Chapter 4
2002 - Harry
The first time Harry found himself in a muggle hospital was the worst day of his life. Worse than finding out that his parents sacrificed themselves to save him. Worse than finding out that he was the target of a genocidal maniac. Worse than knowingly walking to his death. It trumped all of them.
He sat next to Teddy in those white chairs, staring at the white walls, waiting for the receptionist at the white desk to call them over. Teddy was rubbing at the inside of his elbow, scowling at the small bandage that covered the poke from the needle. He hadn’t cried, even when the nurse had said that it might sting. Harry had been so proud of him.
“Mr Potter?”
The receptionist nodded towards the hallway branching off from the waiting area. “Dr Smith is ready for you now.”
Harry gave her a small smile in thanks, unable to get his mouth to shape the words.
“Come on, Teddy. Time to go.”
Teddy looked up, hope swirling in his green eyes that matched Harry’s own. “Home?”
Harry shook his head. “Sorry buddy, not just yet. We have to go back to see the nice lady from before, yeah?”
Teddy scowled. “No. Home.”
“It’ll only be a few minutes, bud, and then we can go home. We can even get ice cream on the way, how’s that sound?”
Teddy wrinkled his nose as he considered it. “You have to carry me.”
Harry felt a reluctant smile break across his face. He could almost hear Andromeda’s voice in his head, telling him that he was coddling the boy, that he had to be firmer, but then he looked up at the white hallway and then back down at Teddy, and Harry reached down to pick him up.
They reached the doctor’s room in what felt like a split second. He lingered outside the door even as the doctor waited for him to enter and take his seat. Every muscle in his body was screaming at him to keep walking, or even better, walk back in the opposite direction, back through the white waiting room, back to the bleak weather and away from this hellish place. Harry stood, frozen in the doorway, body refusing any commands to move until a sharp pain stung his shoulder.
“Ice cream.” Teddy whispered. “We have to go in so we can have ice cream.”
The edge of Harry’s mouth twitched and he took two heavy, painful steps to one of the two seats that were placed across from the doctors desk. She watched them behind interlaced fingers and sighed. Harry’s blood froze, even as he placed Teddy down on his lap. That was never a good way to start a meeting.
“There’s no real way to beat around the bush, and I doubt you would want me to. I’m afraid I don’t have good news.”
“How bad?” Harry choked out, voice raspy with fear. All he could think of was that one neighbour who lived in Number 6 when he was a child. All her fashionable hair turbans and sunny smiles couldn’t hide the way her body slowly wasted away from months after months of doctors appointments. None of it masked the pitying whispers that followed her around. Even Petunia, usually one to hop on the back of any misfortune that struck a neighbour, shook her head, muttering about how she wouldn’t wish that fate on her worst enemy.
“How bad?” He asked again, more forcibly this time, when the doctor hesitated.
She sighed again. “I’ll start from the beginning. Teddy has acute lymphocytic leukaemia. It’s the most common type of leukaemia in children.”
“What stage? Cancer has stages right? That tells you how bad it is?”
The doctor shook her head. “Most cancers do but not leukemia. Leukaemia is a cancer of the blood so as it’s already spread throughout the body, we can’t track it that way. Instead, we just describe it by treatment stage. Teddy would be called untreated as he hasn’t undergone any specialised cancer treatments yet.”
“Yet. So he has to have cemo-chemotherapy.” Harry’s arms were tight around Teddy’s stomach. The smaller boy raised his knees, pushing back into Harry’s chest. As much as Harry hated that Teddy could tell how worried he was, he felt his chest loosen slightly with the reassurance.
“He will have to, yes. Unfortunately the type of leukaemia that Teddy has has what we call a rapid progression, meaning it gets worse really quickly. We’ll have to start treatment as soon as we can. The plan for his treatment is part of what I wanted to discuss with you today.”
Harry’s head jerked up from where he had been playing with the soft fabric of Teddy’s shirt. “Treatment plan? I can’t - We can’t talk about that today. His Grandmother - she needs to be here.”
A furrow dug its way between Dr Smith’s eyes. “I was led to believe that you are the boy’s carer?”
“I am!” Harry pulled Teddy closer, glaring at the woman. “But Andromeda is too and it doesn’t feel right to make these decisions without her.”
The doctor watched him for a few seconds before shaking her head. “Somehow I doubt I’ll be able to change your mind but make an appointment as soon as you can. The sooner we start treatment, the higher chance Teddy has of eliminating the cancer.”