Burton
It was a rare occasion that Philip Burton dealt with the children of St. Nune. As the head psychiatrist of the hospital, you would think he would be in charge of all the head cases in the building. But it wasn’t until recently that the children were a part of Philip’s job. It was so infrequent that Philip had to deal with them that most of the time their files were only present in his office if he had need for them.
So, when Elizabeth came to him about the new child, he wasn't sure what to expect besides what he had heard from his colleagues, which wasn't a lot:
Harry J. Potter, aged six. Child of Lily and James Potter, both deceased. The child was in the care of his aunt and uncle, who obviously couldn't handle the child's presence. And that Harry J. Potter showed signs of being schizophrenic, but further testing was required.
Philip thought back to his conversation with Ms. Stanfield. The woman was so adamant that he helped the young child, but what Philip said to Elizabeth was true; he couldn't really give the child anything unless Potter decided to make a fuss. The boy talking to himself was not a good enough excuse; Potter could very well have an excessively active imagination.
That was why Philip decided that he would try to speed up the process of the child's diagnosis. Normally, Philip wouldn't care as much about speeding up procedures. But he was intrigued, to say the least; a child entering the facility was always a hot topic.
Admittedly, Philip wasn't usually interested in the brats, but there was something different about Harry Potter. Something more than a schizophrenic child. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he was itching to find out. The boy was something strange, something abnormal; it intrigued Philip.
That’s why Philip found himself out of his office and at the door of the diagnostic department. Without preamble, Philip knocked on the door and headed straight towards the woman in charge of the children's documentation.
"Margarita, just the woman I wanted to see. I wanted to get an update on a child's case." Philip said.
The woman bristled and slowly turned towards Philip. "Burton, you must have forgotten. I asked you to call me Maggie or Peggy."
"Please, I don't use nicknames. It's beneath me. Unless your name has legally changed, I'll use your given name." Philip scoffed at her.
Margarita frowned and turned around towards her desk, ignoring the older man. Philip arched an eyebrow but continued on.
"I require the diagnosis of one Harry Potter; it is of the utmost—"
"You're not his doctor; you'll get his documents once Eliza asks me to send them to you; until then, you have to wait." Margarita snarked.
Philip sneered, pulled out the paperwork, and slapped it on the woman's desk.
"Will that suffice, Margarita?" Philip gritted out.
Margarita glared at Philip, but she opened the folder and looked it over. After a while of silence, Margarita clenched her jaw and huffed.
"Yes, it will work; I'll send the documents to you in a couple of days." She said turning back to her work.
Philip grabbed the chair and roughly turned it back to face him before leaning close to the woman.
"I require those documents now, Margarita. I will not wait multiple days when I don't have to; I'm right here, so hand them to me." The older man said dangerously.
Margarita gaped at Philip in surprise. Yes, the older man was a pain and not easy to get along with, but he was never this rude. Condescending? Absolutely. But to go as far as to forcefully make her look at him was on another level.
“A-alright fine. You will get it, but I don’t even have the completed copy yet! Clancy hasn’t finished his closing argument, and he said he would give it to me so I can file it in a few hours.” Margarita stuttered out.
Philip sneered but nodded. “Of course Clancy is on this case. Who decided to pick the slowest one at documenting? I swear that Imbecile belongs here more than some of my patients. Don’t worry, Margarita; you will have that document soon. You won’t even have to give it to me. I’ll be the one handing it to you.”
Philip stormed out of the diagnostic office and headed towards his subordinate’s office.
“Clancy!” Philip roared.
The man in question jumped at the sound of his office door slamming and his superior’s voice.
“Y-yes Mr. Burton?” Clancy stuttered.
Philip stared at Clancy for a moment, watching the other man’s fear in silent amusement.
“So I heard something unpleasant today. Do you know what that was?”
Clancy looked at Philip in unhidden fear before shaking his head. Really, Clancy didn’t know why the head psychiatrist was in his office or why the older man was so mad. As far as Clancy was concerned, he had done nothing wrong.
“You don’t know?” Philip huffed. "Well, let me tell you. You see, I have been asked to look over a patient's file, but when I went down to the diagnostic department to retrieve said file, I was told that it wasn’t there. That I would have to wait. When I asked who was in charge of the diagnosis, Do you know whose name was uttered?”
Clancy took a deep breath and muttered. “M-mine?”
Philip sneered at the other man. “Yes, it was your name! I then had to make my way here to figure out why that boy’s file isn’t documented properly yet! Care to explain Clancy? Care to tell me why Harry Potter’s file isn’t documented?”
Clancy stuttered in surprise. “B-but sir! I have only just finished analyzing the boy two weeks ago. I haven’t had time to finish it; hell, I’m going faster than I ought to be.”
