the_debt_of_time

he didn't bother pulling it back away from his pale face. His jaw was more than scruffy, but
the beard was entirely unkempt.
For a split second, Remus had the panicking thought that perhaps Greyback had
tracked his parents down and infected his father. To verify, Remus inhaled sharply and
exhaled in disgust and disappointment when he smelled not lycanthropy but firewhisky
billowing off of his father like steam from a train engine.
Approaching them with a suspicious expression, Remus's father narrowed his eyes.
"What're you doing here? You shouldn't be here."
"Mia's brother was in a small accident," Remus answered stiffly.
"Hello, Mr Lupin, how are you?" Mia said politely, stepping between Remus and
his father as though she could either create a bridge between the two or a wall of protection.
Remus figured, knowing her, that it was a bit of both.
Her movement stirred something in Remus: an overwhelming sense of love and
care, followed by a strong need to protect her from Lyall. Lyall... his father. Remus
wondered when he had started thinking of the man by his first name, much like Sirius did
with his mother. Lyall had never been physically abusive the way Remus knew Walburga
Black was, but the chasm between him and his father was significant, and he could not
help but wish that Mia's father was with them right then.
Lyall looked at Mia with a curious expression, his emotions flickering over his face
before landing on disappointed. "I see this is still going on." He frowned, gesturing to the
way she held onto Remus's hand. "My dear girl, I'm happy to see that you're―"
"Alive?" Remus growled. "Intact? Not disfigured or infected?"
Lyall's brief expression of politeness turned cold instantly. "All of those things, yes."
"What are you doing here?"
Not bothering to look Remus in the eye, his gaze stuck in the space between him
and Mia, he said, "Your mother is unwell."
"Mum?" Remus felt his heart drop. "What's wrong with her? What happened?"
Mia clung tighter to Remus's hand, bringing her free palm up to grip his bicep. "Did
she catch that Muggle flu that's going around? My father was just telling us about that. I'm
so sorry."
"It's not your fault, dear," Lyall stated, his gaze finally returning to Remus's face.