Professor Lupin's Apprentice

VI: No Pets Clause and Library Cards

"First and foremost, my privacy is imperative," Remus said, still pacing. "My door is to remain locked at all times. I'll clean the room myself and take my own linens down to the laundry."

"I think the staff will agree to that," I answered. "One less room to clean will hardly cause a revolt."

His pacing sped up. "As a corollary—and I want to emphasise that this is very important—if there is no answer at my door, even when you know I'm here, I don't want anyone forcing entry."

"You're not planning to commit suicide, are you?"

"No," he said with an impatient wave. He then stopped and smiled. "I know I sound enigmatic."

"That's all right. You're allowed. Besides, mysterious men are interesting." I gave him a playful smile.

"Please don't be glib about this, Melinda. I want a permanent 'Do Not Disturb' order on my room."

"Absolutely..." I bit my lip. "But ... what should we do in case of some sort of disaster, like a fire?"

"Let me burn," he growled, starting to pace again.

I gaped at him. "You're serious."

"I am deathly serious!"

I nodded numbly. "All right, Remus. Whatever you require."

He turned and stopped mid-stride, smiling. "How do you feel about pets?"

After the previous conditions, and the manner with which he'd proposed them, this question took me completely by surprise. With my jaw again hanging open, I blinked at him for a few seconds before I found my voice.

"I—I'm sorry ... pets?"

Remus nodded. "Yes, pets. Like them? Hate them? Anything in between?"

I shook my head, as if to clear my mind. "What kind of pets do you have?"

He shrugged. "Oh, I don't have any."

Now I was thoroughly confused. "Then why should you care how I feel about them?"

"Well, I was just wondering—if you heard barking or howling coming from my room—would that be enough to have me thrown out on my ear?"

"But if you don't have a dog, what does that matter?"

"I sometimes take in strays."

So do I, I thought. "How can you feed a stray?" I asked, incredulous. "You have enough trouble feeding yourself."

He shrugged again. "I usually manage."

"Well, I don't know," I said slowly. "I like dogs well enough, I suppose, but some of my tenants might get a little antsy."

"All right, pets are out," he said, nodding resignedly.

"Is that everything?"

"For now. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know."

"Right," I said, standing. "Should we shake on it, or would you prefer a lease?"

"Oh ... No, a handshake would be fine." I extended my hand, and he pulled me toward him. "On second thought, let's seal it with a kiss, shall we?"

"You read my mind."

He kissed me then, not as long or as sensually as before, but it was definitely a deal-closing type of kiss. Not that I'd finished many negotiations with such an action before, although we certainly have since. When he pulled back, he was smiling.

"I think I'm going to like living here."

"I was hoping you would. Now, would you like to inspect the available rooms?"

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea."

"I'll just go change my blouse, and we'll be off." I returned shortly wearing an unripped garment when he offered his arm, and we started toward the door. "Oh, I almost forgot," I said, bending to retrieve my satchel. "This morning I went back to the library and picked up that book you mentioned."

I pulled out the large leather-bound tome with the Gryffindor House crest. There were three other crests on the cover as well, for Hufflepuff House—yellow with a black badger, Slytherin House—green with a silver snake, and Ravenclaw House—blue with a bronze eagle. No doubt Remus couldn't see those three the other night from the way I'd carried the book. The title, in gilded lettering, was Hauntings of Hogwarts. After discussing poltergeists and Peeves with Remus the previous night, the significance of the book finally dawned on me.

"So you went to this school ... Hogwarts?" I asked, handing him the book.

I wasn't sure if my question or the sight of the book made him blanch. His eyes grew wide. "Where—?" He swallowed hard. "Where did you get this?"

"I told you: the library."

"Have you read it?"

