A/N: I'm proving a point about my difficulty with writing chapters with speech. This chapter and the next are mostly told through speech, let me know what you think about the formatting it and flow. I don't know if I'm just being highly critical or realistic and so I need outside opinion.

A/N 2: I wrote two completely original chapters in one day and both are a bit longer than normal so there might be a little gap before the next chapter upload or I might surprise us all and get it up before the end of the week. This is the first of those two chapters.

Chapter 11: Actions of Responsibility

Haydon had known that by sending his reports by mail that there was going to be a time delay in the response, so he hadn't been expecting a response before he started his first year at primary school (moving up from reception, which was the highest class for early years, to the lowest level of Key Stage 1). Marigold, as she was nearly a year and a half was in the lowest of the early years group as a pre-schooler and was technically in the nursery group that Haydon had just left.

If there was a response from either the police or Child Protective Service, he wasn't sure what nature that response was going to take. He half feared, that he would learn they'd received his testimony when Vernon dragged him into the office to punish him for daring to speak to someone about what happened under his roof.

What he hadn't anticipated, was for a member of child services to be waiting to speaking to him his first day back at school. He knew that there was no one waiting at Marigold's school as he hadn't included her details in his testimony and she was too young to answer any questions. To be sure that she was safe, he briefly checked on her using his bracelet to confirm that she was still where she should be – at the nursery.

"I would like to speak with them alone, with just the school counsellor present, please." Haydon requested when he was led to the small office where the lady from child protective service was waiting along with someone that he was pretty sure was a non-uniformed cope. He'd been pulled out of class in the last period of the day, so he hoped that the meeting wouldn't over run since he would have to pick up Marigold.

He knew that a school representative had to be present for safeguarding reasons, but the school counsellor was contracted to work with the school three days a week and he trusted her more than he trusted any of the other teachers except the music teacher who he wouldn't risk asking for because the Dursleys didn't know that he trusted him. if the Dursleys found out about this meaning and who it was he asked for, then Vernon would use his connection to the headmaster to have the music teacher fired.

"If you'll give me a minute, I'll get her here. I know she doesn't have any other meetings right now." the deputy head teacher who had taken him out of class agreed. The head teacher himself was dealing with something so Haydon's case had fortunately fallen into the hands of the deputy which hopefully meant that there would be a delay in the information getting back to the Dursleys others he would be going home to a very hostile environment that night.

Haydon took a seat, placing his hands on his knees so that he wouldn't be tempted to fiddle nervously with anything. This was what he wanted – he reminded himself. He wanted the chance to tell law enforcement, to have the chance at being removed from the Dursleys without risking Marigold on the streets. Haydon was strong enough and he looked old enough to be able to survive on the streets, but Marigold was a baby and she wouldn't be able to make it through the winters and if he was forced to fight and defend them then she would be vulnerable.

"Would you like a drink of water?" the lady who Haydon was sure was from child services asked.

"No, thank you." Haydon declined.

He didn't need to be plied with food or drink to be made comfortable in order to talk. He'd made contact with them; he'd committed to this cause of action until it concluded one way or another.

There was an uncomfortable silence until the schools' counsellor – Maria – entered the room with a kind smile already on her face.

"Good morning, Haydon. Are you sure that I'm the staff member you want with me?" Maria clarified as she sat next to him, as she had never actually spoken with him.

Working only part time within the school she had to focus her time on the key cases that she had been given and Haydon had never done anything that made him appear as a worrying case that would cause him appear on her radar before now.

"I'm sure, Maria. Thank you for coming." Haydon confirmed.

Maria nodded to the deputy head, which was his cue to leave the room.

"Alright then, Haydon. My name is Jennifer and this is Detective Lestrade, do you know why we've asked to speak with you today?" Jennifer asked.

"Because I sent both the police and the child protective services copies of my diary entries and pictures." Haydon made sure to look Jennifer in the eye. He was not a meek child and he was not a liar. Yes, he was abused and he was hurt, and to some people that may make him a victim, but that wasn't going to stop him from being strong and truthful if it gave him a chance of making his life better.

"Why did you choose to send us these documents in the mail instead of speaking to one of your teachers?" Jennifer was clearly deciding to work out whether there was any truth to the documents before asking about details.

"The headteacher is old school friends with my uncle, and many of the teachers had a pre-assumed opinion of me before they met me. I've been forced into a role in regards to my education that hasn't changed most of their opinions and I've stayed below their radar enough that all they have to go on is poor grades and my uncle's words. Although there is one or two teachers I could trust, I didn't want to risk their jobs which was why I asked for Maria to be here since she is contracted to the school as an independent counsellor and is not friends with the headteacher." Haydon explain, knowing that his words came across as paranoid, but also knowing they were true. It was why he'd mailed his report to Surry's head police department instead of the local department and also why he'd contacted the city council's main office and headquarters instead of a satellite office for the child protective services.

