A tall man stumbled out of the fireplace freezing when he saw the wands pointed directly at him and then slowly straightened up holding his hands up in surrender. He had light brown hair and amber eyes, he looked quite young but his face had lines of pain on his forehead. He was wearing a shabby looking suit.
"Lupin!" snapped Snape lowering his wand. "I could have hexed you! Why didn't you tell me you were coming!?"
"Sorry Severus. Dumbledore only just told me about Harry, I didn't think. By the way, do you think you could tell your friend who I am? I don't fancy being cursed."
Snape glanced at Phoenix who still had her wand raised and a restraining hand behind her. Her eyes were watching Lupin's every move.
"Phoenix it's ok. This is Remus Lupin, he went to school at the same time as I did and was a very close friend of Lily and James"
"Oh. Sorry." She tucked her wand into the belt of her tunic and stepped forward. "I probably should introduce myself. I'm Phoenix."
Remus shook her hand with a smile, relieved not to be on the receiving end of a hex or curse. Behind the adults Harry fidgeted, trying to peer around Snape to see who this man was. Remus noticed the movement and he too tried to look around Snape. Noticing this, Phoenix reached out a hand to Harry and gently pulled him forward.
"Harry, this is Remus Lupin. He was a good friend of your parents. Remus, this is Harry."
"H-harry?" Remus stuttered and took an unsteady step forward. It was like looking at a miniature James, except those eyes. As he looked at the small boy he felt a lump rise in his throat.
"Yes." Harry whispered back, just as uncertain and shrunk back when Remus held out his hand.
"It's ok. He won't hurt you." Phoenix assured him, squeezing his shoulder. Harry stepped forward and took his hand, before being enveloped into a bear hug.
"I thought you were dead!" Remus whispered. Snape cleared his throat loudly, causing Remus to pull back and Phoenix to elbow him in the ribs. Remus noticed this and wondered how they knew each other, but his more immediate concern was Harry, who was standing looking like he didn't quite know what to do with himself. His train of thought was interrupted by Phoenix saying brightly: "Well, why don't you go send for some tea?" Snape looked annoyed but decided not to argue and shouted: "Mickey!" A small house elf with huge ears appeared and bowed deeply:
"How is Mickey being of service to Professor Snape"
"Could you get us some tea please?"
"Of course! Mickey will be right back!"
With a last bow, the elf disappeared with a sharp crack and reappeared again almost instantly bearing a tray with a large teapot, mugs and a huge plate of assorted biscuits. This was deposited on the table and Mickey disapparated. Phoenix and Harry sat on the sofa opposite Remus and Severus who were on separate armchairs. As they sipped their tea, Phoenix explained how Harry had come to be at Hogwarts, telling Remus how she had offered to adopt him. This soon changed to memories of his parents, which interested Harry very much. However, his broken night and the previous day's events came back to him. Soon, his eyelids started drooping and he slumped back into the cushions, Phoenix had to carry him to bed, promising that she'd wake him up in time for lunch. Severus excused himself and went off to his lab, leaving Remus and Phoenix alone.
Remus looked up when she came back from Harry's room.
"Is he ok?" he asked with concern
"Yeah, just tired. It's been a lot to take in for him".
Remus moved to the sofa so that they could talk more easily.
"He looks so much like James." He murmured. "Except for the eyes." His voice was trembling now. "Lily's eyes." Remus buried his face in his hands, ashamed and then was surprised to feel Phoenix's arms around him.
"Hey, it's alright. You'll be ok."
"I-I m-m-miss them s-s-so much." He sobbed.
"That's normal. It's ok to miss them." He only cried harder and she soothed him the best she could. Eventually he calmed down and wiped the last tears from his eyes. Wanting to change the subject, he asked Phoenix:
"So, how do you know Severus?"
"He was my potions teacher. He adopted me in third year after death eaters killed my parents."
"Oh, I'm sorry. About your parents I mean."
She shrugged, "That's ok." They sat in silence for a while, until Phoenix noticed that it was dinnertime and went to wake Harry.
