• Remus Lupin •

„It is easier to forgive an enemy
than to forgive a friend."

For Remus Lupin, the day started very well. It may have been only his second day teaching at Hogwarts, but he had already found joy in it. The students had accepted him and the full moon was still a few weeks away. It must have been a long time ago that the he was in such a well-adjusted mood. Despite his long hesitation, he was now more than happy that Dumbledore had offered him the job. He could only hope that his furry problem, like his friends had once called it, would not spoil his position as teacher.

He hurriedly scrapped the thought of his friends, as he was not allowed to fall back into his depression. Just as it had been after the deaths of James, Lily, Peter and the betrayal of Sirius. Now the scumbag even had managed to escape from Azkaban prison and all the suppressed feelings threatened to come to the surface again. It was a vicious circle.

Sighing, Remus took a look at his timetable which told him that, after the lunch break, he would have a class with the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff third years; the morning was free. Relaxed, he leaned back on his brown leather armchair and reached for the newspaper, which sat upon the small side table. The cover's headline jumped right out at his eyes: Muggle discovers Sirius Black.

A heat and cold simultaneously spread underneath his skin, while he slowly read the article. Remus knew it was only a matter of time before his old friend would break into Hogwarts. Sirius knew about all the secret passages of the castle, of which not even the teachers knew. Just like himself.

For weeks now, he had been torn about whether he should report that Sirius was an Animagus. After all, this could make the search for his former friend far easier. At the same time, however, this also meant betraying his remaining friends. Remus didn't want to stoop that low.

By then, he had finished reading, so he quickly put the newspaper aside and tried to mentally prepare for his upcoming lessons. His plan was to show the third-years a Boggart, but the concern that such a thing might be too demanding for the very first hour of the day remained.

Perhaps he should have started with something simpler, instead of confronting his students with their greatest fear. But how bad could a few fourteen-year-olds be?

Harry had to be at that age, Remus suddenly pondered, and felt the pallor creeping into his tired face. In these circumstances, it had probably not been such a good idea. But he could no longer pull back, he had already planned and prepared the entire hour. He had not planned another subject for this lesson and would've gone unprepared to a class.

He had already met the boy on the train journey, he had recognized him immediately. He seemed to be doing well and apparently he had made many friends. That was important. Remus smiled; the last time he saw him, he had been with James and Lily and had read something to the small boy. He couldn't remember the many times he had visited his two friends exactly, but for their young son, he had always been Uncle Mooey. His uncle Moony had almost been as important to him as Uncle Padfoot. Almost.

When his mind wandered to Sirius again, his stomach cramped. He could only hope that Harry did not know what a cruel act had actually put him behind bars in the first place. It would break the young student's heart, just as his broke when he had heard about the betrayal.

Remus had begged Dumbledore to bring Harry to him, but the headmaster had repeatedly turned him down. After a few years he had finally given it up, he had realized that he might be better off with his relatives anyway than with him, the werewolf.

A fleeting and horrified glance at his watch made the new teacher aware that he had forgotten the time. He jumped out of the chair and grabbed his already packed leather bag. After all, he didn't want to come late to his first hour of the day.

When Remus finally reached the classroom, he was surprised that all his students were already sitting in their seats, and the excited aura evaporated as soon as he entered the room. He smiled apologetically and placed his bag on the teacher's desk, "Good afternoon!" He greeted the class euphorically and, as in his other hours, pulled an attendance list out of his pocket. After all he wanted to try to give the curious faces in front of him a name, "I just check quickly if everyone is present and after that we will start with the first lesson."

"Hannah Abbott?"

"Yes." came a quiet response from a dark-haired girl with a round face.

"Kristen Archibald?"

"Here." It sounded from a brunette hufflepuff girl from the corner.

"Lavender Brown?"

"Present," a girl with blonde curls shouted at him, grinning. Remus returned the smile and continued, but the next name on the list wiped the grin from his face. His corners of his mouth began to twitch and the name almost stuck in his throat, "Serena B-Black."

It couldn't be. Slowly, Remus turned his gaze off the list and looked into the class as if he expected it to burst into laughter. It could only be a bad joke. But any student kept a straight face, before finally a girl hesitantly raised her hand, blushing to the roots of her hair.

Some agonizingly long seconds passed while he stared, trying to grasp a rational thought. A Black, no doubt. The light skin, the dark curls and the fine facial features gave it away. But the resemblance to Sirius, which he believed he saw, didn't have to amount anything. After all, he was not the only descendant of this fanatical family.

Remus made a quick mental calculation. Bellatrix, Narcissa and Andromeda no longer bore this surname, it would be unusual, but not excluded. Maybe the girl was born illegitimate?

It was an absurd idea, but with his gaze glued to the Gryffindor emblem adorning her cape, he couldn't help but cling to that thought.
Because Regulus must have died before her time, only Sirius remained.

