Friday 14 October 2011 @9am
Two days after the full moon
Hogsmeade Train Station, then to Hogwarts

Knox Greyfriar stood on the platform in the morning sun, waiting not for a train but the crack of an Apparition. He was a tall man of some imposing size with a streaked black beard, olive skin, and untended eyebrows. He looked a bit drawn but he was trying not to let it get to him. He folded his arms into his rich brown robes and hummed a little tune.

It was Lucinda Temple he was waiting for, a daughter of Gryffindor. She was a late-start for the worst sort of reasons. In the previous two months, he'd been kept mostly up to date on what had happened and what the circumstances would be for her to return to Hogwarts.  He'd been involved at some level with the Werewolf Registry trying to arrange the backs-and-forths, reassuring parents that she would be welcomed at Hogwarts, but he hadn't yet actually met Lucinda. She hadn't been a student yet while he was still the Headmaster the last time.

Knox wanted to think that, perhaps, they'd be helpful to each other. It wasn't a stretch for him to have some understanding what Lucinda was going through right now. It was not hard to remember his own first few months after he'd been mauled walking this same road from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts almost exactly three years ago. But he had been an adult. Lucinda was just fourteen. Really, he could have sent anyone to fetch her to the castle - her head of house, a prefect, or some of her friends - but it seemed like an irretrievable opportunity for the two of them to have a word or two before she had to get started with life again.

And there they were: Crack!

A ways down the platform, a skinny girl with brown hair appeared alongside her adult chauffeur. Knox lifted a hand in greeting, although he knew he was hard to miss.

"Good morning!" he called.

Lucinda fell forwards after appearing, the one delivering her disappearing again with another crack. As she fell forwards she placed a hand on her mouth and shuddered, after a few moments she stood back up and groaned. Spotting the Headmaster, guessing it was him off the robes and the picture she was shown she started to move towards him. Hefting a bag over her shoulder as she did. Some, not so quiet mutterings came from her as she walked over. "I think I'm going to be sick...why would anyone travel like that..." She shifted her hair to make it look a bit neater before finally reaching the headmaster.

"You smell like a dog." She said in a blunt tone. "Everything around here stinks and its too noisy." She glared up at him, her eyes ran up and down his body as if she inspect him in detail, sizing him up for a fight. "First things first okay? Just because I'm a mutt I'm not going to do as they tell me. I'm not going to the Ministry every month ok? I'm not going into the tiny box they want to lock me in." She gave a slight snarl at the end. "I'm not drinking that foul potion, I want to throw up at just the smell of it. I don't care that its hard to make, give it to someone else as I'm not having it." She moved her bag to sit it easier on herself. "And I'm not going to run off with some random person every week or three times every time the moon happens to be a bit more clearer. Got it?"

She stared up at him, doing her best to look tough, her lip curled back at the edge like she's trying to show a fang towards him. "Those things are not happening. Considering everything I've heard, you hate the ministry aswell so it shouldn't be a problem. Deal? Deal. Good now we got that out of the way." She didn't even try to wait for a response before saying it like its absolute. "I'm Lucinda Temple. Gryffindor. Now my fourth year. Halfblood. Thunderbird and Oak wand. Virgin and never had a relationship. Live with my parents at home one is American. And I have marks here." She turned around and lifted her school shirt and cardigan up to show the claw marks on her. "And here." She turned to give a full view of her left side where she showed bite marks. Before turning to face him again and lowering her clothing back down. "Although you should already know all that information just like everyone in the Ministry.  Not like they don't like to spy and know everything about you do they? Or do you want to know more like my sizes or what clothing I'm wearing as I'm pretty sure they want to document all of that aswell." She took a breath and released her fists, not realizing she had clenched them, a small but visible shudder ran down her body from anger.

Knox was taken aback when Lucinda's escort basically deposited her on the platform and quickly disappeared. Although some clue as to why came quickly.

