WARNING: UNDER REWRITING AND HEAVY EDITING
Read at your own risk!
Life started off complicated for young Eleanor Ross after being born to a muggle mother while showing her magical capabilities at an early age. Growing up in a household where her mot...
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Remus was absolutely beside himself, overwhelmed with emotions as he sorted through the photographs that spanned across Eleanor's entire childhood. There were pictures taken from when she was just a few days old, to photographs revolving around her first steps, and so much more. He was thankful to witness some of the moments that he had missed out on, but the photos also served as cruel reminders of just how much he had missed out on during his absence. Eleanor had recently turned sixteen years old, only a year away from being considered an adult in the Wizarding World and he was only just coming into her life.
Every so often, he lowered the photo in his hand and looked down at Eleanor, who continued to sleep peacefully through the night. Margaret brought him a warm cup of tea, before joining him on the sofa again, telling some little stories behind each photograph.
"I hate how sad she looks in most of these," Margaret said at one point, "she was such a happy baby. She laughed at the slightest thing all the time and she always wanted to play. She was so sweet to her toys too. Always made sure that all her stuffed animals were paired up so that one didn't get lonely. And she liked to sing her toys, even if she didn't know the words. I haven't heard her sing in so long."
"What happened?"
"I happened," she sighed. "When her accidental magic caused things to start happening around the house, like the lights going out when she laughed, or how she could practically summon her toys from the shelf, I panicked. I didn't know what to do and all I could think of was the teachings of the church and my parents. I treated her like she was possessed by the devil, I was so afraid of her. I remember those nights where she called for me from her room, but I just left her there to cry. She should have been taken away from me with how I neglected her."
"You're lucky you didn't end up with an Obscurial on your hands," Remus told her, "it happens when a witch or a wizard is forced to suppress their magic. They create an obscurus, which is a dark parasite of magic that can manifest itself into a destructive force. They aren't too common in these recent days, but during the witch hunts, there were plenty since children and adults had to hide their magic to avoid being persecuted."
Margaret peered down at Eleanor with a frown before running her hand over the top of her daughter's hair gently.
"Why didn't she become one then?" she asked. "What stopped her from becoming one?"
Remus gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "I've heard that Obscurials can be healed if their feelings of isolation are replaced with the feeling of belonging. Basically, healing the trauma would cause the parasite to dwindle away."
"Hogwarts," Margaret nodded, "or maybe when Professor McGonagall arrived, telling her she was a witch. She was able to learn about and meet others that were like her. She always gets excited when it's time for her to return to school. Perhaps that's what actually saved her. I had no idea about Obscurials, I didn't realise I could be inflicting so much damage."
