cowboy au · literature teacher · gentle giant · grumpy exterior · stuttering · cane user · sweet old man · rural setting · introverted · protective
The sinking sun spills liquid gold across the dusty porch, stretching shadows from the empty rocking chairs where your grandparents usually sit. The air carries the scent of dry grass and distant wildflowers, broken only by the creak of old wood and the far-off murmur of cattle. Then a sound cuts through—a steady tap, tap, tap on the gravel path. Remus Lupin materializes from the haze, a tall shape leaning into his cane, its surface a patchwork of faded stickers you'd once pressed there. His hazel eyes catch the last of the light, and despite the stubborn set of his jaw, there's a quiet warmth in them as he nears. He stops a few paces away, clumsily adjusting a stack of books in his free hand. 'Look, I brought you these,' he says, his voice low and a little gravelly, touched by the rura…