Chapter Eight: "Different Paths, Same Destination"

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The next morning, Remus left Lindsey asleep in the dusty remains of the canopy bed. He used up the precious last pinch of flooing dust in the decrepit jar that balanced precariously on the tumbled mantel of the fireplace and flooed his note about the Wolfsbane potion to Severus. There wasn't enough left to send a whole body.

Then, Remus wrote a quick message in the dust on the floor with his fingertip and tip toed down stairs.

"Be back soon – stay here."

Remus exited the cabin, bent to re-tie his boots, then straightened and began to walk through the Forbidden Forest towards Hogwarts. Remus had no fear of the forest – he was by far one of the scariest things in it that bright late summer morning.

Maybe it was because of the warm afterglow of lovemaking, but as he turned to look back at the shack over his shoulder, Remus thought it looked a little more lopsided than it had been before Lindsey's… vigorous … activity the night before.

After several hours of skirting fallen tree limbs and grabby roots, up and down mounds of dirt and weeds, in a winding path that was chosen more for the enjoyment of the forest than the directness of the route, Remus finally found himself at Hogwarts. He walked around to the side of the Hogwarts grounds, to where the Forbidden Forest edged a giant pumpkin patch. He nicked around the empty patch and around to the front of a giant, ramshackle hut.

It was August, so there were few pumpkins and many green, leafy vegetables in the patch. The grounds were wide and emerald, and completely devoid of students. In one mere month, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would be filled with screaming, laughing children.

It seemed too quiet to be true.

When Dumbledore had first offered Remus the position of Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts, a little more than a year ago, Remus had allowed himself to fantasize about the many Augusts to come. He saw those Augusts filled with preparing for the coming year's lessons, strolling along the lake, taking tea with his colleagues, and running on moonlight nights once more in his own childhood Territory, the Forbidden Forest.

When Remus had seen the little yellow dot marked "Peter Pettigrew" race across the Maurauder's Map, when he had realized that Sirius was innocent of the murder of James and Lily Potter, Remus had allowed himself to envision spending warm, peaceful nights with his old lover by the fire in his teacher's apartment in the castle.

When Wormtail escaped, Remus' fantasies were shattered. When Severus got so angry he let Remus' condition 'slip', Remus knew they had just been childish dreams, anyway.

And now he was standing at the base of Hagrid's garden, staring up at the place where he'd experienced his deepest heartaches and his highest joys, trying to keep himself from weaving impossible fantasies again.

He had a lover, now. A man whom he realized he loved deeply, and who he hoped loved him. He had a partner, not just for his body, or his heart, but for his wolf, too.

But it could vanish easily, so easily.

They were hunted men. If it wasn't Wolfram and Hart that killed either Lindsey or himself, it would be other, ignorant Wizards, or other spiteful Werewolves, or … heaven forbid… maybe even He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

They had so many enemies, and so few allies.

And how could Remus fit Lindsey into his expected role as the head of Lupa's Children? The position didn't carry too much responsibility – the Pack at large was efficient and wise enough to govern themselves. He was not their king, he was not their patriarch or rule maker; he just happened to be the eldest son and therefore, the Alpha.

Nothing more than being respectable and gracious was asked of him.

Nothing more than throwing the occasional Full-Moon party.

Nothing more than finding an Alpha Bitch, preferably one with the blood of Lupa in her, and siring a litter of pups. That would be a little impossible for Remus to do if he was to remain with Lindsey, and Remus wanted to remain with Lindsey.

They could talk about it later. Maybe they could adopt? Or Remus could name his uncle's eldest hier. It had happened before. Perhaps Lindsey wouldn't be adverse to Remus taking a female lover for as long as it would take for him to get pups on her?

There was that damned wishful thinking again.

We have to stay together first, Remus thought, and it spurred him into action. Time to debase myself and go begging for more of the potion like some lap dog. There once was a time when no Wolf was collared. When Grandmother was undisputed master of the greatest City of the Age.

