On a Windswept Cliff (7/9)

[starfishstar]

ON A WINDSWEPT CLIFF

Summary:

On the cliff top where the fearsome Lord Black once stalked, an outcast man meets a big black dog, and things are not as they seem.

Or: The Remus/Sirius gothic romance AU.

CHAPTER SEVEN

After a week of waiting in silent agony, Remus couldn’t take it anymore. He broke down and asked Molly.

“Do you remember I asked you about a man who came by here, back in the beginning?” he asked. They were out in front of the museum again, deciphering some difficult old scrolls in the intermittent sun that broke through the scudding clouds. It was July now, high summer, though it never got truly warm here so close to the wind-battered coast. The children were playing around them, and Remus noticed how Molly’s eyes still darted most often to the twins, Fred and George, reassuring herself that they were there.

“Hm, yes,” Molly said, distracted, her head bent over the scroll in her lap. “Has he been giving you trouble?”

“No, no, nothing like that. We’d got to be…friends, actually. He would come by sometimes in the evenings. But he hasn’t been by in a while, and I don’t know how to contact him. Are you sure you don’t know him?”

“I don’t think so. What was his name again?”

“Sirius. That’s all I knew, just Sirius.”

Molly looked up in surprise. “Sirius? That’s an old wizarding name. It was used – well, it was a name used by the Black family, actually.”

Remus felt a chill run down his spine. “What? What do you mean?”

“The ancestors of Lord Black. They were an old wizarding family, you know, long before they came to England and became associated with Death Eaters and all that rot.”

“And Lord Black had…descendants, too?”

Molly sighed, glancing reflexively towards her children. “Well, they do say he had a wife and children, but so far I know, any descendants have died out by now. I think I once heard it said that there were two young brothers of that family, probably around your age, but they both died in the war.”

Was Sirius a ghost? No, that was ridiculous. One thing Sirius definitely was was corporeal.

“And did they live around here, these descendants who might have been from the Black family?”

Molly tapped a finger thoughtfully against her lip. “If they did, they kept it quiet in the intervening years. Can’t have been an easy surname to bear. And then once Lord Black rose again…well, who knows. It was such a chaotic time.” She turned to Remus, and her gaze went uncomfortably sharp. “Why? You think this man you met might be one of them, somehow?”

That was what Remus was starting to think, wasn’t it? It would explain a great deal.

“I’m sure it’s a coincidence,” he said.

Molly nodded thoughtfully, and Remus was afraid she was going to ask more, but just then Ginny ran up shrieking about something Fred had done, and Molly’s attention was diverted.

When their conversation started up again, it was only for Molly to say, “You know, I do understand that you’ll want to move on eventually, Remus. A backwater job like this couldn’t possibly hold talents like yours for long. I just hope you’ll visit us sometimes, when you go!” While Remus was still recovering from that statement, Molly added, “Oh, did I mention Dumbledore said he might drop by this afternoon?”

Dumbledore did indeed drop by that afternoon.

Remus hadn’t seen his former headmaster since he’d met him at Hogwarts at the beginning of the summer to talk about taking this caretaker post, and he’d rarely seen the man outside of Hogwarts at all, even during the years when Remus and James and Lily were working for the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore striding through the bleak abbey ruins with his bright blue robes and sparkling eyes was wonderfully incongruous.

“Remus!” he said, as Remus came towards him, their paths connecting in the middle of what had once been the nave. He reached out and shook Remus’ hand. “You seem to be keeping well. How’s the work here treating you?”

“Professor Dumbledore,” Remus said, feeling all at once like a tongue-tied schoolboy. “It’s good to see you. I have to thank you again for recommending me for this post. It’s been very rewarding.”

The headmaster’s eyes twinkled even more, if such a thing was possible. “I’m glad to hear it. Made any friends here, in your time so far?”

Had he emphasised that word, friends, just a bit, or was Remus imagining it? Why in the name of all magic did the way he said the word send Remus wildly into imagining that he knew about Sirius? Dumbledore’s expression, as always, was jolly and inscrutable.

“Er, yes,” Remus fumbled. “Molly and Arthur have been lovely, and their kids too, of course.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Dumbledore said, his voice going gentler. “We certainly all have need of friends.” Before Remus could think what he could possibly say to that – if anything, it would be something like, Maybe so, but some of us don’t dare – Dumbledore continued, “It happens I’m here with another work-related proposal for you. Shall we walk?”

