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Chapter 6

Remus stared at Dumbledore in shock. What was going on? Yesterday at the staff meeting, several of the other professors had been asking the headmaster who would be his replacement. In response, Dumbledore had told them that the board hadn't yet decided, which had startled several of the instructors. The next was the last day of school, and they really wanted to know who their new boss would be.

Snape had just sat in the corner he had adopted at the beginning of the year, not even bothering to ask. Remus had looked at him in concern, but had found the other man had been shaking his head slightly. It made him wonder if he had been privy to the headmaster's decision, since he would no longer be teaching.

Still, he could see Dumbledore's reasons for holding back a little. Sort of. He'd think on it later.

"...The Headmaster will be, or rather the new Headmistress will be Professor Sprout."

Remus could see that. Definitely. He was one of the first few to start clapping, joining his fellow professors, including Harry and Sirius, who surprisingly was the new potions teacher – Remus wondered how he'd been able to keep *that* secret for so long – in applause.

Soon the Great Hall was filled with noise, as several graduating Hufflepuffs congratulated their Head of House on the job, standing up on their chairs as the rest of the students began to join their cheering.

"With Professor Sprout's appointment and Professors Snape and Vector's resignations, we have also had to select two new teachers, as well as two Head of Houses. Professor Sinistra will remain the head of Ravenclaw, and as I stated earlier, the new Professor Potter will be the head of Gryffindor. I would like to introduce Ms. Marissa Warrington, the new Head of Slytherin, as well as the new Arithmancy instructor."

A young witch nodded her head from where she was sitting in the first row behind the graduating students. Remus remembered her being on the Quidditch team for Slytherin, and that she had graduated in Harry's third year, but other than that and that she had done very well in DADA, he didn't know a lot about her. He made a mental note – just after the one where he checked Dumbledore's sanity – to talk to her soon. He really didn't want the rivalry between the houses to be like it had. Especially since it had often set up boundaries that no one wanted to cross.

"And now for our new Head of Hufflepuff and Herbology instructor, I'd like to introduce Mr. Amos Diggory."

Remus gave a small smile as he saw the happiness on Harry's face. He knew the problems the other man had had over Cedric's death, and it hadn't been until Dumbledore had called in Amos that Harry had started the process to forgive himself. Remus remembered the helplessness that he and Sirius had felt when they saw that no matter what they had said, it hadn't changed Harry's feelings that Cedric's death had been his fault. Remus sent a warm smile to the older man, who had lost a lot during the war, not just his son.

Dumbledore raised his hand, cutting off the applause that had filled the Great Hall. From his signal, it was clear that he hadn't quite finished with all of his announcements.

"The board of governors and I have talked with Professor Sprout about who would be the best candidate to be the Deputy Headmaster or Headmistress. Together we have narrowed it down to one person. If he would accept the job, I would like to ask if Professor Lupin would like to take on the job."

Remus' heart stopped as he looked over at Dumbledore. What!? No, he must have been hearing things. Dumbledore hadn't just asked him to be that, had he?

A nudge from Sirius woke him from his stupor. Glancing over to Harry, he saw that the younger man was shocked by the announcement, but was also smiling happily at him. Suddenly a loud noise startled him, and he turned to the audience to find many of the students on their feet once again.

For once it didn't bother him that he was a werewolf. If his students were happy with this, he was willing to take the position. Nodding, he gave a small smile to Dumbledore before turning it on Harry and Sirius respectively.

He was still in shock over what Dumbledore had announced Professor Sprout as the new Headmistress (only the third one in the history of Hogwarts) and the explosive response the students had given to his being asked to be the new Deputy Headmaster, and so the rest of the ceremony passed in a haze. Soon after, though, Sirius dragged him and Harry into a little room just off the Great Hall, not giving them a chance to talk to anybody else. Remus knew that Harry would have to talk with Ron and Hermione about his new job, and they both had to talk to Dumbledore, but Sirius obviously wasn't going to allow it.

"Remy, did you know about this?" Sirius was asking.

Shaking his head, Remus answered, "no."

"Harry?" Sirius turned to look at his godson.

The younger man shook his head. "I'm just as clueless about this as you two are."

