8:00 pm, April 20
nineteen minutes until Full Moon Rise

Hopefully Nicodemus Gunnar would be along soon. 

Knox Greyfriar was pacing outside of the Hufflepuff Commonroom, arms folded across his chest tightly.  He was there to pick up Olivia Foley, a fourth year.  He'd liked her the moment she was sorted, but knew her time at Hogwarts would be different than that of the other students.  Because she'd come with a metaphorical note clipped to her coat: Please Take Care of this Werewolf.  The young woman had lycanthropy and this month her transformation had to be done here at school.

The Headmaster wasn't dreading it so much as he felt for the girl.  She was certainly brave, but then she certainly had to be.  He'd spoken with her before about her bite, and she seemed well-adjusted about it.  But he was worried for her despite it.  He knew the transformations were painful. 

When Knox had been a professor, there had been a fifth year in Hufflepuff, Fillin O'Hare, who'd also left school once a month to transform.  He had been a real handful, surly and at risk for not doing his duty.  Knox had had to escort the boy to London each month.  Boys will be boys, and Fil had put on a strong face about it.  It seemed a far more cruel thing that such a disruptive thing should happen to such a sweet kid like Ollie Foley.

He really did hope Professor Gunnar arrived soon with the wolfsbane potion.  It was twenty minutes until full moon rise and he wanted to give Ollie plenty of time to get settled.

"Resilience!" he said loudly, breaking his own revelry and biting the bullet.  The portrait opened up and the Headmaster stepped into the Hufflepuff Commonroom smiling.

Ollie was nervous; she wasn’t as calm as she usually was around this time of the month. She was here at school on a day she was never used to being there. What if the wolfsbane potion didn’t work? What if she got out and attacked a student? Sure she could be locked away and if the potion worked she could just curl up in a corner and wait till time passed and the moon set as the sun rose. Ollie knew she was going to be tired tomorrow, more so than usual she felt. Ollie was sitting in the dorms looking at her things fearing that if tonight went wrong she would be leaving this place for good, expelled or told to leave. Ollie seriously doubted this would be the fate that lay before her, but what if?

No she was not going to let this get to her, she was a capable werewolf and wolfsbane always worked. She had nothing to worry about. She changed from uniform into a pair of worn and torn jeans and a ripped sweater. She pulled a sweater over the torn shirt and zipped it up as she put her bare feet into a pair of sneakers. Ollie didn’t even look to mirror as she passed, what did it matter what she looked like tonight.

Her mane of hair around her face as she ran down the stairs to find the Headmaster in the common room. She hoped they would make it in time. She had never been so nervous before. She had hugged Fauna before heading off the change, and a good thing too as she doubted she had the time now. The small little fourteen year old ran over to the Headmaster. “Ready,” she said quietly afraid people would question why she was heading off with the headmaster. At least she would be here in the morning and not travelling train back to school.

Raise your wand to your opponent, rotate it once counterclockwise, and then in a clear voice, say-

“Bogie flavored beans!” Fauna whispered irritably, flinging down her book and putting a hand to her aching forehead. She couldn’t concentrate at all on this Charms chapter, and she had a nagging feeling it had nothing to do with her tiredness. It was because of Ollie. The poor girl put on a brave front, but Fauna kept thinking about the scared look on Ollie's face as Fauna had left the common room. This was the first time she’d have to transform at school. If anyone, Fauna should be there with her.

Moving fast for once, she haphazardly threw all her study materials back into her backpack and rushed out of the library, stray papers flying behind her. Fauna clambered down the staircases, thanking her lucky stars that they remained stationary, and reached the Hufflepuff common room in minutes.

“Rehash!” She huffed at the portrait, out of breath. “Hash browns!” She tried again. The portrait chuckled slightly.

Fauna ran her hand through her hair, all sorts of crazy words flitting through her mind, when suddenly the door opened and two figures stepped out, nearly running her over.

She stepped back and breathed a sigh of relief. “Ollie, I’m coming with you,” she told her friend, looking over her worriedly and fiddling with the strap of her backpack. “I can’t study anyway, so… as long as it’s okay with the Headmaster.”

Fauna gave Knox a small, nervous smile. Hufflepuffs had to stick together; surely he would understand.

