Werewolves at Hogwarts

Chapter 4

"Oh come along now, Headmaster, what can you possibly object to? The Dark Lord is gone and so are most of his followers, those who are left are powerless to do more than posture impotently. I am not likely to disappear into the Darkness as there is no darkness to disappear into, now am I? In fact, I think all your arguments are answered and there is no one left alive who knows more about the Dark Arts than I do, you must admit that!" Severus finished triumphantly, smirking wildly.

Albus steepled his fingers and studied the Potions Master closely. "You know Severus that if we were teaching the Dark Arts then there is definitely no better qualified teacher than you. Everyone agrees to that, but we are not teaching the Dark Arts, we are supposed to be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts, which is a very different thing."

"Well, you can't know about one without the other, surely?" Severus huffed in indignation.

"In one sense that is true but in another, we do not want our students to be confused by which is the defence and which is the act, do you see. Taking the lessons we learned from Tom Riddle's time at Hogwarts, the school board has been very insistent that we make sure the line is broad, well defined and seems uncross-able to students. So, once again Severus, I must refuse your request."

"Oh damn you Albus! That is the biggest load of cobblers I have ever heard and you know it! Why not? No not those platitudes and hindsight arguments but just an honest and straight answer, if you please!" Severus snapped, flinging himself out of the chair and beginning to pace the office in jerky, agitated steps.

Shaking his head in amused resignation, Albus watched the younger man pace with a lurking twinkle in his eye. Every year they had the same conversation and every year Severus flung himself about in a fit of sulks when he was refused. In many ways it had become ritual, allowing Severus to bleed off some stored emotion harmlessly. Merlin, knew, the man didn't let himself feel much beyond anger and malicious amusement at the expense of others and both Minerva and Albus worried about him.

Over the years - although neither would admit it - they had come to think of the younger wizard as a rather sulky and uncooperative son. This year it was going to be even worse when he was informed who was going to be teaching the class. If Remus actually accepted the position, and Albus truly hoped he would as he was needed, and not just by the school but by the whole werewolf community in general. Remus had never realised how powerful his reputation was in the Wizarding Community or how much his dedicated service to the Light had won for him as soon as Fudge was dethroned. Still, Remus hadn't replied yet, so there was still hope.

Choosing to ignore the histrionics, Albus steepled his fingers and smiled subtly. "You are far too good a Potions Master to waste on Defence Against the Dark Arts," Albus said in simple truth.

"Rubbish! I said no platitudes," Severus snarled as he whirled to fix the older man with an angry gaze.

Albus lost his twinkle. "Enough! You are too good at Potions - and it is a safe and prestigious outlet for your talents. If you take on DADA I fear you will sink into the Dark without even noticing your fall. I fear Severus, that if you were ever lost to the Dark, you would be a bigger threat to the Wizarding World that Tom Riddle ever was."

Rocking back on his heels, Snape opened his eyes wide then narrowed them in a particularly piercing glare. Albus waved a hand fending off the questing tendril of Legilimency the younger teacher cast in his direction. "Do not try your tricks on me young Master Snape, remember who taught you in the first place."

"Tom Riddle, you mean?" Severus shot back with a vicious smile.

Albus shook his head in resignation and acknowledged the hit with a fencer's gesture.

"Well! That's truth with the bark off indeed," Severus mused; his momentary loss of temper repaired and his Slytherin sense of self-interest reasserting itself. Pulling his robe straight, he resettled into his seat to think for a few moments. "How interesting, and yes, I think you are right Albus, I would make a very bad Dark Lord, or a very good one, depending on your point of view. Tom Riddle always allowed his emotions to drive him and his ego to rule his decisions. I think I could be a lot more logical and clinical about how I applied my will and upon whom. Humm, intriguing thought. All right, I take your objections to heart, but only because I have to agree with you." He sighed deeply and glared at Albus flatly. "So who are you inflicting us with this time?"

"I'm not entirely sure yet. I have sent out a couple of invitations and am still waiting for replies."

"Cutting it fine, aren't you Headmaster?"

Albus merely smiled and offered him more tea.

