"Breakfast, Severus," said the young Trainee Healer as he crept into the room and opened the blinds.

"No," Severus said dully, pulling the covers over his head.

"Why not?"

"Because."

"We'll miss you at breakfast."

"Nobody will."

"I will. Can you at least take your potion? You can sleep if you just take your potion."

Severus scowled and emerged from under the covers, avoiding the Healer's eyes. He took the potion, then sunk back into bed.

"Thank you, Severus," said the Healer. "Chicken soup for lunch - it's going to be good. If you're going to hit any meal today, definitely do that one."

Severus did not answer, and listened for the sound of the door closing. The empty bed by the window stared him in the face. The silence was all he had desired while the Trainee Healer was trying to make conversation. Now that he was gone, Severus sort of wished he would come back.

But it was better to be alone, because he knew he looked like a mess and today he actually cared about that, oddly enough. He stumbled out of bed and stared in the charmed, unbreakable mirror in the tiny bathroom that was in his room. Someone he didn't even know stared back. The man's hair was tangled and he had dark shadows under his eyes, which were puffy. Severus blinked. No. It was him. It really was he, himself, Severus Snape staring back in that mirror.

He hated himself when he thought of that session yesterday evening with the Mind Healer. He knew why his eyes were puffy, and he didn't give a damn if Joseph had said so proudly that he thought they'd made progress. Severus didn't see how he'd made progress. He was just miserable, and he dragged his socked feet across the floor and fell back into bed. He shut his eyes.

***

Harry's few possessions were soon packed up, leaving Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon rejoicing. Harry had made Lupin promise to tell them that he was going to the Burrow, rather than to a psych ward. He was pretty sure he would never live it down should they have found out. Lupin seemed to have mixed feelings about this, but Harry assured him that his relatives really didn't care all that much either way, but telling them that he was at Ron's it would make them significantly easier to live with in the future.

They arrived back at Hogwarts, and Harry sorted through what things he was going to leave in his dormitory and what he was taking with him. He rose early on Sunday morning due to nerves, and met up with Remus once more. Then they went up to meet Dumbledore, but he had received an unexpected piece of news from the Order and, with much dismay, he told them that he was unable to come with them as he had planned. Harry was rather glad he was not coming, to be honest, for he was getting sick of the amount of time Dumbledore had been spending stressing the point that Harry was to stay in the teen ward at all times, no matter what, period. Harry was pretty sure the Headmaster was just worrying about him too much. In addition to this, Dumbledore had had a private word with Harry to say that he knew the counsellor Harry would be talking to, and that the counsellor was one of a number of healers associated with the Order. He didn't give the names of any others, but Harry honestly didn't care. Professor Dumbledore then went on to say that Harry was safe to talk about the prophecy with this person, as they had been told the basic meaning of it, and that it was important for Harry to come to terms with such a heavy piece of information. Harry thought it was a bit silly that Dumbledore actually assumed he would open up to a complete stranger. That, and he really didn't want to think about the prophecy at all, so he was quite happy to leave Dumbledore behind in the airy office.

Remus had used a handy little spell to shrink Harry's things and put them in his pocket in preparation for travelling to St. Mungo's by floo powder. Harry was not very keen on leaving Hogwarts. Although, he had to admit, the room behind the Great Hall from which they were flooing from did not hold the pleasantest of memories.

"Ready, Harry?" Remus asked.

Harry shrugged and said, "I guess so. But don't I have to be disguised a little? I mean, we have to walk through the rest of the hospital."

"Willow Branch has its own waiting room connected to the floo network. It's a bit easier for people who don't want it to be known that they are going there."

"Hm. That's smart."

"It is, isn't it?" Remus replied, distracted as he fished around in his pocket. From it he pulled little drawstring pouch with floo powder. He held it out to Harry and said, "You first."

Taking a deep breath, Harry grabbed a pinch and threw the powder in the flames. He stepped into them, trying to keep himself from shaking. Not knowing what was waiting for him on the other side, Harry shouted "Willow Branch Centre!"

He tripped slightly on arrival, rather rusty from lack of fire place travel. He was able to catch himself however, and get out of the way in time for Remus to arrive behind him. Remus stepped gracefully out from the flames to stand next to Harry.

"And where were you headed?" asked a rather bored female clerk at a desk nearby. The room they were now in was rather cramped, and looked nothing at all like a waiting room. A large map of the hospital with marked fireplaces was the only thing on the walls. The place looked a lot like a roomy broom closet, actually.

