Harry Potter and the New Start: Non-Believers

Hey everyone! Thanks so much for all of the reviews for the last chapter. Things are a bit mushy right now, but have no fear, I'm armed and ready with an outline full of drama. This chapter is for everyone out there whose been wanting some Remus. Or at least everyone who wants some Remus angst.

-----------------------------------Dumbledore's Office

Remus Lupin walked down the stone corridors of Hogwarts Castle. He's spent some much time there he could swear to anyone that they could blindfold him and he'd still be able to walk around. And he could show off secret passages at the same time.

That had been a specialty of the Marauders. Secret passage finding. They'd go off to class and something would catch someone's eye. Ways to get into the Gryffindor common room from an entirely different floor. Ways to get the Slytherin common room, which had come in handy during many pranks. They were sure that they'd found a few that not even Dumbledore or Filch knew of.

It was memories like those that made his current life seem so unbelievable. Had he gone back in time and tried to warn his seventeen-year-old self of the dangers of the future, all he would get out of the younger Remus was a suggestion for the funny farm. Sirius Black betraying James Potter? Padfoot, who was always so quick to defend Peter, ending up going to Azkaban for killing him? James, so full of life, actually dying? No, too far fetched. The full moon had addled his brains.

There were still sometimes when the doubts would rise to the forefront of his mind. Peter wasn't dead, and James wasn't either. Harry and Lily were perfectly fine and Sirius was completely innocent.

But these days and moments were becoming far fewer. Horrible reality had long since sunken in and acceptance was closely following. There was nothing he could do to change it, no matter how hard he tried or wanted it.

After only a short walk Remus reached the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office. How many times had he been in there before? Towards the end of the Marauder's seven years it was once every few days. "Mars Bars." Remus spoke quietly to the stone statue, which sprang to life and jumped out of the way, admitting the werewolf entrance to Dumbledore's office.

Once the spiral steps were cleared, Remus went inside without knocking. Acceptance aside, he'd been there once every three months to ask if there had been any news. This month no exception. Never mind the fact that Dumbledore would fire-call him if there were any news. It was basically the only thing that he could do to be useful.

"Hello, Remus." Dumbledore greeted, blue eyes twinkling at his former pupil. Remus had always been more grounded than the others of the Marauder group. A fact that Dumbledore had appreciated greatly during their school years.

Taking his customary seat on the other side of the desk, Remus responded. "Good morning, Albus." Dumbledore had long since forced Remus to start calling him Albus over Headmaster or Professor. He pasted on a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

Which Dumbledore noticed at once, but let pass with no comment. "I trust the last full moon wasn't too horrible. You seem to be looking perfectly fine."

"I am alright, thank you for asking." Remus sighed. They needed an icebreaker. Luckily, there had been something that he'd been dying to ask the aged wizard. "Dumbledore, I heard that Professor Dentra has retired. I've got to ask about the replacement you chose."

"A highly qualified candidate. I couldn't have picked someone more suited for the job." Dumbledore praised with a smirk, knowing how this conversation would go.

Remus's eyebrows rose of their own accord. "Severus Snape?" He couldn't help but snort. "He's qualified to teach students? Scare them, maybe, but teach?"

"There is no better potions master." Dumbledore pointed out, knowing full and well that all of Remus's arguments were correct. But this was not why Remus came, and Dumbledore knew that.

The look on Remus's face was one of questioning Dumbledore's sanity. He wasn't the first. "He'll play favorites. You know how he is towards Gryffindors. Remember how he and James were? They fought all the time, Siri...." He trailed off, mind suddenly snapping back into reality. His eyes were downcast, not wanting to meet those of the Headmaster.

"I do not think you came today to talk about my employment choices." Dumbledore suggested, voice level and clear. "You come each month to ask, and I still have no new news for you, Remus."

Sighing, Remus let what little hope had fade out, just as he had each time before. "I wasn't really expecting anything else."

"But you still hope." Dumbledore finished. Had Remus looked up he would have seen the sympathy in the old man's eyes. Even if Remus couldn't take Harry himself, not knowing where he was made it that much harder for him.

"Of course I do." The younger man spat out a bit harsher than he'd intended. "I can't believe that Sirius would just take him like that."

Wearily, Dumbledore leaned back in his seat. "There are a lot of things about Sirius Black that we would not have guessed or believed before hand." He said. The saddened tone of voice clearly suggested that Dumbledore had once had high hopes for the seemingly light Black.

"I still don't believe it sometimes you know." Remus added, looking anywhere but at Dumbledore's eyes. "I know that it's true. But sometimes the past just doesn't add up. He'd never liked his parents, he hated them and their pure-blood ways. He was so close to James, and he adored Harry."

Those were things that everyone had let run through their mind many times before. Even Dumbledore himself found the past too compelling an argument to ignore. But to dredge up the hurt of Sirius's betrayal only to be disappointed, merely based on his good acting of the past, was far from worth it. "I do believe that he was not acting when he was younger. And somehow, I do not believe that he was anything but hateful towards his parents. Those are things that you cannot act your way through."

"He wasn't prejudice at all towards me. He took it in stride, even at twelve. James too." Remus reminisced. Memories of both James and Sirius were painful to him, even still. Years later it was still not true to him what had happened.

Both men stayed quite for a few moments, but Remus broke the silence. "Do you think he's hurting Harry?"

"I can't honestly say either way." Dumbledore responded sadly. He wished he had some reassurance about the child. But until the day they met up again, if they ever did, he would not know. No one would.

"I wonder if Harry likes living with him? I mean, he and Sirius always got along so well." Remus mused aloud. Could it be true? Could Sirius actually be raising his godson right, even if he was a deatheater who's master had been destroyed by the small child. It was a hope too good to be true, just like the rest of them.

Dumbledore could assure him of nothing, but at the same time, he could not tell Remus differently. "I do not know. All we can do is hope."

"I do hope we'll see Harry again."

"As do I."

I don't know if I'm really pleased with this chapter or not. I just wanted to plant that little doubt in Remus's mind. Show everyone how I think he felt about the whole thing. Please, let me know what you think!