“Two weeks ago? You finished analyzing two weeks ago?!”
Clancy slumped down a bit in his chair at the sight of his superior seething. “Yes sir… two weeks ago, it was hard to figure out—”
“Figure out what? What could possibly take two weeks? No, sorry, didn’t you start testing three weeks ago?” Philip asked dangerously.
Clancy gulped but nodded. "Y-yes, I did, but…”
“So it took you three weeks then? Tell me, Clancy, what was so difficult for you that it took three weeks to diagnose a six-year-old boy?”
“But sir! Please, Harry just wouldn’t say anything the first few days! When he did it, it was in short sentences, or he would answer the question with a question! It’s like he knew—”
“Knew what?” Philip interrupted, “What could a six-year-old boy possibly know besides his favorite color or action figure?”
Clancy gulped and looked anywhere besides at the head psychiatrist.
“It’s like he knew what the questions meant. He would answer some questions, but when I asked about what he saw or who he was talking to, he would clam up! He would look at something that wasn't there, and then he wouldn’t talk. Sir, please, you have to understand! I was trying, but he just wouldn’t answer. I would have gotten the information out quicker if he would have just—” Clancy rushed out but was stopped by Philip.
“Your excuses mean nothing to me, Clancy. You were frightened by a little boy, that is all. Hand me the boy’s file.” Philip said, calmly.
Clancy blinked in surprise. "But, sir, I’m not finished. I have a few paragraphs to write; I need to finish my closing statement.”
Philip blankly stared at Clancy. “Give me the file, Clancy; I have no need for your insignificant closing statement.”
Clancy blinked but nodded, and shakley handed the file to Philip. Grabbing the file, Philip glanced it over before nodding and turning on his heel. Clancy sighed in relief as he watched the older man leave.
Before closing the door, Philip spoke over his shoulder. “Oh, and Clancy…”
“Yes sir?” Clancy asked with a small smile.
“You’re fired.” And with that, the door slammed shut.
________________________
Harry J. Potter
This is a complete file of Harry Potter as of 01/09/1986 (1st of September, 1986). What is documented in this file is correct and complete, in compliance with all legal procedures.
__________
Harry Potter was brought to St. Nune’s by his legal guardian, Petunia Dursley. Mrs. Dursley brought Harry to the hospital, citing that the boy was disturbed and a danger to her family.
Upon further investigation, that initial report indicated that Harry was not a danger to others and that he had perhaps been raised in a dangerous environment.
Harry was admitted to St. Nune’s infirmary due to a lack of immunizations. Harry was observed by Nurse Daniel Jossweather and Director Maria Rayes during his stay in the infirmary.
Nurse Jossweather and Director Rayes both stated that the boy was rather absent and only observed the others who were present in the infirmary. Signs of neglect and faint bruising on Harry’s body were present.
It is not clear whether the bruises were caused by an adult, but abuse is present. Neither Jossweather nor Rayes commented about Harry Potter talking to himself.
After about a month, Harry Potter was transferred from the infirmary to the juvenile psychiatric ward, where his issues were highlighted.
Elizabeth Stanfield, the head of child psychology, reported that upon entering the ward, Harry quickly became panicked and started to scratch himself. Stanfield stated that Harry became even more agitated as Stanfield tried to stop him from self-harming.
It is unclear as to what exactly set Harry off, but it is assumed that the loud and messy state of the common room is what frightened him.
Shortly after dinner started, Harry entered the ward. Harry Potter seemed to have had another meltdown, this time brought upon by the other children staring at him.
On 10/08/1986 (10th of August 1986) I, Psychiatrist Clancy Diddle, received the request letter to start my diagnostic process for Harry Potter.
Harry Potter came into the office quietly and distant. For the whole session, he was quiet. He never even moved. The way he walked in, head bowed and hands clasped, was the way he left the office.
It wasn’t until the third day that Harry Potter spoke. Harry was asked a series of questions; he didn’t answer all of them, but only enough to get a glimpse of the bigger picture. When asked if he felt anxious, Harry, after some prompting from Stanfield, immediately asked for the meaning of the word. It was pretty clear that Harry was trying to divert attention away from the subject, but after he got his answer, he begrudgingly answered in the affirmative.
Harry was also asked about his cleanliness, to which Harry issued a highly practiced phrase. When asked if Harry believed that phrase, he got really upset and said that he “liked it clean and orderly.”
It has been reported by several sources that Harry had a tendency to talk to himself, and when that was brought up to Harry, the boy immediately became absent and avoidant. It was noted that Harry looked at the wall as if someone or something was there. When asked if he was okay, Harry looked away from the wall and immediately asked if he could be excused.