"I see," Jennifer nodded in understanding.

"It's in his notes," Maria jumped in then, opening the folder she had brought with her. "According to his school reports, Haydon is believed to be extremely dyslexic, to suffer from dyscalculia, to have ADHD and to be distrustful of authority figures. His marks from last year were extremely low in all areas except music and art and there are notes from all his teachers that he does not participate in class discussions nor does he pay attention in class."

Jennifer blinked startled. That report clearly clashed sharply with how he'd spoken and presented himself and it also didn't co-inside with how the diary entries had been written. Which means, either he had a partner writing those diary entries for him or his school grades weren't true to his actual levels which match what Haydon had just said.

"Dudley is an underachieving student. I can't do better than him in school, that's why my grades are lower. I do my best to avoid angering Vernon and Petunia." Haydon explained.

"Haydon, can you tell us about your home life?" it was Detective Lestrade who asked the next questioned.

"I've lived with my mother's sister, Petunia and her husband Vernon since the death of my parents when I was eighteen months old. They've always been distant, they never wanted to take me into the home since my mother and Petunia hadn't been close. If it had just been distance and a lack of love, I never would have contacted you, but over the years they'd been getting worse."

Haydon stopped briefly to let Jennifer open her note book so that she could take notes. The Detective had a recording device turned on and visible on the table so that he knew that he was being recorded.

"I used to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs until Marigold was born, but when they decided that she wasn't the daughter that they wanted, I was moved into her room and I now sleep on a mattress on the floor of her room. I've been in Marigold's room since the 3rd February. Being so close makes it easier to care for her and means I can get to Marigold quickly when she cries so she doesn't disturb the Dursleys. Despite living in the same house, I'm completely responsible for Marigold's care - I feed her, change her, clean her, play with her, read her stories, take her to and from school and comfort her when she's sad." Haydon went slightly off track when he accidently ended up speaking more about Marigold before he'd planned to. But then, for the last six months Marigold had been his whole world so he wasn't completely surprised that he ended up speaking about her.

"Marigold is your cousin?" Jennifer asked gentle.

"Yes. She was born May 16th, 1984. And she's the best little girl in the world. She's the reason I contacted you. She's small enough that I can protect her for now, but she's already seen what Vernon's done to me twice… I try to shield her from it, keep her away from them… but the house is small and there is only so much I can do. She can still hear the words they use… I don't want Marigold growing up around so much hate and one day, Vernon might turn on her and I won't be able to stop him. I won't be strong enough or fast enough…" Haydon stopped, frowning at the thought.

Just the other day, Vernon had gotten very close to hitting Marigold who had caught a cold and hadn't been able to stop crying while she was awake. That was the second time Haydon had been beaten in the same room as Marigold and also the same night he learnt how to casted a silencing bubble that prevented sound from leaving the nursery so Vernon couldn't hear Marigold's crying. Now he knew how to silence a room, he was trying to create a sound bubble around Marigold so she didn't have to hear the hateful words of the Dursley's but Haydon could still hear Marigold if she needed him. he would also have to find something for her to listen to inside the bubble since depriving her off all sound would be cruel.

"What do you mean 'Vernon's done to you'?" Jennifer questioned, checking her notes to make sure she got the quote right.

"The pictures and the diary pages weren't clear enough?" Haydon questioned.

He'd sent several detailed entries of the beatings he'd taken over the years, as well as the average chore list he took on in a day. He hadn't included the molestation as he was struggling to include that in his notes and wasn't yet ready to say it allowed or share it with others. He knew it was Vernon's shame and not his own, but that didn't knowledge didn't change his emotions.

"We'd like to hear it from you, if you are able to share with us, Haydon." Jennifer didn't take offense.

Haydon rolled up his jumper and sleaves to real his forearms and part of his upper arms. With his sowing skills he'd managed to take in the second-hand clothes enough that his clothes for school didn't look as ragged or baggy on him, which had the dual effect of stopping the fabric from moving out of place during to being in excess. Rolling up the sleeves revealed the pattern of small circular burn scars working there way up his left arm, while his right arm was covered in small and straight white scars.

"He doesn't like burning me often, since the pain doesn't last long enough." Haydon lightly traced over one of the newest burns on the inside of his wrist. "He just applies the flame to this arm as a lesson. Cleansing the devil from my soul with Gods cleansing might."

Vernon wasn't devotedly Christian but he did go to church on Sundays and he hated magic. As witchcraft was a sin in Christianity, he started misquoting scripture in relation to devilry and witch craft. As he burned Haydon, he enjoyed reminding Haydon of the fact that those who practised magic used to be burned at the stake.

Haydon showed his other arm where he'd been cut so many times over and over again. Vernon had started running out of clear space and so he would open old scars.

