Descend - Wolfstar + Marauders

Bitter Satisfaction

He sat in The Three Broomsticks, taking in the aroma of hot Butterbeer and the happy chatter of students and townsfolk. He remembered how fun the Hogsmeade weekends had been in his school days. It was strange being on the other side of it, watching these kids delight in a small chance at independence and freedom. He found it rather entertaining. It was a welcome comfort after the rather unpleasant meeting he’d just had with Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey.

He hadn’t expected her to be there. The three of them had worked together to assess if Remus was ‘ready and able’ to return to his missions. He had been very contrite, compliant. Assured them that he had things under control, but in an act of good faith he had been attending the support group suggested on Madam Pomfrey’s list. In truth, he had only stopped in once, a few days earlier, to collect a couple of pamphlets and learn enough information to put on a convincing show. Apparently, it had worked. They had been reassured and he was to be going on a mission before the next full moon. He was absolutely dreading it, but that was an issue for later.

He had made sure to not use anything in the day before the meeting so as to have his system clear in case he was sent to the hospital wing for tests, but in the end it hadn’t been an issue. He was now regretting his effort. He was feeling rather out of sorts and sick to his stomach. It had only come on towards the end of the meeting and had been easy to hide, but it was getting worse by the minute. All he could think about was getting home and getting a fix.

There was something he needed to do first.

Simon sat across from him at their small table. He was dressed in his Hogwarts uniform complete with Ravenclaw tie, looking clean, rested, and well fed. It was a stark contrast to how he looked the last time Remus had seen him. He seemed relaxed. Remus was happy for him.

It was a very strange dynamic, given the circumstances of their last meeting. They had been making small talk, Simon telling stories about his classes, Remus chatting about what it was like to live in the city. After a while, the conversation came to a bit of a stall.

“Sorry,” Simon said awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck. “It’s a bit weird, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, a bit,” Remus agreed.

“You know, last time we hung out you punched that guy and took all my weed, then I find out you’re some kind of secret agent or some shit. I don’t know, I guess I wasn’t expecting you to be like, a kind of normal guy? Like some sort of responsible adult,” he said with a laugh.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Remus said, with a small but genuine smile.

“I swear, you might be the coolest person I’ve ever met. Aside from Oliver,” he added with sad look that sent a stab through Remus’ chest.

“You’re the only person in the world who thinks that. Don’t worry, you’ll quickly be disavowed of that notion. Just ask my partner, he’ll set the record straight,” Remus joked.

Simon perked up a little at that, sitting up straighter, suddenly very engaged.

“He?” asked Simon with a cautious sort of excitement.

Remus didn’t know a lot about Simon’s upbringing, except that it was… unconventional. He’d been largely home schooled, and Dumbledore seemed to have his concerns about what that environment might have been like.

“Yeah, Sirius. We got together at Hogwarts, actually,” and he can barley stand the sight of me now.

Simon was silent for a while. Remus just sipped his Butterbeer patiently as he watched the kid weigh up something in his head. When he finally spoke it was with an intentionally casual air that couldn’t quite cover his nervousness.