•••
It was the day of the full moon and Remus felt awful. His hearing and eyesight were heightened, and he had a strong headache. His scars were enhanced and he had big eye bags.
Ivy walked into Transfiguration and sat down next to Remus. She greeted him, her gaze lingering on his sick face.
"You're sick? Again? I swear, you need more vitamins or something," Ivy grumbled as she got out her Transfiguration book. Remus smiled weakly.
"I'm fine."
"Well, you don't seem like it. You need rest, obviously," Ivy said as she waited for McGonagall to start class.
"I assure you that I'm fine. I'm a bit tired, but I'm okay," Remus said as Ivy looked at him skeptically.
"Okay. But if you feel any worse, go take a nap," She said worriedly. McGonagall cleared her throat and began class.
Transfiguration had always been a class Ivy enjoyed, but not as much as Potions. This was James's best class.
Today in Transfiguration they reviewed spells that would be on the O.W.L.'s and spent a lot of time reading. Ivy thought she understood it, but wasn't so sure after reading the chapter.
"Are you gonna take Transfiguration next year?" Ivy asked James as they walked to Potions. He scoffed with a confident smirk.
"Of course, I'm amazing at it!"
Ivy rolled her eyes and smiled at his arrogance, walking as fast as she could next to Remus.
"Oi, Snivellus? Washed your hair yet?" James said as Severus was shoved into the wall. Her brother, Justin, was standing next to him. Justin and her made eye contact. She mouthed a sorry. Justin pressed his lips in a firm line and turned around to where Severus was standing.
"I don't understand why you bully him so much," Ivy said to James. Sirius answered for him.
"It's because he exists!" Sirius said with a laugh as James and Peter joined in. Remus remained quiet.
"He's done nothing to you," Ivy protested quietly as James shrugged. James turned to talk to Sirius. "It's kinda out of line, don't you think?"
"I agree." Remus replied with a small smile on his face. Ivy was glad someone thought the way they treated Severus was cruel. She turned into potions and sat down with Remus, waiting for Slughorn to start class.
"Hello class! Today we will brewing a strengthening solution. You have an hour. Bring it to me when you're done!" He said, clapping his hands.
"I'll get the supplies," Ivy said as Remus casted a sideways glance at her. He knew that it was easier if he got them, but decided to let her try. She couldn't reach half of the things they needed and was getting frustrated quickly.
"Do you need help?" James asked, who also happened to be getting supplies. He was getting them much faster because they were all at eye level.
"No," Ivy said fiercely as she began to climb the cabinet. Remus watched her with a smile on his face.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I can get it."
She had one foot placed on a bottom shelf as she put her hand at the top, fishing around for the salamander blood they needed.
"Be careful, don't fall!" James exclaimed as he put a hand on her back. She swatted it away. Remus let out a laugh.
"Okay, dad," Ivy said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. James snickered. "I am an independent woman! I don't need anyone's help!"
After a few minutes, she got all the supplies and climbed down carefully, placing it on the desk.
"I could have gotten that in half the time you did," Remus said as Ivy rolled her eyes.
"That ruins the fun!"
Ivy began to add the in the powdered Griffin claw, stirring quickly. Remus watched her. She reminded him of Lily, which he knew wouldn't make her the happiest. They were both determined, smart, and very stubborn.
"Remus, quick, hand me the next ingredient," Ivy said frantically as Remus handed her salamander blood. She opened the bottle quickly and poured it in, stirring clockwise slowly. It turned a strange turquoise color. Ivy grinned.
"Yes! This is right! This is perfect!" Ivy screamed as she shook Remus. He winced slightly. She noticed and felt guilty. "Sorry."
"I'm fine."
"You need to stop saying that so much," Ivy said as she got the turquoise liquid in a small flask for Slughorn. "It's okay to be sick and feel bad. You don't need to be perfect all the time, I promise I wont judge you."
Remus turned pink as they got up from their desk. Ivy handed the flask to Slughorn. His eyes lit up.
