Tuesday was looked at with growing dread as it loomed closer and closer.
Finally, the terrible day came when the boys prepared to leave for their
Auror training. Their bags packed and shipped ahead of them, they said a
tearful goodbye to each other.
"Don't forget to write." Lily told James, assuring herself that he would be all right.
"I won't." he promised. "If we can. I'm not quite sure how strict they'll be."
"Oh!" Lily cried, hugging him tightly and showering him with kisses.
"I'll see you soon." He kissed her cheek and grabbed a handful of Floo powder, throwing it into the fireplace.
"Goodbye!" Lily called as he stepped in, shouted "Auror's Academy!" and was gone.
"Guess I'm next." Sirius stepped forward, his hand still tightly entwined with Annie's.
"Must you go?" She asked.
"You know I have to." He replied and she nodded. They had had a long talk the day before about how he felt he needed to do this in honour of his father's memory.
"I'll miss you." She said. He leaned in to whisper something in her ear. She blushed and started to speak, but he silenced her with a kiss, then disappeared into the fireplace. Annie gave a funny little strangled cry and ran upstairs. Lily gave Rhia an apologetic look and raced after her.
"So this is it." Rhia turned to Remus.
"Yeah." He nodded, knowing she was still angry that he was going. "Listen, Rhia, I know you don't like this whole thing, but-"
"I'm not going to stop you." She interrupted. Remus was dumbfounded. After all that fuss...she had given up? She was going to let him go?
"This is something you need to do," she continued, "and if...if you die...oh, go on, go before I change my mind."
Remus nodded and kissed her cheek in farewell. She turned her face and their lips met. He stood, enjoying the brief moment, tasting salty tears on her lips, before breaking away and stepping onto the hearth, leaving in an instant.
~*~
"Good, you're here." Sirius said as Remus landed in the fireplace beside them. "Some official was looking for you."
"Why?" Remus asked, brushing ash from his shoulders and looking about. They were in a small, brightly-lit room that seemed devoid of any life but them.
"Dunno." James replied absently, stroking the picture of Lily he kept in his pocket.
"Ah, Mr. Lupin." A tall wizard with a short red beard came striding towards them, holding a piece of parchment in his hands. "I'm afraid there's something we need to discuss. If you'll please come this way," He gestured to a hallway outside the door.
"See you in a bit, Moony." Sirius waved as Remus followed the man.
"I am Magnus Bizzbee." The red-bearded man introduced himself.
"Can you tell me what's going on?" Remus asked. Bizzbee opened a door and led him into a room where a crowd of strong-looking wizards were gathered.
"Perhaps Mr. Whipkey can explain." Bizzbee nodded to a short, wizened man sitting in a chair.
"Remus Lupin, I presume?" Mr. Whipkey called. Remus stepped closer.
"Yes." He nodded.
"I'm afraid we have a bit of bad news for you." He said, taking the bit of parchment from Bizzbee. "You see, when we accepted you to the Auror's Academy training program, we had no idea that you were...well..."
Remus's stomach sank and he felt an incredible wave of anger, disappointment, and pain wash over him.
"...a werewolf."
He cringed at the word, wishing this were all a dream and that he would wake up any moment.
"We've contacted your parents and sent your things back home."
"You mean I can't stay?" his mouth dropped open. He could get used to them knowing about his...abnormality, but...not going?
"I'm sorry, but Aurors are expected to...well, work nights." Mr. Whipkey said and Remus could see that his eyes were flickering with a bit of fear. Fear that Remus would spring and kill them all.
"I'll bring him back to the fireplace, Mr. Whipkey." Bizzbee said, putting a hand on Remus's shoulder.
Remus stared at the old man's hand and shook it off immediately. "You can't do this to me! I've...I've got to stay! My mum is depending on me getting my Auror's training! You can't kick me out just because I'm a werewolf!"
"I'm afraid we can, Mr. Lupin. We have strict policies here, and on top of that, we can't have you accidentally harming another of our students here...I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Lupin." Mr. Whipkey nodded to Bizzbee, who almost dragged Remus out of the room. James and Sirius were waiting for him outside.
"What's up Moony?" James asked right away, seeing the look of horror and anger on Remus' face.
