A Life Forever Altered
Part II
By: WeasleyTwin1
A/N: Here's the next chapter. For those of you wondering, Remus has not been bitten yet, that won't happen for another few chapters. You get to meet some other people that you know in this part and you get to see more of Remus' artistic talent. Enjoy.
Chapter Two
Town.
When one thinks of a town most think of a place that is full of exciting people to meet and places to go. Well, to me town was none of these things; it was just a place an hour away from our home. There was one redeeming quality about it though; it was a very picturesque place. Set in the bottom of a valley, with a small river running thorough it forming a lake on the northern border. It was a landscape every artist died to paint or sketch and many came to do just that. Of course, I had already painted it and in many different ways. In fact one of my views was in the sitting room of our house. Mum liked it best of all, even though I sketched it when I was eight and now at ten my skills had improved.
Our house was on the very border of this beautiful view. Away from the town proper in case…just in case the unthinkable happened and one of Mum's cursed items backfired, this way only we would receive the backlash from whatever spell was placed on the item. So far, of course, this hadn't happened, yet. There were, though, many witches and wizards who had died as a result of a backfired curse. Often times death would be preferred over some of the things Mum had told me about those that had survived and while, to me, things like growing extra arms or legs might seem useful, to those it had happened to it wasn't. There were other far worse things that could happen to you as well, getting trapped in the cursed object or becoming a slave to the wizard responsible for the curse. I shudder to think of those things. Father's job, scouting out Dark Magic for the Ministry is just as dangerous and in that field there are no survivor stories, just a long wall in the Ministry building commemorating those that had died and a ceremony every year where more names are placed on the wall. I guess someday I'll have a job like that after I get out of Hogwarts…that is if I ever show any magical abilities.
I sighed as I continued to walk. I just hope I don't turn out to be a squib. I shuddered at the thought, but it was a thought that was plaguing me and had been for the last few weeks. I stopped to look at the lake, the reflections quivering slightly as the breeze ran across the water. I sat down on the waters edge and began to do what I always did when I was thinking, I began to draw. The light was perfect and I lost myself in my drawing and soon all my worries vanished. After a few minutes I had yet another, lake view picture. Perhaps, someday Mum would buy me that set of enchanted pencils and paints that is every artists dream. The ones that make the pictures move. I could imagine the lake shimmering as it was now, captured forever in a painting, and perhaps even painted by me. I gazed at my reflection in the water and wondered if the scrawny, boy reflected there, with the bright amber eyes and lopsided grin, would ever be anything. Would I be like my parents, involved in some dangerous branch of magic or would I not. I shuddered again, this time with all the unspoken fears in my mind. As shuddering reminds me of fear and uneasiness I remembered that Old Welnith's house was my destination. I groaned as I rose from my spot and I continued on my journey.
Old Welnith was not a bad witch, she was just a little…odd, no strange, no weird would be the best way to describe her. Most called her eccentric, but we just called her weird. Her specialty was in Herbology. She also had another calling which made any visit to her worth it. She was an excellent cook. Cooking and Herbology, perfect combination if you ask me, and most of us loved her cooking it was the highlight of any visit. She always seemed to have large and never-ending amounts of cakes, candies and cookies, so of course we loved her, can't beat sugar. Quickly, I thought about what day it was and tried to rack my brain thinking what the treat of the day would be. Was it chocolate cake day? Was it toffee day? Was it those really good little cookie things she always seemed to have day? I wasn't sure and the more I thought about it the more I wondered what she would have…
Suddenly I felt mud hit me in the head and it was followed by laughter. I knew who it was without even turning around.
"Hello, Remus," said a slimy voice, it was Severus Snape and his two cronies, Tate and Glen the terror twins.
"Severus," I said curtly and continued on my way.
Some more mud became acquainted with my head as well as a few rocks. Oh, how I wish I knew the Curse of the Bogies, I'd use it right now. But, I continued to walk.
"It must be hard being ugly…"
I snorted, as Severus had no room to talk about looks with his angular face and greasy black hair. I had seen dead things that where more pleasant to look at.
"…but to be a squib must be the worse thing ever," Severus said, a certain sneer in his voice caused me to stop and turn around. He smiled viciously at me, as my face grew red with anger.
"You…you…you…."
I couldn't think of anything better to say. I just stood there blubbering, you…you. Tate and Glen began to laugh and Severus joined in. I felt my face growing redder by the second. Was I growing angry because Severus dared to say such a thing or was my anger spawned by my fear that he was right?
"The Great Curse Breaker and Dark Destroyer bore a Squib. Who'd of thought it would be possible that such a magical family would find itself in such an embarrassing situation."
I just stood there anger filling every part of me.
"Perhaps, you are a jinx to your family. Perhaps, you are a curse."
I could feel my hatred for Severus growing with every passing second. My anger was growing as well as my fear of this truth that Severus was speaking. Could it be possible, I had wondered the same thing myself, everyone else had already shown the beginnings of magical abilities, even Severus. Was I to be the outcast in a village full of witches and wizards? Perhaps, I should just resign myself to that fact.
"Poor, Squib, you'll never live up to your parents expectations. You'll be here while the rest of us go on to Hogwarts. Poor, poor Remus the Squib."
That was it. I turned my face to Severus and glared at him. He, of course, returned the glare with his little black eyes. It was then that I felt a strange twitching in my fingertips.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
I yelled it, not knowing where the words came from or worse then that what its effect would be to Severus. Somewhere, in the back of my mind I prayed that I wouldn't kill him, but that place was very far back in my mind. I didn't have to worry about this fear for long because after I yelled those words Severus, Tate and Glen went rigid and fell over into the mud they had been throwing at me. I had preformed the Full Body Bind and without the use of a wand. For once I had the upper hand. Severus glared at me with a new hatred growing in his eyes. I meet his cold eyes with a cold calculating, superior look of my own.
"Come now, Severus there is no need to bow before me. At least not just yet."
I smirked my lopsided grin at him and, after kicking some mud on them continued on my way into town.
A/N Again: Don't flame me for putting Severus in here, he wrote himself into this fic. I had no control over it. But, don't worry when Remus gets bit, Severus won't find out about it, so it keeps with the book. Oh and Rowling owns these characters, except for Tate and Glen. Read and Review.
