A/N: I hope it isn't confusing with the flashbacks...

Y/N walked along King's Cross Station with Harry beside her. He had his cart full of bags and Hedwig's cage. Y/N looked around. No sign of Remus. She had received a letter from Remus saying he had become the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Her relationship with Remus... was... complicated.

"Harry!" a voice called out. It was Harry's best friend, Ron Weasley. He also happened to be Y/N's cousin's child, but she was so close to Arthur that he used to call her... "Hi, Aunt Y/N," he said, hugging her. "Hi, Ron," she said, looking at his cart. He had a small cage with a little rat in it, nibbling on something. She couldn't help but recognize it...

"Y/N!" said Arthur Weasley, walking up to hug her. Behind him came his 100 children with the typical red hair. Fred and George Weasley rushed up to Y/N with sparkling eyes and broad smiles. She had always been their favorite aunt. She was the cool adult who actually laughed at their pranks instead of just trying to "educate" them.

"Aunt Y/N!" George called out while Fred was already starting to tell her something.

"You should have seen what we did to Percy!"

Y/N raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms with a serious expression. "What have you been up to now?"

Fred and George exchanged a quick glance before bursting into words:

"We enchanted his quill!" George said.

"So every time he tried to write, it started singing 'I'm a Little Teapot'!" Fred added, his face lighting up with a mischievous grin.

Y/N tried to stay serious, but giggles escaped regardless. "Oh, boys... How long did it go on?"

"Long enough for him to scream that he never wanted to see a teapot again," George giggled.

Fred nodded eagerly. "Mom was about to burst with anger, but Percy... He sat there, red-faced, trying to act unfazed. We did him a favor, really. No one needs to be that serious."

Y/N was now openly laughing and pulled them both into a hug. "I don't know if I should scold you or congratulate you."

Fred leaned back and smiled. "We'll gladly take congratulations."

George nodded. "And maybe some Chocolate Frogs if you have any?"

Y/N raised her eyebrows; she really loved Fred and George. They reminded her so much of Sirius and the other three. "Unfortunately, no, but here..." She rummaged through her bag and gave a Galleon to each of Arthur's children. "Oh, thank you, Aunt Y/N," they said in unison before boarding the train. Y/N and Arthur stayed until they saw all the children on the train. He looked behind her, tilting his head as if he wanted Y/N to look. She turned around. Remus had arrived. He was loading his bag, and Y/N quickly hid behind Arthur. "You still haven't..." he said.

"Not since Sirius was arrested," she said with a sigh, waiting until he boarded the train.

"What are you going to do? You’re both teachers at Hogwarts; are you going to avoid him?"

"If that’s what it takes..." she said.

As she said before, their relationship was complicated. She didn't hate him; she sent him Christmas cards every year, but that was all. You would understand if you knew her story.

Flashback to 1976

The Great Hall at Hogwarts was filled with laughter and screams as chickens suddenly ran wild over Gryffindor's table. Clucking from the hens echoed as students tried to help catch them, but everything only got worse. Bowls were knocked over, and food spilled over students and their schoolbooks. James looked at Sirius and laughed hysterically.

"It's not funny, Potter!" snapped Lily, who sat further back at the table. "Arresto Momentum!" she shouted, and suddenly the chickens slowed down so the students could catch them. "My goodness, we are a bunch of wizards, and no one thought to use magic to catch them?" she said, then called out, "Evanesco," and suddenly they were gone again.

Sirius glared at her. "Now my chicken wings are gone," he said irritably, though with a hint of humor.

"You had the entire spell backward. You're supposed to transform chickens into chicken wings," Remus explained while the others cleaned up after the chickens.

Sirius sighed. "Well, I don't exactly have a chicken, do I?" he said grumpily.

James raised his eyebrows.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

"You're off today and not saying much. What's wrong?"

"What do you mean, off? I'm learning, aren't I?"

James shook his head.

"We're the best in our class at Transfiguration. We're actually..." he leaned in, whispering, "Animagi ourselves." He straightened up again. "What's the matter?"

Sirius rolled his eyes and gave in.

"Y/N," he said.

James smirked. "She turned you down, didn't she?"

"It's not funny," Sirius said. "This has never happened to me before."

James chuckled, and Sirius punched him on the arm. Remus observed Sirius; it was unusual for him to even care about being rejected. Usually, he would just give up and move on to the next girl. But something about this girl made Sirius persist.

"You need to show her you care," said Remus, causing Sirius to look up.

"What did you say?" Sirius asked.

"Talk to her. Get to know her. Give her something she would appreciate. Be her friend first," said Remus.

Sirius groaned. "But that takes forever."

"Or you could give up and pay me directly," said James, extending his hand.

Sirius shook his head. "Never," he said.

Back at Hogwarts, 1993.

Y/N walked briskly through Hogwarts' stone corridors, her cloak billowing behind her. It had been a long day of Alchemy lessons. She just wanted to get to her room, pull a blanket over herself, and find a moment of peace.

But the peace shattered like glass when she saw him at the door to her office.

Remus Lupin.

His face, tired and lined with age, showed a cautious joy when he saw her. "Y/N," he said softly, as if her name was something fragile. Her grip on the scrolls tightened.

"Professor Lupin," she replied coldly.

For a moment, something flickered in his eyes, but he held his composure. "I was hoping to talk to you."

"So you talk to me now?" She scoffed. "You could have talked to me when my world fell apart?"

Remus sighed and ran his hand through his graying hair. "I understand why you're angry. I should have said something—"

"You knew," she interrupted, her voice low and dangerous. "You knew about their bet. You knew he only approached me to prove something to James."

He opened his mouth to protest, but she raised her hand. "And yet you set us up. You, of all people, who should have warned me."

"It was never just a bet for him," Remus said quietly. "He loved you."

"And yet," she said, her eyes icy, "that's all I was. A game. A bet. And when everything fell apart, when Sirius... when he killed them..." Her voice cracked at the thought of James and Lily. "Why did you say nothing? Why did you leave me there, alone, without an explanation?"

Remus looked down at his hands, his lightly trembling fingers betraying more than his face. "I thought... I thought he was guilty. Just like you did."

"And yet you were the one who set us up," she hissed. "You, who knew what he and James planned. Why, Remus? Why play with my heart as if it meant nothing?"

He took a deep, shuddering breath. "He cared when you turned him down. I think you... he liked you too much to give up."

Her lips pressed into a thin line. "Or maybe he just wanted to win," she said, and Remus shook his head.

"I don't think so. He got better when he was with you. You changed him," Remus said.

Y/N scoffed. "He got better? He betrayed us all. He killed my friends. And you, you did nothing to stop it. Nothing to warn me."

Remus fell silent with weighed down by the chain of guilt around his chest, Remus spoke softly, "I have no excuses, Y/N. Only regret."

She stared at him for a long moment, then shook her head. "Regret won't change anything. You may be a professor now, but to me, you'll always be the one who let me fall apart."

She turned and walked away, her footsteps echoing into the silence. Remus stood still, with nothing but the shadow of his past for company.