Who Is Harry Potter? Chapter 12, a harry potter fanfic

This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy.

What happened to Remus Lupin after that Halloween night in Godric's Hollow? When Albus finds himself in need of temporary assistance with a teaching position, he thinks to use Remus to prop up the Herbology classes. But what has Remus Lupin been up to for the last ten years?

Chapter 12 The Werewolf and The Headmaster

In the months following that Halloween night that saw the end of the Dark Lord, Remus continued his studies at university. One afternoon in late spring 1982, when he'd just completed a paper on the synergies of the economy of the EU, he walked out of the library and immediately noticed two men who were following him. His wand up his sleeve, he began looking around for an alleyway or closed building where he could disappear.

"Lupin! Wait!" called one of the men.

Remus moved to place his back against a brick wall of a classroom building on campus, turned around, and waited for the two men to approach.

"You have good instincts," the first one said as the second one pulled out a wand and quickly cast the 'notice me not' spell on the area.

"What do you want?" Remus asked carefully. "This place is muggle and the ministry can't come here without…"

"We're not Ministry for Magic but we do want to talk," the first man said. "My name is Jasper Hewitt. I was a seventh-year Ravenclaw the year you started at Hogwarts."

He motioned toward the other man who was older and very stern in his appearance, "This is Mr. Andrew Lovett. He graduated from Hogwarts back in the sixties."

For the first time the second man spoke. "I suffered through seven years in Slytherin as a muggleborn. I left Magical Britain the day I graduated and returned to London."

Hewitt added, "I came back to the muggle world after a couple months of getting every door slammed in my face."

"My first task was to complete my muggle education," Lovett said. "Like Hewitt did and like you're doing."

"I'm not muggleborn. I'm half-blood…"

"And a werewolf," Lovett added. "We really need your help."

"I am not going to be a guinea pig for experimentation!" Remus swore, the anger evident in his voice.

Hewitt nodded, "We're very interested in your skills, Lupin. You're the first werewolf to ever attend Hogwarts and to graduate. Whenever a child attending Hogwarts has been bitten and turned, the headmaster always expelled them if their family didn't withdraw them."

"What do you think I can do for you?"

"We're with the government, MI5 to be exact. We want you to help protect the security of the realm from domestic problems," explained Lovett.

"What kind of domestic problems?"

"Like the recently vanished Dark Lord who was a muggleborn named Tom Riddle," Hewitt explained. "The Prime Minister and the Queen were furious about the Deatheater Insurrection when it was confined to the magical community and both women were incandescent when it bled over into the muggle world."

Not sure he understood, Remus asked, "The Queen is aware of magic?"

Both men nodded. "Her Majesty is aware and cares about the security of all her subjects."

"Including werewolves!" Lovett insisted.

"What do you want me to do?"

Hewitt stepped forward with a card. "Come to this address Saturday morning. Show the guard this card and he'll bring you to me."

*(+++++)*

July 1982

Albus Dumbledore reviewed the last reports on the school year that just ended but his mind kept returning to the events of last Halloween – something was missing in his calculations and conclusions about the events of that night – what had Tom missed? And the child surviving had required Albus to think quickly – creating the myth of the boy-who-lived was genius and locking up Black for betraying the Potters was even better. Albus would outlive Arcturus Black and once Sirius succumbed to the pressures of Azkaban, the Black fortune would end up in the Dumbledore pockets.

'I must see about an heir soon,' he decided. 'Sometime in the next twenty years.'

Without regard to his advanced age, the wizard was certain he would find a way to have an heir when he had time to educate… The matter didn't require additional thought at this time so the headmaster began reading the report on the muggleborns who just graduated.

'They'll wander back to the muggle world and leave us with our magic. Were there any of them worthwhile of my attention or use?' he wondered as he reviewed the list. 'Two may make good healers – always good to have some freelancing healers.'

