DISCLAIMER: Sitting here, owning nothing. Still Harry Potter and all the
characters, places, and objects in the books are NOT MINE! So I'd
appriciate it if you didn't sue. I'm just borrowing these pretty people
and places. (
AN: Next chapter. Hope you like. I added it because I got another review. THANX PEEPS! You're so great!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When he stepped into the circular office he immediately spotted Dumbledore sitting quietly at his desk, papers spread before him. Brushing ash from his robes, Remus walked into Dumbledore's line of vision.
Without looking up, Albus Dumbledore said, "Hello Remus."
"Hello Professor Dumbledore," Remus replied, "I- I have a few matters to address with you if you're not busy?"
"Why, certainly, Remus," the headmaster of Hogwarts replied, looking up.
Remus cleared his throat, "Firstly, I wonder if you have a Defense teacher for this year?"
"Why, yes, I do, but if you like I will hold the position for you. I'm quite sure Professor Quirrell will end up leaving at the end of this year. The job seems to be cursed. Not to discourage you, of course."
"Of course," Remus replied, "Yes, Professor, that would be much appreciated.
"Was there something else?" Dumbledore asked, seriously.
"Yes."
Dumbledore waited. Remus cleared his throat again, "As I'm sure you've heard, I went to visit Azkaban today," the headmaster didn't respond except to nod, so Remus continued, "And he seemed very keen on proving himself innocent."
Even though he didn't say who 'he' was, he knew that Dumbledore would know exactly who he was talking about.
"As I'm sure anyone would do if faced with Azkaban- innocent or guilty. Please continue."
"He kept going on about how it was- was P-Peter who was the betrayer. That Peter had been the secret keeper and Peter had," Remus swallowed an impossibly large lump from his throat, "sold the Potters out to He-Who-Must- Not-Be-Named."
"Voldemort, Remus, call him Voldemort," Dumbledore interjected.
"Right, V-Voldemort."
"His real name is Tom. Call him that if you wish."
"Er- that's okay. Professor, do you think we should- er- trust Black? Or maybe give the idea a chance?"
"Remus, I think it is your memory of Sirius Black as you knew him at school. In the real world he may well be as bad as everyone thinks he is and more. Of course he wasn't given a proper trial, so it is _possible_ that he did not commit those crimes, but there is really no evidence to point that direction.
"Even if Peter was the Secret Keeper he couldn't have disappeared, someone had set up anti-apparition wards all around that area and there had been no portkey use in that area for years. I don't know that Peter could have set up an unauthorized portkey, and, as I recall, he hadn't gained his apparitioning license when he tracked Black down."
"You're right, Dumbledore. I guess I- I'll just. . ." a little while ago Remus had been prepared to tell Dumbledore about Peter, Sirius, and James becoming animagus, but now that Dumbledore explained it that way- there really was no way Remus could support Sirius. Besides, there had been witnesses- a whole street full of them- who saw Black murder Peter and so many muggles!
"Perhaps you should get some sleep, Remus. We have a few rooms to lend out for the night. If you are feeling ill you could drop into the infirmary. Poppy is already there preparing some salves and potions she may not have time to make during the course of the year and I'm sure she would be able to help you with whatever ails you."
"Y-yes, thank you, professor" Remus said.
"You may call me Albus now. You no longer go to school here."
"Thank you," Remus repeated.
On the way to the hospital wing (Remus' feet guided him there by themselves as he had, in school, gone between the Headmaster's office and the hospital wing quite often enough), Remus thought about his strange predicament. Was he to trust Dumbledore? What if Black was telling the truth. . . no, he must remember the murderer's story held no truth. It just wasn't possible that Peter could be alive- there had been witnesses.
As Remus pushed the door to the hospital wing open, he realized how utterly spent he was.
"Madam Pomfrey. . ." he said softly as he approached her office, "I don't feel that well-"
By the time Madam Pomfrey realized that someone was in the otherwise abandoned wing (she had been extremely absorbed in her work) there was a groan and a loud 'thump' and then silence.
Abandoning the simple healing potion she was brewing, she raced into the main wing to see a former patient of hers prone on the cold stone floor. She rushed over to him and put a finger to a vein in his neck. His heartbeat was still regular, but he was exceedingly cold. Reaching behind her ear, she pulled out her wand and levitated him onto a bed and started treatment on him. She realized that he needed chocolate right away ("He should have had some ages ago, I thought he knew better!") and began magically pumping it into his system.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Remus groaned loudly. He had such a bad feeling- almost like it was cold in his head- that wouldn't go away. Remus forced his mind to pull itself up- he knew he had to wake up to get rid of the feeling. There were layers in many things and minds were one of them. To be free of this 'prison' Remus knew he had to rise through all the levels. It took concentration.
