Harry watched from the window as Officer Peterson drove away

Harry watched from the window as Officer Peterson drove away. The man brought him here, told him that he was staying here from now on and introduced him to Ms. Morgan. Then he left. Just like everyone else, it seemed.

“Come Harry, I will show you to the room you will be staying in from now on.” She placed her hand on his shoulder, ignoring the flinch, and gently led him through the silent halls. They went up to the second floor of the building and she opened and motioned for him to enter.

The room was plain and simple. On one wall, there was a metal-framed bunk bed set along with a dresser. Across from that, another bunk bed was set up along with a small desk on the side. Three of the beds were currently occupied with someone’s belongings, leaving the one of the top bunks for Harry.

“Here are the basic rules: You get up at seven every morning, breakfast is at seven-thirty and classes begin at eight. Since we are limited on teaching staff, classes are combined. Children ages six to eight learn the basics of reading, writing and such; nine to twelve learn more intermediate reading and writing skills and the rest of the older children learn more advanced materials. You’ll have the same classes as the three boys sharing this room so they will be able to show you to the classrooms. Any questions so far?” Ms. Morgan asked.

“No ma’am,” Harry replied. It wasn’t too complicated yet and he hoped it wouldn’t be too bad here. He’d heard plenty of stories from his relatives when they threatened to drop him off at an orphanage and none of those tales were good.

“You’ll have a break before lunch, which is at noon. Follow the students and they’ll lead you to the dining hall. After lunch is over, you’ll have more class until two-thirty. Once that’s over, you are free to do whatever you like until dinner time. I’d also suggest doing your homework before playing but hardly anyone listens to my advice there. We have equipment outside for you to use and there is a recreation room around here with some cards, puzzles, pencils, crayons, paper and board games for you kids to entertain yourselves with.” She went on to explain more rules about where he was and wasn’t allowed along with curfew times before she finally finished.

“Now do you have any questions Harry?”

“What am I supposed to wear, ma’am?” Harry asked, looking towards the dresser.

“Ah-yes, I’d forgotten to mention that part. Since the boys you share this room with are roughly your age and size, you will share clothes. Everything you’ll need is in there.”

Well that wouldn’t be too bad. Maybe these clothes would fit better than Dudley’s old cast-offs?

“Classes have already ended for the day so it is currently free time. If you’d like, you can remain here to get settled in.” she stated before leaving.

After she left, Harry just stood there, looking around the room again. He walked to the window and peeked outside. It was rather loud outside with many kids playing on the playground or just hanging out together.

The sound of approaching footsteps caused Harry to turn around. A blond haired young boy stood in the doorway. He was taller than Harry by at least a couple of inches. He had blue eyes and was rather thin and wiry looking.

“Hullo,” the boy greeted. “I’m AJ. Are you sharing this room too?”

Harry nodded. He wasn’t sure what to say since he never had the chance to interact much with other kids with Dudley always scaring them off. But Dudley wasn’t here this time so maybe he’d actually make a friend.

“So what’s your name?”

“Oh,” Harry stuttered. “Um, my name is Harry.”

“What happened to your arm Harry?” AJ asked curiously.

“Nothing,” Harry replied as he looked out the window. “I just hurt it and have to wear this sling for a couple of days.”

“’kay. Do you wanna go play in the rec room?” the blond boy asked.

“Sure.”

After relaxing in the rec room for a while, AJ showed him around the orphanage. He pointed out the bathrooms and the classrooms along with the dining hall. Dinner would begin shortly so they decided to wait for the dining hall to open. AJ did most of the talking but Harry would try and say something from time to time. He wasn’t really used to someone listening to what he has to say.

After dinner, they returned to their room and met the other two boys. The taller of the two introduced himself as Peter. He had light brown hair, green eyes and was a little chubby. The other boy said his name was Brandon. He had dark hair, brown eyes and was just a smidgeon taller than Harry. Harry greeted them shyly and told him his name.