For some strange reason, his mind turned to Remus Lupin. 'I must get in touch with my werewolf minion soon… maybe next year… And I'll give him some meaningless task to remind him who is in charge.'

'Now, where's my calendar? I'm off to Switzerland for my ICW council soon. And I'll need to stop and visit Gerhardt too.'

The headmaster snickered as he thought of Grindelwald's reaction each year when he appeared in the castle to gloat – uh – visit.

*(+++++)*

April 1983

The man stepped from the chauffeured vehicle onto a small army base in Wales. The hills around him were covered with fog but the air was clean and fragrant with the smells of the forest and the grasslands that lay beyond the crest of the hills.

"Mr. Lupin, if you'll come this way," a soldier with his rifle slung over his shoulder said politely before turning and leading Remus into a nearby building. It took almost two years of dealing with the men and women from MI5 and army before he'd begun to trust them and not expecting a silver blade in the back.

*(+++++)*

"You have to find the healthy medium," Jasper told him once when Remus asked his fellow wizard how he trusted the muggles. "The people we work with see us first as British, then as a person with additional skills. If you ever work with one who asks you to do keep doing magic tricks, that's one to avoid and report."

"No obliviate spells?"

"Makes us as bad as them," Jasper said as he shook his head, though Remus wasn't sure if the other wizard meant the prejudiced muggles or the prejudiced wizards in the Ministry for Magic.

*(+++++)*

Remus dropped his kit on a bunk in a private room and continued to the commanding officer's office. When he stepped inside the office, he caught the gaze of the grey-haired officer behind the desk. The man quickly looked Remus over and returned to a sheet of paper.

"Mr. Lupin, your bosses at MI5 have recommended you as a consultant on my mission."

"Yes, Colonel Avery," Remus replied.

"You are a half-blood and a werewolf?"

"Yes sir."

The colonel rose and walked around the desk to offer Remus his hand. As they shook, the colonel explained, "I am squib thrown out of the Avery family back in '44. I have a grandson who's a wizard, but I'll be damned if he goes to that backwater. He's going to Beauxbatons and then to Sandhurst!"

"I understand sir," Remus replied.

"Now, how do we hunt werewolves and get them into Her Majesty's rehabilitation program?"

"There are some who will not want to leave the wild life."

The colonel frowned and said, "You reported that they were the minority; that the majority would want to take the opportunity for a regular life."

"They will sir! They will," Remus affirmed. "You and your men will have to kill some of the wild werewolves, sir. They can be insane."

"Understood," the colonel said. "I understand that this Dumbledore fellow believes you are an expert on the werewolves of London."

Now Remus grinned, "That's a pop song from the seventies sir. Werewolves avoid the large urban areas."

*(+++++)*

June 1986

Remus lay on the sofa in his small rental just outside London. The full moon earlier in the month had been almost pleasant with the growing pack that met on the island off the coast of Wales. They had goats to hunt this month – an animal that could run and dodge enough to make the hunt a challenge. In a philosophical moment, he regretted the death of the animals but would argue with any bleeding heart that the wolves hunted for themselves rather than just going to the market for beef, chicken or pork that was butchered in a factory.

There was a pecking on the window in his small kitchen and he rose to open the pane to allow in an owl with a letter.

*(+++++)*

Remus

I need your services. The ministry reports that a werewolf pack is hunting in Glasgow. Go and contact any wolves you find and determine their intentions. Move quickly to protect the statue of secrecy. Let me hear from you before 1 September.

Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Order of Merlin (first class), Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot

*(+++++)*

'No hello, no how-are-you, just go do this now,' Remus mused. 'And look, his list of titles is longer than the rest of the note!'

*(+++++)*

December 1987

Remus

I must say that I am disappointed in your latest report from Durham. My sources tell me that Greyback and his pack have moved into Weardale Forest near the city and the muggles are in danger. Visiting on a few weekends and scouting the area on a muggle motors-bicycle device is not at all suitable for contacting these dark creatures and talking them into moving away. I insist on more of your time in the area and a detailed report before the end of March.