"Splendid! Just splendid! Ten points to Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. You both are amazing potioneers," He said with a grin, smiling at the two.
"You do all the work Potions," Remus said to Ivy as they walked to lunch.
"No. You... you handed me salamander blood," Ivy said, nodding. He shook his head, smiling.
"I don't mind. It's better for the both of us, you're better than everyone in that class," Remus said as Ivy turned pink at his compliment.
"No. Lily is pretty good."
"You're fantastic." Remus said. She smiled and looked away.
Ivy walked to the Ravenclaw table, saying goodbye to Remus. She sat down next to Chloe, putting a few blueberries on her plate.
Ever so often she glanced at Remus. He was resting his face in his hands, staring at the table in front of him. Ivy wished he would just stay in his dorm and stop being so stubborn. This was some weird sickness. It was reoccurring, it literally happened once a month.
She ate her food and talked to the girls she was sitting with occasionally, laughing with them.
"Your hair has gotten so much longer!" Jessica exclaimed, picking up a strand of her dark hair.
"I know, it's kind of weird," Ivy replied with a laugh.
"I honestly think short hair suits you the most, which is something most girls can't pull off." Bella said, pointing at her own long, brown hair.
"You haven't had long hair for a while. It's a nice change, but I agree with Bella," Chloe said as she looked down at her plate of food. "Short hair is stunning on you."
"Oh shut up, you're making me blush." Ivy said with a smile as the three girls laughed.
•••
"Werewolves!" Professor Keys exclaimed, "are misunderstood creatures. I don't want to hear any of your opinions, so keep them to yourselves. Can you give me a sign that identifies a werewolf?"
Ivy's hand shot up.
"Yes, Ms. Scott?"
"Werewolves have shorter snouts than normal wolves," She spoke. Professor Keys nodded.
"Very good, very good, three points to Ravenclaw. This will be on your O.W.L., so pay attention!"
Ivy read a chapter on Werewolves with the rest of the class. Their homework for Defense Against the Dark Arts was to read the next chapter on werewolves and write an essay on them. It was due in a few days, which caused the whole class to complain.
After that class, Ivy was done with school for the day, except astronomy at midnight. She walked to dinner. Suddenly a figure began to fall in step beside her.
"Why do you hang out with them?" Justin asked.
"What?"
"Those boys. James and his friends. They're bullies."
"I agree, they can be a bit... rude," Ivy said, trying to defend them without making her brother angry, "but I think once you get to know them, they're really nice and funny. It's mostly just James and Sirius that are bullies, and have they ever bullied you?"
"Are you in love with them or something?" Justin said as Ivy scowled and looked away. "They haven't bullied me, but Severus is one of my best friends right now."
"He's gonna turn out to be a death eater anyways!" Ivy said in a quiet voice. "That's half the reason they bully him. I mean, you could too, for all I know. Severus hangs out with some bad people. Like Mulciber and Malfoy before they graduated."
"Well, maybe he does. But he's nice to me. I'm a Slytherin, but... I hope I don't turn out like Mulciber," Justin said as they turned away from each other and sat at their tables.
Later, after dinner, Ivy yawned as she walked up the stairs to the Astronomy Tower. She was one of the first ones there, other than a Hufflepuff girl. There were a few telescopes already set up for when the rest of the class arrived.
Ivy looked in it and at the moon. It was full and vibrant. She sighed and remembered the essay and chapter she still had to read on them. Ivy knew how to identify a werewolf, but not the side affects. She got out her D.A.D.A. book and skimmed through the chapter.
Side affects of being a werewolf include becoming ill around the full moon.
Ivy smiled to herself and though about Remus. Yeah, right.
But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Why James, Sirius, or Peter never caught his cold, the scars, his strange reoccurring sickness. She looked back in the telescope and at the moon. It was definitely full. She thought about Remus and how he acted. He was sick, and very sick at that.
Ivy finally understood. She took a step away from the telescope to take in what she just discovered.
Remus is a werewolf.
•••