Remus Lupin looked up and smiled when Harry sat across the table from him. They were in the kitchen at the Burrow and Harry was almost seventeen.

"I have a question for you," Harry said without preamble.

"Okay."

"It's a simple question, yes or no answer, and I don't want to hear I don't think I should say or That's not my place or any other answer that isn't an answer. Yes or no. Whichever is honest. Will you answer that way?"

Remus blinked. Agreeing to such stakes with Harry Potter was dangerous territory indeed. The boy often wanted to know things he shouldn't, and the way that was phrased made it sound as though he knew Remus wouldn't want to tell him whatever it was.

But as Remus looked into Harry's eyes, he could see that the question was about Sirius. He couldn't use stronger Legilimancy on Harry without raising the boy's suspicions-Harry was relaxed and had no reason to use his Occulmency (if he had ever learned it, and Remus wasn't so sure), and Remus didn't want to break that trust.

What the hell? Remus could answer a question about Sirius.

"Yes," he finally said.

Harry sat back in his chair and dropped his hands to his lap. "Was Sirius gay?"

Remus studied Harry's face. He didn't appear angry or fearful of the answer. He sounded tired, and sad, almost resigned. Remus pursed his lips. "Yes," he said again. "He was."

"Why didn't he tell me?" Harry asked, leaning forward again, his voice almost pleading. "I wouldn't've cared..."

Remus shrugged slowly, shaking his head. "He did not feel it was very relevant," he said softly. "He did not want to risk hurting your relationship with something that did not matter. You say you wouldn't have cared, but he could not be sure of that."

"Surely he didn't think I would-"

"It was not an insult to you, Harry. If anything, it was an insult to your aunt and uncle. Sirius knew how prejudiced they were, and that is how bigotry is passed on-through the environment. You could have learned from them to be homophobic, and it simply was not worth that risk."

Harry dropped his eyes. He scratched his ear, his other hand drumming on the table. "Was he ever going to tell me?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"When the war was over, or when he entered into a relationship to tell you about. Whichever came first."

"So he wasn't with anyone?"

Remus hid a smirk. "Harry, by the time you met him, he was either on the run or in hiding. He hardly had time to meet someone."

"Was he ever with someone?"

Remus bit his lip before nodding curtly. "He had a boyfriend at Hogwarts."

Harry didn't ask follow-up questions about that, for which Remus was grateful. "So you two just talked about whether or not I should know this?"

"We talked about a lot of things, Harry. We decided on what we agreed was best. I am sorry if it was the wrong choice."

Harry scowled. "I understand. I guess I'm just disappointed. It seems like something he should have told me, you know? Just another missed opportunity," he added in a murmur. The look on his face made Remus's heart ache.

Remus considered his options. As Harry continued to avoid his eyes, Remus decided. The choice was obvious, really-anything else would be cruel. Harry wanted to learn about his godfather, and he had to right to the information.

"Okay," Remus said with a sigh. "Let's go." He stood up and Harry looked at him, bemused. Remus motioned for him to stand up as well. "We need to talk."

Harry followed Remus out into the garden, towards the end of the Order's protections on the property. Remus conjured some chairs and they sat facing each other.

Harry waited patiently.

After a minute of trying to figure out where to start, Remus finally said, "You deserve to know everything you want to know about your parents, Harry, and I consider Sirius to be part of that. I am your last and best resource for this information, and I would hate for something to happen and you be left with questions I could have answered." He took a deep breath and smiled gently. "I am not gay. But I am not straight either. I love Tonks very much, but it would be a lie, and a ridiculous one, to say she is the only person I have ever loved."

Harry's eyes widened in understanding. "You and Sirius?"

Remus nodded. "We dated in Hogwarts. We broke up after graduation but before he went to Azkaban."

"Why?"

Remus considered that for a moment. "Things were different, then, after Hogwarts. The war was raging and we weren't-safe anymore. Everything was stressful and scary, and it was not so much fun to date at that point."

"That's a good enough to break up, if you're in love?"

"I thought you would understand. You broke up with Ginny."

"To protect her," Harry said quickly. "Not because I didn't-" He stopped and looked down.

"Yes. I was protecting Sirius, as well. The werewolves, see, were recruiting and of course they wanted me. That wasn't much of a problem, until they started threatening everyone I cared about. It wasn't just Sirius I distanced myself from. It was James, Lily, Peter, everyone in the Order. Then Sirius went to Azkaban and it was thirteen years before I learned what really happened."

"Did you get back together, then?" Harry asked before narrowing his eyes. "You said he didn't have a relationship to tell me about."

"He didn't. We did not get back together."

"But you were friends. Hell, you lived together."

Remus smiled. "Yes. But we were not the same people we were in school. Azkaban changed him, time changed me. Do not mistake me, Harry. He was my best friend and I loved him. But we were not a good match."

"Sooo," Harry said, drawing the word out. "You were-just friends?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "We were very close."

"You're an attractive guy," Harry said bracingly and Remus barked a laugh. "Sirius was always good-looking. You lived together. You had a great relationship. You didn't date, I know, but did you ever-you know?"

Remus bit his lip to stop from saying Like the dogs we were.