Disclaimer: Not mine.

His Calling

Chapter 10

The Decision

.

Rhea held Remus' hand as they walked from the main gate to the massive wooden doors. She felt him hold back and walk slower as they approached the castle, craning his neck to look at the towering stone edifice.

"It's just a school," she whispered. "Don't let it put you off."

"It's grand." He looked up at the top of the north turret and grinned. "Bigger than Parliament, but no clock in the tower."

"Don't tell the Headmaster that," she pulled the door open and pushed him inside. "Next thing you know he will charge tuition to get one himself."

She walked him to the staircase, surprised when the gargoyle turned its head and allowed her up without a password. She explained to Remus that this was a special trip, but once term started, he would need a password to visit the Headmaster.

Remus lifted his chin, put his hands in his pockets and lowered his eyes as the higher they rose the more excited he became. Rhea rested her hand on his shoulder for just a moment, letting him know to be brave.

"Mrs. Lupin and Remus, how good to see you. It has been a long time."

"Headmaster," Rhea nodded in greeting. "My son requests a meeting. If this is not a good time we will be glad to return at a later time."

"Not at all, please, let me order tea. It is that time I do believe."

"Thank you sir," Remus pulled a chair back from the Headmaster's desk, and waited until his mother was comfortably seated before sitting down in the chair next to her. "We want to talk about… ummm…"

"His letter," Rhea finished for him, patting his hand.

"Ye… Yes, it hasn't come." Remus looked up at the Headmaster and saw his frown. "I deserve one too."

"Mrs. Lupin, I am…"

"It is my son that you need to address." Rhea said calmly. "It is he that needs to understand this."

"Mr. Lupin," Albus leaned back and studied the small boy with the serious expression. "We are limited here. We do not have the facilities that you require, nor do we have permission from the Ministry to take… students of special needs."

"I thought it was your school," Remus looked to his mother for help. "I thought you could do what you wanted and if you wanted you could let me come."

"To a great extent that is true. However, I have the safety of many students to consider. You will have to convince me and the regents that this can work."

"What are regents?"

Dumbledore chuckled and held out a bowl of lemon drops, seeing Remus shake his head he smiled. "A regent is a person, appointed by the Ministry, who helps in the running of the school."

"Do you have to tell them? I am really really good when I transform. I can be really really quiet, and never go outside the barn."

"Mr. Lupin, I am sure…"

"If I'm not dangerous to the other students they wouldn't need to know. I learned my Latin all the way up to second year, and I can do things if you need things done. My Dad taught me most of it, but Mum helped too, I have all my books and stuff already, and…."

"Remus," Rhea put her hand on his arm and shook her head. "Headmaster, you need to tell him, and tell him the truth."

Albus frowned, and peered at Remus over his glasses. "The truth of the matter is that we would need to be assured you would not be a danger to anyone else, and until that time I must say no."

"And if I can do it, change and be quiet, and show you I can do it, really do it good, then I can get my letter? Mum is teaching me to live like a Muggle, but I want to come here. I want to be like… Dad wasn't a wizard, and he didn't come here, but if he had he would have been good. Real good, because he was brave and…and …Mum said Marcus came here, before…well you know. I don't remember him, not really, but I want to go where he did."

Dumbledore opened his desk drawer and put a letter in the middle of his desk. His eyes smiled although Remus saw him trying to be stern. "I was expecting you Mr. Lupin. If you had not found the courage to come, I would know that you were unsure of your ability in this matter. I do believe you are capable of great things, however, Madam Pomfrey, our resident Mediwitch will have the final say. Do you have any objections to demonstrating your skills?"

"It's tonight," he swallowed hard and looked at his mother, then back at the Headmaster. "Mum, she lets me stay in the barn."

"Our Madam Pomfrey has already selected a site outside of the castle walls. It is protected from random entry, however not impossible to enter, or to leave. I am afraid that if you are unable to stay within its walls I will have to ask you to leave."

"Headmaster," Rhea leaned forward in her chair, "there are only a couple of things he requires. He needs to eat right before the change, and to have nothing, nothing, that he can get hurt on."

"And a blanket," Remus said as he started to blush. "I.. . umm… I take my clothes off.. and… umm"

"I am sure Madam Pomfrey will make arrangements and keep your modesty." Albus looked out the window and then walked to the floo. "It is time for something more substantial than tea, perhaps Mr. Lupin, I will join you in a bite to eat."

Remus watched the Headmaster kneel into the floo, waiting until he was engaged in conversation with the kitchen before hurrying to his mother and cupping his hand around her ear.

"What about Riddickululs?"

"You will have to just keep thinking it, keep it right here," she whispered back and tapped his forehead, then moved her hand down and tapped his chest. "Make Dad proud and remember he is right in here. You have worked hard for this, now show them you can do it."

"Well, so I finally meet you, Mr. Lupin." Remus turned to see who could only be Madam Pomfrey standing in the door watching him.

He nervously looked at the blanket she held in her hands and took a step closer to his mother. He had expected an old hag of a nurse, not this one. It was one thing striping down to the buff with his mother watching, but he had no intention of showing a nurse that looked like this his arse. He swallowed hard and stepped behind his mother's chair, putting it between himself and the nurse.

"Now, now, Mr. Lupin," Madam Pomfrey scowled. "I don't bite. Not yet anyway, but if you bite me I will bite back."

Remus felt the edge of his lip twitch and fought the grin that was playing there. Her eyes couldn't hide the fact that she was joking although she held her face sternly.

"If you are going to be like me then you'll need two blankets because I don't wear anything."

"Remus!" Rhea was shocked at his crude humour, and equally surprised by Albus' chuckle and Poppy's smirk.

"His father's son I see." Albus rose from the floo, took Poppy's arm, leading her to her join them at the desk.

