The Human Stain
By Anna Kate
For James
Who helped me come up with Kaleo
Chapter Three- Inside My Mind
It was dark in here, and very quiet. It was aptly named The Dark.
Harry liked the quiet. It allowed him to think of things for his books. Normally, in the quiet, a character would meet him there. They would talk for a while, the character telling him about themselves, and Harry, asking them questions.
Now, most people would run screaming to a physiatrist if this happened to them, but not Harry. No, he wrote about them, telling the world their stories in a way which people could understand.
A similar experience happened this time.
Harry was just sitting in The Dark, wondering why on earth he hurt so much, when this young man, probably no older than 15, wondered into view. Harry looked up at him.
"Hello." he said in greeting. The boy smiled and waved. Harry stood.
"What's your name?" the boy said nothing, giving Harry a rather pained look. "Can't you talk?" The boy nodded slightly, pursing his lips. His dark brown hair fell into his face. "Why?"
Dumb question, Potter- er, Evans. Harry snarled at himself. The boy's face fell and he looked on the verge of tears. He reached out into The Dark and a notebook and pencil appeared in his hand. He began to write.
He finished writing and held the notebook out for Harry to read.
My name is Kaleo Armstrong. I am sixteen-years-old. I can't speak because of a curse laid upon me by a witch when I was born. She said great evil was to befall upon my family if I should ever speak. My family sent me away then, and I grew up with my grandfather in Scotland. He died when I was 14. I've been living alone ever since.
Harry could believe that. The boy looked gaunt and thin, and his clothes were ragged and torn, stained with dirt. He gave him a weak smile.
"Kaleo, do you know why I'm here?" the boy cocked his head, confused. "I'm normally here for only a short while, but I must have been here for ages." Kaleo reached out for the notebook and pencil, which Harry gave him. He began writing again.
He stopped writing for a second, reading over his work, then handed the notebook to Harry again.
Actually, you've been here for two days, three hours, forty-five minutes and six seconds. Give or take a few seconds.
"Two days!" Harry exclaimed, eyes growing wide. Kaleo nodded, and Harry sat down heavily on the floor.
Two days! It only seemed like a few moments to him, nothing compared to the actually time.
"That's forty-eight hours." he said stupidly. Kaleo smiled and nodded, then sat down next to him. He placed a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry smiled at him.
"Thanks." he mumbled. They sat like that for awhile, and eventually Kaleo fell asleep. He started shivering in The Dark and Harry reached out for a blanket to put over him. It appeared in his hand, and he draped it over Kaleo.
Another thing about this place was that old characters would meet up with Harry here. They normally left him alone when he had finished writing about them, but every now and then they would pop round to say 'hello'.
Harry was walking around in The Dark when two people stepped into the small ring of light that cast a faint glow over everything. Harry recognised them immediately as two characters from his books.
"Hey Morgan! Hey Jess!" the two girls grinned at Harry and ran forward to give him hugs.
"Harry, we missed you!" Morgan cried, her Australian accent thick with emotion. She was such an emotional character, one that Harry could entirely relate to. He occasionally forgot the fact that she was also manipulative and selfish. She was empathic too; someone who feels other peoples emotions.
Jess just nodded at Harry, gave him a brief hug then went to sit by Kaleo. He seemed to sense her presence, because he moved to curl up next to her.
Morgan and Harry were left standing alone in The Dark. They just stood together for a few minutes in a comfortable silence. It had been a long time since Harry had seen Morgan.
"So, Harry... Why are you here?" Morgan asked before he could say anything.
"I... I don't really know. All I can remember is feeling a pain through my scar and black-... Shit! My scar hurt!" Harry's eyes went very wide. This was bad, bad, BAD!
Morgan could sense Harry's fear, and that made her tremble slightly. The fear radiating from him was devastating on her sense, and she fell to her knees. She gave a weak gasp.
"Harry..." Harry tried to calm himself down. He often had that effect on Morgan, and once or twice during the brief meetings in The Dark, Morgan had blacked out from the emotions.
Harry looked over at Jess and she just gave him The Look.
Jess was a character from a book written 2 years ago, named 'Shades of Grey'.
She wasn't the main character, oh no, her brother Ethan was. But Jess was quite an important character, since she was the one thing that kept Ethan sane during his nervous breakdown. She also had died at the end of the book, but Harry always forgot that little detail.
Truth be told, he was a little fonder of Jess than any other character he had created/met.
"Three days," Jess said, calmly as you please.
"What?" Harry was rather confused. "It was only two days a few moments ago!" Jess gave him a sympathetic smile.
"Time passes quickly when you're in a coma."
"WHAT!" Morgan covered her ears at the shout. Harry took a deep breath. "I'm in a coma?" Jess nodded.
"Yes. Magically induced, at that. They can't figure out how to wake you up," she told him, running her fingers through Kaleo's hair.
"I might be stuck here?" Harry was beginning to get afraid again, and Morgan whimpered.
"Until they take you off life-support, yes. But don't worry," Jess continued speaking in the manner of a news reporter. It was beginning to annoy Harry.
