Disclaimer: I do not own the creation of Harry Potter or anything to do with it. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Two chapters in one!
Chapter Twelve: The Child Protection Conference
...
The clock near the Great Hall chimed six times as Harry stood a few metres away outside the Infirmary. Snape had suggested that he wait outside whilst he ensured his colleagues were ready to see him. Harry felt he was about to attend a court case, not unlike his one after fourth year, or moreover like he was waiting to be executed.
This was it; this was what he had been hiding for as long as he could remember, and it was finally going to come out into the open. Harry wasn't too sure he was ready to spill the beans on absolutely every detail of his life, but this truly was his only chance. Snape had said that he'd never have to return there now; it was almost bittersweet unfortunate luck that there would have been only one more summer to endure either way.
He felt wary of the reactions he was due to receive if he was honest with himself. What if they didn't deem it serious enough or even worse, agreed with Dumbledore on the fact that his role in the war was far more important than a few pushes and shoves here and there? Especially McGonagall, surely she'd be very pro-Dumbledore. How humiliating. Maybe this was a bad idea indeed.
And who was next? Ron and Hermione, Ginny and Neville, then the rest of his friends, then that would spread to the whole of Gryffindor house, and naturally the other houses – including Slytherin – and then of course, the inevitable leakage into the media. Oh the Daily Prophet will have a field day! And finally, the rest of the wizarding world would know his secret. It still wasn't too late; maybe if he could just leave-
"Mr Potter, if you may enter now," said Snape breaking Harry from his thoughts. Harry looked up at him, naked fear across his face.
"People- people are going to know…" he started uncertainly, feeling incredibly stupid for stuttering.
"This will be contained; we will do as much in our power to ensure this. Think of it this way, you know of no other students in your position no?" This factor momentarily pacified Harry immensely; it was true. He didn't know of any other kid that had gone through this. For a moment, Harry didn't feel like the Chosen One, but just one of many who were for some unknown reason chosen to be brought up in an abused household.
Harry scolded himself silently for panicking as he walked behind Snape into the Infirmary, the bright lights illuminating his pale skin; he was still in his school robes, as they tended to hide most of his weight loss now that the concealment charms were off. A sudden musing caused Harry to go, if possible, even paler. Were they going to make him take his clothes off? In front of Pomfrey, vaguely acceptable, but in front of my Transfiguration and Potions (again!) teacher, no way!
Behind a curtain, sat two very ashen faced women; Snape had very briefly informed them with a name and that it was due to concealment charms he recognised that he took Harry into detention and discovered his secret. After allowing the women a moment or two to compose themselves, Snape had walked out to fetch their subject.
Harry felt oddly vulnerable as he sat down in front of the two witches and Snape stood beside him. When Harry looked up at Snape, he conjured a chair and sat next to him, and it almost felt like moral support, almost. Breathe, Harry, breathe, I'm going to be fine.
The two witches were looking more serious than ever. But then Madame Pomfrey broke the silence with an announcement that even Snape wasn't expecting.
"Hello Harry, I know this is going to be quite difficult to follow through, but of course we're all here to try and make this run as smoothly as possible for you. As you know, Professor Snape came across some injuries that led him to have concerns about your life at home. Naturally, we are not going to make assumptions without you. We are just going to talk for a bit at first, but I'm afraid the rules have changed a little since we last held one of these. We're going to a have a social worker from St Mungos sit in, record and listen to our conversation and observations. I assure you this will be strictly confidential, and she will have no obvious involvement in our chat, but it's just to ensure we are doing things correctly and everything is logged."
Harry looked straight across to Snape, distress and betrayal in his eyes. Snape didn't even know how to respond, he himself furious, but McGonagall swiftly cut in.
"Mr Potter, Professor Snape, nor I, did not know about this until just now; we were just as unaware as you were. It is perfectly fine; this isn't going to make a difference. If it's this escaping you're worried about, I assure you Professor Dumbledore-"
"Professor Dumbledore does not need to be aware of this, Mr Potter will most certainly be treated like any other pupil at Hogwarts," said Snape smoothly, giving the two witches stern hinting looks. McGonagall, despite her confusion, caught on quickly and nodded.
Madame Pomfrey smiled and stood up, nodding towards her office window. A middle aged lady walked out and strode over towards the small group. She had a tight face, with small grey hairs intermingled with her brown hair pulled back into a bun; Harry was briefly reminded of Aunt Petunia with her eyes hard and pursed lips. She pulled the screen around them, and Madame Pomfrey locked the Infirmary with her wand. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she saw Harry Potter seated with them.
