Am I going Crazy?!(Francesca)

Alexa was sitting in the Great Hall, watching as people went about with their bussiness. She was silent for a couple more minutes, and then her head fell into her hands, and a moan escaped her lips. Why was her life so complicated?! Being a thirteen year old witch was stressful, but being a thirteen year old werewolf was even more stressful! She had tried to find somebody to talk to, but everybody seemed to be busy. Or they had not time for tales of a thirteen year old witch/werewolf. Alexa looked back up, her vison fuzzy from the darkness.

Francesca finished her lunch and got up, meaning to leave, when she noticed a young-looking girl sitting by herself. She wondered if she should approach her, and see if there was anything the matter, but didn't know if she should. After all, she wasn't a teacher. Yet.
But surely if there was anything wrong the girl would prefer to speak to one of her professors, not a random stranger. Well, not exactly a stranger, more like an ex-student. Francesca used to go to Hogwarts when she was younger. Now, she had just come back from Canada, and was looking for a job. Hogwarts was the obvious choice, of course. Francesca had come in that morning to look around and see how things were run. This was meant to help her decide whether or not she wanted to apply for a position. But, of course, her mind was already made up. Just like it was now.
Francesca walked up to the girl and took a seat next to her. 'Never changes, Hogwarts.'she said, with a sad smile on her face as she looked around.

Alexa jumped when she heard a voice right next to her. Guess she must have been to busy to notice the person walking up to her. "Yeah, I guess." Alexa's voice was cracked and dry, like she had not had ater in days. She cleared her throat, blushing from embarrasment. The lady that had walked up to her was clearly not in hogwarts anymore, but was still young. She was blonde, and her hair was curly. "I-I'm Alexa." Her voice was now choked up, as she was trying not to cry with frustration.

Francesca looked at the girl in concern when she heard her response. She looked like she hadn't slept in days. I wonder what's wrong. Francesca noticed the girl was trying not to cry and felt like crying herself. I've become soft. She chuckled inwardly at her overly sympathetic reaction and whispered to the girl. 'It's best not to keep emotions bottled up. Let them out yourself before they force you to.' She smiled and said, louder this time, 'I'm Francesca, ex-Gryffindor and hopeful job applicant. And who might you be?' She had a slight canadian accent now, from living there for the last two years. Francesca raised a single perfect eyebrow questioningly as she waited for the girl to answer.

Alexa knew she was repeating herself, but what did she care. "A-A-..." Alexa could not say her name, she was too choked up. It reminded her when a ball she had bought from Keith Nicholas had taken her voice away, and she could not talk in the slightest. She smiled at that thought, and tried talking again. "I'm Alexa."

Francesca noticed that the girl was too choked up to talk and smiled warmly at her. 'Ok Alexa, what house are you in? Year?' Francesca's eyes strayed across the room as she asked the questions. She noticed they were sitting at the Gryffindor table, which was practically empty now. Francesca turned back to her companion and said 'Well, it seems there's something bothering you. Would you like to talk to me about it?' She watched Alexa to see what she would answer. Francesca was used to people telling her their problems, and she liked to help anyone in trouble.

"Well... I really don't mean to be rude, but I don't think you would understand what I am dealing with. Barely anybody in this castle does." Alexa looked at her hand like it would sprout fur and grow claws any second. It scared her how brutal werewolves can be, and what would happen if one of her friends happened to find her in the forest. "I am in Gryffindor, and I am thirteen." Alexa almost added the werewolf part. Almost.

Francesca bent down and looked Alexa in the eyes. 'You know, problems are easier to bear if you tell someone about them. Ever heard of the saying a problem shared is a problem halved?' Francesca wasn't just saying that to make the girl talk to her. She had had more than her fair share of problems too and knew by experience how much easier it was to bear them when you told someone what was wrong. She had come back to England for a fresh start after what had happened, hoping to forget and start over. Francesca's eyes took a sad faraway look as she remembered the events that had shaken her life so violently.

"My mom says that..." Alexa looked at Francesca more closely. She decided that she was going to tell her everything. "Alright, here is my problem. When I was three years old, my parents went camping with me in some woods. I had lost my way back to the campsite, when a werewolf attacked me. My parents heard my screams, and killed the werewolf before it could kill me. But, they could not save my condition from that day on. Being a werewolf had never been a problem, until now. As you may have noticed, the last couple of nights have been full moons, and I have had a couple of rough nights. Last night, when the moon was finally shrinking, I woke up suddenly in my bed, sweating horribly. I was not having a bad dream, but not a good dream either. I think I am going crazy, but nobody will believe me."

Francesca listened to the girl's story sympathetically, nodding encouragingly. She wasn't shocked or surprised. Werewolves were everywhere these days. Her nephew was one too.
When Alexa finished, Francesca smiled at her and said 'Well, first thing is you're not going crazy. I think that you're just too stressed out, what with being a werewolf and all. Or it could just be that the full moon's having an effect on you, which is very likely. You need to relax and stop worrying about what you are. I mean, there must be other students who are werewolves. They've started excepting them right? Well, why don't you try and meet others like you and see if they've experienced anything like this? It would be easier if you were part of a group or pack, you'd be able to talk with each other about your experiences or how you feel being a werewolf. Like I said, a problem shared is a problem halved.'
Francesca put a reassuring hand on Alexa's shoulder and smiled gently. 'It can happen to anyone, Alexa. It's not just you, remember that.'