Fic: The Bachelor Professors for sostrata
Title: The Bachelor Professors
Author/Artist: rhye
Recipient: sostrata
Rating: PG
Contents or warnings (highlight to view): *None.*
Word count: 1622
Summary: In alternate reality in which everyone lives, Harry visits Remus and Sirius in Hogsmeade during his first break in Auror training.
Notes: Thanks to wildling for beta-reading this for me.
The Bachelor Professors
“Hello!” Remus raised a hand, waving at Sirius as they passed in the hallway.
“Heidi Ho, Professor Lupin!” Sirius replied, shooting an okay sign. Some girls waiting at the entrance of Sirius’s classroom giggled.
Remus stopped, shaking his head ruefully. He turned the corner and ran almost directly into Harry Potter. “Harry! You’re here early!”
“Oh, hi Remus. I was just headed to your classroom.”
“I planned for you to speak to the NEWT-level class, but if you want to talk to the third years I have now, you’re welcome to.” He gestured Harry towards his classroom.
“I don’t want to take over your lessons or anything. I could just hang out with Neville or Headmistress McGonagall, I’m sure.”
“Nonsense, Harry,” Remus smiled at the young man. “I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to meet you. They’ve been asking all year. I just worried you’d be too busy to play celebrity to all my students.”
“I’m happy to. How’s the Shack?”
Remus smiled. “I hope you can stay for dinner, and we’ll tell you all about it.”
“Of course.”
*****
Dobby made Harry, Sirius, and Remus a lovely home-cooked meal in the Shrieking Shack. Dobby adored working for Sirius, perhaps because Kreacher hated it. The Shrieking Shack was, like Hogwarts, fully repaired, and it made a good place for a couple of bachelor Hogwarts professors, Harry thought. Now that Sirius’s name was cleared, he was able to teach at Hogwarts. Remus took up his old Defense Against the Dark Arts position. His new-found status as a war hero allowed parents to overlook his medical status. Harry was sure some parents were still troubled, but he was equally sure that none wanted to appear to harbor pureblood fanaticism. Sirius had settled in quite well as the new Transfiguration professor. Just as McGonagall has once impressed her students by transforming into a cat, Sirius told Harry of greeting his own students as the great black Padfoot on the first day of classes.
After dinner, Remus started a fire in the old fireplace. Sirius trimmed the towering tree Hagrid had sent over earlier in the day. It was homey and lovely and just the sort of place Harry wished he could have grown up. Sirius celebrated Christmas more enthusiastically than anyone Harry had ever seen. He had after all missed more than a decade of Christmases in Azkaban. He never left a bough untrimmed or a doorway un-bedecked. The old creaky shack smelled of fir and mistletoe, and a pot of hot cider mulled on the stove.
“How did the ickly toddikins enjoy having the famous Harry Potter talking to their class?” Sirius asked, interrupting Harry’s contented thoughts.
“I think one of them passed out with excitement,” Harry groaned.
“I told you, Harry, Esmerelda Hopkirk has a medical condition,” Remus tutted.
“I bet one wink from old green-eyes here and she was in a condition alright,” Sirius joked.
“How is Ginny?” Remus asked.
“She’s great. I, uh, I wanted to tell you actually. We’re getting married in the spring.”
“That’s fantastic,” Remus smiled.
“Wow,” Sirius said, shaking his head in bemusement. “Aren’t you young?”
“No younger than my own parents, or hers,” Harry countered.
“You’ve got us there,” Sirius admitted.
“How come neither of you married?” Harry asked. “I mean, I can guess Sirius, with Azkaban-- but did you never meet someone, Remus? I thought you and Tonks would have been good together.”
Harry had been in Auror training for a few months now, and so he didn’t miss the look exchanged between his godfather and favorite professor. Once, he might have been oblivious. Now, he could see they were conversing silently.
“What?” Harry asked. “What did I say?”
“Harry,” Remus said in this ‘I’ve got to break bad news’ voice. It was a tone Harry was too familiar with from the war. “I have met someone.”
“Brilliant!” Harry sat up straighter. “When do I get to meet her?”
Another silent conversation seemed to follow. Then Sirius answered. His voice sounded rough and worn again in a way Harry hadn’t heard in months. “Harry, I’m sorry, I thought you knew.”
“Knew what?” Harry said. He looked blankly at Sirius.
“Harry,” Remus started hesitantly, “Your godfather and I… well, we’d been an item back at Hogwarts for a while, but then with Azkaban,” Remus tilted his head before continuing, “But then after, we tried to pick up the pieces.”
“Bloody well did a damn sight better than ‘tried’,” Sirius muttered.