If Olivia was nervous it didn't really show to the Headmaster, who smiled even wider as she skipped across the lush yellow sunburst carpet and declared with stalwart certainty that she was, in fact, ready.

"Good! Me too," he concurred.  Together they turned and left the Commonroom, back out of the portrait portal.  As they came out into the hallway, Knox had just been thinking how good a place Hufflepuff was for the struggling sorts, when the fates agreed with him.

It was Fauna rushing back.  Fauna Blake had been the quietest, shyest child Knox had met six years ago as a First Year.  Now, she was much more grown up and it was common knowledge that she was helpful towards other students.  In headmaster's eyes, she would have made a good prefect.

The smile he returned to her wasn't as affirming as Fauna might have hoped for. 

"I'm not certain that's wise," he said, in his deep baritone.  He glanced at Olivia, trying to gauge her reaction.  Many werewolves felt ashamed of their transformations, making full moon nights very private events.  Despite the danger they posed, many werewolf authors had written that they feel most vulnerable during their wolf form.

He went on, "Professor Gunnar's Wolfsbane Potion should help Olivia be more mentally present, but it's still a very unpredictable event.  That and it can be unsettling to watch.  Are you sure you'd be up for that?" The Headmaster realized his question then was just as easily posed to both girls.

It was good that the Headmaster was ready because if he wasn’t then this entire experience was going to be a strained one. Had he ever been around for this? Did he know what to expect? Ollie hoped that the night went smoothly if not only for herself but for the Headmaster to see.

They were headed out into the corridor and she nearly pushed someone over who was coming in. “Oh I’m,” she paused mid-word when she saw who it was. “Fauna were you studying in the library?” Ollie was completely floored that her friend wanted to come see this, the thought of seeing what she did each month would horrify her if she wasn’t a werewolf. She didn’t know if she wanted to see the painful ordeal she new all too well.

“I uh,” she didn’t know how to answer. “Are you sure you want to see this?” Ollie really hoped she understood what she would see. “You can come if you like.” She didn’t want to offend her friend and she didn’t mind someone as close to her as Fauna to see but she didn’t want to scare her. “I don’t want to scare you with what you see.” Ollie twisted her lips as pondered the situation. “It is fine with me though.”

“It is unsettling to watch,” she said to both of them as she thought about the pain as well but chose to leave that out. She really didn’t want to frighten Fauna off.

The professor, his lab coat only half buttoned and flapping as he skipped along with the ever present gleeful grin stapled to his face.  Yes, there was a six and a half foot tall man skipping down the dungeons.  His goggles also happened to be pulled over his eyes instead of on the top of his head.  One seemed to be a bit dustier than usual.

Wielding a brown paper bag of supplies in one hand and a stoppered 250mL Erlenmeyer flask in the other his skipping toned down to a prance as he saw the Hufflepuff portrait down the hall.  Ah… so many good memories!  So many banana peels! 

The professor’s grin faltered, however, when he saw the Headmaster AND Miss Foley AND Miss Blake were all outside.  Damn the blackened goggles!  Pushing them up to see more clearly, leaving black rings around his eyes like a raccoon… or a seventh year student the night before NEWTs, he walked slowly over to the Headmaster and hid the bag and flask behind him.

“Umm…” he stared away as he leaned in closely, whispering, “Which ‘that time of the month’ is it now?”  Nicodemus was not the kind to pay attention to lunar cycles… or the trends in his female students’ moods either, hence the reason why he bought BOTH the paper bag and the potion. 

Fauna’s face fell. Headmaster Greyfriar made perfect sense and she appreciated his honesty, but she didn’t feel right about sitting safe and warm in the common room while Olivia had to suffer. She was, however, glad that he and Professor Gunnar would be there with her. When Fauna had first started school at Hogwarts, it took her time to get used to Knox bellowing at the mischief-makers and Nico setting the desks on fire, but now she was happy to say that she had never felt safer with another set of professors.

It took a moment for Ollie to formulate a response. When she did, her words weren't as confident or clear as they could be, but it seemed like she was more concerned about scaring or hurting Fauna than anything else.