So how is it that I seem to be doing up the clasp myself?

Remus knocked on Hagrid's door politely and listed to the deep rumbling 'woofs' of Fang. Most dogs ran in terror when they scented a werewolf. For reasons unknown to Remus, the great boarhound was not afraid of him. Probably just too stupid to know better.

The door opened and Remus could hear Hagrid herding Fang back into the house.

"Hello, Hagrid," Remus said pleasantly when the large man returned to the door.

"Oi! 'Fessor Lupin!" Hagrid said, obviously shocked to see him. "What'er you doin' ere?"

Remus shrugged and smiled, accepting the offered hand shake and marveling how his whole hand just vanished inside of Hagrid's meaty grip. It never ceased to amaze Remus, how big Hagrid was.

"I've just come to have a word with Professor Dumbledore," Remus lied smoothly. "I thought you'd like to accompany me up to the castle?"

"Of cours, of cours!" Hagrid said and waited for Remus to step down from the porch before following him out and shutting the door behind himself.

The walked up to the Headmasters office at an amicable pace, chatting about this and that and nothing at all. It was nearing noon and Remus could feel the beginnings of the ache that marked a hungry stomach, and he secretly hoped Dumbledore would offer him lunch.

He would have to bring something back for Lindsey.

Too bad Apperiation was impossible on School Grounds, or this whole affair could be over and done with already and he and Lindsey could be having tea together at the Three Broomsticks.

"I was might' sore to see you go," Hagrid admitted as they walked the final corridor to the Phoenix statue that marked the entrance to Dumbledore's offices. "All the kids were, too."

Remus allowed himself a small smile. "I miss my position here, but we all know it was for the best. I may have hurt one of the students by accident."

"Yeh never hurt anyone else while you were a student yourself."

Remus swallowed the sting those words brought. He had never hurt anyone else because his three closest friends had been there to protect him and keep him sane. "A miracle, to be sure," he said softly, through his teeth.

His three friends were gone.

Foolish dream.

Hagrid said the password and led Remus up to the office. He knocked three times, great booming sounds, and Dumbledore bid him enter. Hagrid poked his head in and said, "Remus Lupin to see you sir."

"Ah, Hagrid, please, let him in." Hagrid stepped aside and Remus entered the room to see Dumbledore sitting at his desk, his blue eyes twinkling and his lips twitching upwards under the river of long white hair. Hagrid bowed out and closed the door behind him.

"Hallo, Remus," Dumbledore said.

"Hallo, Headmaster."

"Please, have a seat." Dumbledore gestured to the empty wingbacked chair before his desk. The second wingbacked chair was already occupied. "I've been expecting you."

Remus paused. "You have, sir?"

Dumbldedore chuckled. "Oh, yes. Between the letter you sent to Severus this morning by floo, and our visitor, I think I have also ascertained the reason for your visit."

Remus felt himself pale. "You do, sir? I… I can explain, sir. It was an accident."

"Aw, can it," said a thickly accented voice, and the visitor in the chair turned to look over his shoulder at Remus. "I already explained."

Remus felt himself gawping. "Lindsey?"

"You were taking too long. I took a short cut." There was mud, dirt and blood on his face and in his hair. But he was grinning.

"What short cut?"

"I followed the dusty footprints on the floor of the Shack to the tunnel."

Remus felt himself go paler. "The tunnel…"

Behind the desk, Albus Dumbledore laughed. "It seems our friend managed to dodge around the Whomping Willow."

---

Lindsey was disappointed when he opened his eyes the next morning and found the space beside him in the bed empty. Remus was not there.

Panic set in at first. He wondered if he were still on the road, running from Wolfram and Hart, and that everything that had happened between him and Remus had been some wonderful dream. However, as he sat up and looked around the Shrieking Shack (a fair bit worse for the wear given the night's activities), he heaved a sigh of relief. It had been real.

Remus had been real, and they were safe for now from their enemies.

But where was he? Surely, after all that had happened, Remus would have wanted to wake up beside Lindsey...

