From the Eyes of the Werewolf

Chapter Three

The Severe Meeting

Peering out the window, Remus watched as Hogwarts grew closer and closer. This was really happening. He was going to be doing what he had always wanted to do. Soon, he would be seated at the head table and introduced as a new professor. Oh, wouldn't his friends get a laugh out of this! How many times had they each pretended they were one of the staff and were now able to order all the other students around?

"What would you like to teach, James?" Peter once asked at dinnertime.

"Ah, that's easy! Transfiguration!"

"Awwww." Sirius scowled. "That's boring! Besides, you only want to teach that so you can show off as Prongs! I'd have to go for something more exciting, like Care of Magical Creatures where I could be the first teacher to bring in a Dragon! Or how about Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"With you teaching, Sirius," James said, "they'd have to call it Defense Against a Hot Head!" Everyone snorted as Sirius jabbed an elbow in James' side.

"What about you Remus? What would you teach?" James asked, still laughing.

Startled, Remus fell out of his giggling fit and became very straight-faced. "Oh, I, er, don't think I'd be a teacher." How could he be? Who would be foolish enough to give a werewolf a job teaching children?

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Moony, next to Fat Head Boy here, you know you're the smartest one in the school. Why wouldn't you teach?"

"Oh, well," Remus stammered, "you know." Not wanting to go into it right then, he asked Peter what he would like to teach. But as Peter droned on with his answer, Remus couldn't help notice that Sirius was eyeing him. Looking down at his plate, Remus had tried to avoid his eyes.

When dinner was over and they were all heading up to the common room, Sirius pulled Remus aside. "Why do you do that to yourself, Moony?"

Still not wanting to look him in the eye, Remus said, "Do what?"

"You think you have limited options in life, don't you? Well you're wrong. Hasn't seven years at Hogwarts helped you figure that out yet?" Sirius wasn't known for being serious, and when he spoke like this, Remus was always taken aback. "You can be anything you want to be, Remus. You're smart enough, you're talented enough, and you're certainly brave enough. I just hope that one of these days you'll realize it."

They always tried to convince him that he could do anything, and he had always insisted that he was limited. But time had proven them right, and he was going to be a teacher. Of the four of them, Remus never expected it would be he who earned a position on the Hogwarts staff. But then, James had never really been given a chance.

The carriage came to a stop and he hopped out with his briefcase over his head, shielding him from the pelting rain. Noticing Harry and his friends having a confrontation with a blond boy, Remus stepped over quickly and asked if there was a problem. The blond boy smirked at him, noticing the state of his robes, but not wanting to cause trouble, ran up the steps with two other very large boys. Shaking his head, Remus darted up the steps as well and was met by Professor McGonagall.

"Professor Lupin!" Minerva McGonagall was waiting for the first years as always. "How good to see you, again!"

She looked the same as she had when Remus was a student, and it made him almost laugh. Shaking the rain off his cloak he said, "Thank you, but I suppose I look a frightful mess right this instant!"

"Yes, the weather is quite treacherous this evening. Poor Hagrid and all the new first years; I shudder to think of the state they will be in when they arrive. You, however, are welcome to help yourself to one of the spare cloaks in the staff room." She pointed down the hall to where the staff room was.

"I think I just might do that!"

"I received your note about Mr. Potter. Madam Pomfrey has been notified and will be tending to Harry." Remus could tell that there was more she wanted to say, but didn't. She knew that Remus had been friends with James and probably understood his concern for Harry because of it. But, being polite, she didn't mention it.

"Thank you. I'll feel better when he receives a clean bill of heath!" He turned to go.

"Professor?" McGonagall said, stopping him before he left. "Might I add that I am very glad to see you here and am sure you will make an excellent addition to the staff."

"Thank you." His smile faded slightly, but her statement lifted his spirits.

"Dumbledore told me you were reluctant to take the job."

Remus remembered that she always had an excellent way of getting people to reveal information to her that they didn't want to reveal. "Well, there are complications, but I think I can manage."

"Manage? You were one of the brightest students I ever saw pass through this school. I think you do far more than manage." A sudden bolt of lightning and a loud thunderclap startled them both. She looked out across the lake for signs of the first years. "Oh dear, I hope all is well."

"I'm sure Hagrid is taking good care of them." Thanking her again, Remus headed toward the ever-elusive staff room feeling better than he had imagined. He smiled as he approached the great wooden door. The Marauders had broken into this room a few times while they were here, looking for things a good student shouldn't be looking for. But this time, he entered with ease, amused at the thought that he was now allowed to be in the room. But his breath caught in his throat as he looked up to see a man sitting at the table, reading.

Their eyes locked and neither spoke for a good long while. Remus felt his heart quicken as the black eyes looked him up and down. Those eyes always gave him a cold chill, and it was only years later that he had discovered why that was. After all, werewolves didn't tend to get along with creatures like Snape. Deciding that they would have to speak at some point, Remus broke the silence.

"Hello," he started, "Severus."

"Lupin." His voice was lower than Remus had remembered, but then it had been a few years. However impossible it seemed, his skin was actually the palest Remus had ever seen it. One look at his hair had told Remus that he still hadn't learned how to properly wash it - greasy as ever.

