What was the practical use of a Girding Potion? Why did she have to study it? Why did Seahorses fly? None of this was making sense! She'd been trying to understand half the potions homework she was given and none of it makes a single piece of sense. The vials aren't specified are they? They're just vials and...oh no it says right here. Why doesn't it say there instead? Its important not to drink too much! Why not have the amount in big bold text and not fineprint!

Uuugh this work was impossible. First it was two months worth of missed work in total. To her happiness it meant no other homework...until Christmas. Then she had the remains of her work, in which she really didn't do that much if she was honest. AND the huge amount of homework. Atleast it gave some kind of distraction from how lonely she was over the happy holidays.

Now with full news circulation from SAWS despite the fact everyone was back it felt even lonelier, half of the people just stared at her in worry, some whispered about her hitting Rigel, some about her getting knocked on her ass. Some she swore muttered freak. And now her friends...or she thought friends had abandoned her. They all just seemed nasty to her, was she really that bad before? She never realized but they are just..rude and mean, constantly gossiping and insulting others, picking on some in her year also. If they were like that then...she never really did that did she?

She packed up her work and started returning books, she'd had enough, refresh her mind then come back to it. That was a good plan, what a terribly gloomy day it was outside for her, the lake is nice and warm for swimming at this time. That can help for now. It better help for now.

With one last book to put away she noticed someone she hadn't seen in awhile, may be good to talk to them she guessed. If it goes well they can explain the uses of Armadillo Bile. It seemed worth a shot, the writing was slowing on her parchment, the work was hard and she needed just a few more inches.

Lucinda headed over and sighed softly. "Hey, Eirene?" She asked as she gently moved to rest her hand on the girls shoulder to get her attention.

In the library, a lone lamplight shone steadily at a lone desk where Eirene sat, alone, absorbed in her Potions revision. Every so often she stretched her feet out, and turned in her seat to make shushing noises at passerby who whispered too loudly, but otherwise, she kept her head bent over the parchment, making neat grid lines with her ruler and quill. Her cat, Xanthe, was so confident in Eirene's dedication that he'd curled his tail and paws around the legs of her chair.

She loved the library. She'd missed the library!

Eirene had only been released from the infirmary a few days ago, and she'd spent her free time since then holed up in the common room or here, catching up (keeping ahead) on her schoolwork. Though she hadn't liked feeling left out and stuck in the infirmary for nearly two whole weeks, by the end of it Eirene hadn't minded so much. During her lucid moments as she was recovering from her fever, she'd finished several essays and created her own assignments and written letters back and forth to Noriko, all beneath a canopy of sheets she'd made around her sickbed.

By Day 10 of her quarantine, she hadn't even hated her lack of magic. As long as she had her books and clothes! Which she did, thanks to the new trunk of things that her parents had sent her.

By the last day of quarantine, when the professors had thrown open the infirmary doors, Eirene had looked up from her pile of books, peeked around her canopy, and said 'hmm?' while the other students had dashed out screaming with joy.

She'd organized her belongings in her trunk and walked out, tugging the trunk slowly behind her. Was it cold out? Was it still January? She'd glanced out the windows in the Ravenclaw tower, shrugging.

Eirene had traded one quarantine for another, some would say.

A sigh sounded in the musty library air. Footsteps sounded. Hey, Eirene, said softly. Under her chair, Xanthe lifted his head, ears pricked.

Scratch, went her quill against parchment, a nice neat line to complete the grid.

A hand touched her shoulder. Eirene's quill veered off to the right, marring the page.

"Tsk!" Eirene clucked her tongue as she glanced up.

Her eyes widened. Lucinda Temple? In the library?

Lucinda Temple had said Hey, Eirene?

Not antelope-face. Not antegolumpus. Not antewerpus. But Eirene, first name. Pronounced correctly.

A new trick? Every year brought a new trick. Every year Eirene struggled to understand the ways that several students expressed their dislike for her when she would much rather be studying important things.

"Yes?" She replied warily, turning her head to glance around for Temple's gaggle of delinquents. Where were they these days?

"I'm very busy," she shuffled her parchment, eyeing the stray line that her quill had made.

Then she remembered the drama she'd only head about second-hand. The SAWS meeting. The fight.

Lucinda Temple... werewolf?

Her hands stilled mid-shuffle. She met the Gryffindor's eyes again, her dark gaze knowing, but for once, not pleased about it.