Staring out into the corridor, Fauma considered their warnings. She knew that she scared easily, especially when faced with a lot of disturbing gore or blood. She didn’t like pain, or hearing about it in detail, so seeing it would put her discomfort on a whole new level.

Before she could reply, she spotted a familiar lab coat flapping towards them. In it, was Professor Gunnar, carrying a paper bag in one hand and a flask in the other. Fauna imagined there were bananas in the bag, or banana chips, and that Nico planned on treating them all to a snack before the ordeal.

She couldn’t have been more wrong.

“Professor, it’s… it’s….” She burst into giggles and shared a funny look with Ollie. “It’s the full moon type of time,” She explained, her voice hushed.

“Where did you get..? Anyway!” Fauna shook her head quickly, trying to steer her thoughts back down a clear, and less hilarious path.

“Anyway,” she sobered and faced Ollie. “I’ll come with you… I’ll be fine. And you’ll be fine.” Fauna nodded, as if to reassure herself, then looked at the Headmaster expectantly.

The Headmaster had been carefully considering the input from Olivia and Fauna, when Nicodemus arrived in rare fashion.  Knox couldn't help but smile.  He had to remind himself that the eccentric Potioneer spent a good deal of time bent over bubbling cauldrons in the stagnant air of Hogwarts dungeons.  It was the fumes.  Or the bananas.  He didn't know very much about muggle 'science', but potassium was a very mysterious substance, or so he'd gathered.

At Fauna's firm and final say on the matter, Knox laughed.  This from Fauna Blake! "What choice have I? Come along.  We've got less than a quarter of an hour until moonrise."  He spread his arms as if to gather the other Hufflepuffs and direct them down the corridor.

"I've prepared the Armor Gallery.  There is plenty of space, but also some very cozy alcoves.  And suits of armor were meant to be knocked about," said Knox trying to keep things light.  But the situation was most dire.  He hoped Nicodemus had had enough time to brew a staunch Wolfsbane Potion.

"Is the potion true, Professor Gunnar?  Did it have enough time to cure proper?"

Olivia looked up at Headmaster Greyfair wondering if he would say no and send her dear friend back through the portrait to worry about her all night. Ollie didn’t mind the idea of sending Fauna back through the portrait hole if only to save her from seeing the results of condition. Ollie didn’t want to scare away one of her most trusted friends. Plus she liked the idea of Fauna being away from a deadly beast. Of course the loyalty of a Hufflepuff was hard to break.

Before she could say anymore on the subject another person appeared. Ollie heard the words of the Professor as he held up two options. She couldn’t stop the herself from letting a snicker leave her lips and shake her head. “Honestly Professor do you think I would go to a male for the other option?” There was a sense of humour in her voice, “I think I would go with a fellow housemate on that one actually. But thank you for being concerned by my potential feminine crisis.” Ollie did think it was sweet but also very amusing.

When the news that Fauna was coming along was official Ollie slipped her hand into Fauna’s and gave her hand a squeeze. “Despite what you might hear I will be fine, just keep that in mind that when I see you in the morning I will be fine.” Ollie grinned at her as best she could. “And professor I promise not to dent the suits of armor and if I do please don’t charge me.” Ollie joked, if the potion worked then she doubted the suit of armor would be dented or harmed.

She waited in anticipation to hear what Professor Gunnar had to say about the potion, she really hoped it had been prepared properly and that he had the time otherwise she would be even more nervous. Ollie just tried to think that it would all be fine and if anything bad happened someone would be there to stop it.

The poor man could not hold back the fiery blush that overcame him as he realized he had not whispered quietly enough.  “I-I-umm… Oh dear…” he stammered, putting the paper bag of supplies, which included chocolate and chips, the two things his mother loved during the time, hurriedly behind his back.  “I-uh-uh ap-p-pologize for the confusion,” the paper bag could be heard crunching as he gripped it tightly.

Clear his throat he changed the subject as quickly as possible as his blush degraded to a light peak on the apples of he cheeks, “Ah!  Yes!  Indeed, the potion has had enough time to ferment, Headmaster,” he nodded furiously.

It seemed like just a millisecond after mentioning the brewing of the Wolfsbane a bright smile took over his cheery face.  “Actually!” he took off the rubber stopper with a POP and smelled the top of it.  Normally this would have been a very odd and dangerous thing to do as the aconite was the ingredient which made the potion smell as horrible as it tasted, but Professor Gunnar seemed… to enjoy it!

