"Thank you for your offer, but I'm afraid this won't work out for me," he replied with a resigned sigh.
"Would you reconsider if I said you could see Harry Potter again if you accepted my offer?" I counter-offered. I grinned a bit as I watched the werewolf's eyes widen in shock, before narrowing in anger.
"What did you-?" he began, his voice a low growl, but I held up a hand to stall him.
"I am a friend of his. After Dumbledore left him on his aunt's doorstep, I became one of the few people young Harry could trust," I told him, up front about our relationship.
Lupin paled at my mention of Harry's Aunt Petunia. Clearly, he knew the horse-faced bint well, even if only by reputation.
"He did what?" he whispered in horror.
"Dumbledore left Harry Potter in the care of the Dursleys," I confirmed, an expression of displeasure flickering across my face as I spoke. "On their doorstep, in the middle of fall, with only a letter to explain everything."
"But, James and Lily's will said…" Lupin mumbled. "Dumbledore promised…"
"Dumbledore has said and done a lot of things that, quite frankly, are horrifically suspicious and not in line with keeping anybody safe, let alone a child," I said frankly. "Did you know he tried to bait Voldemort into attacking Hogwarts last year?"
The former Marauder flinched at my mention of that noseless bastard, but immediately tried to deny it.
"That's impossible! He's dead!" Lupin hissed at me.
"No. He's not. I wouldn't exactly call him 'living' either, but Voldemort is far from truly dead. He cheated death somehow, and came back as a specter that possessed Professor Quirrell."
"How?" Lupin demanded.
"Do you know what a Horcrux is?" I wondered, and the man shook his head. "Well, let me explain. It's an obscure bit of magic, and as Dark as they come. You basically rip a piece of your soul away and imbue it into an object so that even if your body perishes, your soul lingers, allowing you to potentially resurrect. Usually via possession, but there are other methods."
Lupin stared at me in horror, just as disgusted as I was by this vile ritual. "To make a Horcrux is… abominable. You must commit murder. And not just any murder, but a murder of an innocent soul. Like, say, a baby," I continued and his eyes lit up in realization.
"Harry!" Lupin gasped, and I nodded.
"Indeed. Thankfully, his damned ritual failed, but he still clings to life somehow as a disembodied spirit," I revealed.
"But isn't it possible that You-Know-Who failed to create a Horcrux?" Lupin wondered desperately. "Harry is still alive, after all!"
"Maybe. But the Killing Curse rips the soul from a person's body, it doesn't vaporize it," I retorted. "And Voldy's body was never found. So whatever happened to him… well, we could assume that the protection ritual Lily Potter used managed to eliminate the Dark Bastard… yet the fact he managed to possess Professor Quirrell tells me he created at least one Horcrux before he came after the Potters."
Remus Lupin sagged, the life seemingly fleeing his body at the realization that Voldemort was not dead. The murderer of his closest friends remained at large, and had even gone after their son at Hogwarts, purportedly one of the safest places in the world for children? It was all too much to process.
"Let me be honest with you, Mr. Lupin. I need you. I need a man, a wizard, of your talents, to become part of the foundation of a group I am trying to create. A security organization that will, publicly, offer protection for my business interests. In truth, however, it will be a group dedicated to protecting the world from Voldemort when he inevitably returns. And he will. Trust me. You can join me, Mr. Lupin, and help save Harry Potter's life. Save countless lives," I urged, pressing my point and hoping to convince him to work with me.
"I-I need time," he muttered, a dazed expression on his face.
"I can't allow that," I replied and he looked up at me sharply. "This is a one-time offer. You must make your decision now. If you refuse, it won't come again anytime soon."
"Why?" Lupin demanded.
"Because I do not trust that bearded tosser with Harry's safety!" I snarled at him. "I do not trust Dumbledore's motives at all, and if I let you leave to think my offer over, you will go running to him, and he will learn about me."
"Why don't you trust Dumbledore? He's a great man!" Lupin protested.
"I don't deny that. But when we spoke this summer, after he found out I'd rescued Harry from his abusive relative's clutches for a short trip to France… well, let's just say a lot of his arguments make no sense to me."
"Maybe I'm just paranoid," I admitted after a moment of tense silence. "But I just can't bring myself to trust a man who willingly and knowingly set up a series of trials that would have culminated in Harry having to fight Voldemort in the bowels of the school over a shiny rock."
"He did what?" Lupin asked, aghast, and I nodded.
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