Looking back, Severus could never quite explain how he had found himself re-visiting Ollivanders,
phial of wolfsbane potion in hand, on that day in early August. Part of it had been down to
Dumbledore; the tears welling in those blue eyes of his, so perceptive sometimes, so blind at
others. The man had been surprisingly willing to see sense, perhaps because Madam Pomfrey- having
been retrieved from her sister’s house with a promise of lunch at the Hog with her favourite ex-
student- was not only absolutely adamant that a long term resident of Azkaban must receive proper
medical and psychiatric treatment but was more than willing to body-bind Black and take him to St
Mungo’s Secure Ward herself. Dumbledore could content himself with sorting out the legal side of
the situation- no point in crying over spilt milk, feeling guilty wouldn’t get the baby bathed!

So, denied the ability to make amends to Sirius in person for not at least ensuring that his former
student had a fair trial (despite his apparent confessions of guilt), Albus focused on another
suitable target for sympathy and sherbet lemons.

“No, we are not having a werewolf at this school!”

“I did not suggest…”

“Albus, I am aware that Lupin has ‘lived a hard life’, that his employment prospects have been
reduced to practically nil because he has to disclose his condition to any future employer and, as
an orphan, separated from his only friends, Lupin’s life has been all the more difficult- the man
practically lived with Black- even managed Black’s estate, I believe. You are distressed, you feel
guilty and getting Sirius exonerated and wrenching his property of the Ministry would not satisfy
you. You want to ‘wave a magic wand’ and make everything better. As headmaster, you can choose your
own staff- the governors usually fall into line- and Kettleburn is thinking of retiring... However,
a werewolf cannot be allowed to work with children and, if you believe that Lucius would shrug this
one off, you could not be more mistaken- his son is coming to school this year!”

Albus looked nonplussed “Am I really so transparent?”

Madam Pomfrey smiled “Only to your senior staff, I believe. A few years of faculty meetings and we
can see how your mind works.”

“You gave me Slytherin after Lily’s death.” Severus said quietly “If you can put a twenty-one year
old ex-death-eater in charge of some of the most vulnerable children in the school, you could
certainly hire a werewolf. ‘Care of Professor Lupin’.”

Dumbledore’s mouth quirked but he said sincerely “Severus, you were by far the most qualified to
become head of Slytherin; who would understand vulnerable children better than…”

Severus raised an eyebrow and Pomfrey tittered “Best leave the sentence unfinished I think.”

Dumbledore smiled, then his shoulders slumped “But how can I tell him?”

“Leave it to me.” Severus replied, surprised at the words coming out of his own mouth. He’d sworn
to himself that he would never see the wretched creature again; as ashamed as he was to admit it,
the mild-mannered little man gave him the shivers.

However, since the conversation with Petunia Severus had been thinking; Harry would want to know
about his godfather and the conversation in Diagon Alley, where Harry had acknowledged that he was
all alone apart from his aunt and cousin, had affected Severus. He, of all people, knew what it was
like to feel alone.

However, everyone Harry currently knew would give a very one sided impression of Black and,
although Severus still remembered the man as a sociopath, Petunia’s new mantra of ‘we were all
horrible children but now we’ve grown up and should act like adults’ had seeped in. Yes, Severus
was a long way from forgiving the bastard (who had compounded his good looks, nice hair,
aristocratic birth, family wealth and natural talent for everything from broom-riding to potions by
bullying the hell out of Severus, with apparent impunity from the headmaster); Petunia had been
easy in comparison- she was plain and dull compared to her bright, beautiful sister, she had been
thwarted in her spitefulness and it had always been one on one, with the fair arbitrators of the
Evans. However, now that Black was innocent of conspiring towards Lily’s death, the blindfold fell
away from his hatred and Severus, despite himself, knew that Black had at least one good point- he
had been loyal to his friends. Perhaps he would be loyal to Harry, a father figure for the lonely
little boy. As fond as Lucius was of the boy, he was Draco’s father and Severus would be a
professor, not a friend, as soon as Hogwarts started. No Potions Master could afford to be over-
familiar; orders like ‘duck’, ‘run’ or (most importantly) ‘stop’ had to be obeyed unthinkingly in
the lab. And Dumbledore... the man was not a suitable role model; he lived too much in his own head
and was rather overindulgent of boyish hijinks. That said, Black may not be much better; he had
always been psychologically sub-normal and immature and Azkaban could scarcely have helped matters.
However, after a spell in St Mungos, perhaps Black would be suitable?

