A Freak

My name is Freak. I'm five years old this year.

I can't remember anything else aside from being told as a child that I have to work my ass and earn my keep in this place. Like I could do many things properly with this small, weak, malnourished body littered with injuries.

I was tasked to clean the house as soon as I was able to. I washed the dishes, help with the laundry, throw the trash, and many other things that ranges from sweeping the floor to giving a massage to my uncle Vernon and Aunt Mary. They hurt me from the smallest of reasons and mistakes are settled with a punch in the rib or the stomach most of the time in locked inside the cupboard which served as my room.

Whenever I did something that is better than what their overly fat son does, I can expect to have a beating afterwards so I have learned to stay mediocre for me not to get hurt.

I really have no idea why they treat me so very differently from their son. I am, after all, their nephew. If they didn't want me then why do they still keep me in here and lock me in this tiny cupboard? Why would my godforsaken parents leave me at the hands of these monsters?

I do get angry sometimes. I want to escape from here. This damned place where I don't belong. Why can't God just kill me instead and end this suffering. I'm sure no one cares about me anyway since my parents died already from driving under the influence of alcohol and my only remaining relatives who could take me in are truly awful people.

I have not an inkling of gratitude for these people, they have done nothing good to me except for giving me food twice a day and dumping their son's old clothes at me. I am treated worse than a dog in this place.

I envy my cousin. He has everything I ever wished for. The love of parents, the friends, the money. I have nothing. Just a poor freak with no parents to love and care for him. Maybe I should just die.

Swoosh*

Wind suddenly blew and a bird came into my room. It was similar to a flinch in size and its yellow in color with black beak and feet. A distinct while color can be seen at the tip of its two pairs of wings. It looked around and zoomed towards the side of the cupboard like a kamikaze pilot diving down after its bullets are spent and I froze as my head tried to make me stop the bird from its poor attempt at suicide, my body however was frozen stiff due to the sudden and unexpected stimulus.

The collision with the wall did not occur. I have seen it with my own eyes. The birds phased through the wall like a ghost or something. I looked at the wall in shock. I have lived here in this cupboard for as long as I can remember but I have never seen anything like this except when I lose my cool and does something that others can not explain. My relatives fear me because of it and called me monster or freak. Anyway I decided to check out the wall since who knows what else is in there. I just have to find out.

Amazing!

My hand phased through the wall just like how the little birdie did earlier, it was cold on the other side and my hand was covered in a thin layer of snow when I pulled it back.

My curiosity is killing me right now. I know it might be dangerous but my longing to leave this place is simply too strong to ignore. What kind of magical and mysterious place is behind the wall?

I gave in to my desire to escape in the end. I appeared inside a coniferous forest blanketed in pure, thick, white snow. It was beautiful and very cold at the same time. I can feel the bite even with four layers of Dudley's old winter wear.

I walked for a little while in the forest when I saw a beautiful statue holding a well decorated lamp with fire burning inside it despite the cold outside.

Thud*

There was a sound similar to something heavy falling flat on snow from behind me so I looked.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

I fainted.

What was that? It was a group of ugly creatures similar to me in height but has stocky built and face full of facial hairs and crumpled skin. Are they going to eat me? I hope they will be happy eating my meat free body at least they can feel satisfied after eating me, but please pray before you begin.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

I woke up in a soft bed covered with warm blanket made from wool. I looked around and saw no one beside me and I'm totally not under the cupboard or inside the belly of the small creatures. It means that they must have taken care of me when I passed out. It also means that I have to apologise. I have been very rude to the kind creatures, maybe they are kids or something.

I got up from the bed and re-examined the room. Its similar to a cave made from black stones with furnitures here and there. It is a cozy place in my opinion. But I guess it doesn't really count as someone who lived in a cupboard all his life I'm not that much of an expert in the field of critiquing houses.

.....,.....

I got up and slowly crept towards the wooden door, grabbed the thick wooden handle and carefully pulled it open. Wood and stones, no one here. I stepped out of the room and took silent steps almost to a tiptoe like a ballerina. I'm starting to sweat a bit, it must be the fear. I saw a stone staircase leading down.

"Oi Grond, go check up on the kid will ya? I'm getting hungrier by the minute."

"..."

There was no answer from the one called Grond but I knew he was coming because I can hear the footsteps coming closer to the staircase where I was hiding.

