Warnings for mentions of suicide and depression.

Chapter 2

The walls were white and it was cold. Alice shivered, pressing the small coat around her shoulders as she glanced at various posters advertising breast feeding and diabetes medication. Her emerald eyes focused on the two people closest to the door to the waiting room, the focus mostly on the figures and not, ironically, on the entrance to the staff of the hospital.

Professor Dumbledore… Alice thought as she peered curiously at the professor. When she and England had arrived in the hospital closet near the neighborhood where Harry lived, they had found the headmaster of Hogwarts talking with a large young man in a whisper. The robes that he wore caused many of the people in the room to stare, and a child had asked why the old man with the long white beard was wearing a costume. Alice had seen the wise professor smile briefly before turning to the young man, who was sweating profusely and looking around the room with a frightened look on his face. The blond haired girl looked at him for a moment, recognizing him as the person who had been the one to call the ambulance when Harry had… Alice's thoughts stopped when she saw the big young man point at her bewilderedly.

"Ah, Miss Kirkland." Professor Dumbledore slightly bowed his head, and a sliver of a smile framed his face. "I did not see you there. Would you like to join Mr. Dursley and I?" His thin and old hand gestured to the left side of him, and with a brief glance at the big young man, Alice sat down across from the headmaster.

"Now, as you were saying, Mr. Dursley…" The young man known as Mr. Dursley gulped, and Alice noted of how his small blue eyes glinted in fear, and his meaty hand clenched at his sides.

"You're…one of his friends, aren't you?" Alice noted of how the young man seemed to hesitate on the word friend, and he appeared to appear more afraid than ever when Alice started to speak.

"Yes. I know Harry. I'm Alice Kirkland. And you are…?" she asked, watching as the young man glanced at Dumbledore fearfully before replying.

"My name's Dudley. Dudley Dursley." Why is he so afraid? Alice thought with bewilderment as Dudley began to sweat again and swallow thickly as he continued to look at her. "I'm Harry's…cousin."

"It was Mr. Dursley here who helped Mr. Potter arrive to the hospital safely," Professor Dumbledore said with ease as Dudley flinched as Alice watched him, noting of how calm he seemed to be about the situation. "You were telling me of how you went into your cousin's room, and found him covered in blood, correct?" Dumbledore's gazes shifted onto Dudley's, and the young man swallowed and began to talk haltingly.

"I…walked inside his room…and saw a knife by the bed." Dudley spoke in a mere whisper, and Alice noted of how he shuddered. "I don't know why he didn't use his wand, because don't you people use it?" Although she supposed that the question was a harmless one, Alice could see faint anger in Dumbledore's gaze. Dudley quieted, growing pale for a couple of moments before starting to talk again. "There was so much of it…blood, and I tried to wake him up, but couldn't…and I…"

"Why do you care about Harry so much, Dudley?" Alice asked sharply. She remembered asking if Harry would spend the holidays with his family, and the first year had been stunned by the bitterness in the fifth year's voice when he stated that his Muggle uncle and aunt didn't give a shit about him, and that his monster of a cousin was a whale. He sounded so pained despite the bitterness, and I just wonder why this…whale would take Harry to the hospital.

"Harry…he…" Dudley looked away, and Alice was surprised to find of how his voice faded, not out of fear, but of regret. "He saved my life."

Before the blond girl could comment, a physician entered the room and called Harry's name. Immediately, Dumbledore stood with Alice and Dudley following. The physician was tall and had light brown hair. He briefly stared at the headmaster before continuing. "His wounds aren't fatal. The wound across his chest was only a flesh wound, but there is a chance it could scar." The physician glanced at Alice for a moment before asking, "Excuse me. Is there any chance you are related to the man who…?"

Alice nodded. Mum had truly overreact sometimes, she thought as she remembered of how the nation had demanded to see Harry and be in his hospital room. Alice had almost giggled of how the nurses seemed uncertain what to do about the out-of-touch man who they eventually allowed to go into Harry's room and stay there. "He's my father," Alice lied as she gave the physician a small smile.

"Now I apologize, but the hospital regulations state that you cannot come into the room unless you are a relative –"

"They can come," Dudley interrupted. The physician stared hard at the young man, whose tone had sharpened to someone accustomed to getting their own way. Suddenly Dudley appeared to remember who he was talking to and added more meekly, "Sir."

The physician nodded, and the three followed him until they reached a door far away from the waiting room. "We had a watcher with him before your blasted father came," the physician said under his breath before turning to them and apologizing to Alice for his uncivilized manner. "He's sleeping, so please be quiet."

"What's a watcher?" Dudley whispered.

The physician answered, not too kind. "A watcher is a person on the hospital staff who makes certain that suicide attempts cannot successfully commit suicide."

The color drained from Dudley's face. "Oh."

Professor Dumbledore and the younger two followed the physician inside. The room was mostly bare and white with only a window showing the blue sky. Alice stared at the figure sleeping in the bed. Harry… she thought sadly as she could see the bandages covering his chest beneath his hospital gown. The young wizard's hair was disheveled, and his face was pale. From blood loss or pain Alice couldn't tell. Dark circles were around his eyes, and his round glasses lied in the table across from him. A young-looking man with blond hair and emerald eyes with bushy eyebrows stared at the young wizard with a solemn look on his face.