Going to the wardrobe by way of the other side of the room, he tried to avoid Snape's piercing stare. It made the hair on his arms stand on end. If he could just get the cloak and leave, he could go into the Great Hall and Snape wouldn't be able to bother him. Remus had almost reached the wardrobe when Snape spoke again.

"What are you doing here?"

"I beg your pardon, Severus?" He spoke more clipped than he had intended to.

"You heard me. What are you doing here?" His eyes were still fixed on Remus.

"I just thought I'd get a dry robe."

Snape glanced him up and down once more before saying, "Yes, interesting choice of apparel. I would recommend not only dry robes, but new ones as well." He brushed at the front of his own robes and Remus noticed for the first time how costly and fine they were. You always wanted to appear better than you were.

Glancing down at his own robes, Remus said, "Perhaps I'll get the chance to go to Hogsmeade one weekend." The old robes were indeed tattered, but he had always mended them carefully. They weren't nearly as nice as the average teacher's should be, but then, Remus wasn't your average teacher.

"Let's only hope the visit doesn't fall during the full moon." Snape said, knowing exactly which buttons to push. But then, Remus knew a few secrets about Snape that he was certain very few people knew about. He could always mention....

Having experienced getting in trouble for fighting with Snape on the first day of term, Remus wasn't anxious to relive the experience. Of course, he wouldn't receive a detention for it this time, but he still didn't need the reputation of being a troublemaker. He decided to ignore Snape's stinging personal comments for the time being. "I was told you would be making the Wolfsbane Potion for me. Thank you."

"Don't think of it as kindness as it is nothing of the sort. It is a mere necessity." His words were crisp and threatening. "I fought long and hard against your appointment to this position, but it seems Dumbledore trusts you. Though I can't see why. So, I will make the potion for you every month, but only because I know too well the dangers of having a werewolf around. Especially one with criminal friends."

Very rationally, with a calm experience had forced him to practice, Remus said, "I know what you're implying, but I have nothing to do with Sirius anymore."

"Just like you had nothing to do with that little trick he decided to play on me?"

"As if you, of all people, were ever in danger." Remus said with a soft lilt to his voice. "I know you have ways of protecting yourself, Severus, the same way I have my ways. And just as I wanted to keep my secret, I can only assume that you would like to keep your secret, too." Snape stood abruptly and looked Remus right in the eye. He knew that it had always bothered Snape that he could remain so calm, and right now, Remus was doing an excellent job at it. Neither man moved for moment until Remus decided he had had enough. Quietly he said, "I will not argue with you about this anymore." He turned quickly to the wardrobe.

"I know why you're here, and I'll be watching you." Snape swept angrily toward the door.

"What are you talking about?" asked Remus, now standing next to the wardrobe.

Snape stopped and turned slowly and deliberately to face Remus. Speaking in an icy voice, Snape explained, "Hogwarts has certainly become a dark place lately. Dementors, an escaped prisoner, and now a werewolf are all possible guests for dinner. Just know that you are not welcome at my table." Snape left the room in a swirl of black cloak.

Remus looked at the wardrobe again. He opened it, ran his fingers over the soft material of the stunning robes, and closed the door again. Why should he pretend to be something he was not? Just wear your own robe, he thought. Putting on airs would be stooping to Snape's level.

"Professor Lupin?" A small, squeaky voice came from the doorway. It was tiny Professor Flitwick, dressed just as handsomely as Snape had been. Although Remus would never describe either man as handsome. "We're waiting for you to join us at the staff table."

"Professor Flitwick, How very good to see you again," Remus said, approaching him.

"The feeling's mutual! It always does my heart good to see a fine student return to Hogwarts. Especially one who can help me with a little task I've been asked to take care of."

"What task is that?" Remus asked curiously.

"There is a boggart living under the Great Stair. Nasty thing. Dumbledore asked us to get rid of it after the Feast. I'm not looking forward to seeing another Lethifold, but then, my Patronus charm is quite strong, you know! I didn't gain my position as charms teacher based on my height, after all!" He chuckled at his own joke. "Being the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, I wondered if you would be of assistance?"

Boggarts never bothered Remus. In fact, he enjoyed them in an odd way. They always changed into the moon at the sight of him, but being a fake moon, it had no effect on him. It was his one chance to look at the full moon as a human and not a wolf. Smiling, he replied, "I would be delighted to help out. I enjoy boggarts immensely."

"You do? How very odd." He seemed stunned that someone would actually want to see a boggart.

Trying to find a plausible excuse to explain his excitement to Professor Flitwick, Remus said, "I had hoped to find one about the castle, actually. I think it would be an excellent learning opportunity if one of my classes could try their hand at it. It is a dark creature after all." It seemed quite ridiculous at the time to consider that Remus, a dark creature himself, would be teaching defense strategies against another dark creature. But that was his job now.

Smiling up at him, Flitwick squeaked, "It's nice to know that we might actually have a knowledgeable Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year! A far cry from what we've had the last two years." He turned around and started out into the hallway. "Come along then, or we'll miss the Sorting."

Remus nodded. Giving once last glance back at the wardrobe, he followed Professor Flitwick out to the Great Hall.