Rated - T
Disclaimer -- I own nothing. JKRowling owns it all.
It had been less than 3 weeks since the freak had returned from his fifth year at that freak school he attended. After the first week of the freak waking the house in the middle of the night with his screaming, Vernon was tired of being woken up almost every night and told Petunia that since the freak was her nephew that she better do something.
At first, she tried sending that ruddy bird to see the headmaster of his school.
Two days later, the bird hadn't come back and no one had stopped in to see them.
After another night of being awakened at 3 in the morning, she waited until Vernon and Dudley had gone for the day and entered the freak's room.
If it hadn't been for the bird cage sitting on the trunk in the corner and the freak sitting on the bed facing the wall, there was no difference to what the room had looked like just two weeks prior.
"Boy. Has that ruddy bird of yours come back yet?" she asked.
"No Aunt Petunia." Harry replied turning around.
Petunia stifled a gasp as she looked at him. Purplish black bags standing out in stark contrast to his pale, almost ghostly, white skin underneath his lifeless green eyes. His clothes were hanging off his frame even worse than they were when he had been picked up in London.
"Your uncle is ready to throw you out on the streets if you wake him up again. Do you have any other means to contact that headmaster?"
"I assume there are minders outside the house all the time. They're probably using charms or cloaks to make themselves invisible. You could go out and ask one to step inside."
"What? Have another freak in my home. I don't think so Boy. Try again."
"You could call Mrs. Figg. She's aware of my world and somehow got in contact with Dumbledore following the incident with Dudley last year."
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"Hello, Mrs Figg. ... This is Petunia Dursley. ... Yes, my nephew is what I need to speak with you about. ... If you could step around for a spot of tea this afternoon. ... Fine, I'll see you around 2 then." click
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"Good afternoon, Mrs. Figg. Do come in."
"Thank you Mrs. Dursley. I confess I was surprised to receive your call this morning."
"Please come into the kitchen. My nephew tells me you're aware of his world."
"Yes. I'm what is called a squib. My parents were 'talented' but I myself am not.
So what is the problem with Harry?"
"He's been having problems sleeping and is waking the whole house every night with his yelling and screaming. Vernon is at his wit's end and is ready to throw him out onto the street."
"What?" Mrs Figg gasped. "He can't do that. Doesn't he realize the protections that you provide young Harry by allowing him to live here also protect you and your family? If Harry can no longer call this place home, the wards will fall and the people that killed your sister will be after you and Dudley. The only thing keeping them out is Harry being able to live here."
"Are you sure? No one has ever told us this before. All we had was the note when we found him on the doorstep saying my sister was dead and we had to provide for the boy and let him go to that school."
"Yes, I'm sure. Part of the reason I moved here was to provide a kind of early warning system if the evil wiz... people that killed your sister managed to breach the wards."
"Back to the boy. We sent that bird of his to the headmaster a few days ago with a note explaining the problem We haven't seen the bird nor has anyone contacted us. The boy seemed to think you might be able to assist us in getting help."
"Yes. I see. I'll start making contact when I get back home. You realize you'll probably need to have at least one of them come into the house to check on young Harry and evaluate the situation."
"Fine, but as long as they knock on the front door like normal people. And they're dressed like normal people. But I warn you, Vernon isn't going to take much more before he snaps."
"All right, but could I see him for a moment? I know I'll be asked to report on him."
Standing, Petunia shouted from the bottom of the stairs "BOY! Get down here."
"Yes Aunt Petunia. Hello Mrs Figg."
"Hello Harry. I'm going to try and contact Albus this afternoon. Is there anything you'd like me to tell him about what's going on?"
"It's not like visions or anything. I just keep seeing Sirius fall through the veil over and over again."
"Thank you Harry."
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Later that day
ding dong
"Hello, Mrs Dursley. I'm Albus Dumbledore."
"I know who you are. Get in here and do something about that boy. My Vernon isn't going to tolerate being woken up much more. He has to work everyday and needs his sleep."
"Yes. Yes. I understand."
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"Ahh Harry my boy. How are you doing?"
"I'm fine Headmaster."
"Harry. That's not exactly true."
