All's Quiet... Wait! Nevermind(Lupin/Snape(later))

[Sirius Black]

It had been too long since he'd seen his friend. He wasn't wondering why. It was quite obvious. Between Death Eater threats, impromptu visits from ministers from other countries, crisis between muggle and magical relations, topped with the continued disappearance of James Potter, he was surprised Remus still had color in his hair. Sirius wouldn't lie... This was making him feel about ten years older. He had known the job would be difficult, but he had always assumed James would be there with him to face it. Now, in the course of a few months, he'd lost two very important people... He was determined to get one of them back.

Knocking on the open door, he walked on in and smiled tiredly at Remus. His friend looked busy, as usual, but if they didn't force time in, they wouldn't have any time at all. And Sirius really needed his friend right now... He had a feeling Remus needed one, too, even if he hadn't realized that yet.

"We need to get Helios Akhenaten out of the damn country and back to Egypt where he belongs. Arse had the nerve to come to me and tell me how I'm supposed to raise me daughter."

He paused and sank into the chair. "Remus... Did we know it was going to be this way when we took the jobs. Or were we arrogant enough to presume we could control everything?"

[staff account]

Remus looked up when he heard his door creak open. He didn't smile as his friend walked in, but leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. "I could always have him escorted, but any civil relationship we have with Egypt would be compromised." He pushed the papers he'd been working further away from him, opening a gap in which he propped his feet. Remus felt like he hadn't slept in days and in part he hadn't. You couldn't really count three hours of sleep in the last three days sleep. It was more like a nap or a bad joke."I must say, my friend, that you were arrogant." He lowered his hand and grinned for the first time in what felt like months. "And I was blindsided by two friends."

"Take a seat, Sirius, and tell me the news." There wasn't much he wasn't aware of in the Ministry and at Hogwarts, but since he'd been away the previous week, he had some catching up to do. "Make it sound pleasant."

[Sirius Black]

"It is only Egypt," he said. "And once they International Confederation of Wizards finds out he's been meddling with top-ranked officials, the deteriorating relationship will be on his unprofessionalism. I'm surprised he's not come to you already and demanded that you remove me from my position. He implied that I could not handle my job... That the Death Eaters spreading happened all within my time has Head Auror... Never mind this has been going on for two decades and I've only been doing this for four years. It's all a ploy to get his hands on my daughter..."

He leaned onto one arm of the chair. "Ferguson has been booked and is being held at Azkaban. Bail is set at one thousand Galleons... Nobody he knows could come up with such a sum. He's being charged with murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, and assault. So... He'll be going away for twenty to life. So, that's pleasant. Oh... And I hired the woman he kidnapped and held hostage as the new Muggle Studies professor... And head of Ravenclaw, so there's that. Oh... And McGonagall's finally named a new Head of Slytherin... No... Not Snape. Wait for it... Persephone Silverton." His flashed his fake smile before collapsing back in his chair. "I don't know what's going on in that head of hers to have hired a known Death Eater..."

[staff account]

"No one is going to take your daughter away from you." Lupin knew Sirius would never allow such a thing to happen, but he wanted his friend to know he had his full support in the matter. The news of Ferguson had already reached him, but he hadn't known the full extent of the situation. "That is pleasant. I heard he called you out on the street. Must of been quite a shock to remember who he was talking to." The harsh grin that followed held bitter amusement. "Would have enjoyed seeing that." He stated, rising and heading over to where he kept his spirits. "A drink?"

The news of Sirius' recent hire made him chuckle, "You hired the lass knowing how difficult she could be?" News of Ferguson's assault on the woman had reached him as well -along with the news that she had refused to come back to headquarters to be debriefed. "Only you would do such a thing, Sirius. As for Persephone Silverton being hired at Hogwarts...that's a news to me. I'd like to have a word with McGonagall about the matter."

[Sirius Black]

"Well, he certainly made his case. Even went as far as to tell me that I'm bad at my job. Not to mention the slight hint that he was here to help find James, which is utter shit considering everything else he said. He seems to think it's all my fault that the Death Eaters have spread. Short of breaking every law written in our statutes, there's no way we could do they type of massive border regulation that he is speaking of. If he's really so concerned... Perhaps the issue would be better solved in his country." There were ways of doing it. Regulating who came in and out. Of course, in England it was tough. That was not only a Parliamentary matter, that was a matter for the Wizengamot and the International Confederation. Last time Sirius checked, it was still a free country and though they had their own set of laws, the people were still subject to England's law which stated innocent until proven guilty and no illegal searches or seizures. But it was different in Egypt. They could easily write in anti-apparition spells with their MS department as well as impose harsh regulatory floo travel. It was one thing to point fingers, but when the person doing the blaming had done nothing to prevent it from happening either...

"Sometimes I think they do it just for shits and giggles. They think I'm some sort of Goliath or something and they all want their chance to have a go at me. I guess they forgot about that part in my past where somebody did kill me..." He hated thinking about it, but forced himself to do it. Remembering that he had died and that he could die again kept things in perspective. He used to flaunt himself like he was untouchable. That nothing could bring him down. He was more careful now. "Yes, please," he said to the drink.

"Remus... When you see her... You'll understand." It took him a moment to register what he'd just said. It had been... Well, nearly a year since he'd spoken of a woman like that. "She is qualified," he defended. "The most qualified of the candidates. Helped that she was a former Ravenclaw. And I get the feeling that the students will enjoy her class. Muggle Studies needs a little flare."

Sirius nodded. "I'd actually like to have a word with Silverton on the matter."

