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     ROBYN TURNED AROUND SLOWLY, as if delaying the inevitable would somehow make it less real. There stood Professor Lupin, clad in his rugged, worn-down robes, an impatient, disappointed look on his tired, worn-down face. He held his wand in his hand almost absentmindedly, a faint light glowing from the tip.

     "Robyn, what are you doing?" Lupin repeated. 

     She couldn't meet her professor's eyes; instead, she looked at his feet, shuffling her own foot across the floor. Normally, getting in trouble with professors hardly bothered her. She'd had her fair share of detentions over the years, the stern lectures and disapproving stares weren't at all new to her. However, she wasn't accustomed to the expression of outright disappointment in her actions.

     "I was going to get some Boomslang skin from Snape's private stores, Sir," Robyn answered honestly, her voice so soft it was hardly audible. Her eyes never left their gaze on Lupin's feet, which donned ratty, old boots that looked far too old to not have already worn out.

     Lupin sighed. "Should I even ask why you have an interest in Boomslang skin at one o'clock in the morning?"

     Robyn kicked the air lightly with her foot, her eyes still trained on the floor. "No, Sir," she said.

     "Robyn," Lupin said sternly. Finally, she looked up to see Lupin's face once more. Behind the scars that marred his face, she noticed that the look of disappointment was also shadowed with that of...was that pride?

     But before she could think about it, whatever Robyn saw vanished as Lupin waved his hand, turning his back to her and beckoning her to follow him. Shaking off whatever she had thought she'd seen, Robyn reluctantly followed him through the corridors and back up several staircases, all the while anxiously feeling her stomach turn.

     After following Lupin for a while, Robyn began to realize that he wasn't taking her back to Gryffindor Tower; instead, he was leading her to his office. Suddenly, it felt as if a heavy weight had landed into the pit of her stomach. Usually professors just took her back to Gryffindor Tower, gave her a stern lecture and a detention, and sent her off back to bed. So why were they going to Lupin's office instead?

     When they reached his office, Lupin opened the door quietly, gesturing his hand for her to go in first. Filled with dread, Robyn walked inside, taking a look around the room as she did. Several shelves filled to the brim with books lined the walls, and in the corner sat a tank containing a spherical, spotted fish with two long legs ending in webbed feet, which Robyn recognized from class as being a plimpy. Lupin's desk sat in the middle of the room, with one tall chair on one side and two small armchairs on the other. Robyn took a seat in one of the armchairs, crossing her legs and tapping her fingers on her knee nervously.

     Lupin shut the door behind him, put out the light that was still emanating from the tip of his wand, and took a seat in the tall chair opposite her. He sighed, setting his wand down on his desk, before propping his elbows on his desk and folding his hands together.

     "It has been made known to me that Flynn Black is a dear friend of yours, am I correct?" Lupin asked. Robyn blinked in startled confusion before nodding slightly. The last thing she expected from being caught out after hours was to be asked about Flynn, especially from a professor like Lupin.

"Has she been doing alright?" He continued. "I can't imagine that any of this stress has been good for her."

"I know it's been really difficult for her this term," Robyn replied. "She's tired of everyone assuming she helped her dad escape Azkaban -- which she didn't, by the way, and it's bullshit that anyone thinks--" Robyn slapped a hand over her mouth and her eyes widened as she realized she swore in front of a professor.

To her surprise, Lupin waved her off with a faint smile. "No worries, Robyn. I hate to hear that Flynn is struggling. If you would, please let her know that I am always here for her to talk to if she needs it. As a professor here, it's my responsibility to make sure my students are alright."

Robyn nodded and smiled. "I'll let her know. I think she would appreciate it."

     "Thank you, Robyn. Now, however," Lupin continued, his voice turning stern, and Robyn sunk into her chair, knowing fully well what was to come next, "it is also the responsibility of the staff here at Hogwarts to apprehend those who have broken school rules; therefore, you will not be going to Hogsmeade on Halloween, which I believe is this weekend, and will instead have detention with me."

     Robyn huffed a sigh of defeat. Not only did she have detention, but she had to miss the Hogsmeade trip for it, too? This night was quickly turning sour.

     "I understand, Professor," she muttered. There was no use fighting it; her sentence had already been decided. 

     Lupin stood from his desk and walked over to a chest of drawers that stood in a corner. He rummaged around in one of the drawers before pulling out a jar full of what looked like thin, green tissue paper. He set the jar down on his desk in front of Robyn, a look on face that read is this what you were looking for? 

     Indeed it was; Robyn recognized the papery material immediately. It was the Boomslang skin she needed for the potion. The corner of Lupin's mouth perked up into a small, knowing smile, and he looked over at a clock that hung on the wall by one of his bookshelves. "Alright, I believe I've kept you here long enough," He said. "Go on back to bed, and no detours to any more potions stores, do you understand?"