My boy, I must know that I can count on you.

*(+++++)*

'What do you know! A letter that is longer than his list of titles this time…' Remus thought before he folded up the parchment to share with his boss on Monday.

*(+++++)*

September 1988

Artemus Flake walked from his office in the Control of Dark Creatures and asked for a meeting with Minister Fudge. He was fortunate that he arrived on a slow day and Cornelius told his secretary to send the Director into his office.

"What can I do for you this morning, Artemus?" Fudge asked his fellow pureblood.

"Minister, we need to investigate something strange."

"We're the Ministry for Magic, Artemus. We do many strange things every day, so you'll need to be more specific."

The director for management of dark creatures looked Cornelius straight in the eye before he said, "Something has happened to our werewolves."

"Werewolves? Whatever do you mean?"

"The reported sightings of werewolves have dropped almost fifty percent in the last year and there have been no reports of attacks in six months."

"No attacks on wizards or on muggles?" asked Cornelius with evident disbelief in his voice.

"No attacks on either." Flake insisted as he showed the reports to the minister. "No Auror reports of hysterical muggles or wizards, no Obliviators going out to clean-up a slaughter or required to change muggle memories…"

"Has anyone claimed the bounty on Greyback?"

"No sir."

"Then what's the problem?" asked the minister.

The director looked embarrassed for a moment before he made his admission, "How do I write my annual report to keep the same budget for next year if the werewolves are behaving."

Cornelius smirked, "Who told you to report this decline? And who knows, they might come back next year. Maybe they just took a vacation to Ireland or to France."

Artemus smiled, "I knew there was a reason you were the minister, Cornelius. Thank you!"

*(+++++)*

August 1990

Remus

The ministry is hiding the fact that the British werewolves have fled the country. Pop over to Ireland and then to France to see if they are creating havoc there among the muggles and magical people. An invasion by werewolves could lead to war for Magical Britain.

*(+++++)*

'Moving to Ireland or France were good choices for werewolves ten years ago,' Remus remembered after reading the letter. 'Lovett's intelligence team can create a convincing report for me to send to Dumbles… I have to concentrate of Greyback's location in Cornwall. We've got him cornered but that makes him even more dangerous.'

*(+++++)*

05 September 1991

The owl flew around the non-descript government office for five minutes before it found the special delivery window. It flew into the fifth-floor office until it came to a neatly dressed man working with a computer at a neat desk. It landed on a bookcase and hooted politely to capture the man's attention.

Looking up from his report on the growing ability of the Crown Wolves to change into a full wolf form rather than the traditional were creature form, Remus Lupin was surprized to find the owl carried a letter for him.

'Bother! I need to complete this report – werewolves can simply transform into true wolves during the full moon and I hope that soon it's just an animagus transformation for me and the others,' Remus thought. 'We've changed the world!'

Detaching the letter and quickly recognizing the handwriting of the sender, Remus pointed to a large perch with water and treats in the far corner of the room.

"Wait for a reply," he commanded and turned back without another thought for the bird.

'What does Dumbledore want now?' he wondered.

*(+++++)*

Remus

My boy, an unfortunate situation has arisen for dear Hogwarts. I am not certain if you are aware of current events in our Magical World as often you are lost in a muggle existence, but there was a devastating fire here at the school on 1 August. There was much damage to the roof and the floors, so much so that the school year has been delayed until 1 October to begin.

During our repairs in August, Professor Sprout was injured, and though her arm and back have healed, she does not have something the healers call 'full-range of motion'. She must continue with potions and something else called 'Physical Therapy' until after the first of the year.

She will be able to maintain her role of head of house for Hufflepuff and do some classroom instruction, but she is unable to complete all the manual labour needed in the greenhouses. You know how much Hogwarts depends on our greenhouses to defray the costs of potion ingredients and I want you to fill the position of Assistant Professor of Herbology from 15 September until 31 December of this year.

