September 5th, 1971Days went by, and the students fell into a comfortable routine.
Lily showed great talent in Charms, while James and Sirius both excelled at
Transfiguration—which was sometimes hard to believe, considering they looked to be
rarely paying attention and were constantly getting into trouble.
Unsurprisingly, Remus was excellent in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Mia sat
staring at him during the entire class with a knowing smirk on her face.
Surprisingly, Peter was half-decent at Potions, but he was instantly topped by Lily
Evans and Severus Snape, who became Professor Slughorn's favourites.
Herbology was a nightmare for everyone when Lily accidentally put too much water
in the pots containing the blossoming bouncing bulbs, resulting in a class-wide mud fight
led by James and Sirius. Almost everyone laughed and enjoyed themselves, except for Lily,
of course, and Remus, who had been excused from class because he was sick.
Mia frowned from the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall as her brother and friends
ate dinner. It was a lazy Monday evening, and the sun had just set. A full moon hung in the
sky, and she worried about Remus, knowing that he was spending his first night alone in
the Shrieking Shack.
She excused herself early from the meal and sneaked back to the dorms where she
dug into her trunk and pulled out a small bag of Chocolate Frogs that she kept on hand,
just in case.
She found her way into the hospital wing where she smiled at Madam Pomfrey.
Madam Pomfrey looked up. "Miss Potter, are you feeling well?"
"Yes. I'm adjusting," Mia said, knowing the mediwitch was probably curious. "I was
just wondering if Remus Lupin was cleared for visitors. I know he was sent here with a
stomach ache a few days ago."
She said the words, but let her eyes do the talking for her. She hoped that Madam
Pomfrey would understand.
If the mediwitch caught on, she refused to acknowledge anything specific about
Remus or his current condition. "No visitors tonight, dear. Perhaps tomorrow."
She understood. Because she knew that Remus was not in the hospital wing at all,
but in a shack beneath the full moon, somewhere between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.