The sun warmed the earth and a light breeze made the grass and leaves dance across the grounds. Hazel eyes stared out to the forest, no noise coming from it other than the whisper of the wind winding through the trees. One India Moore sat with her back to a large tree, book in her lap and her mind else where. The full moon was approaching and India could feel the effects already. Tired all the time, weaker, generally sick.

A pale hand reached up and ran over her face, pushing her black hair back before dropping her head back against the trunk of the tree. A heavy sigh left her lips as she watched the trees of the Forbidden Forest, a place she knew well. Soon she would have to figure out her flight from the castle to the forest. It was getting trickier every year and every full moon she was tempted to tell someone who could assist her.

A humorless chuckle left her lips as she closed her eyes, turning her head upward, towards the leaves over head. Hazel eyes opened once more and she stared at the sunshine peeking through the leaves above. Life was tiring, of course she hadn't known anything else. As far back as she can remember she had been a werewolf. Afraid for her free life and wondering if she could even have a life. Getting through school was bad enough but after school. There was no way she could ever get a family and a job would be hard enough as it is with her monthly disappearances.

Shaking her head slightly, India tilted her head down and let her eyes scan the pages again, fingers tugging at hems of her long sleeves, making sure her scarred arms were covered. The words of her book barely registered with her as her mind wandered to her plans for the full moon and how much she wished she didn't have to carry the burden alone.

"What's so funny," Tucker asked, pausing in his walk as he noticed the pretty girl under the tree chuckling to herself. An easy smile filled his face as he spoke, proving that despite his question, he didn't expect a serious answer. With the ministry the way it was, Hogwarts seemed to have become a place where plenty of people were on edge. He had long since made it his goal to make sure that everyone knew that he would be friendly towards them no matter what. As a result, the rather short bespectacled boy always wore a smile.

To his friends, Tucker was the peacemaker, the sounding board , and the referee. He was happy making sure that others were happy. But, he was quiet too. He didn't speak much out of turn and always seemed to be listening to something that was playing in his head. Some would have the rare blessing of hearing him pick up an instrument but for the most part, Tucker just seemed to have a natural beat in his head. It may have made him seem a little crazy or a little annoying to those who didn't know him. Half the time, he didn't notice if he was tapping his foot or his quill against something. It just flowed through him naturally.

As he stood smiling at the girl, Tucker ran his hand through his hair. It was a relatively new look for him, last year he'd had long black hair. But, at the end of the summer, he'd thought it would be interesting to shave off only half. The half that was shaved still had the soft, prickly feeling of a freshly buzzed haircut and sometimes Tucker found himself playing with the hair despite his best efforts. It was oddly soothing to feel the texture of the hair on his fingertips.

India's gaze moved up at the sound of a voice. A soft frown marred her lips as she shook her head. "Nothing really." She said in a soft voice, hazel eyes examining the boy in front of her. Her mind searched before a name popped out at her. Tucker. She had seen him around before, shared a few classes with him. They were in the same year and from what she had seen, he was a very kind and unique individual.

Pale hands smoothed over the pages of the book in her lap. Her gaze moved downward as she looked at the book. He seemed nice enough, but she was just not feeling up to company at the moment. Her temper was short, her nerves frayed and exhaustion poured over her. Black hair was unkempt and hung in her face, make up covered the dark circles and cosmetic charms were used to make her skin seem less pale.

"You're Tucker, right?" India questioned, attempting to be her usual kind self. A tired smile crossed her lips as she looked back up to him, trying her hardest to keep her mood in check. It was so very close to the full moon. This was the exact reason why she avoided people this close to her transformation. She didn't want anyone to notice her mood swings, her temper, the exhaustion, all the tell tale signs of a werewolf. What if the wrong person put two and two together. She was sure there were plenty of students here who had family in the ministry and they had proven how werewolf tolerant they were.

A soft frown marred her lips as her mind wandered. Her life was limited, but would it have been better if her father had informed the ministry when it happened. Would her life had been better if she didn't have to constantly look over her shoulder. India leaned her head back against the tree once more. No, her father had probably been right. She never would have been able to get a job. People would avoid her like the plague. Now she just had to keep her secret and find clever ways to disappear during the full moon.

"Yep," Tucker said with a smile. "Tucker. Tuck. TJ. You can call me any of those names, really. And you're India Moore." Tucker smiled at the girl but watched as a frown graced her lips. He pressed his own together for a moment, but chased away the frown as quickly as it appeared. For some reason, it bothered him that this girl had an unnatural sadness about her. He could tell that she was doing her very best to hide something but to the quiet, casual observer it would appear she carried a heavy burden. For Tuck, this perked two things in him - one, the thirst to know what it was and two, the thirst to make it go away. He decided then and there that he would give anything to see this girl give him a genuine smile. 

And so, Tuck did something he never did - he asked to sit down. Normally at this point in the conversation, he would let the person be. She seemed to want to be alone and he was always one to respect a person's wishes. "May I take a seat next to you," Tucker asked, trying to give his most polite and least threatening smile. He wondered if she'd let him sit down and how he would get her to open up to him. He felt completely out of his element and very manipulative. It was out of his character but also thrilling. He realized with a start that he wanted nothing more than to be told it was okay to sit down. 

A groan nearly escaped her at his question. He was nice enough, kind enough, probably wouldn't find out anything just by sitting with her for a moment or two. Plus he was a guy. If he pushed the topic of something being wrong she could just tell him it's PMS. Most guys stopped asking after that. Watching him with tired eyes, India nodded, a soft smile spreading over her lips as she kept up the kindness that didn't seem to occupy her during the week of the full moon.

"Sure. I don't mind." Her voice was a bit tight. He had done absolutely nothing to her, but that didn't mean she wanted company. She mentally berated herself. Friends weren't something she came by easily and none of them knew about her little condition. The more close friends she had, the less people would point fingers at the possibility of her being a werewolf. Her father had told her that people would be more likely to assume that she was a werewolf if she completely isolated herself. If she had friends that were oblivious to her monthly disappearances they were more likely to shoot down any accusations with a laugh.

So far it had worked. No one suspected her and her friends were oblivious to her curse. She left in the early evening for the full moon and returned in time for class. Of course she could barely stand the day after, but she did what she had to do to avoid being found out. Her life would be completely over if anyone found out. A sigh left her lips as she looked to Tucker, trying her hardest to plant a genuine smile on her lips. "What brings you out here?" India questioned, keeping up the facade of her usual demeanor. A pale hand reached up and pushed the dark locks of hair out of her face, tucking them behind her ear. Hazel eyes turned back toward the quiet forest, wondering how much longer she was going to be able to keep the facade up. She was not even remotely in the mood for company. Her head hurt, her body was weak, mind exhausted and she was extremely temperamental. She really hoped that if he began to question things the PMS bit would get him to back off, though she feared for the time that someone was too stubborn to give up. What would she do then and would that person keep her secret? She doubted it.