Remus leaned closer and brushed his hand against Harry's in reassurance, even though he recognized the shock he felt in the other's face.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone for a minute, shall I?" Sirius pointed at their hands, which were twining together.

As he left, Remus looked at the closed door thoughtfully. There had been something just a little off in the way Sirius' voice had sounded. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but it hadn't been anything bad. In fact, he had sounded... lonely. Was Sirius thinking they would abandon him now that he and Harry were together?

"Remus?"

Shaking off his thoughts and putting them on hold, he looked down and found anxious green eyes looking up at him. Smiling, Remus turned fully towards Harry and pulled him into his arms. Harry tucked his head into Remus' neck, as the older man felt his silky hair brush against his cheek.

They stood like that for several minutes, just needing to be with each other to gain a hold on sanity. Finally, Remus felt like he could get through the rest of the night.

"Ready?" he asked as he stepped slightly back from Harry.

Harry gave a shaky smile, but nodded anyway. "Yes. But I think I'll be coming to your room after this is all over with. I don't want to have Ron and Hermione asking me questions all night."

Remus chuckled and understood. "Harry, you're always welcome," he said, smiling. "Anytime."

******

Hermione almost tackled Harry the moment he stepped out of the room.

"Earlier you said that you didn't know what you were going to do, and now this?" she asked, her voice rising higher with each word.

Harry cringed as people around them stared at the trio. The only thing that made it bearable was the fact that Hermione's face turned as red as Ron's face usually did when he was embarrassed.

"I never said that I wouldn't be doing something like this," Harry started to say with a smile. He stopped and the grin faded when he noticed Hermione's face grew even redder as she grew angry.

"Why didn't you say something about this?"

Ron laid a hand on her arm. "Mione. Calm down."

"I will not! You're our best friend, Harry! Why didn't you say something about this before? I thought we could trust you and that you were keeping something this big a secret from us...." She let the words hang in the air, obviously not caring about who heard her.

Harry looked her in the face, his eyes sad. "Because I wasn't, and am still not, sure about this. But I can tell that you don't like the thought of me being a teacher, so I...." He didn't finish the sentence as he turned and walked away. He hadn't expected Hermione to blow it so out of proportion. Actually he had figured that Ron would get a little mad at not being the first to know, but Hermione.... It was so totally out of character for her.

He looked across the Great Hall and found Remus talking to Dumbledore. Making his way over, he avoided talking to anybody. Once he was next to his lover, he leaned close.

"I'm going up to my room," he whispered.

Some of his feelings must have showed because Remus gave him a worried look and Dumbledore a concerned one.

"Are you all right, Harry?" Remus asked.

He shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "I just... need to get away from here."

Dumbledore nodded. "Remus, why don't you take him back to his room. Maybe you two should talk."

Harry watched as Remus gave the now former headmaster an anxious look before turning towards him.

"Let's go."

******

Sirius pushed himself away from the wall where he had been leaning. He had watched as Harry had talked to his friends and seen the Head Girl blow up. What really got him was the way Harry looked. It was so sad, and it looked as if his heart was being torn into pieces. Sirius didn't think that Harry knew any of this, but was glad that he went over to Remus.

A few minutes later, he watched as Harry and Remus left the Great Hall, going unnoticed by anyone. At first he wasn't sure why, but then noticed that Dumbledore had started to direct everyone to the table that were lined up on the opposite side of the door where food had been laid out.

He walked over to where the older wizard was standing, looking out over the crowd.

"What do you think happened?" Dumbledore asked.

Sirius shook his head. "It looks like Hermione didn't like the idea that Harry had been keeping a secret." He shot a look over to where the girl was standing, Ron trying to talk to her. He wasn't getting too far, as Sirius saw he was getting frustrated. "I wonder how she'll react to Harry's other secret."

Dumbledore hummed his agreement. "We will have to keep an eye on that. Were they planning on going to the party together?"

Sirius nodded. "Yes. I'll stick close to them, in case Hermione blows up again."

"Part of this is I think that young Hermione asked me a month ago if the potions position was still open."

Sirius almost gave himself whiplash turning to face Dumbledore. "What?"