They walked together towards the cliff top, Remus stretching his legs to match Dumbledore’s long strides. Despite his advanced years, the man never failed to convey an impression of vigorous energy.

When they reached the top of the cliff, Dumbledore stopped and peered down towards the beach, an expression on his face that could only be described as fond.

“I used to come here, as a teen,” he murmured, almost more to himself than to Remus.

As a teen? Remus desperately wanted to ask. You mean, at the same time as Lord Black first started his reign from this very spot? But he couldn’t imagine voicing that question out loud.

“Happy memories, in some ways…” Dumbledore mused. “But those days are past, as they should be.” He brought his focus suddenly back to Remus. “But we’re here to talk about you, Remus. Have you ever thought about teaching?”

“…Sir?” was all Remus could reply.

“Teaching. A professorship at Hogwarts. Don’t try to tell me you’re not qualified. I have complete confidence you would do the material justice.”

“Teaching – Hogwarts – What subject are we talking about?” Remus fumbled, feeling he’d been suddenly left somewhere several sentences behind Dumbledore.

“Didn’t I say? Defence Against the Dark Arts, of course.”

If there had been a wall or post or something nearby to prop himself up against, Remus would have availed himself of it. The professor he most revered was offering him a teaching post at the place that had been his only real home beyond the age of eight, in the subject he had most enjoyed as a boy? Was he asleep and dreaming, and had only imagined all this morning and afternoon?

“What – why? Has Professor Merrythought retired?”

Dumbledore smiled. “Juniper Merrythought has had a long and illustrious teaching career at Hogwarts, as her mother did before her, but yes, she has decided to hang up her teaching hat, as it were. I am looking for a replacement, come this autumn. Preferably someone young, and energetic, with a strong understanding of Defensive Magic in both theory and practice. Will you consider it, Remus?”

“I – yes. Of course.”

“You needn’t give me your answer now. Send me an owl in a week or two, once you’ve had a chance to think it over. Ideal would be if you could come in August, before the start of term, in order to have some time to settle in. You would be paid for the additional month, of course, as well as a travel stipend.”

“Yes, all right,” Remus said, still dazed. “But – are you sure, sir? You don’t want someone with more experience, someone who’s taught before?”

Dumbledore’s eyes crinkled up at the corners. “The truth is, Remus, I see the perfect candidate for the job standing right in front of me.”

When Professor Dumbledore went off to have tea with Molly before returning to Hogwarts, Remus wandered out into the hills in a haze of bewilderment.

Him, teach at Hogwarts? Surely Dumbledore would change his mind, realise he’d made a mistake and rescind the offer. And yet, he hadn’t looked uncertain in the least. In fact, Remus had never known Dumbledore to be uncertain.

Professor Dumbledore was truly offering him, Remus, a teaching position at Hogwarts, a job so ideal that Remus had never even dared to dream it.

Of course he was going to accept!

But there was no way he was going anywhere without seeing Sirius again.

Right. It was time to track that man down.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(continue to Chapter Eight)

Comments

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

So now I'm wondering just how calculating Dumbledore was being in offering Remus the Abbey caretaker's job -- was that a test, and the Hogwarts job to be Remus's prize if he passed (by sticking around and not fleeing, and being friendly to the Weasleys)? Hmmm.

I'd been wondering since last night why Sirius transformed after rescuing George -- if he was so afraid of Remus finding out that he was the dog (assuming he really is -- Remus didn't see the actual transformation...), why didn't he just stay in dog form? So I had another look at Ch 6, and now I have an idea, but I don't want to spell it out in case I'm right, because then it would be a spoiler for readers coming after me. ;)

[starfishstar]

Huh, interesting interpretation! I hadn't thought of it as a test (in my mind, ever-scheming old Dumbledore had other, gentler ulterior motives!) but you certainly could read it that way.

Ohhh, I so badly want to know what your theory about Sirius transforming is! If you don't mind, I would so very much love to know, after you've read the whole thing, what your various theories were and at what point you figured out which things... That would be fascinating input for me, to know how the story comes across and at what points which things became clear.