He stretched slowly and stood up, pulling on his t-shirt. It was then that he noticed words smudged into the dust on the floor at foot of the bed. It was Remus' handwriting, instructing him to stay where he was. Lindsey smiled as he realized that Remus had likely gone up to that castle to consult whoever it was that he needed to on his behalf.

He wasn't entirely sure what that entailed, but he knew from their previous conversations that this potion-whatever it was, did not come easily for Remus, or those who supplied it to him. That was probably his reasoning for leaving Lindsey out of it.

He was trying to protect Lindsey.

But Lindsey had worked for one of the most evil companies in existence. If there was anything he had learned during his time there, it was how to cover his own ass, and not ask questions.

Well, that is until he had snapped and quit. His decision making skills had been slightly off in the past year.

Nevertheless, he couldn't let Remus go up to the castle on his behalf without him. Half of their predicament was Lindsey's fault, and if Remus could face up to his responsibilities, then Lindsey planned to be there right beside him. It was the least he could do.

How 'bout that, the cowboy mused to himself, so this is what a conscience feels like.

He went to work pulling his clothing on, hoping to be able to locate Remus before he reached where-ever it was he had intended to go. All he had to wear was the pair of faded blue jeans and the black sweater he'd been wearing when he and Remus had run, and hoped that more formal clothing was not required within the castle. It sure looked fancy.

Peering out the window, he grimaced as he saw the true distance of the castle... He hadn't visibly seen it until Remus had mentioned it to him, so that caused him to believe it was under some sort of glamour. Chances are there were others put up there to keep the general public from noticing its existence. He couldn't just walk in the general direction and hope he managed to stumble upon it. He would likely get very lost and end up God knows where.

Lindsey decided to go back downstairs. There was nothing in the bedroom to help him out, but maybe there would be something near the fireplace, where they had arrived. As he made his way downstairs, he noticed his own fresh footprints in the dust from the night before, following Remus' upstairs.

There were, however, several other sets of shoe prints and one wide, long smudge, like someone or something had been dragged along the floor. There was also a set of doggy footprints.

Lindsey wondered if the doggy prints were actually wolf prints, and had been Remus.

These marks in the dust were faded slightly, as if whoever had walked here had done it months earlier – from the state of this place, that was probably the case. Out of sheer curiosity, Lindsey followed the tracks, expecting them to end at the front door to the ramshackle building.

Instead, he was surprised to find that they ended, abruptly, magically, in the middle of the main room downstairs. Frowning, he noticed a small trap door in the floor of the cabin . He crouched by the door and inspected it – it was very well constructed. If he hadn't been looking for it, Lindsey probably would have missed it entirely.

Gingerly, he lifted away the cover and peered down into the darkness. There was a set of unfinished, much-scuffed stairs and unless he was imagining things, the tunnel appeared to lead of fin the direction of the distant castle.

Well, of all the luck!

Lindsey decided that this was probably his only hope of reaching Remus before Remus got to the castle himself. Surely that had to be the way to the castle and if not, he could always double back and return to the shack.

Deciding that was the best course of action, he opened the trap door and climbed downwards into the tunnel, hoping to reach Remus in time.

The tunnel under the shack was a fair walk, and in pretty much total pitch blackness, but eventually Lindsey came to the door on the other side. Opening it, he began to climb upwards. His head had just barely risen above ground level when his eyes widened in fear as a large tree limb seemed to careen towards him.

He ducked just in time as it slammed angrily into the ground.

"Jesus Christ on a piece of toast!" He swore angrily, his heart going a mile a minute. "One hell of a security system!"

Gingerly, he pushed the trap door open and poked his head upwards once more. The limb that had just about nearly taken his head off, was nowhere in sight.

"The hell?"

He climbed upwards slowly, tentatively, but the tree seemed stationary and normal.

It wasn't until he closed the trap door behind his foot that it seemed to reanimate itself and come back for more.

