Diana, who had chosen to sit beside James, across from Aberforth, scrutinised the other man; it was true, she never would have recognised the gentleman from the Hog's Head on her own; his beard had been so... distinctive that it overtook his face. She squeezed James's arm reassuringly, under the table, as she noticed that Aberforth was looking at him, and that James was clearly discomfited by the attention.
Nevertheless, she also saw his eyes brighten a little, and thankfully not with tears, either -- a great relief, really, considering she hadn't seen his eyes shine like that, dry, for a very long time! She gave his arm another gentle squeeze, then rested her hands on the table. She smiled briefly at James, before she heard his question to Aberforth, which made her own face fall. She had never really gotten along with Sirius, but even so -- it was horrible to think that he had met with some grisly fate at the hands of the current regime. "Oh, sweetie," she whispered in his ear, and placed an arm around his shoulders, in an awkward, one-armed hug.
Her eyes met Aberforth's coolly at his question to her. "Sir Anonymous, this isn't really a life I've got. I'm just barely surviving from day to day. Yes, I want out of it! I told you as much on the journals -- I'm sick to death of having my brains fucked out of me on a daily basis -- and I don't care what you say, it is possible, because I'm experiencing it!
"And I'm honestly out of ideas on how to get out without endangering my other flatmtes! And yes, James is the flatmate without a wand." She gestured to James, squeezing him again with her hand on his opposite shoulder. "One of the others -- I think he's also a prostitute for the Death Eaters, but I've never seen him get hurt the way I do...! Though, considering he stays out all night, going to his clients' houses instead of bringing them back to our place -- well, I suppose he could be stopping by a Healer on his way home...!" Then again, if Diana didn't work out of her own flat, she wondered how many times she would have been left at her clients' mercy as to when to fetch a Healer, for there was the occasional client who reduced her to such a bloody pulp that she could never get to a Healer without some help! Was Finn really as INDESTRUCTIBLE as that? He was home and in bed every morning, after all...