Dirty Little Game ♠ Professor Lupin

Thirty: Days Gone By

I went to breakfast despite being stiff and sore. Pomfrey had done wonders for my back, she boasted. Remus left his mark there in the form of three long wounds and one shorter cut, as if his claw couldn't quite reach me.

I had no clue how deep the injuries were or how much of them were there. I refused to look in the mirror when the nurse asked. I wasn't prepared to see them, let alone confront them. It meant so much to me – I wasn't flawless anymore and I would carry the proof of it for the rest of my life.

Everyone's attention was drawn to me as soon as I showed up at the entrance to the Great Hall, as if they knew what had took place at night. Or, even worse, maybe they had no idea and had a lot of weird images running through their brains.

Ryley had an odd expression on his face as he stared at me. His eyes were full of contempt and hate, yet he was smiling for reasons only he knew of. As though something he truly enjoyed had happened. Perhaps a Gryffindor broke his leg after falling down the moving stairs.

I spotted Connor and made my way to the Slytherin table. He grinned and smacked the lad next to him to make him move when he realized I was heading to him.

When I sat down next to him, he thrust a cup of pumpkin juice into my hands. "Here. You look like you need a drink."

"What do I look like, exactly?" I questioned, eagerly draining my cup. After what the nurse served me, I dreamt of getting rid of the nasty aftertaste of healing potions from my mouth.

"You look like you've been sucked by a vampire that didn't leave a single drop of blood in you." he said in a casual voice. He was obviously kidding, I surely didn't look half as bad as he said. We simply enjoyed sniping at each other.

"Good 'cause I was actually attacked by a werewolf, so unfortunately you're incorrect, ten points from Slytherin." I joked, feeling strange saying something that was pretty much true but would almost certainly be taken as a sarcastic remark.

I over-estimated myself.

Connor's smile, which had been on his face since he first saw me, vanished almost instantly. His eyes widened in shock.

"Lupin attacked you?"

Three words. It was only three words, yet I felt like I had been struck by lightning right then and there. It squeezed the air from my lungs and made me forget how to breathe.

"What?" I choked out.

I looked up at the staff table. He rarely showed up for breakfast after a full moon, so I wasn't really expecting to see him there. He was probably locked up in his bedroom, exhausted, which would be reasonable considering all the spells he had gotten from me.

Connor must have mistook my surprise for terror because he placed his hand on my shoulder, saying "Take it easy, everything's fine." Nothing was fine. "He's not here, he won't hurt you." He wouldn't hurt-

But he already has. The wound on my back suddenly started to burn, reminding me of its existence.

"How it's possible?" I mumbled as I looked at the boy again. I meant how he found out about it.

He thought I meant how the hell a teacher could be a werewolf. "Snape told us at the very beginning of breakfast. You would've heard his story if you had arrived a bit sooner."

Snape. That lousy bastard. He had no right. Probably his ego hurt too much and he couldn't help but do something about it. It flashed through my mind that he hadn't even weighed the consequences of his action, but I corrected myself shortly after. He was unquestionably fully conscious of what he was doing. He either didn't care or even cherished the results.