Freaks: Year One

Inside

Somewhere far away from Hogwarts, in a house a boy sat by his window. It was Saturday afternoon. He was watching as people walked past the streets talking, though he couldn't hear what they were saying. He opened his window a crack letting in the cool breeze of autumn. The leaves were slowly changing colours, it was very fascinating to him; how the leaves changed different colours around the same time each year.

He stared as the people walked passed, the group of them all happily chatting about a show (whatever that was, probably a muggle thing). The parents walked passed, and their daughter followed.

He shut the window. How did muggles look so nice? It was obviously a way for them to lure purebloods in, and then steal their magic. He shuddered, and to think he always wanted to go outside.

He had only been outside once in his life, and that was only to get familiar with Diagon Alley, a place he would be going to again next year to get his supplies for Hogwarts.

His encounter with the outside world started out fine.

Alabaster Jackson flooed from his parents house to Diagon Alley, and walked around getting familiar with the surroundings. The fresh air was amazing, it was refreshing. There were a lot of...people, and places, and smells, and people, and...lots of people.

Who knew there were so many people in the world?

He continued to walk around the place, dodging past many groups of people rushing about to get their Hogwarts supplies. Kids were screaming, and chatting excitedly about all different types of things, and running in all different directions.

His parents gave him a piece of parchment with the directions to each place he should visit, but he was having trouble reading them. It was all just a blur.

He went toward a store, and sat on one of the benches as many other kids of all ages passed by him excited for Hogwarts.

The amount of people at Diagon Alley that day was pretty overwhelming, maybe he should have chosen a day where it was not so close to before Hogwarts started but he shrugged excited to explore.

Nervous too, but it wasn't like anything too bad could happen, right?

He sat there scanning his surroundings. There were many different types of shops that people were going in, and out of. People were carrying owls they just purchased, and cauldrons for potions, and all different types of books for Hogwarts classes. Many of the younger kids were with their parents, and older students walked around themselves or with a group of friends. He saw a kid with maroon, and gold shoes shoot past with his parents behind him.

Another kid about Alabaster's age (probably eleven or maybe twelve) sat down beside him. The boy sighed. "Are you lost too?" The boy asked him.

"Um..." Alabaster started. He wasn't really supposed to talk to anyone while he was at Diagon Alley, but the boy asked him a question so it would be rude to ignore him. "Well..." He started, unsure what to say. "It's my first time going to Diagon Alley. I am just trying to find my way...around."

The other boy nodded. "I am too."

This was good. Alabaster thought. He had succeeded at speaking to another person that wasn't his family. The boy continued, "I am glad I am not the only one who is new to all this stuff." Alabaster looked over at him. "The Wizarding World is so confusing, and it's all so new to me and-"

"Wait what?" Alabaster asked quickly.

The boy replied, "Well I didn't even know I was a wizard until last week."

"OH!" Alabaster shot up. He ran off, leaving the other boy confused.

He ran through the crowds of people, his mind racing. The boy's a mudblood. He's a mudblood, he is going to try to lure me by being all nice, and then when I am not looking murder me. He looked so nice too, but that was part of the trick. That is what his parents always said.

His mind was playing these thoughts over, and over, and he just kept running not really knowing where he was going until he whammed into another person. They both went down to the ground. "Sorry!" He said quickly, still spooked by the interaction he had just had. "I'll watch where I am going next time." He started to get up.

"It's alright." Replied the other boy standing up as well. The boy stared, his black eyes studying him. Was he going to hurt me? Alabaster thought, No, he came out of the floo, he was a wizard, he would be fine. "You alright?" The boy asked, noticing how panicked he looked.

Alabaster nodded. "Yeah, sorry it's my first time out."

"Pardon?" The other boy asked, confusion passing over his face.

"Sorry, weird thing to say." He laughed awkwardly. His parents told him he had to stay inside for his safety, other purebloods could go outside, and just steer clear of mudbloods, muggles, and halfbloods, but he needed to stay inside, because his parents were worried about him. They were just more protective than average, and that was not a bad thing.

All of a sudden another man came out of the floo, and started to look around with wonderment in his eyes. "So this is Diagon Alley?"

The boy nodded, and Alabaster looked at the boy, confused. "Does he not know what Diagon Alley is?"

The boy turned back to him. "Well he is a muggle so he-"

"Muggle!?"

"Yeah...?"

Alabaster yelped, and ran off as fast as he could. The boy was a halfblood.

Now sitting at his window, he understood why his parents wanted him to stay in all these years. It was to protect him. Muggles, halfbloods, and mudbloods acted really nice, and welcoming, but they were tricksters, bad people who wanted to lure you in so they could hurt you or steal magic. It depended on their mood.

That is what his parents always said.

That is why he needed to stay inside until Hogwarts, and be very careful once he got there.

Inside his home is where it was safe.

Inside no one else would know he was weird.

Inside no one would try to hurt him.

Inside no one would try to steal his magic.

Inside was where it was safe.

So he stayed inside.