Trigger Warning!: Physical Abuse
Early summer days like that day always had a certain magical air. The sky was an unreal poster painted blue. There were only a few clouds. They looked as though a child had pasted them onto the otherwise clear sky. It was the type of day that no one wanted to waste. Icarus could see almost every teenager on their street outside. Well, one teenager in particular caught his eye. Alex. He was cool. There was no other way to describe it. He had his overalls on only on shoulder and a flannel. He looked like one of the rock stars that Icarus's older brother listened to. He was standing with the cool kids from the local secondary school. Icarus has seen them at school before. They were the ones that always broke uniform and skipped. He spun his spoon in his tea, staring outside, longingly. He wished he could just get out there already. His mother watched him stare. She whispered something to his Aunt Becky. He was too distracted to notice
"Icarus, can you take Anna outside?" She asked. He looked up curiously
"Can't I just go?" He asked
"Icarus, please take Anna outside with you" his mother said, glaring at him. He shot Anna a dirty look. She had not even looked up from the book she was reading. She turned the page, almost as though she could care less about what was happening in front of her.
"I don't want to get stuck babysitting" he whined
"You won't have to do much," Aunt Becky gave him a rueful grin as she glanced over to her daughter. Again she looked like she couldn't care less what anyone else was saying.
"Please take Anna outside Icarus," he glared at his mother. She glared right back. It was several seconds before he realized that his mother would not budge. He gave Anna one more dirty before getting up from the table
"You coming?" He asked her. She looked up from her book. She was giving him a 'how dare you interrupt me' sort of look.
"Anna, go outside with Icarus." Aunt Becky said
"Do I have too?" She asked
"Yes, the fresh air is good for you. And besides, you can read your book outside just as well as outside" Anna gave her mother a beleaguered look before closing her book. She glared up at him as she followed him through the front door. He heard his Aunt Becky as he left "honestly, I never thought I would have a child who I had to tell to stop reading"
The minute they got to the front steps, Anna plopped down on the step. Icarus continued to race down the stairs. He got all the way down before he turned around to see Anna on the step. She had opened her book again. He groaned. He looked up to see his mother and Aunt Becky sitting right by the window. If he left without Anna, they would certainly see him. He shook his head in annoyance. He was far too old to deal with his 9 year old neighbor's crap. He was almost 13 after all. He raced back up the stairs.
"Aren't you coming?" He said
"No, I'm fine here," she said, turning the page in her book. He watched Alex and his friends laugh as they began to move up the street. Oh no. He had to talk to them. He needed to get Anna moving before they disappeared to the border of Little Whinging. He could see the sign up ahead. His mother always told him to avoid that town like the plague. He had ignored her once and that had been enough for him. He had been chased up the street by Gus Gregory's gang. None of the adults had even bothered to help him.
"Come on Anna, how about we go up to the park on Magnolia Crescent?" He asked
"No thanks" She said, yet again not looking up
"Please Anna," he begged. She gave him her 'how dare you interrupt me' look. "I'll give you my allowance if you do?"
"I'm not getting up so you can chase after Alex and his gang" she said, turning the page again.
"No, I just thought it would be fun," he said. She raised an eyebrow
"Why would you want to take me to the park then?" She asked
"You love the slide"
"I'm nine, not two" she snorted
"Fine, please just do it for me?" He asked. She rolled her eyes. He saw them turn into Little Whinging. He sighed. As much as he wanted to talk to Alex, no way he was gonna go to Little Whinging. He plopped down beside Anna. He held his head in his hands as he looked over the street.
"So, what are you reading" he grumbled
"Ella Enchanted" she said, not looking up.
"Haven't read it. Is it any good?" He asked
"It's fine, it's not my favorite" she said
"What is it about?"
"It's about a girl who has to follow every single order she is given." Anna said, turning the page.
"That sounds awful" Icarus said
"It is, right now, she's trying to find this fairy who cursed her so she can break it. She's hanging out with some elves and she just heard something in the woods"
"Oh, spooky," Icarus teased. As he said that, the bushes in between his and Anna's house rustled. Both of them jumped at the sudden sound. They locked eyes. Icarus got sat firmly on the step. "What are the odds?" Icarus asked. Anna had gone slightly pale "you want to come see what it is?"
