fun times with being a teenage werewolf

[wolfymcwolf]

[It was time to cover werewolves in DADA, always a bit of a rough subject for Remus. Not because it was difficult, he hardly had to take notes for it, but many of his classmates had opinions, and this year's teacher of the subject seemed all too willing to encourage "class discussions".

So it just devolved into people sharing horror stories of things they'd heard had happened to a friend of a friend of a friend's cousin's mom at the hands of a werewolf, speculation on whether the wolf half "leaked" into the human half, and all sorts of hideous rumors that Remus couldn't begin to dispute without outing himself.

Instead he slowly slid down in his chair, wishing the floor would swallow him up. Why couldn't he have been too sick to come to class this week? Or would that have been too obvious?]

Comments

[lightmagic]

[ Lily is, in fact, never impressed when the discussion of werewolves comes up. Not from personal experience of course, but because the idea of painting an entire groups of people (because that's what they are, people) with a wide brush disgusts her. There are terrible people and there are wonderful people, and being a werewolf is not the deciding factor of this. It's bad enough that every single new professor they get decides to go over the same information all over again to invite the same problematic "discourse" to happen, but it's even worse when one encourages it.

Unlike Remus' slow slide downward (which she notices, categorizes, doesn't mention) Lily sits up straighter.

("You're so smart for a Muggle-born Witch, it's amazing! Muggles are usually, you know." rings in her head.)

She raises her hand sharply in a way that cuts off one of the other students mid-sentence, and her smile is like a cold, keen knife. Several of her classmates will recognize it - it's the moment before all hell breaks loose. ]

Professor, I can't help but notice you're allowing rumor and hearsay to rule our conversation today. If I may, I'd like to input my own anecdote about how once, a Wizard stole into my great-aunt's house and tried to murder everyone inside. Honestly, I don't know if I've ever felt comfortable around magical people since. What if they all try to murder me? Wouldn't that be awful? After all, one tried to hurt my family! They're the same scenario, aren't they?

[ A few people are quiet; a few more are quite angry. Their professor is especially so, pressing his lips together into a thin line. ]

"If you are quite done Miss Evans, we'll be continuing the lesson."

[ Lily's smile drops. It's the very last chance. ]

Yes, I apologize. Back to the lesson. Werewolves, correct? Are you telling me that we, as a society, are condemning an entire group of people for something they can't control? That we're meant to treat people different from us as lesser, as evil, as wrong, for something they can't control or change? My, doesn't that sound familiar.

[ And that strikes a chord. A bad one. Now most everyone is some sort of peeved at her - one boy near her asks her, sneering, if she is a werewolf but she just turns her head to stare at him coldly, resolute and unflinching. Then, the professor speaks again: ]

"Detention, Miss Evans."

/shrugemoji

[effingsirius]

[He's not good at words. He's not good at laying it all out for someone to understand things from a new perspective. He lets James and even Lily take on that, whenever it's necessary to do for Remus' sake. Does his best to sit next to his friend and sneakily rest his hand against his during class, instead. If he can't defend him with words, he can at least remind him he's not alone.

He can also, and does, keep a mental note of some of the particularly opinionated people in the class. Usually manages to find, somehow and coincidentally, a reason to get into a fight with said people. They're always quick things, usually have the other person scuttling away with embarrassment for losing so thoroughly or because they don't want to get into any additional trouble. Sirius has learned well from his parents how to make a hurt show up quickly and without being visible. Sirius has learned to take a great amount of pain so that his scuffles don't land him in the hospital wing. He usually fixes himself up or gets James to lend a hand, so Remus can keep having plausible deniability about Sirius' involvement in anything that'll wind up with him bruised. Most people, even if they end up in the hospital wing, tend not to want to name him because he always makes sure to let them know it'll just be worse next time if they do.

(He tries not to think of himself as his father or mother, when he says it. Tries to tell himself it's like with Regulus. He's protecting Remus. It doesn't make the blood-- metaphorical or the one that literally ends up on his knuckles-- feel like it's gone any faster.)

But he's still got a sharp, victorious smile as he slides in across from Remus at dinner. He's managed to clean the blood off his split lip, but he's going to need James' help later for the bruises across his chest. It has him wincing slightly as he settles in.

Still, his voice is chipper as he helps himself to food.]

D'you hear Reynolds got himself landed in the hospital wing? From an actual Muggle fistfight, even. I didn't know he'd deign t'stoop so low.

later that night; quiet talks

[wolfymcwolf]

[It was clear Lily knew something, not because she'd spoken up during class but because before she went off to her detention, she caught him alone and took his hand, kissing him on the cheek, and there was a look in her eyes-- she knew.

He just wasn't entirely sure how much she knew. Maybe she thought he was just related to a werewolf. He did often use the excuse that his mother was ill when asked about his frequent absences.

It was his night to patrol anyway, so he waited in the hall outside Gryffindor tower for her to return from her detention.]