Once introductions were made, the other boys began working on their homework assignments while leaving Harry to do whatever he liked. He wanted to practice his hair and eye color changes but couldn’t while the others were in the room. Tomorrow was probably going to be a long day so he decided to try and sleep. He went over to the dresser and rummaged around for a pair of pajamas. He used his good arm to pull off the sling before changing any further. He hoped his scars were still hidden from earlier as he pulled off his shirt. Not wanting to be exposed for too long, he quickly pulled the shirt on.

Before changing pants, he reached into the pocket and felt around for his mirror and pocket watch. He slid both items in his pillowcase and then changed into PJ pants. The metal framed bunk bed felt icy cold as his bare feet touched the ladder to the top bed. Once up there, he turned away from the light and eventually drifted off to sleep.

Harry woke to someone shaking his shoulder. He immediately shed away from the hand and used his good arm to block his face, expecting to be hit. When nothing happened, he cautiously opened his eyes and met the stares of his roommates. His face reddened as he lowered his hand and avoided eye contact.

“Err,” Peter began hesitantly. “Its time to get up.” He quickly turned back to getting ready for the day.

Harry slowly sat up. That was the best sleep he’d had in a long time. This bed was much comfier than his old cot or the cold floor of the abandoned house. He regretfully slid out of the comfortable bed and began getting ready for the day. He looked through the dresser and pulled out a pair of pants that would fit much better than his last pair along with a t-shirt. He carefully pulled the shirt on, making a point not to jerk his arm. The numbness had worn off from yesterday’s shot so it ached a bit. After he finished dressing, he put on his sling and followed his roommates to the dining hall.

The orphanage was big and he felt like he’d get lost if he didn’t follow the others. There were quite a few kids in the dining hall. Most of the kids around here were older than him seeing as younger kids were adopted more often. There was a group of about twenty teenagers that AJ mentioned he might want to leave along. He’d said they weren’t really mean and didn’t pick fights often but occasionally they did. The blond boy also mentioned that this was one of the better orphanages since he’d been to several before this. AJ told him how in some orphanages, there isn’t enough food and the older kids bullied younger ones frequently. Harry was glad he was here rather than some horrible orphanage; he’d prefer to return to the streets than be stuck in one of those places.

After they finished eating, Harry followed the other boys to the classroom that Mr. Matthews taught. He was a rather nice man who gave Harry a notebook for his work along with a couple of pencils. Once the bell began, the teacher began his lesson.

“That wasn’t too bad for a first day was it?” Peter asked Harry that night as they were preparing for bed.

“It was alright,” he replied as he settled into his bed. He reached a hand in his pillowcase and checked to make sure that his watch and mirror were still there. They were. He still wasn’t too sure what he was going to do with them. He didn’t want someone to wash his pillowcase and sheets and accidentally discover them. They were the only things he owned. Harry sighed tiredly and rolled over and drifted off to dreamland.

The rest of May flew by quickly as Harry got into the routine of waking up at seven and starting classes at eight. Even with three meals a day, he was still small and skinny for his age but at least his ribs were not as visible as they were before. He stopped wearing the sling several days after arriving at the orphanage. Like the Doctor White said, he was young so he healed rather quickly.

Harry talked with his roommates occasionally but he really didn’t open up much to them. Ever since he arrived at the orphanage, he’d withdrawn into himself. It wasn’t as bad as he imagined it here but he’d still rather be living elsewhere. Everything was constantly loud and he really preferred his solitude but that was impossible to find in a large orphanage such as this one.

It had been getting somewhat quieter lately since many kids were being sent off to ‘children’s homes’. Harry didn’t understand why they were spreading the kids out, but it seemed adults were attempting to reduce the number of kids in one home. Supposedly it would allow the orphans a chance to have more personal interactions with the adults. He’d even heard rumours that St. Luke’s would close once all the kids were sent off. Harry didn’t care what they were trying to do. He just wanted to be left alone.