[staff account]

"I have a headache and this problem with that idiot isn't making it better." He passed Sirius a tumbler with a honey colored liquid before finding his own seat once again. "I think it's about time that I speak with him personally. Would you be so kind as to inform Helios that I'd like a word with him." He grinned, "Make it sometime during the full moon." It was rare for Lupin to make jokes about his 'furry little problem' like his friends had so many times referred to it in their youths, but he'd learn that the occasional self-directed joke was good for the soul.

He sobered quickly when he realized where his thoughts had gone with Sirius' comments. "I think that's where you're wrong, Sirius. No one has forgotten that you've died. That any of us have died. And I don't think everyone does it for, how was it you put it? 'Shits and giggles.' I think some test you, test us, to see whether our weaknesses are the same or have we changed with experience. I personally would say it is the latter in your case since you've matured a lot since your return through the veil and you're not such a prat now." He chuckled at his own wit before lifting his own tumbler to his lips and taking a sip.

The sip became a sputter as he noted what Sirius had said. "You checked her out?" When his friend continued with the spat about qualifications and best candidate, he laughed. "Don't go there. You hired her based on her looks first and then her brains." Pointing a finger at his old friend, "She better be a great professor. As for Silverton, I don't like her presence at Hogwarts one bit. She could be passing on information."

[Sirius Black]

"Sounds like a splendid idea," Sirius said. He reached out for the drink and thanked Remus before drinking a good portion of it. It really hit the spot and was exactly what he needed right now. "I just think the wrong family member died," Sirius said somewhat tastelessly. He knew that Remus had been close with Gabrielle, they all had been, and her death had hit them all in varying ways. He wasn't quite sure how Remus had taken it, to be completely honest. Maybe it was selfish to have been wrapped up in his own misery where that was concerned, but he felt vindicated in that she was his wife. "Hard to believe she came from such a miserable family."

He finished the drink and set the glass down on his lap. "Well, it is at my expense that they endanger the lives of many innocents. I think a few years ago, I'd have killed for this sort of action. The thrill of the fight... Now I just want this war to be over so that my daughter doesn't have to live through such crap." He glanced back up at him and smiled weakly. It was a compliment, but also sad commentary of their tragic past. Sirius had no choice but to mature. Circumstance forced his hand, and now he was stoic and sometimes unfeeling. "Huh... I'm going to have to work on that," he joked. "Can't stop being a prat now. It's my identity, after all."

Now he really was laughing. It wasn't often that he could surprise Remus anymore. "Hey. You would have, too, so don't judge me. And I can honestly say, my friend, that I hired her based on her qualifications and not her looks. Also... I was kind of impressed that she stood up to me. I think given our colorful staff, we need a professor who's not afraid to go toe to toe with people." Back to Silverton... Why did all roads lead back to Silverton? "You would think McGonagall would know that... Which makes me wonder why she would bring her on to the staff?"

[staff account]

"Aye, I know what you mean." He shook his head regretfully before turning matters to the present. "McGonagall does many things I don't under stand and usually I wouldn't question her actions, but as Minister I must question this one. And I will." The moment he stepped foot back at Hogwarts, he'd be making his way toward the headmistress's office. "I will only accept a valid reason and as Silverton hasn't been been known to be on our side, I have to make sure the headmistress hasn't been compromised." Like that would ever happen. He'd know his former professor since his days at Hogwarts and never would he believe that she'd turned or been turned unwillingly against the Order, Ministry, or Hogwarts.

"As for wanting your child to grow up in a safe environment, I think I understand. I don't want Teddy to finish growing up in this type of world." He shook himself and waved the subject off, "I don't want to talk of such things. Tell me, how's Lilliana?" He asked, taking another sip from his tumbler.

[Severus Snape]

"Mr. Snape, you can't go in there unless you've made an appointment!" Victor Steele shouted, coming up behind him, guns blazing. The receptionist was also shouting something or other, but Snape ignored both of them. Unfortunately, Victor was not the type to be ignored. Severus could see why Remus valued this man. He literally threw himself between the already open door and Severus and half turned his head to look at his boss. "Minister Lupin, Severus Snape here to see you. If you're busy, let me assure you, I'd take great pleasure in having him escorted off of the premises."

Snape rose a brow. "Been waiting to threaten me for years, have you?" he asked. It wasn't so long ago that he and Victor were classmates... Even then, Victor was a pain in the ass. "Though I regret having to call at such a time, Minister, I do promise that the news I bring is of utmost importance and involves the well-being of your not-so-secret favorite student, Mr. Potter." That seemed to mollify Victor enough to let Severus barrel through.

"It would seem that your god-son," he said to Sirius, "Has decided to try to take on the Whomping Willow. Needless to say, he failed miserably. It was lucky that other students happened to witness it and were able to inform Professor Silverton and myself. She is currently with him now, as well as the rest of his lemmings, and he is being treated at the hospital wing. As deputy headmaster, it falls on you to inform his mother, though far be it from me to tell you how to do your job."

[Sirius Black]

Sirius was amused by this. It wasn't often that he got to watch somebody else stand up to Severus, and it was worth every second of it. He leaned back in his chair, intent on watching this as a quiet observer, but he could not hold back his urge to laugh when the mention of security escorts was brought in. That was Sirius' department.

However, all amusement vanished when he brought up Harry. Sirius immediately got to his feet, ignoring the attempts at getting under their skin. "What happened to Harry!?" he demanded.

The blood drained from his face when Severus explained at least some of it. Without another word, he pushed passed Severus and Victor and headed straight for the fireplaces connected to Hogwarts through the Floo Network.