"Hello, Arthur." The nation and Alice inwardly gasped, their thoughts convolving into a chaotic mess as Professor Dumbledore smiled at the supposed human. "It has been a long time, has it not?"

For now Mum appeared to go along with what Professor Dumbledore was saying. "So it has, Albus." The physician pulled up three chairs, and soon Alice was beside her mother and Professor Dumbledore. The lone non-magical human, Dudley, was sitting uncomfortably in the chair and twitched.

"I didn't expect this to happen," England confessed. His pulled at his hair, and guilt drowned in his eyes as he continued to speak. "If I had known…"

"It does no good to place blame on yourself, Arthur." Professor Dumbledore stated gently. "We can only protect the people we can see, can we not?"

"Who are you people?" Dudley blurted out abruptly. His small eyes glanced at the three people without meeting their gazes, and the physician left the room hurriedly. "I mean…how are you so calm?"

Professor Dumbledore allowed himself a small chuckle. "As for who I am I am Professor Albus Dumbledore. I am the headmaster at Harry's school."

Dudley appeared to be momentarily awed before turning to England. "And who are you are?" he asked almost rudely.

"I am a wizard of sorts," the nation added without hesitation. "And this is my daughter Alice."

Before there could be any reply, there was a loan groan. Professor Dumbledore immediately pulled his chair over to Harry's side, and Mum did the same. They both watched as Harry's eyes slowly opened.

"Professor…?" Harry's voice was weak and rasped. His eyes blinked, squinting at the sight before him. "Where…?"

"You're in a hospital, Harry." Professor Dumbledore's voice was so calm and in control Alice thought he could have been the physician who was supposed to be there. "You tried…" Now Alice could hear the tremor in his voice, but it was only for a moment. "You tried to kill yourself, Harry."

The dark-haired wizard looked down and could see his bandages though his hospital gown. To Alice's growing horror, Harry didn't appear to react. He simply lied down and stared at the ceiling with empty and glassy eyes.

Suddenly, Alice couldn't take it anymore. "Why did you try to kill yourself, Harry?" Her voice, growing with anger, echoed in the room. "Didn't I give you the piece of embroidery for a reason? And what about the rest of the wizarding world?" Angry tears caressed her face as her voice continued to shake. "What about–!"

"Alice!" England yelled, glaring at her with his own anger and disappointment. "Harry does not need this right now," he added more calmly as the girl continued to cry. "He needs –"

"It just…became too much." Harry's rasped whisper caused the three people in the room to stare at him. Mum was glancing at the young wizard with a forlorn expression, and Dumbledore began to have sadness in his eyes as both Alice and Dudley looked at Harry with wide eyes. "I…couldn't take it anymore. Ron's…death and Emyr's… was too much. I had nightmares, and I couldn't sleep. I…" A gasp escaped from him, and tears trailed down his cheeks as his eyes squeezed shut. "It was almost like…this fog came over me, and soon I couldn't even sleep. I lied awake every night, wanting someone to save me. But…" A rasp of laughter came from the young man, sounding so bitter and anguished. "No one cares for me anymore. I thought I had the Weaselys as family, but…they bloody told me that I couldn't visit them because of my involvement in Ron's death. Sirius is gone…and everyone in the Order thinks I murdered that bloody Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange." His pale hands gripped the sheets, and Harry continued to cry, the tears never ceasing from his swollen eyes. "It got so bad…the darkness…that I was afraid to be alone. I felt as if something was choking me if I didn't have someone beside me." Sobs wracked through his skinny body, and the dull emerald eyes bored into Alice's own. It was as if, Alice noted, she was looking at the loneliness of despair herself. "I became so afraid…and breathing and simply exciting hurt, and it never stopped."

"I was afraid…" Harry kept whispering, tears falling onto his lap. "I was so afraid, and I…I thought that ending it would be better than what I had felt since….that day I decided to go to the Department of Mysteries."

"It's your fault!" Harry suddenly screamed, pointing his pale and shaking finger at Dudley. The young man didn't know how to respond to his cousin's cry as his face crumbled and violent sobs tore from his raw throat. "If you didn't come into my bloody room, then I wouldn't have to feel this way anymore! There would be no guilt, no darkness, and no having to wake myself in the morning and force myself to breathe! Then I wouldn't…" he sobbed, choking as his fists clenched, his body tense enough to make the wound across his chest to start dripping blood. "Then I wouldn't…my entire family said "good riddance," so why can't you?" Harry yelled, standing vaguely on his two feet as Dudley stood still. Alice observed him, very surprised of how he suddenly very calmly said,

"Because…you showed me what kind of man I would have been if I hadn't seen those creepy black things," Dudley stated at his cousin's stunned expression. "I want to be a better person than my parents…so I thought I would help you. In any way I can."

Harry quieted. He wouldn't look at Dumbledore. He wouldn't look at Mum. His broken expression continued to echo in Alice's mind, and she thought about holding his hand, but thought better of it.

