Written for Hogwarts' Ancient Runes Assignment: Write about a long-time wish coming true, ANZAC Day (Write a story with no dialogue to represent one minute of silence), and Teacher Appreciation Week (Remus Lupin, [restriction] No dialogue).
Word count: 632
that thing with feathers
To say that Remus was surprised when the owl, regal, proud, and most importantly, carrying a letter stamped with the Hogwarts' seal (a seal he hadn't thought he'd see again), tapped on his kitchen's window one morning would be severely downplaying what Remus had felt.
He hadn't expected this-even with the news of Sirius' escape (oh Merlin, Sirius, yet another of Remus' many regrets), even knowing that people would end up knocking on his door, asking if he had seen or heard from his 'old friend', never mind that 'friend' was the last thing Remus wanted to call Sirius Black, he hadn't actually expected an official letter.
Opening it with trembling hands, Remus had to read it twice for the words to actually register; and the he had to sit down, head spinning.
Dear Mr. Lupin,
It has come to my attention that you were in need of a job. As it turns out, I am in need of a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Hogwarts would, of course, take all necessary precautions to ensure your stay at the castle is safe for everyone involved, and we would appreciate a prompt answer.
With my most sincere salutations,
Albus Dumbledore.
Remus was smiling, he knew he was, but he couldn't help it. Even as he started to consider everything that could go wrong-every reason why he should say no-, why he had to say no-he was still smiling.
Him, a teacher. He could hear James laughing proudly in his mind, Peter's stuttering as he joked that Remus was already more of a teacher than most people he knew, Lily's kind whispers of support and encouragement, and Sirius-always, always Sirius, the voice he could never truly silence-stating with absolute certainty that of course Remus was going to be a teacher, it was practically the perfect job for him.
And he could hear his own voice in there too-the voice of the child he had once been, telling him that this was his dream and that he should go for it, that this might be his only chance to fulfill it.
Remus didn't know how long he stayed there, fingers tracing the inked letters on the parchment as his mind wandered, but when he finally let himself be dragged out of his dazed state, noon had already passed and he realized that he already had lessons outlines for the first four years.
It wasn't like Remus had had anything planned for today, but still, the realization that so much time had already passed since he had gotten the letter-the offer-filled him with the same kind of jittery dread the perspective of exams had. It is a feeling he hadn't expected to miss-hadn't even known he did miss until he was feeling it again.
He wanted this, he realized. He wanted this in the way he hadn't wanted anything in a long time. This-being a teacher, going back to Hogwarts-was perhaps the first thing he was considering allowing himself ever since his time running with the Marauders.
(considering how that had ended, maybe he should be more careful to guard his desires now, but mostly he just wants-wants to find out what this could lead to, wants to find if he can be a good teacher, if he can do something worthwhile for once)
(oh Merlin, please let him do something worthwhile)
He sent a letter declaring that he was accepting the offer, though he would retract if he felt Dumbledore's precautions concerning his condition weren't enough, and for the first time in a long, long while, when Remus fell asleep that night, he actually felt something aki to hope, blooming in his chest.
He had forgotten that feeling.