Chapter Two: The Enemy
“Hey, Natalie. What are you doing here?” I asked her, blatantly ignoring the question. She was the last person I thought I’d see here. Also the last person I’d want to tell my truth to. Fuck. Her hair was lighter and her creamy white skin was just as I’d remembered. The freckles were there too. All thirteen of them clustered together. Goddamnit why the Hell was she here?
“Oh, I’m bringing lunch to my boyfriend. He forgot it at home and he’s one of the Healers here on this ward. So, what are you doing here?” she asked, although from the look she gave my sterile white robes, I knew that she’d figured it out. The Healer’s wore a sort of turquoise colors not unlike medical scrubs at a Muggle hospital. The counselors wore light yellow robes. The patients as I’ve mentioned wore white. If I got out of here alive, I will get rid of everything white I own.
“Oh, your boyfriend. That’s nice. I’m here because I voluntarily checked myself in. It’s more of a research thing really,” I lied, giving her what I hoped was a reassuring smile. She has a boyfriend, of course she would she’s practically perfect. No sense is sulking about it now, besides there’s no way she’d choose me over whoever
he was.
“Oh, that’s interesting. How’ve you been Dennis?” Natalie asked, her golden caramel eyes surveyed my appearance carefully. I didn’t have her fooled for one minute. She knew I was mental. But, she didn’t back away. It was nice of her to still accept me despite my obvious issues.
“Fine, I suppose. You look great, how’s life?” I asked, wanting to know what she’s been up to since we left Hogwarts. I wanted to know everything about her.
“Oh thank you. I own a small clothing shop in Diagon Alley. It’s starting to make good business since my father had put up the deposit for the lease and I have started selling my clothing. I’ll have the ownership of the small building in no time,” Natalie said, smiling at me. She always did wear cute quirky things when we weren’t in our Hogwarts uniforms. Business was bound to be good.
“Nat, what are you doing here?” came the surprised voice of someone I recognized. Fuck, it would have to be him. I hate this guy, even saying his name made me want to punch myself in the mouth. Michael fucking Corner. Fuck, I hate him. He was one of the biggest disbelievers at Hogwarts when everyone was against Harry. He was just as pompous as his bestfriend Zacharias Smith, they say that Hufflepuffs were friendly and accepting, well why the Hell was Zacharias one? He’s a jerk, bigger than a jerk he’s a douche.
What did Natalie see in Corner, more importantly…when had they got together? I watched them exchange a few pleasantries when Corner turned to face me, the smug look on his face told me one thing. He knew exactly how I felt about Natalie and he would use it to drive me even crazier. Bastard. “Creevey, don’t you have lunch to go to? Or is it Group that you’re missing out on?” he asked, pulling Natalie close.
She gave me an uncomfortable look and I shrugged. Sure I was pissed, but I wasn’t about to show it in front of her. Maybe I’ll get revenge later by taking a piss in his tea. I don’t know. “As a matter of fact, I am missing out on lunch. Natalie, it was great to see you. I’m leaving,” I said, in an overly formal tone. I turned to Natalie again and kissed her cheek making a faint blush appear across her cheeks. This seemed to piss Corner off but, he composed himself before he could make an arse out of himself in front of her.
“Dennis, come on. They’re serving Shepherd’s Pie today,” Doug said, patting my back. Doug also thought Corner was a pompous jackass. Well everyone did, with exception to Odette who has a minor crush on him. Maybe she was chubby but, she is one of the prettiest girls I know. She has a beautiful personality. In short, the girl was perfect but, due to a couple extra pounds and that jerk off of an ex-boyfriend, she was too self conscious.
I don’t think she belongs in the psych ward but, her family felt the need to admit her here. Still, she had found friends. I felt Odette’s small hand grab mine and they pulled me toward the dining area. If he crosses me again, I will piss in his tea. I heard Natalie reprimand him for being rude and he “apologized” by saying he was just messing around. That we were friends. Yeah right.
“Man, I’d like to give that kid one good pop in the pie-hole,” Doug said, making me laugh. I laugh more now. Doug is funny. Odette kind of frowned but she sat at the table anyway. Doug picked at his green beans and frowned. He still thought of his wife sometimes, I know because he gets this dead sort of look in his eyes. It’s the look that everyone at the table gets when they think about their losses, their tragedies.
“What did I miss?” Neville asked, sitting next to me.
“The enemy is among us,” Doug said, tonelessly.
“Why is Natalie talking to him?” Neville asked, picking his bread roll into pieces. Neville doesn’t eat much anymore. He’s lost weight since we’ve been prisoners together.
“Because she’s Michael’s girlfriend..” Odette sighed, looking down at her plate before pushing it away. Now she won’t be eating, just because she thinks she has to lose weight. I think we all have problems but, Odette shouldn’t be here because it’s not like she wants to die. She needs medical help, not psychiatric. Still, it was nice to become friends with a girl who didn’t think I was loony.
“Odie, you have to eat,” Doug said, squeezing her shoulder gently. In later years, I would come to find out that despite the ten year age difference, Odette and Doug had fallen in love and married. I just never saw it coming.
“I don’t need to eat, Doug. Noone will ever love me because I’m a fat cow,” Odette snapped, standing up and rushing off. Neville, Doug, and I watched as she ran out of the dining hall. The three of us looked to and from one another before turning back to our plates.
“Some girls just don’t understand how truly beautiful they are. Never treat any girl like she isn’t beautiful, boys,” Doug said, as he tore his bread roll apart. That should have been my first clue, but I was too wrapped up in my desire to die that I hadn’t even noticed. In fact, all I noticed were my problems. Not Neville’s, Doug’s, or Odette’s. I guess I was just selfish.
Neville and I just nodded, he knew more about what he was talking about than we did. He was older and therefore, wise. We were just finishing up what we could stomach when Michael “Arse-Face” Corner strutted up all pompously. “Hey psychos, planning a mass suicide?” he asked, smugly. I really don’t see how Natalie could stomach being around him.
“Why don’t you go and actually try to do your job, kid,” Doug said, standing up.
“Easy old man, I was just having a laugh,” Michael said, backing up slightly. He couldn’t stand up to Doug no matter how much he thought he could duff up the rest of us. “I saw you talking to my girlfriend, Creevey. Don’t get any ideas just because she feels sorry enough for you to actually exchange a smile and a few words. She’d never be into a suicidal waste of space like you,” he said, before turning around and strutting off. I wished I was mad enough to actually take a swing.
I wasn’t mad enough but Doug was. Thankfully, Neville foresaw this and held him back before we could all end up in separate padded rooms. “Just leave it alone Doug. It’s only a matter of time before she sees what a prick Corner is and drops him,” Neville said, steering him toward the hallway.
“Thanks Nev, you too Doug,” I said, as I followed them out.
“No problem Denny,” Neville said, as Doug finally calmed enough to walk himself. We found Odette in the recreational room and ended up playing exploding snap until lights out. So much for steering clear of the enemy.
A/N: Sorry about the long wait. My laptop got a virus but thankfully I have a friend who fixed it without having to erase anything from it. I don’t much like this chapter but it gets to Dennis’s main problem. Thanks for those who actually read or even leave a review.
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