Remus could already hear the chatter drifting up from the kitchen as soon as he stepped into the entrance hall. There seemed to be something of a gathering in Grimmauld Place. He could make out the various Weasley children shouting over each other, a tone of excitement.

He made his way to the stairs leading down to the basement kitchen from where the noise was coming, but he had barely made it a few steps when he caught the sound of two deeper voices ascending the stairs.

Remus came face to face with Dumbledore and Arthur Weasley as they made their way towards the front door. Arthur jumped a little at seeing Remus. Dumbledore simply paused whatever he had been saying and smiled pleasantly

"Remus!" exclaimed Arthur. "Molly mentioned you were coming round for dinner! Sirius and the others are all downstairs along with an unexpected guest," he said jovially.

"Oh?"

"Our son Bill got into England a few days early and decided to surprise us. Dumbledore was kind enough to drop by and welcome him. You can imagine Molly was thrilled that he let Dumbledore know he was coming but not her" Arthur chuckled. "He's eager to do his part for the cause, that one."

"Well, he wouldn't be one of your kids if he didn't cause at least a little trouble, would he?" joked Remus, to which Arthur nodded fondly.

"Remus," said Dumbledore, "I have to say, this is very fortuitous. I have been hoping to speak with you, if you would grant me a moment of your time," he said, gesturing in the direction of the drawing room just off the front door.

Remus' stomach dropped. He sounded friendly as ever, but something in his gaze told Remus he wasn't going to like whatever Dumbledore had to say. "Of course, Albus," he responded politely.

"Alright, well, I'll leave you to it, then," said Arthur, apparently unable to feel the same thickness in the air that Remus feared he might choke on. He clapped Remus on the back. "See you at dinner."

Arthur moved to walk away, but Remus snapped out of it just in time to stop him. He held up a hand to Dumbledore to indicate he would only be a moment, then placed a hand Arthur's upper arm gently and guided him a few steps away.

He spoke softly. Dumbledore was gracious enough to take of his glasses and examine them before cleaning them on his robes, giving some illusion of privacy.

"How has Sirius been?" asked Remus in what he thought was a pretty good imitation of a casual tone.

Arthur looked at him a little too knowingly. "He's fine, Remus. Not always the most cheerful fellow I've ever met, but he's down there now joking with the kids. Don't tell Molly, but," Arthur lowered his voice, "I think he's been giving Fred and George some advice on those… those gags they've been concocting. Although…" he trailed off, suddenly hesitant.

"Arthur, tell me," insisted Remus anxiously.

"Well, it wasn't a big deal, really. I just went down to get a glass of water when I woke up in the wee hours the other night and ran into Sirius in the kitchen. He seemed to be a few glasses into a bottle of fancy wine his parents apparently secreted away long ago. It's not really an issue. All the kids were in bed and he's an adult in his own home. Still, something just seemed a little," he paused, searching for the right word, "off, I suppose. I don't really know him all that well, so it could have been nothing."

Remus nodded, clenching his jaw. "Thanks Arthur. I'd prefer if you don't mention to him I asked, if you don't mind," he requested sheepishly

"Don't worry about it," Arthur assured him. "He'll be very happy to see you," he finished with another uncomfortably knowing look accompanied by a cheerful smile and a wink.

He clapped Remus on the shoulder before heading off downstairs. Remus opened his mouth to speak but the butterflies flittering around his insides distracted him from finding any meaningful rebuttal. He cleared his throat awkwardly and turned to Dumbledore, who was peering over his now polished glasses with a look of amusement.

Remus shook his head. "I don't want to hear a word about it," he said, flushing as he strolled past Dumbledore into the drawing room.

"I wouldn't dream of it," said Dumbledore, following close behind.

As Remus sat across from Dumbledore, he noted absently that his hands felt slightly numb. His heart beat hard in his chest. He had been waiting for a little aside like this since the Order re-formed. He figured it was only a matter of time, but he had been hoping it wouldn't come up quite so soon.

"Remus-"

"No, " he interrupted firmly. Dumbledore peered at Remus over the rim of his glasses. Remus tried not to squirm. "Sorry," he muttered, kicking himself for how much he sounded like a nervous child.

It was daft. They had worked together. Dumbledore was a colleague. He just couldn't get it out of his head. He was still a teenager the last time Dumbledore had sat him down for this conversation, and in that moment he very much felt like he was again.