He barely had time to register the trees movement before a limb came at him full-on.

He ducked and rolled out of the way just in time, taking bits of branch with him as they grazed his chest. So it was to be an obstacle course then was it? Well, Lindsey would not let some overgrown piece of foliage get the best of him.

Letting out a whoop in challenge, he dodged another limb that sailed towards him and started to run towards what he hoped was the castle grounds.

Tree limbs came at him from all sides, some hitting in front, behind or beside his feet as he weaved and dodged his way through them.

He was almost clear, when one particular limb caught him off guard and swooped him up into the air with it. He clutched hold of it as it did so, gritting his teeth and ducking as another limb sailed over his head.

His knees were wobbly, but he managed to stand up on the airborne tree limb and make a jump for another one that seemed to be closer to the ground. His hands touched wood and he cried out in triumph as he leapt to the ground and managed to escape the animated tree entirely.

He was out of breath and panting as he did so, but exhilarated in his achievement. It was a moment or two before he realized his sweater was torn, and his chest was bleeding slightly from where a stray branch had scratched him. He also had various leaves and twigs stuck in his hair. A poor way to make a first impression, but he suspected that whoever he was to meet today would understand the reason behind it. After all, it was they who had planted that infernal thing.

The castle was looming up over him, on a rocky outcropping above the clearing that the sadistic tree was in.

As he headed towards the grounds themselves, Lindsey turned a corner around a stone marker, and he found himself unexpectedly face to face with an elderly man, with a silver beard down to his chest, flowing robes and small, speckled half-moon glasses.

"Well then!" The man said in mild surprise. "I don't think you're supposed to be here."

"Uh, well, you see, I can explain that."

"Well, yes." The man took an eyeful of Lindsey's tattered and bloody appearance, then craned his neck around the corner to frown at the now docile tree.

"Had a bit of a time with the shrubbery?"

Lindsey felt his face flush with embarrassed heat. It wasn't often that Lindsey felt like a naughty school boy, but this man seemed to be able to scold with the best of the principals from his childhood.

"I'm a…" he searched his head for the word that Remus had used before, " 'Muggle' if that's what you mean." He offered the older man a hand. "Lindsey MacDonald. I'm a friend of someone who is coming to see you today…if he's not here already."

"Indeed?" The man was obviously intrigued as well as amused by Lindsey's disheveled appearance. "I suspect you came the way of the Whomping Willow then? Your friend should have given you better directions. Albus Dumbledore."

He shook Lindsey's hand.

"I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He paused and took in the sight of Lindsey one more time. "Err, who is it you are here to see?"

"Remus Lupin," Lindsey replied. "Is he here yet?"

"Remus?" There was yet more surprise in Dumbledore's tone, leaving Lindsey to wonder how long it had been since Remus had been back here. "Indeed! Well, I haven't seen him yet, but you are welcome to follow me to my office where I suspect he will turn up in only too soon."

"You don't have any band-aids there do you?" Lindsey asked as he followed Albus Dumbledore's stride. "Your tree nearly killed me."

Dumbledore's eyebrow's inched upwards slightly.

"Well to be perfectly fair, it is a defence system for the school and you were tickling it's roots."

He turned around a bend in the path and Lindsey followed. As they rounded the bend, he could see the whole of the school grounds suddenly spread out before him. If Wolfram and Hart had ever impressed him half as much he might never have left. The day was clear and bright, though a tad nippy. Dumbledore paused to allow Lindsey to gape at the site. Lindsey looked back at the Whomping Willow anxiously.

"Rather impressive isn't it?" It sounded like a question, but Lindsey knew it required no answer from him. He stayed silent, staring at the grounds and the school beyond it, until Dumbledore spoke again. "Lemon drop?"

Lindsey looked at him in confusion.

"What did you call me?"

The older man held out a bag to him, his face a warm smile. Lindsey stared at it in confusion. Dumbledore laughed as soon as he realized the mistake Lindsey had made and his eyes twinkled slightly.