"Oh, he's still asleep," a disappointed voice sounded above him, jerking him out of his peaceful state. Remus lurched forward in the bed and succeeded in toppling, flailing wildly, onto the floor. He struggled against the blankets, trying to free himself, but he grew tired quickly and a different voice said, "Now, really, Remus, you don't have to act like we are going to attack you. We merely came to see how you were doing."
Remus blinked. He could see tall figures standing around him, but couldn't make out any faces.
"Nah, s'kay," Remus mumbled thickly, "Were'm I, now?"
"You still reside Hogwarts, Mr. Lupin," said the voice of the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Remus knew he would be able to tell that voice anywhere, "In the hospital wing, as you were not doing to well when Madam Pomfrey found you lying on the floor outside her office a few weeks ago."
Remus blinked again and then understood, "WEEKS?"
"Yes, the dementors' effects were magnified because of your- er- condition, Mr. Lupin, and as you didn't have immediate medical treatment, you stayed in a sleeplike state for a little over four weeks," Madam Pomfrey explained.
"Shouldn'a school started bah now?" Remus asked, his voice still not quite working properly.
"Yes, it is the first day of classes for the new students," said a voice Remus recognized as Minerva McGonagall's.
"Who're th'new Gryffindors?" Remus wondered.
Dumbledore chuckled, "You mean Mr. Potter? Yes he was made a Gryffindor along with a few other promising students. There was a Mr. Ronald Weasley, whom Harry was conversing with- there's a potential friendship there, if I'm not mistaken. There was also a couple muggle-born and half-blood students in the mix. Young Mr. Malfoy was, of course, sorted into Slytherin. This group of students will be. . . interesting."
Remus nodded, "Why can'da I see you?"
"After-effects of the dementors, I would expect," said Madam Pomfrey.
"Oh."
"I believe," said a voice Remus didn't recognize, "that Mr. Lupin would appreciate being left alone for a time so he can rest."
Remus nodded in agreement and then felt two people, one on either side of him, lift him onto the bed. Almost instantly he was asleep.
"Well," said Dumbledore happily, "perhaps we should get ready for another day at Hogwarts?"
The other teacher's nodded.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
(
Review? Please? I like feedback on how my story is going.
I'll add the next chapter soon.
It's kinda funny.
AN: Next chapter. Hope you like. I added it because I got another review. THANX PEEPS! You're so great!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When he stepped into the circular office he immediately spotted Dumbledore sitting quietly at his desk, papers spread before him. Brushing ash from his robes, Remus walked into Dumbledore's line of vision.
Without looking up, Albus Dumbledore said, "Hello Remus."
"Hello Professor Dumbledore," Remus replied, "I- I have a few matters to address with you if you're not busy?"
"Why, certainly, Remus," the headmaster of Hogwarts replied, looking up.
Remus cleared his throat, "Firstly, I wonder if you have a Defense teacher for this year?"
"Why, yes, I do, but if you like I will hold the position for you. I'm quite sure Professor Quirrell will end up leaving at the end of this year. The job seems to be cursed. Not to discourage you, of course."
"Of course," Remus replied, "Yes, Professor, that would be much appreciated.
"Was there something else?" Dumbledore asked, seriously.
"Yes."
Dumbledore waited. Remus cleared his throat again, "As I'm sure you've heard, I went to visit Azkaban today," the headmaster didn't respond except to nod, so Remus continued, "And he seemed very keen on proving himself innocent."
Even though he didn't say who 'he' was, he knew that Dumbledore would know exactly who he was talking about.
"As I'm sure anyone would do if faced with Azkaban- innocent or guilty. Please continue."
"He kept going on about how it was- was P-Peter who was the betrayer. That Peter had been the secret keeper and Peter had," Remus swallowed an impossibly large lump from his throat, "sold the Potters out to He-Who-Must- Not-Be-Named."
"Voldemort, Remus, call him Voldemort," Dumbledore interjected.
"Right, V-Voldemort."
"His real name is Tom. Call him that if you wish."
"Er- that's okay. Professor, do you think we should- er- trust Black? Or maybe give the idea a chance?"
"Remus, I think it is your memory of Sirius Black as you knew him at school. In the real world he may well be as bad as everyone thinks he is and more. Of course he wasn't given a proper trial, so it is _possible_ that he did not commit those crimes, but there is really no evidence to point that direction.