"The cuts, those are normally punishments for doing something wrong around the house. For being too noise, for speaking out of turn or being underfoot. For not completing the chores I'd been given to a good enough standard or on time. Or it could be a punishment for breaking one of the house rules. Or, when he gets drunk or angry…" Haydon sighed. "The cuts aren't just on my arm. Unlike with the burns, he doesn't contain himself."

"How often does he hurt you?" Detective Lestrade tried to be delicate with his tone, but there was no true delicate why of asking that question.

"Often enough." Haydon shrugged. He could probably work out an average of the number of times in a week or month he was beaten, but abuse was bad weather it happened once or daily. "It's not like he's consistent or anything. It happened more often over the summer because we were both at the house more often and he's been getting worse as I got older. I think because as I get older, he thinks I can take more."

As he got older, his magic also got stronger and Vernon would know that since Petunia would have seen it in her sister. Vernon wanted to supress his magic and he felt that the only way to do that was to beat it out of him. And if he couldn't beat it out of him, Vernon would have normalised hurting Haydon so much in his psyche so much that he wouldn't have a problem killing him. So, it wasn't just that he was physically able to take more of a beating it was that Vernon felt like he was having to do more in order to keep control over him.

"Haydon, you said that Marigold was also being neglected and that you've become her primary care taker? Do you believe that she is in physical danger in that house hold?" Detective Lestrade quired.

"She will be if I'm not there. I've taken the punishments for her." Haydon lifted his chin slightly and set his jaw stubbornly.

"And what of your other cousin? Records so that there is a Dudley Dursleys living at the residence." Jennifer asked next.

"Dudley isn't in danger from the Dursleys. As far as they are concerned, he is the perfect son. But I'd still say they abused him just not in the conventional way." Haydon answered.

"That, how would you say they abused Dudley?" Jennifer asked, confused.

"They spoil him. Over feed him, over indulge in greasy and surgery foods, always buy him the latest toy and gadgets or whatever it is that he wants. He's severely over weight and they don't see it because Vernon is the same. Petunia equates feeding people with showing love and affection – so she makes sure that Vernon and Dudley eat all they want but the only reason Marigold and I eat is because I got creative." Haydon tried to put into words the abuse that he thought that Dudley faced.

"Neither Petunia or Vernon say 'no' to Dudley and they don't discipline him in anyway. His education level is so low since they don't help and support him and home nor do they allow the school to provide additional support and tests since they don't want him being labelled as 'special'. He's a bully because of this sense of power that his parents give him, and soon that will turn to criminal activity if he doesn't learn respect for authority and an understanding of consequences."

Dudley was already nine and causing trouble with the other students and taking it onto himself to cause problems with Haydon – he'd tried to hurt Marigold by crushing her under a stack of books only a few months before. He had a gang of boys that he patrolled the neighbourhood with and it wouldn't be long before they turned to vandalism and assault. Haydon wouldn't be surprised if, when he went high school, drugs were also added to the list of crimes Dudley would take part in if he wasn't stopped now.

"So, Dudley isn't in immediate danger but will need to be rehomed while we try and sort this all out." Jennifer noted.

"You're taking us out of the home?" Haydon asked, glancing to the clock. "School ends in ten minutes and I'm the one who picks up Marigold."

"Our respective partners will be on the way to pick her up now and will come back here to find out what has been determined." Detective Lestrade assured.

"They've got a code word. I know you probably have all the paperwork and everything but, if you give the code word, they'll be more relaxed about passing Marigold into their care." Haydon was the only familiar face on Marigold's pick-up list. Petunia's name was on the list as well but other then when she filled in the paperwork and the first day, Petunia had never been to the nursery with Marigold.

"I'll text my partner the code word, if it will put the staff at ease." Detective Lestrade agreed.

"Wolf cub."

Detective Lestrade left the room briefly so that he could get his phone and send the text. He still had his radio on him, but his mobile was taken from him like everyone else who visited the school. He was back in less then five minutes.

"They've just arrived at the school and will be here in twenty minutes." Detective Lestrade reported on his return.

"Are you okay to continue, Haydon?" Jennifer asked as Haydon rolled his sleeves down so that their eyes didn't keep being drawn to the scars there.

"I'm okay," Haydon confirmed. "I can keep talking about this if it helps keep Marigold and me out of that house."

"You mentioned completing chores on time. What chores do you do and how long have you been doing them?" Jennifer got them started again.

"All of them since I was four. I started doing them before I was three, the quantity and frequency increasing until I'd taken over doing all the chores." Haydon answered swiftly. "I even redecorated the house over the summer – ripping out carpets and putting in new flooring, painting and wallpaper and putting together new units. They don't do anything around the house anymore."

