The Marauders and the Prisoner of Azkaban

3 | Professor Lupin

~August, 1993~

Remus Lupin

BLACK STILL AT LARGE

    Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today.
    "We are doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."
    Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis.
    "Well, really, I had to, don't you know," said an irritable Fudge. "Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it -- who'd believe him if he did?"
    While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse.

Remus lowered the Daily Prophet onto the table and leaned back, bringing his mug to his lips and taking a sip of his hot coffee. He had somewhat gotten used to the daily mentions of Sirius Black and although he wasn't exactly thrilled to hear of his unjustified freedom, he wasn't spilling coffee all over his kitchen floor anymore. 

He started flipping through the Daily Prophet to see if there was any Sirius unrelated news and after finding nothing worth reading, he settled for solving the crossword puzzle. He was just about to get up from the table to fetch a pen when he heard a knock on the front door. 

Remus felt his body tense up and his right arm immediately flew towards his wand, almost knocking his mug of coffee off the table. He slowly stood up and pointed his wand at the front door.

"Yes," he said, hoping that his voice was not shaking.  

"Hello, Remus," came a voice from the other side of the door and Remus felt his shoulders loosen as he recognized the voice - it belonged to Albus Dumbledore. He walked up to the door and opened it to let the Headmaster of Hogwarts inside.

Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling from behind his glasses. 

"I hope I am not interrupting," he said and Remus quickly shook his head.

"No, not at all. Although, I am not going to lie, you did give me quite a fright," Remus admitted. "I don't usually get visitors."

"My sincerest apologies," Dumbledore said as Remus turned around to lead him to the kitchen.

"Can I offer you something to drink?" Remus asked politely, but Dumbledore shook his head.

"Thank you," he said as he sat down. Remus slowly lowered his body into his chair.

"So, what brings you here?" he asked cautiously.

"I am here to inform you that I cannot accept your resignation letter," Dumbledore said looking at him from above his glasses. Remus had to fight his urge to roll his eyes.

"I have explained my situation quite well," he said finally.

"I fully agree with the situation you explained," Dumbledore said. "I do not, however, agree that your situation is a good reason for resigning."

"Are you saying you can't find a better option than a werewolf who is the former friend of an escaped mass-murderer?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "I will not deny that hiring has been a struggle for the past few years. Nevertheless, I do believe that you are more than suitable for the job."