It had been two years since my sorting and things have gone downhill. After my first year at Hogwarts, my obbsessions were becoming too hectic for me to control. I began making lists for the next day, writing a label on everything and where it should go, and even blurting out times when someone had last spoken or sat down. Mum had taken me to a Muggle counselor just before school started up again. The counselor had said I had OCD, Obsession-Compulsive Disorder, and that since we had caught it so soon, I would be just fine.
And I was, the therapist helped me find a nice, healthy medium just before the start of my second year. Mum insists I keep seeing a counselor through my summer after second year even though dad said I was behaving fine. In case of a relapse, she would tell him. It made me feel as if she didn't believe in me but I never told her that. Though it wasn't the same counselor, Mum booked me weekly visits with a Muggleborn therapist so I could talk about every aspect of my life. I was to see the new counselor today.
"So, where is ickle Rosie running off to?" A drawling voice asked from behind me. I turned to see a smirking Scorpius Malfoy and a grining Albus Potter. Those two had become best friends during our first year after they were paired together in potions.
"Book shopping with mum," I lied easily. I had requested that my therapy be kept from my siblings and my parents honored that request, only telling my grandparents and Harry and Lilly.
By the roll of their eyes, I knew they believed me and would ask no more. "You're so boring sometimes, cuz." Albus taunted me as I stood up from the couch.
"Not all the time," Scorpius smiled charmingly at me before I could defend myself. He took my jacket off the coat rack and handed it to me.
"Thanks," I mumbled, not too fond of his attention. That's another thing that had changed. After beating him for the Seeker position of the Ravenclaw team, Scorpius was always trying to flirt with me. "Mum, are you ready?" I hollered to the kitchen, trying to keep my annoyance out of my voice.
"Yes, yes, coming!" Mum answered. She hurriedly grabbed her jacket and pushed me out the door to the car. "Merlin, we're going to be late."
"No we aren't, mum, just relax." I replied as I climbed in to the passanger seat of our Muggle car. I didn't know what it was since they all looked the same to me. She took a calming breath before smiling at me and pulling outof the drive way.
It took us twenty-four minutes and fifty-nine seconds to get to the brick building. I suppose some habits just don't die, I thought to myself as I exited the car with mum. The structure before us was two-stories with large glass windows evenly spaced from each other. A sign by the revolving glass doors read 'Sunstone Center' and I rolled my eyes at the name while following my mum into the too bright, too cheery lobby.
The desk was a large, wooden c-shaped with posters taped to the side facing the entrance with kids in sad poses about depression, healthy eating tips, and OCD facts. Leather armchairs and couches was scattered around the room with glass coffee tables littered in magazines to add to the waiting room feel. The only sound in the room came from the typing of the greying woman behind the desk and the whirring of the filter in the fish tank just behind her.
Upon our entrance, the woman, probably in her late fifties, looked up through thick-rimmed glasses. Her eyes were a bright blue despite her age and it went well with her grey and brown hair neatly tied in a bun. The receptionist was dressed in a maroon colored sweater and dress pants from what I could see over the desk.
"May I help you?" She asked, her voice a bit raspy, off-setting her kind smile.
Mum nodded as she signed me in on the clipboard setting on the edge of the desk. "Yes, my daughter is here to see Dr. Renolds."
"Rose Weasley?" The woman asked me. I nodded silently, my brain ticking away the seconds I stood in front of her. "I'm Mrs. Hertz, it's wonderful to meet you. Dr. Renolds is finishing up his previous patient, so if you would just wait over there, I would be very grateful."
"Thank you," Mum smiled at Mrs. Hertz before placing a hand on my shoulder and steering me to a couch. She sat down beside me, smoothing out invisible wrinkles in her pencil skirt.
I watched her for a minute before saying, "You don't have to stay, mum. Go and get your errands done. I'll be fine." I assured her when I saw her open her mouth to protest. "Plus, you're making me more nervous than I actually am."
Mum smiled warmly at me, her brown eyes apologetic. "Sorry, dear. I'll be back in an hour, you behave alright?"
