In The Safety Of Magical World

Chapter 21

For a few weeks, I felt like I was living on the edge, expecting magical attacks left and right. I spent several nights awake, walking around the house, and looking out of every window to spot a potential threat. I didn't know what I was looking for or what the fuck would I do if I found something, but one day I collapsed onto the living room sofa from sleep deprivation. Dark circles started to appear under my eyes and I was extremely irritable. 

My parents worried, unable to understand what was going on with me. However, nothing even remotely dangerous happened to me or my family and eventually, I started to relax. To keep attention away from what made my knees turn to jelly, I jumped headfirst into the Muggle life.

It got colder and rainier, and some mornings our garden in the backyard was covered in frost. My father brought the foldable lawn chairs inside as well as took down the small gazebo that he had built himself and which served as a shelter from the sun when enjoying summer days outdoors. Due to the unpleasant weather, I stayed at home more than went out, and I turned to studies. I wanted to receive the stupid diploma as quickly as possible, so I spent hours after hours in front of my computer or struggling through the textbooks.

Without a teacher, it was difficult for sure, especially when it came to subjects I had never been very good at – Math, Physics, and pretty much anything else that had to do with calculations. My father was good at Chemistry, but I didn't ask him for help. I felt like this was a battle I had to win on my own.

The magical items I owned started to behave strangely as time went on. It was almost like they were sentient to an extent and didn't like being shoved away under the bed. One dark, foggy morning I woke up to find the box in the middle of a room. Thinking I might have done that myself while tossing and turning in sleep, I pushed it back and left. And when I came back after running some errands, the box was right where it was in the morning – in the center of my room precisely.

My parents denied touching it or walking into my room in the first place. It seemed like something was begging for my attention and from that day on I placed the wizarding box in my closet instead of the dusty darkness under the bed. Looked like that was satisfying enough, as it no longer jumped out on its own.

I never forgot professor McGonagall's warning and no longer stayed out after it got dark. I missed the Rattling Rat and my friends but was forced to reject their offers to join visiting the night club. It got lonely quickly. I hardly met anyone during the day because everyone had things to do and money to make. 

Emily was working in a beauty parlor as a nail technician and as a guy, I had no business being there. Oliver had enrolled in a university, not that I would have expected anything else from my bright-minded friend. He was to become a lawyer and his daily schedule was extremely busy from morning till evening. Alex and Noah had chosen not to continue their education and worked middle-class jobs. Noah was a taxi driver and Alex worked in retail.

" You sure you don't want to go out tonight? " Alex asked when we met during his lunch break. " It's gonna be fun. Sophia has a lot of friends, gorgeous, athletic babes. You might meet someone. "

Sophia was Alex's current girlfriend who I knew would probably be gone by the next month. Alex didn't believe in commitment at the age of 18 and certainly wasn't a keeper. Though we were young, I would be seriously surprised if my friend ever decided to settle down and have an actual family.

We were sitting in McDonald's close to the warehouse where Alex worked and enjoyed cheeseburgers, fries, and Coke that was so unnecessary overfilled with ice cubes my teeth were sincerely protesting. Alex was eating with appetite, only allowed one half-an-hour long break in his 10-hour shift. His red and blue uniform seemed a little loose on him, though if fast food was all he ate all the time, eventually the size might be just right.