like a bug but Anne always thought they were beautiful. Ottoline was quite thin and tall, much taller than Anne, wherever she went heads turned. She had the biggest smile and a laugh that sounded like fairy bells.

Twenty minutes had passed in this little group by the fireplace. The Weasley Twins had taken turns talking about the joke shop they ran on Diagon Alley, business was better than ever and McGonagall had asked them to come in and do a small presentation to the seventh years on running a business.

"She said, and I quote", started Fred, "that she thought she'd see Godric Gryffindor rise from his grave before she'd invite us to talk about professions to her students."

At this they all burst out laughing, even Remus, who until then had only cracked small smiles. He seemed to be a man of few but meaningful words.

After this Ottoline excused herself to go speak to Slughorn about something and the twins said they had to go find their brother, which one, Anne wasn't sure.

Suddenly, it was just Anne and Lupin sitting rather awkwardly until Lupin broke the silence.

"I hear you are quite the beloved teacher."

"Oh, thank you."

"The Potter kids talk about you as one of their favourites quite a lot. Teddy really liked muggle studies, he got really into muggle music after it. Something that made Sirius very happy."

Anne laughed, "I didn't know Sirius like muggle music, granted I don't really know him."

Remus nodded, "I think it comes from the whole rebelling against your parents thing. What is the biggest thing that would piss off the House of Black? Liking muggle stuff."

"That makes a lot of sense."

There was a long pause before Lupin lowered his voice to a whisper and asked her the question she wished he hadn't.

"You're a werewolf aren't you"