"I'm having problems sleeping. I keep seeing Sirius and try to wake myself up before I wake anyone else."
"Thank you Harry. Mrs. Dursley, this is a mild sleeping potion. He gets one capful and that should allow him to sleep for 8 hours. However, it is mildly addictive so it's not recommended to be used more than 1 day in 3. I will put up some minor silencing charms on his room so as long as the door is closed you shouldn't be bothered if he wakes up at night."
"Thank you Mr Dumbledore. Perhaps you can explain what is wrong with him."
"Just a few weeks ago, your nephew was tricked and ended up in a pitched battle with the wizard who killed your sister and some of his follower's. His godfather, Sirius Black, was the only casualty during the battle."
"I thought Black was a wanted criminal. A mass-murderer."
"Sirius was thrown into prison without a trial. The real murderer was caught by your nephew two years ago but managed to escape before he could be brought into the Ministry's custody."
"I also thought the wiz... person who killed my sister was dead."
"No. He was merely expelled from his body and was very weak. Last year, while participating in a tournament with competitors from two other schools, your nephew was kidnapped from Hogwarts. While captive, some of his blood was used in a ritual that restored a body to his parents' killer. At that time, he saw one of his school mates brutally killed for no reason."
"Would that be the Cedric he was screaming about last year?"
"Yes it would."
"And why type of counseling has he received for what he saw this year or last?"
"Counseling? What do you mean?"
"Never mind. You go do what you need to do to his room so Vernon doesn't get woken up anymore."
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Two weeks later, Harry looked slight better. The bags were gone from beneath his eyes. However, nights at 4 Privet Drive weren't much better. On potion nights, everyone slept soundly. On the first day without potions, Harry woke screaming and crying in the early hours of the morning. On the second day without potions, Order members were kept busy repairing lights, windows, and other glassware as Harry's accidental magic took hold before he woke up. The sound of shattering glass was usually enough to wake the other occupants of the home.
The headmaster was contacted again but explained there was nothing else he could do.
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"Surrey Psychiatric. May I help you?"
"Yes, My name is Petunia Dursley. I need to make an appointment for my nephew to see someone. ... No, he's an orphan and lives with my husband and I. ... He's been having some really violent nightmares recently. ... Traumatic? Well, he did see his godfather get killed a month or so back and a schoolmate last year. ... Harry Potter ... Friday at 2 with Dr Thorndyke. ... Thank you."
"Boy! Get down here."
"Yes, Aunt Petunia?"
"You have an appointment Friday at 2 with Dr Thorndyke down at the loony clinic. Your world said they can't do anything more for you, so we'll try ours. You got two weeks and if it doesn't fix you, you're out on the street. And you better be thankful you got those two weeks too. And you better not be telling him any stories about your abnormality either."
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"Excuse me. I'm Harry Potter and I have an appointment with a Dr Thorndyke."
"Yes. 2 PM but I need to speak with a parent or guardian."
"Ummm That's my Aunt sitting over there. She made the appointment."
"Okay. I know the doctor is expecting you so I'll take you back then speak with your Aunt about the paperwork. Follow me please."
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Harry walked into the room looking around. Blinds filtered most of the sunlight that was trying to enter from the windows taking up the entire wall to his left. A leather sofa was against the wall to his right and a matching chair was nearby. A wooden desk fronted by two arm chairs was directly in front of him. Behind the desk was a half-filled bookcase and a credenza with a couple of framed photos of the man sitting behind the desk. He was seen holding a golf club in one picture and a fish nearly as tall as he was in the other. In contrast to the brightly colored casual clothes worn in the photos, today he was wearing an oxford shirt with tie pulled slightly loose. A suit coat was hanging from a hook in the corner.
"Come in, come in. I'm Dr Thorndyke. Take a seat." the doctor said, pointing to a chair.
Harry sat in the indicated chair and stared at the doctor.
"I understand your Aunt brought you here."
"Yes."
"According to the notes you've been having trouble sleeping."
"Some."
"She said you've been having nightmares."
"Yes."
"Something about your godfather."
"I killed him." Harry whispered.
"And a classmate last year."
"I killed him." Harry again whispered.
