Several days later, and I was at a café in London, waiting for the man I truly hoped would show up. I'd sent him an owl with a letter stating I wanted to hire him, and he'd agreed to meet me here.
I'd gotten there a bit early, and was anxiously awaiting his arrival. Finally, after ten long minutes, I spotted him enter. Scruffy, tired, and wearing a brown jacket that'd seen better days, I waved at the man, causing him to approach the booth in the far corner I was sitting at.
"Remus Lupin?" I inquired when he walked over, and the man nodded at me slowly.
"Correct. You must be Edward Rose," he said, and stuck his hand out to shake it. I took it without hesitation, giving it a solid pump.
"Yes, that's me," I replied, gesturing for him to take a seat. He did so, albeit with a wary glint in his eyes.
The werewolf (not that he knew that I knew) was clearly suspicious of me, and to be fair, asking to meet with somebody out of the blue for a job interview was somewhat strange.
"How did you learn about me?" he inquired.
"I asked a family friend for any references regarding people suited to the line of work I'm inquiring about," I said. "You may know him. Arthur Weasley."
His eyes lit up at that, and I hid a grin. I actually had asked Arthur Weasley for any information he might have about a wizard who needed work and wasn't afraid of getting a little dirty for it. A bit of extra nudging and dropping hints had led him to mentioning Remus Lupin.
'This way, if he follows up and asks Mr. Weasley about my claim, it will technically be the truth,' I thought to myself.
"Hmm. Did he mention… about my problem?" he asked hesitantly.
"I am aware of your lunar issue, yes," I confirmed. That seemed to make him relax a bit.
"What exactly is this job you want to hire me for?" Lupin inquired.
"Before that, could you put up some Sound and Muggle Repelling charms? I don't want to be eavesdropped on, since this conversation is about magic," I said first, and he frowned at me.
"And why can't you do it?"
"I'm afraid I can't. I'm a Squib," I replied bluntly. To my surprise, the flicker of pity every other magical adult gained when I said that was absent from Mr. Lupin. If anything, he seemed sympathetic and understanding, and raised a few charms around the booth after discreetly taking out his wand.
"Now, what exactly do you want?" Lupin asked. "What does this job entail?"
"I'd like to hire you to be part of a security force I'm putting together to protect my business interests, both within the Wizarding World and the Muggle one," I explained. "Having a mage on the payroll would make protecting things a lot easier."
Lupin raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't otherwise react negatively, so I continued on. "I hope to hire others who know about the magical side. I already have a couple other Squibs working for me, as well as the parents of a few Muggleborn students alongside Muggle spouses of magical couples. Right now, though, you'd be the first wizard to work for me."
"I see. What exactly do you do that requires magical protection?" Lupin inquired. He had a great poker face. I had no idea what his thoughts were.
"I make these," I said, taking out a bottle of Wiggenweld Cream for him to examine. It was put in a green plastic container with Cauldron's label on one side, and the Yggsdrasil symbol on the other.
Lupin took it, sniffing it curiously. "Is this magic?" he uttered in surprise. "Some sort of potion turned into a balm?"
"Good nose," I praised. "I manufacture and sell potions in the Muggle world."
"Is that legal?" he asked suspiciously.
"I used non-magical ingredients," I said, deflecting the question. "And everyone who made it knows about magic as well."
"Yes, but selling this to Muggles…" Lupin trailed off.
"There are no laws that state I cannot sell things to Muggles," I pointed out. And I had checked. Thoroughly. The ancient laws hadn't had anything against it, and the modern rules simply focused on those in the know keeping unaware Muggles from finding out about magic.
In fact, it seemed as though modern mages all assumed nobody would even consider selling magical goods to ordinary people and that the Statute of Secrecy would completely prevent any leaks. Thus, as long as I didn't explicitly inform my customers my products were magical, I was covered by the letter of the law, if not the spirit.
Still, Lupin seemed uncomfortable with it. I wasn't really surprised. He was a man with Lycanthropy. Being shunned by both sides for his condition meant he was unable to hold down a job for long in either world, and if the Aurors ever found out he was involved in something that skirted the law like my own business venture did… well, Umbridge was in power and pushing through a lot of discriminatory legislation against non-humans. I wouldn't put it past the Ministry to arrest Lupin and give him a one-way ticket to Azkaban without a trial.
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