Faint murmurs arose from the congregation of furious and frightened onlookers in the distance, the words making their way towards the malicious creature. It sat there, in the snow, trembling with both the cold and with a poorly suppressed anger that showed clearly in its maddened eyes, besides the fallen bloodstained child whose flesh it had torn open moments ago. Torn open with razor-sharp talons that had erupted from the creature's very own fingers.

The ominous glow of the full moon bathed the entire scene in an unwanted light, completely revealing the treacherous act that had been committed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daytime.

Another sudden strike landed on the side of his head, closely accompanied by the horrible sensation of warm blood trickling down his left temple. Remus Lupin straightened up, trying his best also to ignore the insults hurled at him – insults that were now gradually starting to invade his sense of calm and restraint.

The other boys threw him looks of utmost disgust as they surrounded him, their shadows as intimidating as their faces.

"---nothing but a piece of scum! You don't belong here!"

"Heard he tried to kill Harroway's brother!"

Once again, Remus's head met with the forceful blow of a fist that belonged to – well, did it matter? He couldn't even see properly anymore; his vision clouded in a pool of fog that stung as if he had exposed his eyes to a substance of toxic nature. A moment later, he felt the hard, dusty ground rise up to meet him as his resistance to the abuse gave way.

"Oi! He's out cold! That's how lowlifes like him should be…laying in the dirt!"

But Remus wasn't yet in the realm of the unconscious…although he knew he would be soon enough; nearly every ounce of strength in his frail body had left him. The haunting call of a raven was slightly heard as the group of boys laughed loudly amongst each other as if they had accomplished a heroic act. The pitiful, ten year old boy lay in a pathetic heap at their feet, bruised and bloodied yet not showing any signs of spilt tears. No, he didn't even utter as much as a single of cry of pain as blow after blow had struck him down only seconds before.

"We'll try everything we can, son, everything we can! We'll find a way to heal you…" the sudden echo of a familiar voice, that belonging to Remus's father, for some reason flooded his mind. It was the last thing he heard before the merciless world surrounding him became saturated with darkness beyond comprehension.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You beast…get away from her!" A woman dressed in greying robes shrieked, shoving Remus out of the way as she shot forward to grab her daughter's arm in a frenzied panic. Blue eyes filled with hatred and disgust met with hurt and surprised amber-coloured eyes.

"I never touched her…I swear…" A barely audible voice managed to escape from the boy's cracked lips as he stared at the woman with a gaze that wasn't hateful – but saddened.

"Hah – you expect me to believe that, do you? I don't even know why you're still living around here – you and that despicable family of yours! You should all be sent away! No - KILLED!"

Sent away.


Killed.

How many times he had heard these same words in his life he did not know. Why did these words, so simple in their solitude, injure his well being so badly? Without looking again at the woman and her frightened daughter, Remus turned on his heel and fled the vicinity, blocking out the shouts that followed him as he ran.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The bone-chilling icy gale that blew through the open windows in the kitchen scattered Mr Lupin's fresh copy of the Daily Prophet all over the table.

"I can't stress enough how many times I've told you not to leave that unattended, you know!" Remus's mother, thin and tired-looking, said exasperatedly as she hurried to pick up the pages that were now blowing into the next room.

"What, the window or the paper, love?" answered Mr Lupin, raising his eyebrows at his wife's sudden exclamation.

"Both, I suppose! But mostly the window," came the annoyed reply.

A loud "HAH!" was heard as Remus's father leaned against the kitchen bench, one hand still holding onto the handle of the cupboard as he held it open to get out the coffee jar. An expression that indicated a combination of impatience and amusement played across the handsome yet weathered features of his face.

"You know damn well that I'm not going to stand here guarding it all my bloody life!" he said, half-laughing as he shook his head and shut the window again with a flick of his wand.

"Don't use magic on it every time – just try blocking it with something instead! Honestly!"

"Like what?"
A small argument fired up between the couple just at the moment Remus had walked into the room, still dressed in his old pyjamas. Rubbing the sleep out of his weary eyes, he walked quietly over to the table and sat down, pulling a plate towards him.

"I really think you ought to get that window checked out – I think there's some irremovable curse on it or something…don't bother casting those spells on it, the same thing's just going to happen…"

"Dear, if I had a sickle for every time you've nagged to me about this, I would be incredibly rich right now…!"

"Excuse me?! Are you saying you'd rather have this bursting open and letting that horrible wind mess up everything? You know how often I---"

It was then that his parents noticed his presence.

"Oh, good morning, Remus, darling. How are you feeling?"

No reply.

"Come on son, cheer up, in a few days you're going to be much happier, I guarantee it."

A "clink" on wood was the only sound that came from Remus's direction as he drank silently from his glass and placed it back down onto the table. He didn't feel like talking much anymore. It seemed that whenever he opened his mouth to speak, he only seemed to annoy others. Even if his parents showed no signs of annoyance towards him, he just couldn't help it...society's accusations had trained him to be this way. A transformation in Remus's personality was the least of his problems for now.