A/N: Written for numerous prompts and challenges which are all listed at the bottom.
The Taste of Chocolate
It was his Mum, who'd first gotten him to love chocolate.
She had always been baking and had a particularly sweet tooth. Whenever Remus was off school because he was ill - which was more often than not - and she wasn't teaching, they would bake. Of course, she had known that he couldn't taste it but Remus had still come to love the sight and smell of chocolate. He would sit and read his book, as the cakes baked in the oven and then, would always beg his Mum for a slice whilst never helping with the dishes.
'Let me just finish this chapter. Please, Mum.'
It represented happy memories for him and that theme stuck with him, all through his life. He graduated and followed in his Mum's footsteps, getting his teaching qualification with plenty of references and praise from both his peers and professors.
Now he was living in France and there was a chocolatier at the bottom of his street. It wasn't cheap, particularly on his teacher's salary, and so Remus would easily make one box last him a month. He only had a bite when things were particularly tough.
Recently, he had felt like finishing the box off and it was only the 8th of the month.
Starting at a new school had been a difficult decision, but necessary. Remus had wanted to leave England, leave bad memories, ill health and dangerous ex-partners behind. Fenrir would never find him in France if he ever got out of prison after what he did. Remus had anticipated struggling to adjust to Beauxbatons Academy, which seemed different from Hogwarts in every way.
Instead, he had settled in quite quickly.
What he was now finding difficult, was one particular student.
Harry James Potter had fallen asleep in his class, once again.
Remus taught History, so he was used to students finding it boring at times. He normally prided himself on making his lessons engaging and fun, rather than dry and based around rote memory recall.
He had tried to talk to Harry, who was a quiet boy without many friends. Remus had learnt that the boy was English too, and had thought they were getting some common ground when they both talked about home. But then Harry fell asleep in his class, didn't bring in homework and got detention in another class the next day for fighting with other students.
Remus had given the young boy so many chances he felt he'd lost count. At the end of his tether, he'd written home and asked for Harry's guardian to come, so they could talk about the boy's behaviour.
When there was a knock at his classroom door, Remus instantly thought that it was one of the older students, not that he recognised them. Beauxbatons was a school which put a lot of stock in appearance and this man's long dark hair, leather biker jacket and torn skinny jeans which looked so tight they could have been painted on his body, certainly didn't adhere to the dress code.
"Hey, are you Professor Lupin? I'm Sirius, I'm Harry's guardian. I'm here for the meeting."
Remus extended his hand, hoping that he'd hidden his surprise. Sirius looked barely a year older than eighteen. Now that he knew he was an adult, Remus let himself consider the possibilities for a split second before he forced himself to be professional. It didn't matter how attractive the man was. He was here about Harry.
"Come on in. Thank you, are we waiting for anyone else?"
The fact that Sirius had chosen the words 'guardian' over parent made Remus wonder curiously.
"Just me." Something in Remus' expression must have given his thoughts away because Sirius' face fell slightly. "His parents passed away. I'm his godfather, although I just turned nineteen so it's been a bit of an adjustment for both of us."
"I had no idea. That certainly explains some of Harry's behaviour."
"Is it the nightmares?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Harry, he's been… he wakes up every night screaming," Sirius said, running his hands through his hair. Momentarily distracted, Remus swallowed and then tried to concentrate on what he was saying. "I've got a doctor's appointment booked and one with a therapist but it's been a lot to deal with and I'm trying to get a job down at the local mechanics, so it's all gotten on top of me a little bit."
Half an hour, and then an hour flew as Remus and Sirius talked. They discussed Harry and Remus came up with some ideas to help Harry who was struggling to adjust. He also agreed to visit to do some extra tutoring with the young boy, and then the conversation had shifted, between how Harry's parents had passed away in a terrorist attack, to where they were both from in the UK and five thousand subjects in between.
"Thank you, Remus," Sirius said gratefully as the bell rang signalling to Remus that lunchtime was over and his classroom would soon be full of children. "Things have been really tough recently so your offer to help means a lot."
"If there's anything I can do, I will," Remus smiled. "I'll try and talk to Harry again, get him to open up to me."
It wasn't until he got home, that he realised something was different. His final two classes of the day had gone well but Remus was still thinking of Harry Potter as he came through the door. In an effort to cheer himself up, he went to the kitchen, pulling a box of chocolates out of the fridge.
The moment it touched his tongue, Remus' head spun.
He could taste.
There was bitterness, sugar, a thick aftertaste on the back of his tongue. There were so many sensations in his mouth, he didn't quite know how to understand it all.
He could taste.
The image of Sirius Black, fifteen years younger than him made Remus squeeze his eyes closed shut. He was never supposed to have a soulmate, life had taught him that. Fenrir had shown him that. And yet, here he was, tasting smooth chocolate on his tongue for the first time.
Remus had found his soulmate.
With shaking fingers, he reached for another chocolate and tried to work out what to do.
A/N:
Romance Awareness: Day 31 - You're without a sense until you meet your soulmate
Character Appreciation: 16. "Let me just finish this chapter" (dialogue)
Trope of the Month: Cross - Gen. 5. Parent/Teacher AU
Amber's Attic: Write about a member of the Black family
Lyric Alley: 20. Well fire away 'cause today I won't let the shame sink in
Em's Emporium: 12. (pairing) Wolfstar. Alt — Write about an incredible mother.
Lo's Lowdown: Q1. "Monsters are real. Ghosts are real, too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." - Stephen King
Sophie's Tearoom: Gooseberry Meringue Tart: (location) Beauxbatons