Entering my third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I heard the worst news on the first day of the new term. Sirius Black, a murderer who had escaped from Azkaban Prison, was apparently after me. Worse, he was the one who had killed my parents.
During nights when I couldn't sleep from fear, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher appeared. His name was Remus Lupin. An older man in worn-out robes with a tired face. But his classes were more interesting than any I'd ever t
Forbidden Love - Rumors Sinking into the Swamp—Seraphina's Venomous Fangs and Lupin's Parting
The October morning had already grown completely cold.
The ceiling of the Great Hall reflected heavy gray clouds, and steam rose from the pumpkin juice on the tables. Fianna MacGregor sat down at the end of the long Gryffindor table, in her usual space for one.
(Something feels off today.)
Unconsciously, she put her hand beneath her left collarbone. The crescent-moon birthmark beneath her uniform. Through her robes, she traced its shape.
Several weeks had passed since that night at the entrance to the Forbidden Forest, when she had handed Professor Lupin the copy of the ancient text. After that, he had continued his lessons as if nothing had happened. But Fianna knew.
(He's avoiding me.)
Even when they passed in the corridors, he wouldn't meet her eyes. When she tried to go ask him something, he always seemed busy dealing with other students. That warm time they had shared felt like an illusion.
A sharp pain pricked deep in her chest.
"Hey, look. That Gryffindor girl."
Suddenly, a voice rang out, deliberately loud enough to be heard.
When Fianna looked up, several upperclassmen from the Slytherin table were watching her. One of them, a boy with black hair slicked back, lowered his voice theatrically.
"That's the MacGregor girl, isn't it? The one with werewolf blood."
"Ugh, disgusting. How can Gryffindor stand having something like that around?"
"And apparently she's fooling around with that new teacher, Lupin. A teacher and a student—what a pervert."
The voices weren't loud enough to carry across the entire Great Hall. But the Gryffindors sitting around Fianna could hear them clearly.
Several of them glanced at Fianna.
(...What was that just now?)
Fianna stopped tearing her bread. Her fingertips were trembling slightly.
"Do you know what happens when a werewolf bites you? On the night of the full moon, it devours humans."
"I heard that girl has a crescent-moon mark on her collarbone. Malfoy said it's the mark of a curse."
Malfoy.
The moment she heard that name, something cold dropped into the pit of Fianna's stomach.
(Seraphina Malfoy.)
That night, the gaze she had felt from the bushes in the Forbidden Forest. It hadn't been her imagination. She had been watching. And now she was using that information as a weapon to destroy Fianna.
"Hey, MacGregor. Let us see that mark."
The Slytherin upperclassmen circled around the table and approached. Three of them. No—two more behind. Five Slytherins in total, surrounding Fianna.
"It's the mark of the full moon's curse, right? Show us."
Fianna slowly stood up.
"What a vulgar joke. Is Slytherin incapable of class?"
Her voice maintained its usual coolness. But her heart was pounding.
"Hah? What did you say?"
"Didn't you hear me? I said you have no class. Are those ears just decoration?"
A moment of silence.
The next instant, one of the Slytherins roughly grabbed Fianna's left shoulder.
"You insolent Gryffindor!"
"Stop it!"
A nearby Gryffindor boy stood up. But under the glare of five Slytherins, he quickly backed down.
"This doesn't concern you. This is a matter of cursed blood."
The Slytherin upperclassman grabbed the collar of Fianna's uniform. A button popped off and flew away.
"Come on, show us. That crescent-moon mark."
"...Let go of me."
Her voice trembled. Her Scottish accent came out strongly.
"Hah? What's with that way of talking? You're a total country bumpkin."
Mocking laughter. The students around them began to murmur.
No one came to help.
Even the Gryffindors looked away. Did they believe the rumors, or did they simply not want to get involved?
(Ah, so that's how it is.)
Fianna bit her lip.
(I've always been alone.)
(Now, and forever.)
She swung her own hand to knock away the hand gripping her collar.
"Don't touch me. You're filthy."
A sharp voice.
For a moment, the Slytherins flinched.
In that gap, Fianna began walking toward the exit of the Great Hall. Back straight, footsteps silent.
"She's running away, the wolf girl."
Jeers flew from behind.
"On the night of the full moon, that filthy blood of yours must stir, huh!"
"Go howl at the moon with Professor Lupin!"
Laughter echoed through the Great Hall.
Fianna didn't look back.
The moment she left the Great Hall, she felt it.
From the center of the Slytherin table. The gaze of a girl with silver hair, sitting with perfect posture.
Seraphina Malfoy.
She was watching Fianna, her lips curved in the faintest smirk. As if enjoying watching her prey fall into a trap.
(That woman...)
Fianna clenched her fists.
(I will never lose.)
But her legs were shaking.
After leaving the Great Hall, Fianna headed straight to the Potions classroom. First period today was a joint class with Slytherin. The worst possible timing.
The dungeon classroom was cold and damp. The smell of potions stung her nose.
Fianna sat down on the Gryffindor side. She could tell the students around her were keeping a slight distance.
(The rumors have already spread.)
The morning's events must have raced through the school in no time.
"My, how early you are. You there, Gryffindor."
A cold, elegant voice.
Seraphina Malfoy entered the classroom with several Slytherin students in tow. Her silvery platinum-blonde hair shone eerily in the dim light of the dungeon. Her ice-blue-gray eyes pierced through Fianna.
"Good morning. How wonderful that you managed to come to school with that unpleasant face again today."
Fianna didn't look up.
"Ignoring me? Can someone of such low birth not even greet others?"
Seraphina stood in the aisle right beside Fianna. Her Slytherin entourage surrounded them.