I am certain you will be pleased with the renumeration for the position as well as to spend three months in dear Hogwarts.

I expect to greet you on the morning of 15 September when Professor Sprout will instruct you on your duties. All special arrangements remain the same from when you were a student.

Cordially,

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster…

*(+++++)*

'He must be desperate. That's the longest letter he's ever written to me.' Remus thought though he didn't bother reading the full list of the headmaster's titles, but he did fold the letter up and immediately head for Lovett's office to share the letter.

After his boss read the letter and they discussed the request, the questions turned to the effect of Lupin's absence would have on the rest of the werewolf pack that now all worked in the Muggle world.

"Any new developments?" asked Lovett.

The werewolf grinned and said, "The Queens Wolves are strong. Most of the men and women change into wolves now rather than the werewolf form. The island is our hunting ground, and no one misses a night. We've added three more members since Greyback and his pack were eliminated last fall."

Lovett nodded. "The amnesty only lasts another full moon and then all rogue werewolves are targets for the army teams during the full moon."

"How soon will the rest of the pack be able to turn into wolves rather than the werewolf form?"

"The youngest ones take only a couple months."

"And the oldest ones may never change?" asked his boss.

"Possibly never," Remus agreed. "But they are under the control of the different alpha wolves and they join the hunt and only fight with each other if the catch is not big enough to feed everyone."

Lovett considered the letter from Dumbledore again and lifted it to draw his subordinate's attention. "Would this assignment in Scotland cause you to regress without your pack around on the full moon?"

Remus grinned and pulled out the portkey he carried around his neck. "On the night of the full moon, I will go to the Shrieking Shack and then portkey to the island for my transformation with my pack. The next morning, I would apparate back."

"Would you have enough energy after the transformation? If I remember correctly, the Ministry of Magic encourages hit wizards to hunt werewolves the morning after the full moon because they are helpless for several hours."

"And that was true before the Queens Wolves reformed the transformation with meditation and adopting more true pack qualities."

Lovett wasn't interested in the private lives of the werewolf pack and he appreciated the success of the program. 'Wild werewolves' had been eliminated from Great Britain this year, and this generation would be the last of the magical creatures in the kingdom. They didn't pass the condition on to their children and they were very protective of the young born to the muggle and magical wives of the pack members.

*(+++++)*

A Government Plan

Two days later, Remus was called into Lovett's office once again and when he arrived, Jasper Hewitt was present. In the years that Remus worked with MI5, he'd encounter Hewitt occasionally; the muggleborn wizard worked with other muggleborns who returned to the muggle world after Hogwarts.

"Jasper! It's good to see you," Remus greeted the other wizard with honest enthusiasm.

"Remus, I hear you've just about worked yourself out of a job by civilizing the wild weres. Congratulations are certainly in order!"

"Our twenty-year plan has been condensed down to ten most successfully,' Lovett admitted. "And Lupin was the key."

"Why am I here today if the wolves have been handled?" asked Jasper.

"There is a new opportunity for Lupin, and it dovetails nicely with your request to reach out to the muggleborn attending Hogwarts."

"What are you wanting to do?" Remus asked Hewitt.

Jasper explained, "We want to convince the muggleborn to continue their muggle studies throughout their time at Hogwarts, rather than them cramming it in after graduation. We want more of the muggleborn to attend university and obtain degrees in medicine, science and engineering."

The werewolf was thoughtful before he said, "We'll need to be quiet and not attract the attention of the headmaster."

Nodding Jasper continued, "We're thinking something along the lines of 'clubs' for English, maths, and science. And we want to reach out to the muggleborn parents and organize them into a support group."

Lovett explained, "Her Majesty asked MI5 to explore ways to help the muggleborn during the time they are at Hogwarts and this is what we came up with."

"The Queen went around the PM?" asked Remus. He'd studied the nation's constitutional monarchy for many years now and understood the restraints on the monarch's powers.

