The two found a corner in the departure lounge and sat down.
Lupin picked up a Muggle newspaper someone had left on a seat and tried to make sense of the densely packed text and motionless pictures, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.
Douglas looked up from a thick Muggle novel.
"Give it up, Remus. Muggle news is sometimes even less reliable than The Quibbler.
Look at that middle-aged man over there in the floral shirt and sunglasses. I'll bet five Galleons his suitcase is full of either Hawaiian souvenirs or props for a secret rendezvous on some tropical island."
Lupin put down the newspaper.
"Douglas, we're here on business."
Douglas closed his book and said with a smile:
"Business and fun aren't mutually exclusive. Life is like Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. You never know whether the next one will taste of bogies or vomit. Since you can't avoid it, why not give it a try?"
As he spoke, he pulled a few Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans out of his pocket.
Lupin took one and popped it into his mouth, looking Douglas up and down.
"Not bad. Honey. You didn't take these from the Headmaster's Office, did you?
Still, come to think of it, you don't seem to have updated either your Wizarding World novels or your Muggle World novels lately?"
Douglas gazed at the ceiling and said gloomily:
"Because... I'm lazy!"
Boarding went surprisingly smoothly.
When the enormous metal bird began taxiing down the runway, then abruptly lifted its nose and soared into the sky,
Lupin still couldn't help gripping the armrests, his face turning a shade paler.
Douglas handed him a small carton of orange juice with a grinning sun printed on it.
"Special Calming Draught. Muggle brand."
Then came the in-flight meal.
He prodded the