My eyebrows furrowed together after the huge black dog linked off down the stairs. I felt myself exhaling a huge breath of air that I didn't realized I was holding. The sounds of students exiting the Great Hall made me flinch and decide to return to the Potions classroom in the Dungeons.
They can't know I saw my brother, they'll think I've been helping him enter the castle, I thought to myself.
Once I reached the entrance of the Potions classroom and entered, I took a deep breath again, I walked back out, as though I had just finished my detention and that I hadn't witnessed what I had saw earlier.
Once I had reached the staircase, the cries of surprise and fear echoed pretty quickly. I went up. As I neared the Fat Lady's portrait, the cries grew louder and louder. Students below my year made way for me, knowing that I had to see; I stood beside Harry who was staring at the portrait with disbelief.
"Are you alright there, Harry? Are you hurt?" I asked worriedly as I stroked his back repeatedly, hoping to make him feel better.
"I'm fine, Selene. Thanks anyway." he replied bluntly.
"Somebody freaking call Dumbledore!" I ordered loudly over the sea of frightened students that surrounded us.
"Selene?" asked Angelina Johnson, who was a close friend of mine and my fellow member in the Gryffindor team. "What happened here?"
"I-I don't know." I answered, shaking my head in response, my expression reflecting hers.
As the chaos commenced, the words orbited my mind.
"Please Selene, I'm innocent, you've got to trust me!"
~oOo~
The aftermath of the incident with the Fat Lady was a complete blur. Dumbledore sent us Gryffindors into the Great Hall, and about ten minutes later we were joined by the students from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin who were all looking fully confused.
"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle. I'm afraid that, for your own safety you will have to spend the night here. I want the Prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the Hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately. Send word with one of the ghosts." Dumbledore announced.
I saw Professor Mcgonagall and Flitwick closing all the doors from a distance.
And with a wave of Dumbledore's wand, the tables were moved to the edge of the hall and hundreds of purple sleeping bags lay across the hall floor.
"Sleep well." Dumbledore muttered, before closing the door behind us.
Right after Dumbledore had left, Gryffindors were buzzing with excitement, telling the other houses what had happened. It seemed as though nothing had happened, since the hall was filled with lively chatter.
"Everyone into their sleeping bags!" Percy said in a loud and clear voice, judging by the tone of Percy's voice and the look on his face, he looked very proud that Dumbledore had put him in charge. "Come on now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!"
I heard Fred and George sniggering in their sleeping bags about Sirius, but they were cut off by Percy.
"I think it's best if we sleep now," Monica muttered, climbing into her sleeping bag and was right beside me. "Reckon if he's still there."
"Probably not," Luke yawned, who was laying beside Ollie just two sleeping bags away from me. "But how in the Merlin did he get inside the castle in the first place?"
I didn't reply, just lost in my own pool of thoughts.
A few minutes later, all of us had settled down, thanks to Percy's 'No Talking' rule which made many students fall asleep peacefully in the end. All of the candles went out at once. The only source of light in the room was the silvery ghosts of Hogwarts, including the four houses' ghosts.
Ollie was muttering Quidditch in his sleep, Luke was snoring loudly beside him which made me want to laugh but couldn't since Percy was roaming around. Monica was sleeping soundly beside me, the locks of her dirty-blonde hair slightly covering her face.
I was staring at the ceiling intently, the once lively chatter became hushed and quiet whispers instead. Was Sirius innocent just like what he told me? Or was he just using me? He wouldn't do that, I thought to myself, a promise is a promise I won't tell anyone.
But the most important thought in my head was, I had to find him. I need to know the truth.
Just as I was about to drift off to sleep, I heard the hushed voices of Dumbledore and Snape, the two of them were walking along the row of sleeping students. Once they were nearing my group, I turned around, pretending that I was asleep as I listened to their conversation.
"You remember the conversation we had, Headmaster, just before – ah – the start of term?" Snape muttered to Dumbledore.
"I do, Severus," replied Dumbledore, and there was something like warning in his voice.
"It seems – almost impossible – that Black could have entered the school
without inside help. I did express my concerns when you appointed –"
Snape's urgent suggestion was quickly interrupted by Dumbledore. Serves him right, I whispered to myself.
