She was both surprised and not surprised to see them as they rushed in.
The man from earlier, and the boy that they had discussed at length.
She had planned on going over and seeing them later on, from just what she had gathered from the discussion they had had earlier- the boy was in desperate need of help.
Which was why, though startled, she was not completely surprised.
The man came along with the boy who was in a magic spelled wheel chair and was groaning seeming to become more and more alert and agitated the louder he groaned.
She gestured to the man to come with her, for the second time that day, and to bring the child.
This situation required a lot of handling, delicate handling, urgent handling.
The man and boy followed. The boy seemed to be trying to rise from the wheel-chair, but the mans hand was securely holding on to his back, making sure that he stay secured.
As soon as they got into her office, she asked them to both sit down.
She asked the obvious questions first, what had happened, what was the medical state of the boy, was he all set to... begin?
After Severus explained everything, including the fact that things were being sorted by the headmaster downstairs, the healer, Healer. Mallory, asked if she could speak to Harry in private.
Severus was reluctant to oblige. The safety of the child was of the utmost importance, but, he had spent time studying the woman- reading her- and he had, and he was pretty good at what he did, had judged that she really meant the boy no harm.
But he would wait outdoors. Not far from the child, and he put a spell to prevent apparation on the room. Better safe than sorry.
He was nervous as to what the healer would find.
...
"Harry, I would like to ask you some questions if that would be ok with you?", she asked the child in a very soothing and non-threatening voice.
"Why do you need to ask me questions if you already know the answers? I know what you are. I know why Im here. You all want to TRICK me! You all want to sit there and laugh and laugh at me while I fight and scream and its NOT FAIR! Why cant you all just LEAVE ME ALONE?"
Harry was getting louder and louder as this speech fell from his mouth.
She looked at him as she spoke. "Harry, no one is here to hurt you. I promise you that. In fact. If there is a question that you DO NOT want to answer, that is perfectly fine. I just want to speak to you. Get to know you a little bit better. You seem like a very bright boy."
Harry looked at her rapidly from side to side. He didnt know if he could trust her. But... the man had brought him here. He trusted that man. He was a little bit angry with him for exposing his secrets- his injuries, in fact, he was storming with emotions, but he knew that the man... had not meant to hurt him. And. Had said he had even wanted to help Harry.
And maybe she would help too. If the man trusted her, maybe she was ok. Maybe she would listen. Maybe she would understand.
He so badly wanted someone to understand. Someone to make everything stop spinning around. Someone maybe... someone... who could make things just a little less... painful.
So he talked to her. He tried to tell her everything. About all the thoughts rushing towards him all the time. How scared he was. How it wasnt always like this. How sometimes... he couldnt pick himself up. How sometimes it felt like he was in a vice, how sometimes he felt so sad that he just... couldnt do anything. Anything except wish that he didnt feel that way. About the self injury. About how he would feel like scum- would feel like the worst person in the world- how he wanted to just... waste away sometimes. How things were always changing. Even when they felt like they were getting good, it would eventually sour. It would get worse. And it was always so hard.
She listened attentively, sympathetically. The boys speech was very rapid, very tangentical, but... she was patient. She listened. She needed the boy to know that she would not stop listening.
She was, in her mind, deciding what to do with the boy. He hadnt claimed to be suicidal, though he had admitted to feeling it- and almost going through with it- in the past. Plus, the level of intense disfunction in the child, in addition to the fact that he had JUST hurt himself...
She needed to admit him. Just for a few days hopefully. But- this needed immediate intervention. It was too serious a thing to risk.
Now. She needed to talk to the man who brought him in.
She told the boy that she would be right back. Reassured him several times that he would be back with the man, Severus, and that everything was GOING to get better.
He just needed to be patient.
She walked out of the room.
This was going to be a long talk. But. It was just the talk they needed to have she believed.
She just hoped they were all ready for it.
Chapter 13