The new teacher noticed that his hesitation had been noticed, because a quiet tussle filled the room. He looked back on the list and his bad conscience overwhelmed him. After all, he knew best what it was like to be condemned with a mere glance.

He continued with the rest of the names, but whenever he looked into the class, his pair of eyes stuck to the young Black for a brief moment. It seemed as if he was looking for proof that the girl could not possibly be Sirius' daughter.

Eventually, Remus finished the list with Ronald Weasley, a freckled red-haired boy, whom he also knew from the train, raising a silent hand to alert his presence. "Would you please put all your books back in your bag. Today's will be a practical lesson. You will only need your wands."

Pleased, he witnessed curious glances being exchanged throughout the class as they made the books disappear within their bags, "Right then!" he said, and enthusiastically clapped once, "If you'd follow me."

The class got to its feet and followed Remus Lupin out of the classroom. He led them through the adjoining corridors, and as they bent around a corner, the teacher immediately noticed the translucent figure before him. Peeves the Poltergeist hovered in front of one of the numerous elevated doors, trying to fill the keyholes with globs of chewing gum.

The troublemaker seemed to think himself safe, as he did not look up until Remus stopped just a metre away from him. Peeves hopped around happily, and began to sing, "Loony, loopy Lupin."

Remus did not let himself be fooled, after all, he had already learned to ignore this in his own school days. Although he did not expect this to pursue him as a teacher, it was good that he knew how to deal with it. He felt the corners of his mouth starting to twitch amusedly as he took out his wand, sighing, and turned to his students, "This is a useful little spell." He said, and fixed the keyhole, "Waddiwasi!"

With the force of a bullet, the chewing gum shot out of the keyhole and straight into Peeves' left nostril. The ghost whirled and zoomed away, cursing.

"Cool, sir!" said one of the Gryffindors, stunned, and also his classmates looked at him with increased respect, which brought a smile to the new teacher.

The staff room was a long, wood-panelled room full of old, uncomfortable chairs and was empty, save for Professor Snape sitting upon a low armchair in the side. He watched up as one came in after the other, his eyes glittering and a nasty sneer plastered across his face.

When Remus stepped in and made to close the door behind him, he said, "Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this." With these vile words, he rose, the black cape flowing behind him as he walked past the class. But before the teacher of potions disappeared completely, he turned around one last time, "Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear."

Neville went scarlet and Remus raised his eyebrows startled, as he couldn't believe that a teacher humiliated a student publicly in a class that wasn't his own. Even for Snape, it was disgusting. He tried to keep his polite and professional attitude, but inside him it was simmering, "I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation and I'm sure he will perform it admirably."

The cheeks of the student turned into an even deeper shade of red, and Snape slammed the door behind him without another word. Remus took this as a small triumph, even if he was sure that his former school foe would not let this sit for very long.

"Now, then," he said without missing a beat, beckoning the class to the other end of the room, to an old closet that gave a sudden wobble, banging into the wall, "Nothing to worry about. There is a boggart in there."

Most of the students, however, seemed to feel that this was in fact something to worry about. Neville glanced at him with pure terror in his eyes, and Seamus Finnigan eyed the now rattling door knob apprehensively.

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," Remus explained, "So, the first question we must ask ourselves is; what is a boggart?"

Hermione raised his hand and made such stubborn eye contact with him that he simply couldn't ignore it, and pointed to her, "It's a shapeshifter. It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us the most."

"Couldn't have put better myself," the teacher replied appreciatively, leaving the girl glowing, to which his student beamed. Remus continued, "So the Boggart that sits in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. But when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us fears. That means that we have a huge advantage over the Boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?"

In addition to Harry, Hermione had started to bounce up and down on the footballs and put her hand up high in the air. Harry hesitated, "Er... because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?"

"Precisely," said Remus, and Hermione let her hand sink, disappointed. Remus continued, "He becomes confused. Which should he become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a Boggart make that very mistake - tried to frighten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug. Not remotely frightening."

Amused, he shook his head at the memory that had crept into his mind. He remembered it as if it happened yesterday, that Sirius almost fell off the chair, laughing, "I don't believe it Wormtail.... Your biggest fear is....." He could hardly keep talking because of the laughter, "A slug?"

That day, Remus had bitten his lips to hide his own twitching corners of his mouth from Peter. After all, he didn't want to hurt his feelings. But the half slug that crawled across the ground had been too weird a sight, which is why he had finally stepped himself in front of the Boggart to destroy it. And how he had done this, he explained to his students, "The charm that repels a Boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a Boggart is laughter. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing. We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please... Riddikulus!"

"Riddikulus!" said the class together, making their teacher smile, "Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Neville."

Once again, the wardrobe shook, though not as much as Neville, who walked forward as though he were heading to the gallows. Remus shot him a comforting look, "Right, Neville. First things first: what would you say is the thing that frightens you most in the world?"

