Is It My Birthday?
"Get up, boy!" Harry shot up from his sleep at the sound of his uncle's voice.
He didn't remember going to sleep; the last thing he'd remembered was hearing the hushed whispers of his relatives. He didn't get it, really; he didn't understand what was wrong; he was answering the guy's questions. Even if he didn't really want to, he knew it would be rude to just ignore him.
Another rap on the cupboard door snapped him out of his thoughts. "Boy! I said it once, and I won't say it again! Get up! We have places to be; get dressed. If I come back and you are still here, I will drag you out!"
Harry sucked in a breath. Places to be? It was rare that his relatives took him anywhere besides the old lady's house or school. Only once did his aunt take him to the store. After that weird man bowed to him, he was never allowed to go back. He couldn't imagine where they would go; nothing special had happened recently. Even if his uncle had received a raise, Harry wouldn't be able to celebrate with the rest of the family. And Dudley's birthday was last month, so that wasn't it.
"Oh.." That was it, birthdays. Dudley's birthday was last month, but Harry's was this month! He didn't remember when exactly, but he knew it was this month. It must be what they were doing, and his uncle didn't want him to know!
Well, he was smart, so of course he could figure it out all by himself. With the promise of what the day would bring, Harry got dressed. Harry burst out of his room with a huge smile on his face. Before closing the door, the boy kneeled down and grabbed his favorite toy soldiers. Even though they were his only toys and they were really broken, he still thought it would be nice to take them with him.
Harry turned at the sound of heavy footsteps. Seeing his uncle, his smile widened a bit. His uncle didn't return the smile, but that was okay.
"What are you waiting for? An invitation? Get in the car!"
Harry nodded enthusiastically and ran outside to the car. Once in, he noticed something strange: Dudley wasn't in the car, yet his aunt was. Dudley was usually around. Harry wasn't complaining, though; maybe it was going to be his day for a change. He also noticed, with glee, a small bag on the floor. He wondered what was in it, but he didn't want to ponder it much.
Harry had so many questions. Where were they going? Was it just the family, or were some people from school involved, like Timothy Gunner did for his birthday? Harry wasn't invited, sadly, but he wouldn't have been able to go anyway; his aunt and uncle didn't want Dudley going either. He didn't mind if they got him any presents; the fact that they were taking him anywhere was enough.
He decided that he was just going to have to wait and see. There was no point in asking; he knew that neither of his guardians appreciated questions, and he didn't want to ruin anything. He decided that closing his eyes was the best thing to do, so he would be fully awake for the party. It wasn't long until Harry's dreams took him away.
________
Harry was woken up by a huge hand. "Wake up, boy, I'm not carrying you inside."
Harry yawned and rubbed at his eyes. He took a look at where he was and frowned; it didn't look like anywhere for a birthday. They stopped outside of a three-story building with a smattering of windows. What was odd about the windows was that some at the very top had bars on them. Harry couldn't guess what they were for, though, but maybe it was a zoo! He had never seen one before.
Yes, Harry thought, it just had to be a zoo; there was no other explanation. With that, the boy quickly jumped out of the car and followed his aunt. He couldn't help but notice that his uncle stayed in the car; maybe he realized that they'd left Dudley behind. Whatever the reason, Harry didn't really put much thought into it.
Walking into the building made Harry rethink his earlier convictions; he didn't think it was a zoo anymore. For the door into the building was only accessible by ringing the bell. The inside of the building was a bit cold, and the walls were white and very clean.
There was a desk in the middle of the room that made a square, and there was glass that went from the desk up to the ceiling. There were about eight people inside the box; five were wearing all white, while two men were wearing what looked to be what a security guard would wear. The last adult, a woman, was wearing a powder blue outfit that had rainbows and clouds on it.
She was the one to notice them first. When she did, she gave the duo a huge smile. "Oh! Hello, you two, come on over."
Harry froze; he didn't like this one bit. Those uniforms, he knew them very well; the school nurse wore the same thing. This wasn't a zoo; it wasn't anything for his birthday; he just knew it. While his aunt moved to walk forward, Harry took a few steps back. That wasn't a good thing to do, apparently, because the two security guys hastened to leave the box. Seeing this, Harry tried to walk back faster but tripped over his feet.
The powder blue lady frowned and walked after the two. "Hey, now you two, slow your roll. The boy is scared; don't scare him more. He isn't trying to run; he's just confused." She stopped the guards and then turned to Harry with a smile and said, "Aren't you dear? You just don't know what's going on, that's all."
