Emotionless Freak Chapter 1

Just as Freak was getting ready to collect the plates, someone rang the doorbell. He glanced at Master to see which task took precedence. The large man jerked his head in the direction of the front hall and Freak nodded, going to answer the door.

The eleven year old opened the door and stared impassively at the rather imposing woman that stood outside. She looked to be perhaps 60-something with dark, silver-streaked hair pulled back into a tight bun. She wore a dark emerald green business skirt that matched her sharp eyes perfectly. Her face seemed to soften just the slightest bit when she looked at him, though the dark auburn haired boy had no idea why that could be.

After a moment, Freak spoke, “May I help you, Madam…?” He asked her in a somewhat dull voice that sounded raspy from lack of use. Freak rarely had a reason to speak to anyone, so it was a rare occasion for him to have to use it.

Blinking rapidly, the woman stood a little straighter, and Freak saw her lips quirk up the slightest bit in a small smile. “Hello Mr. Potter. I am Professor Minerva McGonagall.”

Freak stared at her blankly for a short while before turning to face the direction of the kitchen. “Master, there is a woman here by the name of Professor Minerva McGonagall. I think she’s the one that’s been sending those letters to that Mr. H. Potter.”

All of Freak’s Masters came out into the hallway, likely to see what the fuss was about. When Freak turned back to look at her, Professor McGonagall was turning a bright red and had the look of a very angry cat that just got drenched in cold water. Minus the wetness. And the fur.

Taking a few deep breaths, the woman spoke to Freak in a thick voice, though she was looking over Freak’s head at his Masters with an odd expression on her face, “Young man, would you mind telling me why exactly you just called these people your masters?”

“Because that’s what they are,” Freak told her blandly, not really understanding why this woman was bothering to question this fact. His response only seemed to make the imposing woman even more upset as she glared heatedly at Freak’s Masters.

This time when she spoke, Professor was talking directly to the Masters, “What the hell have you done to this boy?” She demanded angrily.

Glancing behind himself, Freak noticed that Mistress was refusing to meet anyone’s eyes, choosing instead to stare at a particular bit of the wall on her left. Master was turning a very interesting shade of purple and clenching his hands into tight fists. Young Master was only looking between his parents and Professor, seeming extremely confused about the entire thing.

“We did what we had to,” Master told her in a low, dangerous voice. “The little freak was doing all kinds of freakish things, so we had to put a stop to it.” Freak bowed his head slightly in a gesture of shame.

“Freakish things!” Professor sounded insulted, and Freak vaguely wondered why. “I will ask again. What. Did. You. Do.” She made each word sound like a separate sentence, and her voice came out more demanding than questioning. Freak got the impression that his Masters had done something horrible to upset this woman, though he had no idea what they could have done to warrant this kind of treatment.

“What does it matter to you? You and your kind gave the boy up to us to do as we pleased with him!” Mistress sounded defensive, her voice shrill as she finally turned to face Professor, arms wrapped tightly around herself.

“He is a child!” Professor’s voice also sounded shrill and her face was turning an angry red, her hands clenching into white-knuckled fists at her sides as she glared at Freak’s Masters accusingly. Freak watched all of this, indifferent, if somewhat confused.

“He is a freak!” Mistress replied heatedly. Professor’s eyes widened almost comically, and her previously red face quickly lost all colour and became slightly grey.

Freak inclined his head slightly. So they were talking about him. This was interesting. He turned to look at Professor, wondering what her response would be. Besides turning grey.

Professor took a few deep breaths, looking down so that her eyes were shadowed, giving her a dangerous aura. “Is that what you think…? Is that how you treat children in your home? In your care?” She sounded as if the idea physically pained her, though Freak had no idea why that would be.

“That freak can hardly be counted as a normal child,” was the response from Mistress, who looked very self-righteous, though she was half-hiding behind Master. “The freak is the spawn of my freak sister and her freak husband, so of course he wouldn’t turn out anything else…” She trailed off, seeming to lose herself in her bitter thoughts. Freak watched all of this impassively, turning again to watch Professor’s reaction to the things Mistress had said.

“How dare you?!” Professor hissed out menacingly, eyes narrowed to angry slits and her right hand pulling something out of her pocket. Freak stared blandly as Professor pulled out a stick. He vaguely wondered what she was planning to do with a stick. How could it be of any use in this situation? Why was she carrying around a stick, of all things?

“Us!” Mistress practically gasped out, glaring right back at the other woman. “How dare you? It was your kind that left him here in the first place! You have no right to come in here and complain about how we raised him. We raised the boy as we saw fit, when he was dumped on us, only a letter saying that my perfect sister and her beloved husband got themselves blown up, and we got landed with their famous offspring!”

Freak tilted his head slightly to one side. He’d never heard any of this before. So his parents had been well-liked, not drunk bums. And they’d been blown up, not in a car crash because they’d been driving while intoxicated. As for the ‘famous’ comment… Freak had no idea what to make of that. He’d think more on it later.

“Regardless of circumstances, he is still only a child! He was left in your care, and this is how you treat him? Like a house elf?” Professor looked positively scandalized at this. Freak hadn’t a clue what a ‘house elf’ was, but he was pretty sure he wasn’t one.

“We can treat the boy however we bloody well see fit!” Master exploded, spittle flying everywhere. Professor drew herself up, looking for all the world like she was about to do something that could change the entire world.

“Well not anymore.” With that, she turned her attention to Freak once more. Freak stared impassively back up at her. “Come along, young man. I’ll be taking you with me, alright? Is there anything you wish to bring with you? I doubt we’ll be coming back here.”

Freak shook his head. He wasn’t in possession of anything with any particular value, sentimental or otherwise. Professor nodded and started back out the door, with Freak following a foot or two behind her, head bowed.

His feeling this morning had been right. This experience certainly did seem pretty life-changing. Professor said that they wouldn’t be coming back. Did that mean that he’d have a new Master? Would he have to learn a whole new routine to keep his new Master happy? New rules? He wasn’t sure whether all Masters had the same basic expectations, so he would keep his head bowed and follow orders like normal until he knew the proper way to act around whoever his new Master would be.

Following orders was, after all, what Freaks were for.