Chapter 4

Remus stared at him.

This was Alex Rider.

The Alex Rider.

And he was here, in their kitchen, with Harry.

Harry knew Alex Rider.

And he was...

Surprisingly young-?

Remus frowned, "... How old are you?"

Alex studied him carefully, "Depends on who wants to know".

"Alex!" Harry scolded, "He's my godfather!"

"Yea, well, my godfather wasn't too friendly" the Blonde shot back, "So forgive me for not trusting yours".

Remus raised an eyebrow, "Merlin, they weren't lying when they said you were snarky, were they?"

Alex's gaze snapped back to his.

Harry froze, suddenly realising that his guest and his honorary uncle seemed to be acquaintances.

And Sirius just stood there in all his confused glory.

"You two... know each other?"

"No" Alex replied.

"Yes" Remus said.

They stared at each other.

Remus sighed, "Not... Not exactly".

Sirius blinked, "... Perhaps we should sit down".

Ten minutes later and the wolf and the wizard were still staring at each another, Alex trying to figure out just who the hell does this guy work for?! and Remus trying to convince himself that this wasn't that Alex Rider, there are plenty of Alex Riders, it's probably just coincidence-

"So" Harry began suddenly, "Care to... you know... explain? Siri and I are kinda in the dark here".

Both wizards ignored him, still trying to figure each other out. Alex was contemplating on whether to call Jones or not and getting her to run a full background-check on one Remus Lupin, godfather of none other than the Boy-Who-Lived. Remus, on the other hand, knew he had to gain the blonde's trust because if this was that Alex Rider then he sure as hell didn't want to get on his bad side.

Remus sighed, then took a deep breath.

He knew what he had to do.

He needed courage, and if it turned out the blonde wasn't who he was almost-100%-certain he was... he'd also need a shovel and a body bag.

"I'm a werewolf".

Both Harry and Sirius froze, staring at Remus in a state of terrified shock.

He just told Alex that he was a fucking werewolf!

He didn't even tell Harry that he was a werewolf until he figured it out himself!

So what the hell was he doing telling a complete stranger his darkest secret?!

Alex raised an eyebrow at him, "... And I'm Alex Rider".

Remus grinned.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Alex".

"Likewise, Mr Lupin" He replied, "Would you like some help cooking?"

"Only if you drop the whole 'mister Lupin' thing" He said, standing up, "Call me Remus, please".

"Alright then, Remus. I'll make a start with the carrots".

Harry and Sirius stared at them, mouths dropped open, eyes blown wide.

Slowly blinking, the younger wizard turned to face his godfather, "... What the hell just happened?"

"... I have no idea" He replied faintly, still watching the two other occupants of room, who were happily chatting away with each other as they cooked.

"Did Remus just-"

"Yea".

"And Alex gave his-"

"Yup".

"And now they're-"

"Best friends, it would seem" Sirius finished, "... Remus told him he was a werewolf".

"I know".

"... I didn't know Remus was a werewolf until 2nd year".

"I was in 3rd" Harry replied slowly, "Why did he just...?"

"Haven't got a clue" Black admitted, "... They seem alright now, though. When Alex first came in, I thought they were going to start hexing each other".

"I thought Moony was going to come out" He agreed, "They... know each other?"

"Remus knows Alex, anyway" Sirius replied, "I don't think your friend know him, however. He seemed more..."

"Suspicious" Harry finished, and he nodded, "Yea. Suspicious. He immediately turned attack mode on when Reme said he knew him".

"But now they're... friends".

"Looks like it".

"... Alright then".

Sirius turned back to his newspaper, "How long have you know this guy?"

"About... Maybe... Possibly... An hour?"

"... An hour?"

"An hour" Harry confirmed sheepishly, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, "There was this... uh... this thing... at the... inn..."

"This thing at the inn?" Sirius questioned, giving him a dry look.

"Yea. There was, ah... squirm... with a few... Death Eaters... and... yea" He finished lamely.

His godfather sighed, "... I heard about it on the radio, Harry. It was a full-fledged attack... And I distinctly remember thinking that you might have had something to do with it".

"Well it's not like I lured them there!" He exclaimed defensively, "I don't actively go out to find trouble, you know!"

"Mmhm" Sirius hummed disbelievingly, taking a sip of coffee from his mug, "That's what your father said at your age, too... So, come one, how did you meet him?"

"Well... When the bar got attacked by the Death Eaters... I fought back".

"Naturally".

"And he... also... kind of fought back?"

"Is he a good fighter?"

He smirked, "You could say that".

"What type of wand does he have?"

"... He doesn't have one".

Silence.

Sirius stared at him from over the black-and-white newspaper he held in his hands, "... I'm sorry?"

"A wand" Harry repeated, "He doesn't have one. Never did, either, apparently".

"Then how the hell did he fight?"

His godson shrugged, "Everything he did was from his hands only. No stick, no wand, no broom, nothing".

"Wand-less Magic..." He muttered in wonder, "At his age?"

"Sirius... From what I've seen... And from what I've heard..." Harry began cautiously, "I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he was even more powerful than Voldemort ever was himself".

"... What?"

"While we were there, Kingsley came in, blaring about underaged Magic. The second that kid mentioned his name, he was sent running... Have you ever known Kingsley to back down from a fight like that?" Harry asked.

Sirius stared, "... Okay. So. Here's what we know. His name is Alex Rider-"

"Alexander Jonathan Rider".

"-Alexander Jonathan Rider" He corrected, shooting his godson a withering glare, "He's young, probably late teens... The Minister of Magic is scared of him... Remus knows of him... Remus also seems to trust him... He doesn't have a wand, yet he can still do magic... He's powerful, possibly as strong as You-Know-Who was in his prime... Is anything else I'm missing?"

"Yea, actually" Came a voice from behind him, "I've also got great hearing".

They both jumped and spun around only to find one Alex Rider and a Remus Lupin leaning back against the kitchen counters, smirking at them.

Alex turned to face the wolf, "Do they always try to secretly conspire when you aren't looking?"

Remus sighed, "Try being the word".

"Hey! We are extremely good at conspiring!" Sirius whined, and Harry pouted, "We're better at being spies than you anyway!"

Remus let out a loud snort and bit down on his knuckles to stop laughing.

Alex raised an eyebrow at him, looking strangely yet remarkably amused, "Oh, believe me, Harry, I sincerely doubt that".