"Name your price," James promised him, eyes scanning the room. "I'm telling you now, I was about to go 'round the bend completely. You know me: I can't be allowed to spend too much time in my own company, or everybody suffers." He said it jokingly, but it wasn't really a joke. He'd needed a break from his own thoughts very badly, and if that meant he owed Remus, he was fine with that.
Something told him he owed Remus an awful lot anyway.
"According to Harry, no," he went on, still feeling a bit odd to use his son's name regarding a man twice his age. "When the Minister for Magic throws a party, everybody comes. How did Narcissa Black wind up Minister, anyway?" Now he dropped his voice, knowing Remus would be able to hear him perfectly well. "I know I missed a few years there, but there must have been somebody else running."