"Oh, ye of little faith," Remus said with a laugh.
"Nah, you're no fun if you're dead," he smirked, wondering a little at the playing nice comment. Putting the thought aside, he smiled. "You were the one to point out how much he didn't sound like me. You didn't really know either of us well, myself as I am now, or the future me everyone else remembers. Still, you could see the difference. No one else had done anything but encourage my search for a man that's been dead twenty-six years. It made me think."
"Had to be one or the other." Remus chuckled. "I think you have way too much fun with your terrifying reputation," he teased, although a part of him wasn't so flippant about the thought. He did believe what he'd told Severus outside James Sirius' room back at Malfoy Manor -- encouragement worked better than fear in most cases.