~~*~~

The names on the paperwork definitely said 'investigating Aurors, Talbot and Jones.' The case was a simple one, a man gone missing. He had turned up at the local Muggle morgue a DOA at the local hospital. The story was that he had been drunk and disorderly and had walked out in front of a bus. When he'd seen Miss Jones in the hallway yesterday, Ron had congratulated her on the quick solving of the missing person report. She had been puzzled, not remembering which case that might have been. In someone older it might have been a legitimate excuse but Ron knew fine well that the first successful case you solved never left your memory, ever.

Passing it off as his mistake, after all Jones was a common name, he had let the matter drop but there is was in black and white Luanna Jones, daughter of his good and trusted comrade in arms Hestia Jones, now a complete invalid in her new husband's care. There weren't that many Luannas around that he would get that name mixed up. Tapping a thumb nail thoughtfully on the piece of parchment, he copied it and put the second copy into the slim file he was creating as a personal interest.

~~*~~

Morina the owl flew into the study and landed near Fawkes with a hoot of greeting. She was agitated and could barely stand still long enough for Albus to collect the parchment before flitting about the study as she conveyed the scene she had witnessed in Remus' kitchen. Intrigued but not too worried, Albus read the note, which merely confirmed that Remus would take the Hogwarts Express the next day, and arrive with everyone else. Smiling in anticipation, Albus sauntered along to the staffroom and smiled benignly at the assembled staff.

"Which canary did you catch?" Minerva asked when she saw the smug satisfaction on the headmaster's face.

"My DADA Master has replied to the offer and will arrive tomorrow night on the train," he said casually, causing a ripple of interest around the assembly.

"Anyone we know?" Filius asked, his grandson looking rather interested as he tried to gauge the reactions around him.

"Oh yes, I think everyone except perhaps Phillip would know Remus Lupin. After all, he was a Hogwarts pupil and has taught here before."

Severus stiffened and turned the colour of old putty at the mention of the name. For a second he thought he might faint for the first time in his life then he gave himself a mental shake. "So the ruddy werewolf is getting my job again, is he? And are we to lock him in the Shrieking Shack once a month to be safe? Or, let me guess, you want me to brew up his damned potion again? Although what guarantees we have that he will take it, I cannot begin to fathom."

"That is quite enough Severus. I realise you and Remus have a long and involved history together but there is no need to be rude. If you feel a moral obligation to ignore Remus' need for Wolfsbane potion then I will not force you. However, we will have four other werewolves starting this year and I would like to keep them all comfortable. If you cannot brew then I will import the potion from Potions Master Magnus Hellocipo in Greece."

"That has-been is a second-rate hack! We are all doomed to become werewolf droppings!" Severus hissed, pulling his robes tight across his chest and storming out furiously.

"Ouch!" Rolanda Hooch commented, staring after the Potions Master while they all winced from the slam of the door.

"Well, that went very well." Albus sighed deeply, and lowered his frame stiffly into a chair. "There are times when Severus' stubbornness will be the death of me."

"I never could understand why Severus hates Remus so much," Filius muttered to Minerva.

"They were at school together, before your time as a teacher, I think. Sirius Black almost caused Remus to attack Severus one full moon and they have never fully reconciled since," Agytha added equally softly.

"But they worked together during the war, didn't they?" Rolanda phrased her question carefully so as not to frighten away the older couple's introspective mood.

"You forget the time when Remus nursed Severus for nearly a month and how well they were getting on then. I think, without Remus and his care, Severus would have died or remained a catatonic invalid for ever," Albus murmured thoughtfully.

"Very true; all was very fine until Severus got his memory back again. Although I realise without Severus we would have lost the bloody war, there are times when I wonder what would have happened if he continued to remember Remus as his saviour?" Minerva reminded him grumpily. "And what is this about four more werewolves coming this year too?"

Albus tried to look sheepish but the twinkle in his eye betrayed him. "Part of our new integration policy, showing the flag in the push to get the non-humans included in mainstream life once again. I am taking two NEWTs level students, sixteen year olds who were bitten later rather than sooner and have need to take their NEWTs in a more formal setting than home schooling. There will also be two first years that have shown much promise as wizards, having been bitten much earlier in their lives. I think you will like them. So, whoever gets them will have to be aware."

