"Wotcher," she replies, eyeing the wizard curiously. Hearing his name only intensified her feeling of familiarity with him. He gives her a soft smile before sitting down again.
The meeting wrapped up about an hour later and the woman who had greeted Nymphadora at the door, who identified herself as her schoolmate's mother, announced that dinner would be ready shortly.
"Dinner?" Nymphadora questions from her seat at the table.
"Of course," Kingsley Shacklebolt chuckles next to her. "It's not an Order meeting without Molly cooking."
She smiles to herself, still feeling nervous but a little more confident with each interaction she has with other Order members.
"Pssst," she hears to her right. She turns and sees Sirius looking expectantly down at her. "Come 'ere."
She feels a nervous tug in her stomach as she slides down the bench toward him. "Yeah?"
"I figured since now we've gotten over the initial shock of seeing each other for the first time in 15 years, we might get to know each other better," he explains, a charming smile playing on his lips. "Last time I saw you, you were this tall."
He holds up his hand to meet his waist. Nymphadora smiles.
"If I'm being honest, I barely remember. Mum talked about you all the time though."
"Ah, Andy," he sighs. Suddenly, Dumbledore calls Sirius over, leaving Nymphadora and Remus alone.
"I remember hearing about you at Hogwarts," he starts, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen between them. "Sirius told us all about how his new cousin was born a metamorphmagus. We all thought it was the coolest thing."
She smiles, looking over at him. He was seated 2 seats down, leaving where Sirius had previously been sitting vacant.
"I don't mean to be rude," she starts. "You just seem so familiar to me. I just can't quite place it."
His face falls, looking forlorn. "You probably remember Rita Skeeter's work on me from a couple years ago. The Monster at Hogwarts."
It quickly falls into place for Nymphadora. She remembers reading an article a couple years ago about the Hogwarts professor who had been outed as a werewolf. Suddenly his shabby-looking appearance and scarred face make sense.
"Oh," she says quietly, feeling the sadness with which he spoke about it. "I'm sorry. For the record, I thought the article was rubbish."
He chuckles, his amber eyes sparkling. She feels herself blush but was quickly able to morph it away. She felt something tugging in the pit of her stomach, something that almost made her feel alive.
"It's alright. I feel good knowing I can actually do something useful again."
Sirius wanders back over, looking proud of himself.
"I did it, Moony," he says, addressing Remus. Moony?
"He agreed?" Remus responds. Sirius nods.
"To what?" Nymphadora asks.
"I offered my childhood home up to be the new headquarters for the Order," he explains. "As much as I appreciate the Weasleys for opening their home to us, it's just not big enough."
"Brilliant," she replies, smirking. "My mother hates that place."
Sirius snorts, trying to suppress a laugh.
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