August 1993.
Diagon Alley was not very busy and Remus suspected the pressing heat had something to do with that. The few shoppers, it seemed, where looking for refuge in the Ice Cream Parlour nearby or inside the Leaky Cauldron. He wondered vaguely if he should join them, but his mind was occupied with other matters.
It had been almost a year since he had last seen Dumbledore. Of course, they have communicated largely during that period, but there never had been real need to actually meet. On that occasion at Hogwarts the Headmaster had mention that he should think about teaching; Remus had dismissed the idea easily. It sounded almost absurd, insignificant even, compared with all the new information he now had, and the tasks lying ahead of them.
If he was to be honest, though, he would have to admit that he did not forget it. Throughout all year, his treacherous imagination had leaded him down that path from time to time and he was surprised on how attractive the thought of being a teacher had become. Indeed he had often forced himself to stop thinking any further into lessons he would never give.
And then, Dumbledore had asked him to meet again, and not unlike the last time, he had walked the empty corridors of Hogwarts castle.
This time the old wizard proposal of teaching did not give him much time to think or fear, or even dwell on the many reasons he had not to take the post. Times had become darker now and it was not only about teaching an interesting lesson to kids any more.
"I must confess, Remus, I am worried. I don't like any of the ways I can imagine Sirius Black might have used to escape Azkaban. The fact is that he has, and unless Cornelius is very much mistaken, he will try to go after Harry Potter. I am not willing to risk that possibility and I am quite sure you would agree with me."
Remus nodded.
The notice of Sirius' escape had left him in a sort of numbness. His first thought had been going after him, chasing him all over the country, looking not only for a runaway wizard, but for that he only knew about: a large black dog. He could not. The fact that he had not told anybody about his old school friend being an Animagus hit him and it was as if he had become unable to move ever since that realisation.
Why hadn't he told the authorities? The Aurors? Moody?
He opened his mouth, not sure if he ought to tell Dumbledore now, but the old wizard spoke again.
"Although I am sure you will be an excellent Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, above it all I am trusting in you to help me keep that boy and everybody inside the castle safe. We need as many eyes and hands possible and yours are especially valuable."
He had agreed of course, without a word and yet, full of insecurities.
And now he was trying to focus on the actual job, trying to remember all his silly fantasies about lessons and homework. Still it was almost impossible for him to just decide what books on defensive spells to buy from Fluorish and Blott's. Not when Sirius' presence was so tangible, both in his mind and in real life. He looked out the shop's window although he knew what he was going to see.
Sirius' face was looking at him from many signs. It was not the face he remembered from their childhood or their youth, but that other that had haunted him in nightmares for the last decade. The mad, desperate expression he had seen on his former friend that time he had gone to Azkaban.
A purple-haired witch was putting up more signs, one next to the other, with dull, mechanical waves of her wand. In no time she would succeed on covering every wall of every shop.
He wished he could vanish them all, along with the witch. Of course, his common sense was saying, those signs were useful. People had to be alert and ready to recognise the face. And yet, he did not need to be reminded, over and over again, what had coasted him so much to try to forget.
He needed to focus on something else. With an effort, he took his eyes off the signs and the witch pasting them and concentrated on the spine of the book he had been holding. Lessons, and subjects he liked, and researches he had made, those were safe enough paths for his mind to wander.
And there was this other thing coming that was keeping both his mind busy and his hopes slightly raised.
"Before you part, Remus, I would like you to see somebody. And old acquaintance of yours."
Dumbledore stood up and walked to the door. Without another word he opened it, to let somebody in.
"Remus, I am sure you remember Severus."
He stood up in a jump and it took him all his will not to point at the newcomer with his wand. Of course he remembered Severus Snape. To the piles memories, both grim and funny, from his time in school, there were others to add, much more sinister and recent. Severus Snape had been a well known Death Eater. Actually, the last time he had seen him, they had been firing jinxes at each other and Remus had gotten the worse part.
"Good evening." Snape said shortly, his expression blank.
Remus only nodded, trying to pose a silent question to the headmaster. He was not looking him but at the newcomer.
"Severus had agreed to brew Wolfsbane potion for you, Remus, while you teach here," he said instead.
"To brew…?"
"He is the Potions Master, so you two will be working in close proximity for a while."
Despite of his composed posture, Remus could swear Snape was not remotely happy with this arrangement. Truth to be told, it might have been difficult to say who was actually more displeased with it.
"Certainly we are not only ensuring your well-being, Remus," at this point, Snape made a tiny grimace and Remus tried his best not to flinch, "but the student's and staff's. This solution will rend unnecessary for you to go down the Whomping Willow before every full moon."
"I see," was the only thing Remus could manage.