As the young witch approached him, she began a wee tirade that went on for some time. The old bear waited patiently, careful not to interrupt, nodding from time to time, and making commiserating faces as she described the terrible taste of Wolfsbane Potion, showed off her scars, and made sarcastic jabs at the Werewolf Registry's procedural invasions of privacy.

He should probably thank Hannah Bombay (and the many hundreds of students he'd taught) for his ability not to take her opening salvo personally. Knox was certain he did not smell like a dog, but it seemed to be at the bottom of Lucinda's concerns.

There was a great deal to be concerned about in what Lucinda said, primarily her declaration that she would not be taking the Wolfsbane Potion or following the transformation routines that she'd been assigned. But Knox imagined there'd been very little Lucinda had been able to choose for herself in the previous weeks. If he dropped his own hammer, he imagined she'd never trust him Knox was sure.

He was a little surprised how she just ... lifted her shirt. Well, mark that down - Lucinda was not shy.

She finished and he watched her release a withering breath.

"Thank you telling me all of that. It's good to meet you," he said, calmly. "Sorry about the odor."

He pulled up his sleeve and held out his bare forearm to her.  "Mine aren't as good as yours."

Knox's arm was laced with large, raised, pink scars. They stood out dramatically against his skin and hair. He rotated his arm for her to see. He almost always wore long sleeves and didn't show the scars off much.

"Are you hungry? We can get something to settle your stomach. Then I thought we'd walk up to the castle."

There was the risk that not directly addressing her points would make her feel dismissed, but it seemed like a better strategy than getting into it right here in the train station. It seemed a better conversation for a walk.

She hmphed and crossed her arms, glaring again and looked him up and down yet again. She gave a sharp nod and then started walking towards the school. "Fine." She said in a small huff, she seemed somewhat agitated, then she stopped and put a finger up, looking a bit more pale. "Actually give me a second..." She walked off the platform and behind a tree.

She returned again a few moments afterwards. "Ok I'm good...I'm good...nothing happened. I don't want to apparate ever again." She then briskly turned around and starts walking towards the school, trying to be in the lead. Then turned once more remembering the promise of food. "You may not smell like a dog...something around here may though. Everything smells weird and I can smell lots of things I couldn't before, its really annoying especially when I've had to be in a cramped sweaty office alot. Or in a hospital." She rubbed her nose. "Yeah food...food would be good. Steak...that would be good..."
With a sigh she goes back towards him and nodded again. "Yeah...food." She then looked away. "how did you get away with only your arm..." She muttered in annoyance.

She would fidget alot, barely able to keep still as she wanders about the platform, not straying that far from him as she looks for a place with food, she seems partially interested in the platform itself since you usually don't spend long there, just board the train or get off and head to the school. Her eyes darting over the place, she keeps her nose covered as if being overwhelmed by the smells. With the fidgeting came the constant readjustment of her uniform, smoothing her skirt whenever she even even slightly moves, pushing her shoes into eachother as if to make sure she has her toes at the end of them, making sure her cardigan is flattened, making sure her shirt doesn't peak from under the cardigan and constantly rearranging her tie.

Again, Knox could just watch young Lucinda. She seemed to wear every impulse on her sleeve. It had been less than five minutes, but he could see now she wasn't so bad. Not malicious. Just tempestuous and beset by devils. He smiled, but tried not to make it obvious.

"Just lucky I guess," he said with a wink when she asked how only his arm had been gnawed on. Of course, he felt lucky only as much as he wasn't killed and the others traveling with him (Fauna, Sasha, and Beatrix) weren't harmed.

So Lucinda was mostly turning in circles - poor dear had been sick behind a tree - but eventually came around and joined him in a stroll up Hogsmead's High Street.

"Afraid all that'll be open at this hour is Puddifoot's."

---

It wasn't longer that they were on the well-foliaged road up out of Hogsmeade towards the Hogwarts gates with their breakfasts in hand. Greyfriar, a dedicated vegetarian, had a raspberry scone and hot tea. He'd bypassed the tempting scotch eggs and meat pies, despite the craving he shared with Lucinda. He insisted on paying.

