Harry opened his eyes to find bright white florescent lighting above him; the air had a faint smell of disinfectant. However in spite of this he felt very comfortable. It was probably the softest bed he had ever slept in. For as long as he could remember the only thing he had ever known was a lumpy hard mattress and a thin throw that could hardly qualify as a blanket. He turned his head, seeing middle-aged woman with short ginger hair in the chair beside his bed reading a that he was awake she said in a kindly voice:
"How are you feeling?"
Harry looked at her uncertainly giving her a slight nod.
"I'll take that as a fine" she then reached to push a button on the wall beside his bed, saying reassuringly "Don't worry I'm just calling the nurses so they can make sure that you're alright."
Nurses, he thought, it must be the hospital then. Hospital. Memories of the earlier events in the evening came rushing back to him; the Dursely's screams, the scorching heat and the smell of burning. He involuntarily began to whimper.
"There, there" said the woman, putting a comforting arm around him, drawing him closer to her. For the second time that night he felt reassured. The sound of a familiar voice came floating in through the door. It was the man who had been shouted at earlier.
"Ah, Mrs Hudson. He's awake I take it. " He said in a business-like tone.
The woman swiftly cut him off "Sherlock, shoo. Leave the poor boy alone!"
"Why does everyone seem determined to think the worse of me? I'll wait outside then" he huffed,walking out the door, scowling at the nurse coming into the room.
"You do that and don't scare the poor hospital staff."
"Humf."
"Hello dear, this won't take long but I'll need to ask you a few questions and do a few simple tests to make sure you're ok." said the nurse, ignoring the exchange between the two.
"What's your name?" she asked.
Harry began to say his name but found his throat was too dry. Seeing this the nurse handed him a plastic cup "Have some water." After taking a sip he tried again.
"Harry, Harry Potter."
"How old are you?"
"Seven."
"Where do you live?"
"Number 4 Privet Drive."
"Who do you live with?"
" My Aunt, Uncle and Cousin."
"Your parents? "
"Aunt Petunia says they died in a car crash."
"Do you have any other relatives you know of? "
He shook his head.
"Ok Harry, I'm now going to do those tests I mentioned."
For the next ten minutes he was subjected to the usual temperature, blood pressure and oxygen checks. The nurse had pronounced Harry healthy but was slightly worried by his 'slightly low oxygen stats' and decided to keep him overnight just to 'make extra sure he would be alright'. At this point Mrs Hudson pronounced that this warranted a comforting hot beverage, telling him she would be right back with a cup of hot chocolate. The nurse remained but left soon after a continuous bleeping noise began, telling him that if he needed anything 'just press the green button to his left on the wall and someone will be right over'. Now that his room was once again empty, the fatigue began to set in and he drifted off to sleep.
ooooooo
Harry was suddenly jolted awake by a loud click and franticly looked about the darkened room. A hooded figure stood at the end of his bed pointing a long thin wooden stick at him.
"This is for the Dark Lord! Avada Kadevra!"
A bright green light shot straight at Harry, who instinctively curled into a ball in a desperate attempt to protect himself from the strange oncoming glow.
ooooooo
Just as Mrs Hudson, John and Sherlock reached the third floor there came a resounding bang, followed by heavy smoke coming from the left hand corridor. Both men ran towards the direction of the noise. Halfway down they spotted a door with smoke billowing out; Harry's room. John grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall nearby, entering the room while spraying it at the flames. As the smoke began to clear and the fire was put out, the sight that greeted them was one that would change their lives as they knew it. Harry curled into a ball and in front of him a wall of flickering ethereal blue light.