She Traitor

The sun was slowly dipping towards the horizon and the lake at Hogwarts was shimmering in golden hues.  Sarah and Pandora sat on the stone edge of the lake, leaning against the marble railing.  Sarah took a deep breath and leaned her back against the solid wall.  Today had been a long day, but now that she could rest, Frank had been keeping an unusually close eye on her since she was released from the hospital wing.  Much to Sarah's dismay, James didn't even notice.

"So, have you heard about Lucinda Talkalot?" Pandora began, raising her eyebrows and looking at Sarah with an amused expression. "They said she decided to change her hair color and used a spell that was beyond her control."

Sarah laughed even though she was intrigued by the idea.  "What?  And how did it turn out?"

Pandora put her hand to her forehead as if contemplating the inevitable disappointment.  “Her hair is orange now.  She was supposed to be golden, she said she wanted to make some waves with magic.  Well, he looks like Arthur Weasley instead.  Poor guy."

Sarah laughed.  "This is disgusting!  She should at least take a few lessons with a better magic professor before she tries something like that."

Pandora turned to make sure no one was listening.  "And on top of that, she was said to have been seen in the infirmary.  So I wonder what happened to her hair - if anyone can still fix it."

"Poor thing," Sarah remarked, staring at the water gently rippling in the lake. "I don't know how you manage to find time to notice these things."

Pandora smiled.  "I got used to it.  There are so many fun things to talk about at Hogwarts.  And the people here are... strange.  Look at me, how everyone perceives me.  I'm a little eccentric, aren't I?" A slightly mixed expression crossed her face. "Some people adore me, but others hate me. So it's not just me, sometimes it's because of my... twin."

"Your twin?" Sarah asked as she put her hand to her chin and thought. "Evan, right?"

Pandora nodded.  "Yeah.  He is at school, everyone knows him.  And some think he makes me so... different.  It's always the same, right?  They either love you or they hate you.  No one cares about gray areas."

"Evan Rosier…" Sarah mumbled as memories of the last punishment she had to spend with a classmate in the Forbidden Forest flashed through her mind. "I was in the Forbidden Forest with him for punishment. And he was just so annoying."

Pandora looked at her quickly.  "Annoying?  You're kidding me.  Evan is... well, let's just say he can be very... intense.  But annoying?”

"Annoying, and a lot of it," Sarah agreed with a smirk. "I had to go with him for two days and he still couldn't shut up. He kept saying things like he knew everything about everyone, and he always wanted to talk about…how to say it  ... about spells, or whatever it was. And I don't understand him."

Pandora laughed.  “Evan is still somewhere between what others tell him and what he actually likes.  Sometimes he's too stubborn, but he's smart enough to have his own opinions."

"I don't know what it was about him," Sarah continued, "but he had a tendency to make light of everything, as if he didn't realize what he was doing. I just answered his questions as if I wasn't getting anything out of it, but on the other hand... how  can you be so sure?"

Pandora thought and looked at Sarah.  “I think he... is different from the others.  He can be difficult, but there's more to it than you think."

"A great intellectual," Sarah said with a laugh, "but it didn't help at all with the punishments. Two days in the woods with him and he just kept talking and talking and talking, but mostly he didn't even talk to me, more to Hagrid . . ."

Pandora laughed and added, “Well, it probably wasn't the worst.  I probably never wanted anything to do with those boys.  But maybe it will be better when someone gets hold of him."

"I wonder who would bring him to his senses," muttered Sarah. "With his egotism...that's going to be a challenge."

Pandora laughed and played with her hair lightly.  "Maybe.  But still, Sarah… we'd still have to deal with him.  Hogwarts is never quiet for long."

Sarah looked down at the surface of the water, her mind slightly distracted from the gossip about Evan.  "What do you think of what Professor Slughorn told us?"

Pandora turned, pulled from the conversation about Evan.  "About him?" She laughed. "I guess it was his way of getting us all a little Christmas ready. What should you do?"

"No, nothing like that," Sarah chuckled, "but I'm a little curious about what's in store for us."