"I've got to leave...somehow, they found out about me, and they can't allow werewolves in the academy...I'm being sent back..." Remus replied, getting quieter with every sentence. Sirius gasped, and James looked at the ground.
"Aww, Moony, I'm sorry...that's terrible luck! They can't do that to you! Those overgrown fruit bats can't do this to you!" Sirius shouted, sending a deathly glare pointedly at Bizzbee.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Black, we can. If you wish, you could accompany your friend back home-"
"No, no, he didn't mean it." Remus silenced Sirius with a look. "They're staying."
"Give the girls a kiss for us, Moony," James said sadly, waving as Remus was led away.
"We'll concentrate extra hard for you, Moony! They don't know what they're sending away!" Remus heard Sirius shout as he was whisked away up the fireplace.
~*~
"Annie says he's been in a rut ever since." Rhia confessed to Lily as they boarded the Hogwarts Express.
"I would imagine." Lily replied. "Have you heard from him?"
"A few letters." She answered. "He didn't seem any different, but I suppose Annie would know. What about you? Have you gotten any letters from James?"
"Yes." Lily blushed, thinking of what one of them had said as they settled into their usual compartment. "He came home two weeks ago. He and Sirius are coming together."
"Yeah, Sir told me." Rhia said, noticing her blush but saying nothing of it because Remus's letters had been something of the same.
"Rhia! Lily!"
Both looked out of the door into the hall just as Sirius and James came running into the compartment.
"Gods, Lily, I've missed you so much." James threw down his bag, seizing his fiancée in a tight hug.
"Oh, Gods, Rhia, how I've missed you." Sirius cried dramatically, grabbing Rhia's hands.
"Stop that." She smiled, wrenching them away.
"How was the Auror's Academy?" Lily asked.
"Fascinating." Sirius said in awe.
"We learned so much." James grinned. "It seems really hard, but we're ready now."
"Was it dangerous?" asked Rhia.
"Yeah, a lot of times." Sirius nodded. "But we were okay, we had our wands and-"
"It won't be so easy with real dark wizards fighting you!" Lily cried.
"Calm down, Lil, we've still got another three months of training after school finishes." James assured her.
"I thought you still had to go through another cut." Rhia questioned.
"Yes, well..." Sirius muttered. "We were supposed to be getting our letters today, but they didn't come."
"Maybe the owls couldn't find you." Lily said. "Or maybe-"
"Or maybe they found us." James interrupted with a grin as two owls tapped on the window. Rhia leaned over and opened it, the owls dropping two letters into their laps.
"What do they say?" Rhia asked as both opened them quickly.
"I got in!" James cried excitedly.
"I didn't." Sirius mumbled.
"Oh, Sirius!" Rhia cried, throwing herself on top of her best friend. "Oh, that's horrible! Does it say why?"
James discreetly tucked his letter away in his pack, ashamed. It would be so much different, going away to training with his two best friends. Having Moony leave was bad enough.
"It just says they need wizards who they can be sure will defend the Ministry at all costs."
"I bet its because you talked back to that one official that took Remus away!" James exclaimed.
"Oh Padfoot, you didn't!" Lily laughed. "I don't mean to poke fun at a time like this, but I always knew that mouth of yours would get you into trouble one of these days..."
As James and Lily began ragging on Sirius to try and make him laugh, Remus quietly snuck into the compartment and sat down next to Rhia. She kissed his cheek.
"Hello love," she whispered. He gave her a feeble smile and squeezed her hand. "How was the rest of your vacation?"
"It was okay...I missed you."
Rhia smiled. "And I you."
"What's going on?" he asked, moving over so Annie could sit, just having walked into the compartment.
"Oh...they're trying to cheer Sirius up. He didn't make the cut at the academy." Remus nodded.
"Hey, you know what would cheer you up?" James was saying. "A little trickery to start off our last year with a bang - all in good fun, of course," he added hastily, seeing the harsh look in Lily's eyes.
"Oh, do you have to? The train just started!" Annie laughed.
James looked out the window. The scenery was flying by. "You're right...I suppose we could wait until we get to the castle...wait. Where's Peter, you guys?" Everyone looked around. Sure enough, Peter was nowhere to be found.
"Has anyone even heard from him all summer?" Sirius asked, looking at them all. No one had.
"You don't think he's hurt or anything, do you?" asked Lily.
"His mum would've written us, I should think." Remus replied.
