the_debt_of_time

"What's out there?" he demanded, desperately clawing at the wood with his bare hands. "I
need it!"
"Remus, I will stun you," Mia threatened, wand aimed at her best friend's back.
"Why?" He turned to her wide-eyed, looking the picture of a scolded animal.
"What're you hiding?"
"Your.. ." Mia hesitated. "Your mate."
The colour completely drained from his face, and he collapsed on the ground in
front of the door, gaping at it as though he could see through it, a confused and yearning
look on his face. "You mean she's...? Andromeda? Isn't she married?"
"No."
"She's not married? But Sirius said she eloped with that Tonks fellow, and they―"
"She's married," Mia said anxiously. "But... it's not her."
"I don't underst―"
Mia could see him process the information. She was keeping him locked away
because his mate was outside. But if not Andromeda then...
"Wait. No. That's... Oh fuck.. ." Remus groaned, thrusting his face into his
palms. "Oh Merlin. Oh buggering fuck!"
"You have to stay back here, love. I know you'd never do anything...
inappropriate." She winced as the word left her mouth, and yet Remus still reacted worse,
leaning forward and actually smacking his forehead dramatically into the wooden door as
though he could knock himself unconscious and forget the past few minutes. "But this
close to the full moon, it would be a little difficult to, well... play stupid."
"Fu-cking hell and Mer-lin's sag-gy boll-ocks." Remus punctuated every syllable
with another pound of his head against the door. "How old?"
Mia grimaced. "I don't think you want to know."
"How old is she?" he asked again, looking panicked.
Mia sighed through her nose and pressed her lips together. Out of the corner of her
mouth, she muttered, "Five. Maybe six?"
"Oh fuck!" Remus stood up and began pacing around the room, hands drawn in his
own hair, tugging hard in obvious frustration and shock. "And you're sure? I mean, I
know you know who she is for certain, but... but... you're... you're certain?"