Rain and Hermione sat beside Ron as Madam Pomfrey tended to his leg. Soon enough Harry was carted in, unconscious, and they overheard Snape's voice claim that Sirius had been captured and locked away to await the dementor's kiss. Harry stirred and Hermione told him the awful news. When Dumbledore came to the hospital wing, all four of them frantically tried to explain that Sirius must be released.

"I believe you, but I'm afraid the word of four students will convince few others," he answered. "Mysterious thing, time. Powerful. And when meddled with, dangerous. Sirius Black is in the topmost cellar of the dark tower." The clock chimed and he looked at Hermione. "You know the laws, Ms. Granger. You must not be seen, and you will do well, I feel, to return before this last chime. If not, the consequences are too ghastly to discuss. If you succeed tonight, more than one innocent life may be spared. Three turns should do it, I think."

Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him out the door of the hospital wing.

"Where are they going?" Rain asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"After what I've seen tonight I'm prepared to be a little open-minded."

"That's very fortunate, considering this is also the night that you've discovered the truth about Professor Lupin."

Rain looked down.

"I know it must have been hard for all of you," Dumbledore said, looking at Ron and then to Rain, "And you especially, given your history. I'm sure it was a terrible blow."

"You could say that," Rain answered.

"That's my fault, I'm afraid."

"Do you say that because you hired him?" she asked.

"I say that because I specifically instructed him not to tell you, Ms. Marquis."

Rain gaped. "When? Why?"

"He approached me just before the Christmas holiday after finding out about your family, very insistent upon telling you, but I forbid him. You see, his presence here was vital not just for the benefit of the students as an excellent instructor, but to uncover the truth regarding Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. He was the connection between the past and the present. If, and I dare say when, the parents of this school are made privy to his identity, it may not be possible for him to remain at his post. I couldn't take the chance of the news spreading beyond the necessary minimum."

She put her hand to her temple. Lupin did want to tell her months ago, just as he said. He'd tried to convince her to stay away from him, warned her repeatedly, and she never respected his wishes. If she were to trust all of his other claims, namely that he thought she knew of his lycanthropy the first time they'd been intimate, when he bit her, then there was only one thing left to give her pause: the bite itself. Did she truly believe he infected her on purpose? After everything, how hard he tried to protect her and the guilt she saw in his eyes day after day that she couldn't explain, did she think him capable of intentionally giving her this burden?

"Werewolf or not, he's the best Defense teacher we've ever had," Ron chimed. "Much better than that git, Lockhart."

Suddenly a memory from the previous year popped into Rain's head; the one detail of Lockhart's lectures that stuck with her, given the nature of it. She could almost see him in her mind, standing in the front of the room beside the portrait of himself, the only male face that ever paid him any attention:

"...another village will remember me forever as the hero who delivered them from the monthly terror of werewolf attacks."

She felt desperate enough in her regret that she was willing to try it. "Professor Dumbledore, Lockhart told us about something called the Homorphus Charm."

The Headmaster rose his eyebrows. "Ms. Marquis, I trust you know better than to believe a word he said."

"True, he didn't do any of the things he claimed...himself. He stole the work of other witches and wizards, didn't he?"

Dumbledore put his hand on Rain's back and led her away from Ron's bed. "What do you know of the Homorphus Charm?"

"Lockhart said he used it to cure the Wagga Wagga Werewolf."

"There is no cure for lycanthropy, I'm afraid."

Rain's shoulders sank.

"What the Homorphus Charm does is turn a werewolf back into a man, but does not prevent the transformation from taking place whenever the moon is full."

"So it's real?!"

He studied her. "Yes, it is real."

"Please, Sir. Please tell me how it's done! If I were to use it on Professor Lupin tonight I could spare him from harming anyone else. Or himself."

"The spell is rumored as a debacle given the astronomical rate of failure."

Rain looked to her feet. "So I probably couldn't learn it in one evening, huh?"

"Not unless I tell you this first: you mustn't cast the spell at the wolf. It is not with his heart or soul that you are trying to communicate. Instead of striking down the evil, you must uplift the good."

"So I have to reach Lupin's soul? How?"

"The patronus."

"The patronus?"

"Yes. The representation within your own soul of complete happiness. When a werewolf seizes a man or woman's mind, it is like a dementor attack. They are overtaken by fear, hate, and a beast set out to kill. You must produce your patronus and command it to awaken the spirit within your opponent. That will help him take back control of his body and transform."

"And I say..."

"Suscito."

"Oh wow," Rain exhaled.

"Simple, yet effective," Dumbledore added.

"Why don't more people know about this?"

