Wretched little beggar

Eclipse

All too soon, nine days had passed since Halloween, and the full moon was upon them once more.

M's nervous energy had been rising the whole week, strengthened by her upcoming transformation, and she found that despite her best efforts she had more and more trouble paying attention in class. She had a hard time sitting still, doodled instead of taking notes, and probably scored horribly on her History test. Her teachers were aware of her condition, however, and didn't call her out on it - except Lockhart, who didn't appear to know. Not telling him was probably a wise choice.

Madam Pomfrey, who as school nurse had been appointed to take care of her during her transformations, had been anticipating this moon nervously. A total lunar eclipse coincided with the full moon that night, and based on the older witch's past experience, there was a chance this would make her wolf more violent despite the Wolfsbane, and the transformation even more painful. The nurse wouldn't disclose where she got this information, or what her "past experience" was.

So it was with a slightly queasy stomach that M left dinner on the 9th of December, and let her feet lead her down the now familiar path to the infirmary. Anxious, she checked over her shoulder to make sure no one was following her, and pushed the heavy door to the healing wing.

The crisp scent of antiseptic and potions washed over her, and she almost gagged; right before transformations, even as a human, it felt like all her senses increased tenfold. Sleeping was made impossible by the simple sound of the breathing of the other girls; she could smell people and recognize them by their scent before she saw them; when someone used magic it left an odd metallic taste in the air.

Madam Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen, though M knew from past experience that the Matron was probably working in her office and would pop up barely a few seconds after a student entered the room. Indeed, she did not disappoint, and her gaze softened when she recognized who had come to bother her at this time.

-"How are you feeling today, M?" Pomfrey asked gently.

M shrugged. Nervously, she glanced out the window to make sure the moon was nowhere in sight; they didn't have time for such chitchat.

The older witch appeared to get the message, and proceeded to do her usual magical check-up, waving her wand and muttering various incantations. Once she was satisfied, she called for M to follow her, and together they headed down to the dungeons.

They had barely passed the Great Hall - from which still rose the chatter of hundreds of students - when M began to feel a familiar tingling at the back of her scalp. Always the first tell-tale sign of her transformation. She broke out in a sprint, accidentally bumping into Hermione who had just finished dinner, and headed to the dungeons. Pomfrey started to call out, but must have understood what was happening and started running after her, though it was made harder by her long skirt.

A dull panic smothered all of M's senses. Something was wrong. It shouldn't have started that early. She picked up the pace, without bothering to wait for the school nurse. When she slipped on the wet stone floor of the dungeons and scratched her knees and her palms, she scrambled up immediately and ignored the sharp pain. The smell of blood was making her mouth water.

She ignored the urge to lick her wounds and finally arrived, out of breath, at the unused classroom she occupied during her transformations. It was remote from all common rooms and populated places; with that and the silencing charm cast all around the room in case she howled, no one had bothered her thus far.

Head swimming and feeling somewhat faint, she staggered to the corner where some blankets had been neatly arranged for her to sleep on. The girl didn't know why the staff continued to do so, since the covers always ended up ripped and her on the opposite side of the room. Curled up in a ball, she shivered violently until Madam Pomfrey arrived a minute later.