Disclaimer in chapter 1

A/N Sorry for the lateness of this chapter I got hit by a severe case of writers block and had to write something else before I could get back to this.

Chapter 3

Harry lay relaxed in the hospital bed. He felt like crying but did not understand why. The nurse lady had been really nice to him. Not once had he been hit, or really even shouted at. He should've been, he knew that. He was lying in this bed and hadn't done any of his chores. It couldn't be real though, people didn't give dirty little brats like him treats. No he must have been dreaming. It had been a nice dream though and he didn't want it to end.

"Wake up Harry."

There, that was the proof it had been all a dream. Uncle Vernon wanted him up and doing his chores, he didn't want to get up though. Now he was being lightly shaken. Strange, Uncle Vernon had never been gentle with waking him before.

Harry opened his eyes. There were people all around him and he wasn't where he was supposed to be, worse than that, he was where he absolutely mustn't be, on a bed!

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Harry's care team had received word earlier that day that the courts had now appointed Harry a Guardian ad Litem. This was fantastic news for the boy as it meant they could now get the child properly assessed and start building a case to have Harry placed in safe and caring environment. It was for this reason that Henric, Natasha and a child psychologist were now with Harry.

When Henric, Natasha and a child psychologist had arrived Harry had been soundly asleep and unfortunately they had to wake the child up. The courts had just appointed him a guardian ad litem, and as such they now had the consent to perform the various medical and psychological evaluations Harry needed. It took a few attempts for Henric to wake the boy, but finally Harry's eyes flickered open.

Upon waking disappointment was evident in Harry's body language but almost instantly the child was radiating fear. Quick as a flash Harry was out of the bed and cowering in the corner, shielding his face, as if expecting a blow.

"Harry," Natasha said as she cautiously made her way over to Harry who flinched violently at the sound of her voice. Kneeling on the floor in front of Harry, so as to make herself the least intimidating that she possibly could, she moved the boy's hands away from his face so that she could see his eyes. Wordlessly she took the boys hand, surprised but relieved when he accepted it, and lifted him back into bed.

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Harry couldn't believe what was happening. He had panicked when he woke up and had forgotten that he had been told to stay in bed. Nat hadn't hit him though. She had just picked him up and put him back in bed. She hadn't really looked cross either, which she should've. He'd done what he was told not to do. No she had just looked sad, and now she and the two men were just standing there watching him.

"Harry…" The big tall dark haired man started.

"Sorry," Harry squealed scooting backwards on the bed, completely ignoring the pain such movements were causing. The doctors, they said that's what they were anyway, were frowning all the more.

Nat raised her hand and Harry flinched violently. He should have known better, grovelling like that always made things worse. What had he been thinking? She didn't hit him though. She just rested her hand gently on Harry's shoulder. Harry, unsure what this meant stayed tense as ever, fearfully flicking his eyes from one person to the next.

"Harry, calm down. We aren't going to hurt you." Natasha's voice was low and soft and somehow it did help Harry to relax, enough at least to be able to think a little more coherently.

"But I was bad. I was s'possed to stay. I got up?" The questioning tone was evident in Harry's voice as he spoke as was the undisguised confusion.

The tall man had come to stand right next to Harry and his tone left no room for argument. "You are right that you are not allowed out of bed child, so why were you?" Although the man had sounded stern he didn't sound cross, which was probably the only reason Harry felt brave enough to answer. He couldn't meet the man's eyes though so just mumbled into his covers. "Got scared 'n forgot." A few seconds later he turned over and threw back the covers. "I get hit now."

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In all his years as a child psychologist Aiden Hughes never got used to scenes like this. The small boy in the bed before him had just stated plain as day that he expected to be struck and rather than fight it, or even try to get out of it, the child had just accepted what he thought was coming. That just wasn't the way four year olds should behave, especially not with strangers.

Aiden saw the shocked faces off Henric and Natasha and saw they were just going to stand and do nothing. Some action needed to be taken now though, or the boy would just lie there getting stressed, a situation that would not be helpful. Aiden took hold of the covers the boy had discarded, watching the boy stiffen at his movement. He firmly placed those same covers back over the child. "No you don't!" He stated.

Harry lay still for a few minutes, obviously trying to comprehend what had just happened and failing. Finally he turned over, looking Aiden directly in the eye. It was quite clear that Harry didn't dare vocalise what he was thinking but luckily for Aiden the question was clearly written all over the child's face. All three adults found themselves sitting down on Harry's bed as Aiden tried to explain in a way an emotionally traumatized child might understand.

"Were you told not to get out of bed?" Aiden asked

"Yes."

"But you did because you were scared. Why were you scared?"

"I was gonna get hit."

"Why did you think that?"

Harry's brow furrowed. "Cause I was in a bed sir. Not 'lowed in beds."

"But you were told not to get out of bed."