If Black could make a lonely little boy less lonely, perhaps it would not be fair to put the boy
off meeting Black? Perhaps Harry should speak to someone who had known him- but who? Dumbledore
and, indeed, most of the faculty were hopeless- Black had either been idealised or considered
a ‘too clever by half’ toerag- and the same went for most of the other students in the year. As far
as the people who really knew Black, family was out of the question and, of his best friends,
Potter was dead, Pettigrew would be dead as soon as Severus caught him (or Lucius for that matter,
the man had decided that Pettigrew was a ‘problem’), so that just left Lupin.

In other circumstances, Lupin would have been ideal- whilst too weak-willed to stop his friends, he
had not joined in the bullying; Lupin was not blind to Black’s defects, Severus was sure. And was
it not nonsensical to be more repulsed by the werewolf than he had been by the Dark Lord- Lupin was
harmless provided that the moon was not full.

Of course, up to the conversation with Dumbledore, the intention to find some way of speaking with
Lupin had been just that- an intention. With no real pretext for seeking the man out and no real
time frame (Black would be in hospital for months according to Poppy and Petunia was more than
happy to hold fire) Severus had procrastinated. Now, however, the opportunity had arisen to speak
to the man and Severus had taken it almost without thinking.

The next step, of course, was to find Lupin and Severus had no sooner retreated to his quarters
than the floo had activated and Lucius’ head peered through. Deny it as he might and as discreet as
he was, Lucius loved gossip.

After wallowing for a while in Dumbledore’s discomfort- Lucius really did love to hate the old man-
he got down to brass tacks. Remus needed to be found and, if not in decent employment, given a job
before Albus could change his mind.
The easiest method would be for Lucius or Severus to employ him but, although Lupin did have
experience as an estate manager, werewolves and dogs were mutually exclusive; Lucius still
remembered his anger and distress at his father’s inexplicable refusal to allow Lucius to take
Amber back to Hogwarts for his penultimate year. Severus also vetoed himself as a potential
employer; his little surgery had a few clients, mostly those referred by their own healers or to
embarrassed to go to St Mungos, but such people had always been content to do business via owl-
order during term and, besides, Lupin would baulk at the idea of Severus as his boss- too much
water under the bridge. Enough to float an Ark.

That left two possibilities; people who Lucius could influence and people who would honestly not
care if they employed a werewolf. Retailers were out- they might employ Lupin but, with the risk of
their customers finding out and any underlying prejudice, it would not be a happy environment. The
goblins at Gringotts were a possibility- they had a monopoly on banking and did not care a hoot
about what wizards thought- but the downside was that they were even more prejudiced than wizards
and Lucius was not too keen to give the goblins a bargaining counter against him.

Of course, there was one retailer who both had the monopoly in his field and appeared to love every
living thing- at least to the extent that it could provide him with wand ingredients. So, Lucius
had visited Ollivander, discussed the possibility of a helpmeet and gently reminded the old man
that, with no heir and no apprentice, his craft would die with him and his shop would inevitably
pass to whomever was most closely related to him. Would it not be better to choose someone to look
after the wands, to teach them the right way of doing things? Ollivander had come to the ground
with such a thump that he was more than eager to consider “nice young Remus Lupin, such a careful,
thoughtful boy and so clever as to recognising different types of wood- his family had lived in the
forest, if I remember correctly. The werewolf thing might be inconvenient, may scare off certain
animals, but with the wolfsbane potion and of course, unicorn hair could always be ordered in…”
s

And, to even the subtle Lucius’ surprise, Ollivander had grabbed his hat and happily hunted down
his first werewolf, almost kidnapping the poor man in his haste to get Lupin back to the shop and
settled in his new career (it did not occur to Ollivander that Lupin may need to be told about
Ollivander’s intention to employ him, let alone be asked whether he wanted to be a wandmaker- why,
it was the best career in the world.)

So, there Severus was, standing outside the shop, looking though the now spotlessly clean window,
watching Remus quietly dust the boxes of wands. Even the chair had been replaced with a nice, comfy
three-seater sofa.  
Lupin was looking positively respectable, Severus was surprised to see; a newish-looking, thick
blue serge suit, with sturdy leather patches at the elbows, and thick, horn-rimmed glasses.- very
different from the threadbare outfit he had last sighted the man in a few years ago. When he
entered the shop, Severus was further surprised to see that the steps were highlighted in a glowing
paint and a large rack of wand holsters had been displayed on the other side of the counter.

