Werewolves and Dementors.
Hogwarts was a school which was running on nothing but rumours.
The trio had fallen asleep around two in the morning, and had woken at 7:10 on the dot due to McGonagall and all of the other Heads of Houses waking the school up, ready to sort the Great Hall back into its former look. Sleeping bags were folded up in piles by the Staff table with the work of all the groggy students, and the tables were placed back to normal by the Staff.
The previous rumour on Harry and Malfoy in COMC had only just started dying down, and now tons of rumours flew around the hall about Sirius Black.
The breakfast was, at first, awkward until the food appeared and everyone had quickly forgotten their tiredness and the fact they were all in pyjamas.
They were informed first period was cancelled, which for the trio would be Divination and Arithmancy, and so once everyone was released from the Great Hall, they went with the Gryffindors back to the tower.
The Fat Lady's ripped portrait had been taken off of the door, replaced with one of Sit Cadogan and that stupid fat grey pony. He spent about ten minutes challenging the Gryffindors to a duel, and another ten coming up with password ideas and trying to remember them all, before they were let in.
The trio met twenty minutes later, changed with their bags ready for the day. Heading down to the library, they found it practically deserted, everyone having must of stayed in the dorms to get more sleep. Or to gossip more and create more insane rumours.
The night before, they read up on Yule, and decided to celebrate this year as all three would be staying at the castle, much to Molly Weasleys annoyance they discovered a few days later, who much prefer the three to stay at hers because of Sirius Black.
The rest of the day went as usual, except classes were more lively and the teachers were more tense, more likely to snap and take points than usual. The exhaustion from staying up to search for Black was definitely getting to them.
Harry had sat next to Hannah Abbott two days after the break in, and shared with him that Black could turn into a flowering shrub and was hiding in the same Greenhouse they were studying in, watching. The Gryffindors found it annoying, as she kept insisting on anyone who could listen (meaning anyone with ears), but he found it hilarious.
The next few days went as followed: Harry would get asked about rumours of Sirius Black he was involved in, the trio would laugh at the most insane ones, Malfoy continued to watch him, the Gryffindors complained endlessly about Sir Cadogan, the three met in the library more often to study for their lessons, and they worked through the meditation part of becoming an Animagus.
He noticed as well that the Professors had been trying to walk him to classes, trying to find excuses to walk with him and the two others often. However, the Time Turner had often made it difficult, and they eventually gave up.
Back to the Animagus transformations, Harry was the furthest. The two weren't too far behind, but he could finally visualise his Magic Core, and it was getting quicker each time. Everyone's was different, in size, colour, and shape. His was a light blue-grey, however a spot was darkened, dulling the area of colour, as if something was burrowed beneath it, and looked as if it were a cloud. There was no way of finding out through meditation the size of your core, only through actually using the magic itself.
Hermione had a few times seen it, Ron had once. He suspected from the glance it was a dark, royal purple, whilst Hermione said hers was ocean blue, almost mimicking the actual ocean in a way.
They were sat in their usual seats in the common room, Harry drawing Crookshanks, who was sleeping in his lap, Ron studying and Hermione read a muggle fiction book, when Seamus burst in, complaining about Sir Cadogan. He was the 4th person who had since the trio had seated, and every time it got harder not to be amused.
"He's a complete lunatic!" Seamus exclaimed loudly as he and Dean walked into the common room. They had spent 12 minutes outside the portrait hole, waiting for bloody Sir Cadogan to let them in, "Can't we have got anyone else?"
"None of the others wanted the job," Percy stated, standing from where he had sat once he had noticed Seamus had been asking him. "They were all frightened of what happened to the Far Lady. Sir Cadogan was the only one brave enough to volunteer.
Seamus had scowled, muttering angrily as he and Dean walked past Percy, heading for the dorms. Unlike Seamus, Dean looked thoroughly amused, most likely at Seamus.
The weather had worsened as they got nearer to Winter, and the first Quidditch match drew closer. The Gryffindor team were now being supervised by Madam Hooch, asked by McGonagall the same week Black broke in.
The day before the match, a Friday, weirdly enough, the storms continued to worsen, and Harry honestly worried if it would even be playable out there anymore. He supposed he got lucky, the first match being Hufflepuff vs Gryffindor. Hufflepuff had a good team, but Slytherin was the real challenge, despite Oliver's speeches and worries during training.
Harry, Ron and Hermione had arrived to DADA early, it being their last lesson on Thursday. They had one of the privacy charms up, discussing when would be best to take the Mandrake leaf, brew the potions and find their forms. They'd put more research into it, and found you had to start brewing the potion on a half moon, and were currently working around that obstacle. The full moon had just passed the night before, and so they were finding out when would be best. They had just decided on two weeks time, Tuesday, when the rest of the class had seated, and Professor Snape walked in.
"Quiet," He commanded the room, walking to the front of the class.
Harry frowned, turning to Hermione, who had her eyebrows furrowed. He looked to Ron and saw the confused look on his face, mirroring the rest of the class.
"Professor Lupin is not well enough to be taking your class for today, and so I am taking over," The man stated, scowling as he looked over the class, "Professor Lupin has not left any record of the topics you have covered so far-"
Harrys eyes flicked to the blackboard which very clearly stated the topics they covered, and grabbed onto Hermione's wrist to stop her from speaking out.