Harry, rather surprised, did not answer the question. Harry noted that Remus seemed to be suffering from the same thing.

"This is the office of redirection," droned the clerk when she finished snapping her bubble-gum. "Your destination within the hospital is unavailable for the time being, either due to renovations or other causes. If you can tell me where you were headed, I can redirect you to the appropriate service."

Remus, who seemed to have recovered from his state of surprise, replied, "We were headed for the Willow Branch Centre for Adolescents."

"Uh huh," she said, chewing her gum loudly. "Yeah, there was a bit of a mishap last night. Accidental magic. Someone managed light the place up, and cause some pretty impressive fire damage. Everyone was okay, but the fire did away with a fair bit of the ward. It will be under repair for the next couple of months. Twelve through fourteen year olds have been relocated to Mulberry Bush, the children's ward. And fifteen to seventeen are at Oak Tree, which is the adult ward."

"Alright, thank you very much" said Remus before turning to Harry. "Oak Tree, then."

"The outgoing fire is on your right, labelled out, and you may help yourself to our complimentary pot of floo powder," the clerk informed them, snapping her gum once more when she finished.

Harry reached up and put his hand into the pot of powder, and then he was instructed by Remus what to say and when to go. He appeared in the room a moment before Remus, and in those few seconds he looked around. The walls were a pale yellow with posters here and there about various psychiatric conditions. There were four chairs, and a front desk with a little bell on it that said "ring for service."

Harry threw himself into a chair while Remus rang. In a few moments someone came through the door and greeted them both with a smile. He was a young man of about thirty, perhaps. He was dressed somewhat more casually than the healers Harry had seen when he had visited Mr Weasley during the school year.

"Hello, my name is Richard," said the man cheerfully, despite the tired expression on his face. "How can I help you?"

"Richard Cross?"

"The one and only."

Harry scowled at Richard's chipper attitude.

"So you were the one that Albus contacted?" Remus asked, looking rather glad.

"Yes," said Richard. "And you are?"

"Remus Lupin," said Remus, shaking Richard's hand. "Albus was unable to come, though he did want to."

"That's too bad. I'm glad you two made it, though," Richard said sincerely. "Sorry for all the confusion. We had a nasty fire on Willow Branch yesterday. We haven't had a moment to spare, what with all the paperwork. I've had to cancel nearly all my counselling sessions just so I could move that section of my files over to Oak and get reoriented, as all my cases are from Willow Branch. It's been quite the process. I am sorry we didn't get a chance to contact you about the changes, but it's been a right mess."

"That's alright," Remus assured him. "Can we get Harry checked in and settled?"

"You bet," Richard replied before glancing over to Harry, who was slouching in one of the chairs nearby. "Hello, you must be Harry."

"Yes," replied Harry through his teeth, rather wishing he wasn't. He didn't really feel had had much grounds to be civil; as far as he was concerned he had practically been blackmailed into being here.

"Harry," Remus warned.

"I wouldn't worry about it - I'm pretty sure I would be a bit annoyed too if I had to give up my summer to come here," said Richard in response to Remus's words. He paused a second, looking around the room. "Oh, wait ..."

The joke was so unexpected that Harry cracked a small smile for a moment. Richard winked at him, gesturing for him and Remus to follow him into the office.

Harry got up and walked behind the waiting room counter and entered the office, which held a small desk. Richard pulled a form out from a basket and unscrewed the inkwell nearby. He scribbled a few things down, checked some boxes, and when he was done he pushed the paper toward Remus to finish filling out. Harry spied over at what Remus was writing, and as soon as he saw the heading Reason for Admittance he looked away.

Remus soon finished filling out the form, then Harry was told to sign it at the bottom as well. Then, he had to hand over his wand, much to his dismay. He was told that it was a necessary precaution.

"Alright Harry," said Richard finally. "We have one last thing to do before I show you your room. I'd like to finish a quick interview. If you wish, Remus can leave the room. Would you prefer that?"

Harry frowned for a second before saying he would.

Remus squeezed Harry's shoulder before going outside into the waiting room.

"Alright, let's start with something simple," said Richard, getting out a notepad and picking up the quill. "What's your favourite thing to do?"

"Quidditch," Harry replied, staring at the wood on the desk.

"Your best subject in school?"

"Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"In one word, describe this last school year. You can have a moment to think."