Unknown to Harry, Dr Thorndyke had had acoustics experts in his office installing baffles and sound channelers. He'd heard both times Harry admitted to killing someone.
"Why don't you stretch out on the couch there for a couple of minutes while I go check that the paperwork has been completed."
Harry shrugged and moved to the couch as the doctor went out the door closing it behind him.
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"Diane," the doctor asked the receptionist. "Has the personal information paperwork been completed?"
"Yes, doctor. I have it right here."
The doctor began reading through the forms mumbling to himself.
Parents dead in car wreck when patient was one. Father suspected of driving while intoxicated.
Father unemployed - drunkard?
Mother prostitute (?)
Godmother - unknown
Godfather - Sirius Black
"Diane, why does the name Sirius Black sound familiar?"
"I think he was that mass murderer that escaped from prison a few years ago."
Grammar school - Little Whinging Primary. "Diane, did you find out about school records?"
"Yes, they're being faxed in now."
Secondary school - St Brutus's Secure Center For Incurably Criminal Boys
"Here's the records from Little Whinging, Doctor. St Brutus's said they're unable to provide any information on their students without a court order."
"Thank you."
Grades - Academically below average. Substandard performer. Not working to ability.
Discipline - Somehow dyed a teacher's hair blue. Climbed to school roof. Destroyed other students homework. Deliberately rolled in mud on way to school to track through hallways and ruin desks (repeats of that one).
Social - loner. Outcast. Never attempted to make friends.
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"Diane, where's the aunt?"
"That's her over by the window."
The doctor looked over at the elegantly dressed woman and contrasted that with the teen in his office wearing overlarge ragged clothes, ratty trainers, and looking as if he hadn't had a haircut let alone combed his hair in months.
"Good afternoon, Mrs Dursley. I'm Doctor Thorndyke. I spoke with your nephew for a few minutes already. He wasn't very forthcoming. I'm looking at his school records that were faxed over from Little Whinging. Is all this accurate?"
"Yes, I'm afraid it is. We've had a horrible time with the boy since he was left in our charge. It's only gotten worse over the years and... as much as I hate to say it, I almost think both he and my family would have been better off if we'd have left him to an orphanage instead of taking him in."
"Well Mrs Dursley, I'm not certain there's anything I can do for him. He should be able to get all the help he needs at school. When is start of term for him?"
"September 1st I believe although he doesn't normally spend the entire summer with us. He has some classmates in London he usually spends the last couple of weeks of summer with. I'm not sure what all they get up to and am always afraid I'll read about either him or his friends in the Times."
"Okay, do you know if he's on any type of medications to control hismental state?"
"I know there's at least one sleeping aid he takes every few days. Some kind of draught but I'm not sure exactly what it is. I don't think he takes anything else on a regular basis."
"Thank you, Mrs Dursley."
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'Just what I needed on a Friday afternoon - a sociopath. What am I supposed to do with this kid? He spends most of the year locked up. He just confessed to killing a classmate and his godfather an escaped mass murderer.'
"Mr Potter. Thanks for waiting so patiently. I've looked at your school records and spoke with your aunt. I don't think there's much that we mental health professionals are going to be able to do to help you. Your aunt said you've some kind of sleeping draught to help with the nightmares?"
"Yes. But I only take it every third day."
"That's what she said. Are you taking any other types of medications?"
"Nothing except the occasional aspirin if my head hurts."
"That's fine. From your school records it appears you had a few problems with mood swings when you were younger. Is that still an issue?"
"Sometimes. I try to stay calm but it's difficult. Last year one of my teacher's kept telling me to 'clear my mind' when I started feeling out of control, but I'm still not sure how to do that."
"Perhaps I can help a little then. I hate to send someone away without doing anything for them. On your wait out, ask the receptionist, Diane, for the pamphlet on learning meditation. Are there any questions I can answer for you?"
"No thank you doctor. You've been a lot of help and I'll try that meditation."
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Doctor Thorndyke followed Harry back out to the waiting area and saw him talk to Diane for a moment. She went into the storeroom, handed him a pamphlet and both he and his aunt left.
"Diane, we're closing early today. I think I'm going to take the wife and kids to the beach this weekend and I want to get an early start. I'll see you on Monday."
fin