the_debt_of_time

thirties, Mrs Lupin had clearly suffered through the years, as lines of stress encircled her
beautiful eyes that were as green as Remus's.
Mrs Lupin slowly approached her son, reaching out as though she wanted to hug
him, but she stopped mid-motion and patted him on the shoulder.
Mia watched the interaction carefully, sad to see the distance at which Remus was
kept by his own mother.
A nervous-looking man stood an extra foot behind Mrs Lupin, bags under his eyes
and his hands in his pockets. A good ten years older than his wife, Mr Lupin looked like a
man who could have once smiled as brightly as Mia knew Remus was able to, but she
doubted that Mr Lupin still had the ability or the will to even try.
Though Remus took after his mother in appearance, Mia could see the shabby,
lonely disposition of an older Professor Lupin in the visage of his father standing before
her.
It was painful to witness.
Remus's parents stood nervously, both obvious in their need to get out of King's
Cross as quickly as possible.
Mia could not stand the tension, so she smiled up at Remus's mother. "Hello."
Remus flushed, embarrassed. "Oh, sorry. Umm, this is my friend Mia Potter. Mia,
these are my parents." He gestured to them both, looking like he wanted to take someone's
hand. Instead, he ran a nervous hand through his hair.
"It's such a pleasure to meet you, Mr and Mrs Lupin." Mia extended her hand which
was taken immediately. The fact made her want to narrow her eyes at the couple. They had
so easily offered their hands in introduction to a strange girl, but neither had properly
hugged their son after not seeing him since Christmas. No wonder Remus was so terrified
when she first met him on the train.
Mrs Lupin smiled kindly to her. "My boy wrote home telling me about his
wonderful new friends."
The words were tense and matched the look on Mr Lupin's face perfectly. It was
clear by their posture that both of his parents wanted to leave, but the fact that Remus was
not moving apparently forced them to make awkward conversation.
Mrs Lupin's voice lowered to a whisper as she said, "I... I can't tell you how much
I appreciate you keeping his... illness... Your discretion is―"