"Do you want to talk about how it happened? Or maybe I go first?"

Again, Knox was thinking about how he'd felt, how the only times anyone wanted to talk about the attack was in some forensic or procedural capacity. Others seemed afraid to upset him. And certainly, he was upset, but it felt worse not to be able to control the narrative.

She followed along and seemed hesitant to allow him to pay, having the money herself and not seemingly wanting to make him do so. She chose for a large sausage roll and made sure to eat facing away from him, not seeming to know him being a vegetarian more that it did not last long as she devoured it. Giving a sigh of relief as she wiped her mouth and resumed to cover her nose as they walked.

"It was stupid and meaningless. We were out camping, we went to America to meet family, go to some places and study. Parents being interested in their jobs and all. Dad likes animals, mom likes plants. The trip worked for both of them and I got to go to Disney and camp." She started rubbing her left side, as if the was somehow soothing the bite marks. "We were out camping at the time, it was midnight. I heard a noise outside so I decided to step out, figuring it some sort of creature, be it a bear or some sort of creature so I could tell my parents." She looked down. "So I stepped outside the tent, I saw it standing there, I tried getting a better look, next thing I know I'm being shaken about in its mouth like a toy and tossed away, I tried crawling away and got clawed. Parents woke from my screams."

She stopped walking and gripped her left side, staring at her feet. "We thought being away from civilization would help us find more creatures, that we would be far away from them. We were too far away from civilization and entered their grounds. I shouldn't of stepped out of the tent..." A small gasp escaped her mouth and she trembled. "I should of had my wand...or something....anything to fight back....it would of stopped it...i.."

"Oh, dear."

Lucinda's ordeal was as shocking and senseless that so many werewolf attacks were. Out of nowhere, happened-so-fast, stupid-and-meaningless. Wrong place, wrong time. Werewolf attacks are so rare that a full moon for almost everyone is just a well-lit night. A perfect night for camping. A stray thought: who was the werewolf? Why were they out there? What became of them? He didn't recall from the file.

But oh, how fresh things still were! Lucinda stopped on the path and Knox worried she might be slipping away. His better instincts were not to touch her, but he did come round in front of her and hold out a hand towards here

"Hey. It's alright. Come on back." Come back to the now, right? The birds were awake on the chilly morning and the leaves in the trees whispered in the wind.

"That path won't go anywhere. I know you did your very best. So did I. Sometimes it's just not enough."

Lucinda looked at the hand, her eyes looked wet and something shined under them, running down her face. She didn't take the hand, instead pushing forwards and wrapped both of her arms around his back, gripping tightly as she pushed her body into him. As she pushed into it she looked down and a small sobbing noise could be picked up. Her hands gripped into his back to keep close. "I....i couldn't stop them....I-i didn't do my best....I could of done so much better..."

She sniffed and tried listening to the birds, and smelling the grass. But it started to lead into a mixture of more sadness over what happened, and soon anger. Her sobs as she cried changed, sounding like a whimper and a growl. "I...i could of done more...I put my parents at risk...what if they ran out of the tents and got killed...or worse...turn out like me...I-i put them at risk." Her nails started to dig in as she clutched tighter, pressing in more as her whole body trembled. "I don't even know who it was...i want to find him...go after him...throw him around...claw at him..." She started to growl.

It was not uncommon for Knox to get tackling hugs from the first and second years, but he'd have expected a hug from a hippogriff sooner than a hug from Lucinda. After a moment's hesitation, he returned her embrace.

She began to speak of shame and revenge. It was a normal reaction (if there was anything normal about any of this) but that was never a comforting thing to hear. Knox had felt the same feelings after many tragedies in his life. He was a little crushed to hear the words from someone so young, especially considering at one point, he had been that werewolf. Forces and bad luck had contrived to let him loose on the world and, while he'd never know, he might have killed someone. He couldn't decide if he deserved forgiveness for that, or the justice Lucinda wanted.

"Oh dear, oh dear," he muttered. "It's alright."