Harry quickly nodded; he was confused. He looked at his aunt, who was frowning at him, before looking at the kind lady. She looked like she would allow questions, just like the librarian at school.
"I thought it was my birthday... but this isn't a zoo. You are dressed like a nurse; am I at a hospital? No one likes going to the doctor on their birthday."
The lady frowned again, and Harry held his breath. Maybe the lady didn't like questions. But no, apparently she was okay with them because she immediately unfurled her eyebrows.
"No, it isn't a zoo, not even close, dear. I am actually a doctor, and this is a special type of hospital. You said you thought it was your birthday?"
Before Harry could say anything else, his aunt spoke up. "No, it isn't his birthday; that is this Thursday, July 31st. He always forgets it. Anyway, can we continue on, please? My husband and I have to pick up our son from his friend's house."
The quiet chatter of the other adults in the room stopped immediately, though Harry didn't think his aunt noticed. Granted, she didn't really have time to notice because the lady quickly nodded.
"Yes, of course we can. I just need some information—his name, medical history, and any medications he is on. You also need to give that bag to them over there, so they can go through it. You know, for safety reasons."
Aunt Petunia huffed but nodded and handed the bag of mystery over to the people in white. Harry was about to finally ask what was in the bag when he was distracted by another guy. This guy was different from the rest, though Harry knew him well. He was the one who always got him into trouble!
The guy didn't seem like much; with his dirty blonde hair and fair skin, he looked to be in his late teens. He was only abnormal due to his clothes, which looked really old; well, no. That is probably far from the truth; there were other things, like how it looked as if his right arm was blown off. Or how he just kind of appeared and disappeared randomly. The biggest thing had to have been how no one besides Harry could hear him. So maybe the guy was very strange, but Harry got used to it quickly; he had to; it was only polite.
The blond guy looked around the room and sucked air through his teeth before looking back at Harry.
"How'd we end up here? What did you do? How did you hurt yourself?" The blond raked his eyes over Harry. "Hell, you look fine to me, so why are we in a hospital?"
Harry shrugged. "I don't know; I thought it was for my birthday, but Aunt Petunia said it was on Thursday. No one is telling me a thing! Well, the blue doctor lady said it was a special kind of hospital, but I don't know what that means either. I don't feel sick; I feel fine."
Harry didn't notice the sudden quiet in the room; he was so invested in his conversation and indignation. Harry's rambling was interrupted by the blond teen’s call for silence.
"Shut it, kid! You are talking really loud; the whole room is staring at us. How many times do I have to tell you? Talk quietly or in your head!"
Startled, Harry scooted back. The blond rarely raised his voice at Harry; the only time he did was the time Harry almost ran into the street. Harry was about to apologize but was interrupted by his aunt.
"See? The boy talks to himself! Barmy, he is! We cannot and will not keep him in our house; he scares my child. We cannot handle it anymore!"
Harry quickly turned towards his aunt and immediately noticed the number of eyes on him. His cheeks flushed, and he backed away a little bit more, back against the entrance. He could see the lady's face soften from the corner of his eye.
The lady slowly walked towards Harry. "Mrs. Dursley, please. You're scaring your nephew; he isn't crazy! He just needs a little help." By this time, the doctor was crouched down by Harry's side. "We are here to help him. All you have to do, Mrs. Dursley, is fill out the forms. We will take care of the rest."
Harry saw his aunt sniff before she turned around and harshly grabbed the papers from one of the ladies in white. He didn't get much more time to process anything else when the doctor—who was now sitting on the floor with him—talked again, this time to Harry.
"Hey, dear, it's alright. Mind if I ask you a question?" She asked very quietly.
Harry furrowed his eyebrows but nodded. He didn't know what she could possibly want to ask him, but he was sure he could answer it.
She smiled at him and asked, "Who were you talking to?"
He could answer every question except that, apparently, because when she asked that, the blond boy quickly demanded that he not speak at all. Harry looked at the lady wide-eyed and whipped his head back and forth. He would not answer that question; the guy said so.
The lady gave Harry a saddened look. "Oh, I understand. The thing won't let you say, huh? They are telling you to be quiet. Well, that's okay; you don't have to say anything you don't want to say. You can tell me when you are ready or when they are not here, okay?"
Harry agreed, but he knew he wouldn't say a thing. He trusted the blond boy, even if the lady seemed nice. He had to trust him; he was family after all. A distant cousin, he said. Castor Potter. Family on Harry's dad's side, and Harry really didn't want his family member to hate him at all.