Chapter 29
Lupin wondered what he should do until the second round of the interviews began.
He also wondered how the mirror that the Black house elf had put into his hands worked.
So, Lupin just started wandering the familiar paths of Hogsmeade and examined the mirror.
"Hello, I am Dragon. Your Magical Network Manager. How may I help you?“ The face of a cute blonde kid, looking like Draco's younger brother, smiled up at Lupin from inside the mirror.
"Hello, there. I am Remus." Lupin replied with a friendly smile and asked playfully, "How can you help me? What can you do?"
"I can help you make a call. Additionally, I can help you watch a video or help you record one." The little Dragon replied eagerly, never losing his smile.
Lupin was familiar with the muggle world.
When he couldn't find any work in the wizarding world, which happened often, Lupin took jobs there.
Of course, without using magic, which he didn't because it was illegal, the only jobs Lupin could get in the muggle world were those not requiring any papers.
That's why he didn't need any clarification on what making a call meant or what a video was.
"Who can I call?" He couldn't call just anyone in the world with this, could he?
Like Sirius...
"At this time, the only registered connections are: 1. Lord Draco Black Malfoy; 2. Mr. Ted Tonks; 3. Mrs. Andromeda Tonks; 4. Lady Narcissa Malfoy. Who would you like to call?" Dragon listed.
"None of them, right now. What videos can you show me?"
"At this time, there is only one video available on the Magic Mirror Network: Shrek. Would you like me to play it?" Dragon offered.
"Yes, please." Lupin was curious.
That's how it came that Lupin was watching the adventure of the likeable ogre Shrek on a handheld mirror, slowly wandering the streets of Hogsmeade.
The movie was Draco's choice for the first mirror movie.
Shrek had been one of his daughter's favorites.
Meant was the daughter he had fathered while he had been hiding in the muggle world, after the destruction of the wizarding world.
His first wife, Astoria, and their son, Scorpio, had already been long dead at that point in time.
Shrek hadn't only been a favorite of his daughter, it was also one of Draco's favorites.
So he had no trouble recreating it for mirror view with the help of illusion magic.
Draco also thought Shrek was really appropriate as the first movie in the wizarding world.
It's for all ages.
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It's funny and heartfelt.
And it's about a magical creature going against the evil muggle lord, who persecutes other magicals.
Lupin got really pulled into the movie.
He would've gone to sit in some pub, preferably the Three Broomsticks, but he had to save money until he was sure he would get the job.
Lupin also decided against making use of Draco's charity to get a free meal in the Hogshead, since all the werewolves who didn't pass the preliminary interview had gone there, and he didn't want it to get awkward.
That's why Lupin just kept strolling leisurely, his eyes never leaving the magic mirror.
He was spell-bound by Shrek.
It had been an eternity since he had last seen a movie.
It had been back in the good old days, before the war had made it impossible, when he had visited the cinema with his fellow Marauders plus Lilly, and seen his last movie.
Good times.
Better times.
It made him a little melancholic, but the movie quickly distracted him from these depressing thoughts again.
Without realizing it, Lupin had soon left Hogsmeade and wandered to the gates of Hogwarts.
Subconsciously, he had followed the old, familiar path.
...
Dumbledore was in his office in Hogwarts.
No surprise there, since he practically lived in Hogwarts all year round, if he didn't go on one of his journeys.
He only rarely visited his parents house in Godric's Hollow, almost never.
Too many painful memories...
His estranged brother, Aberforth, didn't live there either, but he visited regularly to take care of the house, as far as Dumbledore knew.
The headmaster was busy reviewing the notes from the last Wizengamot meeting in preparation for the next one.
Even though the next Wizengamot meeting was only scheduled the week after the Quidditch World Cup finals, just before the start of the next school year, Dumbledore still reviewed the notes today because he wouldn't have the time for it in the next two weeks.
There was still so much to do for the upcoming school year, especially for the Triwizard Tournament, and he still had to visit Moody again to finalize his employment as the next Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts.
The Wizangamot notes were really dry and boring, and even a disciplined mind like Dumbledore's had to take some breaks sometimes to keep his focus.
During his break, Dumbledore fed some peanuts to his phoenix, Fawkes, and stroked the magical bird's beautiful plumage.
Then Dumbledore stood by the window and looked outside.
The giant, dark wizarding tower was the first thing that caught his eye.
It was difficult to overlook since it was the only tall building around, besides Hogwarts.
It wasn't like Dumbledore had something against the Black Malfoy Tower, he just didn't think it fit into the idyllic picture of Hogsmeade, aesthetically, and he didn't like that it reched higher into the sky than Hogwarts.
So maybe Dumbledore had a little against the Black Malfoy Tower.
But the tower didn't bother Dumbledore even half as much as the report from Severus.
What Severus had reported was really outlandish.
Draco Malfoy's succession to the Black Family, supposedly without the input of his father, Lucius, was a little difficult to understand.
Especially because, not two months ago, Dumbledore wouldn't have even thought Draco capable of tying his own shoes without his father's help.
Lucius' theory, that Draco was being influenced by someone, was plausible and concerning.
Dumbledore had already instructed Severus to keep his eye on that.
Draco's claim of having seen the future was really far-fetched and too unbelievable.
To cover all his bases, Dumbledore had even inquired with the Department of Mysteries, since they recorded prophecies, but they hadn't caught any strong divination magic in the last three years.
The only positive about the whole affair was that Draco apparently wasn't following the pureblood dogma anymore, giving chances to squips, muggleborns, werewolves, and so on.
Hopefully this wasn't just some gambit to further the Black Family's political power.
As Dumbledore was staring out the window and contemplating, he suddenly noticed a figure approaching the Hogwarts gates.
Casting a simple spell on his half-moon glasses, zooming his view in on the target, Dumbledore easily managed to recognize Remus.
Notably, Remus kept looking into a handheld mirror.
Since Dumbledore doubted Remus was the type to spend more than a second looking at himself in a mirror, Dumbledore assumed it had to be one of the advertised magic mirrors from Draco's business.
So Dumbledore raised the Elder Wand again, and the transparent, silvery form of a phoenix appeared.
With another wave of the wand, it flew directly out the window and over the Hogwarts grounds.
The phoenix Patronus reached Remus at the gate in less than half a minute and gave him a message with Dumbledore's voice: "Remus, how nice of you to visit. Come on up to my office."