A New Chapter Begins

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore called Mika into his office to discuss a few things.

With the resignation of Professor Lupin, Dumbledore was left with a slight dilemma: who would teach the Defense Against the Dark Arts class? Snape had been filling in when Lupin had been ‘indisposed’, but he had his own classes to teach and couldn’t do it indefinitely. He supposed that all the teachers could take turns, after all there were only a few weeks left of term. But they were the most important weeks leading up to final exams and end of term papers. He decided to do something totally unprecedented but probably the best under the circumstances. He asked Mika to take over.

Of course she had protested at first, correctly pointing out that she was not, in fact, a teacher and also that she knew nothing about magic let alone defense against the Dark Arts. But Dumbledore had a plan: Mika could, in fact, be the physical representation of Professor Lupin in Hogwart’s. True the parents had sent owls in response to finding out about his being a werewolf and a possible danger to their children. But he had resigned of his own accord; no one had forced him. Thus the Headmaster saw no reason why he couldn’t continue to teach his class by proxy. He would just put it down to ‘ill health’ and leave it at that.

Reluctantly, Mika agreed. She had already given up her rooms in the castle itself and she and Lupin had purchased a house on the outskirts of the nearby village of Hogsmead. Here is where they planned to live after the wedding.

Ah, the wedding. Here was something else he wished to discuss with the lovely timelord.

“What sort of ceremony were you thinking about having?” he asked, looking at her from over his half moon spectacles.

“I’m not sure really. I’ve … well I’ve been married once before. It was a quiet, civil affair basically within the military.” She looked down at her hands in reflection. “I’m afraid I don’t know much about Wizard weddings.”

“Well,” Dumbledore rose and began pacing around his office. “just as with muggle weddings, there are various different types. There are the old traditional ceremonies, some of which can last for days…”

“Oh, no, I don’t think that would do at all…” Mika shook her head worriedly.

“Then there are quick, simple registry type ceremonies, pretty much ‘Do you?’ ‘Do you?’ ‘Good, you’re married!’”

They both laughed. “Then of course there are all manners in between.”

“Well,” Mika pondered over this. “I suppose we should really ask Remus first. I mean, technically, I don’t even have an engagement ring yet, not that it matters,” she added quickly.

Albus Dumbledore stopped in mid pace. “What? No engagement ring? Why that will never do! Oh no. I must have a word with that boy at once!”

“Oh, Albus, really, it’s not that impor…”

“Of course it’s important, my dear! After all, it’s tradition. Why get married in the first place if you don’t follow tradition hmm?”

Mika shrugged. She supposed he had a point. Then she thought of something that was important.

“I do know one thing, that Remus has asked Sirius Black to be his best man.”

Albus began to pace again. “That complicates matters somewhat,” he said, stroking his long, grey beard. “It will need to be low-key and secret. We wouldn’t want Sirius to be captured again now would we?”

“The usual Ministry wedding ceremony will be right out then too for there isn’t anyone who is certified to perform weddings that I would trust with the knowledge of Sirius’ whereabouts. But,” he held up his finger. “There is one alternative. There is a book in the Department of Marriage and Commitments that would do just as well. If we could only manage to ‘borrow’ it…” he continued to pace around the room, submerged in thought.

The timelord sat and watched as her old friend paced around the room, the only sound besides his soft footfalls were the ticking of the numerous clocks in his office and the soft snoring sounds of the many portraits of former headmasters that lined the walls.

“Albus,” she said after some time had passed. She was afraid he had forgotten that she was there.

“Ah, yes, it’s risky but perhaps it might work.” He then looked up, seeming almost surprised to see Mika sitting there in his office. “Oh, my dear, don’t you worry,” he came over and patted her on the shoulder. “We’ll take care of everything. Don’t you worry at all.”