Author's Note: Thanks for reviewing! Another two chapters, and then something fun! I'm having a blast with this. Hope you all enjoy!

Harry followed the man into an office and was motioned to a couch. He took a seat and looked around. It was not very big, but it was comfortable. It had a couch with deep green upholstery and throw pillows. Two armchairs were to his left, and a desk and chair were to his right. There were pictures scattered on the wall, both paintings and photographs. The photographs were mostly the man with kids around his age, all grinning or making faces at the camera. Harry idly wondered if it had something to do with the water.

"Let me introduce myself, Harry. My name is Paul Lauter and I'm going to be your therapist while you're here at St. Jude's. Any questions?" Harry looked at him and nodded.

"The nurse, Jack, said that I'm to have an alias, and you're calling me by my name. Why?" Paul smiled a bit.

"When your aunt first contacted us, she told us that your headmaster at your school was a little too involved in your private life. The alias is to protect your identity, so even if someone does talk about you outside these walls, they'll talk about Evan James, not Harry Potter." Harry nodded and looked around. Some of those kids were way too happy. "Anything else you would like to know?" Paul looked at Harry, noticing how he was sitting, and knowing that something was obviously bothering him.

"Not really. I'm not staying here long." Harry answered. Paul nodded.

"Why don't you ask, just in case?" Harry knew that he wasn't staying long, so why couldn't this man leave him alone and let him sleep on this very soft and oddly comfortable couch? Harry sighed and decided to humor the man for now.

"One of the boys on my floor mentioned classes." He said. Paul nodded again. Harry waited for further explanation, but the doctor just sat there. Harry frowned. "What did he mean by classes?" He asked.

"This is a school, as well as a treatment facility. We don't want anyone falling behind on their studies while they are here." Paul told him. Harry nodded. Well, good thing he wasn't staying then. "Anything else you want to know?" Paul moved forward in his chair a bit, as though anticipating an answer. Harry shook his head. "No?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Should I have more questions?" He asked. Paul sat back and regarded Harry.

"No, everyone is different." Paul answered. "So, what would you like to do?" Harry looked around.

"What am I supposed to do?" He asked. Paul made a quick note and shrugged.

"We can do whatever you want. We can talk, play a game, take a walk. It's up to you." Harry again felt like he was off center. Nothing made sense here. Nothing at all. Paul hadn't asked any questions about him or his family, what his school was like, nothing. Harry's perception of what a psychology appointment was had just been turned on its side.

"You pick." Harry said. Paul made another note and sat back.

"Do you play chess?" Paul asked.

"Yeah, but I'm not very good. Ron's better." Harry answered.

"Who's Ron?" Paul asked as he pulled out a chess board and a box. He held out the box and Harry picked out a piece. He would be black.

"My best friend at school." Harry answered. "He always beats me at chess. He beats everyone, for that matter." Harry told him, setting up his pieces. He looked at the knight and smiled a bit. Things had been so simple their first year. Everything was so complicated now.

"Sounds like one of my friends when I was your age. His name was John. Could beat anyone with his eyes closed." Harry paused in placing a piece.

"How'd he do that?" He asked.

"It's an expression, Harry." Paul said. Why did this kid not know a normal expression? "It means it was really easy for him."

"I knew that. I just thought you were serious." Harry mumbled. He had been too long out of the Muggle world. That was for sure. No wonder Paul stared at him. Just like everyone else.

"So, you and Ron play chess a lot. Any other games?" Harry wondered if dueling counted.

"Snap." Harry answered. Paul repressed a frustrated sigh. This kid was so closed off! He couldn't get any answers out of him. Not one hint of what was bothering him. Well, it was a challenge, and Paul would rise to the challenge.

"Ron's not your only friend?" He asked, moving his own piece. This kid was good. Not great, but good.

"No, there's Hermione." Paul looked up. Hermione? A girlfriend?

"Your girlfriend?" Paul asked. Harry's reaction was enough to tell him that she was wrong. His head snapped up and he looked really confused.

