"She's just a little girl, sir. And she has no mother. How am I supposed to look after her and teach?"
Remus was clenching his hands together nervously. It had been years since he had seen the headmaster, even longer since he had set foot in the school. Nothing much had changed though. Except that he was being asked to be a professor now. The rub was his daughter. She was six years old, and a very unusual child. She was bright and intellectual; spoke like an adult, and mostly only with adults. Remus' condition had kept the little family of two very isolated. Maybe it was his fault for keeping her away from other children, but he was concerned that his condition could pop up in her at any time, even though he could find no indication that it would.
Lizzie had started homeschooling the previous year to keep her from accidentally causing a massive accident at home, sanctioned by the governors of Hogwarts, who tried to call the child to the school that summer. Remus had made a very rare appearance at the Ministry to plead the case for her to be schooled by him at home. Since then she had completed years one and two since she worked through almost two summers. Unfortunately this successful record meant that he was now being angled for as a professor.
Dumbledore seemed to be quite interested in this particular point Remus was bringing up. He smiled and leaned his forearms on his desk. "Well, your daughter is being schooled. She is on year three curriculum I hear." Remus nodded. "Well, then, we'll just enroll her. the governors will have no objection since they wanted her in this institution in the first place. She'll receive her education and some much needed socialization."
"She is six years old, sir."
Dumbledore merely smiled wider. "Then it's a good thing there are some very trustworthy third years we can introduce her to. Besides," he continued, "there is a plethora of relatives for her here, mostly of which she has not seen for many years. Myself included."
It was true enough. Elizabeth was the daughter of Remus and his deceased wife, Miranda. Miranda was Minerva McGonagall's daughter. Minerva had been married to Thomas McGonagall, who has died some time ago, but was the son of Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus' brother. His mother, Sarah had never married the man and therefore Thomas had kept his mother's name. Minerva's sister Katherine had married a man named Caledon Hockley. Together they had a daughter Mary who married Amos Diggory and they had a son, Cedric, who was Elizabeth's cousin. It was confusing sometimes, since most of these people were now dead, but no matter how you turned it, Lizzie had a grandmother, twice great uncle, and a cousin at the school itself. Her great grandfather Aberforth was the owner of the Hog's Head, not that anyone would tell Lizzie that. Ever. Hell, if she made it to O.W.L.s, she would be practically examined in some subjects by her great uncle John Tofty, her grandmother's brother. Maybe she did need some family around. Remus had been keeping her with him her whole life, no other contact unless it was absolutely necessary. Albus might be right. It might be time to have her understand her roots.
"All right," Remus sighed. "I'll do it. I'll teach Defense. But you know that something is going to happen. Either I will have to leave when the year is out, or... If things start going bad, I'll take her and be gone. This job is a better offer than most but it's not worth her life or quality of life if something happens to me."
Dumbledore shook on it, gladly. After all there were only a few days left before the train would be pulling in. A teacher was desperately needed.