As soon as the healer had left, after getting Harry to take his medication- poison poision poison!- Harry flopped his shoes on the ground and burrowed himself underneath the covers on his bed as far as he could go.
As such, it took a while for the red haired boy across the room to get his attention.
"Ahem," the red haired boy started. "Excuse me. Hellllllllllo!"
Harry just wanted him to go away. Didn't the blonde boy see that Harry just wanted to disappear?
"Whatever, freak." The red haired boy said after failing to get Harry's attention after a few more minutes.
And Harry's heart broke just a little bit more. While he knew he was a freak, he hated when people so obviously reminded him.
He started to pick at his arms. The scabs ripping away as the blood started to rush to the surface.
It didnt take long for his white sheets to be stained red.
"Hey, you arent supposed to do that," the red haired boy whispered. "They will take you away and lock you up even more if they see you doing that."
And so Harry started to cry. Wasn't it bad enough? He was already in a strange and scary place away from everything even remotely familiar... and all of these people were giving him rules and WASN'T IT ENOUGH?
These thoughts got louder, and so did his crying as he realized he was stuck in another place with someone who hated him.
After a while the screaming started again. And again, it took a while for him to realize it was coming from him. Fortunately though, it took the attendant Curtis almost no time at all.
He rushed into the room, and seeing the bloody sheets, immediately grabbed Harry and held him as he pressed the red button near his bed to notify the rest of the crew.
Poor child.
This was a common thing really. It took a while for people to adjust, those of all ages, so Curtis was less than surprised.
He held on to the boy until Healer Mallory came back into the room.
She surveyed the scene quickly before saying, "Harry. I need you to look at me."
She let the words sit in the air for a second before walking closer towards the boy and repeating them again softer.
"Harry, I need you to look at me right now."
And after a second Harry did. His glasses were dirty and his eyes were red and his arms were dripping and oozing. She sighed.
"Harry. This is not ok. We talked about this. You can not hurt yourself any more."
And Harry started choking on his tears.
She hated this part too. She knew she sounded stern and maybe even a bit as if she were lacking compassion, but she had found that being firm and controlled allowed her patients to feel as if they could trust her. It made them feel safe to know her expectations. Made things seem slightly less confusing.
"Harry. I need you to understand that this was not ok. I know you are in pain, and I know this is all very confusing and difficult and scary. But I told you the rules earlier. I know you are still adjusting so this time it is just a warning, but this cannot happen again. Do you understand? I need you to look at me and tell me that you understand."
And Harry did. He was still crying, but he looked at her through those teary eyes and nodded.
That was enough for now. But she wasn't going to leave the boy yet. Not until she heard just exactly what had happened.
—-
She cursed herself a short while later as sat in her office drinking a spot of tea. She had made a mistake.
She should have never left Harry, in his fragile state, with Trevor.
Trevor was definitely a work in progress when it came to dealing with others. His trauma from his abusive parents and his conduct disorder resulting from that really did not make for a good roommate for someone in Harry's condition.
It was just that, they were so overcrowded. She hadn't thought much beyond being happy that there was a bed open when she had lead Harry to that room.
Well, she thought, at least there will be another bed opened tomorrow. Brian would be leaving and that left a bed in Patrick's room wide open.
She sighed. Patrick. Well. She supposed it would be a better fit than Trevor.
She just had to help Harry make it through the rest of the night.
—-
Severus had been reading for a while when the headmaster popped into his quarters.
The headmaster, upon seeing Severus hunched over the books, smiled just a bit as he reminded of his young friends school days. He had always been a voracious learner.
"So my boy. Talk to me." He said as he walked towards the desk.
"It is not going to be easy." Severus said as he caught the headmaster's eye. "But there is hope."
He gestured towards the books, and a second later a chair flew across the room.
Albus sat down and grabbed one of the books Severus had left half open. This was going to be a long night, but if it would make tomorrow easier for that small child it would be more than worth it.
Chapter 16