Remus’ eyes darted to James, almost hoping he’d intervene, but found no help there. It was becoming increasingly clear that James had brought the stranger there with some expectation that Remus was in any way an expert - in stars, maybe, but not the personification of one.<br/>Defeated, he shifted his weight for a moment before turning, accepting the course of the evening.<br/>“Don’t touch anything,” he muttered, back turned to the two men, as he began the climb to his perch. The equipment he owned was modest but was, by his standards, irreplaceably expensive and he had no interest in further souring his evening.<br/>The workplace had been a precarious remodelling of the cottage, and though Remus had intended to have stairs built, it had never been completed, and the steps up were now nothing more than a few intentionally bare spots among cluttered chests and drawers.<br/>Once up, Remus stretched to open another hutch, this one facing south.