The time passed in trickles and bursts, some of the exercises in magic control seeming to stretch into infinity while mere moments passed, while other times she would come out of a meditation that she had only thought took minutes to find that the sun had jumped across the sky. Buffy didn’t seem to be able to reach the slayer, the power when she found it didn’t behave in the way that Remus described his inner wolf; as a dormant well. She would catch a particle of it in her mind, but then it would trickle through her fingers as she attempted to hold on to it. The energy infusing her entire body not stationary; it was the strength in her muscles, the adrenaline in her bloodstream. It was a part of every cell of her body, giving her the strength and skill to beat back the darkness.

The light from the windows had dimmed with approaching dusk by the time they quitted the room, Lupin looking even more drained than he had earlier as if the effort involved in the lessons had drained some of the life out of him adding years to his already aged features. They exited the stairwell through the doorway on the forth floor which swung back quickly after their exit, the sealed doorway hidden behind a graphic picture that looked like it should belong in a DADA textbook with helpful passages nearby on where to find and how to defeat it though Buffy mused, something this gruesome would never be in Slinkhard’s dry book on the subject.

The background of the picture was pitch black, drawing the eye into eternity but trapped in the foreground just visible in a deep blue light, so dark that the light itself seemed to have shadows, was a corpse lying awkwardly against what looked like some kind of rock. The skin was pulled tight over bony features paper thin and pale in the way that no creature with blood flowing through their veins can ever truly be. The fact that it was a corpse didn’t worry Buffy; she had seen enough of them in her time in Sunnnydale. It was the way it turned its head as if to keep her in the view of its hollow sightless eyes that was slightly disconcerting.

At the end of the corridor that Buffy recognised as a route from the library down to the classrooms on the third floor. Though shorter than other corridors in similar directions, it was little used due to the nature of the stairs which would refuse to appear for every forth person to climb them leaving you to either attempt to scale banisterless invisible stairs with a twenty foot drop beneath your feet and some trick steps, or take the other way around. As most students opted to just go for the second option without bothering to find out if they’d be lucky enough to see the stairs, the corridor was empty of anyone but Buffy and Lupin.

He had continued along the corridor towards the dreaded staircase without noticing that Buffy was still preoccupied with the picture.

“Why didn’t we come in through here?”

He turned to see her looking with interest at the frame of the picture, trying to figure out how to get the door open again.

“I don’t know how to open the doors.” She turned from the portrait to look at him, wondering how he knew about the room at all if he could only get in from outside. Partially answering her unasked question, he continued “The door outside isn’t as well guarded as these. I think it was a crude later addition creating a loophole in the protection of Rowena’s study. To open the doors onto the stairwell you have to know the password, and none of the pictures are exactly of people you could just coax a clue out of.” He indicated the corpse that was now stumbling towards the foreground of the picture.

Buffy was still thinking about the doorways when Lupin stopped on the second floor. She had hardly thought about him leaving merely enjoying the companion that in both his British cordiality and depth of knowledge reminded her of her Watcher and when he held out his hand, about to leave, she felt a pang of loneliness.

“It was… enlightening to meet you Buffy.” He smiled at her “I’m sure Dumbledore will arrange another session soon.”

The sudden tightness in her chest left her as she realised he would be back. It had been a relief to be around someone who, even though – she hoped – he didn’t know what she was, knew what it was to be different and definitely understood the subtle barrier it creates between you and… the rest of humanity. She paused for a moment to watch him disappear around a corner before continuing to the Great Hall, her slayer metabolism berating her for having missed lunch.

Seated at the Ravenclaw table half listening to a group of fifth years chatter as she ate when she paused mid forkful sensing a presence that, after a day spent trying to connect to her slayerness in his company, she couldn’t fail to recognise. Through a small doorway behind the staff table emerged Dumbledore head turned backwards as he added a remark to his conversation with Lupin. At the appearance of the werewolf Buffy saw a couple of the students nearby flinch slightly and edge as far away as was possible when confined by the filled benches of the hall.

A student in Hufflepuff fell back off his seat when, after stretching back to see around his contemporaries to see what the fuss was about, he was startled by the sight of his ex-Professor. But these reactions were nothing in comparison to the change in Delores Umbridge that occurred the moment Lupin walked in the door. A look of profound disgust settled onto her features and she started to take shallower breaths as if she couldn’t bear to be breathing the same air as the werewolf.