Hewitt grinned and explained, "Mr. Major is in agreement with the crown on this matter."

Then Remus explained the temporary position he'd been invited to hold at Hogwarts this fall.

"Marvellous! You'll be able to identify all the muggleborns and their home address!" Jasper said.

Now Remus uncomfortably rubbed his neck as he explained, "That will have to be done carefully. During the Deatheater Insurrection, the terrorist wizards collected the addresses of the muggleborn from Hogwarts or the Ministry, and then would attack and kill the entire family. Dumbledore would squash me like a bug if he thought I collected addresses in the muggle world."

"Maybe you can have the kids write to their parents about getting in touch with each other," Jasper said. "It will be baby steps, but it can be done."

"You're both missing something; something wizards won't understand," Lovett said as the two other wizards glanced his way. "If Remus can just collect the names of the muggleborns, we can find the families through income tax records. The Ministry for Magic doesn't collect income tax or property tax; they just collect sales taxes."

Remus asked, "Why haven't you ruined their government by showing the purebloods how much cheaper things are in our world then?"

Jasper smiled after hearing Remus's words about 'our world'. Dumbledore had lost the werewolf's loyalty completely.

*(+++++)*

Before You Leave for Hogwarts

The next week MI5 began prepping Remus for his reconnaissance mission into the Magical World. First he spent half of a day with the MI5 'dressers' about his clothing for the trip to Hogwarts.

"I am supposed to be a struggling wizard, not a hobo!" he argued when they dressed in him ragged wizard robes. "These were the style back before the Grindelwald war… Even a beggar in Diagon Alley would have better robes than this."

"But we want to illicit sympathy from the other staff members and the students," replied the woman leading the team of 'dressers'.

"You need to review the file on the magical community!" Remus insisted. "They judge people on their blood line, their clothing styles, and their manners."

"You're a werewolf," the woman argued. "What do you care what they think?"

Remus stopped and looked around him; the dressers all sorted through rags and junk. "No, this is a test and I just passed. Now get the real robes or I will go to Lovett and complain!"

"I thought werewolves only got touchy around the full moon," the woman snorted as she motioned for an assistant to bring out the slightly used but adequate robes.

"And you can wear the best of muggle brands to attract the attention of the muggleborn children there," the woman said. "Your personal wardrobe is suitable."

"You went through my wardrobe?"

"I was in Hufflepuff," she reminded him. "Puffs see and remember everything!"

After completing his wardrobe and refurbishing his old trunk from his school years with featherlight and new expansion charms, Remus gathered a score of pads and journals that he would give out with muggle pens that resembled quills enough to fool anyone not looking too closely.

It was the briefing with his boss and Jasper Hewitt that staggered Remus. He arrived at Lovett's office to discover the two men waiting for him with a third, very short person in a Saville Row suite that cost more than all the clothes Remus owned.

Jasper stood and made the introductions, "Remus Lupin, may I introduce an ally."

"Please Mr. Hewitt," Lupin replied.

"This is Bank Director Ragnock of the British branch of the Goblin Hordes."

Remus bowed his head. "Director, I am honoured to be in council with you this day."

"Pleasant words, wolf," the glamoured goblin replied without malice in his words.

Now the werewolf grinned, displaying his teeth and greeting and the goblin returned the favour by grinning with his teeth glittering in the light of the office.

"If you two are through comparing your dicks, can we get to work?" asked Lovett.

The goblin glanced at Hewitt and asked, "What is this 'dicks'?"

Remus managed to keep from laughing as Jasper said, "It's a saying among human males about determining who is the alpha male."

"Ah, in Gringotts we say, 'compare axes', nothing so crude as the reproductive organs," the goblin smirked.

"Well to work," Jasper said as he turned to Remus. "The director has come to us with a disturbing report. MI5 and our allies in Gringotts have an additional mission for you at Hogwarts."