"Absolutely not. What if it's an ogre or something"
"Ogres aren't real." He said
"Well, it could be a burglar or a killer or a-"
"Or it could just be a bunny rabbit" he said
"I'm not going over there." She said
"Fine, your loss," he said. He walked over to the trees. Anna stood up to look over the banister. Icarus' heart beated faster. He shook his head. He was being stupid. It was probably a bunny or something. Just like he told Anna. But what if it was a crazy killer hiding in the bushes? No, he was being stupid. He listened closely. He thought he heard shuddering breaths from inside the tree. He took a deep breath and pushed back some of the branches.
His first reaction was panic. It was not a simple animal or something like that. There was a young boy crouched down, hidden in the tree line. His panic did not diminish when he saw the small boy. He was younger than him. The boy could not be more than ten years old. He crouched down by the kid's side. He had a bloody nose and his ankle was bent in a funny way. He had a pair of broken glasses on his face. They were taped together, but the right lense was cracked. The boy was trying to catch his breath.
"What is it, Icarus?" Anna squeaked.
"Hey what's your name?" Icarus asked. The boy looked up at him. He did not say a word "My name's Icarus." He said. The boy still looked unsure. "Can you tell me your name?" Icarus asked
"Harry," the boy mumbled.
"Do you got a last name, Harry?" Icarus asked. He tried not to look at the blood on his face.
"Potter," he mumbled
"You live around here?" He shrugged
"Which street?" Icarus pushed
"Privet Drive"
"That's right over the border to Little Whinging right?" Harry nodded
"Why are you hiding in my bushes?" Icarus asked. The boy shrugged his shoulders. He did not answer. "What about your ankle?" He asked
"It's fine" he mumbled again
"It doesn't look fine," Icarus said. He reached out to touch it. Harry tried to pull his ankle back, but when he tried to move it, he gave a shriek. The shriek caused Icarus to jump back. Tears began to well up in Harry's eyes.
"Anna, get Mom!" Icarus yelled. Anna nodded vigorously and then ran back into the house. Icarus sat there for what felt like ages. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't even tell if Harry's nose was still bleeding or not. While it had felt like it had been like hours, it had been less than a minute. His mother and Aunt Becky quickly ran outside. Anna followed closely behind. His mother pushed him back. He watched as his mother and Aunt Becky reached out to pick up Harry. His eyes went wide and he tried to push Aunt Becky and his mum away.
"Hey, it's ok, we're just going to take you inside to get your ankle looked at" his mum said. Harry looked up at her suspiciously. "I promise, we are not going to hurt you. We won't pick you up. We're just going to help you walk inside" he still did not move closer. "Would you feel better if Icarus helped you walk?" His mother asked. Harry nodded slightly. Icarus stood there, not exactly sure of what to do.
"Here son, just give him an arm to help him stand up. Good job. Next you need to support him like a crutch. Look at you, you're a natural." His mother beamed. It took Icarus a couple of minutes to figure out how to support Harry without falling over. It took him more tries than he would like to admit to get Harry inside. Once he did, his mother directed him to lead Harry over to one of the chairs at the kitchen table. He noticed that both his mother's and Aunt Becky's tea were still on the table, seemingly abandoned.
"Thank you for your help Icarus" his mother said, as she tied her braids back into a ponytail. "Can you get me some gauze, the athletic wrap and our crutches?"
"Where is it mum?" He asked
"All of it's in the bathroom closet." She said. He raced into the bathroom, with Anna following at his heels. He opened the closet and took out the kit along with the crutches.
"What do you think happened to him?" Anna whispered
"Don't know," he said quickly. He checked the contents of the first aid kit before running back out.
"Do you think it was Gus's gang" Anna asked, her eyes wide
"I have no idea Anna" he spat. Anna jumped back. "Sorry, Anna, I just need to help mum right now. Why don't you go read more of your book? Ok?" She nodded and the both hurried back to the kitchen. Anna raced out the door. His mother looked up at him curiously and nodded towards the door. "She left her book outside." He said, before mum took out the athletic wrap.
"It looks like your ankle is sprained," Mum said. "I'm going to wrap it for now, ok?" She asked. Harry nodded "so do you want to tell me what happened?" She asked
"I fell" he said
"You hit your nose and your ankle huh?" His mum asked
"Yes" Harry said
"Looks like your glasses broke from someone hitting them," Mum said. Harry just shrugged. His mother sighed
"You got a name?" She asked. He just stared at her, biting his lip.
