Remus gestured for the young man to have a seat. He noted the flash of cautious apprehension in dark eyes and smiled reassuringly. "You're not in trouble, Alex. I just wanted to talk for a moment."
Coming around to perch on the edge of the small desk he used in the classroom, he eyed Alex critically without appearing to do so. Remus knew he wasn't supposed to have favourites, but it was extremely difficult not to have a soft spot for the 'outsiders' of the school, the ones who had slivers of the same boy he'd once been.
"At the risk of sounding like a typical adult," he said, "I wanted to see how you're holding up. I couldn't help noticing that you don't seem your usual inquisitive self in class and I know your family's having a tough time right now. You don't have to talk to me about that if you don't want to. But, I wanted you to know you can come to me if you do need to talk...or if you need me to repeat the essay assignment for tonight, in case you missed it," he teased gently.