"Er, no. Not girlfriend. Mate, really. She makes sure that Ron and I don't get into too much trouble." Ah, information!

"You and Ron get into trouble at school?" Paul asked. Harry shrugged. "What do you do?"

"Nothing really. It was an expression." Harry didn't meet his eyes. There was something there. He was hiding something.

"Oh. So what do you and Hermione do?" Harry shrugged again.

"Not much. We play snap and chess, and she makes sure that Ron and I study. She's brilliant. Really clever." Paul nodded and made a note. Harry noticed but didn't say anything.

They played in silence for a few minutes. "Any other friends?" Harry shrugged. Paul hated that response. He would need to stop that in the near future, after he had gotten to know Harry a little better.

"What's your headmaster like? Your aunt mentioned that he was a fairly active part of your life." Harry shrugged again.

"Meddling old coot who doesn't know when to tell someone something." Harry mumbled. Paul's hand hovered over his chess piece.

"Pardon?" he asked.

"Nothing." He frowned. There was something major there, and Harry had been about to let it out. He could tell from the boy's face that he was upset about the headmaster. Paul blinked in astonishment as Harry's face changed from that of a stormy teenager to a mask of affable kid. That disturbed him. The fact that Harry had such control of his emotions at such a young age was unsettling. Where had he learned to hide his emotions? What's more, why would he need to, and from whom?

Harry reached out and moved a chess piece, thanking Professor Snape mentally for the first time in his life. He had just cleared away all emotion that the thought of the headmaster had caused. He thought that it might be a nice idea to drop the professor a line that read thanks so much for teaching me how to clear my mind. Helped keep the weird psychologist away from it. Harry could only imagine the man's look on receiving that note. He decided that it wouldn't do to send it. Professor Snape might actually consider killing him at that point.

"Do you like your headmaster, Harry?" Harry shrugged again.

"He's okay. You know, like a headmaster." Yeah, right. And Paul was the President of the United States of America. Paul made a quick note and returned to the chess game. There was something there about that headmaster. He made a mental note to bring that up whenever possible. Sooner or later, he would catch Harry off guard.

"What's your favorite sport?" Paul asked. "Assuming you have one." Harry shrugged again. Paul let it go. He had to get the kid comfortable before anything real could take place.

"Do you have a favorite sport?" Harry asked, moving one of his chess pieces and gesturing for Paul to move.

"I like football. I used to play it when I was in school, but gave it up a few years back. I just couldn't see myself doing just that for the rest of my life." Harry nodded as though he understood and smiled when Paul moved. "Oh, no! Not my knight!" Paul could have sworn that Harry had almost smiled. Now, if he could just weasel a full smile out of the kid, his day would have been complete. "You're an assassin! You just plucked him off!" Paul knew that he had said something that had upset Harry in just the second after his comment. Harry's body re-defined the word "tense". Paul took the chess piece from Harry's hand and set it down. "Harry, what did I say to upset you?" Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them, the mask was back on his face.

"Nothing." Harry answered. "Are we done?" Paul looked at the clock.

"No. We still have another twenty minutes." Harry glared at the clock. "Harry, people just don't freeze over nothing. What did I say that freaked you out?" Paul coaxed. This kid obviously had had practice at beating concerned listeners away with a stick.

"Nothing. I'm just not used to hearing myself being referred to as an assassin." It had been right there! Paul had almost had an answer! He wanted to scream in frustration, throw something, or just sit on Harry until the boy told him what the problem was. None of those techniques would work. He would need tons of patience with this kid. Some trust exercises would not go amiss, either. They were going to have to do something drastic to help him. There was no way around it. Perhaps a ropes course? Paul knew that heavy duty trust exercises would have to be involved. Harry was way too closed off for normal methods. Whatever the breaking point, it was going to involve some high emotions before Harry would open up. Paul hated doing such things to the kids, but if it helped. He still hated the manipulation of it all.

