Though the offer seemed genuine enough, no one spoke up. Remus himself was busy processing the information that the man in front of them was a year short of finishing a doctorate in astrophysics; simply, he seemed too handsome and neat for his field.<br/>Caught in that assessment, Remus startled when Black’s gaze lingered on him long enough for his smile to widen. He didn’t return it, caught off guard.<br/>When no one else filled the silence, Mulligan continued.<br/>“Including you four, there are a total of eight students under my charge. Three are a year your senior - Sirius’ the only one left in year three, and circumstantially, there’s no one left in the year above you.”<br/>The last addition was spoken to his assistant, Remus could tell even without looking to confirm it. If the courses had each started five, it wasn’t particularly reassuring odds, but with no exams to pass, it was simply a matter of justifying their continued funding and meeting the expectations set by the professor and the board.<br/>Remus felt up for it.<br/>“And as it were, you are -” Mulligan continued, circling back to his desk to pull out the short list of attendance.<br/>“Mr. Burton, Mr. Dubois, Mr. Kelly, ” he said, looking up across the class as the respective student marked their presence. “And Mr. Lupin.”