“I mean to say, it took us a while to get back here, but we’re very happily together.” Remus reached out his hand and Sirius took it. A smile of naked affection passed between them.
“Bollocks!” Harry exclaimed.
Both Remus and Sirius’s eyes snapped towards Harry. “Pardon?” Sirius asked.
“You’re having me one. Hermione says I’m quite gullible, but I’m not having it.”
“We’re not,” said Sirius. “Honest.”
“Prove it,” Harry challenged. He felt himself grin widely, knowing how to call their bluff. “Snog or something.”
Another silent conversation passed, but then Sirius rose from his chair and stepped over to Remus’s.
“Sirius,” Remus pleaded quietly, “He may not be ready.”
“Give him some credit,” Sirius said, shoving his mop of dark hair away from his face. “I don’t think he’s an arse. He just doesn’t believe us, is all. Was James any different?”
Remus laughed at some memory, and before he was finished, Sirius bent down and laid a giant, sloppy open-mouthed kiss on him. Which he returned. Happily.
Harry heard himself groan. His hands covered his eyes. Then he rubbed his eyes and removed his hands to see Remus and Sirius both staring at him expectantly.
“Why?” Harry growled, “Why am I always the last to know everything?”
“I really thought you knew,” Sirius whispered.
“Well I didn’t! No one tells me anything so how would I know what no one tells me?”
“Well,” Sirius said, rising his fingers and counting them off, “We lived together at Remus’s, then again at Grimmauld Place, we’ve been giving you joint gifts for years, we bought this place together, we have the same bedroom, need I go on?” He eyed meaningfully from beneath his brows.
“I just thought… I thought one of you slept on the couch or something,” Harry stammered.
“Harry,” Remus said gently, “This house has ten rooms. Why on Earth would either of us sleep on the couch instead of in one of them?”
Harry hated that he was being made to feel like an idiot. They were right, of course, and Harry would bet a million galleons everyone else knew too. Definitely Hermione and Ginny knew. How was he supposed to be an Auror when he couldn’t even see the things right in front of his face?
“Cheer up,” Sirius said. “It’s not so bad. You’re right, of course, I should have told you straight out.”
Harry shook his head. “No, don’t apologize. It should have been rather obvious. Some Auror I make.” It would have been obvious to anyone with half a brain.
“The problem,” Remus said, “is you’ve been working your whole life to be suspicious of suspicious characters, people like Snape or the Malfoys. You trust us. That’s your blind spot, Harry. You don’t look that closely at the people you trust.”
“Your father was the same,” Sirius said.
“And look where it got him,” Harry snapped. “I’m sorry. You’re right of course.”
“Look,” Sirius said, walking to the shelf and plucking a bottle of Scotch down, “Let’s all pretend you knew all along and you don’t have to feel embarrassed.”
“If you didn’t notice, I doubt Ron did,” Remus added helpfully.
“There you go,” Sirius said, handing Harry a snifter. “We give you permission to treat Ron like an idiot for not knowing.”
This did make Harry laugh. “Does everyone else know, then?”
“I imagine so,” Remus said.
“Mrs. Weasley?” Harry asked.
“Oh certainly. She’s known a long while. She was looking to match me up with Tonks in fact. It didn’t help her dislike of Sirius to discover why I wouldn’t date Tonks.”
Harry laughed ruefully.
“But she and Charlie make an excellent couple,” Remus added. “And they have that little boy. He’s quite a laugh. Lovely child.”
This last sobered Harry up. “Did you want children?” Harry asked.
“No!” Sirius barked. “I can think of no better way to subvert my pureblood legacy than to chop it off at its knees.”
Remus chuckled at this. “It’s really not safe for me to have children, Harry. There’s a chance they could inherit my illness.”
“Oh.”
“But don’t be sad for us,” Sirius said, moving to ruffle Harry’s hair. “We’ve got you. You’re the closest thing to a son either of us will have.”
“But… a baby, though. Did you ever want a baby to play with?”
Remus and Sirius’s eyes met fondly. “We had a baby to play with,” Remus said quietly. “He was quite a handful.”
“Merlin, that broom.”
“You gave it to him!”
“I know! But I didn’t think I’d have to chase him around the ceiling!”
Harry realized they were talking about him and laughed at the image.
“We watched you all the time when you were just a tiny thing,” Sirius said. “You were no bigger than a kitten when you were born.”
“Maybe a bit bigger,” Remus added with a smirk.
“Only a tad. And don’t you worry about us,” Sirius said. “You’re marrying Ginny, and I imagine you’ll be planning to give us a pile of sprogs to spoil.”
Harry did smile at this. And then he remembered what had started the conversation. “May the tenth,” he said, smiling. “That’s the date.”
