Remus's head still had a trace of fog drifting through it when he was finally allowed to leave the messy little Ministry office an hour later. He reached the end of the hallway and jammed the elevator button rather numbly, trying to settle the mess of thoughts and memories that were still under the influence of Veritaserum and threatening to spill out at the slightest provocation, whether Remus wished it or not. It was easier now, than in the office, but Remus had the distinct feeling that if anyone asked him even the time of day he might feel compelled to give his life's story to the person along with it. The elevator arrived mercifully empty, and Remus stepped in breathing a sigh of relief, only to have the Auror Doge stick his hand in front of the closing door and hurry in next to Remus.

Remus clamped his jaw shut and willed away the remaining effects of the Veritaserum, which were, admittedly, fading with each moment. Remus was just wishing that Doge wouldn't say anything to him, but he didn't think that there was much chance of that, really.

"I'm really sorry about all of that. Having to use the veritaserum, I mean."

Damn.

"That's…alright," Remus managed through clenched teeth.

"Are you…Oh." Doge had a look of dawning comprehension. "The Veritaserum isn't though your system yet, then?"

"Not yet," Remus answered compulsively, though he had enough control to give a nasty edge to his voice.

"Look, I know it may not seem like it, but I'm really on your side, alright? Come on, then, Dumbledore will explain it, if he's there."

"I- Dumbledore? What?" Remus asked dumbly, shocked out of any witty answer he had been formulating by this mention of Dumbledore. The elevator doors slid open, and Doge walked out. Remus shot out as the doors were closing, hurrying after Doge. "Hey, what were you talking about Du-"

"I said you'll hear it straight from him if you'll just come on," muttered the Auror. He stopped and turned to face Remus. "Listen, son, I want to know, are you ready to join the fight, Remus? Dumbledore thinks you'll be able to do something, but I still think you're all too young. I'm completely convinced that you're for our side, don't get me wrong; that's clear, especially after our questioning just now, but just because you're willing to do something doesn't mean you actually will, when it gets down to it. Enough of "our" men our spies to prove that. So, basically are you ready to do whatever you can to help and to face the consequences?"

Remus was stunned again, and had no idea what half of what the Auror in front of him had said meant, but the point got through: was Remus ready to face the people who killed his father and countless others for the "purification" of the wizard race? Was he willing to give the world to save the rest of the people he cared about? Remus nodded, his face set and his eyes locked on Doge's. "I am."

Doge gave a curt nod, turned, and continued walking toward the exit as though there had been no interruption. Both of the men seemed more relaxed, though, and Remus even found a bit of hope shining through the despair that he had never thought would be lifted only a few hours ago. Doge gripped Remus' arm again and asked "Ready?" before they were once again wisking away to an unfamiliar place.

From the amount of shocks and new information that Remus was receiving, he didn't ever think his head would stop spinning. He had just been told all about the Order of the Phoenix by Dumbledore, and was trying very hard to sort all of the new turns his life had taken over the past few days. Dumbledore had just finished explaining it all to him, and was now shaking Remus' hand and apologizing for having to leave so soon.

"Right. …Thank you," Remus said awkwardly. "Really. For everything." Dumbledore just smiled and nodded his head to Remus before turning and leaving the room.

Remus decided that he did not need to be in the busy headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, and suddenly remembered that Minette was probably waiting for him. He Apparated to the kitchen of her house again, and just stood still, his mind churning, for only a moment before an entirely different kind of person had knocked him over onto the ground in a fierce hug.

To Remus' unending surprise, this person didn't have long, light hair or a small, sympathetic voice, but a shaggy black tail and a very cold nose. This person also happened to be licking his face in what Remus only could assume was intended to be a comforting gesture, but was actually quite disgusting.

"Sirius- get- OFF!" Remus yelped, trying to squirm out from under his friend's massive black paws. "What're- what're yo- FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SIRIUS, STOP LICKING ME!"

"There's something I didn't need to hear, ever." Messy black hair and long red hair entered the room. They probably had bodies, too, Remus thought, but it was hard to tell with the mass of black fur still occupying most of his field of vision.