He still had his watch and little mirror. Once and a while, when he was alone in his room, he’d work on changing his eye color. He couldn’t practice with his hair since Brandon had walked in one day just as he changed his hair back to normal. They’d know he was a freak if they found out his little secret.

Harry discovered that he could will his scars to appear and disappear as well. He knew he’d made them disappear for the doctor but now he could concentrate on actually bringing them back and hiding them again. Knowing that he could make his body do strange things led him to try other changes. He learned that he could make his fingers longer and fatter if he concentrated hard enough. The first time he learned something new always took a lot out of him so he always slept well after that.

June passed and classes stopped for the summer. Summer break was always something kids looked forward to. They were able sleep in an extra hour and got to play for the whole day. Ms. Morgan assigned chores occasionally but they were simple compared to the ones he had to do when he lived with the Dursleys. Harry tried not to think about them but sometimes he had a nightmare about his uncle and couldn’t help but remember that his own family abandoned him. It still hurt to remember that so he avoided thinking about them as much as possible.

July passed along with Harry’s birthday. He didn’t tell anyone about it so it passed unnoticed. There were too many kids here for Ms. Morgan to try and celebrate each of their birthdays. Summer came to and end and school started up again. Mr. Matthews still taught his age group so everything went along as always until one day.

On a breezy early September day, Harry sat outside admiring the scenery. The trees had begun changing from green to various shades of yellow and orange. Harry loved to look at the trees and observe how they had changed almost daily and then watch as the wind blew them from their tree and onto the grass below. He was lost in thought and didn’t hear the footsteps approaching. Harry turned sharply towards the petite strawberry-blond-haired woman who sat down beside him.

When she looked at the boy, she was amazed by the beautiful green eyes hidden behind the black framed glasses. The boy’s messy black hair and small stature caused her motherly instincts to kick in. He looked positively adorable to her.

“Hi there,” she greeted softly.

“Hi,” Harry replied shyly.

“My name is Catherine. What’s yours?” she questioned.

“Harry, ma’am.”

“You don’t have to call me ma’am. It makes me feel old!” she joked. Harry let a small smile come to his face.

“How old are you Harry?”

“Eight.” She wished he’d actually give more than one or two worded answers.

“What do you like to do for fun?” Catherine asked in hopes to get the boy to open up to her and speak more.

Harry sat there for a minute, feeling confused. Most of the adoptive parents that came here passed him by. He was small and skinny and hardly anyone looked twice at him. Now this woman was here asking him questions. Was she here to adopt a child or just visiting? He decided to be polite and answer whatever she asked him.

“I like to read, color, and um draw pictures,” he replied timidly. He was not used to individual attention.

“I like reading too. It’s very relaxing. Do they have a library here?”

“Yes but its pretty small,” the dark-haired boy answered.

“I imagine it is hard to find peace and quiet around here,” Catherine commented.

“Yes. Very hard with all the others running around loudly.” Harry looked over to her and gave her a tentative smile. She beamed back at him.

“I like it when you smile,” she noted. Harry’s face heated up and looked to his feet, as he always did when he was nervous.

“What’s your favorite color?” Harry asked quietly in attempt to turn the attention away from himself.

“Hmm. That’s a tough one. I love so many colors but green has always been one of my favorites. What about you?”

“I like green too,” he replied shyly.

They continued talking and questioning each other for the better part of an hour. Harry felt really comfortable around Catherine. She seemed very nice and she often said things that made him laugh or smile. When it began getting dark, Catherine finally stood, as did Harry.

“It appears to be getting late. I enjoyed talking with you Harry.” Harry blushed and looked down again. He really didn’t want her to leave. She was so nice to him and took the time to talk with him but now she was going to leave now and he’d probably never see her again.

A finger gently pushed his chin up and he stared into Catherine’s kind blue eyes. “For the past several months, I’ve filled out papers, been inspected in every way possible and questioned extensively. I have one last question for you Harry. Can you answer truthfully?” he nodded, wondering what she was going to ask.

“Would you like to come live with me?”