The Slow Undoing | Remus Lupin

Remus Lupin's return to Hogwarts was meant to be quiet; temporary. Then he encounters her, a Slytherin, with dark green robes and an unnerving calm that sets his instincts on edge: it leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

He assumes the worst. Keeps his distance. Watches too closely.

Yet the longer he watches, the less his assumptions hold. She breaks rules without cruelty, keeps secrets without malice, and walks away when she could stay. Trust doesn't arrive all at once.

What changes between them is slow and unwelcome: bias gives way to uncertainty. Distance becomes awareness. And somewhere between guarded glances and unfinished conversations, Remus realizes the danger was never her House or family, it was how easily his certainty could be undone.