the_debt_of_time

He swallowed hard, eyes wide as they stared into hers. They're blue today, he thought
to himself as his breath quickened in a panic. Not knowing what else to say, he decided
that fleeing would be the best option, so he quickly turned on his heels and ran... face
first, into the side of a building.
A moment later, he found himself staring up at the sky, the prettiest witch in the
world hovering over him.
"I see you've met Wally," she said with a grin.
He blinked. "Wally?"
"Yeah." She chuckled and then gestured to the brick building he had just cracked
his forehead against. She touched the wall affectionately. "Wally and I have had our run-
ins in the past. See this?"
She knelt down beside Remus, who flinched away from her. She was pointing to a
small scar on the left side of her forehead. It was barely visible and, had she not pointed it
out, he might never have known it was there.
"Cracked my head clean open when I was eleven. Was so bloody excited to get my
Hogwarts shopping done that I ran right into old Wally here. Woke up in St Mungo's six
hours later."
Remus grimaced at the thought, prompting him to wonder aloud, "Are you... all
right?"
"What, ten years later?" she asked with a chuckle. "Yeah, I think I'll live."
He smiled at the sound of her laughter, which he thought was the loveliest sound
in the known universe.
"So, you gonna tell me why you were following me?"
Eyes wide, his smile faded, and he felt the blood drain from his face.
He had known who she was for over fifteen years, had seen her from time to time—
always from a distance—here and there, but had never once made contact. And now he
had spoken eleven words to her, and more than half of them had not made a lick of sense.
"I was just... Umm... Because Death Eaters? And you're an Auror."
She rolled her eyes, suddenly looking perturbed. "You've spotted a Death Eater,
have you? Well, I'm officially off the clock. Haven't eaten all day. If you want to make a
report, you'll have to talk while I grab lunch. C'mon."
She held her hand out to help him up.