Dumbledore gave him a quick glance before turning his eyes back to the corner where Hermione had wandered. Ron was nowhere near her as she talked stiltedly to Neville and Hannah. "I believe that she is a little jealous that Harry will get to stay here."

"But I thought that she was going to go into the Ministry, just so she and Ron wouldn't have to spend months separated at a time?"

"Yes, that was her plan," the older wizard said gravely. "I believe, however, that Ms. Granger is regretting turning down such a position."

Sirius was troubled. What if she was jealous of him for getting the job she wanted? He hadn't really talked to her enough before the ceremony, and now that it was announced that he was the new potions instructor, would she even want to talk to him? That made him think a little on it and say, "Do you think that I will make a good professor?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes, Sirius. The board and I believe that you will be a very good teacher. You may not be a master like Severus is, but all of the pranks you pulled when you were a teenager was beneficial. You will be able to handle the mistakes better than him, even if he can make the more complicated potions."

Sirius thought over it. He knew he was good at potions. He and Snape had fought for first place in the class during their seven years here as students. Hmm. He should talk to Snape about the classes, and it would give him a chance to ask the question he'd wanted to direct to the other man. First he had asked Dumbledore and Poppy if there were any special medical requirements that Snape needed, then he'd asked Remus and Harry if they minded another person coming along to the island.

All four hadn't objected to his idea, and Sirius had been proud of himself for setting it into action. Possibly for the first time in his life, he would actually set out to give Snape an enjoyable time. No pranks, no taunting. Nothing. Besides, he knew that being in the sun was healthy, and Snape needed the rest he would get on a vacation. He still remembered how good the sun had felt after being in Azkaban, and wanted the other man to enjoy it as well.

Straightening his shoulders, he gave a nod to Dumbledore and walked over to where Snape was talking to the few Slytherins left that had graduated. He never noticed the twinkle in the old man's eyes.

******

Harry sensed that he was being watched as he let Remus out of his room. The common room for his and Hermione's rooms was dark, and he couldn't tell if anybody was there.

"Thanks, Remus," he said in a soft voice, just in case.

Remus smiled. "No problem, Harry. We should talk to Dumbledore before he leaves on vacation. He said he would be here until the 15^th of July to help Flora adjust to her new job."

Harry nodded. They had spent most of the night talking about what had happened during the ceremony yesterday, glancing over what had happened afterwards. The two of them had eventually fallen asleep, still clothed, on Harry's bed. It had been nice, waking up next to Remus. His warm body had generated a comforting feeling in Harry, one that he was content to lay in for a while. However, Remus had decided it would be prudent that he return to his room before anyone else was up and about.

Harry returned the smile and leaned over, giving the older man a swift kiss. "Sure. We should drag Sirius along before we leave for the island. I'm pretty sure that he wants to know what's going on."

Remus took a step back. "I'd better go."

Nodding, Harry followed him to the door, closing it without a sound after he left. Sighing, he leaned against it and closed his eyes.

"Harry?"

He jerked upright at the sound of Ron's voice.

"Ron?" He looked over to where he had heard his friend, but it was too dark to see him. "Lumos," he commanded, and the lights went up to their pre-dawn setting.

Ron was sitting on the couch, and judging by his appearance had been there all night. His red hair was jutting out at crazy angles, and there were wrinkles on his face from the throw pillow he'd been using.

"Why are you out here?" Harry asked as he moved to the couch. He sat down as Ron pulled himself into a seated position, tucking his long legs underneath him.

"Mione and I were arguing and she kicked me out. I didn't want to drag myself back to my room." Ron sounded dejected.

"What were you fighting about?"

Ron turned troubled blue eyes to Harry. "She doesn't want to go to her new job."

Harry's eyes widened at the flat tone of his friend's voice. "Is this about my being the new Transfiguration professor?"

The red head shook his head. "Not entirely. It was just the last piece." He looked at Harry and gave a half-hearted smile. "And now that Sirius is the potions professor, I get the feeling that for the first time, Hermione isn't sure about what she wants to do. The only thing she does want is to marry me."

Harry smiled. "I'm glad for that."

"Me too," Ron agreed. This time his smile was a little more genuine. "I just want her to be happy about what she's doing."