It was decided that Harry would answer the previous question before he would be allowed to leave. The answer was unsatisfactory; Harry Potter denied the claims, even though other sources have stated otherwise. Before Harry Potter left, he was given a questionnaire to fill out at a later date.
The questionnaire was filled out, and the debriefing process began. While writing this diagnosis, more things were reported. After Harry Potter and Stanfield left the office, it was reported by Stanfield herself that Harry Potter’s behavior was slightly disturbing.
Harry went back to grunting for answers. Stanfield stated that Harry’s face became “cold.”
It was also reported that there was an incident with another patient that led to Harry becoming more distressed and closed off.
Stanfield also reported that she caught Harry talking to himself the day after the incident. It was clear that Harry was talking to himself, yet he denied it yet again.
Final Statement
With all accounts from other people and from what I saw in my few days observing Harry J. Potter, this final statement is as follows:
Harry has exhibited many traits of obsessive-compulsive disorder. This disorder is shown in the characteristics of ordering and arranging, as well as contamination. Harry is most commonly seen picking up after the other children and will start to panic once a mess is made. Harry will routinely organize toys and art supplies to the point where he spends more time organizing them than using them.
Harry has exhibited anxiety in social situations. This is shown through his unwillingness to be in the common room for prolonged periods of time. It has been observed that when he is left in the common room, Harry tends to have meltdowns that lead to itching and gasping for breath.
Harry’s anxiety is in accordance with his selective mutism. Harry, most of the time, seems unable to speak with others besides Elizabeth Stanfield and, interestingly enough, his peer, Koto Kitsugagya. It is selective mutism, as it has been noted that he has the ability to speak to people if he so chooses.
Harry Potter was brought to the office for the purpose of finding out if he was disturbed. Upon entering the hospital, it was hypothesized that Harry Potter had shown signs of childhood-onset schizophrenia. This evaluation is in accordance with that early assessment, altho—
________________________
“Hah, Finally! I finally got you.” Philip Burton exclaimed.
“Finally enough evidence to get the kid some... help. Damn you, Clancy Diddle, you write too much—almost a thousand words—until you got to the good stuff.” Philip said while citing the important points of the evaluation.
Jumping out of his seat, Philip left his office to head down to the diagnostic department for the second time that day.
“Margarita! I got that diagnosis from earlier. I read through it and got all the information I needed. Now, I give it to you.” Philip said jovially.
Margarita glared at Philip and snatched the documents from his hand. “You fired Clancy? What for?”
Philip arched an eyebrow and scoffed. “I don’t see how it is any business of yours. He works—excuse me, he worked under me. I can fire him if I so please, and I did.”
Margarita snorted and rolled her eyes. “You had no reason to fire him! If you didn’t request the information, it would have been filed today and filed correctly! He did nothing wrong.”
“My oh my, Margarita, the way you are going on about this, someone may think you want to be out there with Clancy, never to step foot in this hospital again. If that is so, speak now, and I can have it done.”
Margarita opened her mouth but quickly shut it. Philip smirked and nodded.
“Now here is the file; from now on, I will be the psychiatrist in charge of young Potter’s medicine. If he needs to be evaluated, he will be sent to me, and if he needs medications, I shall prescribe them. You understand that, Margarita?”
Margarita nodded solemnly.
“Good.” Philip said with a saccharine smile.
__________
Philip leisurely walked towards the juvenile ward. The two security guards barely gave Philip a glance before opening the door for him.
Once inside, Philip looked around the room; as usual, it looked as though toddlers had just thrown everything out of the bins and onto the floor. No one would know that the youngest of the children here was six years old.
With a sneer, Philip walked over to one of the older patients. One of the only ones that he knew more about than just some words on paper.
“Miss. Osei, was it? Do you know where your caretaker is? It is of the utmost importance that I see her.”
Tertia Osei turned and looked in Philip's direction. "Hello, Mr. Burton. E-elizabeth is dealing with Harry at the moment. He is hiding under the couch again, and this time I think he got hurt. Adken jumped on the couch, and Harry yelled."
Philip nodded and walked toward Elizabeth.
“Come on, Harry, you have to come out. I can’t see where it hurts if you insist on staying under the couch. Come on, buddy, just for a little bit?”
Instead of a verbal response, all Elizabeth got was a muffled sniffle. Elizabeth sighed and looked up to the ceiling; that was when she noticed Philip.
"Oh, hello Philip!” She said, getting up from the floor. “How are you today?”
Philip arched an eyebrow but nodded. “I am quite well; thank you for asking. What is going on here?”