"Well, Harry. Our time's done for today. You'll have classes first thing tomorrow morning at eight. You and I get to meet everyday, at eleven in the morning, so don't forget that. Right after classes end. After lunch, you get another round of classes, and group therapy starts at four. Dinner's at five-thirty, and clubs start meeting at seven. You'll have your pick of them, so long as you don't have any food issues that exercise or other activities might influence." Harry nodded at the explanation. "Any questions?"

"Am I allowed to write letters to my friends?" Paul smiled.

"Of course you are! We're not a prison here!" Harry looked at the hospital bracelet and smirked. Paul rolled his eyes. "I'm guessing that you don't like doctors." Paul said with a small smile.

"Way too much time in the hospital wing." Harry said. He stood and thanked Paul. "Where do I go now?" A knock on the door interrupted Paul's answer.

"Come in!" A head poked its way into the room through the doorway. "Hi, Skyla!" Paul said, standing and motioning the woman into the room. Harry privately thought that she looked like Fleur Delacour. "Evan, this is Skyla. She's going to be your tutor while you're here."

"Pleased to meet you, Evan. More pleased to be your teacher. I'm sure you are very studious and can't wait to get started. I've read your file and saw that you attend a special gifted school. I know the way that some gifted schools teach, and I'm sure that you and I can find your particular level of learning and get you started off on the right foot!" Harry could not believe the amount of chatter that this woman used when speaking! All Harry could think was that Hermione would absolutely adore this woman and her blatant love for learning and studying.

"Now, I know that it's no fun at all to take a bunch of tests your first day here, but we have to know how many classes you can jump into right away, and whether or not you will need some extra instruction." Skyla explained as she lead Harry into a rather gaudy classroom filled with things that Harry had not thought could belong to a classroom. Beanbag chairs, for instance. Or a video game system. Skyla motioned Harry towards a seat and pulled out a few packets of paper. "Just do what you can. When you can't do anymore, just hand them over to me." Harry nodded and plucked a strangely-shaped pencil from the cup on the desk, grimaced, and hunted for a plain one. He found a trusty yellow pencil and started on the first packet. Well, he at least remembered how to add and subtract!

Two hours later, a thoroughly disgusted Harry Potter finished the last packet and sighed. He could he have forgotten absolutely everything he had learned in primary school? He was sure that he must have learned most of that in the younger grades, but something had made him forget. It must have been time. Time always did things like that. "You can look at the books or find yourself a game to play with while I'm grading these, Evan." Harry looked around, not really interested in anything yet.

"May I write a letter to my friend?" He asked politely.

"Of course you can! Help yourself to any of the supplies you might need. Envelopes are in the third drawer down over there. If you don't have any stamps, just ask me. I've been a letter carrier for a lot of kids here before." Harry nodded and thanked her before finding a pen and a piece of writing paper. He put the date at the top and wondered what to write. Should he write that his aunt had gone barmy, or that he needed rescue ASAP?

Dear Hermione,

It's finally happened. My aunt has gone insane. I need you to do me a huge favor and get a hold of Dumbledore or some other Order member, the sooner the better! My aunt's put me into a mental institution! A Muggle one! I need a rescue! I have no idea where I am, except this place is called St. Jude's. They have psychologists here, and perky tutors. You would like her. She's absolutely over the moon with learning! Please, Hermione, call Dumbledore. I would even settle for a professor, except for Snape. I'm not that desperate, but pretty close to it. Please send word back soon as to when they are getting here so I know to be packed. I don't know how long I can last! I'll be waiting.

Harry

"Alright, Evan. You've been out of what we call 'conventional schooling' for quite a while. Don't worry, because we'll have an easier time to catch you up!" Harry idly wondered how long he could stand to be around this woman at a stretch. He was sure that something in the water was responsible for her odd behavior. "Would you like me to mail that for you?" She asked, motioning to the envelope.

"Yes, please." Harry said, handing it to her. "Thank you."

"Oh, it's not a problem. I'll just drop it in my outgoing mailbox." Skyla paused and looked at her watch. "Oh, dear! Time flies when you're having fun! It's time for dinner." Harry nodded and stood. "Let's go!" Harry paused.

"You don't have to walk me, Ms. uh..." This could be Harry's chance to run. He was sure that he could get around the corner and away to a secluded spot from which he could summon the Knight Bus.

"Call me Skyla or Sky, Evan. Staff must eat in the dining room at every meal, so it's not like I'm escorting you or anything. We're just walking together." Harry nodded. He had been so close to freedom! So close. "I don't know about you, but I'm starved!" She bounced out of the door, Harry close behind her.

They made it to the dining room, with Skyla only pausing long enough in her bouncing to post Harry's letter. Once the doors had opened, and Skyla had said goodbye, Harry heard his nickname bellowed. "OO7! We're over here!" Harry turned and went over to the table. Bug was practically begging Harry to sit next to him, while Sparky tried to pull Harry into a chair next to him. Sparky, for his smallness, won the battle.

"Hi, OO7! I see you've met Skyla. She's great, isn't she?" Harry nodded in agreement. She was okay.

"Okay, Sparky. You have to eat most of your spaghetti before you get any salad." One of the boys said, dishing up Sparky's plate.

"I can't eat that much!" Sparky whined. Harry looked at the plate. It was only a spoonful. "Have you thought about any clubs you would like to join?" Sparky asked Harry as he tried to fend off more spaghetti from being placed on his plate.

"Not really." Harry answered. He shot the boy with the spaghetti a warning look. "I'm not really sure what is offered. We're not allowed to leave the dining hall early unless our plates are clean, right?" Harry asked Sparky.

"Yeah, I never get to leave early." Sparky told him.

"Well, maybe you could show me around a bit before all those clubs started meeting?" Harry asked.

"To leave early would mean that I would have to eat all of that!" Sparky motioned towards his plate. Harry looked at it.

"Be grateful he didn't give you any meatballs!" He returned. "He must want me to build muscle or something, giving me this much meat all at once." Sparky blinked and stared off into space. Harry wondered if he had said something wrong.

"That was brilliant!" Bug's voice whispered in his ear. "That's why he wants to be thin, so that his muscle would show up more. He doesn't understand that you need calories to build muscle." Harry nodded in understanding.

"I mean, honestly, three whole meatballs. I'm going to look like a body builder at this rate!" Sparky stared at Harry before quietly requesting a meatball. The whole table was more than happy to comply with his wish, and a few seconds later, Sparky was the proud consumer of half a meatball. Across the dining hall, Sparky's therapist nudged Paul and pointed.

"I don't know what your kid said, but Sparky is eating!" Paul turned and looked at Harry. The kid was pure magic. The staff had been very close to force-feeding Sparky, and within twelve hours of Harry's arrival, he had managed to convince Sparky into eating! Amazing!

Author's Note: There are thirteen on my author alert list. Thirteen! I'm so happy! Thanks for reading and reviewing. They make me so happy.

Reviews:

The Incredible Bouncing Ferret: Just wait and see! Sylvia's told me the whole story and I just can't wait to see how it ends. Lots of emotion, don't worry! Cute name.

Sasinak: Sylvia's given me the fic. She can't finish it, and I have ample free time. That and I love this story. The rest of the chapters will be up soon!

Midnight Lilly: I agree. Never thought about the Weasleys. Hermione, well, she'll be in there somewhere.

E.A.V.: Never! She gave it to me. I'm tweaking the earlier chapters, so you may find something new in each. Have a look. The continuation will be up soon.

Kjady: Glad you like it, and I hope to live up to your expectations. It is Sylvia's story, as in everything I write she approves before I post, but so far she's really flexible with what I want to do, so long as it sticks to the original story.

Lady Arianna Riddle: Thank you for the wonderful compliment. I try.

Genna: I'm not giving anything away, but I think you will be pleasantly surprised somewhere down the line.

Ksomm814: If you like this, you may also like shadowsylvia's work. This is her story. Glad you like it.

Thank you to: methoslover, Mimbulus, steffles, Classical-Storyteller, DianaBananna, Sirius's gurl, AeTeRa, LiLy MaLfOy13, QuicksilverWitch, and Nightwisp!