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.

"So you probably assumed my parents kicked me out for being a-" he stopped himself and looked around. They were sat in a corner, a little away from the crowds, but he was anxious not to be overheard. "Because of my condition. That's what Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore thought too at first, but it actually wasn't that."

Remus was intrigued. He absolutely had assumed that. It wouldn't have been the first time he'd seen that situation. He looked on encouragingly.

"After I got attacked, they were kind of okay with me being… how I am. Kind of. So I thought, if they're okay with something like that, then maybe they would actually understand if I told them… if I told them that I wasn't really a girl. Well, I guess I was wrong about that."

He looked up at Remus as if he were expecting to be reprimanded and it broke his heart a little. He wasn't going to pretend to be an expert on this sort of thing, but he'd worked at a couple of queer venues in the city and it wasn't the first time he'd come across it. It wasn't as shocking to him as he imagined Simon feared it would be. Still, the admission caught him off guard a little.

"Okay. Well, your parents sound like real pieces of shit and how they managed to raise someone as great as you is beyond me."

That got a rather bright smile out of Simon, who let out a deep sigh of relief. Remus took it as a victory.

"My boyfriend actually had to leave home when he was just a little older than you. His family were truly awful, so he decided to make his own," Remus said.

"Professor Dumbledore has been trying to find a place for me to stay over the summer. I have an older sister, but she ran away when I was just a baby my parents never told me where she went. He said he found her. I'm going to go stay with her for Christmas. Don't know what's going to happen after that," Simon explained.

"That's good, isn't it?"

"I hope so. She already knows I'm a boy and is cool with it. We've been sending some letters. But she doesn't know about the other thing. Dumbledore wants us all to talk about it together first, at the school."

"That's probably a good idea."

Simon hesitated. Once again, Remus patiently waited until he was ready to talk.

"What if she doesn't want me?" he said at last. "The other kids, they don't know about me and I've heard the way they talk about… people like us. Even the nice ones and the smart ones. I never talked to people outside my family much before this and I didn't realize how much they just fucking hate us," he finished mournfully.

Remus wished he could give him a better version of the truth than the one he knew. He wished he could give himself that, too.

"Not many people know this. In fact only two people left in the world do, and that's Dumbledore and Sirius. So, I was turned when I was four. I had always been told it was just bad luck, what had happened. That it was chance. But it wasn't random. My dad used to work for the Ministry of Magic and he made some public comments saying that-" he glanced around to make sure nobody was paying attention, just as Simon had earlier, "people like us were…" he caught himself before he started chocking up. It would do Simon no good for him to get emotional, but it had been a long time since he'd talked about this. "He said that people like us were evil, deserved to be killed. So someone, a man with a particularly strong loathing for wizards, decided to punish him for his words. He used me to do that."

At the look of shock and horror on Simon's face, Remus rushed to reassure him.

"My dad had a change of heart. My parents loved me, even though it wasn't easy. I was very lucky. And my father was a very nice, very smart man, just like those kids. He protected me. I was twelve when my mother told me the truth, a few months before she… Anyway, he never actually learned that I knew. For a while it really changed how I saw him, but eventually I understood. I guess my point is that it's really easy to believe something when the whole world is telling you it's true, and it's really hard to change those beliefs when it means admitting how much pain you caused in the past. Maybe your sister won't care, maybe she'll take time to come around, or maybe she never will. I don't know. I hope she does. Just understand that there are people out there who will love you, even if it doesn't feel like it. Even if it takes them some time for them to learn how to do it properly. But the burden isn't on you to teach them how, it's on them to do the work and figure it out. I'm sorry that I don't have a rosier picture to paint, but you're clever, and you're strong, and you'll be okay."

He sat back in his chair, taking a long, slow breath. Simon was quiet for a while. He looked on the verge of tearing up, but he didn't.

"Thank you," he said eventually. "But this is really fucking sappy and you're absolutely right, I no longer think you're cool at all," he added with a sudden big, cheesy grin.

Remus chuckled. "You're a fast learner."

They continued to chat for a while, but with a renewed vigor and a lot more teasing. Simon really was a smart kid. He'd had to take on some private lessons to help him catch up, but it turned out he had a real gift for transfiguration, which Simon thought was both poignant and hilarious. After a while, it was coming close to time for the students to make their way back to the castle.

"Thanks for coming all this way," Simon said. "I know it's because Professor Dumbledore asked you. He thinks I'm 'getting off track' or whatever," Simon said with an eyeroll.

"Why does he think that?" asked Remus, furrowing his brow. Dumbledore hadn't gone into detail, only saying that he thought Simon could use guidance. Remus assumed it was to do with learning to navigate his condition.

"It's nothing. I had detention the last two weeks. It just finished a couple day ago. Just over some stupid fight."

"Fight about what?"

"One of the prefects caught me with a joint and tried to confiscate it. He got all in my face, put his hand on my shoulder. So I pushed him and he landed flat on his ass. Don't start shit, don't take shit, right?" he said with a smirk. "He was fine but he tattled to McGonagall and she was pretty upset. Everybody here is so uptight about stuff."

Remus felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Simon was talking like it was some joke and of course Remus would be on his side.

"She was right to be upset. You can't do stuff like that, Simon. Where did you even get it?"

"What?" he asked, confused at Remus' sudden concern. "Some guy I knew from my hometown sent me an ounce. Why, you want some?" he asked with another smirk.

"This isn't a joke," he said, the sinking feeling deepening. "It's- fuck, I know it doesn't seem like a big deal right now but it's not good for you to be doing that."

"Come off it. I was with you in the-" he lowered his voice, "in the pack for two days. Even before we talked, I was watching, you know? I've seen you do way worse shit than this and you want to get on my case about a little weed, which I know for a fucking fact that you smoke?" he said in total indignation.

"It's not the same. Those places, they don't work like the rest of society. The shit that I was doing while undercover is not a shining example, Simon, it shouldn't be the way you want to live your life. Or do you not remember how we left that place?" he asked, getting increasingly heated.

"Oh, I remember," Simon responded, suddenly very cold. "I also remember what happened when we got to Hogsmeade. I'm not an idiot, you know, I know what you were smoking, and you want to judge me? Fuck, even I wouldn't touch that shit. My mum's a junkie too, so I know what it looks like," he said, leaning forward like he was ready to pounce.

Remus felt like someone had dropped a bag of ice down his spine. Junkie. The word rang in his ears. Any frustration with Simon disappeared and was instantly replaced by a deep, heart stopping sense of shame. Simon saw this with bitter satisfaction and decided to really drive the point home.

"Do you think you're fooling anyone? Your hands have been shaking for the last hour. You're pale and clammy and you looked like you were going to throw up any time someone passed too close with food. So go ahead and tell me what a fuckup I am but don't take too long, you look like you could use a fix," he finished, leaning back and folding his arms over his chest with a smug, vindictive smile.

Remus stood abruptly, his chair scraping behind him. Simon looked up at him as if expecting a retort. A fight.

"It was good to see you Simon. I'm glad you're safe and settling in. I hope everything works out with your sister. Really, I do."

As Remus spoke kindly the look of cockiness melted form Simon's face and guilt etched itself into his features. He didn't say anything, just watched as Remus gave him one last strained smile and walked out of the tavern.