"Pray they don't end up in Slytherin then, or Severus will make their lives a living hell," Sinistra muttered to Hooch, "he hates werewolves!"

"Actually, he is really quite good with his own House or I wouldn't keep him on," Albus reminded the astronomy teacher. "He really seems to understand the Slytherin mentality and knows exactly how to cope with it."

"It's probably because Severus is the quintessential Slytherin himself!" Filius commented and everyone laughed.

"So, I have everyone's timetables and syllabus now and I assume we are all ready for the start of a new school year? Good, good. I think it is going to be a landmark year and we are going to have a wonderful time."

"Or Severus is going to murder us all in our beds," Minerva muttered then grinned at the headmaster. "You are a very bad man Albus Dumbledore!" She winked.

~~*~~

Safe in his dungeon, Severus Snape kicked the furniture and allowed him-self to scream aloud in pure frustration. He hated Remus Lupin with a passion, always had, and always would! He hated werewolves and was terrified of them. After all, Remus had tried to kill him on two very separate occasions and had very nearly succeeded the second time. And to make matters worse, he invaded Severus' dreams in the strangest possible way! Often as a parental figure, or a trusted friend or even, and he shuddered to remember it, as a lover.

Severus didn't like hairy men; he knew he didn't, going out of his way to make sure he didn't have to cope with body hair when choosing lovers. But all too often in his dreams, he remembered laying his head on a hairy chest and being enfolded in hairy arms. It drove him insane that he couldn't remember why he would feel that way. He knew there was a blank spot in his memory, a month of missing time at the lowest ebb of the war. Somehow he knew that the missing time, the blank walled-in area and Remus Lupin were inextricably linked but he was too terrified of what he would discover to actually make a concerted effort to break down the barriers. After all, it didn't affect him in the slightest during his normal waking duties, did it?

Slopping some very good firewhiskey into a tumbler, he took a gulp and tossed himself into the nearest chair to stare into the fire, putting the bottle on the table by his hand. Oh Merlin! If Lupin was back then he would really have to be extra vigilant when patrolling the corridors and he would have to carry silver at all times. He shuddered to think what a loose werewolf could do amongst the almost one thousand children who inhabited Hogwarts during the school year. They could be up to their eyeballs in werewolves within a week! After all, it only took one bite. Nine hundred and ninety three werewolves flooding through the halls and howling at the moon! The noise alone would drive a man to drink!

Shaking his head, Severus had to laugh at his stupid thoughts, realising he was a lot less sober than he had been when he came in. Thinking back on the announcement Dumbledore had made he snorted in disgust. Potions Master Magnus Hellocipo of Greece indeed! Making brews for his school while he was still upright and breathing? Not in this lifetime! Or the next, come to think on it! Wolfsbane was a difficult and complex potion to make but it was not that hard, and making a batch for one or a batch for five was no extra work really.

'Five? Where had five come from?' Severus thought fuzzily and realised he was as drunk as he had been for more years than he wanted to think about.

"See Remus Lupin, you even get me drunk without even trying!" he said aloud, startling himself with his disgusted comment. "Not only are you getting me drunk but you are even making me talk to myself. That's rude!"

Sniggering to himself, Severus managed to stand up on the second try and wandered woozily off to his bed. 'Five werewolves in the Hogwarts pack. They nearly had enough for their own Quidditch team,' he thought suddenly and giggled like a girl as he managed to get his outer robes off and flop into his bed.

"Oh damn it Remy, go to sleep," he commented as his eyes slammed shut and he began to snore.

~~*~~

Kingsley Shacklebolt read the missing persons report again, still trying to discover what it was about the report that struck him as totally wrong. The man had been reported missing by his nearest and dearest. A team had been sent out to investigate the disappearance and had come back saying the man had not disappeared at all. His wife had told them he had merely gone off to Ireland for a few weeks and would back as soon as he had finished the family business. It was plausible but somehow it stuck in Shacklebolt's craw.

Sighing deeply, he closed the door of his office and apparated home to his wife and children. Mary was off to Hogwarts tomorrow for her second year and they were having a farewell dinner for her tonight. If he was late then Willani would remove his head at the knees, for sure!