Sirius grinned. “We’ll be there with bells on.”
Author/Artist: rhye
Recipient: sostrata
Rating: PG
Contents or warnings (highlight to view): *None.*
Word count: 1622
Summary: In alternate reality in which everyone lives, Harry visits Remus and Sirius in Hogsmeade during his first break in Auror training.
Notes: Thanks to wildling for beta-reading this for me.
The Bachelor Professors
“Hello!” Remus raised a hand, waving at Sirius as they passed in the hallway.
“Heidi Ho, Professor Lupin!” Sirius replied, shooting an okay sign. Some girls waiting at the entrance of Sirius’s classroom giggled.
Remus stopped, shaking his head ruefully. He turned the corner and ran almost directly into Harry Potter. “Harry! You’re here early!”
“Oh, hi Remus. I was just headed to your classroom.”
“I planned for you to speak to the NEWT-level class, but if you want to talk to the third years I have now, you’re welcome to.” He gestured Harry towards his classroom.
“I don’t want to take over your lessons or anything. I could just hang out with Neville or Headmistress McGonagall, I’m sure.”
“Nonsense, Harry,” Remus smiled at the young man. “I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to meet you. They’ve been asking all year. I just worried you’d be too busy to play celebrity to all my students.”
“I’m happy to. How’s the Shack?”
Remus smiled. “I hope you can stay for dinner, and we’ll tell you all about it.”
“Of course.”
*****
Dobby made Harry, Sirius, and Remus a lovely home-cooked meal in the Shrieking Shack. Dobby adored working for Sirius, perhaps because Kreacher hated it. The Shrieking Shack was, like Hogwarts, fully repaired, and it made a good place for a couple of bachelor Hogwarts professors, Harry thought. Now that Sirius’s name was cleared, he was able to teach at Hogwarts. Remus took up his old Defense Against the Dark Arts position. His new-found status as a war hero allowed parents to overlook his medical status. Harry was sure some parents were still troubled, but he was equally sure that none wanted to appear to harbor pureblood fanaticism. Sirius had settled in quite well as the new Transfiguration professor. Just as McGonagall has once impressed her students by transforming into a cat, Sirius told Harry of greeting his own students as the great black Padfoot on the first day of classes.
After dinner, Remus started a fire in the old fireplace. Sirius trimmed the towering tree Hagrid had sent over earlier in the day. It was homey and lovely and just the sort of place Harry wished he could have grown up. Sirius celebrated Christmas more enthusiastically than anyone Harry had ever seen. He had after all missed more than a decade of Christmases in Azkaban. He never left a bough untrimmed or a doorway un-bedecked. The old creaky shack smelled of fir and mistletoe, and a pot of hot cider mulled on the stove.
“How did the ickly toddikins enjoy having the famous Harry Potter talking to their class?” Sirius asked, interrupting Harry’s contented thoughts.
“I think one of them passed out with excitement,” Harry groaned.
“I told you, Harry, Esmerelda Hopkirk has a medical condition,” Remus tutted.
“I bet one wink from old green-eyes here and she was in a condition alright,” Sirius joked.
“How is Ginny?” Remus asked.
“She’s great. I, uh, I wanted to tell you actually. We’re getting married in the spring.”
“That’s fantastic,” Remus smiled.
“Wow,” Sirius said, shaking his head in bemusement. “Aren’t you young?”
“No younger than my own parents, or hers,” Harry countered.
“You’ve got us there,” Sirius admitted.
“How come neither of you married?” Harry asked. “I mean, I can guess Sirius, with Azkaban-- but did you never meet someone, Remus? I thought you and Tonks would have been good together.”
Harry had been in Auror training for a few months now, and so he didn’t miss the look exchanged between his godfather and favorite professor. Once, he might have been oblivious. Now, he could see they were conversing silently.
“What?” Harry asked. “What did I say?”
“Harry,” Remus said in this ‘I’ve got to break bad news’ voice. It was a tone Harry was too familiar with from the war. “I have met someone.”
“Brilliant!” Harry sat up straighter. “When do I get to meet her?”
Another silent conversation seemed to follow. Then Sirius answered. His voice sounded rough and worn again in a way Harry hadn’t heard in months. “Harry, I’m sorry, I thought you knew.”
“Knew what?” Harry said. He looked blankly at Sirius.
“Harry,” Remus started hesitantly, “Your godfather and I… well, we’d been an item back at Hogwarts for a while, but then with Azkaban,” Remus tilted his head before continuing, “But then after, we tried to pick up the pieces.”
“Bloody well did a damn sight better than ‘tried’,” Sirius muttered.
“I mean to say, it took us a while to get back here, but we’re very happily together.” Remus reached out his hand and Sirius took it. A smile of naked affection passed between them.