I gave her a kiss on the cheek and watched her leave before turning to count the fish in the tank. I enjoyed counting, something about the certainty in the numbers relaxed me. It took exactly ten minutes for Dr. Renolds to escort his patient out and stand before me. "Hello, you must be Rose."
His voice was soothing, a perfect match to his looks. Dr. Renolds was average height with an average build, the only thing that really stood out was he perfect, inviting smile. Even his blonde hair, though soft looking, was plain and cut short, close to his head.
"Yes, I'm Rose Weasley." I stood up frrom the couch and wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans.
"Great to finally meet you. Shall we?" He held out an arm which I promtply took and followed him to his much nicer office.
The walls, unlike the tan ones in the waiting room, were painted a deep, burnt looking yellow that went well with a dark brown couch and armchair in front of a simple black desk. Bookcases lined the walls to my left and right along with a door that I suspected led to a bathroom or filing room. Papers were scattered across the desk and I noticed the only light in the room was coming from the window that took up the entire wall across from me. Family photos and books laid out, as if they had been read, gave the room a lived in feeling. I decided I liked.
"Please, take a seat." Dr. Renolds sat in the armchair with a pad of yellow paper and a pen after gesturing me to the couch. I sat down, crossing my legs absentmindedly, and stared at him. "How long have you been in this room?"
"Three minutes and twelve seconds, " I replied. After I realized what I had said, I sighed in defeat. I needed to stop counting the time.
Dr. Renolds jotted down a few notes before meeting my eyes with a smile. "It's alright, Rose, no one expects you to stop just like that. Now, your mother tells me you're going to Hogwarts. What year will you be?"
"I'll be a third year, sir." I answered him in a polite tone while looking out of the window. It still felt odd to talk to another person and know that they are keeping notes on you.
"You'll get to go to Hogsmeade this year, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. You were sorted into Ravenclaw, right? I, myself, was a Hufflepuff."
I looked at him with a small smile, "That the reason you went with yellow walls? Tastefully done by the way."
"Yes, it was my inspiration, thank you." His brown eyes sparkled with his smile as he wrote something down. "So, how was your day? And don't hold back, pretend I'm your diary or something."
"Alright," I said slowly. My gaze went back to the window and I tried to pretend he wasn't there. "It started off okay, mum woke me up as usual and I ate breakfast with my brother, Hugo, and my mum and dad. After that, the Potters came over, along with that infuriating Malfoy. I played a few games of Quidditch with them before waiting on mum to take me here."
I heard his pen writing across his paper as he talked to me, "It seems you don't like this 'Malfoy', care to tell me why?"
"Ever since last year, he keeps trying to flirt with me and it's annoying. He's so shallow and big-headed it's sickening." I replied with a bit too much venom in my tone.
"Do boys flirt with you a lot, Rose?"
The question caught me off guard and I looked back to see him waiting for my answer. "Well, no, not really..." I told him awkwardly.
"What position do you play in Quidditch?" Dr. Renolds swiftly changed the topic, his pen never ceasing to scribble down notes.
"Seeker," I replied proudly. "I beat Scoripius for the position...Oh, he's the Malfoy I was talking about."
"I see." It took a moment for him to resume speaking, "Now, do you recall when you first started your counting?"
I searched my memory but shook my head. "No, but I do remember when I noticed it." He gestured for me to continue. "I was ten and my family was in the kitchen eating dinner. I didn't realize it until my mum pointed it out but I was counting the seconds until mum served dessert under my breath."
"And when did your parents decide it was time to get you help?"
"It was right after first year. With all of the homework I was getting, I began making more and more lists and kept becoming more and more of a perfectionist. One night after having trouble sleeping, I got out of bed and wrote labels on every object in the house and writing up lists for my family to do that day. After reorginizing the library by the alphabet, mum and dad told me I was to see a shrink."
Dr. Renolds nodded slowly. "Reasonable. How long have we been sitting here?"
"One hour, two minutes, and three seconds." I said, standing up with a smile. For some reason, I felt better than before I had come here. Something about Dr. Renolds made me feel accepted for who I was, OCD and all.
"I'm looking forward to our next visit, Rose." He smiled up at me from his chair and waved as I headed back outside to see my mother in our car.