"Tonight we will use a house that has been built in anticipation of this moment. It is connected to Hogwarts by an underground tunnel. Although the house is in open view to Hogsmeade, it has no workable doors, and the windows will not open. I am quite sure Remus will be undisturbed," Madam Pomfrey explained.

Rhea turned and looked at Remus who stood kicking the floor with his toe. "Remus? If you have any doubts I will stay here with the Headmaster."

"No," he said, tying to sound brave, but knowing his voice had turned squeaky. "If you stay they won't know I can do it myself. Right, Headmaster?"

"No, she is welcomed to stay up with me this night and wait for morning. Neither of us will get much sleep anyway. It will give us time to get reacquainted." Albus smiled and walked over to Remus, putting his arm around his shoulder. "Remus, there is no shame in failing, if that should happen. The only shame would be in not trying."

Madam Pomfrey took the boy from Albus and escorted him from the room. He looked back over his shoulder and saw Albus place his hand on Rhea's shoulder to hold her in the chair.

"Well, my dear. It appears we will have a long night of it."

"That's it? A… a nurse? That's … he needs someone to …"

"No, he needs to do this as he said he can. Now, do you play chess?"

Rhea nodded and watched him set up the board, placing the pieces where they belonged. She sighed, and prepared herself for the longest night she'd had since his first transformation. She thought of Marcus, and how he had cried when he had been told he could not return to Hogwarts after his illness had started, and was determined not to interfere and lessen Remus' chances.

"Marcus did not have time to prepare, my dear." Albus peered at her over his glasses, as if reading her mind. "Remus is different, you have taught him well."

"We don't know that yet."

"If he does this he will pick up his letter, it not he is well prepared for Muggle schools. Either way you have done well." Albus moved his pawn forward two spaces. "I rather believe I will be planting in the morning."

Rhea looked up from the board. "Planting? It is too late in the year for planting."

"Do you remember your Herbology?"

"Ummm, yes?"

"I have a Whomping Willow waiting for a new home. I think there is a spot for it right over the tunnel that our young Mr. Lupin will be using. Professor Sprout is working on a way to momentarily squelch its movements, just long enough for a young boy to safely pass."

"You think he will do it then, that he is safe?"

"Yes, because he believes he can do it, and beliefs in small boys are their truths. However, know that in a few short years, when he approaches adulthood he will question himself on many things, and at that time will also question his ability to do this. At that time, if a solution is not found, he may well have to leave."

"We will work on it. If I can make him understand, if I can…"

"Mrs. Lupin, all children will question. All boys will doubt their mothers. We will see what happens. It is all I can promise."

Rhea stood and walked to the window, looking up at the moon. She laughed and told Albus of how as a student, she and her housemates would sneak down to the kitchen, fill their pockets, and make their way to the astronomy tower where they would hold a monthly picnic. She sighed and shook her head, considering that a moon once greeted with laughter could now only seem a thing of horror.

She paced in front of the fireplace, unable to concentrate on the game. By three in the morning, she could not stand the wait and grabbed her wrap, intent on seeing where they kept him. Albus held her arm and guided her across the grounds, pointing out where the tunnel started, and keeping above ground, walked her towards Hogsmeade to see the house that stood over the room that held Remus.

"Old man I told you to stay away," Madam Pomfrey stepped out of the shadows.

"Now, now Poppy, cannot a wizard go on a moonlight stroll with a beautiful witch?" he chuckled.

"Yes, as long as it is on the other side of the castle."

"How is he doing?" Rhea asked.

"Do you hear him? No? Then I suspect he is doing fine, scared out of his wits and too stupid or too brave to give in."

"My son is not…"

"Now, now," Albus frowned at Poppy. "I am sure our mediwitch meant that only in the most complimentary way."

"Mrs. Lupin, I told him Remus should have been here last week to see the place and get used to it. It's not the change that he was scared of, but just getting into the tunnel and … he is scared of closed in places. He needs to get over that. Furthermore, he detests being dirty. Now, normally I would find this delightful in a boy, encourage it, bloody hell, I would want to bottle it, however if he wakes and loathes his very smell how do you expect him to react? If this place is found out and we have to change quickly, or… well, he needs to get over it."

"Because the wolf wants to run free and you want him to not be scared. Madam Pomfrey, please, if you need to say something say it. Don't try to be polite and talk around it. It there is something I need to teach him, tell me."

"We will talk when he is out, until then you must leave. Mrs. Lupin, I do not know how his senses alter, but I do know that if a real wolf was in that tunnel he could not only smell you, he could hear you. If Remus can, your very presence will be upsetting to him. Now please, either give him over to me completely, or plan to take him home for good."

Rhea returned to the castle with Albus and continued pacing, watching the window for the first hint of light. As the sky began to lose its stars, she stood by the window watching for his return. Albus had informed her that once he emerged from the cave and dressed in the clothes Poppy would set out for him, he would have to find his own way to the infirmary. He had assured her that prior to his sequestering he had been shown the way and told what was expected of him. After Poppy had examined him for injury, and assured herself that he was fit, he would be sent to the Headmaster's office.

Rhea heard his footfalls running up the stairs and turned toward the door in time to see him enter the room. He was dressed in a school uniform, a smile covering his face from ear to ear, the only discernable injury a small scratch on his chin.

"Mr. Lupin," Albus frowned. "My students do not run in the halls. It will serve you well to remember that and set a good example for the rest of the first years."

"Yes, Headmaster." The tow headed boy nodded, his smile only getting bigger.

"I will not be easy on you. I will not allow self-pity in these halls, nor will I allow you to become lazy in the lessons your mother has taught you." He then smiled widely, his eyes sparkling as he saw the pure joy on Remus' face. "Welcome to Hogwarts, may your father be proud."