"His name's Harry Potter, mum" Icarus said
"Potter, I don't know anyone on this street with that last name," she said. Harry looked up at Icarus expectantly.
"He said he lived over on Privet drive." Icarus said
"Becky, can you check the phone book?" Mum called
"On it," his Aunt Becky said. Mum turned back to Harry
"Becky is just going to call your mum and dad and let them know you got hurt. Ok?"
"My mum and dad are dead" Harry said coldly. Mum froze for a moment. Icarus looked at Harry. How could he just say that so calmly?
"Who do you live with?" His mum asked
"My aunt and uncle. My Aunt Petunia was my mum's sister. They were very kind to take me in after my parents died in a car crash" he said wisely. Mum raised an eyebrow
"Do you like living with them?" Mum asked
"They took me in instead of dumping me at an orphanage. I'm very lucky that they did" Harry said wisely. His mother shook her head. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it.
"I can't find anyone on Privet drive with the last name Potter" Aunt Becky yelled from across the room.
"Do your Aunt and Uncle have a different last name?" Mum asked
"Dursley" Harry mumbled
"Ok, Becky, did you hear that?" Mum yelled
"Yeah, give me a minute." Mum finished wrapping Harry's foot. She took the gauze and wiped the blood from Harry's face.
"Well, it looks like your nose isn't bleeding anymore. You just need to rest that ankle for a few weeks and it should heal, ok?" She asked Harry
"Yeah, ok" he said
"I'll talk to your Aunt and Uncle about your glasses. Becky is going to call them now. But until they get here, you can play with Icarus and Anna, alright?" She said, Harry nodded. "Icarus, can you help Harry get to the living room?". He nodded. He helped Harry onto his old crutches. He helped Harry hobble over to the living room. Anna was sitting in one of the chairs, curled up with her book. She poked her head up when she saw them approaching. She had been the one to suggest they play cops. Harry had told him he wanted to be a police officer. Harry had been the one to describe their bad guy. It was a beefy man with very little neck who was getting chased by the cops for beating up kids. That bit always stuck out to him. Harry was imaginative. Anna definitely liked that about him. He decided as far as kids went, he liked Harry. It was hard to tell how much time had past when his mother came back into the room.
"Harry, your uncle is here," his mum said. Harry nodded glumly and with some help, got on the crutches. He hobbled to his mum.
"Don't worry Harry, I'm sure you can come play another time" his mother said. Harry just shrugged. "Icarus, why don't you and Anna go upstairs." His mother said. Icarus nodded and took Anna up with him.
"That was weird." Anna said, sitting in her favorite chair. It was the beanbag he had in the corner of his room.
"How do you mean?" He asked
"Your mum sent us upstairs before Harry even left"
"I guess, Mum might have had to talk some medical stuff or something and didn't want us to hear" Icarus said
"Maybe," Anna said. Icarus looked out the window. He saw a shiny white car in the driveway. Anna saw the odd car and looked over too.
"Woh, who's car is that?" Anna asked
"Probably Harry's family" Icarus shrugged
"Hey, look" Anna pointed. They could see Harry's dark hair and crutches come into view. Behind him was a large beefy man with very little neck.
"Hey, that kinda sounds like the man Harry made up" Anna said
"I don't think he made it up"
Later that night, Icarus sat by the stairs railing. His parents had assumed that he was fast asleep, but he had heard the whispers of a conversation. He listened closely, tying to pick up snippets of the conversation.
"The poor boy, I thought about calling social services" he heard his mum said
"I thought you said he fell?" His dad said
"That's what he told me, but you know I've had training to know when children are lying to me"
"Are you talking about our perfect little angel?" His dad said. His mum chuckled
"We had a training seminar at the hospital about how to tell if a child is being abused. That boy hit almost all of the signs we were told to look for." His mum said
"So are you going to call social services?" His dad asked
"I don't know, I don't have any solid evidence," his mum said. Icarus thought back to the game with Harry and hugged his knees to his chest. He got up from the step and snuck back into his room. He curled up in a ball, going over Harry Potter's bad guy in his head. He fell into an uneasy sleep, wondering if he should tell his mum.