Chapter 2: Mysteries in the Moonlight
The return to Hogwarts was shrouded in a veil of unease and apprehension. With Headmaster Dumbledore's announcement of the presence of Dementors and the hunt for Sirius Black, the atmosphere was tense.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were determined to find out more about recent events. Despite their desire for a normal year, they could not help but seek out the secrets that would lead them into dangerous adventures.
So, after the Sorting Ceremony for the new Hogwarts students, they gathered in a secluded corner of the Gryffindor common room.
"What do you think of all this?" Hermione asked, a look of concern etched into her face.
"I don't understand why the Dementors are here. Could they just attack us?" Ron inquired, clearly worried.
Harry looked out the window, where the moon (Lupin sighed, "how lucky it's not full") was beginning to rise on the horizon. The memory of the Dementor encounter still haunted him. "What I heard... was a scream... from a woman. I thought it had attacked you, Hermione."
"We didn't hear a scream, Harry... it just looked at you and you fainted," she said, concern written all over her face.
"It's Harry... maybe you're hearing things, like last year." Ron remarked, seemingly more concerned about cleaning his wizard's chess set than what his friend was going through.
It wouldn't be a quiet night to be sleeping in the Gryffindor common room.
****************************
{Another Part of the Castle}
Now in his new office, a man with cold eyes surveyed where he would spend a significant part of his stay at the school he had chosen to teach at.
'I hope it was a good decision to accept this position,' Nathaniel sighed as he filled the empty shelves with his books.
As a great collector of books, especially those containing knowledge of spells from the various magical communities he had visited on his travels before accepting the position as the new Professor of Charm at Hogwarts, the shelves would soon fill up. The rest of his belongings had yet to be distributed, as the office was quite empty after the house elves had cleaned out the previous professor's materials.
When Dumbledore told him of Flitwick's death, even Nathaniel was surprised. Not having attended Hogwarts, his only memories of the former professor were of his rare appearances at wizarding dueling tournaments, and even those rare appearances left a lasting impression on those who witnessed Flitwick's duels.
To be invited to teach at such a school was an honour for many wizards, as it brought them into contact with the great Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of all time. However, recent events at the castle in recent years had somewhat dimmed its lustre and prestige in the British wizarding community.
I was doing fine, just researching new forms of magic, and now here I am," another sigh escaped the new wizarding professor.
"The past is the past, now I will fulfil my duties," he said to himself in his empty office.
Knock... knock... knock...
In the dark night, there was a knock on the door as Nathaniel organised his belongings.
He opened the door to reveal a somewhat unexpected visitor.
"Hello... Professor Lupin, it's a pleasure to meet you," Nathaniel greeted his new Hogwarts colleague warmly.
"Hello, Professor Nathaniel. Forgive the intrusion, I just wanted to catch up, as we're both new here and I'm a bit nervous," Lupin explained the reason for his visit with a polite smile.
Inviting him into the room, Nathaniel said, "Of course, Professor Lupin, come in. Would you like something to drink?"
"Tea would be fine, thank you," Lupin replied, accepting the hospitality.
****************************
{In the Headmaster's Office}
"Are you sure about the new Professors you've chosen, Albus?" asked Minerva, Professor of Transfiguration.
"Of course, Minerva. Even though they both have their peculiarities, I know they can teach our young wizards excellently". Dumbledore replied as he sipped his tea and thought, "It needs a few more drops of lemon.
Seeing the smile on Dumbledore's face only gave Minerva more ominous feelings. "Remus doesn't just have a problem, you know... it could be dangerous for the children," she asked about Lupin's situation.
Albus stopped smiling for a moment and thought, "Severus will help with Potions, Minerva, no need to worry.
Severus Snape is a great Potions Master and highly respected, although he is very partial to his house, Slytherin, she thought. He wouldn't put the students' lives at risk and would help Remus, despite their past disagreements, so Minerva felt a little more relieved about the situation.
"And what about Black? Sooner or later you'll have to tell him about his godfather." Minerva brought up another subject.
'This new year won't be easy again,' Dumbledore thought. "All in good time, Minerva... all in good time."
He sipped his tea and looked out of the window at the beautiful moon shining in the starry night sky.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Monk_of_Souls
Monk_of_Souls Let's Go baby!!!!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone