Chapter Eleven: Friends in Unlikely Places

By the time he got to the rec room it was time for the evening group. Most of the twelve patients on the unit were gathering in the room and moving the chairs into a lop-sided circle. A young man had pulled a chair into the circle and was looking at a clipboard. When he saw Harry enter he smiled and called him over "Hi!" He said energetically. "My name is Tom, I'm one of the therapists on the unit, I don't think we've met yet."

Harry hung back awkwardly, uncomfortable with the attention the man was giving him. "Um... I just got here today..." He said quietly "My name is Harry..."

Tom gave him a warm smile "Well welcome! We are just starting our final group for the day, go ahead and find a seat."

Harry nodded and tried to slip back towards the door, but Lucy had caught sight of him and was calling him over loudly. Harry blushed and walked over to the seat next to her, moving it away from her a bit as he sat down. The girl made him uncomfortable, but he couldn't really avoid her.

Lucy prattled on about one thing or another for a few minutes while Harry tried to remember how to breathe, and then Tom called for the meeting to start.

"Hi everyone! Welcome to the evening group, you may have noticed we have a new face among us, so let's go around and introduce ourselves. What do we want to do tonight, favorite place in the world?" This must have been something they did often, because immediately the teen to Tom's left began talking. Harry was on the far end of the circle, so he had some time before it would be his turn.

"I'm Jamie" said an attractive girl who looked to be about twelve. "Anorexia, today I'm feeling puffy, and my favorite place in the world is the beach, because it's warm."

The boy next to her was Derrek, he quickly grunted "suicide attempt" and then reported that he didn't have a favorite place in the world, he didn't want to be here anymore.

After him things picked up, Lauren and Lenny went, and another girl named Maleficent, then it was Draco's turn.

He glanced at Harry cautiously, then looked at the ground. "My name is Dray, bulimia, today I'm feeling nervous, and my favorite place in the world is Hogwarts... because it is safe."

Harry frowned at this, trying to process the information. He thought he knew what bulimia was, but he couldn't imagine why Draco would want to make himself throw up. And why should Hogwarts be his favorite place? He acted like he hated it there.

Harry didn't have too much time to ponder it though, because soon enough it was his turn, and all the eyes were on him. "Ummm, I'm Harry" He swallowed and tried to make his voice stop shaking "I guess, attempted suicide" It actually hurt to say those words. "And my favorite place in the world is..." He should have thought about his answer, instead of trying to imagine why Draco would like Hogwarts better than his mansion, but he hadn't and now his mind was blank. "I guess the Hogwarts train... that's the first place I really felt hopeful." After he said it he heard how pathetic it sounded and hated himself.

Lucy smiled and patted Harry's knee. "That's beautiful!" she said expressively. "I'm Lucy, bipolar. Today I'm feeling excited, and my favorite place in the world is with the people I love." She winked at Harry as she said this and sent a shiver down his spine.

Tom started to lead the group in a discussion of how their day had gone, they were each supposed to think of something they wish they had done differently, and something they were happy about, or proud of. When it was Harry's turn he said he couldn't think of anything. The truth was he could think of a million things, and nothing at all. He had been trying very hard not to think about his day.

Tom smiled "just give yourself a minute Harry, I'm sure you can think of something."

Harry sighed "I really can't." He protested.

TW: Flash back

That was when Lucy stepped in, placing her hand on Harry's knee and leaning into him. "That's okay Harry, you shouldn't have to think of anything." She sent Tom a nasty glance as she said had had enough of her, touching his knee triggered something in him and he shot up, sending her crashing to the floor in the process.

Tom was up in a moment, advancing towards Harry as he backed away from the circle.

But Harry couldn't even hear what he was saying, suddenly Tom had turned into Uncle Vernon, lunging at him. The next thing he knew a pulse of magic had left him, and people were screaming. Realizing he had lost control again, Harry ran.

He didn't get far though, Jennifer was rushing towards the rec room as he ran out, she was saying something to him, but he was still trying to run. Then more people came into the hallway, and they had their hands on him, and despite his struggling he felt a needle sick in his butt, and then he was falling asleep, and being placed in a small cell-like room.

End TW

When Harry woke up his whole body hurt. He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep, but it felt like a long time. He sat up slowly and curled his knees up to his chest. "How could you be so stupid?" He asked himself quietly.

A few minutes after he woke up a young man came and opened the door. "Hi Harry, my name is Jeff, I'm one of the night nurses."

Harry sighed and rubbed his temples. "What time is it?"Jeff chuckled, "Almost three am, ready to go sleep in a real bed?"

Harry nodded tiredly. As he stepped through the door he paused, "Did I hurt anyone?" He asked quietly, afraid of the answer.

Jeff sighed "Tom was a little bruised, and some of the kids were pretty shaken up, but everyone is okay."

Harry closed his eyes and tried not to cry. He hated how recently holding back tears was so much harder. "I didn't mean to... He just came at me and... and it made me think I was somewhere else, I'm sorry..."

Jeff gave Harry a sad smile "It's okay Harry, it happens... that's why you're here, so we can help you to learn how to deal with situations like that. We actually have wards in place to dampen accidental magic, so it's pretty impressive what you managed to do."

Harry rolled his eyes, yay me, he thought as he followed Jeff silently to his room. Draco was already in bed, so he slipped in quietly, not bothering to change. Once Jeff left Harry sat quietly on his bed, he wasn't ready to lie down yet. After a few minutes Draco rolled over "I know we said no questions," he whispered through the dark. "But are you okay?"

Harry sighed and turned to him "I thought you were asleep?"

Draco shrugged "I don't sleep a lot. Seriously, are you okay?"

Harry shrugged "I just feel bad, I didn't mean to hurt anyone..."

Draco sat up and swung his legs over the edge of his bed. "It's true, isn't it? What they were saying in the newspapers?"

Harry couldn't look at Draco "When Tom came at me, I thought it was Uncle Vernon... I was in the courtroom again and he was lunging at me." Finally, Harry glanced at Draco nervously "It doesn't matter if he's in jail does it, he's always going to be able to hurt me."

Draco sighed, folding himself into a ball on the edge of his bed. "Some things always hurt..." He said quietly

Harry shot Draco a questioning glance.

Draco shrugged "No one ends up on this ward without getting hurt somehow. I don't shove my fingers down my throat because I like my life."

Harry nodded sympathetically.

Draco lifted his chin from his knees and bit his lip, looking as though he was sizing Harry up. "I know I'm not exactly kind to you... and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual... and I'm not going to suddenly be a nicer person to you just because your uncle is crap... but, if you want, we could be friends... just while we are in here... This is the kind of place where you need a friend."

Harry offered a small smile "I'd like that Draco, but if you try to be nice to me when we get back to school I'm going to tell them you need to be committed."

Draco laughed and nodded "Sounds like a deal."