"The Armenian warlock who invented the spell had his memory erased before Lockhart stole the credit. He, of course, failed to perform it correctly but, in an effort to impress me during his interview as Professor, described it in detail. Now, given his reputation, few people believe it works, or even exists. The rest who have tried it always say the incantation without summoning the patronus first. Everything must be in a specific order, you see."

"And now you're...you're going to just let me go outside and try it?"

"I've sent two thirteen year-olds to save Sirius Black. I suppose I can allow one nineteen year-old to save Remus Lupin."

She didn't give herself the chance to think or talk herself out of it. Rain walked up to Ron's bedside. "Ron, I need to borrow your wand. I'll take very good care of it."

"Wait, where's your wand? Where are you going?" he asked. "Where is everyone going?!"

As Rain ran out from the hospital wing she passed by Harry and Hermione just outside it. "Good luck, guys!"

They looked at each other, out of breath, and smiled. Taking the stairs two at a time, Rain illuminated her wand, dashed past the complaining portraits trying to sleep, and to Lupin's room to grab a few supplies. Her bag, and half of her clothes, ended up making a home there that week. After she gathered what she needed, she returned out to the night. The Forbidden Forest was huge; she knew she couldn't search it inch by inch. Instead, she looked to the full moon, felt a tingle in her stomach, and howled out.

Moony! she called. She waited and tried again. Where are you?

The crackling of twigs traveled to her ears. The smell of his hair and neck wafted to her nose and she knew it was him. A figure that could have sprung straight from her nightmares bounded from the trees on four legs and stood tall to observe her. Rain fought the instinct to run and instead took out the wand.

"Expecto patronum!" But very little happened. No no no! Her mind raced. This stubborn wand didn't belong to her; she should have practiced with it first!

That hand...Moony growled. I'd like to taste it.

Get back! Rain yelled.

Why then did you call me here?

"Expecto patronum!" she tried again. The patronus grew a little bigger, but ultimately failed.

It would be better than you think, you know, Moony continued. You'll never win, not truly. I'll always return, so why fight me when instead you can join me?

I won't listen, she replied.

You will once you've properly experienced the moon.

Rain tried to resist it, but her neck turned and she gazed at the bright sphere in the sky once more. Her head grew a little lighter.

If they could live, side by side, enduring lycanthropy together, would it not make life more bearable than always curing him? Always fearing him?

You'll never be accepted as you are now. Humans will shun you once they realize you're contaminated. Werewolves will reject you for trying to preserve your purity. Now is the time to choose one side over the other, he said.

She lowered her wand. Maybe he was right. Besides a select few, would she have to conceal herself from the rest of the world as Lupin did from her?

Moony crept closer. You're starting to see. I can read your eyes and hear your scattered thoughts. We've always had this connection, you and I, so now let's make it whole. Remus may not say it aloud, but he wants you by his side, forever. He would have no reason to push you away if you were one of his own.

Her thoughts ignited.

Yes. Moony nodded. He'd be thrilled.

Rain tried to imagine Lupin's reaction to her telling him the news, but it didn't take long to remember his remorse after biting her once, as a human, nor the tortured look in his eyes when he'd admitted the meaning behind it, and she hadn't even turned into a full werewolf.

No, she said. He wouldn't. One night of the month, when he's not himself, he may be grateful for a companion. For the rest of the thirty days he would hate to know he'd done such a thing, even if he couldn't control it. He'd hate to see me suffer as I see him.

You don't know him like I do.

Then you don't know him at all! You only know a warm body that's helpless against you. You force him down while you take whatever you want, and now you're trying to do the same to me. I won't let you have more power than you already do. You won't have him for a second longer than I can help it!

She raised the wand one more time. Moony swiped at her neck and she fell back, barely missing him. He inched forward, his lungs vibrating as he inhaled and exhaled, licking his lips.

"Expecto patronum!" she shouted.

A pool of light flowed forth and the little fox sprung out. Moony lunged and tried to pounce, but the sly creature narrowly escaped each time.

"Suscito!" she commanded, and this time her fox was the one to bare her teeth and strike. "Find him! Help him!"

The patronus ran full force and pounced into Moony, who tried to bat her away but his paw went clean through as if she were a ghost. The werewolf growled and flailed his body trying to be rid of the intruder but she was already inside, ripping, clawing her way through to the tiny area in his heart where Lupin's soul was trapped. Starting from the top of his head and the tips of his claws, human flesh appeared and spread outward like a crack in the glass. White, bruised skin replaced fur and his spine popped as it straightened. Although taking his human form was her objective, she shuttered to imagine how much pain Lupin's body endured in just a few hours. That question was quickly answered when the last of his features, his voice, morphed from the high-pitched whimper of the wolf into the shriek of a human man. Finally complete, he closed his eyes and fell to the ground.