She flinched back at the coldness in the response, her hand let go as she took a step away. Why was she so wary? Had Lucinda been mean to her? She didn't know if she had, she remembered saying some things but it was only a joke right? She never meant for it to be like that, but if her friends were now like this with her, what were they all like to Eirene?

Oh no, they were, weren't they? Wasn't she? Oh god what must it have been like for her. She'd messed up, she'd messed up big time. She didn't...

Her hands clasped to her mouth as her eyes started to water. "Eirene...i..." She took a seat opposite her, head in her hands. "I wasn't good to you was I..."

She thought she had herself under control, after all the turmoil of the week, the ones being kidnapped, then Zeta, then the Fliers. She thought she had it all handled.

She thought wrong. She was trying to keep it in but she wasn't a good person was she?

"I...i'm so sorry..." She covered her eyes and whimpered pathetically. She'd rather chug wolfsbane then have to go through this.

Her friends were horrible, she needed to choose better, atleast there was Ze-...no there wasn't now. She couldn't look at her again, not for awhile. Tim would likely know now, family and all. So he was out. She'd scared everyone at SAWS to the point she doubted any of them would want to talk to her. That only leaves a few, Eirene was out also, she'd been horrible to her. All her old friends were horrible queen bee types.

"I'm just...so sorry...i never realized how bad...it must of been.."

Oh no. What was even happening. Tears? What trick was this! Eirene stared up at her, one eyebrow quirked, her mouth open, her hands still clutching parchment.

Lucinda was apologizing, but Eirene heard every use of past tense as the ghost of something gross to be found in her bookbag tomorrow morning, gifted by the Gryffindors who'd wished she'd stayed in the infirmary.

"What are you sorry about? What is it?" She demanded, alarmed. "Did someone feed something they shouldn't have to Xanthe, because he's been acting weird..."[1]

She trailed off, looking around the stacks once again for Lucinda's group of friends.

"What? Sit."

Lucinda was already seated.

"Have some parchment. Shhh, you'll get us into trouble."

She didn't know why she slid the spare stack of parchment over to her, only that you could never have too much parchment, and Eirene had used all her handkerchiefs in the infirmary.

1.

She wiped her eyes awkwardly as she attempted to calm down. It wasn't good to be like this, some stability would be good at some point, if only half the month wasn't bad weeks then it would be much better. Would be so easy to be a bo- She stopped that, she had enough to worry about right now. And Eirene...was one of them unfortunately. She had to deal with this now and... "I'm sorry its just...in the past, I wasn't good was I?..I called you names and..."

Now she mentioned it, inbetween the breathes she took, there was something off on the cats scent. "I don't know what happened to your cat but..it smells like boys a bit, and sweets? Something sugary..." She sighed, cats were annoying, they also stank. So much, so badly half the time, although it may just be how animals are, she's not smelt that many but there was an odd smell of horse in the ministry when she was there.

"I sort of..fell out with those I was with...they don't like freaks of nature being with them...I didn't realize how bad I was being to you..I thought it was just joking.." Had she heard of her being a Werewolf? How hadn't she, it was meant to be a secret among SAWS members, which meant like every secret in Hogwarts. Everyone knew about it within a few days. But then she hadn't seen her around for a few weeks, was she caught with the magical illness? But it would just left time for it to spread more and of course she'd of heard it.

"I'm struggling with only a few days...I'm so sorry that I did it to you for years.."

Eirene watched Lucinda wipe at her eyes and find composure. She shot one more glance around the library, and then slowly set down her quill and parchment and sat back in her seat, at a complete loss for words.

Everything Lucinda said about Xanthe went in one ear and out the other, even as Xanthe batted at her legs with his little paws. Not important, not right now.

Lucinda Temple was apologizing to her. She'd been one of those students who had played pranks on her or made fun of her name or laughed at her for piping up in class over the years. Eirene had not liked it, not at all, not when she cared so much about doing well and wanted everyone to see it. Her peers should know that she knew what she was doing. Why didn't anyone care as much as she cared? Why did other kids laugh when she cared?

All of that faded away as she caught her phrasing.

Lucinda Temple, werewolf. Eirene had known it, logically, ever since she'd heard that Temple and Grant had left with Headmaster Greyfriar during the full moon. It made sense to her then, and explained why Lucinda had returned to school so late in October. She'd missed those first few months for an important reason. Life or death important.

