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The next day, Remus apparated to Godric's Hollow. Tonks had agreed to watch Jeramiah for a few hours. As he walked toward the graveyard, Remus shook his head sadly. Jeramiah had begged to accompany Remus in visiting Harry. Remus had refused, knowing that Harry had agreed to meet with Remus on the condition that they would be alone. He knew Harry well enough to understand that he would not be pleased by the unexpected presence of a child who would most likely be fawning over him.

All the same, Remus couldn't shake off the image of the disappointment in Jeramiah's eyes when he was told that he could not come with him to meet Harry Potter. He would have to try and convince Harry to meet with Jeramiah some time after the upcoming full moon. Remus knew it would mean quite a bit to a child who, in the best of circumstances, was facing a future riddled with pain and hardship. Hopefully, Harry would understand that.

Reaching the graveyard, Remus began walking among the headstones. There was no need to look where he was going, as he had memorized the location of those specific headstones he now sought, years ago. Within seconds, he had reached the graves of James and Lily Potter.

Leaning against the headstone of his former fellow Marauder, Remus sighed. He was acutely aware of the presence of Lily and James waiting for Harry alongside him. He didn't dare to look anywhere other than straight ahead, knowing that if he did he would be forced to give up the illusion that James and Lily were seated on either side of him in companionable silence. He wanted to believe that, if he were to look to the side, he would see a pair of mischievous hazel eyes, or warm, supportive green, gazing at him in tacit assurance that he was not alone, that there would always be others out there who understood him and loved him unconditionally. Remus needed to believe that and could scarcely stomach the idea of looking to either side, the emptiness around him serving as indisputable evidence to the contrary. As long as he kept his gaze trained firmly ahead of him, he could briefly convince himself that the last sixteen years hadn't happened, that he was still that optimistic young man who believed with every fiber of his being that he could blast any obstacle out of his path and take his place in the world, just as long as he had his friends by his side.

Remus allowed another sigh to escape him, this one tinged with an unremitting sadness. He couldn't allow his thoughts to continue in this direction, not if he didn't want to soon be as thoroughly distraught as one surrounded on all sides by dementors. He needed to pull himself together before Harry arrived.

Remus racked his brain for some distraction, and came upon the small bottle in the pocket of his robes. This was a good time for his next dose of Wolfsbane. Remus unscrewed the lid, raised the bottle to his lips and allowed the foul potion to waft over his tastebuds. To Remus's mind, grieving over happy years that had been brought to an abrupt and tragic end on that awful Halloween night in 1981, the distinctly bitter taste of the potion was a welcome distraction. Remus smiled slightly to himself, remembering Jeramiah's reaction to his first dose of potion the previous afternoon. Unsurprisingly, when the pungent potion had first hit his tongue, Jeramiah had gagged, just as Remus had when he'd first tasted the potion a few years earlier. However, after a moment, Jeramiah had arranged his face into an expression of grim determination, pinched his nose, and swallowed the remainder of the potion in one gulp. Jeramiah was an uncommonly brave child for his age. He would make a good Gryffindor, if he ever had the opportunity to attend Hogwarts, Remus thought sadly.

At that moment, Remus was abruptly brought back to reality by the sound of movement nearby. He looked up. Harry had arrived, and was carefully studying the names on the various headstones.

"Over here," Remus called out, realizing that Harry might not share his familiarity with the layout of the graveyard.

Within seconds, Harry had come running over. "Hello, Prof -- I mean Remus." Harry sounded distinctly tense. "How are you?"

"As well as can be expected," Remus replied, shaking the young man's hand. "Is this your first time visiting the graveyard?"

Harry blushed. "Yes -- it is actually. I've been meaning to come here since the night I arrived at Godric's Hollow with Ron and Hermione, but I kept finding excuses not to."

Remus smiled sadly. "I understand. Visiting a graveyard is never very pleasant, especially when one's dead parents are buried there."

The two sat in silence for several minutes, listening to the song of crickets in the distance, before Harry spoke. "I'm glad that I can be here with -- someone who knew my parents. I didn't want to come here alone, but I didn't want to come here with Ron and Hermione either. This is just one of those things I needed to do without them."

This statement was followed by another lengthy silence. Remus wasn't sure how to respond to Harry's statement, so he steered the conversation to more mundane matters.

"How were the three of you able to travel here?" Remus asked.

"We apparated. Ron and I got our licenses at the beginning of the summer. The Ministry granted me written permission to perform magic, even though I'm still underage until the end of this month. I was allowed to take the test early. It's just one of those perks of being the famous Harry Potter." Harry spoke these last words with a slightly twisted smile.

"I'm sure it will come in useful." Remus remarked wryly.

"Oh, it will." Harry's smile widened slightly. "I feel slightly guilty, taking advantage of my --- errrrm--- celebrity this way, but I figure the Ministry owes me after the way they treated me all those months. I don't feel too guilty. Besides, like you said, it's useful."