"Even if Peter was the Secret Keeper he couldn't have disappeared, someone had set up anti-apparition wards all around that area and there had been no portkey use in that area for years. I don't know that Peter could have set up an unauthorized portkey, and, as I recall, he hadn't gained his apparitioning license when he tracked Black down."
"You're right, Dumbledore. I guess I- I'll just. . ." a little while ago Remus had been prepared to tell Dumbledore about Peter, Sirius, and James becoming animagus, but now that Dumbledore explained it that way- there really was no way Remus could support Sirius. Besides, there had been witnesses- a whole street full of them- who saw Black murder Peter and so many muggles!
"Perhaps you should get some sleep, Remus. We have a few rooms to lend out for the night. If you are feeling ill you could drop into the infirmary. Poppy is already there preparing some salves and potions she may not have time to make during the course of the year and I'm sure she would be able to help you with whatever ails you."
"Y-yes, thank you, professor" Remus said.
"You may call me Albus now. You no longer go to school here."
"Thank you," Remus repeated.
On the way to the hospital wing (Remus' feet guided him there by themselves as he had, in school, gone between the Headmaster's office and the hospital wing quite often enough), Remus thought about his strange predicament. Was he to trust Dumbledore? What if Black was telling the truth. . . no, he must remember the murderer's story held no truth. It just wasn't possible that Peter could be alive- there had been witnesses.
As Remus pushed the door to the hospital wing open, he realized how utterly spent he was.
"Madam Pomfrey. . ." he said softly as he approached her office, "I don't feel that well-"
By the time Madam Pomfrey realized that someone was in the otherwise abandoned wing (she had been extremely absorbed in her work) there was a groan and a loud 'thump' and then silence.
Abandoning the simple healing potion she was brewing, she raced into the main wing to see a former patient of hers prone on the cold stone floor. She rushed over to him and put a finger to a vein in his neck. His heartbeat was still regular, but he was exceedingly cold. Reaching behind her ear, she pulled out her wand and levitated him onto a bed and started treatment on him. She realized that he needed chocolate right away ("He should have had some ages ago, I thought he knew better!") and began magically pumping it into his system.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Remus groaned loudly. He had such a bad feeling- almost like it was cold in his head- that wouldn't go away. Remus forced his mind to pull itself up- he knew he had to wake up to get rid of the feeling. There were layers in many things and minds were one of them. To be free of this 'prison' Remus knew he had to rise through all the levels. It took concentration.
"Oh, he's still asleep," a disappointed voice sounded above him, jerking him out of his peaceful state. Remus lurched forward in the bed and succeeded in toppling, flailing wildly, onto the floor. He struggled against the blankets, trying to free himself, but he grew tired quickly and a different voice said, "Now, really, Remus, you don't have to act like we are going to attack you. We merely came to see how you were doing."
Remus blinked. He could see tall figures standing around him, but couldn't make out any faces.
"Nah, s'kay," Remus mumbled thickly, "Were'm I, now?"
"You still reside Hogwarts, Mr. Lupin," said the voice of the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Remus knew he would be able to tell that voice anywhere, "In the hospital wing, as you were not doing to well when Madam Pomfrey found you lying on the floor outside her office a few weeks ago."
Remus blinked again and then understood, "WEEKS?"
"Yes, the dementors' effects were magnified because of your- er- condition, Mr. Lupin, and as you didn't have immediate medical treatment, you stayed in a sleeplike state for a little over four weeks," Madam Pomfrey explained.
"Shouldn'a school started bah now?" Remus asked, his voice still not quite working properly.
"Yes, it is the first day of classes for the new students," said a voice Remus recognized as Minerva McGonagall's.
"Who're th'new Gryffindors?" Remus wondered.
Dumbledore chuckled, "You mean Mr. Potter? Yes he was made a Gryffindor along with a few other promising students. There was a Mr. Ronald Weasley, whom Harry was conversing with- there's a potential friendship there, if I'm not mistaken. There was also a couple muggle-born and half-blood students in the mix. Young Mr. Malfoy was, of course, sorted into Slytherin. This group of students will be. . . interesting."
Remus nodded, "Why can'da I see you?"
"After-effects of the dementors, I would expect," said Madam Pomfrey.
"Oh."
"I believe," said a voice Remus didn't recognize, "that Mr. Lupin would appreciate being left alone for a time so he can rest."
Remus nodded in agreement and then felt two people, one on either side of him, lift him onto the bed. Almost instantly he was asleep.
"Well," said Dumbledore happily, "perhaps we should get ready for another day at Hogwarts?"
The other teacher's nodded.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
(
Review? Please? I like feedback on how my story is going.
I'll add the next chapter soon.
It's kinda funny.