"So, you're the primary carer to a toddler and you are the primary house carer." Jennifer was definitely frowning as she said this. "On top of coming to school."

"Yes," Haydon chose not to mention his job since he didn't want to get the Librarian in trouble. The lady still didn't know that he was only 6 and not the 11 she thought he was, and even than paying a 10- or 11-year-old for work was still child labour and illegal.

"Alright, I think that is more than enough to start with and definitely enough grounds to remove you from the house." Jennifer determined just as there was a knock at the door.

Detective Lestrade nodded to the person on the other side of the door since there was a glass pain on the door which allowed him to see who it was. Haydon stood and turned to the door, knowing exactly who it was as he'd been monitoring Marigold since he'd been told someone had gone to pick her up.

Two strangers enter the room along with the deputy head teacher. It was the male stranger who was holding a cry and distressed Marigold.

"Hay, it's okay. I'm here, I've got you." Haydon swiftly had Marigold out of the strangers and in his own. "I'm here."

"Dadda," Marigold hiccupped, blinking startled when she realised the arms holding her had changed.

"Hay little one. I've got you. I'm here." Haydon shifted his hold so he could tickle her tummy – turning tears and hiccups to giggles. "There, that's much better, isn't it?"

"Mr Cranston, could you stay for this part please? We will be discussing Haydon and Marigold's living arrangements for the next few days and the school will need to be aware of that." Jennifer requested as the six adults tried not to stare at the expert way Haydon was able to calm Marigold down and the fact that the toddler had just called him her father.

With Marigold calming down, Haydon returned to his seat. He placed Marigold on his knee facing him so that he could lightly bounce her and keep the majority of his attention on her.

"Where's her teddy?" Haydon asked when he noticed that she wasn't clutching at the teddy. Over the summer she had picked the wolf as her favourite toy. It was going on a month now and he was starting to think that she had settled on a favourite.

"It's in her bag. She was so upset on the way over here that she ended up being sick and it got on the wolf." The woman explained.

Haydon frowned but nodded.

"Haydon, this is my partner from Social Services, Georgina." Jennifer introduced.

"And this is Sargant Greystone." Detective Lestrade introduced his partner so that Haydon was aware of everyone in the room.

Haydon just nodded to each of them before he kissed Marigold on the nose and went back to bouncing her on his knee. Without the wolf to distract her, there was just him and he still needed to be able to talk to the grown-ups.

"Haydon, there is a foster family able to take in both you and Marigold in, but we prefer to place with family first. Is there anyone in your family that you would be comfortable going with?" Jennifer asked.

"Petunia was my mum's only sister. My grandparents on my mum's side were murdered in 1978 and neither of them had any surviving siblings who lived long enough to have children." Haydon hummed thoughtfully. Hi grandfather had a brother who had been two years older, both of them had joined the army but only one had come back alive to have a family. His grandmother had a younger sister who died of cancer before she'd even turned seventeen.

"My dad was an only child. My grandfather on his side died of a long-standing illness December 1975 and grandma followed behind in 1976 – unable to live without him. Granddad was an older brother. Grandma was from a really big family, but she didn't talk to any of them after she was married – some kind of falling out. I don't even know her maiden name, so wouldn't know how to begin trying to track any of them down." Haydon lied slightly. His dad had mentioned that his mother's maiden name was Black, but since Sirius hadn't gotten custody of him, he was worried that something terrible had happened to him.

"I have a godfather and a godmother, and both should have tried to get custody of me, but I don't know what happened to either of them. Sirius Black and Alice Longbottom."

"Haydon, if you were so young when your parents passed, how is it you know so much about their families?" Detective Lestrade questioned with a confused frown.

"Diaries. I have all of the diaries written by both my parents." Haydon answered. "That's how I know about how my grandparents died. Dad never included his mother's maiden name when he talked about her family because he was always insulting them."

"We won't be able to get any of your things from the house until the investigation is complete." Jennifer warned.

Haydon bit his lip, but nodded his understanding. He could still Apparate, so he could get into the house and take his mother's bag and put some of Marigold's things into it.

"What about Marigold's food? I make everything for her fresh since I don't like the idea of giving her the shop brought stuff. And her toys and books, the wolf is her current favourite but her learning books and sleeping blanket are still at the house. Will the foster family have everything for her?"

"The family we're taking you to has taken in toddlers before, they'll have everything Marigold needs." Jennifer promised.

Haydon nodded, accepting the truth in her words.

"Are you ready to go now, or do you need more time?" Jennifer questioned.

"We can go now." Haydon got up while do a little spin as he brough Marigold close, getting another giggle. "I just need to get my back from outside my classroom."

"Your bag has already been collected. It's in the front office." The deputy corrected.

"Thank you, Mr Cranston." Haydon led the way out of the small office they'd been in and through the empty school to the front office.

Word Count: 4,250