"I do not believe a single person inside this castle would have helped Black enter it." Dumbledore said, a bit coldly. I felt my eyes flickering before their conversation could even end, and I my eyes were now closed and drifted off into sleep.
Who could've helped Sirius enter the castle?
And what the hell is making Snape suspicious?
~oOo~
Our first match for Quidditch blew nearer and nearer as the days passed, we were still training though. Rumors began to spread in Hogwarts that Sirius had entered the castle to come after Harry, and of course, everyone believed the rumors. And everyone was also saying that I would probably kick my brother's ass, since they all knew that I was good at hexes.
And as the days passed, the entire school kept talking about Sirius, and the rumors kept spreading. And majority of them were completely ridiculous.
My mind kept thinking about asking my favorite professor what he thought of the rumors. I was positive that he was going to give a terrific answer.
But he was missing again. Just like the second week of the school year, he vanished for quite a few days, and then he returned. But he wasn't looking lively and healthy as he always did, he looked shabbier than ever and was looking strangely distressed and tired. More scars were on his face and he had deep circles under his eyes, which kind of resembled Sirius's.
It happened again a month later, he was gone and came back. And now, it happened again. It was getting stranger and stranger, my mind kept thinking theories on why he was always gone every month and then, I heard myself sighing deeply. There I was again, thinking in dreamland about Remus.
Unfortunately, Snape taken over today's lesson in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Once he entered the classroom, a snide smirk was planted upon his face as the whole class burst into curious and confused chatter and exchanged looks.
"Wh-where's Re- Professor Lupin?" I asked Snape, as he was taking his seat and tapping his quill to the ink as though if he were the permanent Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. He glared at me.
"That's none of your concern, Ms. Black. And, five points from Gryffindor for your tardiness Ms. Dowson." he sneered, then turned at Monica who was shocked and angered at his words. Tardiness? Monica has never been late at class before, and half of the class hadn't arrived yet and to say that half were the Slytherins.
"Tardiness?!" I said, sarcastically. "Seriously, only half of the class are present here. Shouldn't the other half be the ones who were tardy? Not to mention that they're from your house and you sometimes need to discipline them."
"None of your concern again, Ms. Black and five more points from Gryffindor for speaking at an inapporpriate time." Snape said, his voice as cold as ice; as he glared at me with his dark eyes. I heard snickering at the door, the Slytherins had returned and they were howling with laughter as they took their seats.
"Now," he began. "Your professor finds himself unable to teach you at the present time, and I will be taking over your class today. You'll all be going to read a simple chapter that has always been on N.E.W.T. papers."
He then stood from his chair and writing on the blackboard behind him with a small piece of chalk.
Page 750 was written on the board.
Monica and I stared at each in confusion and proceeded to flick our book, page by page trying to find the specific page as everyone else in the class did the same thing. Finally, I had found it but I frowned.
"Werewolves?" I heard Luke mumbling to Ollie's ear right behind us.
Right on page 750, the word 'Werewolves' was written on the topmost part and the drawing of the creature with a loquacious description about them. My eyebrows were scrunched together as I saw Snape returing to the desk and the class was reading silently read the page.
"I want 100-word essay on werewolves, and your personal thoughts on the beasts, including how to identify one and kill them," said Snape. "Which is due tomorrow."
Majority of the class groaned at his announcement but were immediately quietened once Snape had slammed the thick textbook on the table and threatened every one that he will give them detention. Why the fuck would Snape teach us about werwolves? We already discussed them on our third year and were easy to remember.
The lesson had started, and Snape was talking about the nature of werewolves. I was half-listening, my eyes were glued on the picture of the creature. Painful transformations during the full moon, no longer remembers who he is once he is transformed, looking pale and sickly once returned to his normal form, always acting strange every month once the full moon had arrived.
I was busy putting all these things together and comparing it to Remus's actions. He was gone every month, and once he was back, he always looked pale and sickly.
And I gathered all the dates he was absent. September 16, full moon. October 15, full moon. And during those dates, he always acted strange.
After much information from Snape and all the facts I gathered, my eyes bulged. It can't be, can it? I thought to myself. His strange actions, absence every month, looking pale and tired, all those scars in his face.
My professor was a werewolf.