“Good morning Sir” Lupin said pleasantly

“Don’t be a prat, Lupin.”

“First name terms, then, Severus?”

“What’s happened in here?”

Lupin smiled softly “Ollivander wrote to the Ministry, he seemed to think that he had to tell them
that he was employing me, although he was not sure why. He does not pay tax, you see; it never
occurred to him that he should and the Ministry has made the unnofficial decision to not ask for
returns once people reach 100, it’s generally uneconomic because they are either tighter than a
griffin’s arse or so worried about making a mistake that they spend half a month in the tax office.
Anyway, Ollivander received a few helpful pamphlets, mostly on employee health and safety, and, to
cut a long story short, I’ve had spells woven into my clothing that an auror would envy and I have
to wear these glasses whenever I am in the shop.”

Severus fought with his traitorous lips to contain a smile “When are you on lunch.”

Lupin looked around the empty shop “Any time now” he took his wand out of a sturdy looking holster
and flipped the sign to closed and locked the door. Opening the counter to allow Severus to step
through, he said “Come this way”

The back of the shop was mainly taken up with a large workroom, large twigs were piled in one
corner, each with a label written in a spidery hand, but the rest of the area was neat, with tools
carefully put away, each in their particular rack. Lupin sat at a workbench “Drink, Severus?”

“Thank you. Tea would be acceptable.”

“Right-oh.” In the background a kettle began to boil. Severus explained about the wolfsbane potion;
when it had to be taken, how it should be taken (“What, I can’t even add chocolate?” “No, not
unless you want to die of chocolate poisoning Lupin- it’s toxic to canines!”) and when it should be
taken (i.e. as soon as possible).

Lupin sighed, pouring the tea “I suppose it must be taken on an empty stomach?”

“Eat lunch, then take the potion in around an hour.” Severus paused “Lupin, there is something that
you should know.”

“About the potion?”

“No, about Black”

“I’d rather we didn’t get into this, Severus” Remus said wearily “You were right about him, he
turned out to be a murderer. Now lets just let it go.”

“I was wrong.” Severus replied

Lupin looked him in the eye for the first time during the whole meeting “What?”

“Black, for all his psychopathic tendancies, has not killed anyone.”

“As good as…”

“Pettigrew was the secret keeper, Lupin! Peter Pettigrew. They switched, him and Black. It was
Pettigrew.”

Remus’ mouth hung open “But… Peter? Why would he want to be secret keeper. It was dangerous… He-Who-
Must-Not-Be-Named would torture it out of him. That’s why we chose Sirius, he was brave, could hold
his own in a fight, not like Peter...”

“Pettigrew chose to be the secret keeper because he was a death-eater.” Severus said
slowly “Bellatrix of all people found out- uncovered the mask at the little bastard’s house.
Pettigrew sold them out, Remus. Do you not understand, Black, though he may be guilty of whatever
else, did not betray Lily and did not kill those muggles.”
 
Remus’s eyes bulged like grapes “How do you know? How long have you known?”

“About a week, Dumbledore’s known for half of that. He’ll be released, I expect, within another
week.”

Remus heaved a huge breath “I can’t believe this… But he confessed… oh no!”

Lupin’s head was in his hands “They didn’t tell me… I thought something was up at the time- they
were all so distant and Sirius did not tell me where Lily and James were hiding. I thought it was a
precaution, someone on the inside had been giving Him information, I knew that so it didn’t seem
strange that they wouldn’t let me know, Wormy said that he didn’t know either but… but they must
have thought I was the spy!”

“More fool them.” Severus said caustically “Why they didn’t see that sniv… that creeping little
worm for what he was? He liked big friends, didn’t he, and did not care overmuch what they did to
keep power- and who was bigger than the Dark Lord?”

Remus looked up, his eyes red “They didn’t think. James always saw the best in people.”

Severus rolled his eyes but charitably bit back a retort. “There is no point dwelling on it, Lupin.
We cannot change the past, only the future. Black has a godson, Harry.”

“Oh, he’ll want to see him!” Lupin said automatically, then worry creased his face “But… Azkaban,
he’s been in there for almost ten years!”

