Cursed: The New Order of Merlin Book 2

1. Do you accept?

Summer of 1993

What was this mystical magic of the moon that no werewolf could resist its call? The half-orb lazily sat among white puffy clouds on a canvas of deep blue sky, picturesque and harmless, at least today. Remus found his eyes drawn to it against his wish. He had only a few days left of feeling normal before once again he'd succumb to his inescapable curse—lycanthropy. The closer to the full moon, the sicker he would feel until the day of the painful transformation. The beast within him always won.

He closed the curtain to hide the reminder of his condition from view and noticed a new hole in it. He had moths. Perfect. At least pests were getting fed around here. He pulled out his wand, and with a quick spell, sewed the hole. Like everything he owned, the curtain was now marked with the insignia of his shabby life.

A knock on the door startled him. He was not expecting guests. His father was his only family, but Remus insisted to visit him. From the few friends he'd ever made, only one was alive and currently in Azkaban prison. Did Remus owe someone money? They were not in luck today.

Albus Dumbledore stood on the other side of the door and smiled at him kindly. "Remus Lupin, it's been years."

The old wizard invited himself in and pat shocked Remus on the back. The last time they'd seen each other, The Order of the Phoenix had celebrated Voldemort's fall and that was over a decade ago.

Remus invited him to his beat-up sofa and tried to not think about the state of his sitting room. His humble house was barely a step-up from a shack, his furniture was held together by magic, and he didn't look impressive either in his sweater that had half a dozen patches on it.

He wished he could prove that he was able to make something of himself, that the chance Dumbledore had given him to attend Hogwarts was not in vain, but the wizarding world wasn't accommodating to werewolves.

After a quick catch-up small talk, Dumbledore got to the point of his visit. "I'm here to offer you a job."

"Really? That is good timing since I am currently looking."

"Excellent."

"What position is it?"

He wondered if Filch had finally retired and Hogwarts needed a new Caretaker. Remus would accept any job, really, and the prospect of working for Dumbledore sounded great. For a chance to have a steady job that wouldn't be jeopardized by his need to take a few days off every few weeks, he'd scrub toilets like a Muggle if he had to.

Dumbledore linked his hands in his lap. "I need a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Remus leaned back in his seat. To say that this offer was unexpected was an understatement.

"Are you sure I'm qualified? I've never been a teacher before."

"If I recall correctly, you used to regularly tutor your friend, Peter Pettigrew, and you were an excellent student yourself."

Remus grew sad at the mention of his fallen friend. "You'd take a risk to hire someone like me? If parents found out that a werewolf taught their children, they would be outraged. What about fellow teachers? Would they want to live and work alongside me?"

Dumbledore smiled at him kindly, not a note of the prejudice everyone else held. "I took a chance on you before and it paid off. I need staff who I can trust. I can trust you, can't I?"

"Of course," Remus blurted.

"Do you accept?"

Remus wanted to accept, he wanted to make Dumbledore proud and prove that a werewolf could peacefully coexist in the wizarding world, but the risk was too great.