"You love her," Harry said, "and that's the best thing you can do right now."

Ron nodded and grew silent for a couple of minutes. Harry was satisfied with just sitting with his best friend, the castle still quiet in the early morning hours.

"What's this with Remus?" Ron suddenly asked.

Harry was glad that the lights weren't at full power. He was sure that his cheeks were quite red at the question.

"Nothing," he tried to stall. He saw, out of the corner of his eye, that Ron wasn't buying that. "We're dating."

Ron had a triumphant look on his face. "I knew it!"

"What!?"

The red head gave a smirk. "As if you haven't been looking at the man all year."

Harry's cheeks turned purple. "What... does Hermione know?"

Ron shook his head. "No. She's been so wrapped up in school, that I think she forgets the rest of us are human sometimes. I think it's a good thing that she remembers me from time to time."

"Just keep reminding her, okay?" At Ron's nod he went on to say, "Remus and I.... Well." He stopped, not quite sure how to word it.

"You're in love?"

Trust Ron to be blunt about it.

Harry nodded. "Yes. We haven't done..." his cheeks grew red as he searched for words. "We haven't done anything but..."

"Kiss?" Ron sounded intrigued, and while Harry was glad that he wasn't brooding over his and Hermione's fight, he just wished it wasn't about him and Remus.

"He's..." Harry took a deep breath. Why couldn't this be just like when Sirius had caught them kissing? No. Maybe not. Still, he knew that if he showed Ron what went on, his friend would understand. Pulling aside the shirt he had thrown on yesterday, he turned so that Ron could see the healed bite mark.

"He's marked you," Ron breathed.

Harry avoided looking into his friend's eyes, not sure how he should explain any further.

"He must really love you, Harry."

His head whipped around and found Ron looking at him with an awed expression. "What?"

Ron shook his head and met his eyes. His blue eyes were serious and happy and a whole bunch of other emotions that Harry couldn't quite read. "The mark. It's a sign of his willingness to be with you until one or both of you dies. A werewolf will only mate with one person."

Harry was stunned. He hadn't known that, since they had never been taught *that* much in depth about werewolves. He didn't count Snape's aborted class on it, or the fifth year assignment on it by the reporter-in-disguise that was their DADA teacher. Even Remus had glossed it over when he had helped them review for the NEWTs, but Harry figured that was because the subject hit so close to home.

"How did you know all this?" he asked.

Ron smiled. "Since I noticed you watching him on the train." He laughed at Harry's astonished look. "I've been your best friend for seven years, Harry. I think I know what your moods are. That doesn't mean I knew what was going on right away, but when I figured it out, I decided to do a little research."

"Does Hermione know?" Harry couldn't help asking the question again. He didn't really want to admit it, but he was a little scared of what her reaction would be to his dating his now former teacher. And had been the last month of school.

He mentally sighed in relief at Ron shaking his head.

"I didn't want to say anything about it until you said something." Ron gave him a steady look. "I figured that you would tell us when you were ready. It's just now that...."

Harry understood. Ron was just as baffled by Hermione's reaction as the rest of them were. Only for Ron is was much worse, since he was in love with her. Harry loved her like a sister, but Ron was much closer to him so he understood him better. He wouldn't presume to say that he understood Hermione at times.

A sound from Hermione's room alerted them to her waking.

Harry smiled at Ron as he stood. "I'll see you at the party, then?"

Ron looked startled. "You're not leaving with the train?"

Shaking his head, Harry looked out the window opposite the couch. The sky was turning a light shade of purple and fuchsia, telling him that it was close to 6. "The full moon is in two days. Padfoot and Smoke are going to be with Moony."

Ron smiled. "So, does Sirius know how to make the potion?"

Harry gave a light chuckle. "Snape's going to be teaching him for the next couple of months."

The red head shuddered. "I wonder how Hogwarts is going to survive that explosion."

They looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing. Each of them was trying to reign in their chuckles when Hermione's door opened to reveal her eyeing them. Her glare was enough to rival Snape's from a couple of years ago.

Harry didn't back away. Instead, he smiled at her, tossed a "see ya later" to Ron, and went back to his room.

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