Authors notes:The usual disclaimers apply… All the
characters belong to JK Rowling (with the exception of Elena, who is mine,
but whom I would swap for Remus any day. ; ) This is my first piece
of Harry Potter fanfic so I hope you enjoy it. It’s certainly a lot of
fun to write. A huge thank you to Lallybroch, this story’s beta-reader,
for her suggestions and encouragement. Third time lucky!! ; )
.Chapter 1.
Remus Lupin sat alone on the Hogwarts express, staring sightlessly out
at the green blur of the scenery rushing past. It was very beautiful
countryside, but his present frame of mind was not exactly conducive to
the appreciation of pastoral delights. He still could not even be sure
that he had made the right choice in climbing aboard the train in the
first place...
He thought again of the neatly folded letter in the pocket of his robes.
In it, Dumbledore had not just suggested that he return to Hogwarts,
he had requested it.
'For your safety, and for ours' he had written. Remus had pondered
over this odd choice of words for a very long time. Alone on the train,
his thoughts circled once again over the well-worn terrain.
The first part made sense enough, for if Voldemort and his cronies truly
were returning to power, then Remus knew very well that he and Sirius
would be among the first that Wormtail would want to see eliminated.
But if they were at Hogwarts, Peter wouldn't dare take the risk. In all
the wizarding world, there would be no safer place for Moony and Padfoot
to reside than at Hogwarts.
But Dumbledore had spoken of 'our' safety. This was the part of the
letter that Remus could not decipher. For how could the presence of a
werewolf make Hogwarts safer? And who exactly did Dumbledore mean when
he said 'our safety'? He couldn't be thinking of himself. Perhaps
he meant Harry? It was likely, after all, that James's son would need
all the protection his friends could give him in the coming year. So
perhaps the Headmaster just wanted another pair of eyes on the boy…
Or perhaps, Remus thought wryly, perhaps I'm simply reading too much
into those words. Ostensibly, I am going to Hogwarts to support Professor
Moody in teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts. And Dumbledore's justifications
for inviting me in this capacity make perfect sense. He plans to double
the number of Defence lessons the students receive, and to make this plan
viable, a second teacher is required. It does makes sense. And
yet ...
Remus could not shake his doubts. It was not just the familiar old fear
that the Wolf would escape which plagued him now, it was also the strange
but persistent suspicion that there was something the old Headmaster was
not telling him. Something that had been hinted at, but never properly
explained…
Yet he could not have refused Dumbledore. For the umpteenth time, Remus’s
thoughts circled back to this same conclusion. For no matter what his
own reservations were, he respected and owed Albus Dumbledore too much
to deny him in anything. Whatever role the old Headmaster wished him
to play, he would play it, regardless of whether or not he understood
it. That, ultimately, was the bottom line.
And his future? Well, only time would tell what the future held.