“Bollocks!” Harry exclaimed.
Both Remus and Sirius’s eyes snapped towards Harry. “Pardon?” Sirius asked.
“You’re having me one. Hermione says I’m quite gullible, but I’m not having it.”
“We’re not,” said Sirius. “Honest.”
“Prove it,” Harry challenged. He felt himself grin widely, knowing how to call their bluff. “Snog or something.”
Another silent conversation passed, but then Sirius rose from his chair and stepped over to Remus’s.
“Sirius,” Remus pleaded quietly, “He may not be ready.”
“Give him some credit,” Sirius said, shoving his mop of dark hair away from his face. “I don’t think he’s an arse. He just doesn’t believe us, is all. Was James any different?”
Remus laughed at some memory, and before he was finished, Sirius bent down and laid a giant, sloppy open-mouthed kiss on him. Which he returned. Happily.
Harry heard himself groan. His hands covered his eyes. Then he rubbed his eyes and removed his hands to see Remus and Sirius both staring at him expectantly.
“Why?” Harry growled, “Why am I always the last to know everything?”
“I really thought you knew,” Sirius whispered.
“Well I didn’t! No one tells me anything so how would I know what no one tells me?”
“Well,” Sirius said, rising his fingers and counting them off, “We lived together at Remus’s, then again at Grimmauld Place, we’ve been giving you joint gifts for years, we bought this place together, we have the same bedroom, need I go on?” He eyed meaningfully from beneath his brows.
“I just thought… I thought one of you slept on the couch or something,” Harry stammered.
“Harry,” Remus said gently, “This house has ten rooms. Why on Earth would either of us sleep on the couch instead of in one of them?”
Harry hated that he was being made to feel like an idiot. They were right, of course, and Harry would bet a million galleons everyone else knew too. Definitely Hermione and Ginny knew. How was he supposed to be an Auror when he couldn’t even see the things right in front of his face?
“Cheer up,” Sirius said. “It’s not so bad. You’re right, of course, I should have told you straight out.”
Harry shook his head. “No, don’t apologize. It should have been rather obvious. Some Auror I make.” It would have been obvious to anyone with half a brain.
“The problem,” Remus said, “is you’ve been working your whole life to be suspicious of suspicious characters, people like Snape or the Malfoys. You trust us. That’s your blind spot, Harry. You don’t look that closely at the people you trust.”
“Your father was the same,” Sirius said.
“And look where it got him,” Harry snapped. “I’m sorry. You’re right of course.”
“Look,” Sirius said, walking to the shelf and plucking a bottle of Scotch down, “Let’s all pretend you knew all along and you don’t have to feel embarrassed.”
“If you didn’t notice, I doubt Ron did,” Remus added helpfully.
“There you go,” Sirius said, handing Harry a snifter. “We give you permission to treat Ron like an idiot for not knowing.”
This did make Harry laugh. “Does everyone else know, then?”
“I imagine so,” Remus said.
“Mrs. Weasley?” Harry asked.
“Oh certainly. She’s known a long while. She was looking to match me up with Tonks in fact. It didn’t help her dislike of Sirius to discover why I wouldn’t date Tonks.”
Harry laughed ruefully.
“But she and Charlie make an excellent couple,” Remus added. “And they have that little boy. He’s quite a laugh. Lovely child.”
This last sobered Harry up. “Did you want children?” Harry asked.
“No!” Sirius barked. “I can think of no better way to subvert my pureblood legacy than to chop it off at its knees.”
Remus chuckled at this. “It’s really not safe for me to have children, Harry. There’s a chance they could inherit my illness.”
“Oh.”
“But don’t be sad for us,” Sirius said, moving to ruffle Harry’s hair. “We’ve got you. You’re the closest thing to a son either of us will have.”
“But… a baby, though. Did you ever want a baby to play with?”
Remus and Sirius’s eyes met fondly. “We had a baby to play with,” Remus said quietly. “He was quite a handful.”
“Merlin, that broom.”
“You gave it to him!”
“I know! But I didn’t think I’d have to chase him around the ceiling!”
Harry realized they were talking about him and laughed at the image.
“We watched you all the time when you were just a tiny thing,” Sirius said. “You were no bigger than a kitten when you were born.”
“Maybe a bit bigger,” Remus added with a smirk.
“Only a tad. And don’t you worry about us,” Sirius said. “You’re marrying Ginny, and I imagine you’ll be planning to give us a pile of sprogs to spoil.”
Harry did smile at this. And then he remembered what had started the conversation. “May the tenth,” he said, smiling. “That’s the date.”
Sirius grinned. “We’ll be there with bells on.”