"I will be glad to help in any way…"

"Gringotts works with the Queen's government covertly. We dread the day the Ministry for Magic discovers our association," the director said without any sincerity. "We expect the Aurors to advance on the lobby and attempt to breach our defences but there'll be many fewer Aurors after that day."

"No doubt," Remus agreed.

Without waiting for Hewitt or Lovett to participate in the conversation, Ragnock continued, "We've been made aware that His Deviousness Albus Dumbledore makes contact with you occasionally asking you to perform meaningless or dangerous tasks."

Remus tried to hold back the laughter at the description of the headmaster but he wasn't totally successful. "He does. Mr. Lovett and others in this office read every letter from the headmaster. For the past few years, our intelligence team has composed every reply though I do put quill to paper to authenticate the letter."

"Very good," the goblin said. "Now, I understand the reason you have been recruited for a three-month term at Hogwarts is because Professor Sprout needs more time to recover from her injuries."

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore indicated that she was injured during the fire on 1 August."

The goblin shook his head and said, "Never believe anything that is implied in communication from Albus Dumbledore."

All three wizards sat up to hear the details of the goblin's news.

"On 1 August, a wizard made a brazen attempt to rob Gringotts. He was trapped inside the vault he tried to rob and drew the attention of the wards by attempted to apparate out. The wards began to drain his magic and it took thirty minutes for the wards to finish him."

"Thirty minutes," Remus stated. "How could he last that long? And it must have been excruciatingly painful."

Ragnock explained, "We believe the thief drew on other sources of magic to remain alive. Once these other sources of magic were drained, they ignited the magical fires that caused so much trouble for the Ministry for Magic to contain."

Jasper nodded, "The Daily Prophet reported a fire at a magical home in London, one in another magical home in Wiltshire, and finally the fire at Hogwarts."

Inclining his head in agreement, the goblin continued, "There were two other magical fires that day – the ruins of another magical home in the north of England burned and spread dangerously close to a muggle town called Little Hangleton. The deserted manor house of a dead muggle family in the minor aristocracy was also burned."

"And the last fire?" asked Lovett.

Ragnock frowned and explained, "Actually it was the first fire we knew about because it erupted and consumed the contents of a vault in Gringotts. Thankfully, our fire suppression wards were at full strength and contained the fire to the single vault."

"What is the connection for all these locations, director?" asked Lovett.

"Except for Hogwarts, each location was the home or vault of a Deatheater or the Dark Lord's family…"

*(+++++)*

Connecting the Dark Dots

"The Dark Lord's family?" asked Jasper. He shuddered and said, "Of course, I knew he started out as human but the photos in the last ten years show him as a monster."

"The Dark Lord was born Tom Marvolo Riddle in the late 1920s. He was orphaned and raised in a muggle orphanage until he went to Hogwarts in 1938. He was popular in Slytherin house and with the faculty. I believe they even made him head boy in 1945 or 1946."

"James was head boy in our seventh year," Remus remembered. The director tilted his head to one side before he asked, "Would you like to know something about that appointment?"

The three wizards looked confused for a moment but then Remus nodded.

"Fleamont Potter was a fairly honest wizard but he did spoil that boy shamelessly. At the conclusion of your sixth year at Hogwarts, the Potters contributed thirty thousand galleons to Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix in late July. The next week, it was announced that James Potter would be head boy for the next year with the girl he was pursuing, Lily Evans, as head girl."

"So?" Remus asked.

"According to grades and class achievement, you should have been head boy," Ragnock said. The werewolf was conflicted for a moment but then he shrugged off the resentment and hurt.

"It never would have happened," he told the others. "Too many people knew about my 'furry little problem'. I was a prefect for three years and I know I earned that on my own merits."

"Enough tests," growled Lovett. "Lupin has proven himself time and time again. Now tell us how the fires are connected."

The goblin nodded and began listing each magical fire.

