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It wasn't for another three hours that a seething Albus Dumbledore had his moment alone with his ex-student. Hours while Muggle police were contacted, shop owners were brought in to identify their goods and crooked employees, and all the formalities of an arrest were taken care of. Finally, it was in an all-night coffee shop, his back to the wall in a darkened corner, that Lupin gave Dumbledore his chance to speak.

"I'm surprised you're not celebrating Harry's eighth birthday Remus, certainly you shouldn't be working on an occasion like that."

"Harry? Oh… Potter, right. Sorry, that was the third night for this stakeout; I get a bit testy when I'm up that many nights. I thought you were handling all the birthday stuff? Is Harry having a coming-out party? You should have given me some notice; haven't been doing much special for the 31st, unless it's the full moon of course, for years."

"I'm disappointed that you've forgotten your friend's child so quickly. I once thought you four were inseparable."

"Not to be unpleasant, but I seem to remember it was you who warned me off from trying to get in touch with the kid. Do I look like the kind of wizard that would dare get on Albus Percival and so forth Dumbledore's bad side?" Lupin noticed that the older man was subtly shifting his seat, and angling how his head was tilted, trying to get it all 'just so.'

"It's true!" Lupin laughed. "You can read people's minds by looking into their eyes! We always thought it was just a tall tale when we were in school, but here you are, lining up your shot! I bet it makes giving detentions a breeze; you can always tell who threw the first spell.

"You have to remember that I do have an obligation to Client Confidentiality. I can't have you rummaging around and investigating my past cases, or present social life. I'll admit though, Headmaster, if you need an endorsement of post-school employment possibilities for students, I'll give you one. Hogwarts gave me a well rounded education that has proven of great utility in my career."

As a guarded mind, even one without special training, was far more difficult to explore Dumbledore tried a different track. It was refreshing, though, to hear Lupin's spontaneous endorsement of his years at Hogwarts.

"Actually, this is about Harry; finding Harry in fact-"

"Really, Headmaster, I'm sure that wherever you have him stashed, nobody is going to find him. You don't need me to check up on your work. I can't even tell if you've dressed for the occasion, transfigured your robes, or are just that good with illusions."

Dumbledore gave a sheepish grin, "Well, actually, we have… sort of… mislaid the child."

?

In the end, Dumbledore left disgruntled. Lupin had categorically refused to devote himself to work fulltime (and pro bono, at that!) for however long it would take to find the boy. It was fun telling Dumbledore that his advice of years ago, essentially put his past behind him and move on, had become Lupin's life motto. It hadn't stopped the elderly wizard from trying a 'that was then, this is now' argument, but Lupin countered it with his 'I'm responsible for so many other people's livelihood' return, with an added dose of 'with executive responsibility comes great obligation.' Lupin had rarely had such a fine ending to a long stakeout.

Still, it reminded him of the need to change Harry's appearance, especially that damned scar.

It seemed almost as if there was a living essence attached to it; connected to, and living off of, Harry's magic core. So… a sort of magical parasite. While there was no mention of some simple, or even direct, spell that would safely deal with such a thing, there were (in the Wizarding medical literature) some ideas for procedures to deal with such things. After all, while demonic possession was rare, it was hardly unknown!

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6275865/4/