Chapter Four:

Of course, the next morning Sirius recognized him, as did the children. It turned out that he had taught Defense against the Dark Arts two years ago. She vaguely remembered Fred and George babbling on and on about the professor all thorough the following summer, how great of a teacher he was, how much he knew, how nice he was, on and on and on they had gone.

And Molly quickly found that she liked this quiet, soft spoken man. After breakfast he had immediately begun helping her clear the table, and actually offered to do the dishes, without magic. She thought that funny, and had laughed for the first time in days.

He had given her a quizzical look, and so she had asked. "I can do the dishes faster by magic, why do them by hand?"

He shrugged. "There isn't any hurry." He answered, unruffled. "I always found it gave me something to do."

Sirius had piped in from the living room, "Actually, Molly, Moony is easily entertained. He thinks washing dishes is fun."

At that, Fred and Weasley had popped in. "You're Moony?" Fred asked, excited. "The Moony?"

"As in Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs?" George added.

Molly had no idea what the boys were talking about, but Lupin seemed to, and nodded in reply. "Actually, though, if you're looking for information, you might want to talk to Padfoot." He nodded in the direction of Sirius.

"He's Padfoot?" Fred and George looked as if Christmas had come early. "Really?"

"Yes, he is." Lupin answered them. "And can probably tell you more than I can." Fred and George tried to nonchalantly excuse themselves and head for the living room, but they were obviously excited.

"Who is Moony?" Molly asked after the boys had left.

Lupin sighed, and absent-mindedly picked up a dish and began washing it. "I was, during my school years. It was a nickname given to me by Sirius and James our first year. By the time we graduated, we all had nicknames. Sirius was Padfoot, James was Prongs, and Peter-" He paused, swallowed, then continued. "Peter was Wormtail."

"James Potter and Peter Pettigrew?" Molly asked uncertainly. Lupin nodded. So he had been friends with all of them. Apparently, though, he had been forgotten when the Potters had been murdered. Molly couldn't imagine losing those people most dear to her and then being forgotten by the world.

"We used to get in a lot of trouble when we were at Hogwarts." Lupin continued. "More than George and Fred, if you can believe that." He said with a light chuckle.

"So you're the good Defense Professor?" Molly asked, trying to start a conversation. Lupin scoffed.

"Why would you say that?" He asked.

"Well, the year you taught was the only year I have ever heard five of my children agree on anything in regards to a professor and had that agreement be on something good. You had them all quite impressed, from Percy all the way down to Ginny. The twins thought you were great, and Ron didn't argue with them. That is no small feat. You must have done something good."

He might have been blushing at that, but he was so pale she couldn't be certain. He was terribly thin, she noticed, and looked exhausted, just as he had the night before. He also looked rather ill.

Molly wondered if she should ask if he were alright, but she had only just met the man, and it might be something he didn't like to talk about. She would ask Sirius later, she decided firmly.

"That didn't take very long, did it?" Lupin asked, handing Molly a glass. Confused, she looked down at the sink and realized she had been rinsing dishes as he washed him, and that they were now finished.