"I only ask that you indulge me, please, before making any decisions," requested Dumbledore with excruciating patience. Remus hesitated but eventually nodded. "Fenrir Greyback has gained a lot of support in the years since the war. The packs are more organized than they have ever been and we have reason to believe that Voldemort is already making plans to utilize this fact. I know you want no part of it, but one thing hasn't changed. You're still the only person in this organization with ties to those communities. There is nobody else who I can ask to do this, " he reasoned.

"I couldn't go undercover even if I wanted to. Maybe when I was twenty I could convince them that my past was out of my hands, but I've lived amongst wizards for too long. Nobody is going to believe that it wasn't by choice. They'll spot me from a mile away," he said, beginning to feel more self-assured as he explained his very valid reasons for his swift denial of this request. "It would take far too long to build any sort of trust. Even if that wasn't the case, I can't. I won't. It's taken too long to get to this point. You know what those places are like. I'm better but I'm not-" his voice cracked. He collected himself quickly. "I'm not taking that kind of risk when I've only just got some part of my life back. I'll be no use to you or anyone else if I go down that road again."

"I agree."

"You- then why are we having this conversation?" asked Remus a bit sharper than he intended.

"I'm not asking you to go undercover. It's far too dangerous for all the reasons you have so eloquently stated," said Dumbledore calmly. "What I am hoping, however, is that you would consider taking on a role as a sort of emissary. There are several key pack leaders who I hope to reach out to directly. Things are moving fast and we don't have the time to delay action. I believe my efforts would go smoother if you were to be the point of contact, and to be present at these meetings. You're familiar with the culture, the social structures. You have previously established relationships with a number of these pack leaders. I wouldn't put you in this position if I didn't believe you could handle it," Dumbledore assured him.

Remus pushed down the warm glow he felt at the confidence Dumbledore seemed to have in him. He tried to ignore that part of him that wanted nothing more than to please the man. To prove his usefulness.

"I'll have to think about it," he said eventually.

"Of course," Dumbledore replied, satisfied with the small progress.

"If we do this, we do it on neutral ground. I don't want to go into those places. It's been a long time but there are likely at least a few lycanthropes still out there who would kill me if they recognized me. Especially once they learned of my past deceit," he said with a grimace.

More than one of those missions had come to violent ends. He ignored those images as they flashed behind his eyes.

"Naturally."

"I'm telling Sirius about this, if that matters to you. I will not keep him out of the loop. Not about this or anything else. Not this time."

"I expected as much."

Remus hadn't realized he was bouncing his knee up and down rapidly. He forced himself to stop. He slowed his breathing, wondering where to go from there. He was just about to stand up and wish Dumbledore a good evening but was stopped short.

"How are you doing, Remus?" asked Dumbledore, dropping the formality in favor of a friendlier tone that put Remus slightly more at ease.

"As well as can be expected, given the circumstances," he said vaguely.

"You will let me know if you need any additional support, won't you?" asked Dumbledore kindly.

Remus rubbed his left forearm unconsciously. When he realized what he was doing he folded his hands in his lap. "I know where to go if I need that kind of help," he said quietly, never fully able to shake the discomfort of having these conversations with Dumbledore even though he'd done it so many times now. Even though a part of him actually really appreciated that someone who knew his history was keeping an eye out.

Dumbledore nodded, standing up and straightening his purple, velvet robes. Remus stood too. Before Dumbledore had the chance to offer parting words, Remus spoke, tilting his head, hands in his pockets.

"What about you, Albus?" he asked. "How are you holding up?"

Dumbledore almost looked surprised to be asked such a question. It was a moment before he answered, but when he did, he sounded quite touched.

"I'm rather looking froward to the school year commencing, now that you mention it. It has all been rather stressful, as you can imagine," he said evenly. "There's nothing like the interpersonal drama of teenagers to put ones problems into perspective," he said affectionately.

Remus laughed. "Thankfully we've got plenty of that around here," he quipped, heading towards the entrance alongside Dumbledore.

"Yes, I understand Miss Granger will be joining the household on Monday."

"Oh, I didn't realize. Keeping those kids out of Order business is going to get exponentially harder once they have her brain added to the mix," he said as they reached the door.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled brightly at the thought.

"Good luck with guard duty tonight. Please do think about what we discussed," he said, opening the door.

Remus nodded. Dumbledore was gone a moment later. The sound of laughter from downstairs reminded him why he had come here in the first place. He turned and made his way to the basement kitchen.