"I was asking if you'd like a Lemon drop. It's a sort of muggle candy that I've discovered I'm quite fond of."

Lindsey blushed as he realized the elderly professor had not been using an endearment and reached into the bag, thinking 'I've been around Remus too long-I'm starting to think I'm irresistible to all men'. He popped the candy into his mouth.

"Thanks."

"You're very much welcome." Dumbledore said politely. He began to walk toward the school at a leisurely pace. Lindsey had no choice but to follow. As he walked, he spoke. "So Mr. McDonald, you're American, correct?"

"Born and bred." Lindsey said with a nod. He grinned ruefully. "Thought I've been told that's not always a positive character trait. I've been considering claiming to be Canadian but I doubt anybody would buy it with my accent."

He looked around the grounds and was shocked to see carriages being pulled by silver, luminescent beings that seemed to float, among other astonishing things. Upon noticing his amazement, Dumbledore motioned to the carriages.

"Ah…some new supplies for the upcoming school year. I do suppose seeing carriages pulling themselves must be a bit of a shock to an American muggle, hmm? They are somewhat similar to your automobiles if you think about it however."

"But…" Lindsey stared at the carriages in confusion. Could the headmaster not see what he was seeing? And if that was true, what did that say about him? "They're not…I mean, they have something pulling them…they're silver. Can't you see them?"

Dumbledore paused and regarded Lindsey for a moment. For a brief second, it felt as though he were looking right through him. Then, he smiled sadly and the moment passed. He resumed walking towards the school and Lindsey had to scramble to catch up with him. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke.

"Those…silver horses are called Thestrals. I am sorry Mr. McDonald, that you can see them It always saddens me when people point them out."

Lindsey smiled slightly and wondered why the professor sounded so regretful. He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

"Don't be sorry. They're kinda neat."

"Remus hasn't told you then?" Dumbledore looked back to him and upon noticing the look on Lindsey's face, realized the answer to his own question. He nodded. "Only those who have watched someone die can see the Thestrals."

Lindsey's face fell slightly as he realized the implications of what the professor had just told him. He thought a moment, then grimaced as he remembered being left in the room with the newly vamped Darla and Drusilla, watching his colleagues being slaughtered by them, leaving no one but himself and Lilah Morgan alive. Guess slaughter en masse counts he thought bitterly. Regardless of how little I liked any of them. He said nothing of the details to Dumbledore however, feeling that telling that particular story would do little to endear him to the man.

"Remus hasn't really told me much about this…this world to be honest. I think it's a safe bet to treat me as 100 dummy, 'cause I can guarantee you I haven't seen half of what you got here…and I've seen a lot."

"Mmm, that brings up an interesting question." Dumbledore spoke absently as he opened the door to the great hall with a flick of his wrist and motioned for Lindsey to enter before him. "How exactly did a muggle such as yourself meet our Professor Lupin? And how did you find your way here to Hogwarts? I would ask you why Remus is coming to see me, but…" He trailed off and removed a carefully penned note from his robes and passed it to Lindsey to read.

It read:

S.S.,

Due to complications, I will be requiring a double dosage of the WP this month, as well as for all the following ones. I will, of course double the fee I pay and send along ten phials of my blood instead of the regular five. If this is unacceptable payment, please advise me of how you would like the second fee. Any other w.w.-based potion ingredient is acceptable by me. I will inform you when the double dosage is no longer required.

Thank you in advance,

R.L.

Dumbledore paused in the great hall as Lindsey read it, hands folded patiently behind his back. When Lindsey finished and looked up, Dumbledore smiled curiously, but not unkindly.

"I expect it has something to do with that letter, am I correct?"

Lindsey felt his face grow hot, wondering how much Dumbledore actually knew about himself and Remus and how much he should tell him. Finally, he sighed and nodded, sticking the note into his back pocket.