For a long moment, it seemed that Dumbledore was waiting for them to do something. None of them moved.
"I thank you very much, Severus, for coming over here during your holidays. And I have already told you how much I appreciate your help on this matter, as, I am sure, Remus does."
"I will make the potion on due time, Headmaster," Snape said curtly. "Now, if you don't need me any further, I shall go."
"Of course, Severus, good evening."
Remus only nodded, still too flabbergasted to say a word.
The following conversation had been one of the most bizarre one he had ever had with Albus Dumbledore. Had he not known better, Remus would have been convinced the old wizard had been Imperiused. It did not make any sense, not at all.
He had asked, of course, how was it possible that a former Death Eater was now teaching at Hogwarts and Dumbledore had answered that he had every reason to put his faith on him, and that many things had changed while Remus had been abroad. That much was plain to him.
"But is it wise, Albus, to trust him? After all he is a Death Eater! How do you-?"
"I am quite familiar with what he was, Remus, thank you." Dumbledore's tone was cold and had a conclusive ringing on it. "I don't have to explain to anybody my motivations, but I trust Severus completely and I do wish for you to do the same. Of course," he added in a kinder voice, "if you cannot find in your heart a way to trust him, we would have to look for another way for you to be safe during full moons. I do expect, though, that this would not be necessary."
Those bright blue eyes had been telling Remus he would do good to just agree. Now, though, the memories of his own failed attempt on brewing the potion were fighting against the wild expectation of actually having the possibility of using it and being partially freed of his monthly burden.
Wolfsbane was an easy potion to temper with. Any grudges that Severus Snape might still hold against him could be solved with just adding an extra tad of this or that to any dose of it. He, Remus, would not be that naïve thought.
"I just want to know, Mad-Eye, why does Dumbledore suddenly trust Snape?"
Moody grunted and for a moment he did not say a thing.
"Sometimes I think he's a fool," he finally spoke. "But this time, he's assured me he's got very good reasons."
"Why isn't he sharing those reasons, though?"
"I don't know, lad," Mad-Eye tossed away his hair from his fringe. He looked concerned. "I have what you asked for," he added, producing a little dark bottle from the insides of his cloak. "You should keep this on hand when you drink that potion. Constant vigilance! If you feel something funny you drink that stuff and summon Poppy Pomfrey at once. It's not a cure, mind you, but it'll give you some time in case Snape doesn't give you the right potion."
Remus just nodded, carefully putting the small bottle in his pocket.
"I don't reckon he'll try to do something to you, though." Moody spoke again, thoughtfully. "Whatever it is he's playing at, and I'm sure he is planning something, I don't think he'll risk Dumbledore's trust just to poison you."
The old Auror was right, Remus had to admit it. And now, to the task of teaching and the extra task of keeping an eye on possible appearances of Sirius, he had to be on guard for his own sake. And maybe, being this close by, he could even get a glimpse of what Severus Snape was truly after by earning Dumbledore's trust and placing himself inside the castle.
And yet, he could not kid himself. All of that, the perspective of taking Wolfsbane potion every full moon, the fact that he would teach James' son, the looking into Snape's real motivations, all of those seem to be excuses and they would not make him forget, no matter how hard he tried, what truly filled his mind with a worry so deep it was bordering panic.
Sirius Black had managed to escape Azkaban.
The friend he once thought he had, the person who had murdered James, Lily and Peter, and with them all what he had held important in life, could be anywhere now.
And there was this other detail nobody but him knew. That it was much easier for Sirius to hide than for anybody else.
Had it been that way he had escaped Azkaban? Transformed in that big black dog Remus knew so well? Had that wonderful gesture of a trio of friends, so long ago, given a Death Eater the resource he needed to become even more powerful?
Remus had to shake his head at this thought. Paying for his purchase, he exited Fluorish and Blott's in a hurry. The purple haired witch had succeeded on filling every empty wall of Diagon Alley with Sirius Black's image and was nowhere to be seen. Again, Remus wished he could vanish the lot.
It could not be. That they had turned into unregistered Animagi for him, Remus' sake, could not have turned into an asset for Sirius to perform any more dark magic. He could not even think about it in those terms, the fact that one of the most grandiose events of his youth had been turned into a weapon by one of the most dangerous Death Eaters of all times was unbearable.
It could not be it.
Sirius had probably used any trick learned from his master to escape Azkaban and now, he was surely using dark magic to remain hidden. There was no point in torturing himself with the thought of him being the cause Sirius was on the loose again, and posing a threat to Harry.
Still, he would do whatever was on his power to keep that boy safe. And if on the process he would meet Sirius Black again, he was sure his wand would not just cast a Silencio this time.