𝙇𝙤𝙨𝙩

ꜱᴏʀᴛɪɴɢ

Jamie was a sweet, kind, and warm person, but he wasn't very affectionate. Anyone who tried to be physical with him would quickly notice that he often became stiff and awkward.

There, however, stood a boy craving comfort.

A fifteen years old, visibly consumed by something that had completely drained him.

When the initial shock subsided, Mia didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around the boy.

Ever since they met in first year, Mia always knew he was special. Not because of who he was or the fact that he was the brother of the famous Harry Potter. It was because his presence brought her unparalleled security and comfort. He was her best friend and her favourite person.

Mia felt a pang in her heart when she realized that he was indeed crying. Knowing her best friend as well as she did, she couldn't help but think about how much he must have been suffering to reach this point.

Jamie always felt like a safe place for her, but Mia had never considered herself somebody else's haven - until that moment.

He probably made an excuse, but she knew he didn't talk to Archie out of fear of crying in front of him.

"I was worried about you," his voice sounded low and muffled in the girl's ear.

Mia sadly smiled, guiltily aware that even in such lousy circumstances, Jamie was still putting others before his own wellbeing.

"We're not talking about me today," she said gently and the boy turned away, drying his eyes discreetly.

Mia refrained from saying anything and made her way towards her bed, sitting on it and facing the boy who followed her.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

With those words, Jamie finally opened up. He recounted every event that had happened in the house since his parents locked him there: all the fights, the nightmares, the potions, and the sleepless nights. Mia listened intently, as she usually did, and as he approached what was really bothering him she noticed a change in his demeanor.

Jamie paused for a few moments, opening and closing his lips several times before finally speaking up.

"It's too much," Jamie murmured in a low, slightly desperate tone. "Those feelings Mia, I don't...."

"I don't know what's wrong, but he did something," he told her, hopelessly. "At the graveyard, Voldemort did something to me."

"I feel this huge wave of bad feelings and anger that don't seem to be mine and never goes away, and I..." She noticed he was struggling with his words.

"I think I'm broken, Effie."

Mia was surprised by all he had said, but his last sentence caught her off guard. Jamie was the only person to ever call her Effie, a nickname she said was too childish for a 3rd year. She nagged at him for a long time before he stopped using, and even though sometimes he would let it slip, Jamie usually would only call her that when telling her something he only wanted her to know or when he was trying to calm her down.

It had been ages since she last heard him call her that, though.

She had seen that he wasn't doing well, but until she talked to Regulus and now him, she hadn't realized how bad things really were.

Euphemia exhaled a long breath and slowly shook her head as she gazed in his direction.

"You're not broken, Jay," she assured him. "It's the Gemini Bind."

Jamie stared at the girl in surprise, not expecting her to have an actual answer to all this.

"W-what?" mumbled the boy, searching for cohesive words.