Remus stumbled backwards and backed into a witch who sat nearby drinking some of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey.
"Aye, watch it!" the witch snapped on Scottish.
"Sorry!" Remus said and looked up. He saw Harry turn to Hermione and say something to her. She smiled back. Harry's face was pale, but he didn't seem too sad about anything at the moment. Ron, on the other hand, looked like a disaster. Hermione said something cheerful to him, but Ron just nodded. She took his hand and led him through the pub to a table near the one he had been sitting just a minute ago. Rosmerta got to her feet and hurried up to them.
"Hello, my dears", she said. "What would you like?"
"Three Butterbeer, Rosmerta", Harry said, smiling at her. "Or no", he changed his mind after a quick look at Ron, "make that two Butterbeer and one Ogden's."
"Of course, dear", Rosmerta said and hurried away. Hermione helped Ron to sit down by the table, and then she said to Harry in a low voice:
"Lupin's here."
Harry turned around quickly but couldn 't see their old friend anywhere. "Where?" he said quietly, his eyes still scanning the room looking after their old friend.
"Over there, by the bar. I don't think he wants to be seen." Now when Hermione had pointed out where Remus stood, Harry had no trouble finding him.
"I see him", he said and turned his back to the bar and looked at Hermione. "I don't know what to do", he said, biting his lower lip. "I don't know if I want to hug him or kick him."
"Hug him sounds best", Hermione said. Her brown eyes were worried. "Harry, I know that you and Lupin's got on the wrong track, but please. For Ron?"
They both turned to look at their friend. Since the Weasley – children had lost their parents, they had walked around like zombies. Harry's heart was aching, now he felt the pain over Sirius's death even more – it was like the death came closer, threatening to suffocate them all.
Harry sighed deeply.
"You got me there, Herm", he said. "All right then, for Ron." He walked across the room to the bar, with the reason to get their drinks (if Lupin asked). He came up to Remus's side and leaned against the bar disk.
"Hello, Remus, long time no see", he said. Remus hastily looked up, his blue-grey eyes met Harry's green for a moment, and then he looked away.
"Yes, exactly, Harry. How are you?"
"Well, we're all mourning the death of Molly and Arthur, but I can't see a reason to why you're avoiding us."
"I'm not avoiding you", Remus said. "I just don't want to see you."
Harry looked at him with a steady gaze.
"Are you mad at me, Moony?" he finally said. "Mad at me for still mourning Sirius, when Molly and Arthur are dead?"
Remus took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Harry had understood exactly why Remus was avoiding him. Harry's eyes widened, and then they narrowed.
"I see", he said. "Well, then I shall make you happy. Now I don't want to see you either." He turned on the spot and walked back to Hermione and Ron. He bent down, said something quietly to Hermione, and then looked angrily at Lupin. Hermione looked up hastily, catching Remus's eyes, then looked away. Ron seemed to listen to what Harry was saying, because he suddenly got on his feet and walked across the bar towards Lupin.
"Ron, don't!" Hermione cried out, but Harry just stood where he was and watched Ron come closer and closer to Lupin.
"You bloody bastard!" Ron shouted, pointing a finger towards Remus. "You're mad, crying out loud! You don't allow me or Harry to grieve, just because you don't grieve anymore! Well, try this, will you, we don't give a damn!!"
Remus stared at him for a second, and then his eyes narrowed.
"Have you been drinking, Ronald?" he asked politely. "You don't seem to feel so good…"
"That's because my parents have been killed by You-know-how!" Ron's voice became a low whisper. "I would give anything to have them back, especially since they died because you weren't concentrating on your duties!"
Everyone in the bar had been following the row, and now they gasped. Madam Rosmerta dropped the bottles of Butterbeer she'd been carrying, and they crashed on the stone floor, spreading pieces of glass over the whole place. Harry came up to Remus and Ron, and stared at Ron with narrowing eyes.
"What are you saying? Are you accusing Remus for killing Molly and Arthur? Ron, think about it!"
"He didn't kill them, Harry", Ron said in a quivering voice. "But Remus didn't keep up that night. If he", Ron lowered his voice so only Harry could hear him, "if he had been keeping an eye at the Order that night as he was supposed to, then my parents would be alive. They died, because he didn't do his job properly." Ron's last words rang out in the silence. Everyone heard what he said. Including Remus Lupin.
Remus looked shocked, and then he turned white.
"So you knew," he said. "I hoped, that no one would come to know the truth about that night."
"Don't you know," Harry said with a voice shivering with anger and angst, "don't you know how it feels, sitting there, not knowing anything about how they are holding up, and then see how the clock goes from 'work' to 'mortal peril'? You don't know that! But you do know how it was to loose Sirius, something we both know, and you accuse us of being crazy? I'm sorry, Remus, but I think that you're the one being crazy here."
Harry turned to Ron, who had tears coming from his eyes. He looked at Hermione, who still stood by their table, white in the face. She caught his eyes, and walked across the room to them. She embraced Ron, who started to sob. His body shook with grieve. The whole room was quiet. Hermione stared with a sternly gaze at Lupin. She let go of Ron, and walked close up to Remus.
"I have always admired you, for being a professor, a great one, in Defence against the Dark Arts, but if Ron's telling the truth, Remus… Then I don't think that I even want to look at you. If it weren't illegal, I would perform an Adava Kedavra on you, just to show you how good Moody were then he taught us about the Unforgivable curses."
She turned her back on him, took Ron under the arm and grabbed Harry's hand. She pulled them both away from the bar disk and across the room. She opened the door and was just going to push them out the door, when Ron straightened up and turned around to see Lupin in the eyes.
"This isn't over, Lupin", he said in a low voice. "It's not over yet."
Then he took Harry in the arm and Hermione by the hand, walked out the door, and the door was closed with a loud bang.