#edgarnbones

The last thing Remus wanted to do was to retreat back into that scared little boy who only wanted to keep his head down and avoid the entire school. After all, he knew now how much friendship had saved him. He was happy these days and he wouldn’t be if there hadn’t been anybody to force him into making friends. There was also the matter of the Order to think about and a need to show to those who they weren’t so close with that they were still on the same side. That was why Remus found himself dropping back after Defence Against the Dark Arts and greeting Edgar. “Hey. I wondered if you could help me catch up on what I missed in Charms on Monday?” Really, it was just an excuse to talk to him.

Remus would have been happy to stay in the security and comfort of the Potters’ right up to the moment they had to go back to Hogwarts but Dumbledore had other plans. Just a simple reconnaissance mission, the letter said. A suspicion about one of the new hires at Flourish and Blotts for over the peak shopping period and concerns over a new selection of books containing information about darker magic than was usually sold there. He knew he was to keep an eye out for a familiar face who would be helping him, but he hadn’t been told who, no doubt some security measure but when he apparated into Diagon Alley and walked down the cobbled street to see Edgar Bones outside the bookshop he put two and two together and hoped for the best.

“Edgar!” he called to get his fellow Order member’s attention. His years as a Marauder had taught him a lot about being sneaky -- two Hogwarts students greeting each other as they meet up over the school holidays would be a lot less conspicuous than two people trying to communicate whilst pretending they don’t know each other. They weren’t friends. Remus barely knew him, just as he barely knew most people who should have some part in his life but the easiest way to make sure they were on the same page quickly was to not rely on non-verbal cues Edgar had little chance of understanding, not being James, Sirius or Peter, but rather to pull him into a friendly hug like they really were friends who would greet each other in such a way all the time and mutter in his ear, “Dumbledore sent you?”