"Maybe he just missed the train or something." Annie suggested.
"That does sound like Peter." Rhia added.
"I'm going to look for him." James said, standing.
"Need some help?" Sirius stood as well.
"No, I've got it." He said.
"Oh, let the Auror have the glory." Sirius answered and James could tell he was joking.
"You're a good man, Padfoot." He hit his comrade's shoulder and left, looking in each compartment for Peter.
"Head Girl, hmm?" Remus asked, looking at Lily's shiny golden badge.
"They sent the letter soon after I left Rhia's." Lily said proudly. "Mum and Dad were pleased as punch."
"And Petunia?" asked Sirius.
"Ready to throw a fit." Everyone laughed, a mental picture of Lily's bony sister screaming over her newest appointment.
~*~
"Peter?" James peeked into a compartment filled with nervous first-years, who trembled at the sight of him. "Oh, sorry."
He went down the hall, looking some more.
"Peter!" he cried, finding his tubby, tow-headed friend in the same compartment as Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape, Augustus Crabbe and Berthold Goyle.
"Oh, er...get off!" Peter shoved the hand Malfoy had on his shoulder off quickly.
"What's going on here?" James asked.
"They were, uh, trying to steal my Chocolate Frogs!" Peter held up a bag of treats.
"Lowlifes." James muttered. "Come on, Peter, we're all in the back."
"Alright." Peter stood and James watched out of the corner of his eye as he shot a look towards Malfoy. Thinking nothing of it, he led him back to the compartment.
~*~
"This way, Gryffindors, follow me!" Lily shouted over the roar of the crowd. Rhia grinned beside her.
"Having fun yet, Your Highness?"
Lily grinned back, before grabbing the robes of a frightened first year and pulling him out of a cursing Peeves' way. "Oh, tons, can't you tell? I'm in my element tonight!" They laughed.
On the other side of Rhia, Remus took hold of her hand and squeezed gently. "Finally home," he whispered in her ear. She laughed lightly and nodded.
"Mr. Lupin!" a voice called from down the hall. They all turned to see Professor McGonagall, their transfiguration teacher, walking towards them. "Ah, Mr. Lupin, there you are. The headmaster would like to see you in his office." Seeing the looks on the group's faces, she smiled before adding, "You haven't done anything wrong, Remus. Professor Dumbledore would just like to see you, is all." Rhia kissed Remus' cheek before he was dragged away to Albus Dumbledore's office.
McGonagall walked Remus all the way to the familiar statue of a stone gargoyle. "Lifesaver," she said, rolled her eyes, and patted him on the shoulder before walking away. Remus stepped onto the swift, spiraling staircase and watched with growing anxiety as the door to Dumbledore's office grew closer. Reaching the top, he knocked lightly.
"Come in," called a voice. Remus opened the door.
"Ah, Mr. Lupin! You're in good health, I hope? And how was your summer?" Dumbledore asked cheerfully from behind his desk.
Remus, breathing much easier now that he could see Dumbledore wasn't about to punish him for something, sat down in front of him and smiled. "It was all right, I suppose. And yours, sir?"
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Always the gentleman, you are, Remus. My holiday was rather enjoyable, thank you. I spent the summer overseas in America with an old friend. We stayed in a wonderful Muggle tourist trap - I believe they call it Las Vegas. Lots of lights, though a little fast- paced and magic-ignorant, if you ask me!" He chuckled.
"But back to business...I do have a reason for calling you down here, Remus. I heard that over the summer, you were to attend the Auror Academy, but they sent you home upon realization of your...abnormality." Remus nodded somberly. How quick was it spreading? He didn't like people knowing he was a werewolf. "I, for one, find it horrific they could send one of Hogwarts' best students away because he has a slight disadvantage. And as much as I would relish in the privilege to fight it, I cannot. I want to impress upon you, Remus, that this is simply the way our world is. As advanced compared to Muggles as we fancy ourselves to be, we really aren't in terms of attitudes. Wizards still discriminate against who we think to be our "inferiors"; Muggles, Muggle-borns, and werewolves too. I want you to realize that this is the way the world is. Occurrences like what happened at the Academy this summer, while terribly disgraceful to our kind, are regular in the real world."
