Okay so I don't really have any excuse for how long it's taken me to update. I just haven't really felt like writing anything at all, and then when I did start to write, it was working on my third story, Spells of Starvation [which I would love for you guys to check out] and the Quidditch comp. So yeah, sorry.

Also, I have no timeline after the first chapter, if you hadn't already noticed.

Hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for waiting!

I own nothing but my words and ideas.

Neville sighed as he noticed that the courtyard he had been planning to finish his work in was already occupied by someone. They were sitting in the shade on the far side, so he couldn't really see who it was, but they were quite large. He decided to just stay on his side and try not to bother them with his presence unless they made a move towards him.

Settling down on one of the stone benches framing the centre, Neville relaxed and pulled out his work books. It was a lovely day. The sun was filtering gently through the light, fluffy clouds overhead being pulled across the sky by the light wind, and the only real sound was that of young birds calling out for breakfast from their mothers and the distant sounds of the other students somewhere in the castle or on the grounds. Neville pulled up his legs and began to steadily work through his assignments. This continued for about half an hour before he detected movement from the other person whom he shared this space with.

Glancing up through his lashes, Neville watched the mystery person rise and step forwards; toward the archway that would lead them back to the hall. He flinched as a sudden gust of wind caught one of his papers and threw it towards the other occupant of the courtyard who caught it deftly and turned towards him. Neville jumped up after his paper (after making sure the others wouldn't fly away as well) and nearly ran across the courtyard to make sure whoever had caught it wouldn't tear it up when he realised that it was Professor Lupin who had caught the paper. He breathed a sigh of relief as he approached the Professor at a calmer pace and smiled up at him.

Neville's smile dropped a little at the look on the Professor's face. He looked shocked at the sight of Neville and his face was paler than normal. Neville knew that it wasn't because of his furry problem (if he did turn out to be a werewolf) because the closest full moon wasn't until the end of next week (which made Neville kind of curious about what would happen for their classes). The Professor seemed to shake himself out of his stupor and gave Neville a small, strained smile (which didn't reassure Neville at all) and look down at the paper he had caught. He grimaced when he saw that it was the DADA essay on Boggarts, which really confused Neville, seeing as it was his own assignment, before looking back to Neville and handing him the paper back with a more genuine smile. When it looked like he made to turn away Neville rapidly began to gather his Gryffindor courage and spoke up before it was too late. He didn't think he'd ever get a better chance to have his question answered then right now.

"Um Professor?" He winced at how loud it was but it got Professor Lupin's attention and he turned around again with a small smile on his face, nodding for Neville to continue. Neville opened his mouth to ask again when he realised that he had no idea how to phrase this question so that it wouldn't deeply insult the best teacher that he'd had so far. He reckoned that asking it as if it was a Defence question would probably work the best.

"Uh- I… I was just wondering if- if it was possible for- and I know this doesn't really have to do anything with what we've been learning lately but-I-was-reading-in-the-library-and-came-across-a-book-on-Magical-Creatures-and-" Professor Lupin cut off his rapid rambling with a soft chuckle and Neville stopped to catch his breath.

"Now Mr Longbottom, there's no need to be so nervous, calm down. I'm not sure if you're aware, but sometimes it's easier to ask questions when you pause to breathe every once in a while." Neville was aware of the growing colour in his cheeks but he wasn't upset. He could see in the possible-werewolf's face that there was no malice in the teasing. It actually succeeded in the fact that it made him calm down a tad. He shuffled his feet for a moment before taking another deep inhale and try again.

"I was reading in the library a little while ago and I came across a book on Magical Creatures and it looked really interesting so I read it all but then it made me wonder about the relationships between Wizards and the creatures and I have a few questions about it I was hoping you could answer? Only if you have the time of course. Sir." Neville opened his mouth to probably apologise when Professor Lupin smiled down at him and started to nod.

…

"Of course I have some time Neville. I will always have time for my students no matter what your reason is, big or small. If you have questions about your work, in class or out, or anything related to the subject you can always ask. Or, if you ever just need someone to talk to, I'm always available." Neville's shoulders slumped a little and his head ducked down. Remus was worried for a moment until he saw the bright, tremulous smile that was being hidden. It brought out a warm feeling in Remus and he startled for a moment when he felt the contentment radiating from Moony at the sight of his happy cub. There was also the slight pain in his chest area when he realised that not too many people had probably ever given him such a welcoming invitation to talk before based on his reaction and the fear at the mention of his grandmother during the previous lesson. He wasn't sure that Neville would take up his offer right away— if ever— but he felt glad that Neville had taken the request so well.

In the few moments of peace that Remus had had to himself, he had come to terms with what Moony's recognition of his cub meant for him. It didn't really mean much except that he would feel like Neville was his son of sorts, and Remus felt like that wouldn't be too much of a bother because even if he had a child he wouldn't favour them in class as that wasn't fair. He would be more protective of the boy, but he could always say it was because he was a fellow Gryffindor and Neville reminded him of himself at that age, and he had been close friends with Alice when they were in school.