But it was one thing to know it logically and another thing to be sitting across from an actual werewolf. A weepy, woebegone werewolf.

"Oh," Eirene said primly, glancing down at her assignment. She took a moment to shrug her braid over her shoulder and settle self-importantly in her seat.

She sneaked a sideways glance at her, tilting her nose up in the air.

"I forgive you."

She really did, right then and right there. Her stomach felt strangely empty, twisting in on itself. Eirene took a breath, but had nothing to huff about. Nothing to feel indignant about. Nothing to feel smug about.

She felt no animosity towards her at all, just shock. How many times had she wished a classmate would apologize to her and mean it?

Here she sat with her schoolwork so organized, her new outfit so pristine, her familiar pawing at her chair, and there Lucinda sat, worried for her. An uncomfortable sense of guilt crept up on her. Eirene inched forward in her seat, resting her hands on the table.

"Are your friends really calling you names?"

Her brow furrowed intently, meeting her eyes. Freak of nature. Unkind. Untrue.

She was...forgiven? Just like that? It didn't...feel right for her. She shouldn't just be allowed off like that. She'd been horrible to her for years, just the I forgive you didn't feel right. She hadn't done anything to deserve it. But she wasn't sure if she could manage to hold it together long enough right now to try saying anything about it right now, maybe a way to start it could be with...

Lucinda suddenly moved in to hug the Ravenclaw, tightly gripped into her for a squeeze, she stayed like that for a few good moments, until it started to feel a bit awkward before she moved back to her own seat. Again she wiped at her eyes to calm herself although missing a few streaks that were down her cheeks by now.

With a shaky sigh she rested into the seat. "I-i need to find a way to do something to...make it up to you..yeah? I..don't know how though..." What could she do? Eirene was probably the smartest girl in the class, and Lucinda wasn't exactly full of friends or favours she can use to help pay her back, and despite how often she threatened to hex, she only knew a few. If anything she might be better at utility magic.

And it wasn't like she could do much else, she couldn't be her friend, she'd been too much of a bully for that to happen, she didn't have any money to buy gifts. Although she had some books...

She reached into her bag awkwardly and took out a copy of Wanderings With Werewolves that looked...fairly well read. Even though it was a fairly recent print of the book. "Um..I don't have much I can do...you can have this if you want..its one of my favorite books.." She offered it towards Eirene. "I don't know if it will do much but I'll answer...a-any questions you have...aswell if you want.."

At the hug, Eirene's eyes widened, and Xanthe darted out from underneath the chair to hide in the stacks. Trick! Not a trick! Just a hug. Eirene gave her a few pats on the back. Lucinda Temple was hugging her. The girl who'd used to make fun of her hadn't even pulled her braid yet. It was an actual hug. From an actual werewolf.

She froze, then relaxed again. Lycanthrophy could not be transferred by a mere hug!

When Lucinda sat down and offered to make it up to her, Eirene stared at her in confusion. These past few days, she'd looked at Lucinda as a completely different person. Forever changed, forever afflicted. Eirene couldn't relate to her in the slightest and had not once thought that Lucinda might relate to her instead. Why would she want to apologize and make amends for things she'd said and done before she'd been changed? She was a completely different person, wasn't she?

Reaching out, she slowly took the book. She could never say no to a book. Eirene glanced at the author. Gilderoy Lockheart. Oh. Perhaps this time! But no, she'd be nice. Eirene flipped through the pages, tutting at the dog-eared pages and frayed binding. Lucinda was in desperate need of a bookmark.

"If this is your favorite, I'll borrow it and give it back to you once I'm finished," she nodded.

That felt better. More sensible. She set the book to the side of her other books. She'd have to read it at some point, but it wouldn't take her long.

Eirene actually knew a bit about lycanthropy, having studied up on various conditions treated at St. Mungo's in her spare time. During her holiday at home, she'd told her mother tearfully that she wasn't sure if she wanted to follow in her exact footsteps and study potions and plant poisoning or if she wanted to explore another area of medical study someday, and her mother had patted her on the shoulder and told her it was fine. Months of agonizing! Debating! Mustering up the courage to admit it! And it was fine.

Though she always had questions, the tears drying on Lucinda's face gave her pause.

"I suppose," she faltered. "I'm not sure what to ask you. Is there something you want to tell me?" Eirene wondered, her glance straying once to the revision she'd been working on. "I've been reading the Daily Prophet on a daily basis. I'm well-informed."