"Don't worry? How can I not worry, Jess!" Harry was practically hyperventilating by this time, and Morgan was curled in a ball on the floor. It was actually rather funny, but it would not be appropriate to laugh.
"You shouldn't worry, because one of your old school friends is your doctor," Jess said evenly, caressing the side of Kaleo's face. She was looking at him as one would look at a sleeping child.
"Who?" Harry walked over and sat down next to Jess. She turned and smiled at him.
"Luna Lovegood. Or rather, Luna Boot." Harry then answered the question 'Can you faint when you are unconscious?'
00
Claudia had fallen asleep at her father's side. Her eyes had hurt too much to keep open. They hurt from crying; that was the only thing she had done the entire ambulance journey. And the last two days she had spent here.
Emma watched from the doorway, leaning against the white frame. Everything was white here; white walls, white sheets, even white doors. It was driving her mad! She turned to go, but was stopped by a tall blonde woman, dressed in a white coat, in the corridor.
"Oh, Miss Stockdale?" Emma nodded. "Hi, I'm Harry's doctor, Dr. Boot. Please, no wise cracks about Boots the chemist," Dr. Boot got a pained expression on her face and Emma gave a small laugh. The woman looked at her with large blue-grey eyes and seemed to be trying to gaze into Emma.
"I'm here to talk to you about Mr. Evan's condition. I'd rather discuss it with a relative or wife, but since his daughter is too young, you're the most likely prospect. Would you like to step into the relatives room? I'll be with you in a moment," Dr. Boot motioned to a door on the right (wooden, thank god) and then walked away, getting lost within the sea of white coats.
Emma sighed and slipped into the room. It was light and airy in here, with pine furniture. The only problem was the white walls. She mentally cursed the hospital's interior designer. She sat down in one of the chairs.
Dr. Boot came in a few minutes later, carrying with her a clipboard. She smiled and took a seat opposite Emma.
"Before I begin, do you know if Harry has any relatives?" Emma thought and shook her head.
"If he has, he hasn't told me," Emma shrugged. "There's only Claudia and his wife died last year." Dr. Boot sighed and ran a hand through her blonde hair.
"This is strictly against protocol, but since you are the only adult close enough to Harry to be told, I'll have to tell you. Maybe you can explain it to Claudia."
"What's wrong with Harry?" Emma asked, sitting forward in her chair.
"Harry's in a coma. It seems an imbalance in some brain nerves caused it, and when this happens... Miss Stockdale, I'm going to be outright with you; it's very unlikely Harry could even wake up from this. Yes, he's alive, on life support, but this is a very deep coma and there is only one person I know who could even contemplate waking Harry up. Unfortunately, he's busy at the moment." Dr. Boot sighed.
"So, you're telling me that I have to tell a fourteen-year-old that her remaining parent is probably going to die?" the numb shock Emma was feeling was evident in her voice. Dr. Boot gave her a very pained look.
"That may be the case. If I can get hold of this man I know, then Harry stands a chance," Dr. Boot gave Emma a small smile. "I'm sorry," she rose to go. "I'm going to check on Harry, but I will be back. I'll bring Claudia with me." Emma nodded and Dr. Boot left the room.
The minute Dr. Boot left, Emma fell back against the chair. A harsh sob found its way through her lips, yet she refused to cry. She bit her bottom lip and grit her teeth against the tears.
No, no, I will not cry. I don't cry. I have never cried.
She sniffed, a sound of a dignity and tranquillity she did not feel. She ran a hand through her hair, messing up the normally immaculate red bob. She stood and paced around the room.
Dr. Boot re-entered with a very sleepy-looking Claudia. The brunette rubbed her eyes and stumbled towards Emma. Emma caught her in a harsh hug, which Claudia fought slightly.
"Miss Stockdale, I'll leave you to it," Emma nodded and sat down, pulling Claudia down into the chair next to her. Dr. Boot sighed and left them alone. She got half-way down the corridor and heard Claudia's wail. She leant heavily against the nearest wall and tried to breathe.
She had known it was Harry. The minute she saw him, she had known. Of course, the Order had been informed. Hermione had raised the alarm when a man who looked very much like Harry had visited the school she taught in. Luna could remember Hermione's words;
"I think it's him. I think it's Harry,"
The upset and pain in her voice had stopped her from talking after she had said that. Her voice had broken and she began to sob and cry, hiding her face in her hands.
No one had gone forward to comfort her. Not even Ronald Weasley, one... no, her only best friend, had comforted her. He also had cried far too long for Harry; sixteen years too long.
Luna stood up and walked on into the staff room. She sighed, greeted Mira Lyne, the sectary and reached for the nearest payphone. She put in at least a pounds worth of money then punched in the number.
The phone was answered on the third ring.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Luna. Listen, I need a favour..." there was a pause on the other end.
"What kind of favour?"
00
Claudia hadn't the energy to cry. She didn't even have to energy to think, but she tried soldiering on. Emma could see she was falling in the trenches, yet she kept getting back up.