Remus nodded again. Of course he knew this already. His mother and grandmother had told him this many a time over the summer. Remus just didn't want to believe that he would be shunned his entire life for something he had no control over.
"One more question before you go, Remus," Dumbledore spoke up. "Since the Auror Academy is out, obviously, have you given any thought as to what you might like to do after Hogwarts instead?"
Remus thought a bit about that. Sure, he'd wondered over the summer what would become of him now that he couldn't be an Auror. He knew he wanted to have a family, settle down (with Rhia, obviously!), but as for a career... he wished suddenly he could be in Dumbledore's position. Dumbledore, the wise old mage, the clear and strong headmaster of Hogwarts, he always knew the best way out. He always knew how to help. He knew just what to do to make his students feel better. Suddenly Remus lit up and looked Dumbledore in the eye.
"Professor, I think I want to become a teacher."
Dumbledore stared back at Remus, a bemused expression creeping across his face.
"Of what subject, Mr. Lupin?" he asked curiously.
"Well, I'm not sure." He replied. He had only just come up with the idea to be a teacher, and now Dumbledore was asking him this! "I'm no good at Potions, and I can never remember dates, so that rules out History of Magic."
"Have you ever thought about Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Dumbledore beckoned to his bookshelf with one long, bony finger. A thick book pulled itself out of the stack and f floated over to where they sat. "It is your best subject, is it not?"
"Well, yes..." Remus nodded. Dumbledore pressed the book into his hands.
"This was a book I received when I made the decision to become a teacher." He said. "Perhaps it will be of some use to you."
Remus glanced down at the title.
"'1002 Skills Defense Teachers Need To Know'?" he read. "But I thought you taught Transfiguration."
"I too had some time deciding what I wanted to teach." He smiled. "Now, I believe it's time for you to go to your dorm, we do have classes in the morning."
"Yes sir. Thank you." Remus grinned widely and made his way upstairs.
"What did Dumbledore want?" James asked as Remus got into bed.
"He wanted to talk to me about my career." He replied.
"What do you mean?" Peter wrinkled his nose.
"He asked me what I wanted to do and I said I wanted to teach." Remus said with self-satisfaction. "You know, since I can't be an Auror."
"Speaking of, what do you want to do, Sirius?" asked James.
"Sleep." Sirius muttered, pulling the curtains around his bed shut.
"Don't forget to write." Lily told James, assuring herself that he would be all right.
"I won't." he promised. "If we can. I'm not quite sure how strict they'll be."
"Oh!" Lily cried, hugging him tightly and showering him with kisses.
"I'll see you soon." He kissed her cheek and grabbed a handful of Floo powder, throwing it into the fireplace.
"Goodbye!" Lily called as he stepped in, shouted "Auror's Academy!" and was gone.
"Guess I'm next." Sirius stepped forward, his hand still tightly entwined with Annie's.
"Must you go?" She asked.
"You know I have to." He replied and she nodded. They had had a long talk the day before about how he felt he needed to do this in honour of his father's memory.
"I'll miss you." She said. He leaned in to whisper something in her ear. She blushed and started to speak, but he silenced her with a kiss, then disappeared into the fireplace. Annie gave a funny little strangled cry and ran upstairs. Lily gave Rhia an apologetic look and raced after her.
"So this is it." Rhia turned to Remus.
"Yeah." He nodded, knowing she was still angry that he was going. "Listen, Rhia, I know you don't like this whole thing, but-"
"I'm not going to stop you." She interrupted. Remus was dumbfounded. After all that fuss...she had given up? She was going to let him go?
"This is something you need to do," she continued, "and if...if you die...oh, go on, go before I change my mind."
Remus nodded and kissed her cheek in farewell. She turned her face and their lips met. He stood, enjoying the brief moment, tasting salty tears on her lips, before breaking away and stepping onto the hearth, leaving in an instant.
~*~
"Good, you're here." Sirius said as Remus landed in the fireplace beside them. "Some official was looking for you."
"Why?" Remus asked, brushing ash from his shoulders and looking about. They were in a small, brightly-lit room that seemed devoid of any life but them.
"Dunno." James replied absently, stroking the picture of Lily he kept in his pocket.
"Ah, Mr. Lupin." A tall wizard with a short red beard came striding towards them, holding a piece of parchment in his hands. "I'm afraid there's something we need to discuss. If you'll please come this way," He gestured to a hallway outside the door.
