Until We Meet Again

Lupin walked across the street and knocked on the front door of another house on Privet Drive. After a moment, the door swung open, allowing three suspiciously large cats to go running out the door. Lupin couldn't help but smile.

"Still crossbreeding the Kneazles and Muggle cats, I see, Arabella."

The old woman shooed more cats out of the entry way and waved him inside.

"Yes, well, I have to do something interesting while Harry's at school, Remus." She led him to a small sitting room, where they sat on a battered old couch. "It's only in the summers that I'm able to keep an eye on him."

"Yes, well, this summer you should have your hands full, or at least for the next two weeks."

"Then he did bring his friends home with him?" she asked, her eyes wide. Lupin nodded. "I never thought I'd see the day Harry Potter would be allowed to have friends over. And wizard friends, too! How did you convince Vernon to go along with it?"

Lupin chuckled.

"I didn't so much convince him as I told him it was going to happen, regardless of whether or not he gave his approval. I don't think Harry would have returned had it not been for Ron and Hermione. After all, his protection will only last until his seventeenth birthday at the end of the summer. I don't think he sees the point."

"Well, don't you worry, I'll make sure he sticks around until you come to fetch him."

"I know you will, Arabella. Dumbledore had the utmost faith in you, as do the rest of us in the Order."

At the mention of Dumbledore, Mrs. Figg's eyes began filling with tears.

"How has it been since the funeral, Remus? With the Order, I mean."

"Oh, as well as could be expected." Lupin rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Arthur, Minerva and I have taken charge for now. But I suspect that once Harry returns to headquarters, he will have some ideas of his own on how we should proceed with the attack."

"You'd better believe it!" Mrs. Figg said vehemently. "I've been watching Harry since he was a baby, and he's nothing if not a leader. You-know-who has no idea what kind of boy he's messing with! And to think, Harry is almost a man." Her eyes misted again, but she shook her head as if shaking off the sappy feelings. "Well, let's just say I have complete faith in Harry. And the Order, for that matter."

"Thank you, Arabella. Well, if you have no questions, I believe I should be off. The Order will want to know that Harry and the others are safe at the Dursleys'."

The pair stood and walked back towards the front door, but Lupin stopped when he spotted a young girl sitting at the kitchen table reading a book.

"Oh, that's my niece, Remus," Mrs. Figg explained. "Noel! Noel, come here, I've someone to introduce you to."

The girl hopped off her stool and smiled, holding out her hand for Lupin to shake as she approached. Lupin took it.

"Remus, this is Noel Langdon, my sister's only daughter. Noel, this is Remus Lupin. He is, er, a close friend of mine."

"How do you do, Noel?"

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Lupin." Noel smiled politely.

"Just Lupin, please. Noel, will you excuse your aunt and I for just a moment?"

Noel nodded and went back to the kitchen, returning her attention to her book.

"Arabella," Lupin said, lowering his voice, "I don't know if this is quite the time for you to have relatives visiting, given what you have to do for the next two weeks."

Mrs. Figg scoffed.

"Honestly, Remus. I'm just keeping an eye on her while her parents are on vacation in Japan. She's no trouble. I'll be able to watch Harry just fine."

"Well," Lupin said with a sigh, "I suppose there's no changing it now. But please don't tell her what's going on. It will only frighten her."

"I hadn't planned on telling her you-know-who could be hunting us down at this very moment, if that's what you mean." She began waving Lupin out the door. "Don't you worry, Remus! I've got it all under control." She shut the door in his face.

Moments later, there was a loud popping noise that told Mrs. Figg and Noel that Lupin had disapparated.

"Who was that, really?" Noel asked earnestly as her aunt came into the kitchen. Mrs. Figg pulled an abnormally large bag of cat food out of the kitchen pantry and began doling it out into ten tiny bowls on the floor.

"Just a friend, dear, like I told you."

"Come on, Aunt Figgy." Noel put a hand on her hip. "I know he wasn't a friend. I heard half of what you were saying. Are you really watching Harry Potter this summer?"

Mrs. Figg put away the food and, stepping around the army of cats that was gathering at the bowls, stood next to her niece. She looked at the girl for a moment, trying to decide how much to divulge.

"Tell me what you heard, Noel."

"Harry Potter and two of his friends are staying across the street, and you've got to watch them. He's here for some kind of protection from Dumbledore. And I heard something about an order."

"Is that all?"

"I wouldn't lie to you, Aunt Figgy," Noel replied honestly. Her aunt visibly deflated a bit and sat down on the stool next to her. Noel thought she looked exhausted.

"Yes, dear, I'm watching Harry and his friends. Harry is here because Dumbledore put a spell on the Dursleys' home. As long as Harry returns once every summer, he will have a kind of protection from you-know-who until his seventeenth birthday. As for the rest, I can't tell you much. But I will say that the Order is a group acting against Voldemort. Remus is one of the group's leaders."

When Noel stared at her aunt, rapt with attention, Mrs. Figg shook her finger at her.

"That's all I will say! Now, let's get cleaned up for dinner."