WOLFSTAR (AND HARRY POTTER) STORIES!!!

36 PART 16

"WAKE UP, MOONY!" Sirius yelled, bounding into the bedroom and diving onto the bed like an excitable teenager. Remus bounced into the air and grumbled irritably at the intrusion; he'd been enjoying his long lie in.

"Yes, I know it's Christmas, Sirius, the presents will still be waiting for us when I get out of bed," he sighed wearily. "Let me get an extra hour, I'm bloody knackered from all the shagging we've done in the past couple of weeks."

"It's not that," said Sirius excitedly. "You got a letter. Look!"

He brandished a yellowish envelope in front of Remus' face and his eyes widened as he noticed the familiar handwriting in emerald green ink. He sat bolt upright in bed and snatched the letter from Sirius' hand, staring at it in disbelief.

"When did this arrive?" he asked.

"Just now," said Sirius hurriedly. "You've got a couple of other letters waiting for you, but when I saw this one I knew I had to wake you up. Do you think it's from Dumbledore?"

With all the drama in the last couple of days, he had completely forgotten about his conversation with McGonagall at the Christmas party. The same excitement he felt when he'd received his admissions letter at eleven flared up inside of him at that moment, the sheer possibility of what lay within the innocuous looking envelope set his pulse racing. With shaky fingers, he tore open the envelope and unfolded the parchment inside and began to read, "Dear Mr Lupin, I am very pleased to offer you the position of Transfiguration Professor—"

"What?" Sirius exclaimed. "McGonagall's leaving?"

"Let me read the bloody letter and I'll tell you!" Remus laughed. He cleared his throat and continued. "Your initial salary will be sixty-four hundred Galleons annually..."

"Not bad," Sirius muttered.

"As a full-time employee, you're also entitled to our basic health care package which will cover the costs of any and all medication required, including the Wolfsbane Potion," Remus continued. "Please plan to begin work on January 6th, 1986."

Sirius gripped Remus' arm and shook it so vigorously that Remus struggled to read the rest of the letter.

"If you accept this offer, I would appreciate your signing and returning at your earliest convenience a copy of this letter for documentation purposes. If you have any questions regarding employment policies and procedures, please do not hesitate to contact me. Congratulations again and a very Merry Christmas to yourself and Mr Black. I look forward to you both returning to Hogwarts in the coming days. Yours sincerely, Albus Dumbledore."

"YES!" Sirius punched the air in victory and shook Remus' shoulders again. "You did it! You bloody well did it, Moony!"

"I didn't do anything, this was all McGonagall's doing," Remus corrected him, but he couldn't help the wide grin that stretched across his face. He couldn't believe that McGonagall had gone to all this trouble for him. Finally, his dream of working at Hogwarts was becoming a reality and, best of all, he'd get to take Sirius with him. He flicked through the paperwork and saw a note attached to the last page written in different handwriting than the rest of the letter:

Dear Remus,

I thought it prudent to explain my sudden and unexpected absence from Hogwarts and how you came to be offered the role of Transfiguration professor in my stead.

I have long discussed with the Headmaster my desire to do further research into hypertrichosis and other unwanted side-effects of sustained transfiguration, and we have both come to an agreement that I shall go on an extended sabbatical in order for me to continue my research full time. It is also worth mentioning that depending on how well my research goes my leave may become permanent. In fact, I expect that to be the case.