"See you in a bit, Moony." Sirius waved as Remus followed the man.
"I am Magnus Bizzbee." The red-bearded man introduced himself.
"Can you tell me what's going on?" Remus asked. Bizzbee opened a door and led him into a room where a crowd of strong-looking wizards were gathered.
"Perhaps Mr. Whipkey can explain." Bizzbee nodded to a short, wizened man sitting in a chair.
"Remus Lupin, I presume?" Mr. Whipkey called. Remus stepped closer.
"Yes." He nodded.
"I'm afraid we have a bit of bad news for you." He said, taking the bit of parchment from Bizzbee. "You see, when we accepted you to the Auror's Academy training program, we had no idea that you were...well..."
Remus's stomach sank and he felt an incredible wave of anger, disappointment, and pain wash over him.
"...a werewolf."
He cringed at the word, wishing this were all a dream and that he would wake up any moment.
"We've contacted your parents and sent your things back home."
"You mean I can't stay?" his mouth dropped open. He could get used to them knowing about his...abnormality, but...not going?
"I'm sorry, but Aurors are expected to...well, work nights." Mr. Whipkey said and Remus could see that his eyes were flickering with a bit of fear. Fear that Remus would spring and kill them all.
"I'll bring him back to the fireplace, Mr. Whipkey." Bizzbee said, putting a hand on Remus's shoulder.
Remus stared at the old man's hand and shook it off immediately. "You can't do this to me! I've...I've got to stay! My mum is depending on me getting my Auror's training! You can't kick me out just because I'm a werewolf!"
"I'm afraid we can, Mr. Lupin. We have strict policies here, and on top of that, we can't have you accidentally harming another of our students here...I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Lupin." Mr. Whipkey nodded to Bizzbee, who almost dragged Remus out of the room. James and Sirius were waiting for him outside.
"What's up Moony?" James asked right away, seeing the look of horror and anger on Remus' face.
"I've got to leave...somehow, they found out about me, and they can't allow werewolves in the academy...I'm being sent back..." Remus replied, getting quieter with every sentence. Sirius gasped, and James looked at the ground.
"Aww, Moony, I'm sorry...that's terrible luck! They can't do that to you! Those overgrown fruit bats can't do this to you!" Sirius shouted, sending a deathly glare pointedly at Bizzbee.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Black, we can. If you wish, you could accompany your friend back home-"
"No, no, he didn't mean it." Remus silenced Sirius with a look. "They're staying."
"Give the girls a kiss for us, Moony," James said sadly, waving as Remus was led away.
"We'll concentrate extra hard for you, Moony! They don't know what they're sending away!" Remus heard Sirius shout as he was whisked away up the fireplace.
~*~
"Annie says he's been in a rut ever since." Rhia confessed to Lily as they boarded the Hogwarts Express.
"I would imagine." Lily replied. "Have you heard from him?"
"A few letters." She answered. "He didn't seem any different, but I suppose Annie would know. What about you? Have you gotten any letters from James?"
"Yes." Lily blushed, thinking of what one of them had said as they settled into their usual compartment. "He came home two weeks ago. He and Sirius are coming together."
"Yeah, Sir told me." Rhia said, noticing her blush but saying nothing of it because Remus's letters had been something of the same.
"Rhia! Lily!"
Both looked out of the door into the hall just as Sirius and James came running into the compartment.
"Gods, Lily, I've missed you so much." James threw down his bag, seizing his fiancée in a tight hug.
"Oh, Gods, Rhia, how I've missed you." Sirius cried dramatically, grabbing Rhia's hands.
"Stop that." She smiled, wrenching them away.
"How was the Auror's Academy?" Lily asked.
"Fascinating." Sirius said in awe.
"We learned so much." James grinned. "It seems really hard, but we're ready now."
"Was it dangerous?" asked Rhia.
"Yeah, a lot of times." Sirius nodded. "But we were okay, we had our wands and-"
"It won't be so easy with real dark wizards fighting you!" Lily cried.
"Calm down, Lil, we've still got another three months of training after school finishes." James assured her.
"I thought you still had to go through another cut." Rhia questioned.
"Yes, well..." Sirius muttered. "We were supposed to be getting our letters today, but they didn't come."