Elizabeth looked down, embarrassed, but smiled anyway. "Well, as you can see by the tiny feet, one of my wards has found himself stuck under the couch. Well, I say stuck, but really, he just doesn’t want to come out.”
“Why won’t he come out?” Philip asked.
“I don’t know why Harry likes hiding. The darker the better; this is usual for him. But one of the other boys jumped on the couch and hit Harry somehow. I’m trying to find out where he got hit, but he refuses to get out.”
“Instead of trying to coax the boy out, why not give him a warning?” Philip asked before turning to the couch. “Potter, if you don’t extract yourself from under the couch, you will be pulled out. It is unforgivable that you have to be told more than once. Out from the couch. Now.”
Elizabeth gasped and shot Philip a small glare. “Philip, it doesn't work like that with him; you’ll scare him more. He isn’t doing anything wrong; he's hurt.” She hissed.
Philip blankly stared at the woman. It was times like these that he questioned how she got the job. Elizabeth was too soft to deal with these brats.
“Scare him? Elizabeth, it’s called teaching discipline. You act as if I will hit the boy. Besides, you would rather I be firm than he be under that couch and bleeding from the head. Wouldn’t you?”
Elizabeth looked at Philip and then looked at the couch before nodding. Philip gave one decisive nod before kneeling down.
“I warned you once, Harry; now stop with this deplorable nonsense and come from under the couch.” Philip stated as he grabbed Harry’s legs and pulled him from under the couch.
Harry immediately started to pull away from Philip so he could get back under the couch. Philip sneered before grabbing the boy’s arms and dragging him away.
“Listen to me, boy! If you do not stop this insistent behavior, I will force you to stop. Do you understand me?”
Harry struggled even more; he didn’t like what Philip was promising. Mr. Burton sounded a lot like Uncle Vernon to Harry, and he wanted no part of it.
“That’s it! Elizabeth, go get security. He needs to be held down.”
Elizabeth looked at Harry, then at Philip, before sighing. One of the things she always tried to prevent was happening against her wishes. Walking towards the door, Elizabeth motioned the security guards inside. Both guards rushed inside and quickly went to assist Philip.
As soon as Harry was held down properly, Philip pulled out a syringe and quickly injected Harry. It was two minutes later that the room became quiet.
“What did you inject him with? He isn’t asleep.” Elizabeth asked.
Philip turned to Elizabeth and huffed. “Valium. I gave him valium. It was on hand, and it works; later, I will reassess and—”
*Boom*
Elizabeth and Philip turned around, only to be surprised at what they saw. One of the two guards was slumped over unconscious by the couch. While the other one was struggling to hold down Harry.
“Let me go! Let me go!” Harry screamed before biting the guard who was holding him down.
The guard grunted in pain but continued to hold Harry down. “Mr. Burton, sir! I can’t hold him down for long. I don’t know what happened, but the kid woke up and just knocked Steven out. I didn’t even see it happen!”
Philip and Elizabeth went to help hold Harry down but were taken by surprise when Harry turned around and bit the security guard's jaw. This time, the security guard let go of Harry to grab a hold of his cheek. Before Harry could get away, more security guards who heard the commotion stormed the juvenile ward and held Harry down.
Philip shook his head in astonishment before pulling out another syringe. "Obviously, I didn’t use enough the first time. That was on me; I didn’t want to overdo it. If you won’t calm down, Mr. Potter, then I will just have to use a stronger dose.”
Harry stared wide-eyed at the figure coming towards him. Harry couldn’t see who it was or what it was. He just knew that whatever the figure was holding was not a good thing.
Harry struggled and tried to get away from the figure, but something was holding him down. It was holding him down, and the figure was getting closer! Harry could feel the familiar bubbling sensation rising from his stomach. Just as the bubbles rose up to his mouth, the figure was above him and had stabbed him with something cold—something so cold that the bubbles died down… for now.
________
Philip, along with the others, waited with bated breath. No one knew if Harry would wake up again and attack, but Philip was not going to wait around any longer and find out.
“Take the boy to isolation; I will monitor him from there. Let him stay for a day or two; I don’t want another person to be knocked out or bitten. Put him in soft restraints for transportation.”
The guards nodded and moved to comply, not wasting any time.
“What happened, Philip? Harry has never done anything like this before.” Elizabeth muttered in disbelief.
Philip looked over his shoulder before turning towards the boy being taken away.
“I don’t know Elizabeth; I don’t know. But rest assured that I will figure it out.”
With a nod, Philip turned to follow the guards. Philip gave the unconscious child a studying glance and thought back to the comatose guard. Just how was he thrown? There was no way a six-year-old child could have done it, but it happened.
“I was right, Mr. Potter; you are abnormal. Abnormal indeed; I will have to keep a close eye on you.”