Harry looked pale. He was naturally pale, but not this pale. He had dark rings around his eyes, and his skin looked almost transparent. She could even make out the tiny puzzle of blue lines that made up his circulatory system.
Moving closer, Emma saw a faded scar on his forehead, lightning bolt in shape. She frowned. Where had it come from?
She wanted to go and stare at Harry, to trace his face and memorise him, but she would not interrupt Claudia.
Claudia was speaking, quickly and in a language that Emma didn't know.
Czech probably Emma thought. She looked closer and could see Claudia's hands clasped around Harry's own, and her eyes were closed.
"Our Father, who art in heaven," Claudia said in Czech, the language rolling off her tongue as easily as English. She was praying for her father, hoping to any God or Goddess that he would be all right.
Though she had grown up in an Atheist country, Anna always insisted on prayers. This time though, it would be a prayer for the only parent Claudia had left.
Emma sighed and turned against the doorway, leaning her head against the white frame. She closed her eyes and tried to keep calm. She wouldn't break down, she couldn't break down.
"Miss Stockdale?" Emma looked up. Dr. Boot was standing next to her, with a man at her side. Emma's eyes widened.
The man was, in a word, strange. He wasn't too tall, probably only just scraping 6 foot, and his skin was pale. He had pointed features and was regarding her with cool grey eyes.
His hair was black, except for two blonde locks that framed his face, and it was pulled into a ponytail. He wore the regulation white coat, yet the sleeves were rolled up and she could see a tattoo of a dragon start at the knuckle of his right index finger and wind its way up to his elbow. Silver earrings glinted through his hair on his right ear.
All in all, he looked more like a biker than a doctor.
"This is Mr. Malfoy. He's the man I told you about," Luna said, and Malfoy raised his hand in greeting. "He'll need to be alone in the room with Harry when he tries to wake him up." Emma nodded.
"I'll get Claudia," she went over to Claudia, and gently shook the girl's shoulder. "Claudia... Claudia, we need to let Mr. Malfoy work." Claudia looked up and round and settled her eyes on Malfoy. She watched him passively, yet she looked to be daring him to take her away from her father.
"Hey... Claudia, is it?" Malfoy greeted her with the same wave that he had given Emma. One hand rose, going from left to right. Claudia nodded, but didn't speak.
"Claudia, I need to be alone with your dad to do this, okay? It won't hurt him, and he'll be fine, I promise," Claudia gave him what Harry referred to as the 'Evans Look of Doom', which clearly said that if Malfoy hurt one hair on Harry's head, Claudia would be after his blood.
Emma took Claudia's hand (which Claudia tried to shake off) and pretty much dragged her out of the room. Malfoy and Luna stood at opposite sides of Harry's bed.
"Thanks for coming, Draco." Luna said, looking at the clipboard that held the recordings of Harry's vital statistics.
"No problem. How long has he been under?" Draco leaned over Harry, and the tip of his ponytail just brushed Harry's forehead.
"Three days. I couldn't get hold of you. If I could have, I would've called sooner," she smiled, handed him the clipboard and left without a good-bye.
Draco studied the clipboard then sighed.
"What the hell have you got yourself into now, Potter?"
00
Jess was leaning over him when Harry woke up. He blinked, confused, then slowly sat up.
"Why is Luna working in a muggle hospital?" he mumbled, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Jess shrugged, and over her shoulder, Harry could see Morgan and Kaleo talking; well, Morgan talking and Kaleo writing.
"Don't ask me. You can ask her." Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Ask her? How can I ask her, I'm in a coma and stuck with you guys!" Jess raised both her eyebrows.
"Well, none of us talk to fictional people inside our head," she stood and walked over to Morgan, leaving Harry alone. He sighed and lay back down.
"Harry." Harry looked up. "Harry." he couldn't see anyone. "HARRY!" Harry stood and looked around.
There, face hidden in The Dark was a person. Harry couldn't make out any features, but the person was obviously male.
"Who are you?" the man shook his head.
"I can't tell you. You'll find out soon enough. Now, I need you to come over here."
"Why?" Harry was suspicious, and he had a right to be. He didn't know this person.
"Look, I'm just here to wake you up. Your daughter, Claire-..."
"Claudia." Harry snapped, and the man sighed.
"Whatever. She's been at your side for three whole days, I doubt she's eaten much and she doesn't look to have slept. She's worried about you, and I need to wake you up," the man crossed his arms and Harry could see him glaring.
"Is Emma there?" the man nodded. "How will you wake me up?"
"You just need to hold onto me. I can find my way out of here," Harry nodded, and turned to look at the group of teenagers in the circle of light. They smiled and waved to him. He waved back, and then turned to face the man.
"Where do I hold you?" he asked, feeling a heat spread across his cheeks.
"Around the waist," Harry slid his arms around the man's waist, and gritted his teeth against the embarrassment. "Hold on." there was a jolt and they slowly began rising into the air.
Harry felt himself get sleepy and closed his eyes. He fell asleep as soon as they broke the barrier between Harry's mind and the real world.
"What the hell did you do this time, Potter?" Draco sighed.