"Come on, then, Sirius, let him breathe, at least," James grabbed Remus' hand and pulled him up, Sirius toppling to the side and transforming back into a human simultaneously, and pulled a bright red Remus into a tight hug. They were still for a moment before someone coughed loudly.

"And what were you saying about me? At least I have the excuse of being a dog. You're shameless, James," Sirius said teasingly, rolling his eyes. Then he punched Remus playfully on the arm, putting on a tone of mock-distress, "And you, you big tease! Did I mean nothing to you? So many wasted licks!"

Remus looked helplessly over at Lily, who was talking with Minette now, while Sirius and James tugged on either of his arms.

"No, it's alright," Minette was saying, "When you hang out with those four enough you get used to walking in on your boyfriend in another man's arms." Minette wrinkled her brow while Lily gave a wide smile. "I'm not sure that came out exactly how I meant it to…"

"No, that's pretty accurate, actually," Lily said, still smiling, while Remus turned slightly pink and finally wrenched himself free of his two friends, fleeing over to Minette and kissing her on the cheek quickly before being taken down by another flying hug-tackle from a now human Sirius, James close on his heels. Sirius kicked back James and looked down at Remus, who was seeing a few stars swimming by Sirius' face in front of him.

"So, seriously, mate, are you alright?" Sirius asked in a suddenly serious tone. Painful thoughts and memories tried to nip at the edge of Remus' mind, but he found it utterly impossible to feel the least bit bad with Sirius laying on top of him, James clawing at Sirius' still-kicking legs, and Minette and Lily staring down at all of them, rolling their eyes exasperatedly.

"I'm…alright," Remus said with a somber face. They all froze for a minute, everyone seeming to hold their breath on Remus' behalf. Not being able to hold it in for a single second more, Remus burst out laughing. He pushed Sirius off of his chest and struggled to a sitting position against the wall. The rest of them followed suit, except for Sirius, who was looking rather put out.

"S'what I get for trying to be serious for once," Sirius muttered, giving in to a smirk and then laughing with the rest. Remus pulled himself to his feet and looked around at the rest of them.

"So," he started, noticing an absence among them, "where's Peter?"

"Oh, he's been terribly sick, lately," James answered solemnly. "He said to send his regrets, though, he said he really wished he could be here."

"And how did the rest of you get here? I mean, how did you know to come?"

"Minette owled us, of course!" Lily said with a smile.

"That's right, she did what you should've already done!" Sirius interjected, half solemn, half teasing. "We're your best mates, you should've told us first thing!"

"It hasn't even been a day yet!" Remus said, trying to look exasperated but failing from the smile on his face. "But…thanks. To all of you. Really." And with that, Remus scooped the four of them up into as tight of a hug as he could make with his arms not reaching each other.

"You're turning into a bloody woman," Sirius muttered half-heartedly, but none of them put up any struggle. The group showed no sign of separating, in fact, until a very confused voice made them all jump.

"Would you people at least tell me when you decide to make random visits to my house?" Mr. Espoir was standing in the doorway giving the lot of them a perplexed and only slightly annoyed look.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Daddy, they've just all gotten here and got caught up in greeting Remus and all…" Minette took a few steps toward her father and then turned to point at each of the others in the room. "This is James, Sirius, and Lily, our friends from school. I owled them earlier and they of course came over and I really was just about to tell you, I swear, but, er, we got… distracted, and…"

"It's alright, it's alright," Mr. Espoir said. "Nice to meet you all. I've heard about you, of course, from Minette, and I think I'm going to go back into my study now, and give you all your peace." He sighed and smiled at them all, then turned and left the room just as suddenly as he'd entered. Minette had a pink tinge to her cheeks and the rest of them stood there in silence for a moment before Sirius finally broke it.

"So…who wants to go get drunk?"

Another chapter up in decent timing, so I hope you all enjoyed it! It's actually the longest chapter yet, if you'll believe it, which surprised me to find out, because I wrote it all rather quickly and spur-of-the-moment. I'm spending a lot more time on this summer than I ever thought I was going to, but important things are getting done, and more important Minette-related things will be happening soon, possibly even next chapter! Anyway, I hope you like it, and don't forget to leave a review!