moony and wood | r. lupin

the letter

"hush, ollie"

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

August 1982

Puddlemere

Evie's mere three months of teaching passed quickly. Her students were sad to see her leave, persistently asking if she'd return the next year– but she couldn't confirm that she would, no matter how much she wanted to. In September, there would be a new teacher to fill in the Care of Magical Creatures position– so it was unlikely Evie would be back at Hogwarts any time soon.

So, like her students, Evie returned home that summer.

-

Little Oliver adored his aunt.

Whenever she was around, they always did something fun: they played games, they went out to museums, and his favorite, Quidditch.

So of course, he convinced his parents to ask her to stay over for a week or two over the summer. They quickly obliged– how could they say no to having Evie over?

-

It was hot out when Evie and Oliver went to the local market. They had told Jace and Celine they were going out for ingredients for that evening's dinner– but they were really out to get ingredients for the cake they were baking for Celine's upcoming birthday.

"So, what kind of cake do you think?" Evie asked. "We could go plain vanilla, or maybe a carrot cake?"

Oliver thought for a moment, humming. "She likes fruits."

Evie nodded. "Okay, that's good. Do you think she'd like a lemon raspberry sort of deal? Or a strawberry shortcake–"

"Strawberry shortcake!" Oliver exclaimed, giving a little jump.

Evie laughed. "Sounds like a plan, then. Can you show me where the strawberries are?"

Oliver grabbed her hand, leading her through the small stands of tomato, corn, carrots, and beyond.

Strawberries probably weren't Celine's favorites, Evie thought to herself. But Oliver was obsessed with them, so it was no surprise what he chose.

"Very good," Evie nodded, looking at the array of strawberries before them. "How many do you think? Maybe twenty, twenty-five?"

"Duck!"

"That's not a duck, it's an owl!"

Evie looked up, alarmed by the calls of the other shoppers. She spotted an owl swooped into the market tent, gracefully landing, to her luck, right in front of the strawberries.

She shared a look with Oliver, who looked perplexed at the owl before them.

Evie picked up the envelope the owl dropped, scrunching her face when she saw her name scrawled across the front in loopy cursive.

"Who's it from?" Oliver asked.

"I... I'm not sure," Evie replied. There was no return address in the corner. She flipped the letter over to open it, only to see the Hogwarts crest pressed into the wax. Her heart skipped a beat. Would she be returning to teach after all?

"We've gotta get home," she told Oliver. "We can come back for the ingredients, I promise."

-

"Celine!" Evie flew through the front door, beelining for the kitchen where she knew Celine would be. She would've run to Jace if he was home– but she knew he was at work for the day.

"Yes! What is it?" Celine asked, worried. The tone in Evie's voice had been off-setting– so much that Celine was gripping her wand in her fingers as a precaution.

Evie held up the letter. "It's from Hogwarts,"

Celine's eyes widened as she relaxed her hold on the wand..

Oliver entered the room, still confused. "Hogwarts?"

"Open it, Ev." Celine nodded, eager.

Evie bit her lip, hands starting to shake as she gently pulled the flap of the envelope open. She didn't know why she was so nervous– it was just a letter. Was she really that desperate for a job?

"'Dear Miss Wood, I am writing to you today to...'" Evie muttered to herself.

Celine and Oliver watched as Evie's eyes skimmed the parchment.

"What is it?" Oliver asked, impatient.

"Hush, Ollie," Celine waved a hand at him,

Evie dropped the paper, staring up at Celine. "I got the job."

"You got it?" Celine's green eyes widened.

Evie nodded in awe. "I got it."

"What job?" Oliver asked.

Celine let out a laugh, throwing her arms around her sister-in-law. "I knew it! I knew you could do it! Wait till Jonathan hears, he'll be so happy!"

"What's going on?" Oliver asked, a whine starting to lace his voice.

Evie could only smile. She would be returning to Hogwarts after all. Except, not in the Care of Magical Creatures position.

She would return as the permanent Study of Ancient Runes professor.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