This is How Traumas Are Born

[Minoas Stratis]

Out of Character:

Follows this event.

Minoas was standing again at the edge of a cliff with the howling wind brushing violently his hair. He was watching from high above the vast plains stretching endlessly bellow him while a silvery voice was whispering in his ears. Jump...make that jump...don't be scared. Minoas got goosebumbs as he let the voice keep urging him to jump of that cliff and in the end he took a bold step forwards. He closed his eyes and let gravity to draw him. Don't be afraid. Spread your wings and fly, the serene female voice advised. Minoas obeyed intoxicated and opened his arms like they were a pair of wings. The female voice disappeared and an eagle cry awoke him. He landed softly in the rich, brown-golden plumage on a giant eagle's back. The colossal creature flapped its wings against the rushful wind and cried out once more. Minoas never felt so free before as they were flying over the vast plains as the sunlight was kissing his bare skin. As much as he wanted this feeling to last forever, the sun suddenly was blocked by eerie shadows which turned into towering, shady figures. The eagle screeched in pain as a fireball hit them and Minoas yelled as they started swirling downwarda before crashing hard on the ground. He stood up, coughing and then rushed towards the broken body of the giant eagle which was gasping for air. The shadows were slithering closer, hungry and greedy. Minoas shook the bird desperately to make it fly again and escape but it was too late. Sacrifices must be made in order to proceed, the mysterious, female voice returned again just before the shadows pounced on the beast and devoured it. The shadows then crawled towards him and Minoas felt his body paralyzed. He struggled to react, to run away and suddenly as the thick shadows were circling him, something grabbed him and pulled him out of the blackness and into the light.

...​

Minoas slowly lifted his heavy eyelids and his grey irises filled with life again. The strong smell of wound-cleaning potion was the first thing that stimulated his numb senses. His mouth was dry and he smacked his lips a few times. He was laying down, in a bed it seemed, and the room was bright. Light from the window reflectings off the white walls, made him want to close his eyes again. I felt like he had slept for years, but he was still tired. The muscles in his neck were stiff and sore but he slowly turned his head towards the source of whispers. Real whispers and not the one his subconscious had created.

 

[Sandalio Moreno]

Sandalio was a witness of the incident that took place in the Great Hall. He was focused on the ring in front of him and he was attempting to apparate for his first time. The feeling wasn't really pleasant. Sandalio felt his body being stretched from all directions like he was made of rubber. When his eyes were able to distinguish the forms of his environment, he was standing within the ring he was facing a few seconds ago. The smile of success was wiped quickly off his face when he noticed most of the class, as well as their instructor, above an unconscious body. Sandalio approached the scene cautiously, thinking that someone was splinched. Just the thought gave him goose bumps. "Oh no..." he lisped shocked when he saw Minoas lying down in a pool of blood. The whole class was standing there numb but the instructor was able to react quickly and left the chamber with the the injured for the hospital wing.

Sandalio was affected by the incident and he was thinking if his roommate was doing alright. So next morning he began from Gryffindor's common room with a book in his hands and headed straight for the hospital wing. There, in the silence of the sickroom he found MInoas lying still unconscious on a bed and Elbio on a chair just beside him. Sandalio was just acquainted with the Slytherin boy that was hanging out with Minoas but he could tell he was a good friend. Sandalio told him to go and rest for a while when he learnt that he had stayed there all night. He reassured him that he was going to stay for a while in case Minoas was going to wake up. Sandalio was left alone and sat down at the chair next to Minoas. He looked at his roommate a little bit concerned but then he remembered how capable was the staff of the hospital wing. He stayed for a while silent on the chair, he stood up and walked around a bit to glance out of the windows but in the end, he sat down again and started reading his book.