"I met him in a bar," Lindsey said, figuring that mostly honest was a good way to go. "We became…friends. There was an accident…" He shrugged his shoulders, hoping that Dumbledore would put two and two together. He felt his gaze drift to the walls and then widen as he saw the moving photographs that littered them. Dumbledore walked over to them, seizing on the momentary distraction.

"Do you like this one?" He pointed to a particular photograph of four oddly dressed people. "These are the Hogwarts founders. Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin. They gave their names to the four houses of the school."

Lindsey pointed at it, aware his mouth was hanging open like a fish.

"They….they're moving. Are they…alive?"

"Oh no." Dumbledore said with a smile. "Just a spell. It animates the pictures."

"Err, interesting." He flashed the man a nervous grin. "You'll forgive me if I'm a little weirded out by 'em."

Dumbledore nodded and motioned for them to continue walking.

"If you'll follow me Mr. McDonald, I thought perhaps we could take a light breakfast in my office until Remus arrives. I suspect there are many things that-what was that delightful colloquialism?-weird you out at Hogwarts."

"Yea, well movin' pictures will do that to ya." Lindsey's stomach growled slightly. "Breakfast sounds good. I trust that it'll be dead and stationary? Don't think I could handle it if my food started singing and dancing or something like that."

"Oh no, I assure you the muffins are quite tame." He said lightly.

"Good," Lindsey replied with relief. "Tame muffins sound good."

"I shall ensure that the house elves remove the jumping charm from the blueberries then," he retorted with a twinkle in his eye. He tapped his chin briefly as he began to navigate the stares. "Watch that one-it's not real. It occurs to me that I think you are perhaps the first American in the school. Perhaps the first muggle as well, though I'm not entirely sure you fall under that category any more. I shall ask my predecessors when we get to my office."

"That's me…unprecedented." Lindsey said with a grin, finding he quite liked Professor Dumbledore.

"Ahh, we shall have to pass these stair ways," the Professor continued, "be alert, they like to shift."

As if to prove his point, one of the stairs started to swing outwards as Lindsey stepped on it. Dumbledore reached out and nonchalantly rested his hand on the railing. "They always try to befuddle me. Ahh, left I should think."

Lindsey followed making sure he watched for any more misbehaving stair cases. Dumbledore was still talking.

"So can you tell me how it was that you found your way to the Whomping Willow before Remus found me?"

Lindsey took his attention away from the shifting stairways briefly to look at the Professor.

"We spent last night in the…shrieking shack I think Remus called it." He fought another blush that threatened itself. "When I woke up this morning Remus was gone so I went through this trap door that I found in the bottom and…well, I had no idea that everything moves around here or I woulda been a little more careful."

"Ahh I see." Dumbledore mused. "Down this corridor my dear muggle. Don't mind the suits of armour. They like to frighten the first years. And…Ah! Sir Nicholas!"

Lindsey rounded the corner, only to come face to face with a ghost. Unable to stop himself, he let out an honest-to-God yelp and jumped back. When he recovered himself he realized it was more face-to-chest than anything else as the ghost was floating. He doffed his hat to Dumbledore, careful not to tip his head.

"Good morning Headmaster."

"Good morning to you, Sir Nicholas." Dumbledore looked over to Lindsey who was still fairly shocked about the entire situation. "Sir Nicholas, allow me to introduce Mr. Lindsey McDonald. He's an acquaintance of Professor Lupin."

Lindsey's mouth hung open and he stupidly offered a hand. Nicholas did not take it however as he was physically unable to. Dumbledore saved Lindsey from any potential embarrassment by continuing the introductions.

"Mr. McDonald, Nicholas de Mimsey Porpingon, or as the students like to call him, 'Nearly Headless Nick'."

"Errr, this is gonna be a real stupid question, but…"

Sir Nick grimaced at the name and before Lindsey could finish, gave his ear a good sharp tug, bending it slightly at the waist so Lindsey could see right down his neck. He then straightened, flipped his head back into place with a practiced shrug.

"Botched execution." Was his casual reply. He smiled. "It is a pleasure to meet you sir. Welcome to Hogwarts. How do you know young Mr. Lupin?"