"I heard. You've been throwing yourself at Professor Lupin, haven't you? Two people with werewolf blood—I suppose you get along."
Snickers came from around the classroom.
Fianna slowly raised her head.
"Oh my, look who's talking. You're the one obsessed with him, following him around like a stalker. It's disgusting."
The smile vanished from Seraphina's face.
"...What did you say?"
"Didn't you hear me? I said it's disgusting. Are those ears just decoration?"
The same line as that morning. But this time, she had said it on purpose.
A small stir ran through the surrounding students. Several Gryffindors couldn't hold back their laughter.
Seraphina's face went pale before their eyes. Emotion twisted her refined features.
"You... you low-born, presumptuous...!"
Seraphina violently swept the textbooks off Fianna's desk.
Thwack.
The textbooks fell to the stone floor. Pages bent, bookmarks scattered.
"Who do you think I am! Do you intend to sully the name of the Malfoy family!?"
Seraphina's voice was trembling. Her usual cold elegance was nowhere to be found.
At that moment, the classroom door opened.
With a sweep of black robes, Professor Severus Snape entered.
"What is all this commotion?"
A low, cold voice.
The classroom fell silent in an instant.
Snape looked from the textbooks on the floor to Seraphina and Fianna standing there.
"Malfoy, take your seat."
"But Professor. This Gryffindor insulted me—"
"I said take your seat."
Seraphina bit her lip and returned to her seat.
Snape's black eyes turned to Fianna.
"MacGregor. Pick up the textbooks."
"...Me, sir?"
"Those are your textbooks, aren't they? Pick them up."
Snape's voice was cold as ice.
(...He saw everything, and yet.)
Fianna bit her lip.
(Seraphina knocked them down, and he tells only me to pick them up?)
Humiliation welled up from the pit of her stomach.
But if she defied him here, things would only get worse. Points deducted from Gryffindor. Detention. A letter to her parents.
(I don't have parents, though.)
Fianna slowly rose from her chair and picked up the textbooks from the floor. She carefully smoothed the bent pages with her fingers.
The Slytherin students were snickering.
Seraphina was watching Fianna with a triumphant look.
"Why, thank you. How admirable of you, picking them up yourself."
Fianna said nothing.
She simply clutched the textbooks to her chest and sat down.
(Just you wait.)
She muttered in her heart.
(I will repay this humiliation, no matter what.)
But for now, she had no choice but to endure.
After school.
Fianna had been summoned to Professor McGonagall's office.
Minerva McGonagall, the Transfiguration professor and Head of Gryffindor House. She sat across the desk, watching Fianna with a stern expression.
"MacGregor. I'll ask you directly. I have received a report that you have been in personal contact with Professor Lupin. Is this true?"
Fianna held her breath for a moment.
(Who would make such a report...)
The answer came immediately.
Seraphina Malfoy.
"...No. I have never met with the professor outside of class."
It was a lie.
At the entrance to the Forbidden Forest, the two of them had talked. She had handed him the copy of the ancient text. That night, they had certainly met.
"Is that the truth?"
McGonagall's sharp gaze pierced through Fianna.
"It is."
Fianna looked straight back at McGonagall.
McGonagall studied her for a while. Then she let out a deep sigh.
"MacGregor. There is a line between teachers and students that must never be crossed. That is for your sake as well. You understand?"
"...Yes."
"Also, regarding your birthmark—the students have been spreading unsettling rumors. Do you have any idea what might have caused this?"
Fianna's fingers unconsciously touched her left collarbone.
"...I don't know either. It was already there when I was old enough to remember."
"I see."
McGonagall narrowed her eyes behind her spectacles.
"MacGregor. You are a bright student. But your current situation is extremely precarious. Rumors can kill, at times. Be careful."
"...Yes."
Fianna gave a small nod.
(Even my Head of House suspects me.)
(I no longer have a place anywhere.)
When she left the office, the corridor was already dim.
Fianna leaned against the wall and stood there for a while.
No tears came.
Just a sensation of a hollow hole opening in her chest.
(Professor Lupin.)
(I want to see you.)
(But I can't.)
(I mustn't.)
She dragged her heavy feet and began walking down the corridor.
Evening.
Fianna stood before Professor Lupin's office.
She had been summoned.
"Come in."
A quiet voice from inside.
Fianna took a deep breath and opened the door.
The office was dim. A single candle on the desk. Its small light faintly illuminated Professor Lupin's tired face.
"Sit down."
Professor Lupin indicated the chair across from him.
Fianna sat down in silence.
Silence.
The candle flame flickered.
"I know you've been suffering because of the rumors."
Professor Lupin spoke quietly.
"It's my fault. I got you involved."
"...No. It's not your fault, Professor."
Fianna shook her head.
"No, it is my fault. I got too close to you."
Professor Lupin's amber eyes wavered with pain.
"Fianna. You must not associate with me any further."
Her heart felt like it stopped.
"...Why?"
"Your position will only worsen. If you keep your distance from me, the rumors will eventually fade."
"I don't care about rumors!"
Her voice grew louder.
"I talk to you because I want to talk to you. I don't care what anyone else says."
"I care."
Professor Lupin's voice was quiet. But within it was a strong will.
"I don't want to be someone who hurts you. That's all."
"You just want to push me away, don't you?"
Fianna's voice trembled.
"Because I know about werewolves. Because I got close to your secret. That's why you're trying to push me away."
Professor Lupin said nothing.
He simply gazed at Fianna with a pained expression.
"I... I like you, Professor."
She had said it.
She had never intended to say it.
But she couldn't stop.
"This is the first time. The first time I've felt this way about anyone. Ever since you helped me on the train, I've..."
Tears overflowed.
They wouldn't stop.
"Please. Don't leave me alone."
Fianna was crying.
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