He might have read a couple of chapters or three when he heard whispers. His attention was drawn from the novel he was reading and he looked at Minoas. Sandalio's forehead wrinkled as he couldn't make of what Minoas was whispering in his subconscious. He pulled his chair closer to the bed in order to distinguish a few words. Maybe he would have to fetch the nurse. Sandalio was able to hear something about 'I can't' and 'fly' but nothing more than that. Then Minoas opened his eyes and tried to come round.
"Hey! Are you alright?" Sandalio whispered, not wanting to frighten him. He still looked sedated and with his senses not fully recovered.
"Do you want me to call the nurse?" He asked worryingly and wondered if he was feeling well.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

His grey eyes blinked to cast away the blur and the shadow against the white background next to him, took a more concrete form. "Sandalio?" he asked to confirm that this wasn't another dream, including this time his Gryffindor roommate. He got used to the light after being lost in the dark for so long and found out that he was lying on a bed of the hospital wing. How on earth he had ended up there? His memory had betrayed him and he couldn't recall anything that could explain him lying on this bed. "What...what happened?" his voice slipped from his lips rough while his neck was completely dry. Minoas tried to sit up but an acute pain stopped him, numbing his abdomen. He clenched his teeth to prevent cursing and slowly pulled the white t-shirt to see what was causing this excruciating pain. Bandages were wrapped around his abdomen and the memory returned like a nightmare. He remembered the Apparition class at the Great Hall that turned into a fiasco. His worst fear had came true and he had ended up splinching himself. The details had flooded his head but he had no picture of how and who had got him there. "No. I'm fine. I just...I just need some water." he was feeling like choking and it was the first time he was so dehydrated. "How long I've been here?" Minoas croaked and wished he had never attempted to sit up. Now the throbbing pain had reminded him everything.

 

[Sandalio Moreno]

"Yes. It's me." Sandalio replied when Minoas recognized him. He was on edge, wondering if Minoas should stay still and not move at all. Back yesterday at the Great Hall, that injury looked pretty bad. A small pool of blood was left that the school's elves came afterwards to clean, making Sandalio believe it might needed to take him to St. Mungos. Now, Minoas was pale on the face but apart from that he looked fine. "Erm, you just got splinched." He reminded him without being evasive about the incident. He was going to be informed about it later by the nurses anyway. "Apparition class, remember?" Sandalio wondered if his roommate had a short-term memory loss but then the memory should have returned when Minoas pulled his top and saw the bandages. Sandalio shuddered just by the view of the white cloth wrapped around Minoas' abdomen. "You're fine now." He rushed to reassure him, no clue of what he might was thinking.
"Your friend from the Slytherin house was here, apparently all night." He said. He thought it would be nice to let him know that people caring about him were by his side throughout this tough times. "I just told him to go rest. I'll stay here for now." Sandalio sat down again now that Minoas looked not really in need of a nurse.

Still, he watched Minoas attempting to sit up with his insides being twisted. It was like having something fragile in front of him, ready to fall in pieces. Sandalio grabbed the pillow from the bed behind him and put right behind Minoas' pillow for extra support. "Yes, water." He scanned the room and spotted a jug of water and clean glass on another bedside table. He went to fetch them and filled the glass with water before giving it to Minoas. He left the jug on Minoas' bedside table in case he wanted more. "You've been here just for a day." He informed him. He thought for a moment if he should tell him more about the incident. "You're not the first ending up splinching." Sandalio decided it was better to comfort him. He might have succeeded to apparate yesterday but this could happen to him as well in the future. Just the slightest lack of concentrate and a typical apparition routine could turn nasty. "You probably weren't focused, that's all. You'll try again and you'll do it." He smiled to encourage him.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

The hairs bristled on the back of his neck as the memory was becoming clearer. He could almost hear the sound of flesh tearing apart, he could almost feel hot blood drenching his clothes. He felt faint with horror but he struggled to show nothing in front of his roommate. Minoas grabbed with shaking hands the glass of water. He really needed to quench his thirst and so he consumed it at one gulp. "Thanks." he gasped for a breath. Feeling revitalized now, he was able to take the jug from the bedside table and pour some more water into the glass. Properly hydrated, he could listen to what Sandalio was saying. MInoas felt less affected by the splinching incident when Sandalio mentioned that Elbio had stayed with him throughout the time he was unconscious. It was nice to know that you had good friends around you through such tough times. Even Sandalio, who wasn't really close with Minoas, seemed to be trying to raise his spirits from the abyss of his negativism. He had just attempted once to apparate and was unsuccessfully. In any other case, MInoas' stubbornness would have never let him give up but this time, this time it was different. It was fear what had settled in his mind. He was afraid that if he was trying to apparate again, he was going to end up dismembered.
"I can't see anyone else splinched around here." he commented dryly as he looked around him at the empty beds. It was hard to hide his bad mood when he wasn't used to fail in anything. "You did manage to apparate, right?" he asked. He didn't really need an answer to this question. "I'm not going to. I don't want to feel my guts be torn apart again." he stated cynically. MInoas had never felt so discouraged in his life. He glanced at his fellow Gryffindor and wished he would go away and leave him alone in his own comfortable misery.