Rain ran to him. He was breathing but hardly conscious. "Remus! Remus it's me!"

"Rain?" he mumbled, trying to lift his head. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm here. I'm all right."

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry."

"Shh..." she said, opening her bag and taking out a blanket. He rested his head back on the ground and she covered him, running her hand through his hair and inspecting his cuts. She'd feel safer tending to the wounds with a proper wand the next morning. She pressed her ear to his chest and drifted to sleep listening to the sound of his overburdened heart slowly beginning to unwind.

A bright light shone. Rain heard birds fly from branch to branch, stirring the leaves as they went. She opened her eyes and sat up. Her movements woke Lupin, too. He struggled as he came to full awareness, with pink blotches upon the whites of his eyes and dark circles surrounding.

"I...remember you. Last night," he said. "I saw you. I saw the full moon. It must have been a dream."

"It wasn't," Rain said.

"How?"

"I changed you back."

He looked at himself, covered in only a blanket, and again at her. "Into a man?"

Rain chuckled. "Yes."

"That's not possible."

"It is when Albus Dumbledore tells you how."

"I haven't seen a full moon with my own eyes since I was five years-old."

Rain dug in her bag and pulled out some chocolate. "Well now you can every month if you want."

He eyed her with wonder before taking a square. "This is...overwhelming. I didn't know such magic existed. I didn't know...a person existed who would care enough to perform it."

She rubbed her arm shyly. "Dumbledore told me you approached him at Christmas and asked for permission to tell me that you are a werewolf."

"I did, and I should have ignored his instructions and told you anyways."

"The point is," she said. "I know that your intentions were genuine."

"It doesn't matter. As you said, what matters is the harm I've caused that cannot be undone."

"But now I realize how it could have been an accident. How you tried not to. In my anger last night I'd completely overlooked that what you've mended far outweighs the damage."

"How have I helped you in the slightest?"

"You helped me defeat the boggart. You found my brother using lycanthropy, and now, because of your condition, I have learned how to not only help you, but Matthew."

"You're giving me way too much credit for a happy coincidence."

"Who could know better than I how many times you pushed me away? You didn't want any of this to happen at all."

"I should have tried harder."

"I'm glad you didn't."

"I'm not."

"You were put in an impossible situation."

"I knowingly deceived you."

"Like I did when we met?" Rain asked.

"You are completely blameless in this."

"I didn't tell you I was a student because I wanted to know what it felt like for someone to see me, not my position in society. That day, we both saw the other for who we were...and loved it."

"You don't love me. You couldn't," Lupin said.

"You know I do. You know how much I've wanted you from the very first moment. And now I can say for certain that you've equally wanted me."

"I won't let you ruin your life by joining mine. It's full of nothing but-"

"Train stations and hotel room?" she asked.

"I'm too old for you. Too old, too poor, too...dangerous. You'd be surrounded by-"

"Werewolves and fantastic beasts, just as I am now? You won't spare me those things by leaving."

He sighed. "I'll never truly be rid of him, you know. Even with wolfsbane. Even if you turn me back into myself, he'll always be waiting around the corner, ready for when I let my guard down."

"Everyone has a dark side...yours just happens to be on a schedule. Haven't I proven I can handle him by now?" Rain asked. "In any case, you've already entirely given yourself away."

"Oh?"

"You told me this mark..." she said, pointing to her shoulder, "...means I belong to you..."

"You belong to no one. You aren't property. And if you're not careful, there might be more where that came from."

"...and you'd be pretty thick to believe there is anything either of us can do about that."

Rain smiled, then slowly rose her hand and grasped the top edge of the blanket. Lupin put his on top to prevent her from pulling it away.

"No more secrets," Rain whispered.

He relaxed his grip and allowed her to proceed. The light of day meant that every scar would be so firmly visible that she could count them one by one. Rain pulled the blanket and, instead of frowning, softly ran her fingertips along the broken skin of his stomach and arms. They traveled up his chest to his neck, where she grasped and pulled him into her.

"My name is Remus Lupin. I was born March tenth, nineteen sixty and infected with lycanthropy as a child, then-"

"Yes," she whispered, and pressed her mouth to his.

"Werewolf," he said, pulling away.

"I am aware."

"I turn into an animal when the moon is full."

"So I've seen."

"No one can know. We must keep this relationship a secret for a long while still; at least a year. Even then-"

"When you said you were fond of nonsense, I thought you meant something else," she said impatiently.

He smirked and pulled her over top him. "I suppose if James and Sirius taught me anything, it was that if there are more reasons to break a rule than follow it, it can be safely ignored."

"I will give you at least fifty very detailed reasons."

