Chapter Four: Day Six at St. Mungos
Warning(s): mention of abuse
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I think I'm going to tell him today. Not a lot, but some. I think I can trust him now. He knows about the Dursleys already, even if I didn't tell him. He just wants me to confirm it. I think I will.
It's been six days since I got here (St. Mungos) and he hasn't done anything to me other than try to help. Maybe I'm wrong about him. Maybe I should test him a little? Tell him a few small things then see what he does….
Harry closed the journal just as his door opened to reveal Nevans, brandishing an ice cream sandwich. He tossed it to Harry, who caught it with a grin. "Thanks."
"No problem. Hey, I figured that after today's session we'd go down to the kennel." Harry froze mid-bite. "I didn't tell you? The building adjacent to ours is a kennel, and we sometimes have patients volunteer there. What do you say we check it out?"
"A..kennel? Seriously? In the heart of a wizarding town?"
"Sure. While dogs aren't as popular as pets around here, there are mixed breed strays that bred with magical breeds of dog. And there's cats and other magical breeds seized because of neglect." Harry hummed and finished off his treat.
"Sure." Nevans nodded and took a seat by Harry's desk. He glanced at the journal Harry had practically thrown onto it.
"Have you been writing in it?" Harry nodded. "Is it helpful."
"A bit. I'm not as frustrated anymore." Nevans nodded with a smiled.
"Good. Now you know I have to ask, but are you ready to talk to me about the Dursleys?" Nevans asked seriously. Harry bit his lip and shrugged. "We can do simple yes and no answers for now if you'd like."
"O-okay, but if I want to stop…" Nevans nodded and smiled brightly.
"We'll start out easy. You've lived with them since you were little."
"A baby." Harry confirmed. He played with his wrapped, which Nevans banished.
"Did they ever hurt you when you were little?" Harry nodded slowly. "Can you tell me how?"
"It was mostly Dudley. He would push me around and hit me. Sometimes Petunia would watch and not do anything." Nevans nodded thoughtfully.
"So they never touched you until…."
"I was seven when Vernon first……hit me. Dudley tripped me and I dropped a pan. Nothing broke but it made a lot of noise. Vernon got mad."
"I see. And your aunt?" Harry frowned.
"She's not my aunt." He retorted. "But she only slapped me a few times. Mostly she denied me water or food, or let Dudley bully me." Harry looked up to see Nevans watching him curiously. "You're not writing it down?"
"Do you want me to?" Nevans countered. Harry shook his head. "There you have it." Harry smiled briefly. "Now, did it ever start to get worse?"
"Yeah. Before I got my letter, Vernon really started to hurt me. Even after I got it he did, he just stayed away from my face so bruises and cuts didn't show."
"Harry, did he ever touch you?" Almost immediately Harry grew cold. Nevans seemed to realized something changed and he leaned foreword. "Harry, listen to me. Listen to my voice. Don't revert Harry, you've been doing so well. Fight it!"
"I'm s-s-sorry." Harry stuttered.
"It's okay. I think that's enough for right now, but you know we'll have to talk about it sometime." Nevans warned. Harry hung his head and suppressed a shiver. He nodded and whispered and okay, which confirmed Nevans suspicions.
"I'm not ready." Harry murmured seconds later. "Not yet." Nevans nodded.
"Okay. We'll talk later then. When you are ready." Harry gave him a small smiled. "How about we go take a look at the kennels?"
"Sure."
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The kennels turned out to be in a large air-conditioned building. The cages for the dogs were in the back of the building and arranged from the youngest to eldest and had little sheets of information on all of the cages, telling potential adopters about the dog and it's personality.
The cats were kept in smaller cages up front, and had similar setups. They however were arranged from the most adoptable to least adoptable. These were the cats that needed special care or specific living environment.
The room in the far back was the room that interested Harry the most. This one contained the special magical creatures. This was the room he convinced Nevans to show him right off.
"Usually the patients aren't allowed back here." Nevans said as they followed the manager to the back rooms.
"Why not?"
"The animals are dangerous. Only our oldest patients, or the ones that are least likely to hurt themselves, are allowed to volunteer in here." A large metal door was opened and the manager left them the key. "He never likes it in here." Nevans explained as he led Harry in.
"Who cleans up then?"
"Either magic or a volunteer." Harry rubbed his eyes under his glasses as they became used to the darker room. "Come one then. I hear they brought in a Siberian Wolf." Nevans said excitedly. "Always been my favorite animal…"
"Sure…" Harry followed Nevans past rows of odd looking animals until they reached a cage near the end. Inside was a white and black bundle of fur. Nevans clucked his tongue and a massive white head looked up.
"Ah…..he's beautiful!" Nevans whistled. The white animal stood up and nervously looked from Harry to Nevans.
The Siberian Wolf looked like a cross between a Siberian Tiger and a Wolf. He had the angular head of the wolf, and a semi-bushy tail. But he had the bulk of a Siberian tiger, and the thick fur.
He was exceptionally thin and his fur wasn't sleek and shiny, but Harry instantly fell in love with him. Blue eyes met green and Harry felt a jolt. The large animal padded foreword and stuck his nose through the bars.
"He likes you." Nevans said softly as Harry stroked the soft nose. Harry smiled brightly and a voice spoke up from the other side of the hall.
"He's done more than like you. He's bonded with you."
TBC
Wooooo! This chappie came as an inspiration to me. I had no intention of there being a kennel, or a bonding, in this fic. It just came to me. And before you read further know that there will be slash between Harry and the original character that will be introduced in the next chapter. Just a warning.