Finally, Harry replied, "Daunting."

"Nice word," remarked Richard, scribbling it down. "If you could come out of this place changed in one way, what would it be?"

Harry looked at Richard for the first time. He didn't really want to say what was on his mind.

"This is my last question," Richard gently prodded. "After this one I'm done."

Harry, wishing to be rather trying, let out a dramatic sigh and looked at the clock in the room. It said nine thirty-five.

He was rather annoyed when Richard didn't reprimand him for being difficult.

"Less angry," Harry said finally, the fight gone from him.

"That's a good goal," Richard assured him. "Thank you, Harry for answering my questions. It helps me to get to know you a little, so I can better understand how to help you."

When Remus had returned and taken his seat, Richard pulled out a big leather book. On the front it said Rooming List. Richard perused it for a moment or so. He nodded, looking unsurprised.

"Well, it's your lucky day. There's only one bed open in the men's side. It's pretty packed since so many have moved over from Willow Branch. The men and women have separate hallways for their rooms, so don't let me catch you sneaking around the women's area." Richard said it rather playfully, although Harry took note of the rule laid out for him. "All rooms have two people sharing them, so you've got a roommate as well. Hmm ... looks like he's one of the adults ... not on my patient list so he must be. Unfortunately, we have an odd number of teen boys, so you'll have to make do.

"Now, for a tour. I don't know this place as well as Willow Branch, as that is where my patients usually reside, but I'll give it my best shot."

Harry and Remus stood up and followed Richard out. They went through a door into a wide, bright hallway. It had the occasional piece of art on the walls, mostly serene paintings of rivers and lakes. Immediately on their left there was a door. There were windows put into the dividing wall so you could see into the room that the door led to. Harry could see a few sofas and a fireplace through these. Looking straight ahead, with the windowed room off to the side, Harry noted that the rest of the ward was mostly open space. There were people wandering up and down the halls.

Richard gestured to the windowed room.

"That's the visiting room," he informed Harry. "If you want to talk with someone face to face, and they cannot come here to visit, go to the front desk and make sure you make an appointment that you've agreed on with your visitor, who will put their head through the fire in the visiting room. If they want to come through fully they'll have to use the waiting room fire. Don't try to leave through any of the fires, because they're monitored and patients who are not cleared for release can only have visitors come to them, for safety issues and whatnot. We also have a telephone that connects to muggle ones, for those connected to phone lines. You'll do all your interacting with visitors with those methods, all of it in the visiting room."

Harry nodded, and then they continued on. Harry tried to ignore the interested looks the passing people gave him. He looked at his feet as they walked along. Eventually they stopped in a wide, open spaced area with tables and chairs.

"This is the dining hall," Richard told him. "You can show up for breakfast between eight and nine in the morning. And, lunch and dinner are at twelve and six respectively. You're expected to make an effort to maintain the routine and attend meals, even if that means just working up to coming to a set number of activities and taking things slow."

Harry barely held back a grimace. His stomach churned at the thought of food.

"Up ahead is the recreation room. You can come in here any time during the day, although there may be some group activities going on in here. The room just off to the right is the arts and craft room. There's plenty of art supplies for you own ideas, as well as a daily project you can partake in. There are also poetry and writing sessions some days if you like that sort of thing. I would encourage you to try it at least once."

"Sounds like there are some interesting things going on here" Remus commented to Harry.

"Certainly," said Richard, ignoring the withering look that Harry was giving Remus. "We have a lot of activities here. There is going to be even more going on than usual, as I have been working to get a few of the usual activities from Willow over here for the teens that have moved for a while. You will have access to the adult activities as well as the teen ones, while you are here Harry."

"That's good," said Harry dully, trying to sound enthusiastic for Remus' sake.

"One last stop before we get to your room," said Richard, turning away from the craft room and going down the hall opposite the door. They went past a storage closet and then arrived at the end of the relatively short hall. There were two doors in the hallway, one to the right and one at the very end of the hallway.

"Harry, you will be coming into this room here for sessions with me," Richard told him, gesturing to the door at the very end of the hallway. It had a frosted glass window in it, and a temporary sign that said Richard Cross. "This is where you and I will be meeting every day for counselling sessions. They are mandatory." He seemed to have added the last part at the rather apparent look of dismay on Harry's face.

