The Life for Which You Are Looking

by hmweasley

As his seventh year begins, Remus feels as if his life has become little more but a countdown to despair. War is raging outside the walls of Hogwarts, and werewolves are increasingly siding with Voldemort, which has extinguished any hope Remus had of getting a decent job, even with Outstandings on all of his N.E.W.T.s. His expectations aren't high, and they may just get even lower.

18. Interlude: Difficult Sacrifices

Interlude 7

Minerva McGonagall

Difficult Sacrifices

Minerva resisted the urge to bite at her nails, a habit she'd been going back and forth on since she was a child. It had become particularly hard to control the urge since the war had erupted in full force.

Giving in, she bit at a hangnail with such force that she cringed and immediately regretted the action. She balled her hand into a fist in her lap instead.

There was a war, and she knew that none of her students would be able to escape from it completely. That didn't mean she wanted to be responsible for pulling them into a war they were too young for, but that was what Dumbledore expected of her. They needed all the help they could get in the Order.

"Many of the Gryffindors will want to join this year," she said with a frown.

Albus offers her a small smile in response.

"And I wish we didn't need them so desperately," he said with a shake of his head. "Unfortunately, I'm in no position to turn down an offer of help. All of your seventh years will be welcomed warmly should they choose to come."

Minerva's frown deepened.

"All of them?" she asked, leaning in towards Albus' desk. "I'm worried about Peter Pettigrew. And before you say anything, I'm not speaking merely of talent. There's something else about him that worries me. I don't think he should join the Order."

Albus looked at her for a moment before consulting a piece of parchment on his desk.

"We should always trust our instincts. I do wonder, however, is Misters Potter, Lupin, and Black would be willing to join if their best friend wasn't part of the package deal."

Minerva didn't say a word until Albus finally looked up at her.

"I do understand," he said gently. "There are times when I, too, worry about the boy. However, I worry even more about what would happen if I denied him the chance of doing what his three best friends were. That sounds like just the way to foster resentment."

Though her lips tightened, she gave a quick nod of her head.

"You have a point. I won't stand in the way of Mr Pettigrew joining. I know better than to get in the way of you seeing the best in people."

Albus didn't get a direct response to her words, but there was a twinkle in his eyes as he smiled.

---

A/N: The next update will also be an interlude, as I want to show what Sirius has been up to over the Christmas holidays before we go back to Hogwarts in the next "real" chapter.

Word count: 407