[ when they gave him that irritated look, his smile only gets bigger, fond as ever, and he pats them playfully on the shoulder where his arm rests. Almost a year ago, he thought their contrarian prickliness was irritating; now, he finds it charming. It's just so... them. ]

That's the spirit. [ not really but it's close enough. ] The only thing you're supposed to do is have a little fun. If you learn something new, that's just a bonus.

[ but he hopes they do. The flowers will die again in the next winter - but that doesn't mean that it was a mistake to grow them. Poetic. Lupin isn't going to spell it out in such explicit terms for them - he doesn't want to remind them of the time limit on his life while the two of them are in good spirits. ]