When the first week of October came it was time for the first years to start their flying lessons. This class was one that the young Hufflepuffs took with their Gryffindor counterparts. A large collection of brooms had been piled in the middle of one school’s many greens. As the class gathered around the heap there was an uneasy silence. This was broken when a large Gryffindor began to boast loudly, "I've been on a broom thousands of times, this'll be easy." The girl next to him didn't look too convinced, in fact, she looked perfectly petrified at the prospect of riding one of the rather worn looking wooden sticks. Elysa and Kim gave her a sympathetic look before sharing a worried glimpse themselves; the broomsticks really didn’t look safe. Natalie and Marie, astute as they were, spotted the fear and quickly went about dismissing it.
“You’ve got nothing to worry about,” Marie assured them.
“Yeah, flying is easy once you get the hang of it,” Natalie added. “Besides, Professor Colleen won’t have us flying too high today. We’ll probably only get a few feet off the ground and then you don’t have far to fall.”
"Speak for yourself," the large Gryffindor snorted.
"I beg your pardon?" Natalie snapped indignantly.
"I said, speak for yourself. Are you deaf or something?" he guffawed.
"No. What do you mean 'speak for yourself'?" The girls knew what was coming. Even after only a few days with Nat they could already spot an angry tirade in its early stages.
"I mean that I'll be flying round this castle quicker than you can say Flitwick is short. There'll be no keeping me down. I might even try out for the Quidditch team in a few weeks," he bragged.
"But, Paul, first years never make the house teams," another boy commented.
"Well, I'm going to change that," Paul stated simply.
"I very much doubt it. We'll soon see whether you're any good or not," Natalie replied shortly before turning her back on Paul and taking a step closer to Marie.
"When we get in the air you had better out fly him," she whispered. "Show him what you're made of, Mar." The girls watched Natalie carefully while her anger bubbled away; they waited expectantly for her next outburst. "You know something, those of us who've flown before shouldn't be boasting about how much better we are; we should be trying to reassure those who haven't."
"Well said," commended the approaching Professor Colleen. She was a tall and thin woman, with short hair that was faintly purple. She had a round, very friendly face and smiled warmly at them all from the start. Right, everyone grab a broom and let’s get started."
As Kim followed the professor's instructions and gripped her broom with her right hand she was surprised to feel the control she already had on it. When it came time to throw her leg over it she gave Nat another doubtful look, but after a firm nod and a wink from her friend she continued with more confidence. The broom slowly and rather steadily rose off the ground until only Kim's tiptoes were still in contact with the grass. She glanced up to see how the others were doing, and in her momentary lapse of concentration her broom began to shake. It was in that moment that she started to panic and ended up tipping her broom backwards. "Focus, Kimberly," Professor Colleen muttered quietly. Kim gathered herself together and focused on the handle in front of her; she quickly managed to bring her broom back under control.
While Kim and Elysa practised tipping their brooms up and down, and from side to side, the other girls were getting a little more adventurous. Marie and Natalie were flying around them, several feet off the ground, effortlessly moving in wide circles. Lex wasn't too far behind them; she was having trouble moving smoothly and seemed to be taking short spurts forward. The highlight of the lesson came only ten minutes from the end when Paul, the expert Gryffindor flyer, fell from his broom spectacularly; complete with wildly flailing arms. While everyone else exploded with laughter, Natalie remained mysteriously straight-faced but suddenly proclaimed, "Oh yes, he'll make it on to the Gryffindor team. I hear they're always looking for someone to distract the other teams."
When lunch time came the girls were still chuckling loudly about Paul’s humiliation. As they sat at their table in the Great Hall Marie recounted the morning’s lesson to Robin, who listened carefully with an amused smile. The story was recounted, complete with chaotic arm movements that cause riotous laughter up and down the Hufflepuff table. Patrick, who was passing them at the time, interrupted their conversation.
“You’re not still telling that story, are you?” he asked with exasperation.
“Nope, this is a new story,” Marie chimed.
“Not that it’s any of your business,” Natalie muttered under her breath. Pat pretended not to hear her and stalked off in the direction of his own table. “Here comes the expert now.” She waved her head in the direction of the Great Hall’s doors where Paul and his friends were just arriving. They sauntered down to their seats and began stuffing their faces with the vast feast before them.
“I think he’s probably learned his lesson by now,” Elysa said reasonably.
“I’m not so sure,” Lex argued as she watched the boy carefully. “Look at the way he’s lording it up over there. He hasn’t learned a thing.” As the girls looked up to observe Paul and his cronies they realised that it was true. The corpulent Gryffindor was sitting at his table with his head held high and a rather superior look on his face. The day’s events had evidently taught him nothing.
“He’ll learn eventually,” Kim said calmly as she returned to her meal.
“Eventually isn’t really soon enough,” Nat muttered thoughtfully. Her eyes gleamed momentarily before she rose from the table and started towards the Gryffindor one.