Thrown slightly off guard, both by the question and the physical demonstration, Lindsey opened his mouth, then quickly shut it. He was desperately trying to ignore the incredible surreal ness of talking to an actual ghost within the walls of a castle where everything but the toaster seemed to be able to sing and dance.

"Remus is…a friend of mine." He finally replied.

Nicholas eyed Lindsey for a moment, then smiled.

"Good. That boy needed a friend outside of that ragamuffin Black. Have a good day Headmaster…Mr. McDonald…"

And with that he floated away down the hall, leaving Lindsey and Dumbledore watching after him. Finally when speech returned to him, Lindsey cleared his throat.

"He seems a nice….ghost…"

Dumbledore smiled, innocently adjusting his robes and began to walk towards a statue a phoenix at the end of the hallway. It was a large expanse of a hallway that curiously seemed to end a the phoenix statue. There were no doors, no other hallways or branches. It just ended there. As Lindsey puzzled on this, Dumbledore spoke again.

"Sir Nicholas is among our more pleasant and civil spirits at Hogwarts." He scratched his beard absentmindedly staring at the statue. "Mmm, now what did I change it to…ah yes… 'double stuff Oreos'."

He smiled in satisfaction as the statue began to turn in a circle on the spot. Lindsey watched as it slowly rose, revealing a spiral stair case that climbed towards the tower.

"Well Mr. McDonald, hop on! Unless you'd rather wait for it to stop and walk to the top yourself." Dumbledore stepped onto the staircase and began to rise above Lindsey demonstrating what he meant. Lindsey watched him for a moment or two before hopping on behind him, all the while thinking that double stuff Oreos would be great right about now.

They reached the top of the stairs and Dumbledore led Lindsey into his office. It was decorated in a way that seemed uniquely Dumbledore. It was odd, Lindsey thought that he should be able to recognize that having only known the man about half an hour or so, but then, that was the type of personality the man radiated.

A pot of tea and a cup, a pot of coffee and a cup, a sugar dish, two blueberry muffins and two apples were already on the desk. Lindsey blinked in surprise wondering how the headmaster managed to get all of it ready for the two of them, especially since the tea and coffee were still so hot they were both steaming.

"Have a seat Mc. McDonald."

Lindsey shrugged, making a mental vow not to be shocked by anything else he might see in this strange place and did as Dumbledore requested.

"Aw, hell why not?" He grinned and looked at the food. "Looks great."

"Please," Dumbledore motioned to the selection, "serve yourself." He watched serenely as Lindsey proceeded to mix his coffee while he sipped is own tea. When Lindsey was finished, Dumbledore spoke again. "There are three questions I must ask of you Mr. McDonald….four perhaps, if one of the answers is as I expect it will be. I will ask that you answer me honestly and directly."

Lindsey looked up and saw that although Dumbledore's manner was still friendly, there was a firm seriousness in his eyes that belied a hidden strength. It was this strength that showed Lindsey he was more than he appeared and let him know that he had no other option but to comply with Dumbledore's request. He swallowed his food slowly and nodded.

"I'll tell you whatever you wanna know."

Dumbledore gave a satisfied nod and paused a moment before asking his first questions.

"Are you, or are you not, Mr. McDonald, a werewolf?"

Lindsey looked up, slightly surprised by the bluntness of the question, but nodded slowly nevertheless.

"Yea, I am." It felt strange to be confirming something so major so casually, but it no longer felt like the end of Lindsey's world. Slowly, with Remus' help, he was beginning to come to terms with it. It both comforted him and frightened him at the same time.

"Did Remus Lupin infect you?" Dumbledore's voice was casual as if they were discussing the weather or the results of a sporting event. He knew what to expect from the headmaster now, so the question did not surprise him. He had expected it and he took his time answering.

"He did, but he didn't mean to."

"And why were you and Mr. Lupin at the Shrieking Shack, Mr. McDonald?"

