The Now of Wolf Thought

Rosie's Place

"Hey Remus, can I talk to you for a moment please?"

Remus looked up from his late breakfast at the bi-speckled boy with the gorgeous eyes of emerald green. His heart broke a little more each time he gazed upon the boy and he vowed that the very first moment that he was able to, he was going to march right up to his very best friend and sweep her off her feet with a hug and kiss and a confession of his undying love and devotion.

Ah...who was he kidding. James would kill him. And if he couldn't manage it, Sirius would. And he'd let him.

"I dunno Harry. Can you?"

Hermione giggled and swatted his shoulder. "Be nice."

Remus looked into her brown eyes. "I am being nice. See? Aren't I being nice, Harry?"

"Erm, well yeah. I suppose? Sure." He looked toward his best friend and raised his brow.

Remus finally laughed, albeit, a little uneasily. "Ah Harry, don't mind me. Sleep deprivation, you see?"

Harry nodded and looked again to Hermione. "Have you brought it up to him yet?"

"Brought what up to me?"

"Dumbledore's Army."

"Sounds positively scandalous. Count me in!"

"But you don't even know what it is," Hermione said in hushed tones.

"Alright, so...what is it, this Dumbledore's Army?"

"SHHH!"

Remus immediately put on high alert, casually looked around, listening hard as he would for his three compatriots back in his natural timeline. "Alright, suppose we continue this conversation in a more private place then? I've been invited to Rosie's place for a butterbeer this afternoon. Why don't you two come along and we can discuss it there?"

"At the Three Broomsticks? How is that place more private?"

"Harry, have you even been in there?"

"Of course I have."

"Well, have you ever tried listening in on other's conversations?"

"Can say as I have, no."

"Well, you can't. It's far too noisy. See?"

"No." He shook his head.

"I get it," Hermione said. "And you're right. Without the use of magic, or perhaps a device used by 007, you wouldn't be able to."

"That's right," Remus said.  "People go there to drink and socialize, not plan an uprising. Well, maybe some do. That being said, it's traditionally a place to do that very thing. The Marauders used to do that."

Remus' face instantly fell.

"I know you miss them all," Harry said. "I wish I knew them..."

"I know you do Harry. I'm going to do my very best to make that happen."

"But I wouldn't know, would I?"

He shook his head. "Not if I did it right, no. And so much the better. You see, Sirius at great risk to his own personal sanity, has gone back and forth and returned to this time to try and do just that. But the poor bloke never had a full deck to begin with. Suffice it to say, he's stubborn and he's only barely hanging on. I've got to leave before he goes and takes a long walk off a short pier. I've got a feeling that the good Professor has him on a short tether, if only to keep him safe from harm."

Harry's face went pale. "You don't think he'd..."

"Do something stupid? Oh yeah, of course he would," Remus replied nodding. "He's Sirius Black, isn't he? He's done his fair share of stupid things. We all have, really. So how about joining us for that butterbeer later on?"