Harry awoke with a twitch, and looked around him, not recognizing the room he laid in at all. The room had beige walls and a door with a window and blinds on it, along with the bed in the corner which was next to the wardrobe and across from the desk. Getting up, Harry made the bed and then walked to the door, pushing down onto the handle, but the door didn't budge an inch. Trapped, he felt his heart beat faster and harder against his chest. Afraid now, he pushed himself into the corner and curled into himself. He had no idea where he was or why, only remembering that the summer had just started and that he was on the drive home with the Dursley's when he must have fallen asleep.
Had the deatheaters gotten to him and taken him away? Did Vernon give him up to an orphanage like he'd threatened so many times before? Did they get into a car accident? He didn't know, and not knowing agitated him to no end because he didn't know what to expect. There was a click and Harry stilled for a second, not breathing as he heard the door creak open. "Harry? Harry Potter, are you in here?" A male voice called out, and Harry curled into himself even tighter, as a shadow loomed over him. "Ah! There you are, Harry. I'm a nurse here, my name is Josh," a tall, thin man with hair as blond as Malfoy's hair greeted him.
"Where am I?" Harry timidly asked, eyes downcast as the man looked at him in pity for a moment.
"You're here in Saint Dymphna Hospital for the Mentally Challenged. Your uncle, Vernon, took you here last night and has filled out the paperwork for you to be admitted. I do, however, still have a few questions for you. Do you or have you ever abused drugs?" Josh asked, and Harry shook his head, and Josh jotted something down on his clipboard. "Great. Do you or have you ever smoked?"
"Never," Harry responded, and Josh nodded.
"Alcohol?"
"No, sir," Harry whispered and Josh looked up, eyebrows raised.
"This isn't school, lad, you can call me Josh," he told Harry, and Harry remained silent.
"Have you ever experienced any problems with eating, including calorie-counting, starving, binging, purging or excessive obsession with food?"
"No."
"Hmmm… alright, but you do look malnourished. We'll talk about that later, I suppose. Do you experience any problems with sleeping, whether it be over-sleeping, inability to sleep, night terrors or excessive fatigue?"
"Yes."
"Which one of those?" Josh prodded gently, and Harry paused before speaking.
"Night terrors and inability to sleep," Harry cautiously told the man, still not sure if he could trust the man quite yet.
"Thank you for sharing. Have you ever experienced prolonged episodes of sadness, withdrawal, a drop in grades and feelings of worthlessness?"
"Yes."
"Have you ever experienced episodes of extreme anger, irritation, agitation and aggression?"
"... Yes," Harry admitted, knowing that he hadn't been the same since Sirius had died, and had frequently had rages that he let out through self harming.
"I see. Do you see and hear things that others don't?" Josh asked, looking up from where he wrote on the clipboard.
How was Harry supposed to explain that yes, he did because he was a wizard, but no, he wasn't insane? How was he supposed to explain Voldemort, the visions, and the fact that he could talk to snakes? "No…" Harry hesitantly answered, and Josh jotted something down again, before looking up again.
"We'll talk about that some more later, but for now, I'm done asking questions. Breakfast is in fifteen minutes, here's a checklist of the morning routine here," Josh said, handing Harry a laminated schedule. He had to: clean his room, make the bed, brush his teeth, brush his hair, change and have his Trigger Card. Well, his room was empty, so there was nothing to clean. His bed was decently made. Glad that Josh left the door open, Harry walked out onto the carpeted floor of the A-wing.
The doors of almost every room was open, letting Harry see the other patients of Saint Dymphna, most of whom looked fine, except for one girl that spoke to no one and muttered nonsense all the while. Allena was her name, and Harry felt pretty freaked out, but ignored the feeling. "Umm… excuse me, I need a toothbrush," Harry told a staff-person with a nametag that read 'Allison'.
Allison turned and faced him, smiling and answered, "Alrighty then, follow me," she said, walking to the end of the hall, which was a door to the left of Harry's room and unlocked the locker and grabbed a toothbrush and toothpaste and handed them to Harry. "Here, I'll let you into the loo," she told him and activated the door, opening it. Harry stepped inside, and quickly got to brushing his teeth, doing his business and leaving. He checked the schedule again and stepped into his room and changed into a light gray hoodie and camouflage trousers.
Having no brush, he stepped back outside, glad that he could open and close the door from the inside now (the doors weren't locked). He walked up to another staff, a bubbly woman named Kate. "Hi, sweetheart, my name's Kate, are you Harry Potter?"
"Yes, I am. What do I do now? I'm finished with my schedule," he awkwardly told the woman. She smiled and looked into his room through the window.
"Well, clean room, bed made, teeth brushed and you've changed. It looks to me like you've done everything but brush your hair. Do you have a brush?" She checked off everything he'd done with a dry-erase marker and looked up. Harry responded in the negative. "Well, you should put it in your needs and wants list. Alright, do you have your Trigger Card? It's an absolute must," she explained.
"Umm, what is a Trigger Card?"
"Oh! You came asleep, I forgot. How about you go down the hall, turn right and ask the coach there where the nurse's office is, sweetie. Have a good one," she told him, before pulling out a radio and saying, "Mr. H. is on his way to the cafeteria, please be mindful."
Harry obeyed meekly, a little annoyed at being treated like a child, but not having any choice in the matter. He turned right and saw a thin, blonde woman with salmon jeans and a dark blue blouse named Molly. "Hello, I'm Molly, and you are?"
"Harry Potter," Harry mumbled, staring at his sock-clad feet on the laminate flooring.
"Great. Keep going down this hall and wait in the line in front of the silver door. That's the nurse's office and he'll give you a bracelet, trigger card, and check your vitals as well as take your blood." Molly pointed down the hall and Harry padded over to the line, where only another boy stood. A girl left the room, and the boy stepped in, being asked his name and birthday before being given his medication and checked if he actually took it. After that, he stepped outside and Harry hesitated before walking in.
"Are you Harry Potter?" A man with black hair, black clothes and black eyes asked him roughly, and he nodded. "Great, step onto the scale, if you don't mind," he ordered. Harry did and the man took note of his weight before checking his height and putting a bracelet on his wrist and handing him a piece of green paper. "Have a seat for a moment, I'll take your blood."
"Okay," Harry muttered, sitting and offering his arm.
So, James took his blood and got a urine sample before telling him to go to the cafeteria, which was to the left.
Harry walked over and waited for his name to be called out. Oh boy, this was going to interesting.