Whither Thou Goest

2- A Proposal

REMUS'S POV

He awoke to Anna bustling in the kitchen, preparing their usual Tuesday breakfast. The scent of bacon drifted through the door, and soon he was up.

When he got to the kitchen, Anna had already set the table. A plate of scrambled eggs and bacon sat in the center, daring him to take one.

"Morning, Remus," Anna said blearily. He nodded in reply, staring at the Daily Prophet that Luna, Anna's owl, just dropped off. He picked it up, expecting news of the crackpot fool of a minister. However, an unusual sight greeted him: a face he had worked hard to erase from his mind the past twelve years. One who had played with his feelings and led him to believe in a better life, only to fracture his heart afterwards.

Anna frowned. "Everything alright?" she asked, for he had gone white as a sheet.

Wordlessly, he handed over the paper. Anna pulled her light brown hair into a knot and began to read the headline aloud.

"'Escape from Azkaban!'" A picture of Black was on the front page, cackling like the maniac he was.

She looked up, blue eyes wide. "Remus, do you still love him?"

Out of all the things he'd expected her to say, it certainly wasn't that.

"I don't know," he responded truthfully.  He loved a Sirius he thought he knew, charming and loyal. In the end, he had played with his heart and left him alone.

Anna looked at him oddly. "I still do," she whispered. "At least, the person I thought he was. He was so nice, and oh, dear God, he was so infuriatingly charaming..." she trailed off, noticing the fact that she was describing Regulus as well as she was Sirius.

She passed him the plate of eggs. "Before they get cold," she said stiffly, as if to change the subject. Which she probably was. But he didn't want to change it. He snatched the paper from her other hand.

"Hey!" she protested.

He didn't listen. He scanned the article for information, and his heart nearly stopped.

"'Guards report Black muttering, 'He's at Hogwarts' repeatedly in his sleep'?" Remus looked up. "Anna, what if he's after Harry?" he asked, grabbing her arm.

She appeared to be at war with herself. He knew that Anna was torn between loving Harry for Lily or hating him because of James. She sighed. "We'll talk about this later," she snapped, and shoved the plate of eggs into his face.

After they finished, the two flopped down onto the couch to rest. Before they could get comfortable, however, a knock came from their front door.

"Who the bloody hell could that be?" Anna muttered. It was probably some kids selling cookies, he reasoned. After all, they were in a safe muggle town with no history with magic.

The knocks came louder and quicker.

"No one is home!" Anna tried.

Remus laughed at her foolish attempt and went to peer out of the window. 

"It's Dumbledore, Anna, I'll let him in."

He unlatched the door and began unlocking the many locks that came from Anna's paranoia. 

"Come in, Professor," he greeted once he finished. Dumbledore chuckled. "You do not need to call me Professor, as you are already out of Hogwarts."

He blushed. It was a habit of his that he could not get rid of.

"Is there something you require, Dumbledore?" Anna said coldly. She had never really trusted the headmaster. She claimed that there was something sinister lurking behind those twinkling eyes. A manipulative bastard, she called him. But never to his face.

"As you recall, Mr. Lupin, the Defense Against the Dark Arts position has been jinxed. Therefore, we are in need of a new teacher." Dumbledore said calmly, ignoring Anna. It seemed that Dumbledore's feelings towards Anna were mutual.

Remus's heart picked up. "You want me to take the position?"

There was no way.

Dumbledore smiled. "I think you already know the answer to that."

"I would love to, Professor, er, Albus, but what about my condition? I can't risk the possibility of biting anyone!" He cried, suddenly reminded of the cold, hard truth of why he could never be normal.

As if remembering something, the old wizard chuckled. "Well, our Potions master will brew the Wolfsbane Potion for you once a month, enabling you to keep a sane mind. You can transform in your office, because you probably won't be wanting to go back to the Shack."

Remus nodded hestitantly.

Dumbledore smiled (yet again!). "So does this mean you'll take it?"

Anna elbowed him. "You have to, Rem! You were amazing at DADA! And you've always wanted to  be a professor!"

Inspired by her enthusiasm, he looked Dumbledore in the eye. "Fine. But I get to take Anna with me, under my name. And if I nearly endanger a student, I'm resigning."

"Thank you, Mr. Lupin. I know it's not easy coming back to our world after the war. You won't regret it, I promise."

With that cryptical statement, Dumbledore turned out the door and left.