Alastor listened to Jamie in silence, dumbfounded, yet understanding exactly where this was coming from. Had he been any other man, he would have considered leaving. But, he was Alastor Moody and he couldn't do that and live with himself.
Which didn't do much to quell the rising sense of panic at the thought Jamie would actually go through with this.
"You had to know I'm going to ask you to reconsider this decision," he said, more calmly than he felt, once Jamie wound to a close. "I understand your reasons. And I'm not without my share of sympathy for those reasons." He shot a look at Severus. There were many things had to say on the issue of keeping information from them that was detrimental to the well-being of the entire castle. He just hadn't been given a chance to speak before everyone walked out the day before.
Thereby also preventing him from giving them the last of his own information -- that Stephen was going to be learning occlumency from his father.
"I'm going to end up saying this badly. We all know I don't do this persuading thing well." And he usually fucked up when it mattered most, which tended to piss him off. "But, you're needed here; the people here need you, especially the ones that would be left behind to deal with my less than stellar methods of communication.
"More importantly, we need you. This doesn't work without you. Without any one of us," he added, turning to Severus. "We work best as a full team. That was what Albus intended. Each of us brings something to the table that we need to win this war, something the other two don't have. But, the point is that we share what we know to help each other. We need him. But, he and I need you to talk to us and share information. He's right in that. You kept information to yourself that could have disastrous repercussions for all of us. You're not working as a lone operative behind enemy lines this time around and there is no Albus Dumbledore," for once even Alastor didn't care about that damned Taboo, "to report to. You have to talk to us the way you would have talked to him. It's the only way we can all be prepared to make decisions. No decision any of us makes is his alone and no decision any of us makes will not affect this entire castle. We are the linchpins holding everything together and we have to work together to do that effectively, we have to support each other and speak plainly with each other, openly and honestly, for this to work.
"If the three of us fall apart, it's over. The entire resistance falls apart with us, which is what we were brought together to stop from happening and give us a chance to actually win this war, let these people go back to some sort of real life, to give the country back to those who can't fight to take it back for themselves. We can't do this separately. We have to make a united front and that needs all three of us. Not one of us deigning to talk to the other two and not two of us trying to shove on without one of us.
"So, what does it take to get you," his gaze landed on Severus, "to open up and start sharing information with the people you're working with, and you," he turned to Jamie again, "to stay and give him a chance to prove he can be a team player? Please. I'm asking both of you." Hell, he'd beg if he had to. Alastor knew he couldn't do this alone and he knew he and Severus alone couldn't do it. They needed Jamie. And he'd be damned if Severus' lack of faith would doom them all.