He smiled at the boy once more and waited for him to collect his papers before leading him to his office. He watched the boy subtly on the way, and it seemed as if even though the boy was extremely nervous, he was determined to have his questions answered. Moony, and Remus for that matter, felt a surge of pride for Neville. You didn't see it too often, but there was a reason the third-year was placed in Gryffindor after all. Not that Remus had ever doubted him.

The petite boy was seemingly amazed by his office. Remus didn't really find anything about it extremely spectacular, but maybe the Grindylow in the tank behind his desk was becoming more of an attention seeker than the last time he'd had someone up here. Remus was slightly shocked (and pretty pleased) that Neville was also taking interest in the many artefacts and books he had on the bookshelves and display cases that stood on either side of the door. He watched as the pre-teen examined the detailed diagrams of various Magical Creatures and wand movements that were covering the remaining wall spaces. Remus smiled and sat in his chair, waiting for the preteen to take a seat.

…

Neville took and deep breath and exhaled slowly as he sat down, lifting his head to meet the Professor's gaze head-on so that he would know that Neville had only innocent and truthful queries. He was still feeling quite light in his chest from the kindness the professor had shown him before in the courtyard, and he hoped that what he was going to ask wouldn't jeopardise that. Before he could begin to doubt himself, Neville decided to start on his inquiry. He did actually have some questions about the relations between Wizards and Magical Creatures, now that he thought about it.

"Okay Neville, shoot. What did you want to know?" Professor Lupin smiled at him benevolently and Neville leant forwards slightly.

"My first question is, well, what makes a Magical Creature a Magical Creature? Why are they different from Muggle animals?" Professor Lupin smiled and explained Magical Qualities to him in great detail. The questions went on like that for a few minutes until Neville came to Goblins.

"Why are they classified as Creatures instead of people? They're just like Wizards and Witches expect they look different, right?" Professor Lupin sighed and slumped forwards a little onto his desk. He looked at Neville for a moment, just observing, and Neville started to get a little nervous until he sat up straight again and linked his fingers together, resting his chin on them.

"Alright Neville, I'm going to tell you something and you mustn't repeat it, because it could get us in some trouble with the Ministry, and neither of us want that, right?" Neville nodded instantly. Professor Lupin sighed again and ran his fingers through his hair.

"The Ministry… are not always right." He stopped for a moment, looking at Neville until he nodded again. "Sometimes, people in power say certain things, or make certain decisions because they want to, or they have a certain opinion. This is called bias, and unfortunately, the people in the Ministry have quite a bit of bias against anyone or anything that is not the same as themselves. Now, I'm not saying everyone in the Ministry is like this, but the ones in power usually are quite similar. The Goblins, as you know, are quite intelligent, but some time ago they were not as Magically powerful as the Wizards, and thus lost a war to us. The Wizards took advantage of that, and technically enslaved the Goblins. Now as time passed, many other countries realised their mistakes and freed the Goblins so all people could be on equal terms. Some others, including England, did not do this. Our Ministry is one of the harshest against Magical Creatures in the world, because they are the most afraid of anything that they cannot, or will not, understand. Ignorance comes from fear, and all humans, Wizards or Muggles, fear what they do not know. Do you understand?" Neville took a moment to process everything he had heard before affirming with the professor. It was simple and did make a lot of sense, but this was also the perfect time to ask what he really wanted to know.

"Is it the same with others? Like Faeries and werewolves?" Neville felt bad when he noticed the professor freeze slightly before the man cleared his throat and spoke.

"Well, not exactly, but to some extent. The Fae and Sidhe are very diverse—there are different types of how they are classified. There are the Lesser Fae and Greater Fae, and within those two there are more: Lesser Faeries, Greater Faeries and Pixies, and the Animal and Plant Fae are all types of Lesser Fae, while the Greater Fae are what we call Sentient Fae. The thing is, because there are more Lesser Fae than Greater, the whole group of Fae are classified as Magical Creatures by the Ministry instead of Magical Beings, which the Greater Fae are. Does that make sense?" Neville's neck was going to be sore by the end of this conversation because of all the nodding he was doing.

"Now the werewolves… they're also a different situation. The people who are turned into werewolves are just normal Wizards until their transformations – because Muggles usually don't survive the first transformation—so they should be seen as people, right? It would be that simple, except the beast that lives inside them has no proper sentience; it only has singular, primitive thoughts that are not intelligent enough to be classified as anything other than a mon-… than a Creature. And sometimes, the people who are bitten decide to integrate with their inner beast, and then they are no longer people at all. So it's a bit complicated. Do you understand?" For the first time since they started their conversation, Neville shook his head instead of nodding it, and Professor Lupin looked a little surprised by it.

…

Remus shouldn't be so surprised; he was only thirteen after all, he wasn't expected to comprehend everything on the first go, no matter how intelligent he seemed.

"Do you need me to repeat-" Remus didn't even have time to be shocked over the fact that the timid boy was interrupting him before he was left speechless.

"Sorry professor, but no. I get what you're trying to say, but I don't agree with you. I personally believe that werewolves are not monsters in any sense of the word."

I think I'll leave this here. :D