Neville's lips moved, but no words came out. Instead, his dark eyes widened and directed to the wardrobe.

"I didn't catch that, Neville, sorry." Said Remus with an encouraging smile, while the boy looked around rather wildly, as though he wanted someone else to answer the question for him.

Eventually, he answered in barely more than a whisper, "Professor Snape."

Almost everyone laughed. Even Neville grinned, embarrassed. As for Remus, he didn't find that funny at all. How bad must a teacher be that a student would generate such great fear for them? Severus would get what he deserved, Remus thought grimly and had suddenly an idea, "Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?"

Remus had only met Augusta Longbottom once before, but he would certainly never forget her quite unusual hat. Neville looked at him with big eyes as he stepped tensely from one foot to the other, nodding slowly, "Er... yes, but I don't want the Boggart to turn into her either."

"No, no, you misunderstand me." The teacher rushed to say, "I wonder, could you tell us what sort of clothes your grandmother usually wears?"

The brown-haired boy looked stunned and he seemed to think sharply for a few seconds, forming a deep wrinkle on his round forehead before replying, "Well... always the same hat. A tall one with a stuffed vulture on top. And a long dress... green, normally... and sometimes fox-fur scarf."

"And a handbag?" Remus prompted with a smile upon his lips.

Neville nodded, "A big red one."

"Very nice." He replied, slightly grinning, "When the Boggart bursts out of this wardrobe, Neville, and sees you, it will assume the form of Professor Snape. And you will raise your wand and cry Riddikulus, while concentrating hard on your grandmother's clothes."

The teacher bit his tongue, still not revealing the best part of it. Maybe some could already think of it, but it should remain a little surprise. He turned again to the whole class, whose pairs of eyes hung on him tensely, "If Neville is successful, the Boggart is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn. I would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical."

The room went quiet, while the students did as they were told and submerged themselves in thought. He let his gaze wander over the students and stuck to Harry, his eyes closed and the unruly black hair he obviously had from James hung over his forehead, but did not manage to cover his scar.

The thirteen-year-old had already faced Voldemort three times in his short life. If Dumbledore hadn't asked Remus to keep distance from Harry, he could have been there for him, he could have supported him. Suddenly Harry shuddered, perhaps at the thought of his greatest fear. Remus made a sudden promise to himself; he would not confront the son of his former best friend with the Boggart.

"Everyone ready?" he finally asked, and the students nodded as they rolled up their sleeves, "Neville, we're going to back away and let you have a clear field, all right? I'll call the next person forward. Everyone back now, so Neville can get a clear shot."

His classmates pressed themselves against the back wall, leaving Neville alone in front of the wardrobe. Pale and frightened, he too managed to get his sleeves out of the way and held the wand protectively stretched out in front of him. Remus pointed his own at the handle of the wardrobe and threw a last look at the boy, "One - two - three - now!"

Hook-nosed and menacing, Professor Snape stepped out of the open door. His black eyes were fixed on Neville, who walked a few steps back, silently moving his lips. Eventually, after a few attempts, he managed to get a sound out, "R - r - riddikulus!" he squeaked.

The potion teacher now wore a long lace-studded dress, a towering hat with a moth-eating vulture on top, and an enormous red handbag hanging on his wrist. The spell had worked.

Thundering laughter erupted, Remus could hardly stop himself from laughing and didn't really want to call the next person, as he couldn't get enough of the sight, "Parvati! Forward!"

With a determined expression, the girl stepped forward, while Neville, visibly relieved, walked back to his schoolmates with a smile on his lips. Threateningly, Snape turned to the Indian girl before it cracked. Where the teacher had just stood, a blood-stained, bandaged mummy appeared. Turning her eyeless face to Parvati, she began to scurry towards the girl, dragging its feet, its stiff arms rising.

"Riddikulus!"

A bandage unraveled the mummy's feet, it became entangled and fell to the ground; the head rolling away.

"Seamus!" shouted Remus, clapping.
Crack! Where the mummy had been, there was now a banshee. She opened her mouth wide and a sound, not from this world, filled the room. It was a long, wistful cry that made Remus' hair stand on end. "Riddikulus!"

A rattling sound came out of the mouth of the banshee, who reached for her throat in horror; she had lost her voice.

"Serena!"

Crack! The banshee turned into a man, a man Remus once knew well: Sirius Black. With confused faces, the class backed away. For this was not the Sirius from the posters they had hung everywhere. This was Sirius, like Remus remembered him; young and always up for fun. Any doubts he still had that she was possibly not Sirius' daughter had now dissipated.

With the sight of his former friend, everything in Remus pulled together. He had to turn his gaze away and instead turned it to Serena, who stared at the Boggart with big eyes. That her greatest fear was actually her own father almost shocked Remus more than the fact that Neville's was a teacher. But at least these were other circumstances and a part of him could not blame her, Sirius was a murderer and a traitor. It would be reprehensible for her to have a different opinion.