"Cover to cover. It talks about hauntings of the castle, but it doesn't mention much about the school itself, like where it is for instance. A school in a castle must be big enough to attract attention, I should think, but I couldn't find anything about Hogwarts anywhere else. I even asked the librarians, but the only thing they could lead me to was this book, which didn't help much. The book talks about the ghosts as great length—like that poltergeist you mentioned, Peeves, and Nearly-Headless Nick, the Bloody Baron, the Fat Friar, the Grey Lady—Remus, what's the matter with you?"

He wrung his hands as I spoke, and, when I finished, asked, "Do you know if anyone else has read it?"

"There weren't too many names on the card."

"The library shouldn't have this book. Do you know where they got it?"

"No, but they receive a lot of donations. The book was probably given to them by someone's estate."

"How can I get hold of that card?"

"The card that says who's borrowed the book?"

His eyes were frantic. "Yes!"

"Well, when I bring the book back, they'll slip the card into this sleeve," I said, showing him the inside front cover. "Then you go to the library, find the book, and look at the card. It's not highly classified information or anything."

"How long after you take it back before they put it on the shelf?"

"I don't know. A few hours, at most. If I put it in the slot tonight, you can look at the card tomorrow afternoon."

"All right, let's go do that now."

"Why?"

"Because this is important."

"I don't have to put it in the slot now."

He glared as if I were defying him. "Why not?"

"The library is still open."

"Oh," he said, with a sigh. "Well, let's take it directly inside. Then we'll know exactly when it's on the shelf."

"Don't you want to see the rooms—?"

"We can do that after. Come on." He grabbed my arm, almost brusquely, ushering me out the door.

"What's the hurry? No one else is going to read it whilst you're holding it, you know."

"I know, but I'd feel better if this is taken care of immediately."

We walked to the library briskly. Although Remus was trying to be casual, I could tell this was weighing heavily on his mind. Not so much that I'd read the book—he trusted me enough to give me his own books—but that others had. Of course, I didn't know what he thought he was going to do about that. He couldn't very well go back in time to keep them from reading the book, nor could he wipe its contents from their memory. He seemed to have a plan in mind, however, and I found myself somewhat intrigued as to what that plan might be. Before we entered, he took my arm again—much more gently this time, if no less insistently.

"You know where the book is kept on the shelves?" he asked, staring into my eyes with an air of urgency.

"More or less," I answered. "I could find it within a few minutes."

"That will do nicely," he said and then opened the door for me.

As we entered the library, we were again met with cold stares from the staff. I approached the counter and laid the book down, whilst Remus took a magazine and sat at a table from which the counter was clearly visible. The librarian searched through a box and fished out a small white card. She then slipped the card into the sleeve and set off from the desk as I joined Remus at the table.

"Aren't we going after her?" I whispered.

"We'll wait until she returns. You said you could locate the book, didn't you?"

I nodded.

"It's less suspicious that way."

I pretended to read over his shoulder, but I watched the desk the whole time. The librarian returned within minutes.

Remus flipped a few more pages, made some inane comments about the articles and pictures, then whispered, "Come on."

I took a circuitous route through the shelves and finally led him to the book's approximate location. He pulled the book off the shelf, opening the front cover to make sure the card was there, and then handed the book to me.

"Put this in your bag," he said.

"You can't just steal a library book," I protested.

"Watch me."

"They do counts every month to see what gets loaned out and what doesn't. The slow books are sold to raise funds at the end of the fiscal year. With as few names as this one had, it'll be in that pile soon anyhow."

"That's not good enough."

"This isn't just your troublemaking streak again, is it?"

"No, this isn't even close to a prank. It's much more serious than that. Lives are at stake. Now put it in your bag."

"How can lives be at stake over a book about ghosts?"

"Look, you can either put this in your bag now, or I'll come back with my briefcase tomorrow and nick it myself."

"It won't fit in your briefcase."

"Then I'll find something it will fit in. The point is—"

He broke off and held up his hand. Apparently he'd heard something I didn't. I started to wonder if there were voices in his head making him act so crazy. He listened intently for a few seconds and then shook his head.

"The point is I'll have this book one way or another eventually," he continued in a harsh whisper, "so you might as well help me."

