Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and crew.
Chapter 6: Letter of Acceptance
Conversations were taking place inside the Black household as Remus and Caleb walked in. In the study, Sirius sat across from Albus Dumbledore. Sirius looked up to see Remus and Caleb in the doorway.
"Rem, you're back. Everything went all right, I suppose?" Sirius asked, glancing at Caleb.
"Yeah, everything's fine. No need to worry," Remus replied. He watched Sirius leave the room.
Dumbledore stood looking over the tops of his half-moon glasses. "Remus, it's nice to see you again. How are you?" he asked, holding out his hand. Remus shook it and smiled.
"Surviving, just like always. What made you drop by?" Remus asked, to satisfy his curiosity.
Dumbledore slid his hand into a pocket of his robe and pulled out a letter. He looked at Caleb and smiled. Caleb stood with his mouth slightly open.
"I believe it's someone's birthday," Dumbledore replied, handing the letter to Caleb. Caleb looked at the letter, then back at the old wizard. He shook his head slowly. "It couldn't be…there's no way. No way they would accept me," Caleb thought to himself as he held the letter, rubbing the green ink with his finger.
"Professor…I can't….can't take this. I'm…a..." Caleb stammered in an attempt to explain why he was giving the letter back to the Headmaster.
Dumbledore smiled and gestured for Caleb to keep the letter. "Why should I keep a child with your condition away from Hogwarts? There are ways of dealing with the problem that we devised many years ago for another student who had the same condition," Dumbledore said with a glance at Remus. "You and the other students will be safe." Remus smiled, knowing that Dumbledore was referring to the arrangements that had been made for him during his Hogwarts days.
"So…I can really go?" Caleb asked looking from Remus to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore nodded, a huge smile upon his face as he reminisced about the day he talked to the Lupins about Remus. "Now, Caleb, I need to speak with Remus about something quite important. Will you excuse us, please?"
Remus, startled, suggested to Caleb that he go show his letter to Sirius. As Caleb walked out of the study he saw Sirius standing with his ear to the wall.
"Sirius, what--" Caleb asked. Sirius cut him off with a soft "shhh".
"I know what Dumbledore wants. A couple of years ago Remus taught at Hogwarts. He resigned after the students learned about his condition. If Dumbledore wants him, Remus had better say yes. He loved that job, and with you there it would make it even better," Sirius explained as he continued to eavesdrop.
"Remus, we all want you back," Dumbledore was saying. "You were and still are the best teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts we've ever had. Many of the students are still talking about how well you taught," Dumbledore continued.
Remus was sitting on the couch twiddling his thumbs. He picked out a worn spot on the carpet and stared at it, thinking about the decision ahead.
"Sir, what about the others? The other students who do NOT want…someone like me teaching them?" Remus asked looking at his old Headmaster with concern in his eyes.
Sirius could restrain himself no longer. He burst into the study, startling Remus greatly. Dumbledore merely wore a little smile, as if the intrusion was not entirely unexpected.
"Well, forget those other, Moony!" Sirius exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. "The main people you have to watch out for is the Malfoys and ol' Snivellus. You know how they are. Besides them there's nothing to worry about! Come on, mate, you know you want this job!"
Remus leaned around Sirius to see Dumbledore smiling. He then glanced over where Caleb stood in the doorway. Remus sighed, looking at Sirius' smiling face.
"Also, Remus, Caleb will be at Hogwarts. I do know that you two have grown close. If you were to chose to come, perhaps it would be good for both of you," Dumbledore urged.
Remus looked down once again and nodded. "I'll do it."
"Good going, Professor Moony!" exclaimed Sirius as he patted his friend on the back.
Author's ending notes: I hope you did like it. I'm sorry it's short. Please comment. Is there anything that you really liked so far? Let me know!
DD