He believed that. Knox let her hug him as long as she needed.

"I don't know you well enough yet to anticipate if what I'll say next will be a problem for you, but ... I'm the sort of fellow who believes that some things just happen. That sometimes the only fault is a moth beating her wings. There are honest accidents, there are cruel actors, and there's bad luck. Certainly is possible, dear, that your werewolf was reckless. Could be they were set loose by some malicious antagonist. But might be that the door didn't latch or the Wolfsbane was bad or a camper got stranded in the woods. Might want to consider getting cozy with the notion that you'll never know, you know?"

It was Knox's first advice for Lucinda since breakfast. He planned to be sparing with it.

She gave a strong and loud growl, she let go and moved back with her pushing herself away from him. She turned her back immediately and wiped at her eyes to hide any tears. "It may of just been random...we were there at the wrong place wrong time...it is entirely possible." She sounded annoyed at the idea. "But I could of done something better still. Just because a rock hits someone who was standing at the wrong place at the wrong time. Doesn't mean that you're not capable of helping them. Or the ground opens up suddenly, completely random. It does just happen. But how people react and manage to deal with it isn't something that just happens." She shook her head and turned back to him, her eyes slightly red. "Yes, it may of just happened he was there.  But I should of been able to stop them!" She gave out a huff, slouched over forwards a bit,  then gave a threatening growl at a squirrel.

"I'm....sorry...Its just...been pain...the first month...I felt like I was going to die the entire time but also like something was pounding at my heart, making it work in overdrive...like it would explode any moment...Then of course after my body tore itself apart and put it back together...I couldn't show anything...well maybe I did....I think I may of given one person who asked the questions a black eye." She gave a dark smile. "And a few other people when they went into the cage the first time...and second...and before going in.." She picked up a stick and looked at it as if wondering if she should like them or not, testing a few swings before she threw it and stared. "If you tell anyone I apologized to you, or cried. You will be added to the missing peoples list. I hope you understand." She then attempted to do a Boston accent. "Capiche?"

It was easy to forget that young people were clear clever thinkers (from time to time), and Knox ought to have given Lucinda Temple a little more credit. She'd had time to ruminate on what had happened and it showed. He hoped she hadn't had to do much of that alone, but with all the hubbub of being newly cursed he rather doubted it.

As they continued up the path the Headmaster was beginning to worry. Perhaps she'd come to Hogwarts too early; her wounds both physical and internal were fresh. She was oscillating rapidly between sadness, anxiety, and anger and it was coming through in her growls, tears, and temper. That was all perfectly understandable, but he was seriously wondering if she could cope with school.

"Capice," he agreed. He had a little smile on his face. In all of this, she was funny.

"Are you happy to be here at Hogwarts again? Think you're ready?" This time he firmed his tone just a little, wondering if being a bit more bearish to match her intensity would work better. Perhaps she needed someone to challenge her. Even just a little.

Lucinda looked down and sighed, she shook her head and gave a small growl at the idea of not returning. What else did she have if she wasn't to return. "I am ready for this." She said in a less commanding tone, she sounded more hesitant to reply, other then the people who made sure she didn't leave the saferoom and drank the wolfsbane she was used to people feeling sorry for her more then anything. "I..." She cleared her throat and raised her head, attempted to look in charge again.

"If I was not to return, what then? Just sitting in my room? Parents don't really want me to do my usual stuff incase something happens. I would just be at home waiting to be forced to drink something that tastes like it left the giant squid in the lake, then waiting to be forced into another room so I can have my body tear itself apart and back together so I can be awake during that and then just wait in that room for my body to tear itself apart again."

She turned and walked backwards a bit so she could look at him. "I got things to do here, I'm not failing a year because some mutt thought I looked like a chew toy. And I'm sure you're going to be keeping some sort of watch over what I do, make sure I don't harm anyone. You would probably work better as that 'mentor'" She did air quotes for the last word she said. "What are they even meant to do, teach you how to scratch fleas? How to mark your territory?" She turned back around to see the way she was walking after almost tripping over a stone.