“Mmm…” he closed his eyes and sighed with delightful sigh.  He opened his eyes and beamed, “I have been able to experiment with the olfactory and flavor factors with this lovely,” he shook the flask, “brew without decreasing its potency.”  He quickly turned his gaze to Knox to explain, “There are ways to test such things without requiring someone to drink the beverage you see,” it involved an old kitty with Alzheimer’s and a pickle, but Nico decided not to go into the specifics now.

“Here!” he cheerfully handed the full flask to Ollie, “Tell me if it tickles your nose.  Also, I would rather have you take it as we are walking to the Gallery.  I need to see if the alteration was able to affect the taste.”

With a step back and a glance around his audience he announced, "And now!  Shall we proceed?"  He bowed at the hips and wiggled his arms down the corridor.  "Ladies first!"

Ollie smiled at Professor Gunnar as he hid the bag behind his back. “It is fine, really professor, it happens more than you think.” She tried to be compassionate about the confusion especially after she laughed the way she had. Ollie curled some of her wild hair behind her ear, as she felt a little sheepish for laughing the way she had. As the focus turned to potion her ears perked at the idea that it could taste better.

Taking the flask in hand she took a sniff, “This has promise,” she said with a big grin. She sniffed it again noting the distinct better smell, definitely had the potential of tasting better. Ollie hesitantly took a sip of it and then took a large gulp. She then stuck her hand to her mouth and lurched her head forward as if she was going to puke. She turned towards Fauna and moved her hand and acted as if she was about to puke on her closest friend, but then her mouth changed to a smile and she looked to the two adults with a bit of a chuckle. “It actually tastes better than usual, now I wouldn’t request it at a meal though.” Ollie was making an attempt to keep the air light as she took a few more mouthfuls of the potion in hopes to empty the flask for good measure.

Ollie started to walk down the hallway looking over the flask as she finished it off. “Thanks Professor.” She had to admit it was the most pleasant experience with Wolfsbane she had, she just hoped it didn’t change the effects of it.

Fauna felt relieved that neither of the professors thought it necessary for her to stay behind. There was so much that Olivia did for her that Fauna wanted to give back somehow. It was her younger friend that helped her stand up to Inika, calmed her down during finals, and understood her eccentric outfit choices. She squeezed Ollie’s hand, smiling slightly at her ability to joke in the face of what was to come. Her condition was never something that Fauna had needed to experience before. She’d always thought of it as this mysterious force, something that caused Ollie to hug her goodbye and leave school once a month, and then return looking tired and worn, but still her cheery self. Tonight, Fauna would understand better what she went through. That scared her, though she tried not to show it.

She and Ollie walked slightly ahead of the two professors, so that when Ollie took a huge gulp of the potion, Fauna was standing closest to her when she lurched forward.

Startled and a little horrified, she made an attempt to grab her, wondering if the potion had backfired, or even worse, if Ollie was starting to transform.

Soon enough she realized it was a joke. “Oh that’s really mature… teach me to hang out with Fourth Years,” she muttered darkly, then glanced away to hide her smile.

As they walked up the staircases Fauna put her hand on the railing, a habit ingrained in her from years of falls and missteps whenever the stairs decided it was time to move. Thankfully, the castle must have known their urgency tonight, as they all made it to the third floor in one piece. The corridors were always dim in the evenings and the sound of their footsteps echoed off the walls. She could hear each little jingle of her keychain, and she began to wish that she’d thought to empty her backpack before they left. A rider in a portrait took one look at the group as they passed, then galloped off the canvas, leaving a billow of dust and a scattering of birds in his wake. No doubt, he was off to gossip. Fauna often thought that the students weren’t nearly as bad as the ghosts and portraits when it came to spreading rumors.

She sent a nervous look back at the Headmaster, wondering how he managed to keep Olivia’s secret, well, a secret. Before she knew it they were passing through the trophy room, its collection of statues and medals gleaming in the candlelight. Fauna reached the door of the Armor Gallery first, and after a moment’s hesitation, opened it and walked in.