"Maybe the owls couldn't find you." Lily said. "Or maybe-"
"Or maybe they found us." James interrupted with a grin as two owls tapped on the window. Rhia leaned over and opened it, the owls dropping two letters into their laps.
"What do they say?" Rhia asked as both opened them quickly.
"I got in!" James cried excitedly.
"I didn't." Sirius mumbled.
"Oh, Sirius!" Rhia cried, throwing herself on top of her best friend. "Oh, that's horrible! Does it say why?"
James discreetly tucked his letter away in his pack, ashamed. It would be so much different, going away to training with his two best friends. Having Moony leave was bad enough.
"It just says they need wizards who they can be sure will defend the Ministry at all costs."
"I bet its because you talked back to that one official that took Remus away!" James exclaimed.
"Oh Padfoot, you didn't!" Lily laughed. "I don't mean to poke fun at a time like this, but I always knew that mouth of yours would get you into trouble one of these days..."
As James and Lily began ragging on Sirius to try and make him laugh, Remus quietly snuck into the compartment and sat down next to Rhia. She kissed his cheek.
"Hello love," she whispered. He gave her a feeble smile and squeezed her hand. "How was the rest of your vacation?"
"It was okay...I missed you."
Rhia smiled. "And I you."
"What's going on?" he asked, moving over so Annie could sit, just having walked into the compartment.
"Oh...they're trying to cheer Sirius up. He didn't make the cut at the academy." Remus nodded.
"Hey, you know what would cheer you up?" James was saying. "A little trickery to start off our last year with a bang - all in good fun, of course," he added hastily, seeing the harsh look in Lily's eyes.
"Oh, do you have to? The train just started!" Annie laughed.
James looked out the window. The scenery was flying by. "You're right...I suppose we could wait until we get to the castle...wait. Where's Peter, you guys?" Everyone looked around. Sure enough, Peter was nowhere to be found.
"Has anyone even heard from him all summer?" Sirius asked, looking at them all. No one had.
"You don't think he's hurt or anything, do you?" asked Lily.
"His mum would've written us, I should think." Remus replied.
"Maybe he just missed the train or something." Annie suggested.
"That does sound like Peter." Rhia added.
"I'm going to look for him." James said, standing.
"Need some help?" Sirius stood as well.
"No, I've got it." He said.
"Oh, let the Auror have the glory." Sirius answered and James could tell he was joking.
"You're a good man, Padfoot." He hit his comrade's shoulder and left, looking in each compartment for Peter.
"Head Girl, hmm?" Remus asked, looking at Lily's shiny golden badge.
"They sent the letter soon after I left Rhia's." Lily said proudly. "Mum and Dad were pleased as punch."
"And Petunia?" asked Sirius.
"Ready to throw a fit." Everyone laughed, a mental picture of Lily's bony sister screaming over her newest appointment.
~*~
"Peter?" James peeked into a compartment filled with nervous first-years, who trembled at the sight of him. "Oh, sorry."
He went down the hall, looking some more.
"Peter!" he cried, finding his tubby, tow-headed friend in the same compartment as Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape, Augustus Crabbe and Berthold Goyle.
"Oh, er...get off!" Peter shoved the hand Malfoy had on his shoulder off quickly.
"What's going on here?" James asked.
"They were, uh, trying to steal my Chocolate Frogs!" Peter held up a bag of treats.
"Lowlifes." James muttered. "Come on, Peter, we're all in the back."
"Alright." Peter stood and James watched out of the corner of his eye as he shot a look towards Malfoy. Thinking nothing of it, he led him back to the compartment.
~*~
"This way, Gryffindors, follow me!" Lily shouted over the roar of the crowd. Rhia grinned beside her.
"Having fun yet, Your Highness?"
Lily grinned back, before grabbing the robes of a frightened first year and pulling him out of a cursing Peeves' way. "Oh, tons, can't you tell? I'm in my element tonight!" They laughed.
On the other side of Rhia, Remus took hold of her hand and squeezed gently. "Finally home," he whispered in her ear. She laughed lightly and nodded.
"Mr. Lupin!" a voice called from down the hall. They all turned to see Professor McGonagall, their transfiguration teacher, walking towards them. "Ah, Mr. Lupin, there you are. The headmaster would like to see you in his office." Seeing the looks on the group's faces, she smiled before adding, "You haven't done anything wrong, Remus. Professor Dumbledore would just like to see you, is all." Rhia kissed Remus' cheek before he was dragged away to Albus Dumbledore's office.
