As the day wore on Molly arrived and departed to a timetable none of the others understood. Remus made good progress with his gardening, Isolde read and napped in the library and the sound of punk emanated from Sirius' bedroom. Dinner that evening was for three. Mrs Weasely was celebrating Arthur's birthday and had left a magnificent chicken and mushroom pie for the three residents. Sirius sat down with a huff, and looked ready to continue his grievance. Swallowing nervously Remus said, "I've got a pretty good bottle of wine that I thought we might get into. A celebration, of Isolde's return. After all, it's not every day we get good news..."

"That's lovely Remus. Sirius, will you have a glass?" He nodded in silence and Remus hastily filled their glasses while Isolde served the pie, potatoes and vegetables. For many minutes they ate in silence. With a sigh Isolde said, "I can't believe I'd forgotten how well Molly cooks,"

"We've been very lucky. It'd be pureed soup if left to my own devices," Remus joked. "I used to dream about the Hogwarts kitchens after I broke out," Sirius contributed, with a faraway look in his eye. "What in particular?" Isolde asked, dishing out seconds of pie. "Anything would have done, but I kept returning to the beef wellington they used to do..."

"Still do, at least, did when I taught there,"

"I remember that," Isolde smiled, "with creamy mashed potato and pints of gravy,"

"That's it! That's exactly it. I don't think I was much bothered by it while I was there, but boy does it live on," Sirius chuckled. Remus was pleased to see that the good food and decent wine had made the three of them mellow. "I don't know if being a werewolf has affected my taste-"

"Into your rare steaks are you?"

"-well maybe Padders, maybe, but when I was skint, which is now I come to think of it, most of the past twenty years, I used to think about that Hogwarts ham they have. Salty and succulent. I tried to imagine it while I ate my soups."

"Have you ever been really hungry Isolde?" All of Isolde's carers had commented on how thin she was and Lupin realised that it was this observation that lay behind Sirius' question. "I hadn't, not till recently. I, uh, I can't really go into it," Sirius and Remus had stopped eating and their eyes were on Isolde's face, "but there was a time when I couldn't use magic, radio silence, and I was out of money, and had to travel a great distance so I was, uh, just walking by night and sleeping in the day. Trying to lie low, avoid towns and villages and so, as you can imagine, I didn't have a good way of feeding myself," Sirius caught his old friend's eye. Whatever Isolde had been doing for the Order in Europe, she must have been in grave danger. Perhaps this explained her frame, her wariness, and her attack on Lupin early that morning. Isolde had tailed off, suddenly uncertain if they were interested. "What did you do?" they asked in unison. "Oh well, here's where having Sev for an uncle was really handy. I had a bit of a talent for Potions anyway, and he was teaching by the time I showed up at Hogwarts, so he nurtured that interest, gave me stuff to read and it just got in my head, you know what you can eat and what will make you sick, or kill you. All while I was walking I had stuff to eat but, frankly, nettle anything is awful..." Isolde looked up and was worried to see the grave expression on her companions' faces, "so I fantasised about cheese. Just every type of cheese. Stilton and brie and feta and manchego and good old cheddar. Thought it would drive me crazy. And here I am, awake and back and I've not had cheese all day!" Her attempt at levity produced a disproportionate response, Remus leaping to his feet to search the pantry and Sirius exclaiming, "This must be fixed!" Their reactions were so comic that Isolde started laughing while begging them to desist, protesting that she was far too full to eat even another bite. Eventually they all calmed down and Remus returned from the pantry with a bottle of brandy.

After the brandy had been poured Sirius asked, "So how do you two know each other?" Isolde and Remus looked at each other, both momentarily perplexed. "Oh, like that is it?" Sirius sniggered. "Like what? Oh, no, nothing like that. I'm just racking my brain..."

"I suppose all your conquests become a bit of a blur after a while Moony," Lupin could feel himself turning red, and Isolde's giggles weren't helping. Going on the offensive he said, "Yes you're right Padders. After you were hauled off to Azkaban I thought, 'Someone's got to be the group lothario and it damn well isn't Pettigrew. I'd better put it about a bit, starting with Snape's young, intelligent and beautiful relation.' You've read my mind," Sirius was hooting with laughter. "We must have met through Tonks, what do you reckon? An Auror thing?" Isolde hazarded. Nodding, "Down the Leaky Cauldron I'm sure. Occasionally I'd bump into Tonks or Kingsley or Mad-Eye even and they'd force butterbeers on me. Well, it'd be rude to say no."

"That it would," agreed Sirius. "After that we always seemed to be in the same corner of Flourish & Blotts, the Muggle Culture bit. I'd harangue Remus about what telly he was missing-"

"unfair really seeing as I didn't have a TV at the time,"

"-and we'd grab a coffee and talk about this thing which no other wizards or witches were interested in." They paused for breath and Sirius took a moment to enjoy the sight of Remus temporarily free from care. The colour had returned to Isolde's cheeks and Sirius was secretly relieved there was no romantic history between the two of them. Remus brought him back to the present, "Then this one," he points at Isolde, "quits as an Auror and announces that she's off to Europe and might not be back for a year-"

"which ends up being four years, though admittedly that wasn't of my choosing."

The conversation ebbed and flowed for a while more and all three of them felt the frustrations and worries of recent times lift off them in good company and good cheer. A yawn from Isolde signalled they were all ready for sleep. Realising that there wasn't a room ready for their new guest Sirius promised to rid the upper floor of Grindylows for the following night as Remus turned one of the overstuffed armchairs back into a bed for what he hoped was the last time. Sirius bellowed good night to them and went two-at-a-time up the stairs. As his bedroom door slammed shut Isolde helped Remus make the sitting room bed. "I know what you're thinking," Remus said wearily. When he got no response he pressed on, "you're wondering how on earth my oldest friend can't know I'm... can't know I'm hardly a ladies man,"

"In fact, one might say you're a man's man," Isolde said gently,

"Yes, you could say that."

"Why didn't you tell him?"

"Because it was the first war! James knew, and Sirius was an idiot back then. I wasn't sure how he'd react, and who knew if we'd survive and I just, I just thought I'd wait till it all calmed down."

"I'm not judging you Remus, really I'm not. But why can't he know now?"

"What's the point?" Remus said with more bitterness than he'd intended, "I'm single, and that's not likely to change. He knows my biggest secret. Being gay is just an afterthought. Would you like an extra blanket?"

"I'll be fine. Come here." Isolde and Remus embraced. "Thank you for looking after me, and Severus."

"It's good having you in my life again." As Remus headed upstairs to Regulus' room he thought about how true that was, how much richer his life had become since Isolde, and especially her difficult uncle, were back in his thoughts.