     Robyn nodded, hopping up from her seat and quickly leaving the office, being sure to grab the jar of Boomslang skin to take with her. She returned to Gryffindor Tower, speaking the password - Fortuna Major - to the portrait of the very-irritated-to-have-been-awoken Fat Lady before clambering inside and running back up to the fifth year boys' dormitory.

     Upon re-entering the room, Robyn noticed both Fred and Lisa had fallen asleep while she'd been gone. Lisa was curled up in George's lap, who was playing with her long, black hair absentmindedly while talking with Lee, and Fred was sprawled out next to Robyn's cauldron, his fiery red hair illuminated by the small fire upon which the cauldron sat.

     Robyn prodded Fred until he awoke with a grumbled "what?", and Robyn laughed quietly, showing him the jar of Boomslang skin. He slowly sat up, and Robyn moved around to sit next to him, opening the jar and being very careful not to break the fragile ingredient as she removed it from the jar. Fred shifted until he was right beside her, watching with half-asleep eyes as she dropped a small amount into the cauldron.

     The cauldron fizzled and popped, bubbling as the color shifted from a deep yellow to a vibrant purple, emitting a hazy, blue steam. Robyn smiled victoriously, looking over at Fred, who looked so tired, Robyn quickly became afraid he would fall asleep head-first into the cauldron. She poked Fred's shoulder to get his attention before patting her own shoulder, and he let out a small laugh, leaning his head down to rest it on her left shoulder. She could smell broomstick cleaner in his hair.

     Robyn took out her wand, waving it above the cauldron, and the steam rising from the potion finally turned to a thick, rainbow color. That was exactly what they were looking for. Robyn looked up to share a triumphant grin with George and Lee. She looked down at her shoulder to get Fred's attention and realized that he had already fallen back asleep, snoring lightly. 

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ROBYN WOKE UP THE MORNING OF HALLOWEEN filled with dread. The others had all heard of Robyn's detention with Lupin and were incredibly disappointed that she'd be missing out on their Hogsmeade trip. Rose even promised to bring Robyn back some butterbeer from the Three Broomsticks, a local pub in the village. Robyn thanked her and promised to pay her back, but Rose merely shook her head and told her not to worry about it.

     Soon enough, Robyn was alone in the castle, accompanied by only those too young to make the trip to Hogsmeade and Harry Potter, who looked very upset that he wasn't allowed to go. Robyn patted him on the shoulder apologetically, sharing with him a look of sympathy. He merely sighed in disappointment before turning his back and walking away, rubbing at his green eyes under his glasses. 

     Robyn started to make her way back to Gryffindor Tower, where she planned on waiting until her detention, but was stopped on the stairs by Professor McGonagall, who looked very sternly down at her through her square spectacles.

     "I believe you have a detention to be getting to, Miss Abrams," she said pointedly.

     "Professor Lupin never said wh-" Robyn began, but McGonagall cut her off.

     "Professor Lupin just sent me to find you and tell you he's waiting for you in his office," she said. "I suggest you get going." And with another stern glance, Professor McGonagall strode past her down the stairs.

     Robyn huffed, turning on her heel and heading back down to the first floor. She rounded the corner to the hall where Lupin's office was, and indeed, there he stood in the doorway, waiting for her to arrive, all the while looking considerably more tired than he did the last time she saw him. 

     "Good morning, Robyn," he said in greeting, ushering her into his office. Robyn stepped into the professor's office, taking a seat in the same armchair from the other night. The office looked exactly the same, except for the creature in the tank in the corner. Instead of a plimpy, the creature that had replaced it was a sickly green color with sharp little horns and long, thin fingers. Lupin left the door open and circled around his desk to his seat.

     "Is that a grindylow?" Robyn asked, pointing over to the tank. Following the direction of her pointed finger with gaze, Lupin nodded, seemingly impressed.

     "That it is. It's for my third years, though I doubt they'll have much trouble with it. They did excellently with the kappas. The trick with grindylows is to-"

     Robyn cut him off. "To break the grip. Its fingers are strong, but brittle." 

     "Exactly," he said. This time, there was no doubt of the impressed look Lupin gave her, and Robyn felt her heart swell with pride.

     "So what will I be doing for detention, Sir? Weeding plants? Scrubbing cauldrons? Cleaning trophies? I assure you, I've grown adept at all of them," Robyn said sarcastically, changing the subject. The sooner she started, the sooner she'd be finished, she figured.

     Lupin laughed softly, shaking his head. "No, no, I'm afraid I don't need any menial chores done today. I figured we could just talk; I've been meaning to discuss some things with you since the start of term, and this finally gives me a reason."

     Robyn was rendered speechless. Everything about Professor Lupin so far had thrown her off-guard, and she wasn't sure exactly how she felt about it. "Wh-what did you want to talk about?" She sputtered out incredulously. 