McGonagall walked Remus all the way to the familiar statue of a stone gargoyle. "Lifesaver," she said, rolled her eyes, and patted him on the shoulder before walking away. Remus stepped onto the swift, spiraling staircase and watched with growing anxiety as the door to Dumbledore's office grew closer. Reaching the top, he knocked lightly.
"Come in," called a voice. Remus opened the door.
"Ah, Mr. Lupin! You're in good health, I hope? And how was your summer?" Dumbledore asked cheerfully from behind his desk.
Remus, breathing much easier now that he could see Dumbledore wasn't about to punish him for something, sat down in front of him and smiled. "It was all right, I suppose. And yours, sir?"
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Always the gentleman, you are, Remus. My holiday was rather enjoyable, thank you. I spent the summer overseas in America with an old friend. We stayed in a wonderful Muggle tourist trap - I believe they call it Las Vegas. Lots of lights, though a little fast- paced and magic-ignorant, if you ask me!" He chuckled.
"But back to business...I do have a reason for calling you down here, Remus. I heard that over the summer, you were to attend the Auror Academy, but they sent you home upon realization of your...abnormality." Remus nodded somberly. How quick was it spreading? He didn't like people knowing he was a werewolf. "I, for one, find it horrific they could send one of Hogwarts' best students away because he has a slight disadvantage. And as much as I would relish in the privilege to fight it, I cannot. I want to impress upon you, Remus, that this is simply the way our world is. As advanced compared to Muggles as we fancy ourselves to be, we really aren't in terms of attitudes. Wizards still discriminate against who we think to be our "inferiors"; Muggles, Muggle-borns, and werewolves too. I want you to realize that this is the way the world is. Occurrences like what happened at the Academy this summer, while terribly disgraceful to our kind, are regular in the real world."
Remus nodded again. Of course he knew this already. His mother and grandmother had told him this many a time over the summer. Remus just didn't want to believe that he would be shunned his entire life for something he had no control over.
"One more question before you go, Remus," Dumbledore spoke up. "Since the Auror Academy is out, obviously, have you given any thought as to what you might like to do after Hogwarts instead?"
Remus thought a bit about that. Sure, he'd wondered over the summer what would become of him now that he couldn't be an Auror. He knew he wanted to have a family, settle down (with Rhia, obviously!), but as for a career... he wished suddenly he could be in Dumbledore's position. Dumbledore, the wise old mage, the clear and strong headmaster of Hogwarts, he always knew the best way out. He always knew how to help. He knew just what to do to make his students feel better. Suddenly Remus lit up and looked Dumbledore in the eye.
"Professor, I think I want to become a teacher."
Dumbledore stared back at Remus, a bemused expression creeping across his face.
"Of what subject, Mr. Lupin?" he asked curiously.
"Well, I'm not sure." He replied. He had only just come up with the idea to be a teacher, and now Dumbledore was asking him this! "I'm no good at Potions, and I can never remember dates, so that rules out History of Magic."
"Have you ever thought about Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Dumbledore beckoned to his bookshelf with one long, bony finger. A thick book pulled itself out of the stack and f floated over to where they sat. "It is your best subject, is it not?"
"Well, yes..." Remus nodded. Dumbledore pressed the book into his hands.
"This was a book I received when I made the decision to become a teacher." He said. "Perhaps it will be of some use to you."
Remus glanced down at the title.
"'1002 Skills Defense Teachers Need To Know'?" he read. "But I thought you taught Transfiguration."
"I too had some time deciding what I wanted to teach." He smiled. "Now, I believe it's time for you to go to your dorm, we do have classes in the morning."
"Yes sir. Thank you." Remus grinned widely and made his way upstairs.
"What did Dumbledore want?" James asked as Remus got into bed.
"He wanted to talk to me about my career." He replied.
"What do you mean?" Peter wrinkled his nose.
"He asked me what I wanted to do and I said I wanted to teach." Remus said with self-satisfaction. "You know, since I can't be an Auror."
"Speaking of, what do you want to do, Sirius?" asked James.
"Sleep." Sirius muttered, pulling the curtains around his bed shut.