It being lunchtime, the pub really was crowded, and James winced as much from being jostled by the various people coming in and out as much as he did from Diana hollering in his ear. The crowds were useful for being discrete, but a bloody nuisance when it came to picking out a single familiar face - especially as that face might not be very familiar anymore.
"Did he bark at you?" he asked, sympathetically, as he scanned the faces of the pub's patrons: not the little old lady who'd left a curler in her hair, or the teenager with the face full of pimples - not unless Aberforth had used Polyjuice, in which case he'd have to come to them. You couldn't pick out an old friend who looked exactly like a perfect stranger. There were a couple of men with their hats pulled over their faces, but .. "Or - not barked: whatever you call it when someone's writing. I think he's like that with everyone - you must have been in his pub, back at school. Just bark right back. Or I will."
He was a little worried to hear that Diana had been signing her name to dangerous missives to persons unknown - it was a good thing it had been Aberforth, and not a Death Eater testing the loyalty of the 'half-bloods' - but now scarcely seemed the time to discuss it, especially as, finally, his eyes had met Aberforth's. It was a funny thing, really: as James had told Diana, he wasn't really like the Headmaster - not usually. But every now and then you'd catch a glimpse of something that made the resemblance unmistakeable, and you'd wonder how you could have missed it in the first place. Aberforth may have done away with his family's peculiar habit of wearing their hair and beard to their knees, but those were definitely the eyes of a Dumbledore - and a very welcome sight.
"There," he said, with a small huff of relief. He nodded to Aberforth in as restrained a manner as he was able - the act was very hard to keep up, today - and dragged Diana over to his booth.
"All right, Mr Crawford?" he said, remembering the name Aberforth had given. It was a discrete, laconic greeting, like a young man saying hello to an old schoolmaster - and about as far from how James felt about the meeting as it was possible to get. Frankly, had it been safe to draw attention, he could have hugged the man.