"-We will cover Werewolves. Turn to page 394."
Harry sighed, flipping his textbook to one of the final chapters. Bit sad, considering he missed his chance to do this lesson on the actual day of the full moon.
"Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?" Snape asked.
The trio all raised their hands in unison.
"No-one? How disappointing," Harry and Ron both rolled their eyes, the three putting her hands down, "Are you telling me that Professor Lupin hasn't bothered in teaching you the basic distinction between-"
Harry had thought it would be either them three or no-one to interrupt Snape, however Parvati did, "We told you, sir, we haven't got that far yet. We're still on-"
"Silence!" Snape snarled, taking a step foward, "I never thought I'd meet a third-year class who couldn't recognise a werewolf on sight. I shall make a point of informing Professor Dumbledore how very behind you all are..."
Harry was digging his fingernails into Hermione's wrist, willing her not to speak up, despite how amusing it would be to prove him wrong.
There was a short silence in the classroom, Snape's eyes lingering on the trio for a mere second before continuing with the lesson.
==============
When the bell had finally rang, Snape announced they would have to write an essay on the ways to recognize and kill a werewolf. Two rolls, by Monday morning, handed in to him.
The trio had left quickly after that, determined to finish it ASAP.
"He's got it in for Lupin, honestly," Ron stated as they sat at their table. Pince hadn't bothered to clean up from their array of quills and parchment they had left the day before, a subtle way of her saying the table tucked away by the window was now theirs.
"What do you think the history is between the two?" Harry asked, causing a groan to emerge from Hermione.
"No more talk of anything History, for the love of Merlin, I beg."
===========================
They had got back to the common room just before curfew, just in time to watch Crookshanks chase Scabbers around, weaving between people and furniture.
They ignored it however, still talking with a privacy ward around them.
After Harry had an introduction lesson to being and Heir with Neville, he had joined Ron and Hermione in doing the Werewolf essay.
They were half way through the first scroll when Ron pointed out the irony on how some of the features matched up perfectly with Lupin. Harry and Hermione had sat there for a moment, in disbelief and shock. Because they did.
The greying hair at a far too young age, the disappearing the day after a full moon, the advanced potion Snape brewed for Lupin. It would even explain the type of clothing he wears, the patchwork and the obviously poor quality. Werewolves found it difficult to get jobs due to the discrimination, due to Voldemort's control over them in the war, he wouldn't be able to get new clothes easily.
"But we can't just ask him," Hermione said, as the three walked to the steps which split off to the separate dorms.
"Sure we can," Ron said, but Harry cut him off before he could continue.
"What would we say? 'Hey Lupin, do you turn into a furry wolf every full moon, a creature about 90% of the Wizarding World collectively fear?'"
"...Fair point. See if it.. comes up in conversation then?"
"See if it comes up in conversation then."
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The first match was... definitely a game to remember. Despite Harry not remembering most of it.
He remembered Crookshanks waking him and Ron up, before chasing Scabbers out the room once again.
He remembered going down to breakfast.
He remembered walking with the team down to the Quidditch field.
He remembered the start of the match; most of the match actually. The time-out, the score, the rain, the unbearable cold, the rain.
He did not remember the end. He remembered chasing after the snitch, having a huge head start over the Hufflepuff seeker, Cedric, and being so so close to the snitch.
He remembered the horribly familiar cold. The woman screaming.
He remembered refusing to take his eyes off the snitch, with the woman screaming his name. Begging. And a man.
"Not Harry, not my Harrison, please not Harry!"
"Stand aside, you silly girl. Stand aside now!"
"Not Harrison, please no, take me, kill me instead. Not Harry! Please, have mercy, have mercy."
But Harry didn't remember anymore.
His hand hovering over the snitch, the cold, the dementors cold, the rain drowning him, and the screams. Oh the screams. The haunting desperation, the dread in the woman's- his mother's a voice in his head supplied- voice.
But nothing more. He had woken up to the rest of his team around him. Apparently, he had fainted on his broom. The match ended without the snitch caught, Cedric having stopped going after it when Harry slipped and fell. Gryffindor had technically won, having a sixty point lead.
Yet he didn't share his team's excitement. Didn't share the celebration.
The only memory he has of his parent's voice is his mother begging for death instead of his own.
Hermione and Ron could tell something was wrong, and had subtly let everyone remember that dinner had started, and that they should head down before it's all eaten.
When it was just the three, he thinks they asked if he was ok. He thinks he told them what he heard. He thinks they comforted him. He thinks they told him about his broom, about it hitting into the Whomping Willow.
All he remembered was his mother begging for death.
======================
Madam Pomfrey insisted on keeping Harry for at least another day in the hospital wing. He didn't argue or complain.
He did, however, have a ton of visitors. Hagrid, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, the twins, even Oliver ( who literally thanked Harry on his hands and knees, as if he was a God, for some odd reason ). He even thinks he saw Malfoy hovering around the doors once, most likely to find out what happened and brag or something.
Harry's sleep had been filled with nightmares, a loop of the screams, of Voldemort's laughing. His only comfort when he awoke in the middle of the night was Crookshanks, who had somehow made his way out of Gryffindor Tower to sleep next to him.
He's gonna have to pay Hermione for Crookshanks eventually and get another pet if this keeps up.