Pandora just smiled and raised her eyebrows.  "Don't worry.  It'll be great, you'll see.  I was also going to do something fun."

Both girls laughed as they watched more school gossip float past them.  Although Sarah still couldn't get the thoughts of Evan Rosier out of her head, Pandora was quick to show her that life was too short to be drawn into the stuffy atmosphere that school problems sometimes brought.

•••

Darkness was slowly settling over Hogwarts as Sarah and Pandora made their way back from the lake to the castle.  They were laughing at something Pandora had said a moment ago - some absurd gossip about someone seeing Professor talking to a plant as if she were her best friend.

"That's nonsense," Sarah laughed. "But okay, I admit I can imagine that about her."

“Still, I say it's great material for another Quidditch match.  I bet the Slytherin commentator would add that to the minutes," Pandora replied with a vixen smile.

When they were almost at the big wooden doors of the castle, they both noticed that someone was coming out.  She was a thin figure with messy brown hair.

"Remus?" Sarah said in surprise.

Remus Lupine slowly made his way towards them, but even from a distance it was obvious that he was out of sorts.  His usually fresh face was as pale as chalk, there were dark circles under his eyes, and his movements were stiff, almost painful.

"Hello," he greeted softly as he reached them, his voice tired, as if each sound was taking too much energy.

"Merlin, you look terrible," Pandora said bluntly, her voice lacking any filter.

Remus smiled weakly, but his smile was forced.  "Thanks for the compliment," he replied with a touch of irony. "You two? What are you doing here?"

"We were at the lake," Sarah explained as she looked at him with concern. "Remus, are you okay? You look like you're going to pass out at any moment."

"I'm fine," he snapped, but his tone was sharper than he'd intended. "I'm just tired."

"You should go to the infirmary," Sarah advised him calmly. "Madam Pomfrey will fix you up."

„Sarah, stop it," Remus snapped suddenly. His usually calm and composed voice broke into a sharp tone that caught her off guard. "I can handle it, okay?"

Sarah stepped back in surprise, her eyes widening.  She wasn't used to Remus reacting to her like this.

"Okay," she said softly. "I just…wanted to help."

Remus sighed, closing his eyes as if trying to calm himself down.  “I... sorry.  I just… I have to go.”

He turned and left, his steps quick and restless.  Pandora and Sarah stood still and looked behind him.

“What was that supposed to be?” Sarah asked after a moment, still shocked by his reaction.

"I don't know," Pandora answered, but her voice sounded strangely thoughtful. "But something is clearly up with him."

They both headed for the big door and entered the castle.  The corridors were quiet, most students were already in the common rooms or on their way to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Don't you think we should find out what's going on?" Sarah asked as they reached the spacious hall. "Remus has never come out on me like this. It's…weird."

Pandora shrugged.  "Maybe he's in pain.  Or he has some... problem.  People sometimes react badly when they are uncomfortable."

“But what could wear him out like that?” muttered Sarah more to herself.

Pandora looked at her and her mysterious, slightly amused smile appeared on her lips.  "You know, sometimes it's better not to deal with things too much.  Especially when it involves a wolf and the moon.”

"A wolf and a moon?" repeated Sarah, confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Pandora just shrugged and laughed.  "Something to think about.  I'll go, Sarah.  I still have something to do in Ravenclaw."

"Okay," Sarah replied, but her mind was already wandering elsewhere.

Pandora headed for the stairs leading up to Ravenclaw's tower and disappeared around the corner.  Sarah stood alone in the hall for a moment, her thoughts swirling.  "The wolf and the moon..." she repeated quietly to herself. And then something suddenly occurred to her.

She looked up at the tall windows, behind which a bright circle of the moon began to appear in the sky.  Full moon.

“Wolf… moon… werewolf?” she whispered. A sudden shock went through her body. It was an absurd thought, almost ridiculous, but… what if?

Sarah frowned.  This riddle began to boggle her mind, but she did not yet realize how close it could be to the truth.