The Boggart, wearing Sirius' face, walked slowly towards Serena, who froze completely. He was now directly opposite her, father and daughter looking at each other before the man leaned forward and whispered something into her ear, so quiet that no outsider could hear it.

The Gryffindor's gaze changed and her eyebrows furrowed when she finally, resolutely, lifted her wand, "Riddikulus."

Her voice had not been loud, but the spell still had served its purpose. Sirius Black's beloved hair caught fire and he started running in circles, screaming. Remus thought about what the real Sirius would have done, and this performance came very close to what he imagined.

"Ronald!"

Crack!

Quite a few screamed. A huge spider, two meters high and extremely hairy, crawled towards the redhead and clicked menacingly with her pincers, "Riddikulus!" barked Ron.

The spider's legs disappeared, so that its thick body was now rolling around. Hailey Price screamed brightly and ran out of the legless spider's track.

It eventually came to a halt at Harry's feet. The dark-haired boy raised his wand, but Remus was faster. With his arms outstretched, he jumped in front of the boy, "Here!"

Crack!

The white ball he was familiar with hung in the air in front of him. The teacher casually shouted the necessary words, and with another crack, the Boggart landed on the floor as a cockroach, "Forward, Neville, and finish him off!"

Crack!

Snape was back. But this time Neville rushed towards him with a determined face, and without hesitation, he cried, "Riddikulus!"

For a fraction of a second the class saw their teacher again in the lace dress, until Neville let out a loud, roaring "Ha!" of laughter and the Boggart burst into a thousand wisps of smoke.

"Excellent!" Remus exclaimed, and the students began to clap enthusiastically. Talking excitedly, the teenagers left the staff room and their teacher closed the door behind them, sighing. In doing so, he made a promise to himself; to never confront a class again with a Boggart.

Remus decided to visit Minerva McGonagall after dinner. He needed the last little certainty to explain Serena's origins to him. Otherwise, he would not have been able to sleep that night.

With hesitation, he knocked against the heavy wooden door and regretted his decision at the same moment. He shouldn't bother his former teacher at this time, especially with such a subject, it shot through his head.

But it was too late, the door was already opened with a creaking in the fishing rods and McGonagall's eyes watched him curiously behind the glasses, "Good evening Mr. Lupin."

"Good evening... Professor McGonagall, I hope I'm not bothering you." Stammered Remus, and at that moment, he felt like he was in school again.

"I'm no longer your teacher, Lupin," she replied with the usual strict undertone to her voice, but her corners of her mouth smiled, "You may call me Minerva."

A little surprised, the young teacher opened his mouth before finally grasping again, "Of course, you... You may call me Remus." At the same moment he felt a slight redness rising in his cheeks, as calling his former teacher by her first name still seemed wrong to him.

"Well, I think you visited me for a reason, Remus?" she asked, making an inviting move with her hand. Remus quickly realized that not much seemed to have changed in her office since he was at school, because he found it the way he had remembered it all those years.
Often enough, he had been toted into the same office with the other marauders after a prank.

"I didn't know Sirius had a child." It burst out of him before he could think of a more appropriate choice of words, "Why didn't you... warn me?"

Sighing, the woman took a seat behind her desk, "None of us knew it before Serena came to Hogwarts. It wasn't until we noticed the annual lists of magical children to visit Hogwarts. Of course we could have notified you beforehand, but it was unnecessary. It is not advantageous to encounter a person with certain prejudices, let alone to teach."

Outraged, Remus opened his mouth and wanted to respond, but he didn't bring out a noise. His brain cells rattled, he remembered Sirius' then-girlfriend; Katherine. They, too, had maintained a good friendship, so how could he not notice the similarity before?

Minerva threw a compassionate look at him and reached over the wooden tabletop to pat his arm, "I know it must be hard for you, maybe we," She paused, "overlooked the need to inform you."

"Hard?" the werewolf snorted and shook off her hand to stroll around the room, "You can't imagine what it's like! Sirius is to blame for the fact that three of my closest friends are dead!"

The McGonagall, which he knew when he was at school, made a face as if she were about to take points from Gryffindor due to his shortcomings. Something she had done quite often in the past. She looked at him indignantly, "I ask you to treat Serena like any other student in Hogwarts. She is not the one to blame for the cruel deeds of her father. She doesn't have the same personality as him."

Indignant, Remus looked back, he could hardly believe that she thought of him in such a way. After all, he wasn't like Snape, who certainly needed this announcement more than he did.

His former teacher continued, "Life is not fair, Remus. If it was, Serena and Harry would both call you Uncle Remus today."

Remus swallowed and replaced the words spoken with 'Uncle Mooey,' filled with sadness.