The Muggle Who Did Something: A marauders era fanfiction

Chapter 19: Easily Distracted

Remus froze, sucking in a quick breath and holding it in. His smile shifted slightly in a way the girl couldn't quite place. He slowly let the breath out before he spoke, having collected his thoughts.

"Yes, well..." He began, not meeting her eyes as he spoke. "You'll find any of those if you look in the right place."

Cynthia watched as his emotions started churning with uncertainty again, the sight slightly puzzling her. The young man unbeknownst to this continued on, though his words came out a little more stiff than they had before.

"Unicorns are one of the most majestic creatures I've ever seen, though they aren't too fond of me. They'd probably prefer your company to mine at any rate."

"Because I'm a woman?" Cynthia tilted her head to the side questioningly. She did remember a vague mention from an old book that Unicorns sought out young women for company, but she found the idea a little strange.

"Indeed, though they will come close to young children as well. Something to do with they're innocence and lack of..." He paused, lacing his fingers together and resting his hands on his lap. "Tainted magic."

"Wait, what?" Cynthia's noise scrunched up at the man's last words. "So you're telling me Magic can be 'Tainted'?" She used air quotes as she spoke, earning a slightly confused look from the man before her.

Remus raised a single eyebrow, watching her drop her hands. It was as if he'd never seen the hand motion, but he didn't comment on it.

"Magic comes in many forms. Light or Pure magic is recognized for its healing nature or positive effects. Unicorns are often associated with Light magic being the symbol of purity and light to many in the magical community." He paused, noting how focused Cynthia was on his words.

"Tainted Magic is quite the opposite, being seen as harmful and often sinister by most of us. Unlike Pure magic, it leaves a mark." He paused, absentmindedly clenching and unclenching his hand. "It's more often called Dark Magic because of that. It stains all those who touch it. The darker a spell used, the worse the lashback of the magic."

"That's..." She paused, digesting his words. "That's a lot to take in..."

Remus nodded at her comment, or lack thereof.

Honestly though, it was a lot to consider. She was pleasantly surprised to find these magic folk had some categories for their powers, but it felt as if she were just scratching the surface. Surely things weren't so black and white.

Cynthia shook her thoughts, deciding to think more about it later when she was on her own. She focused back on the man before her, meeting his eyes. His amber orbs glinted under the yellow light, though the weariness in them seemed to have grown.

His body language had changed again, but she'd been too distracted by his words to notice. He had an almost tangible exhaustion about his frame. Cynthia had seen people tired before, but this was different but she just couldn't put her finger on why that was.

The large black blob around him was keeping a tight rein on his emotions. Streaks of dark purple formed around his person. He was uncertain of his own words, or perhaps doubting them?

No that wasn't quite it. This purple was slightly different, having more of a green shimmering undertone. It was more like he wasn't happy with his words. It was hard to tell, the girl could only just barely see the colors of his emotions with everything else glowing around them.

The large black creature floating about the man wasn't helping matters either. It continued to snuff out and squash some of the colors before they could fully form. The thing somehow looked a bit larger now, but perhaps that was just because they were now inside. Was this man aware of how much his feelings were being suppressed by the thing? It was almost like it was playing with his emotions at this rate.