Friendship is but another name for an alliance with the follies and the misfortunes of others. Our own share of miseries is sufficient: why enter then as volunteers into those of another? - Thomas Jefferson
The Inbetweeners
Well, this is a story about the underdogs. This is a story about the often ignored, insignificant but not normal enough, 'inbetweeners.'
I started writing this story on a very snowy day in front of the hospital wing, anxiously waiting for my dear friend, Camilo. I could still hear his agonizing screams through the door, across the room. He was in pain, I quietly observed. Feeling awfully sick, tired but quite clear minded at the same time. Too clear minded, to be honest.
I took a deep breath trying to grasp what was happening with my life. I was a normal kid just a few years ago, now I'm this huge pile of unsolved, unexplained, complete mess of a barely sane human being. As I let out my breath Katie glanced over my shoulder and started violently poking Normunds' shoulder with her finger.
"What?"
Normunds slowly turned his head and snapped at Katie. His blue eyes glinted dangerously. He had half dried blood all over his hands and robes. I looked away, trying not to flinch at his tone. He was normally a quite laid back lad who never gets aggressive with us, his Hogwarts family.
But tonight was a special night. A night I would never forget. A nightmare that will haunt me, chase after me and drag me to my most vulnerable place. Katie didn't seemed fazed at Normunds reaction, she merely moved her finger and pointed at the door that Camilo was being treated.
As we all turned our heads, the door opened silently. Madame Pomfrey came out with an urgent look on her face, trotted to a shelf near the door, pulled out a white cloth and quickly shut the door behind her as she practically ran back inside.
Pamela buried her face in her hands and let out a small sob. My heart went quiet for a second as she wept silently. She was the mother hen, always strong and taking care of us all. She wasn't supposed to cry. Normunds put a hand on Pamela's knee and muttered comforting words that I couldn't quite catch. His rugged voice was the only thing filling my ears and at that point I wasn't really sure if I'd prefer the unnerving silence or the sound of my friends trying so hard not to shatter into million pieces.
The eerie dim yellow lights from the floating candles over our heads wavered as if it was sensing our gloomy mood. Few of them went off sending a real-like grey smoke line to the ceiling. Now the room has gone a bit too dark for my taste.
I scotched over closer to Katie and carefully covered her white cold hands with mine. Her glance moved to my blood stained hands and I squeezed reassuringly trying to tell her that it'll be okay. It always has been. Her eyelashes trembled as she closed her eyes tight and she let out a slight sob, said these words that lead me to writing this story.
"How the hell did we end up here?"
I didn't answer, nobody did. As the four of us went utterly silent, I quietly pulled out a quill and a crumpled scrap parchment. And I started to write my favorite muggle quote. "Friendship is but another name for an alliance with the follies and the misfortunes of others. Our own share of miseries is sufficient: why enter then as volunteers into those of another?"