"I placed Harry with his aunt and uncle because of the blood wards, and I thought perhaps he would be able to reach out to Petunia the way Lily couldn't." Dumbledore stated with heavy regret in his voice as he stared at the blond haired nation. "I see now that…this situation cannot continue you. If the Weasleys cannot unfortunately have him, then who would take him in?"

"Harry can stay with Alice and I," Mum stated after a couple minutes of thought. Alice observed his expression carefully. His face was grim and he briefly glanced at the numb Harry before adding, "He knows of us, Albus," he added with a knowing look at Dumbledore. "And I have a friend who can help him."

Who? Alice thought curiously.

"And what will you do, Dudley Dursley?" The island nation asked his citizen.

"I…" The large blond licked his lips nervously. "I don't know yet. I suppose I will crash at my friend's house for a while before I figure anything else out."

Both adults nodded, and Dudley stared at his cousin. It took a moment for Alice to recognize the care in his expression as he stared at his magical cousin. He does care for him, the blond girl thought. The physician came inside the room again, and Alice noted of how even though he was explaining everything to Dudley, her mother and Dumbledore seemed to be the only ones who truly knew what was going on. The non-magical cousin that Alice had only met very briefly appeared to be uncomfortable a couple of hours later when Harry was discharged from the hospital, and stared at the pale sleeping teen in the nation's automobile before asking Dumbledore and England to watch out for Harry before walking away on the sidewalk and blending in with the crowd. Alice turned and found the two talking before glancing at her and the two parted way. Not before though Alice heard her mother whisper to himself, "How long do you have, Albus?" glancing at the concealed left hand of the headmaster before walking to his automobile and gesturing for his daughter to come in. The light-haired girl wondered what he had been talking about.

Harry slowly adjusted to his life in the Kirkland-Bonnefoy house. It had surprised him to no end of how Alice's papa would speak French to him even though the English wizard had no idea what he was saying. The French nation had even tried for Harry to try to learn French with Alice, but her mother's glare had stopped that. Harry must be relived, Alice had thought as she spotted the young teen staring at the window alone in his room again. The language of love cannot help a broken soul, no matter what Papa says. The balm for Harry's wounds came in the form of a nation. Two days after Harry had arrived, there was a knock on the door early in the morning. Alice had been surprised as her mother greeted the stranger with a wide smile and greeted him in a foreign language. Their parting revealed a nation of medium height with very light blond hair and dark blue eyes that strangely appeared wise and empty at the same time. He was wearing a simple red tie and a stripped blue and white shirt despite the warm August weather. Mum introduced the nation as Norway, and the nation who would help Harry with his depression.

"A nation's duties was rather boring," Norway said with a bland tone, "so I decided to get a medical degree and become a physiatrist."

"Duties?" Alice paused as her fork with scrambled eggs halted. Beside her, Harry stared down at his plate with disinterest. "What duties do you have?"

"Paperwork, meeting your boss, attending your citizen's government meetings, and choking Denmark with his tie." Is he joking? Alice thought with a nervous look. Inwardly, she should have supposed that a nation's duties was beyond living throughout the centuries and going to war (as her nonexistent uncles were doing right now) and aiding their people, but she hadn't thought of the actual required duties of a nation. Is he joking about choking Denmark with his tie? Alice wondered, but before that, she could see Norway's eyes on hers and abruptly moved from her spot as Mum scolded Norway for not being "a gentleman" as the nation looked at her in boredom before he called for France to make an open sandwich for the five of them. "It would do for England's daughter to eat some of my house's food," he stated with a smirk. As they ate their sandwiches – which were delicious, in Alice's opinion – Norway explained to Harry what he must do. A slim hand reached into his pocket and set a slim notebook at Harry's side.

"You will write in this notebook every day, and once a week I will be counseling you. You will also take this medication." An orange bottle with a white cap appeared on the table with Harry's full name printed sloppily and with several stars colored red, white, and blue. Alice heard her mother sigh in exasperation and shook her head herself when Norway continued to explain that he had managed to buy this medication from America. "Since it was created in his house," the nation said with a shrug. "You will be taking the medication starting tomorrow, and once you go to Hogwarts, both England and I will be meeting with both you and Alice individually every second day of every month."

"Why?" It was the first time Harry spoke, and Alice could see his own confusion reflecting in her own.

"I will be teaching Alice advanced magic and how to use magic without her wand," England said with a serious tone with a glance at Harry. "I will also be sharing memories with my daughter. Norway will continue to counsel you and teach you dark magic."

"It is best to learn dark magic if you want to counter it," Norway stated before Harry could reply. "Besides which, you have already used a so-called Unforgivable Curse, haven't you?" Alice stiffened, remembering hearing Harry's shout of "CRUCIO!" as Bellatrix Lestrange screamed. The screams echoed in her mind, and she could see that the teenage wizard was thinking of the memory as well, for he bowed his head.

"What about Alice?" Harry suddenly asked. His questioning eyes glanced at hers. "Why is she going to be sharing memories with England?"

There was a long pause, and Alice forced herself to remain calm, her fists clenched, as England softly replied, "She is going to be the next England when I die, and therefore, needs my memories in order to fully be a nation."