If anything the expression only deepened when Dumbledore conjured a chair in between his and hers and invited Lupin to be seated barely noticing the eerie silence in the hall.

“… and the house elf said to the…”

As the Headmaster moved to sit down, Professor McGonagall, seated on his other side put a hand lightly on his arm and he stopped halfway through his joke and looked up at the attentive students, then to where the werewolf was now sitting. He stood back up fully and addressed the hall.

“As most of you know, this is Mr Lupin. I asked him to visit the school today to assist me with a problem and, as you see, he will be dining with us this evening.” Seeming to think that this was enough to explain the sudden reappearance of a Professor that had left in such disgrace, he sat back down and picked up a bowl, dishing some out onto his own plate before looking enquiringly towards Lupin.

“Beef Stroganoff, Remus?” at his refusal Dumbledore looked past him to Umbridge “Delores?” she took the dish still glowering at the Headmaster for inviting a half-breed to dine next to her. When she passed the dish further along the table she used the opportunity to shift her seat further away from Lupin, flinching away whenever he came close to her air space.

The students had remained silent for a while after their Headmaster sat down and then slowly conversations trickled in until it reached it’s normal racket in which Buffy couldn’t distinguish any but the conversations close around her from the rabble. She attempted to hone in on the conversation between Lupin and Dumbledore, interested to know what he had to say about her. Unfortunately she couldn’t hear through the surrounding noise and eventually gave up, deciding that it was doubtful anyway that the headmaster would discuss it in such a public place and near to the obviously distrusting DADA Professor.

Later that evening as most of the students were settling down in their common rooms, Buffy walked through the silent corridors towards the courtyard through which she had exited the school earlier that day. As she walked down the stairs towards the Entrance Hall she heard voices echoing through the vast room.

“…you should hear the stories about what she did on a broom… mainly first years exaggerating but it definitely flew out of control…”

“On an old school Shooting Star as well; they’ve got so many safety charms it’s amazing that they get off the ground let alone do that”

“Oh and supposedly she was deported back here…”

“Yeah, the kid of a Death Eater that ran. They put her parents in Azka… Ouch.”

“Ron, you know that’s just a rumour. Her story is strange though… it’s very rare that a School aged child should be expelled form a country, and she has lessons with every fourth and fifth year class but ours.”

Finally a voice chipped in that she recognised “You can’t be talking about…” Lupin had finally realised who it was that the trio had set their suspicions on this year when he was interrupted.

“Me.”

The trio were all facing the front doors and so hadn’t seen Buffy come down the stairs and all jumped when she spoke; turning with varying degrees of suspicion and anger on their faces. Lupin however managed to precede any remarks that the red faced Ron could make when he greeted her.

“Buffy, how are you? Have you recovered well from our session today?”

All three of the Gryffindors turned simultaneously to look at their ex-Professor at his friendly greeting of one of the two people that they had been regarding with suspicion since the beginning of term. Then it clicked, Buffy could see Hermione’s mind working as she put together private lessons with a werewolf with all the other strange occurrences and Harry’s scarred forehead creased in annoyed contemplation.

“Wha?… You?... She…” Ron looked back and forth between Buffy and their ex-Professor obviously not understanding.

“You didn’t tell us she was the reason you’re here.” Harry’s voice that had been almost animated as he talked of his suspicions and grievances had become harsh, cold and judgemental and anger flashed in his eyes from behind his glasses.

“Harry…” Hermione attempted to admonish him but failed to think of any real rebuff that wouldn’t give away to the Ravenclaw just how closely she had looked into her at Harry’s insistence. He seemed to have taken at least a few of the fake Moody’s words to heart and was careful about trusting any unknowns.

“Harry.” Lupin’s sharp tone halted any more of the boy’s words in a way that Hermione’s disapproving tirades ever could as it was such a rarer sound. “It is none of your concern that I was here to see Buffy. It has nothing to do with you… and just as I wouldn’t tell her of what we speak of in private I will not betray her confidence.” At the last sentence he had turned to Hermione, she had obviously remembered that Dumbledore had said Lupin was here to help solve a problem and was alive with questions that she had no real need to ask, wondering if Buffy had a problem… or was the problem.

“But she’s conspiring with Umbridge, Fudge sent her here to…”

Ron saw the sharp looks he was receiving from both Lupin and Hermione and trailed off his rant and glanced warily in Buffy's direction who was ignoring the Gryffindors as she looked properly at her tutor's face. "I'm fine… but you look terrible..."

