Chapter Seven:
Reading Lesson #1
Remus eyed the chalkboard skeptically. Upon it Minerva had written the print alphabet, at least the capitals. She had had absolutely no idea how to go about teaching an eleven year old how to read, but had decided to start with the alphabet. After all, you couldn't read if you didn't know the alphabet, now could you?
"What?" She asked, a trifle too impatiently, as he eyed the board. He flinched at her tone, then answered her question.
"It doesn't look like what dad used." He said. "I've seen him reading and writing stuff, but it didn't look like this."
Minerva wondered what on earth his dad had been using. Obviously it wasn't the Roman alphabet. "Well, there is more than one alphabet used in the world, Remus."
He stared at her, awe-struck. "Really?" He looked worried. "How many? Am I going to have to learn them all?"
Minerva laughed at the question, which quickly brought back the defensive façade that Remus wore so often. "Sorry." She apologized. "You only have to learn those used here in England. Print," She guestured towards the board, "the lower-case, and cursive."
"Oh." He said. "That makes it easier." He looked thoughtful. "Then dad uses a different one." He said to himself.
"You remember getting your letter?" Minerva asked.
Remus nodded. "Yeah. Dumbledore gave it to me when I agreed to come here."
"Did you look at the writing on it?" She asked.
He nodded again. Then he looked back at the board. "It had some of those on it, but there were smaller ones too."
"We'll get to those after we've done these." Minerva said. "That was the lower-case alphabet."
"Alphabet? That's what the letters are called?" He asked.
Minerva nodded. "Now this first one is A." She went on to show him how it was written and the sounds it made.
He was a quick learner, she had to admit. By the end of the session he had gotten to J, but Minerva could tell he needed a break. "So," she said. "Same time tomorrow?"
It could have been her imagination, but she thought he looked a bit disappointed. "Okay."
"You're doing really well, Remus." She said. Goodness, when did Minerva ever address students by their first names? It was improper, after all.
But he had just actually managed to smile at that for a fraction of a second. It made him look less exhausted, and closer to his actual age, she thought.
