Disclaimers: All
characters belong to J.K. Rowling and are used without her permission. I hold no claim or rights to any characters
herein. Also in the interest of story continuity there will be small that are taken
verbatim (or closely to verbatim) from The Prisoner of Azkaban, they are in no
way my work but JKR's
Prologue: Ghosts of the Past
Lupin slowly paced back and forth staring at the two pieces
of parchment lying on the small table.
He massaged his temples and then raked his fingers through his graying
brown hair. How long had it been since
he's had contact with anyone from his past? Five, seven years at best, he
thought. Then yesterday, out of the
blue, two owls had appeared at his window with letters as different as their
authors, yet essentially wanting the same thing, for him to go back to
Hogwarts.
He sat down and picked up the official looking letter; he
smiled as his fingers lightly brushed across the Hogwarts crest. He'd read this letter it seemed a hundred
times since it arrived two days ago but he still couldn't believe it.
Dear Remus,
I hope this
letter finds you well but I'm afraid I must get right to the point. Many things have happened in the last week
and I find I am in need of your services.
Hogwarts is in great need of a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor
with practical experience. I've heard
of your exploits in Eastern Europe over the years and in these trying times I
need some one with your background.
This brings me to my second reason for writing; Sirius has escaped from
Azkaban and we have good reason to believe that he's headed to Hogwarts.
We haven't much
time; the term starts in a week and a half. If you won't come back for me then
please do it for Harry's sake. I shall
be expecting your reply in the next few days.
Remus, you may be the only one who can get through to Sirius.
Sincerely Yours,
Albus Dumbledore
P.S. As for your condition, everything will be taken care
of. Severus has agreed to make the
potion for you.
"Well I bet that made
Severus' day." Laughed Lupin as he gently placed the letter back on the table.
Next he picked up the scrap of parchment and suddenly his
heart felt like it slammed into his ribs as he remembered Dumbledore's
words. Sirius has escaped from
Azkaban. How could this have
happened, he thought? Closing his eyes
he tried to force out the memories of twelve years ago. He sighed as he opened his eyes and read the
scribbled note yet again. The all too
familiar half script half print words threatening to open the memory flood
gate.
Remus,
I can't explain it
right now I don't have much time. Peter is the traitor. He's alive and on his
way to Hogwarts. Harry is in danger. You need to find a way to get a job at
Hogwarts. I'm on my way there but I can't protect Harry without your help. Remus you must know deep in your heart that
I would have died before betraying James and Lily. Next to James you are my
best friend, I'm sorry I ever doubted you.
Please believe and trust me now.
Moony, I'm trusting you now with my life, they have Dementors looking
for me. You can leave word at the Shrieking Shack.
Sirius
Finally the flood gates broke and all the memories that
Lupin and been fighting to control the last few days poured into his mind
threatening to drown him. Everything
seemed like it had happened just yesterday and twelve years faded away to
nothing…
When Remus had arrived at Godric's Hollow the fading
Death Mark still hung overhead. From
his spot on a nearby hill he could see James and Lily's bodies buried in the
rubble of their house an a few Ministry agents milling about. Bits and pieces
of their conversation floated up to him and he had learned that Harry had been
whisked away per Dumbledore's orders. Just then something caught his eye or
more specifically someone, Sirius.
Remus wanted to go down and console Sirius but he knew
that Sirius no longer trusted him and his presence wouldn't be welcome. In fact Sirius might blame him for what had
happen so Remus resolved to just watch from a distance. As Ministry agents began to remove James and
Lily's bodies he saw the anger flash across Sirius' face. Remus knew that look all to well. Sirius had
a very nasty temper and welcome or not he was going to stop him before Sirius
did something rash. However before
Remus could get half way to the house Sirius Disapparated.
Remus spent the next day searching for Sirius before
finally tracking him down in London. He'd arrived seconds after the explosion.
The scene was awful, but the thing that made Remus' blood run cold was the
sight of Sirius standing there laughing.
He ran up to Sirius trying to get him to talk but all Sirius did was
laugh never even acknowledging Remus.
Sirius was still laughing when Ministry Law Enforcement dragged him
away.
A few days later Remus learned that Sirius had been the
Potter's Secret-Keeper and had killed Peter along with the twelve Muggles in
London that day. Now Sirius would spend the rest of his life in Azkaban. If I'd
only known about the Fidelius Charm maybe….
Lupin slammed his fist on the table bringing him back to
the present.
"How can I believe you Sirius? I know what I saw that
day." Lupin sighed, "I want to believe that you didn't betray your best friend,
that you didn't betray us all?"
In that moment he made his decision. He walked over to his case and pulled out a
piece of parchment and a quill.
Dear Professor Dumbledore,
I accept
the Defense Against the Dark Arts position.
Thank you for thinking of my condition. I wouldn't have consented if
that issue couldn't be resolved. I will
arrive on the Hogwarts express instead of Apparating to Hogsmeade. Since Dementors are involved I think it
would be wise to have another adult on the train.
Sincerely,
Remus J. Lupin
The tawny owl that had brought Dumbledore's letter
fluttered to the table so that Lupin could attach the note to its leg. He smiled, thinking how furious Severus
would be to hear that he'd accepted the job, and that Severus would have to
brew the wolfsbane potion each month.
Just to see the look on his face would be worth returning. The owl took
off through the window and Lupin picked up his battered case to start packing. It was going to be a long trip and he feared
he wouldn't be getting much sleep in the next few days.
To be continued…
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A/N: After reading some of the reviews I guess I
should have indicated that this would be a multi-part story. Mea culpa. Thanks
for all the feedback so far. This is my first trip into fanfiction and I
greatly appreciate it so stay tuned for more. Hopefully I will have the next
chapter up by the end of May barring any problems.