Remus's mind traveled back to a letter Dumbledore had left him to read in the event of his death, which included a topic he needed to broach with Harry. He cleared his throat. "Harry, have you started looking for the remaining horcruxes yet?"

There was a faint clattering noise as Harry's wand fell to the ground. Harry stared at Remus, his mouth moving soundlessly.

Right. He wouldn't know that I know about that.

"You see, Dumbledore left me a letter." Remus explained as Harry bent down to retreive his wand. "He thought you ought to have a senior member of the Order help you out with this in the event that -- that he was no longer able to."

Harry gulped, his Adam's apple moving visibly in his throat. He turned away momentarily, then turned back, opening and closing his mouth, appearing to be at a loss for words.

"I understand this is a journey you need to take on your own," Remus began, watching Harry intently. "Dumbledore made that quite clear in his letter. I just want you to know, that if you ever need any advice, I'm just an owl away."

"Thank you," Harry replied shortly, then turned away again. It was apparent to Remus that he was not the only one who found it difficult to let others into his life. If Remus was going to get Harry talking, it would take some effort.

"So, what have you been doing lately?" Remus asked cautiously.

Harry shrugged, "Nothing too exciting. Mainly just research. I've been -- well actually Hermione's been reading up on the history of the Founders, and then she tells Ron and me what she's learned. Then we all sit and talk about what it might mean."

Remus smiled. It seemed only too appropriate that Hermione would be the one in charge of doing all the research for the mission. She hadn't changed much since the year he had taught her, when she'd consulted the lunar chart to solve the mystery of his periodic illnesses. It was mildly comforting to know that, in the midst of all this war and unrest, some things stayed the same.

"Any leads?" Remus asked, then immediately worried that the question had been too forward. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to," he added quickly.

"That's okay, I'll answer. If you were in with Dumbledore, you're in with me." Harry assured Remus.

In spite of Remus's lifelong battle to remain constantly stoic, he felt chills run down his spine when Harry stated his faith in him. He only hoped that he would prove worthy of the trust Harry seemed to be putting in him.

Remus was unable to mull this over for long, as he quickly realized that Harry was still talking. Remus quickly refocused his attention. If he hoped to be worthy of the young man's trust, the least he could do was listen to what he had to say.

"... nothing that will really help us very much." Harry was saying. "Rowena Ravenclaw was a very private person, it seems. We're pretty sure he has something of hers, since none of Gryffindor's relics seem to fit what we're looking for, but we really can't find much information on her."

"I might be able to help you." Remus replied. Harry looked up in surprise. "Mad-Eye Moody gave me a Secrecy Sensor charmed specifically to recognize objects infused with Dark Magic. Horcruxes are just about the Darkest objects known to Wizardkind -- the Secrecy Sensor would most likely pick up on one of those from miles away. I will be more than happy to give the Secrecy Sensor to you. After all, you need it far more than I do."

"I don't know if -- I can't possibly--" Harry stammered.

"No, I want you to have it," Remus gently interjected. "If you're burdened with the responsibility of saving the wizarding world from Voldemort, as Dumbledore indicated in his letter, the least I can do is make sure you're adequately armed."

"I really appreciate your help, Prof -- I mean Remus. It's going to take a while to get used to calling you that," Harry remarked with a nervous laugh.

"That's all right," Remus replied. "Don't waste energy worrying over that, you've got more than enough to worry about already."

"That's very true." Harry's laugh was tinged with a slight bitterness.

"After the next full moon, I'll contact you, and we'll arrange another meeting," Remus told Harry. "I'll bring the Secrecy Sensor to you then. By the way, while we're on the subject of our next meeting, I should mention that Jeramiah wants to meet you. I'll talk to him ahead of time so he doesn't fawn over you too much," Remus added quickly, as Harry's eyebrows rose in mild trepidation. "The boy has a difficult life ahead, and meeting with you would mean a great deal to him."

"Sure, that's fine," Harry replied quickly. "With all you're doing to help me, it's the least I can do."

"Jeramiah is a really pleasant child to be around," Remus assured Harry. "You may very well enjoy the experience."

"I'm not worried," Harry remarked. "I have far more difficult tasks ahead of me."

"I know you do," Remus nodded somberly. "So, how are you doing with --- everything that's happened?"

Harry and Remus talked for a while longer, discussing Dumbledore, Voldemort and the war that threatened to tear the wizarding world apart. Eventually, Remus checked his watch and stood, saying his farewell with assurances that he'd tell him some stories of his father from their school days the next time they met.

Harry shook Remus's hand, then turned and walked away. Remus remained leaning against James' grave for a moment longer watching Harry disappear into the distance. The meeting had been emotionally draining, and Remus was exhausted. However, through the fog of his fatigue, Remus felt a vague sense of accomplishment, knowing that at least one of the walls he had built around himself so long ago was on its way to being beaten down.

Standing up, Remus prepared to return to Jeramiah.