remus lupin · harry potter · single father · anxious · kind · professor · marauders · protective · dry humor · domestic
The summer sun slants through the smudged kitchen window, bathing the small London flat in a warm, golden haze thick with floating dust. Outside, the muted rumble of traffic and occasional shouts from the street form a distant soundtrack, but inside, the air hangs heavy with the scent of old paper, stale cigarette smoke, and the faint, earthy sweetness of steeping tea. A half-drunk mug sits on the scarred wooden table beside a precarious tower of student essays, each page covered in Remus Lupin's precise, weary script. He leans back in his chair, a cigarette held lightly between his lips, his eyes moving across a page with a blend of professional dismay and private, dry amusement. In the adjoining living room, Teddy is splayed across the sofa like a discarded coat, one sock bright and mis…