Struggling {open}

[Risa Connors]

Risa wanted to be sick. She wanted to get up, run out of the Great Hall, and just throw up somewhere. School was supposed to make things easier, but they didn't. Things were harder. She'd wanted to be just another nameless face in the crowd but even that didn't stop people from noticing her and asking questions, and that just led to her doing things she didn't want to do, just to get them off her back.

This morning, she'd been dragged down to the hall for breakfast by one of the girls in her dorm because the other girls in there had left early, and she didn't want to have to go down on her own. Risa didn't have a chance to tell her that she didn't want breakfast before she was being pulled out of the door, her ear being gossiped off with talk about boys and the girls and classes, and all sorts of things that she didn't want to hear from the girl she was with.

As soon as they reached the Gryffindor table the other girl was gone, off to her friends, and Risa had little choice but to sink down into a seat at the end of the table and pretend like she was eating. That's when people started asking questions and bugger her. Why couldn't people just leave her alone!?

[Remus Lupin]

As soon as the sun began peeking over the horizon, Remus was out of bed. He'd only gotten an hour of sleep that night -- the full moon was approaching and insomnia was slowly driving him mad. He was mostly used to the sleeplessness, the hot flashes, and the temper that came with the days leading up to the transformation but it was lonely to be awake all night alone. There were hours to kill until breakfast, so he dressed silently and left for the bathrooms. No one was out of their dormitories this early in the morning but there was no noise, no awkward questions.

After cleaning himself up and dressing, he looked in the mirror of the bathroom. There were dark circles around his red-rimmed eyes and he had grown quite a bit of stubble on his face overnight. He splashed cold water on his scarred face, hoping to dispel the look of sheer exhaustion, to no avail. Drying himself, he took one last scathing look before leaving the bathroom. That wasn't something he enjoyed seeing, and people would ask questions, like they always did. Professors and students alike. McGonagall was the only one to give him some space and for that, he was grateful.

By now, it was late enough in the morning that breakfast had been served in the Great Hall. His looming transformation also changed his eating habits, and Remus had to force himself not to eat like a starving animal, even though he partially was. As he walked down the stairs, he made sure that his uniform's sleeves were rolled all the way down and none of his scars could be seen. That was a conversation that he was trying to put off for as long as possible.

He entered the Great Hall and looked around for his usual breakfast trio -- Peter, James, and Sirius -- but they were nowhere to be found. Either they were up to no good or they were still sleeping, and Remus wasn't willing to find out. He also looked for Lily but she was sitting with a bunch of her girl friends and Remus always felt awkward around strangers. He took a seat toward the end of the table, next to a young blonde girl. She looked distraught and Remus, being the nice guy and Prefect that he was, had to help her. Certainly, he didn't look like your average Prefect and yes, he was a little more prone to anger, but he still looked like a normal guy. Maybe.

She just looked so alone, and he couldn't help but ask, "Hi. How's your morning been going so far?" He hoped that she wouldn't return the question because the truth was far too crazy for her to imagine ("oh, well, I turn into a werewolf once a month and I'm pretty much buggered from being awake all night... by the way, I'll be a wolf tonight, wanna chat?") That wouldn't go well. After he'd spoken to her, he almost wanted to take it back. Her head was hung so low that he was sure she didn't want anyone to talk to her but he couldn't help himself from at least attempting to be nice.