“And now he is in St Mungos and will not come out until he is half-way sane. But yes, he will want
to see Harry. However, Harry needs to decide whether he wants to see him.”

Remus looked suspiciously at Severus “You speak as if you know the boy?”

“Harry was attacked by a dog and badly scarred. He came to me for help, via Draco Malfoy, who has
adopted him as his new pet. The boys are fond of each other and Harry is likely to have a number of
Slytherin friends, myself included.” Severus said tersely “If Black thinks he will upset the apple
cart with his prejudices, he has another thing coming.”

“Okay” Remus said “I’ll talk to him but what has Harry been told? What does he know about Sirius?”

“At present, nothing. That’s why I am here. I know Black as an enemy, I could poison the boy’s mind against him, Harry trusts me utterly and, moreover, he is soft hearted enough to take great umbrage at any type of cruelty and, young as he is, I doubt that he would take age as an excuse.” Severus steepled his fingers. “And that is precisely why I have told Petunia that it would be a very bad idea for me to speak to Harry about Black. The boy needs to know both sides of the man before he decides what he wants to do. You, I feel, could perhaps provide a more… balanced perspective.”

Remus swallowed “I… don’t know what to say… I, after all, I could have done more to… after all, I was a prefect…”

A month earlier, Severus would have joined the litany of self-recrimination with pleasure “Belt up, Lupin. Potter was uncontrollable, as was Black- more in common with dear cousin Bella than he’d care to own. Dumbledore was a fool to saddle you with the responsibility for them, you, who worshipped the ground they walked on simply because they let you stay in the fold after finding out what you are. How kind.”

“There are many who are not so accepting, Severus.”

“Oh I know, look what I got from Potter simply for wanting to be a Slytherin!”

Remus looked ready to retort then he suddenly smiled “Now at least I know that you’re not a polyjuiced death eater who is trying to poison me with fake wolfsbane!”

“Funny. Now, will you speak to Harry?”

“Of course. When do you want me to meet him?”

Severus stood up “I will owl you. Petunia, Lily’s sister, needs to make arrangements.”

“Okay. And, Severus, I won’t glorify Sirius, I’ll try to give Harry an idea of who he really is, or was… he really loved his godson, you know.”

“A baby is easy to love, a soft-hearted, shy little boy who may disapprove heartily of certain boyhood tales less so. I warn you, however, Harry is… happy at the moment, with his aunt and his friends. He does not need to be made unhappy.”

Remus smiled sadly “You seem fond of the boy.”

“He is a child and, moreover, very much like Lily’s father in personality.”

“I never met him. I think it must have begun, even back then… Oh Gods Severus!”

“What is it, man?”

Lupin looked positively frantic “I never thought, I… I mean, Sirius was locked up… I thought Peter was dead, I had no idea that he was… that he had been the spy! I just didn’t think!”

“What. Are. You. Blithering. About.”

“They were animagi; James, Sirius and Peter. They learnt when they were at school, to keep me company, I don’t think any of them ever registered, they had been breaking the law.”

“What?!”

“Peter, he could turn into a rat. That’s why we called him Wormtail!”

“A rat? What kind of rat?”

“A grey one.”

“Oh, he is going to be easy enough to find then, a grey rat. There are only a few million!”

Remus swallowed, raking his hand through his greying chestnut hair “He was rather fat and, well, they found a finger so the rat will be missing part of its front paw.”

Severus shook his head “Couldn’t the bloody man have turned into a parrot? Gods!”

“Well, I always thought a rat rather suited him- it meant he could sneak into the kitchens whenever he wanted.”

“And eavesdrop! I wondered how you were all so well informed. Not very Gryffindor of you.”

Remus flushed then looked watchful “You know, he just might just be living with a wizarding family.”

“If he is, Lupin, it will be worse for him. I can trust you to keep your mouth shut and eyes open?”

“Yes, of course.”

"And you undewrstand that there will be no Azkaban? When I find him I intend to kill him."

Lupin nodded "I understand. And I'll help you."

Severus smiled //Lupin amongst the doves, Lucius amongst the hawks; if the bastard’s hiding in plain sight, we’ll have him within a week…// A thought occurred.

“What type of animagus was Black?”

“Oh, he was a dog?”

Severus’ smile darkened “A terrier?”

“Er, No.”

“Pity. I was going to be generous and let him finish the job. Still, a large lapdog lacks the killer instinct.”