HOGSMEADE -- Guardian Angel (In a Manner of Speaking) -- Fall 1996

After receiving an owl from Remus that we needed to talk, we had set up a meeting in Hogsmeade during one of the weekends not long after the new year had begun at Hogwarts. I wondered what he brought this on. Normally if something was wrong with one of the kids, he'd just write about it and give us a heads up. But this was new... it had me worried. I was sitting in the Three Broomsticks waiting for him, sipping on some butterbeer.

I walked into The Three Broomsticks and undid my cloak. It was getting really chilly since it was near the beginning of November. I had wanted to tell Ember and Sirius the minute it happened, but with all the schedules, this was the soonest any of us could meet. I hugged my friend and asked, "Sirius going ot be joining us?"

I shrugged. "He seemed unsure. We can catch him up if or when he shows up," I said. "Now... what's going on? What did Elena do this time?" I asked, fearing that the fighting was still bad.

I opened the door to the three broomsticks, stepping in and wiping the snow off of my shoulders. I shuddered against the warmth comparison from outside to inside. I looked around and saw my brother and wife. I smiled briefly and walked over. " What did I miss?"

I laughed. "Oh nothing... just Ember getting right into in. No time for catchign up," I teased. "But I suppose I will get right into it. It's actually Dean, not Elena. And you might already know all of this... so if you do, stop me." I sighed and leaned back in my chair slightly. "I'll go through this quickly: Dean and Addie broke up, Dean had actually gotten a ring for her but never got the chance to pop the question, and now Dean is kind of acting like Sirius in the womanizing department which he never really did before despite girls wanting him. I think that covers everything in a nutshell. "I'm just concerned that he may be losing it a bit due to the fact that he's kind of going off the deep end a tad and not acting anywhere close to what he normally is. I'm just worried," I repeated, as if saying it once wasnt' enough.

I had given my husband a kiss and sat back down. All I could do was sit there stunned by what Remus said. "I didn't know any of this... Sirius, did Dean say anything to you?" I asked. I thought that Dean and I had a relationship now that he could talk to me about all of this. But perhaps he just felt more comfortable with guys. And if Sirius knew, I was kind of surprised he didnt' tell me... but then again, he was probably just keeping his son's confidence, so there was no way I would be upset with my husband. I did sort of hope he already knew... it would make me feel better anyways.

<<That's up to Sirius! I don't care if you want him to know! I'm thinking perhaps it would have been a good bonding moment for father/son...? So he can know >>

" Well, I know a bit of that...and I know he had briefly spoken to me about proposing on how I did with Ember...." I said. Knowing where he was coming from with the womanizing. I was really bad. Thankfully I am not that bad anymore. " Yeah, that's not really his thing..." I said understanding where the concern is coming from.

I couldn't hide my smile thinking that Dean was going to follow his father's footsteps after all. "Well... is ther eanything we can really do? I mean, if we talk to him about it too much then he'll figure out that his confidance has been broken... and then he won't go to either one of you anymore," I said, feeling frustrated that I really couldn't do anything about Dean. I had to elave it up to guys. Guys. Men couldnt' handle situations like these... I mean, they could. But still... it wasn't like me to leave it up to men.

I sighed. "I've already tried talking to him a bit... but I don't want to push the issue, either," I told them. "I just wanted everyone to be aware because who knew what Dean tells you and how he acts at school compared to how he writes you in letters."

I smiled and said, "Well, thank you, Remus. I swear... if it's not one kid of ours it's the other that have you running all over." I shook my head. "I don't know how you do it..."