"The fire in Gringotts occurred in the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the Dark Lord's most trusted lieutenants."

"The fire in Wiltshire burned down the manor home of Lucius Malfoy, a principal financial backer of the Dark Lord, despite his claims of the imperious curse afterwards."

"The fire in London destroyed the ancestral Black family home in the city. Lord Arcturus Black lives in a hidden manor home somewhere in England and the only magical casualty that day was Walburga Black, widow of Orion Black and mother of Sirius Black."

"The fire in Little Hangleton erupted in the ruins of a shack that had been home to the Gaunt family, an inbred family claiming descent for Salazar Slytherin. In the 1920's a squib daughter seduced the son of the local squire, a muggle named Tom Riddle. Once married and pregnant, she failed to consider the muggle's revulsion to learn he'd been tricked into marriage with love potions. The entire Riddle family was wiped out mysteriously in 1943 and the blame settled on the only surviving member of the Gaunt family. He was sent to Azkaban and died there."

"And Hogwarts?" asked Lovett. "How did the fire start there?"

The goblin shrugged, "Riddle may have loved his time at Hogwarts and hidden a treasure there. He left other treasures with his most devote followers and hid one in the ruins of his mother's home as some convoluted way to honour her memory."

"How does a thief in Gringotts relate to these fires?" Remus asked, leaning back in his chair while gripping the arms of his chair tightly.

"Why the thief was the Dark Lord – in some form or other," Ragnock explained. "Our magic users think his spirit had possessed a willing wizard and came to Gringotts seeking immortality."

"Immortality?" asked Lovett.

"How?" asked Hewitt.

Remus leaned forward once again, as Ragnock explained, "The day after the fires and attempted theft in the bank, we opened the door of Dumbledore's vault and found some ashes and this stone."

The goblin lay a small, red stone with many small runes carved into the surface of the stone.

Remus stared at the stone and after two minutes, he said, "The runes were carved when the stone was larger. An incantation would have been required to shrink it while maintaining the continuity of the carvings."

"Very likely," Ragnock replied. "If I can ever get a letter delivered to the owner, I shall ask him that question before returning his stone to him."

"And that owner would be?"

"Nicholas Flammel…" Ragnock and Remus replied simultaneously.

*(+++++)*

"That's the Philosopher's Stone? Immortality and unlimited amounts of gold!" Jasper said, sliding his chair away from the stone.

"Put that thing away… please," asked Lovett. "How can anyone think such a thing is good."

Remus explained, "Writers who have never spoken to Flammel but who have studied the history of five hundred years ago point out that life was extremely short then. You were old at forty and lost most of your children before they turned five years. Gold could buy anything – food, freedom, favours."

"Yes, but to live for five centuries…" Lovett shuddered.

The goblin lifted the red stone and slipped it back into a hidden pocket on his coat.

"What do you want from Remus during his time at Hogwarts?" asked Jasper.

Ragnock again tilted his head before answering. "Listen and hear if Dumbledore mentions a great treasure… something that would tempt the Dark Lord to breach the wards of the castle."

"Has the headmaster asked about his vault?" asked Remus.

"No. He sent Rubeus Hagrid to collect the contents on 31 July but Hagrid decide to remain at the bank as our new dragon handler."

"Dragon handler?"

"Yes. And in the month of August one of Hagrid's pets got loose inside Hogwarts and that's how Professor Sprout was injured. Dumbledore didn't mention that the Mediwitch Poppy Pomphrey lost her right arm to the creature and has been removed to St. Mungo's."

"Pomphrey lost her arm? What kind of creature was it?"

"A Cerberus; big bright red thing I understand from the report of the ten Aurors it took to kill the beast."

"Hogwarts is certainly going to be exciting this year," Lovett said watching Remus for a reaction.

The werewolf shrugged, "There was a werewolf there for all seven years I attended. He never hurt me…"

The other three laughed raggedly and parted ways.

*(+++++)*