"Yes sir… I forgot 'cause I was sleepy."

Aiden felt he was getting somewhere now so he finished the questions and started to explain. "We woke you up Harry, and scared you. It is I that need to apologise not you." Harry started shaking his head. "You are a little boy Harry and little boys get scared sometimes, and when they do they forget things. You weren't trying to be naughty so you are not in trouble."

"But I was bad sir."

"Maybe, but you didn't mean it, and you said sorry. You are not going to get hit because you didn't do anything to deserve it. Do you understand that Harry? You don't deserve to be hit, so you shouldn't be."

Natasha watched the exchange with interest. It was clear Harry expected to be punished. The boy was quite intelligent and he really thought he should be in trouble. Aiden was trying very hard to teach Harry that being hit was not an appropriate punishment.

"Harry," Natasha said, "you remember I have been giving you a treat for doing what you are told?" Harry nodded silently. "Well you aren't going to get one now because you got out of bed. That's why you are not going to get hit you've already been punished." Her face split into a huge smile as she watched the relief, mixed with a little disappointment, flood through Harry's features. Good they did seem to have got through to Harry and he did seem to be learning.

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He hadn't been hit, and he wasn't going to be. Sure Harry was sad he didn't get more chocolate but that was much better than being hit. He could believe them now though because they had done something. A very rare smile had crept onto Harry's face at the thought that there might just be someone out there that didn't hate him.

Harry was pulled from his daydream by the adults talking to him again. Another massive surprise, they were talking to him rather than just about him it felt really nice.

"Harry, I am Mr Von Rickman, and this is Professor Hughes. We need to ask you some questions but first we are going to need you to do some tests for us. If there is anything you don't understand I want you to ask and if you are scared or something hurts I want you to tell me." Mr Von Rickman wasn't that tall but he looked strong and he certainly wasn't fat. He seemed kind though even if Harry did find his appearance rather intimidating.

Harry found himself being wheeled along through long corridors the like of which he'd never seen before. There were lots of people around, many of them were in uniform. The corridors themselves were bright, airy, and scrupulously clean. Harry found he was really enjoying the experience and let out a delighted squeal as the bed went around a corner to be met with lots of people turning to look at him.

He couldn't believe he'd just done that. He was supposed to keep quiet and only speak when someone asked him a question. He'd broken the most important rule and he'd already been bad earlier. He wouldn't just get hit for this, no being that bad would get something much worse. How could he have done that he still really hurt and now it was going to get a lot worse.

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That little squeal that Harry had let out, and the smile, Natasha found it heart-warming. It was delightful to see this quiet and terrified little boy actually having fun and behaving like a four year old. She turned wanting to see Harry smiling. The sight the greeted her shattered her heart into a million pieces. Harry wasn't smiling anymore. He was shaking all over and had pulled his covers up to his chin. He had gone from happy little four year old squealing in delight, to terrified child hiding from the world in the blink of an eye. The worst part of it though was that Natasha could see no reason for this shift. So what had scared the boy so much?

"Harry, what's wrong." Natasha asked hoping beyond hope that Harry would recognise the concern in her tone for what it was.

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Lights flickered in front of Harry's eyes. Noise surrounded him, Nat was talking to him but he couldn't make out a word she was saying. He knew she must be really angry. She had to be shouting at him. But he was panicking so much now that his ears were ringing and she sounded like an angry dog barking at him.

They had stopped moving. Lots of people were shouting now. They were all going to beat him. He was going to be gagged and made to drink something that made his throat hurt. He could already feel it burning in his throat. His hands shot to his throat. He could feel his heart beating there. It was going much faster than normal. His head was feeling funny and he thought he was going to be sick. They were still shouting at him. It was getting too much. He couldn't cope. Why didn't they just start hitting him? The world started to go blurry around the edges. Someone was putting something over his mouth. Now he was seeing stars. The world was going black. His chest was really hurting

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The oxygen wasn't working. Harry was still breathing far too fast.

"Slowly Harry. In through your nose, out through your mouth. In. out. in. out."

Harry's hands slipped from his purple throat as his consciousness started to slip.

"Harry, stay awake." Someone shouted. It didn't work. Harry relaxed completely and stopped breathing. Henric placed two fingers against Harry's throat now that he had access and felt no pulse.

"Someone get a crash trolley here now! He's gone into cardiac arrest!"

You'll have to wait for the next update to see what happens. Thanks to all the reviewers, as you can see a child psychologist is now involved. The reason it had to wait was that one cannot be involved without parental consent, and the Dursley's would not had consented to medical or psychological evaluations. As such before anything could be done further than emergency medical care authorized by the school under loco parenti the courts would have to appoint a Guardian ad Litem to act in Harry's interest. Id love it if people would like to tell me where they would like to see the story going next as long as it fits into my planned plot line.