Albus Dumbledore

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, was currently sitting in the Great Hall, listening to a beautiful performance by the school choir.

Normally such a performance would fill him with joy and pride, but not today. Today he watched the singing students in silence, a fake smile plastered on his face. As if in response to his poor mood, a storm was raging outside the castle, with distant flashes appearing from outside the windows every few seconds, followed closely by distant thunders.

The reason for his displeasure was actually quite simple. Obvious even.

Dementors, or rather their presence on the castle grounds.

Albus didn't want to point the finger at the person responsible for this idiotic decision, as that person was his friend and the Minister of Magic, but someone at the Ministry came up with the very bright idea of sending a bunch of soul-eaters to Hogwarts, for some reason believing that doing so would undoubtedly lead to the capture of Sirius Black. Apparently, it was blatantly obvious that the first thing the man would do after a decade of imprisonment and torture would be to recklessly pursue Harry Potter to avenge his supposed master.

The fact that the man was rescued by a third party with unknown motives was, of course, irrelevant. The same went for all those inconvenient facts about Sirius' case, which everyone was more than happy to ignore.

Now, it was not impossible for Sirius to go after Harry, regardless of the possible reason for doing so. In fact, Albus himself had taken some precautions if that was the case, with one of them currently sitting to his left. That didn't change the fact that sending the dementors to Hogwarts was an incredibly stupid decision, fueled by the growing panic and paranoia caused by rising anti-ministry sentiment among the wizarding population.

What's worse, it wasn't even a good way to deal with the support crisis, as Albus was relatively certain that the ministry's decision wouldn't earn any approval from all those worried parents whose children were now under constant threat of being drained by dementors.

In his defense, Albus did everything in his power to prevent this from happening, trying to convince Wizengamot of the stupidity of such a decision, but apparently his past merits and achievements were not enough, as his concerns were deemed "excessive" and "misplaced". That's why, despite his reservations, he could do nothing but reluctantly agree to the dementor's presence and hope that it would not lead to any disaster.

Albus didn't hold his breath.

The worst part of this fiasco was that the entire situation seemed a little too contrived to be coincidental. The Lockhart affair from last year, the anti-ministry sentiment growing among the population, the mysterious escape of Sirius, the presence of dementors, all of it seemed linked, even if he didn't know the nature of the thread connecting them yet. He didn't know if it was all Tom's fault or that of a suspected third player, but...

Albus didn't have time to finish that thought, because at that moment Flitwick's frog choir finished their song and it was finally time for him to give an inspirational speech to all those young hopefuls... and warn them about the dementors.

He really wasn't being paid enough for this job.

After a final, discreet sigh, Albus slowly got up from his chair and walked to the podium, already exhausted.

" Welcome, welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" he exclaimed to the assembled students, his tone of voice cheerful and confident despite his poor mood. Fortunately, no one noticed his displeasure, as he was rewarded with a loud round of applause. Sadly, the applause was much less energetic than the year before, which was understandable, though depressing. After the whole Lockhart fiasco and the train full of dementors, he should consider himself lucky that the students didn't start throwing food at him again.

"I would like to say a few words before we are all too befuddled by our excellent feast. First of all, it is my pleasure to welcome Professor Remus Lupin, who has kindly agreed to fill the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Albus stated, pointing to the scarred man on his left. Hearing his name, Remus stood up and gently waved to the students, receiving rather vigorous applause, most likely related to his brave actions during the ride to Hogwarts. "I can personally vouch for Professor Lupin, as he is a man of great knowledge and moral integrity, who I am sure will prove to be a valuable addition to the faculty."

Perhaps that glowing endorsement at the end was a bit over the top, but unfortunately it was something Albus simply had to do. After two years in a row of maniacal killers acting as DADA teachers, he had to assure his students that Professor Lockhart was different. Well, for most of a month at least.

To be entirely honest, given Remus'... affliction, choosing him as a teacher may not have been the optimal choice, but Albus had his reasons for choosing the man, not the least of which was the fact that he was a former friend of Sirius Black. He had already had doubts about Sirius' guilt for some time, so having someone close to Sirius, someone who could potentially interact with him, was... useful, regardless of whether Sirius was guilty or not. It may not have been the most moral course of action, but for better or worse, some things just had to be addressed.

Besides, it's not like the students would be in any danger. Albus had already had a long conversation with Remus and Severus about the monthly doses of wolfsbane potion, and it's not like Remus was unused to dealing with his affliction on the castle grounds...

...hmm, for some reason it didn't lessen his concerns.

Well, at least he consoled himself with the thought that his second choice was Alastor, so it could have been worse...

...Wait, but didn't that mean he'd have to hire Alastor next year, during the Triwizard Tournament?

Albus suppressed a sigh that almost escaped his lips. He really wasn't getting paid enough.

After the applause for Remus ended, Albus continued, a fake smile still plastered to his face.

"In addition, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher has decided to retire to spend more time with his remaining limbs. Fortunately, I am pleased to announce that his place will be taken by none other than our very own Rubeus Hagrid, who, I must add, has been cleared of all crimes and recognized with absolute certainty as not being the heir of Slytherin." Albus declared, suppressing a wince. While Rubeus didn't seem to be traumatized by his temporary stay in Azkaban, returning from it as cheerful as he was before, it didn't stop Albus from feeling guilty for allowing the half giant to be incarcerated, wondering if there was anything more he could have done to help him avoid Azkaban. Or to stop his former jailers from roaming the woods next to his house for that matter.

Speaking of which...

"Finally, on a more disquieting note, at the request of the Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts will, until further notice, host the dementors of Azkaban until Sirius Black is captured. Dementors will be stationed at every entrance to the school grounds." Albus truly loathed the words that were coming out of his mouth. Hogwarts was always supposed to shield children from the horrors of the world and allow them to thrive in a safe environment. That's how it was during Gellert's reign and that's how it was during Tom's rampage. To think that this sanctuary would be disturbed during years of relative peace, by the Ministry no less, was a true travesty.

"I have been assured that their presence will not disrupt our daily activities, but I must warn you to be careful. Dementors are vicious creatures. They will not distinguish between who they hunt and whoever stands in their way. Therefore, I must warn each and every one of you not to give them a reason to harm you. It is not in the nature of a dementor to be forgiving." The very least he could do was to make sure none of his students were harmed by dementors, but the very fact that he had to do so was a sign that he had failed as headmaster.

"But you know, happiness can be found even in the darkest times... if one only remembers to turn on the light." Albus concluded softly, choosing to add a few motivating words at the end, hoping to somehow reassure the students and give them hope, as difficult as it was when they were surrounded by literal hope devourers.

Sometimes Albus really wished he could switch places with Gellert. That bastard had it easy.