     At the look of no doubt confusion on Robyn's face, Lupin laughed again, before growing suddenly very serious. "Well, in particular, I wanted to talk about your home life, if that's alright."

     Robyn's glance turned towards the floor. Since her runaway escapade before the start of term, she hadn't heard a word from the Frays. They hadn't sent a single piece of mail, nor had they made any efforts to check up on her to make sure she was alright. I suppose that for the first time in Robyn's life, they actually listened to her when she told them not to go looking for her.

     "It's okay, I guess," Robyn answered shortly.

     "Who do you live with?" Lupin asked gently. He didn't sound like he was looking for information; rather, he sounded as though he genuinely cared about her.

     "My adoptive parents, Janice and Johnathan Fray. My biological parents died when I was really young, and they took me in. The Frays, they're...well, they're awful, really." Robyn let out a nervous laugh.

     "I'm really sorry to hear that. Growing up without caring parents is never good for a child." Lupin's voice was sorrowful and hollow, and the downcast look in his eyes told Robyn he understood her situation far more than she knew.

     "I actually knew your birth mother," he continued, his voice distant.

     Robyn sat up in her seat rather suddenly. "You did?" She blurted out almost aggressively. No one she'd ever talked to had known her birth mother before. All of a sudden Robyn found herself overcome with an incredibly strong sense of curiosity. If Lupin knew her mother, did he know her father, too? Did he know what happened to them?

     Lupin simply gave her a small smile. "I did. She was an incredibly kind and wonderful woman. You remind me a lot of her. Not only in appearance - you look nearly identical to her - but also in your intelligence and cynicism and love of laughter." The tone in her professor's voice was one of admiration, but she could also sense that he greatly missed her mother as well. There was a hidden pain behind his eyes that Robyn couldn't help but notice.

     "Were you close with my mother?" Robyn asked quietly, her eyes never wavering from their gaze upon Lupin's scar-ridden face.

     Again, Lupin nodded, smiling softly. "I've known her my entire life," he said simply.

     The room grew silent after that, the only sound in the room the ticking of the clock on the wall and the faint splashing from the grindylow in the tank in the corner. Robyn didn't know what else to say. She had so many questions, but no idea which one to ask first.

     Before either had a chance to say anything, their silence was broken by a third party. Lupin's gaze traveled to just over Robyn's shoulder. She turned in her chair. A dark cloaked figure had come to stand in the doorway, a snarl plastered onto his pallid, sunken face. In his hand clutched a large goblet, which was smoking faintly.

     Snape raised his right hand to knock on the open door, but before he could do so, Lupin waved his own hand and said, "No, no, Severus,  you're alright. Come on in."

     Snape walked in with the goblet, and upon seeing Robyn, paused, narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously. She glared back.

     "Thank you very much, could you leave it on the desk here for me?" Lupin asked, smiling. Snape broke his stare with Robyn, turning back towards Lupin before setting the goblet down on the desk.

     "You should drink that directly, Lupin," said Snape slowly.

     "Yes, yes, I will," Lupin said. Robyn glanced back and forth between her two professors, and could tell Lupin was trying to be polite with Snape, while Snape didn't seem to care at all about his attitude with Lupin.

     "I made an entire cauldronful," Snape continued snidely, "if you need more."

     Lupin smiled politely. "I should probably take some again tomorrow. Thank you again, Severus."

     Snape didn't return the smile. Instead the corner of his lips curled downwards into a grimace, and he simply muttered a contemptuous "not at all" before backing out of the room.

     With Snape gone, Robyn turned back towards Lupin, taking a long glance at the goblet on the table. "So, what is that?" She asked curiously.

     "I've been feeling a bit out-of-sorts lately, and Professor Snape has kindly concocted a particularly complex potion for me," Lupin explained. "It's the only thing that helps and I've never been much of a potion-brewer myself. I'm very grateful for Professor Snape; not many wizards are up to making this potion." He took a large drink out of the goblet and shuddered heavily. "Pity sugar makes it useless."

     Robyn looked at Lupin, unconvinced. She had, in fact, noticed that throughout Lupin's entire explanation, he had very carefully stepped around telling her exactly what the potion was. 

     It seems Lupin realized this as well, as he quickly drained the rest of his goblet and pulled a rather unpleasant face. "Disgusting," he muttered. 

     "Well, Robyn, I'd consider your detention over. I better get back to work, but I'll see you at the feast later," he said in a normal voice, nodding towards the open door behind her.

     Robyn stood up slowly, disappointed that she hadn't asked all the questions she had meant to. But she left Lupin's office, making her way back to Gryffindor Tower, feeling quite different than she had when she walked in earlier that afternoon.

     Lupin knew her mother. 

     For the first time in her life, Robyn had a connection to her past.