Her pompous tone faded as she remembered what she was well-informed about. Murder, the safehouse kidnappings, yesterday's flier.

The insides of the book would have been marked in places, with some small notes written inside, several points where Gilderoy states his own name or describes his hair she has drawn little love hearts next to. On the back of the last page is written "I wish you could still be a teacher!" Some other...awkward comments are inside, nothing too bad but clearly a case of her liking them and not expecting others to read her copy.

She gave a small smile at being told it will be given back, her eyes glanced at the smiling Lockheart on the cover and felt relieved, was there seriously any better looking person? Well, better looking male. Although he probably didn't look like that anymore, he was 48 now and had been in hospital for many years. He probably didn't remember his own hairline products to make it look so good anymore.

Now the topic was onto if there was anything she wanted to tell her about, of course there was stuff she wanted to tell someone about, but she didn't want to be pitied. She was scared, she was calmer today, sleep had been coming back to her and she's managed to eat dinner the previous night, so things were looking up. But...

"Its hard for me not to be well informed aswell. Me and Greer, we were taken to the Headmasters room on Tuesday as soon as he got news on the attacks." She hugged at herself, she didn't want to go into her fear of being kidnapped in the night by some mysterious person who was capable of kidnapping and murdering werewolves on a full moon, without being infected themselves. It was a terrifying thought that anyone like that existed, let alone them being some sick psychopath.

"I meant like..ask me about anything..anything...I'll even try answering about my...how I'm...a werewolf." She rubbed at the upper half of her right arm, she'd try to answer anything about being a werewolf she told herself, although she wasn't sure if she could herself answer them.

Eirene had caught sight of a few hearts doodled on one of the worn pages in the book, and shifted her feet underneath her chair. She understood! She'd doodled hearts many a time around the names of people entirely inappropriate for her.

What was Tuesday? The day after the full moon. The Headmaster had talked to Lucinda and Greer about the attacks before it was in the papers? That made sense. She glanced away sympathetically. She'd often dreamed of the Headmaster inviting her to his office, but not for such an awful reason. A scholarly award reason.

"The Headmaster will surely keep the castle safe," she offered, having full confidence in him and Deputy Storm.

As Lucinda hugged herself, Eirene shot another baffled glance around the library. Ask me anything, she said. Very few people gave Eirene license to ask anything. Very few people came to Eirene with their personal problems. They barely knew each other beyond class, and it wasn't like they studied together, or sat near each other if they could help it. Eirene couldn't imagine a universe in which Lucinda wanted to talk to her.

Here she was though, needing to talk. Had all her friends dumped her? What horrible friends!

The library was quiet and nearly empty. No Gryffindors, no SAWS members. Eirene let out a resigned, regretful sigh. She wouldn't feel right about sending Lucinda away just so she could finish making charts for her charts, and legends for her charts.

"Alright," she agreed, her expression still uncertain. "Did it happen over the summer holiday? Were you with your family?"

That's what she'd heard, when she'd bothered to pay attention.

The Headmaster will surely keep the castle safe, he should, it was part of his job. And of course he will keep them safe, he always had an eye on her, he fussed over almost everything the two did. It was so bad he checked up on them making sure they hadn't been taken from their beds while they were still in school. She had fears of someone breaking into the school, of course she did. But she was allowed it, he should know the school is perfectly secure and be able to organize patrols of ghosts.

But now she had offered to answer any questions, and now it was one she wasn't too sure on itself. Well she could answer what was asked, but the whole being attacked she was not too clued in on. She had been told she took a head wound so her memories may be hazy but it always seemed to her they were gone, or constantly trying to avoid her, maybe its something she should ask about later.

"Yeah...August. So my parents were doing a trip to America, I joined along so we could have a holiday, go about the place, meet a Thunderbird maybe, go to Disney." The place despite being advertised as the most magical place on earth, really wasn't that magical, they didn't even have a real broomstick!  "Then we were camping during the full moon, none of us really thought about it. Dad had these muggle tents and wanted to use them. I saw something outside my tent, went to see and...thats it basically. Next real thing is waking in a hospital a good while later."

There were a couple things she remembered from the attack, but she wasn't even sure if they were from it or from her nightmares. There was being held by her side in the air, then seeing fire as she laid against something, but she really couldn't be sure of it.

This was still to her, a nicer way of talking about the attack then the countless questions by the Ministry or if she had to tell the Headmaster about it.

