pavement :||: marauders era one-shots

Chapter 14

Remus Lupin walked into a muggle cafe exhausted and bleary-eyed from another full moon alone.

"One black coffee," he muttered to the woman at the counter. "Oh, and one of the chocolate buns."

After paying he then took a seat at one of the tables and made a note to himself to ask if the cafe was hiring. But before he could stop the barista and ask a family walked in.

There was a large man with an even larger mustache, accompanied by his wife who looked like a giraffe-mouse hybrid. Their fat son with a mop of blonde hair trotted in and pressed his pudgy face against the display case glass.

Remus thought he recognized the woman but he couldn't put his finger on it so he moved on to his drink. Then he noticed the fourth person. A small boy with baggy clothes, and jet black hair.

"It's just a coincidence," Remus muttered to himself.

But then the boy turned looking around the cafe. The boy wore glasses with tape holding them together and through the dirty glass were piercing emerald eyes.

Then Remus knew who the woman was, Petunia Dursley, formerly Evans. The boy, Harry. Sweet Harry. He would be nine now.

"Oh sweet mercy," Remus mumbled. "Do go up to him. He doesn't know you, it's not safe, not safe for him."

Harry heard the man in the corner mutter. His eyes met a man who didn't look old, but he looked very tired. He wore a shabby brown coat and had large scars running across his face.

Harry heard his aunt sneer. "Look at that man, how does he let himself out in public, looking like that." She spat the last word out.

Harry kept watching the man as his cousin wailed for a mutilde of sweets.

Remus made eye contact with Harry, and slight look of recognition flickered across the boy's face but then it faded to nothing.

"I could take him," Remus said under his breath. "No, you couldn't you idiot man you barely have enough money to feed yourself."

Remus knew he needed to leave and stood up. He grabbed his cup and looked down at his untouched bun. He scooped it up as well.

Just before Remus reached the door he stopped and looked at Harry.

"Here," He sad offering the bun. "I don't like chocolate anyways."

And Remus fled before Harry coud even let a thank you passed his lips.