Remus put a hand on Harry's shoulders. Harry slouched it off and followed Richard out of the hall. He heard Remus sigh behind him as he caught up. They were led through the dining hall again, then made a left turn into a hallway labelled Men. There were bedroom doors all along the right side, except one on the left, which said men's shower upon it. Harry watched the doors go by as they traipsed down the hall. Some of the doors had pictures taped to them, and signs that said things like ‘Steven and Jesse's room'. A few of the doors were open, and Harry caught a glimpse of men or teens lounging around in their rooms. After passing about seven or eight rooms the hallway went left. They rounded the corner and went down a ways, until they came upon the second last door on the right. There were no pictures on this door, nor any names.

"Well, this is you," said Richard, knocking on the door. There was no answer. "Your roommate must be sleeping, so we'll have to be quiet."

Richard opened the door softly and stepped into the room. Harry and Remus followed. It was a simple room with a small window at one end, the sunlight pooling on one of the beds beneath it. There was also a little bathroom by the door, with a toilet and a sink. There were two small wardrobes across from the two beds in the room. The bed closest to the door was taken, quite obviously. Everyone tiptoed painstakingly past the bed. The occupant was clearly sleeping. Harry barely caught sight of a dark shock of hair poking out of the blankets, and he saw two socked feet sticking out from under the covers.

"I'm sure you two will get a chance to swap names later," said Richard in response to Harry's stare.

Harry nodded while Remus pulled his shrunken trunk from his pocket and made them their proper size. He set it at the foot of Harry's bed.

"How about you get settled," said Remus in a whisper. "I would like to have a quick word with Richard outside and then I'll come and say goodbye. Alright?"

"Okay."

Remus and Richard left the room, closing the door gently behind them. Harry could see their feet standing out in the hallway, and could hear the hushed tones of their voices, though he did not bother with what they were saying. He took a moment to survey the room. It was quite brightly lit, but his roommate seemed to have made up for it by pulling the covers up over most of his head. There were a few books on the small table between the two beds. In addition to this, Harry noted with some curiously, there was a number of folded paper cranes scattered atop the pile of books and the table. The person had not spread their things out much, leading Harry to believe they had not been here overly long.

Done his quick survey of the room, Harry knelt down and unlatched his trunk. Rummaging through the trunk, Harry pulled out some of his clothes, and set them neatly in the small dresser drawers. He grabbed his Gryffindor banner and draped it over the top of the dresser to admire the effect. If he had to be stuck here, he might as well spread some of his things out. Even at the Dursleys he wasn't allowed to do that, really. They didn't much like him having Hogwarts things lying around, even banners. It was strange to be able to put the banners where he pleased. Having little else to unpack, Harry searched for his copy of Flying with the Cannons, which he thought he might as well re-read if he was stuck here. He found it quickly, and decided he would put it on his side of the little table between the beds. There were a few paper cranes in the way. As he was debating on whether or not he should move them now, or wait to ask his roommate, he was saved having to make the decision. His roommate was stirring, stretching his arms up over his head, his face burrowed in the pillow. The man moaned slightly.

"Er, hello," Harry said awkwardly. His roommate didn't jump, and appeared to have heard him already due to the slight shuffling of his trunk. "Sorry for waking you. I'm your new roommate. Seeing as you're up, can I move some of these paper cranes to put my book on the table too?"

The man stayed motionless upon the bed, seeming as though he were still quite tired. Or perhaps merely lacking the will to get up. Harry was betting on the latter due to the lengthy silence before the man answered.

"Yes," came the muffled voice through the pillow.

"Thanks," said Harry gratefully, carefully picking up the cranes and setting them on the man's pile of books. "I'm Harry, by the way."

"What?" said the man, rolling over onto his back, looking taken aback, squinting tiredly in the light. Harry caught sight of his face and let his mouth fall open.

His new roommate let out a yelp of shock and anger, and flailing slightly as he attempted to get away from Harry, he fell off the far side of the bed.

It was Professor Snape, and Harry was pretty sure even Uncle Vernon had never heard of the cuss words that were now coming out of his Professor's mouth in a steady stream, floating up from where Snape was still lying on the floor in apparent shock, his hair sticking up in places and his pyjamas wrinkled. Harry really wasn't sure what to say, and stood there, frozen as Remus and Richard burst into the room, both looking equally shocked.

It was at that moment that Harry decided that if there was any person who was crazy enough to be locked up it was Albus Dumbledore, because if he had planned this in any way he was dead meat.