Surviving Times

3rd person POV:

The air in Yorkshire was inevitably a bit special. For both muggles and the wizards. In a small village in south, there laid numerous fields and tiny, little cottages. The folks who resided there wouldn't let their sheep graze on a full moon.

They heard many howls. Some of their sheep go missing on every full moon day. The folks were scared and never stepped out in nights during that time. Who didn't know of Mrs. John's sheep? The poor things were torn apart.

Since then, there was this unspoken rule to never come out on a full moon. They recollected nothing at all, what happened. Hence they were a little afraid. Afraid of getting cursed.

And Remus John Lupin cannot be anymore thankful for that. This way, he didn't injure any innocent lives.

He sighed and went to his home. It was a tumbledown, semi-derelict cottage. But this was all he had. And he was fine with it.

Living in poverty was not a problem for Lupin. He was… accustomed to it. He had to. Being a werewolf, he couldn't get good jobs. And due to his sickness after every full moon, those hard earned jobs would lost too.

And it happened once again. He lost his job. Again. He didn't know what to do. There were extremely few places that were willing to hire him. And he was kicked out from almost every one of them. The underground had plenty of offers to him. But he didn't prefer them. He'd rather suffer in poverty than to do something that was against his morals.

He wondered why the fate was so cruel to him.

There was a knock on his cracked windows. It was an owl. The one he didn't recognize. Only few people remembered him. And it was not Christmas either. So a letter to him was rare.

He accepted the letter from the owl. The owl was peculiar. It didn't wait till he read the letter. It just flew away after it had given him the letter.

It was a good thing anyway He didn't have owl treats with him.

He examined the letter. It was a pure white envelope with a golden flower seal he knew nothing about. Quite different from the usual parchment. Curiously, he read the letter.

[

To Remus John Lupin,

The Haunted Cottage, Blue fields, South Yorkshire, England.

Dear Mister Lupin,

It is my p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e and honour to inform you that you have been recommended to work with Magnolia.

If you are interested in working with us, please visit your nearest Magnolia branch for the interview by 2nd June, evening.

Further details will be divulged by the supervisor when you reveal this letter.

Yours Sincerely,

Regina Silvers.

(Head of training and recruitment, Fiore.)

]

Lupin blinked and read the letter again. He checked for any charms on it. There was nothing wrong with it.

He felt this was all very unreal. Someone recommended him. To work in Magnolia. It felt like a dream.

Because he knew it wasn't likely to happen in reality. But it was true. He could just hope this was not an elaborate prank on him.

If all of this was real, he would need to get this job. Especially if it's from Magnolia. The place he didn't even dare to step in.

Frankly speaking, Magnolia was a store. But not the mundane ones. It's a store which sold nearly everything. From potions to ancient spells, everything could be brought for a price. Except the illegal goods, most probably.

Many people were skeptical but they were soon flabbergasted by it.

Because the store remain a huge mystery. No one knew it's owner(s). But that didn't prevent anyone from going there. It had every single thing they needed.

There were many rumours about that place. Like how the people who tried to do anything funny were taught a brutal lesson. Like how it had things which didn't exist anywhere else. Like how it even provided many services. Like how it had branches all over the world, etc.

And how it offered 'tickets' to a place called 'Fiore' which was even more magical. It was something that every pureblood sought after.

And Remus got an opportunity to work there. He didn't know what they wanted from him. But he would be regretting it if he didn't give his best shot.

***

Lupin arrived at Leeds. He wore the best set of robes he had. He went towards the Golden Acre Park and sat on a bench with a large Magnolia, similar to the seal on the letter carved on it. And he disappeared from the place and reappeared in front of a store. It was titled MAGNOLIA. It was his first time coming here.

He heard many rumours about this place. But there were no one present.

There was even a closed sign hung on the doors. As he feared, he was played.

As he was about to walk away in disappointment, the letter shone brightly and the lights engulfed him.

Moments later, he was sitting in a nice chair. He noticed there were many people other than him, inside this massive room which contained many chairs. Maybe few thousands.

Few people like him just appeared and the others looked like they've been waiting for a long time.

He decided to wait. After some time, there was a flash next to him. A brunette appeared beside him. She looked comparatively young. She looked at the man and asked awkwardly.

"Um… Hello? Do you have any idea where we are?" She asked with an accent he thought was American.

"Did you receive the Letter?"

"Yeah."

"Then please read it once again. It has some details."

The brunette nodded thankfully and read her letter. It had a note which asked to wait till all the recipients of the letter have arrived.

"Thank you for that."

"Your most welcome."

"Um… I know it sounds meaningless, but are you also here for the interview?"

"Yes. I am."

"Are you, English?"

"From Yorkshire."

"So you came from England then, huh."

"Yes, I do."

"Oh dear!"

"Anything wrong with that?"

"No… nothing. It's just, I'm from New Jersey, America. I never expected to see an English wizard here."

"You can see all the wizards around the world here."

"Sigh… So the rumours that Magnolia had branches all over the world was true then."

"It seems to be."

There was a strained silence yet again. They both just stayed quiet. They were nervous, too.

Suddenly, there was a table in front of them. It had some food laid on it.

Both of them looked at each other and checked their letters once again. Nothing was there in it.

Instead, there was a little note saying 'Refreshments' on the table.

It was the same with everyone. All had them.

Remus looked at the food on the table. There were some pumpkin pastries, cauldron cakes and his favourite, chocolates.

He grabbed some and started to eat like everyone. The woman beside him too, started eating a serving apple pie.

"What are those?" She asked curiously.

Remus politely stated all of them, and she did the same. Apparently, they both possessed a sweet tooth. The American Witch introduced herself.

"I'm Chloe Smith. You can call me Chloe."

"Nice to meet you, Chloe. I'm Remus Lupin, call me Remus if you like."

They both chatted for a little. It was uncommon. To meet international wizards or witches unless you have a travel permit.

Chloe was a young witch who worked as an enchanter in New Jersey. She resigned the job and then after sometime, she received the letter too.

They talked about many things. Remus told her about Hogwarts, and she said about Ilvermorny, etc.

After a few hours, the seats were full.

There was an announcement from the centre of the hall.

A huge screen appeared. It revealed the face of a middle aged woman. The woman started speaking.

"I thank all the Wizards and Witches who have come here on our request. I'm Regina Silvers."