After the Fall: A Remus Lupin Story

After the Fall

Remus Lupin was exhausted. There was this new law that required every werewolf to put their lycanthropy on their resume, because presumably that would help them acquire jobs better suited to them.

This was a blatant lie, obviously. All that this law did was to put every werewolf out of work, thus causing some to resort to the very things werewolves were often scapegoated for-having to pilfer and condescend to the lowest levels of society.

Remus had just come home from his fourth job interview that day. In a regular week, there were at least twenty interviews, and every single time, he would hand the interviewer his resume, and would immediately be kindly(fearfully) shown the door.

They tried to hide it, he knew, but it was sort of obvious. If someone was having a perfectly pleasant conversation with you, happens to look at your resume, and instantly says, "You know, I think this job position isn't quite for you," with the most fearful look in the world in their eyes....it was hard to ignore.

Remus should have been miserable. And yet.

He opened the door to the sound of a typewriter clicking away, and immediately knew he was home. He dropped his briefcase by the door of his and Caroline's little flat and ambled over to her study, where she was typing away.

"Hello, Cari," he said, wrapping his arms around her from behind, and bending to kiss Caroline's cheek.

•••

A small sigh escaped the ginger's lips as she continued to type. This was a usual routine for her, getting up, finding her husband to be at yet another interview, and going straight to her typewriter after pouring herself some tea.

The world wasn't as it had been in their youth.

The world as it had seemed had melted away, having been molded into prejudice against creatures that meant no harm- mainly people like Remus. Since they both graduated (Remus being at the top of the class and Caroline surprisingly being Valedictorian), the world as they knew it had paused. They didn't see their loved ones for months, and they all lived in fear everyday for their lives.

But now that the world had evolved yet again, it made her tense, secretly terrified for her husband. She would never tell him that, or how angry she was at the one person who had initiated the horrid law in the first place- Fenrir Greyback.

•••

Caroline had just finished another one of her many poems- as she had taken up the hobby after graduating, when she heard the familiar click of the door to their cozy flat. She continued to type, words and thoughts of all sorts staining the fragile paper clipped in front of her. She knew he would find her in her study- that's where she always was, aside from his arms.

The soft footsteps of his shoes echoed through the hall, until they came to a stop- and she knew he was behind her. Her thoughts and prepositions came to a halt when she felt the warm embrace wrap around her, and his soothing voice fill her head.

"Hi Remmy" she said softly, turning slightly to look at him. Even after all these years, they still stuck to their nicknames, not other names like 'babe' or 'sweetheart' (that one only on occasion), because even though they were married- they were always best friends first.

She gently stood up and turned towards him, wrapping her own arms around him, burying her face into his neck. She missed being around him every moment of the day, so she savoured the moments she could hug him or kiss him.

"How did it go?" She asked softly, already knowing the answer. But she still had to have hope. Especially in times like these.

"Nothing," Remus sighed, almost melting into Caroline. "I'll try again later."