The other three students looked at Lupin for the first time that evening as a person not their ex-Professor who could help them out and managed to see what she had; the taught lines around the face and sunken eyes that betrayed his exhaustion.

"It's been a tough week" he nodded through the open doors of the Great Hall where, amongst the clouds that drifted across the ceiling to mirror others doing the same outside, a waning moon shone in the sky.

“I’m sorry” She reached up, wanting to will away the pain and loneliness that was etched on his features as he looked at the bane of his existence, but pulled back as she saw the Gryffindors ready themselves to protect one that they thought of as their own form any harm that this stranger intended to inflict.

Before the others, she heard the crackle of wheels on gravel as a carriage made its way up the long drive, and had turned to face the main doors long before the demonic beasts pulled up outside them.

“Looks like your ride’s here.”  Buffy stepped back as he bade his farewells to the trio; reminding Harry to “not hesitate to write if you have any problems.” At this the boy stepped forward from where he had been hanging back since Buffy’s arrival and opened his mouth as if to speak, before he remembered Buffy and, sending her an angry look,  waved a detached goodbye to the Professor.

Left alone in the Entrance Hall there was a moment’s awkward silence as the coach drove out of sight. Unperturbed by the vicious glares she was receiving as they were nothing in comparison to the looks she’d had in abundance from vampires, Buffy moved towards the door.

“Well, fun as this is, I’ll be off now.”

As Buffy had just pulled open the door to the corridor that lead to the courtyard she heard a sharp voice behind her. “Where are you going?” Hermione snapped, and Buffy turned, her hand still on the door knob to see the now familiar eyes staring suspiciously at her.

“Is that really your business?” Buffy narrowed her eyes, annoyed by the unwarranted prying, and the stare that had frightened many Vampires and Demons elicited an immediate effect on the girl.

“Well… uh…” She stuttered, then averted her eyes from Buffy’s as she thought before looking directly back into the gaze triumphantly “yes actually. It’s almost curfew and I’m a Prefect. It’s my job to check that students are in their rooms on time.”

She raised her eyebrow at the righteous anger in front of her  “What about those two?” she pointed at Hermione’s companions.

“Ron’s a prefect too” the boy puffed out his chest at Buffy as if the prefect badge would act as some kind of deterrent for her “and Harry… well Harry…”

“…has never followed School rules when they didn’t suit him.” They all turned to find Snape coming out of the stairs that lead down into the dungeon. “And since neither of the Gryffindor fifth year prefects are on the rota for patrolling the corridors tonight” he looked pointedly at Ron and Hermione, dissipating any excuse they might have been forming “I think all of you should go back to your common rooms.” The Gryffindors rushed up the stairs before Snape could deduct any points from their house, and Buffy started to follow the others when the Professor grabbed her arm in a tight grip.

“Where were you off to Miss Summers?” Snape sneered at her, dragging her off the steps. She saw his eyes widen then narrow in glee as he caught sight of colour beneath her robes and tried to pull away from him as he flicked them back, revealing the comfortable trousers and bright shirt that she had put on to slay in that night. “And out of uniform… well that’d better be twenty points from Ravenclaw” He turned her so she could see the sapphire grains trickle upwards out of the bottom bulb of the hourglass that counted their house points.

“Sir, if you don’t let go I won’t make it back in time.” Buffy stared blankly into the dark eyes as she gently, well at least gently for a slayer, removed his hand from her.

“Yes…” Snape sneered “I’m sure you wouldn’t want that.” He reluctantly stepped away from her into a less threatening position “I hope you realise that your night time wanderings will not be tolerated now that the School is back in session?”

Buffy merely stared back at the man until he cringed slightly and looked away, then turned and walked calmly up the stairs. Just as she got out of a normal persons hearing range she heard him start in surprise.

“Ah… Filch, I have a suspicion that our foreign student may be walking about out of hours… keep an eye out will you?”

Her heart sank as she listened to the man’s snivelling as he agreed to keep a look out for her. Getting out of the castle at night had just become harder than she’d thought it would be. It wasn’t until she had reached her bed and collapsed into it that her thoughts travelled back from the problem of getting past Snape and Filch to the conversation she had overheard between the four Gryffindors. She sat up with a start. How had they known about her?