I threw up my hands in exasperation.

"I'll give you two hundred pounds if you put this in your bag right now!" he whispered urgently.

"Keep your money," I said, sliding the book into my satchel. No wonder you're broke, I thought, rolling my eyes.

We then attempted to nonchalantly browse the shelves, working our way slowly towards the exit. The staff watched us more suspiciously than normal, probably because we weren't making a great deal of noise on this occasion. In the end, we managed to slip out of the library unhindered.

When we were safely outside, I asked, "Now, do you mind telling me what all this is about?"

"I do mind," he said, flatly. "Do you know the people on the card?

"I recognised some of the names."

"How would I go about contacting them?"

"The telephone directory, I suppose. It will have their names and addresses."

"Do you have a telephone directory?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I have a telephone directory! I have a telephone, haven't I?"

"Do you?"

"Yes! You really are a strange man, Remus Lupin."

He smiled wryly. "Tell me something I don't already know."

"Are you sure you don't work for the government?" I asked, frowning again.

"No. I was unemployed just yesterday. Would I dress like this if I worked for the government?" He tugged at his tattered shirt.

"You could be undercover. You certainly act like it."

"And how many undercover government employees have you met to compare my behaviour with?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes. "Point taken. Will you at least tell me why is it so important to keep this book away from people?"

"The same reason I swore you to secrecy about the others."

"You had nothing to do with giving this book to the library. That couldn't possibly land you in prison."

He sighed. "No, I mean the overall secret."

"What's that?"

"I think you can figure that out for yourself."

I set myself to do just that, reviewing the clues. Remus loaned me books on magic, which were a very great secret. He also went to Hogwarts. This book I carried in my satchel was about Hogwarts, and was also a very great secret.

"Is Hogwarts a school devoted to teaching about magic?" I asked.

"Yes," Remus replied.

"The overall secret is magic, then?"

"Basically."

"So why is it so important to keep this particular book out of circulation? It has very little to do with magic, as far as I could tell."

He sighed again and licked his lips. "What do you know about the Salem Witch Trials?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"I'm not evading your question, I assure you. I'm attempting to apply the Socratic method. I am a teacher, you know."

I rolled my eyes again. "The Salem Witch Trials occurred in the late 17th century in the American colony of Salem, Massachusetts. During this period of hysteria, many people were tortured and killed by self-righteous zealots who were trying to rid the world of witches because of some passages King James II had written into his translation of the Bible to promote the use of doctors rather than midwives by the people of England."

"Not that you're biased or anything," he said with a smirk.

"What makes you say that?" I asked, smiling.

"It's important to keep this book out of the hands of people in this town because Hogwarts is very near here."

"But the book is only about ghosts at Hogwarts. It doesn't say anything about teaching magic, or even magic in general. It doesn't even say where Hogwarts is."

"No, but it says that Hogwarts exists, and that is enough to arouse suspicion." He shrugged. "You tried to find out everything you could about Hogwarts after reading the book, didn't you?"

"Yes," I admitted. "But I am a special case."

"An extremely special case," he said, soothingly. "You are open-minded and have an abundant intellectual curiosity. You yearn to know for the sake of knowing and, as such, you aren't dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

"There are others who would learn only for the purposes of seeking out and destroying. Suppose information about Hogwarts were to leak out. Such close-minded people might instigate a modern witch-hunt and, worst of all, they would be preying primarily on children. I for one cannot sit by and allow that to happen."

"No ... I cannot believe—the people of this town—Do you really think they would do that?"

He frowned. "Paranoia does strange things to people."

"But ... if they only knew ... I mean, the precept of Wicca is 'Do what you will, but harm none'."

"That is exactly the problem. They don't know, and they don't care to. Never underestimate ignorant people acting en masse." We were coming up to the boarding house at that point, and he stopped on the front lawn. "I think we delay the remainder of this conversation until we're in a more private setting. I believe you have some rooms to show me?"