I was in shock. What is the relation of a kid (me) and him (the request guy) getting hungry? My mind is reeling and kept on telling me to run the hell out of this bloody place back to the hell I came from lest I be eaten by a child eating creatures.....

"Oi kid... What are you doing there... Barath the kid is awake!"

"Then what are you waiting for? Bring him here and let's eat I'm starving to death in here!"

They're going to eat me!?

"Wa... Wa... Wait, wait, wait. Please don't eat me! I'm thin and full of bones you can't possibly enjoy eating me... Right? I know... I know a ummm a really big one who is similarly aged as I. Y... You can have him for lunch or dinner but please spare me. I... I can work for you... "

Ahhh the flood. My mouth would not stop after being opened. It was like a broken floodgate in a dam full of water. My parents must have been quite the machine-gun talkers to have it encoded in my genes. Haha fun.

I wanted to run away fast but my muscles are shaking weirdly enough to compromise my attempts at a properly controlled movement. Heck. I can barely move my head, let alone take a step. I guess now I understand why those people in movies couldn't outrun those slow moving monsters. Fear is a shackle that weigh a thousand pounds. Now I feel faint maybe I'll go out for real this time....

"Hahahahahaha.... You hahahahaha you should see your face kid! Hahahahaha Barath c'mere see this brat thinks we were gon' eat 'im hooooh never had quite a laugh in a while."

"Why are you laughing you idiot! It's taking you ages to fetch a kid nowadays? The food is getting cold already... Oh... What happened to him?"

Food getting cold???

I could only imagine my face. I must have looked like a wet rat rolled in mud. Ughh. I must have miss-understood once again it's become a bad habit of mine.

"Ahemmm. Ummm. You... You're not going to..."

The thing shakes his head.

"I see... I'm... I'm sorry about that."

"Ughh kid come at the rate that this is going I'm quite tempted to really eat you. I'm starving. Come on. Come. Come."

I was led to a long stone table on top are all kinds of food and drinks. Around there sat six other creatures, all of them are looking at me.

"It took you ages to get a muggle kid Grond now let's eat. Sit down kid."

I complied immediately as my stomach acids are rumbling uncontrollably at the sight of the amount of food on the table.

"Let's eat. We talk after."

Thus everyone ate like hungry ghosts but the most amazing thing happened. Not only did the juice but the meat, bread and soup kept on refilling and alas we nine mini sized gluttons are unable to eat all of it.

"So kid, what's your name? Where did you come from? And what are you doing here in Narko?"

"I think my name is Freak. Freak Evans Potter."

I didn't really know my name, and since 'freak' is what they call me from the beginning I believe its my name. So if I add my aunt's middle name (my mom's sister), which is Evans and my father's which I heard uncle Vernon saying once when he was scolding me, my name should be like that. More or less.

"Freak? You are named by your parents like that!?"

They looked shocked. It's natural. I've never heard of another such as myself named to be oh so fearsome as a 'freak'.

"I ummm.... I don't know... I didn't know my parents."

They had that look that says they understood.

"Well Freak. My name as you might have already heard from Grond there is Barath I'm the nominal leader of the tribe."

Barath was sitting at the head chair to my right. He started to introduce everyone. They all have this weird sounding names. Must be because they aren't humans. Well my name is weird too so what can I say.

"So where did you come from? How did you get here? Its quite difficult to get here you see."

I answered truthfully about London and about what happened inside the cupboard with the four winged yellow bird and they all nodded in understanding. Actually, they looked quite shocked, they are weirdly touching the back of their ears for some reason.

"Well, you better get going kid your tribe must be waiting for your return."

"Can I ummm ask something?"

"Go ahead."

"What are you?"

"Oh... You seriously didn't know? We are Gwarves. A mixed race from the enchanter race of goblins and the transmuter race of dwarves. Best of both worlds. Think it and we make it. The master gives us everything. Praise be to the Master."

So goblins huh. First time for me. They all looked like fanaticals at the mention of this master person. Maybe a Gwarf with high prestige among their tribe? I don't know.

"Can I come back here some other day?"

I tried to look as pitiful as possible. I can't pass up this chance that I was given. I don't even want to go back to that cupboard anymore. But Gwarves won't have that, I can't stay here and impose on them, we just met after all.

"Ughh kid. Might as well. Come back tomorrow and I will take you to Guro you will like it there."

I think Barath smiled just now. He looked more ferocious as his serrated teeth are exposed. I almost screamed again. Sheesh.