Selene || Remus Lupin

Ch. 87 - Looking Back and Looking Forward

It was indeed Albus Dumbledore, who donned robes of a sky-blue colour, his blue eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles, and his mouth upturned in a serene smile. His hands were clasped in front of him expectantly.

"Oh, and Professor Black, it's nice to see you as well," Dumbledore said pleasantly, catching sight of her eyes just over Remus' shoulder. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"Oh – no, no, not at all," Remus stammered, stepping out of the way of the door to let the Hogwarts headmaster inside their humble cottage. "I'm – I'm sorry, I suppose the place is kind of messy. We've had a rough week."

Selene rolled her eyes. Their cottage looked about the same as it always did, which was – in Selene's opinion – appropriately cozy. The cottage was their getaway, their safe haven, and she didn't like that someone from the outside had come in. It felt like an invasion.

"Oh, no, this is lovely," Dumbledore said politely, gazing around the entryway to the cottage, which led into the living room. "Very comfortable."

"Thank you," Selene and Remus said together. Their eyes met, and their faces flushed.

"Please, Professor," Remus said quickly, gesturing to a seat on their careworn sofa. "Take a seat."

"Why, thank you," Dumbledore said, sitting down primly. "It has been quite a day, I must say."

Remus and Selene stared at him expectantly, expecting him to elaborate, but the old man just gazed around himself, apparently admiring the green wall paint and the many scattered-about picture frames.

"Very lovely," he murmured to himself, smiling pleasantly.

"Er – Professor," Selene began, eyeing Remus darkly – just as he in turn shot her a warning glance – "Not that we don't appreciate a visit, but what exactly are you doing here?"

"Oh, yes," Dumbledore said, as if they'd been having a particularly riveting conversation and he'd suddenly remembered why he'd come in the first place, "I'm here on business."

"Business," Selene repeated, raising one of her pale eyebrows. "Hogwarts business?"

"Yes, indeed," Dumbledore said.

"You're not firing me, are you?" Selene asked quickly, the thought crossing her mind suddenly, even though she'd never considered it before then. "Because all of this business with – with my – with the Ministry is out of my hands, sir."

"No, no," Dumbledore said. "That won't be an issue, I assure you. The Ministry will leave you alone while you are at Hogwarts, I assure you. No, I'm here for Mr. Lupin."

"Me?" Remus asked, staring at him. "What about me?"

"Well, I've come to offer you a job."

Selene and Remus exchanged two very different looks – Selene's being one of glee and Remus' one of dismay.

"Sir, you have no idea how much I appreciate the offer," Remus said slowly, heavily, and with great pain, "but – but you seem to have forgotten... I'm a werewolf, sir."

Being a werewolf made finding work for Remus very difficult. The Wizarding community did not take kindly to those with lycanthropy, and once Remus could no longer hide his condition, he was usually fired straight away. As for Muggle employers, they could never seem to understand why Remus would call in sick for a few days every month, and since Remus could not tell them why, they usually preferred not to keep him on, either.

"Mr. Lupin, I may be old, but I certainly am not that forgetful," Dumbledore said, his tone one of amusement. "We can work around your lycanthropy, as we did during your own days at Hogwarts." He looked down at Remus over his spectacles. "Professor Snape has even agreed to brew the Wolfsbane Potion for you every month to ease your transformations."