Rain bent to kiss him as her hair cascaded over his shoulders and down his back. His hands massaged her thighs, finally knowing that she wanted him for him and not because of a charade. A moment he thought would never come, that he'd never deserved, granted to him regardless. They melted into each other. Their skin grew hot and her clothes began to loosen when they heard footsteps approaching through the foliage. Both turned and saw Hermione as she peered through the trees. Her hand flew to her mouth and her cheeks turned crimson.

"How long did you say we must keep this a secret?" Rain whispered.

Lupin grimaced and let out a humiliated sigh.

"I knew it!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Hermione!" Rain said, jumping up. She adjusted her clothes as she quickly approached the blushing third year to guide her away. She tucked her hair behind her ears and wiped off her mouth. "I...was just making sure Professor Lupin was all right. Rough night."

"I'm not an idiot, Rain."

"Yes, I know," Rain lamented. "But I had to try. Now I may as well tell you that we met before the school year started it's been a total whirlwind ever since. I don't expect you to understand or approve, but please don't tell anyone."

To Rain's surprise, Hermione replied, "In a way, I'm glad. I'm glad he has you. When I did my research on lycanthropy I learned just how lonely a werewolf's life can be. I thought if Dumbledore trusted him then so should I, so I kept my conclusion to myself."

"You truly are brilliant."

"I won't tell anyone what I saw. I feel guilty enough for last night. I thought..."

"You thought he was going to hurt Harry?"

"...Yes."

"He understands that and so do I."

"At least I didn't do as Snape and tell the whole school over breakfast."

"Snape did what?!"

The Great Hall was a madhouse when Rain entered. Shocked students chattered about Lupin, some jokingly wondering if next year they might have a vampire as a teacher. The staff already knew and tried to calm the waters. Of course, the Slytherin table eagerly wrote their parents in the hopes that Dumbledore would be removed as Headmaster for such an appalling error.

Upon sitting down, Violet was the first to discreetly address Rain. "Did you know?!"

"Not until last night."

"What's going to happen? What are you going to do?"

"I'm honestly unsure," Rain replied. "We'll take it one day at a time, but all is well."

"Oh good," Violet said. "I guess after learning about Matthew, it's really not the nail in the coffin that it could have been."

Rain had to laugh. Leave it to Violet to see the logical side to everything.

"Hey!" Violet brightened, "Do you think either of them would be willing to test out my first few batches of wolfsbane?"

"Probably not..."

Violet slumped.

"...but I might."

Rain walked up the stairs to visit Lupin one more time in his office. He packed his trinkets quietly with a slight limp in his step.

"Are you sure you have to go?" she asked him.

"You know I do. You know what's about to happen."

She wandered to his desk. A large piece of folded parchment sat atop it. She held it up and asked, "What's this?"

Before he could say anything, writing from an invisible hand appeared:

Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Ms. Marquis, but cannot allow access to this information without her obliging the password for entry.

Mr. Wormtail asks that Ms. Marquis carry about her day as usual.

Mr. Prongs is highly suspect that Mr. Moony has developed a certain amore for Ms. Marquis in her white sun dress.

Mr. Padfoot agrees with Mr. Prongs and admits that he cannot blame Mr. Moony for thinking so.

Mr. Moony would like to apologize for the considerable embarrassment caused by Mssrs. Prongs and Padfoot.

Lupin grabbed the map from her hands. "Trouble, that's what."

"Hey, I was hoping to ask Mssrs. Padfoot and Prongs who this Moony fellow is." Rain watched him fold the parchment back up and stick it in a drawer, her spirits growing a little more dire. "Where will you go?" she asked.

"Home to Yorkshire," he answered.

"And you'll..."

"I'm going to stay there a while, do what I can to find Peter. Then I'm going to search for the werewolves I've encountered and teach them about the Homorphus Charm. It's the least I can do."

"Will you write me?"

"That shouldn't be necessary."

"But I thought-"

"I bought two tickets to Yorkshire," Lupin said. "One for me, and, if you want, one for you to join me when your exams are through. I realize you may wish to continue living with your aunt, but if not, perhaps..."

She smiled.

"It'll be dangerous. I won't ask you to come with me. I know you have your own ambitions, I just...can't seem to accept the idea of being somewhere you aren't."

"There's no reason I can't chase my ambitions while I'm chasing you. It's Violet who will be stuck inside the laboratory all day."

Lupin made a face. "That sounds dreadful."

"Truly."

"So, I'll...I'll see you in a week?" he asked.

"On one condition."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Oblige me with the password, Mr. Moony," Rain said.

Lupin smiled, then took her hand and kissed it. "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."

A/N: A sincere thank you to everyone who's made it with me this far, followed/favorited, and especially those who took the time to review!

There is a one shot epilogue for this story on my profile. I hope you enjoy! :)