“Nat, what are you doing?” Marie hissed as her housemate marched away from them.
“This is not going to be good,” Kim groaned.
“Nope, it’s going to be hilarious,” Lex grinned.
The four girls watched with bated breath to see what it was that Natalie had in mind. To everyone’s surprise, especially Marie’s, she waltzed straight up to James and his friends.
“Excuse me, James, do you have a moment?” she asked with unusual politeness. Her overwhelming hatred of James normally kept all civility out of her tone.
“Um, yes?” James replied in confusion. Peter and Sirius were staring at Natalie avidly, while Remus looked on with intrigue written across his features.
“You’re on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, aren’t you?”
“I am.”
“Well, if you’re looking for any extra players then there are some real stars in the first year; Paul, for example.” Natalie pointed to where Paul was sitting further down the table. He looked up at the mention of his name and his eyes widened. “He’s about as good as your cousin Muriel. He was showing us one of his moves earlier today. How did it go again?” She turned and addressed Paul who froze entirely. When it became clear that he wasn’t actually going to give her a response, she turned back to James. “It went something like this…”
Natalie proceeded to throw her arms in the air and started shrieking like a banshee. This drew attention from all over the hall. When she was finished with her demonstration she turned back to James. “I think it could make an awfully good distraction. You might want to keep him in mind.” With a swirl of her cloak Natalie returned to the Hufflepuff table, with a majority of the school’s students laughing and pointing at Paul, who quickly stormed from the hall.
“I knew that I was right. She’s a stark raving lunatic,” James stared at the spot where Natalie had been standing just a few seconds ago.
“Nope, she brilliant, absolutely brilliant,” Sirius howled. He was doubled over in stitches of laughter. His long dark hair was swinging with mirth and his eyes were positively dancing with amusement.
“I’m just amazed that she managed to talk to you nicely, normally whenever she sees you it’s like daggers are about to shoot from her eyes,” Peter reminded them as he began to pick apart a chicken salad sandwich.
“Maybe she’s mellowing.” Remus recommenced pushing food around his plate.
“Mellow, schmellow,” James snorted. “Remus, can I borrow that Defence essay from you now?”
“Which one?”
“The one on werewolves,” James replied.
“That was due in over a week ago, haven’t you done it yet?” Remus asked with a tone of annoyance.
“If I’d done it, would I be asking for it?” James gave him a look of incredulity.
“He’s a lost cause,” Sirius sighed dramatically.
“What did you think of that chapter on them?” Peter asked.
“Chapter on what?” James enquired with confusion.
“The chapter on werewolves.” Peter rolled his eyes.
“I thought it was very informative, even if it was a little biased,” Remus said firmly. The strange tone caught their attention. He rarely sounded so prickly.
“Biased? Exactly how was it biased?” Sirius raised an aristocratic eyebrow.
“Well, it made them out to be animals…” Remus bristled.
“Which they are,” James chipped in.
“Yes, for a couple of days in the month. The rest of the time, they’re human beings just like us.”
“That’s taking it a little bit far!” Sirius gawped in surprise.
“I don’t think so. I think we treat them very unfairly.” Remus slapped his goblet down on the table and moved away from his friends irritably.
“Is he all right?” Sirius asked with concern as he watched Remus disappear into the crowd.
“Maybe the madness is spreading,” James shrugged.
“I think it’s nearly time for him to visit that sick Aunty of his,” Peter reminded them all insightfully.
“I forgot about that. What is it that’s wrong with her?” Sirius screwed his face up in concentration as he tried to remember what Remus had told them about the aunty who was very unwell and required monthly visits.
“I don’t think he’s actually said,” James answered as his memory failed him. A sudden squeak from Peter made him and Sirius jump.
“What was that for?” Sirius gave his shortest friend an odd look.
“You don’t think she’s a werewolf, do you?” he whispered. The three boys shared a questioning look before James started shaking his head.
“Nah, Remus would have told us if it was something like that.”
When they caught up with Remus at Professor Flitwick’s classroom they avoided broaching the sensitive subject, and some awkward banter passed between them for the rest of the day. However, they did notice that he was looking paler than usual and had large bags under his eyes. It only served to make them question Remus’s motives all the more.
As they finished dinner Professor McGonnagall strode towards them. “Mr. Lupin, it’s time that you were leaving,” she said sternly.
“Yes, Professor,” Remus replied wearily. “I’ll see you lot in a couple of days.”
“Take care,” Peter chimed heartily.
“Yeah, look after yourself, mate,” Sirius grinned.
“See you soon,” James added. The three of them watched carefully as McGonngall and Remus paced out of the Great Hall and then slipped out the front doors of the castle.
Later that evening, as they sat discussing Remus’s strange behaviour in front of the fire in their common room, none of them heard the painful howl that pierced through the quiet air of the school grounds; not one of them spotted the bright and full moon that was hanging in the inky sky.