"Then a month in the hospital, and another month once back here locked in my house except to go to the ministry."

Eirene nodded, knowing what a thunderbird was but having no idea what or where a disney was. She'd have to look it up. It would bother her until she did.

"Camping," she repeated in a horrified murmur, clasping her hands to her chest. Camping, bugs, the outdoors! Oh, and werewolves.

Eirene shook her head, taking a moment to process. Lucinda sounded detached from it. She'd skipped over the attack so quickly that Eirene could only assume that she didn't want to go into too much detail.

America. Vast America, with its disney campground. Brave and foolish Americans, camping without proper wards in place. Lucinda had mentioned muggles, though. Eirene knew she wasn't pureblood, and muggles didn't know any better, poor things.

"Terrifying," Eirene gave a little shiver. She could barely imagine it, the suddenness of the attack. A whole month spent recovering.

"It was lucky that they got you to the hospital right away and that your parents are well," she felt like a snot right after she said it, but it was true. Lucinda and her family had survived.

If she hadn't, Lucinda would not be here right now, talking to her. The thought made Eirene hunch in her seat.

"Wait a minute. Locked in? Literally? You can't leave the castle?"

She looked at her, a trace of indignation in her voice.

Stuck in the castle? Well she was...a bit...but..Oh!

"Oh no, not stuck stuck. Atleast not here. But after a month stuck in America, came back here and through September was a mixture of things, but I was stuck at home due to ministry and..." She sighed, she was like the opposite now of when she was at home. When at home she wanted to be nowhere else but back at Hogwarts. Now she's here, due to Christmas she wants to be nowhere else but back home.

"Although I am sorta stuck here, parents were away during christmas so was stuck here, and I'm to keep close to the castle due to well...some psychopath." She wanted to go somewhere, there was no way she'd be denied Hogsmeade weekend. Besides, its Hogsmeade what can go wrong there?

"I know you didn't ask but, the attack itself? I don't know. I actually don't know anything about it other then my parents saved me." She was fairly happy they are safe aswell, although both looked at her funny now.

She rested her arms back and took a more relaxed stance in her seat, her head leaned onto the rest of the chair as she rubbed at the side that was bitten by the werewolf. She tried thinking through on what she said for what the next question may be, although it mostly came to her wanting to apologize more.

Lucinda wasn't literally stuck here. Still, that sounded lonely, staying at Hogwarts for Christmas.

A psychopath? Oh!

"Whoever it was won't get past the gates," Eirene huffed. "The drunken lout can sit and stew and reconsider their life choices, and as they're doing that, we'll send the Ministry to arrest them for hate-talk in the Daily Prophet."

The first demand listed on the flier had been keeping the pubs werewolf-free. It only then occurred to Eirene that Lucinda might be referring to one of the other many horrid incidents this week - the safehouses, the murder of Alec Carter.

Why so many psychopaths?

When Lucinda mentioned that she didn't remember the attack, Eirene could only imagine how frustrating that must be. She hadn't even considered that possibility. Which was worse? Remembering or not remembering? Her mother once said that remembering without ruminating helped some people cope with traumatic experiences. It gave them a cause to tie the pain to.

Lucinda looked pained now, rubbing at her side as she let her head droop. Did she still feel the effects of transformation several days after the full moon?

"Are you... in pain, now?" Eirene wondered, her hands outstretched on the table in a gesture of understanding.

Was she in pain? Not really? Why was she being... She quickly noticed she was rubbing the bite area and moved her hand away from it, not fully understanding why she was rubbing there in the first place, it wasn't sore, well leading to a moon it was but it wasn't leading to a moon was it? Or is it always leading to a moon never away since its on a constant cycle?

That wasn't here nor there, she took a breath and shook her head. "No, I'm not in pain, thank you for asking though." She said it ever so slightly rushed and ruder then she had wanted, quickly giving an apologetic look to her, maybe it was good for a change in topic, but what is a good one. It was already awkward enough and she had said she'd answer anything.

"Hey um...so...would you like to try to be...friends or something?" She said with a slight flinch, she expected to be cussed at or shouted at, she hoped not though. "O-or atleast like to be on better terms?" She added quickly in a slight panic that it would come off as odd. Although from a whisper she'd heard, it was hard to not hear whispers especially when they didn't try being quiet. Eirene had arrived at the school with another Ravenclaw, a boy and the two of them may be fairly close now. So she may not have time between studying and boys.