Lindsey sighed, realizing that those previous questions had been the easy ones. Although he was a grown man, he suddenly felt like one of Dumbledore's students…in the Principal's office and well deserving of it.

"That was my fault. We were….hiding from some men that I was stupid enough to alert to Remus'…condition. I take full responsibility for it and will do whatever I can to make it right."

"You are being chased then?" Dumbledore's eyes narrowed slightly, though not angrily and Lindsey suddenly felt very anxious. What if by coming here they had endangered Dumbledore and his school? Lindsey had done some terrible things in his past, he had never hurt anybody as directly as he could should Wolfram and Hart find him there. They would spare no one, man or child in their desire to get what they came for. He felt his heart drop.

"Yea," he replied sadly. "I understand if you want me to leave. We could be endangering your kids by being here."

To Lindsey's surprise and relief, Dumbledore shook his head and dismissed the idea.

"There is no safer place on Earth than Hogwarts." He assured him. It was a bold statement and entirely ridiculous when one considered the reach and influence that Wolfram and Hart possessed and yet when Dumbledore said it, Lindsey found himself believing him. There was something about the man that radiated honesty. He was not a man prone to foolish boasts where the safety of those in his charge were concerned. If he said they were safe, they were. He continued to speak, breaking into Lindsey's reverie. "But I'm afraid you cannot stay here indefinitely. We will see what Mr. Lupin has to say when he arrives."

He gestured with his hand and another coffee mug seemed to rise up out of the desk top answering Lindsey's previous question as to how the items had gotten there.

"Would you mind preparing a mug for Remus? I don't know how he likes his tea." The question was innocent enough, but Lindsey knew that beneath it lay a test of sorts. He could hear it in Dumbledore's tone, see it in his eyes. As he nodded and proceeded to do so. Dumbledore watched silently waiting until Lindsey had finished to speak again. This time his tone was more measured and careful. "If it does not impede you too much, I would like to ask Mr. McDonald-and you may refuse to answer if you like-are you Remus' lover?"

Forgetting the promise he made to himself about refusing to be surprised by anything, Lindsey accidentally knocked the container of milk that he was about to add to his own second cup of tea onto his hand. He cleared his throat, feeling the flush of embarrassment take hold as he answered.

"Ahh…yes."

" I'm glad," Dumbledore said with a warm smile that seemed to reach all the way up to his eyes where it twinkled momentarily. There was a sudden poof and a small lumpy green thing in a tea towel with batty ears appeared at Lindsey's elbow and started to clean the spilled milk. When it was gone, the thing disappeared in the same manner leaving Lindsey little time to react. He hardly noticed it anyway, too busy was he looking at Dumbledore.

"You're glad?" A sad thought entered his mind as he took Dumbledore's reaction into account. "I take it Remus has been…lonely?"

"Remus has had a hard life, and yes a lonely one Mr. McDonald." He paused and smiled once more. "May I call you Lindsey?"

"Yea, no problem." Lindsey's voice was hoarse as the full impact of Remus' loneliness finally hit him. He had made mention of it to Lindsey but he hadn't ever been sure of whether he could believe him or not after being lied to about something as major as being a werewolf. Hearing it from Dumbledore however made it all true and it almost broke Lindsey's heart to think of all the pain he had gone through alone.

"Lindsey then," Dumbledore said firmly continuing his train of thought. "I am sorry that you have been infected due to your affection. But I rejoice that you and Remus have found one another. Remus has…lost everyone dear to him. Everyone. He has little family, and no friends. This past year, while he was at Hogwarts, was most difficult for him-he taught his late friend's son and…Harry looks so much like James, I know it hurt Remus just to see him."

Lindsey swallowed roughly as Dumbledore spoke.

"To see Remus…opening up to someone again…it warms my heart." He paused and looked at Lindsey directly and purposefully before a loud knocking startled Lindsey out of the conversation. Dumbledore's face lit up at the intrusion. "Ah, and here is Mr. Lupin now!"