Greyfriar laughed easily and loudly at Lucinda's suppositions about what a werewolf mentor's role was.

"Fleas!" he echoed, delighted at the irreverence. Lucinda was proving to resemble a snapping miniature Hannah Bombay.  Not an unkind comparison which he would be keeping to himself.

He followed. They were about to emerge from the treeline and the castle was once again visible in the mist. He wanted to say something to her about her vivid and un-softened descriptions of what transforming was like. It cut to his core, but in a way that was almost comforting. They understood each other. He tended to speak in understatements and euphemisms, but there was something to be said for just being out with it.

"I'm pleased you're up for joining us again. Hogwarts will certainly be better with you there. I'm not worried about you hurting anyone, Miss Temple. I suppose what might be, let's see, challenging will just be adjusting to the pandemonium. Crowded hallways, the smell of everything, having to keep still."

Just this walk down the forest path seemed to be vexing to her. And he could imagine it would be for some time. After Knox was cursed, he holed himself up in his remote cottage in the woods in Kent.

Thinking of something, he added hastily, "I wouldn't dare try to stop you. Quite the contrary, I'll do whatever I can to help you stay, if that's what you want."

She groaned at the mention of having to sit still, she hugged herself and sighed. "Uuuugh....why is it that I suddenly can't sit still? Like what part of the changes makes sense so I have so much energy? Its not bad if I'm doing something but..." She shook her head. "Whats the time you're allowed out of your dorm for?....maybe jogging around the grounds isn't a bad idea in the morning..." She gave a gentle rub of her nose and nodded. "Is there....any actual advice on smells and noise? Instead of it will quieten down as I get used to it..as atleast smells wise here is insane. The hall will be maddening I think."

She stopped and turned around to look at him. "I do want to stay...I would rather be here then sitting in my room, or in the confines of an underground box filled with dark tiles. And its not like Ilvermorny is likely to accept me due to this or being in the fourth year. Nor will it be any better." She gave a deep sigh and rested on a tree. "I don't...want to go with them...when they come for me...on the full moon...I don't want to leave here...I don't want to be escorted by people...I don't want people to stare as they do. I don't want to apparate away, or be locked in a room for it. I don't want to be conscious when I am forced to turn."

She closed her eyes and pressed the back of her head on the tree. "I know the mentor person will show up, I know I am to drink that horrid potion and go with them. I know you likely will be obliged to make me take it, however I don't want...to be concious when it happens. As thats what happens if you don't take the potion right? Your brain sort of shuts off...you act on instincts...don't remember anything? I would rather that happen. I mean they force you into a box for your night anyway, why do you need to be concious for it?" She started to rub the wound on her left side again. "And I don't want to be in the box...its horrid...it too small...stinks, nothing in there. Theres an entire forest here...goes on for miles doesn't it?...Surely some sort of leg collar or something can work...let me roam." She started wiggling while rested back on the tree, her body moved slightly side to side. "Be free."

Well, it appeared he wouldn't be able to avoid the topic any longer; Lucinda was immediately fixated on the details of her transformations and Knox wondered if she might not be able to get on with things until it was resolved. That, and she had some troubling notions of what it meant to exist as a werewolf.

Knox kept walking, his hands in his pockets. His path was straight and steady, and Lucinda was here and there with pent up frustration.

"You know, I've transformed into a werewolf thirty-three times," he said. "Three times without the benefit of Wolfsbane Potion, and thirty with. I'll be honest with you, Miss Temple, I can't stand the stuff, but it helps immensely. If given the choice, I'll take it every time."

He continued, "On the evening of the full moon, I arrive at the Ministry with my favorite cigar, and a good book. I check my wand at the door, change into a bathrobe, and settle in. I sleep through most of it."

Knox turned then to get solemn eye contact from Lucinda. "There's nothing - nothing - free about being a werewolf unhindered. I hope you never have to find out why. Its worse than anything that's ever happened to me."