 

[Sandalio Moreno]

Sandalio was receiving really negative vibes from his roommate. He sympathized with his disappointment. Perhaps if he was the one who got splinched, his reaction could have been worse. You had pieces of your body be torn off you. That couldn't be easy to handle. Sandalio shot a glance at the quiet room and face Minoas again. "True but certainly there were times when some students were nursed here for the same reason." He replied, quite hopeful that Minoas was going to get positive again, like he was most of the time. "I did." He nodded. "But this doesn't guarantee me I won't get splinched in the future." Sandalio added and smiled once again encouragingly. "My father has been splinched thrice and he's licensed years now." Sandalio lied about his adoptive father. He had never been splinched but he needed an example to show to Minoas that it could happen to anyone who wasn't concentrated. "You really have to be focused if you want to avoid unpleasant results and if you're nervous, that won't certainly help." He concluded, mentioning once more the importance of concentration. He wasn't an expert in the field but from the one time he succeeded, he could tell that this was the key of apparition.

Minoas seemed so categorical when he said he wasn't going to try again. Sandalio thought that splinching could be a really traumatizing experience after all. Seeing that his previous attempts to comfort him were futile, Sandalio decided to use a whole different approach, "Understood," He nodded and folded his legs to sit more comfortable on the chair. "Okay, you don't really have to know how to apparate. Thousands of people live their lives without the skill. Always try to bridge over your weaknesses with one of your strengths. I know you're good at flying, what's better than traveling mounted on a broom while admiring the view below?" He aptly pointed out. "Or you could also learn how to fly on your own. I think Tom Riddle was capable of flight, though I might be wrong." He scratched his forehead in an attempt to remember correctly. "Anyway, you are a smart person. I think you understand what I am trying to say here." Sandalio hoped he might have cheered him up a bit. MInoas was one of the few if not the only person around castle who spending some time hanging out with him. It was the least he could do to someone who has been always kind to him.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Minoas rolled his eyes when Sandalio tried to console him. He didn't care what other students had experienced, he only knew he wouldn't be able to apparate himself and he was counting on apparition to find his father. Now his search was going to be far more difficult. He glanced at Sandalio when he mentioned he could also get splinched in the future but then he turned to see outside the closest window, still not convinced. His roommate drew his attention when he talked about his father, a more experienced man having similar experiences.
"Really? I thought you never met your parents." he said with a suspicious look. He was remembering Sandalio telling him he was adopted and raised in foster care. Minoas had started appreciating his roommates effort but he didn't need his pity. Then, instead of keep telling him that it could happen to anyone, Sandalio pointed to a whole different direction. How could Minoas cap this weakness with one of his strengths. "Yeah right. I could turn into a schizophrenic wizard demanding everyone to call him a lord." he mocked when the ability of Tom Riddle to fly was mentioned.

But Sandalio had done it. A ray of hope had pierced his moody wall of negativity. When Sandalio was done talking, Minoas was a whole different person from a minute ago. "You're right." Minoas mumbled embarrassed. "I should have thought this way instead of bemoaning." he said and stared outside the window again, thinking of what Sandalio had suggested. He could use a broom to travel around or Mithos, the winged horse his father had gifted him before being abducted. He cracked a smile and his grey eyes looked back at Sandalio.
"Thank you. Really. I feel much better now." he tried to sit up again but he grimaced when the pain returned.
"Well, I could feel even better if this wound was going to heal already. What did the nurses said? When I'll be able to return back to the common room?" he wondered. He wanted to leave this place and forget this traumatic experience although his body still needed time to heal.