"Harry, this is Ms Bhurnes, she is our social worker. Well I think we're ready to begin?" said Madame Pomfrey glancing at the woman. Ms Bhurnes showed no sign of acknowledgement or understanding of Madame Pomfrey; she merely conjured a chair, sat down and put a recording device on the table, looking promptly at Harry.
"Okay Harry, I am just going to ask you a few questions about your home life. If there is anything you don't feel comfortable answering, please just say so and it will be duly noted, but I will ask of you to not cover or falsehood any stories or situations. Is everything okay so far?"
Harry nodded, very nervous but feeling relatively composed.
"After this, we're just going to do a quick scan; as you're above a certain age it's not for hard evidence, but more importantly to see if there's anything we can do to help you."
Again, Harry nodded, poised but not trusting himself to speak just yet.
"Okay good. The recorder is now on, just don't let it bother you Harry. I am just going to start asking a few questions here and there about Mr and Mrs Dursley. They have an only child, is that correct?"
"Yes, Dudley Dursley." answered Harry.
"Dudley, lovely. Did your cousin, Dudley here ever feel a similarity in treatment in what you felt? Were you ever able to relate to each other in any way or was there a difference?"
Harry almost let out a bark of laughter and replied easily, "No, there was no similarities in how we treated at their house."
"Why do you feel like there was a difference in treatment?"
"Well for one thing, that's their son, and I am not. And Dudley isn't a wizard either."
"I see; what was their take on magic Harry?"
"Erm – they kinda really hated it to be honest. It's what made me the freak when I didn't know I was a wizard."
Ms Bhurnes glanced up from her notes when Harry spoke whilst Madame Pomfrey asked Harry to go on.
Harry took a deep shaky breath before continuing, "I didn't know I could to magic. It was a nuisance to them, and a problem for me because strange things would constantly happen and I wouldn't understand why. I couldn't control it at all, obviously, and accidental mental tended to kick in when something was happening that I really didn't like. Then I'd be punished for it. It was a constant cycle. They had made it clear to me from the start that my living there wasn't a choice but an order and there was nothing they could do about it because my parents died in a car crash drunk and there was no one else out there who could or would want to take me in. They said all these threats about orphanages so I'd keep working to earn my keep. Obviously now, I know that orphanages aren't necessarily a bad place to be, but they made it seem like the worst place in the world when I was younger."
Harry felt his head swim as it dawned on him just how much he had just revealed at once.
"It's okay Harry, take your time. In what sort of ways would they punish you Harry?"
"I'd just go to my cupboard." Harry said quickly.
"Was there anything else?"
Harry began to stutter uncertainly his controlling beginning to break as he remembered Uncle Vernon's warning at King's Cross. No. They can't know; I just fell. A lot. It wasn't their fault, it was mine!
"N-no, nothing. I wasn't punished. I wasn't hurt, it was fine, and it wasn't their fault!" His reflex survival instincts had abruptly gone into overdrive and he was determined to deny.
"Harry please do think again dear. We can take this as slow as you want to, but I need you to be as honest as you can."
Severus watched Madame Pomfrey, impressed at her composure as she spent the next few minutes calming Harry down. He glanced at Professor McGonagall quickly who seemed to be stuck to her seat, eyes flickering with tears. Harry was deliberately not paying attention to her.
"How about we talk about the cupboard Harry?" she said gently, pouring a glass of water for him. Get a grip of on yourself Harry.
"Yeah okay, well there's nothing much to it – thanks-" Harry gripped the cup and took a sip of the water, feeling a lot calmer "It was just somewhere I stayed until I got my Hogwarts letter; but I was there again this summer. If I was bad I'd stay there. Things were a lot better for some time while I was in Dudley's second bedroom – a lot more space and I think the cat flap meant they remembered to feed me a little more."
"Cat flap? Whatever do you mean?" McGonagall cut in suddenly. The other two adults looked at her sharply but she was staring directly at Harry. Harry merely shrugged, figuring it was probably something to do with the fact McGonagall was a cat in her animagus form that had sparked her interest.
"Just how I'd get food. I mean, things got better; yeah Uncle Vernon had started using the belt but from fourth year Sirius was their reason for staying away from me. I mean, that summer I wasn't given any chores or beaten or anything. I even sat with them and took part in their stupid family diet. They really included me. That's, until of course after… yknow." Harry gave a bitter smile to the other three.
Madame Pomfrey continued to question various aspects of Harry's childhood, and Harry answered as honestly as he could; it wasn't exactly memories he had kept at the front of his mind. And he had to wrack his brains to remember several accounts - such as one with Aunt Marge and her dogs. She listened, along with the rest of the adults, to the escalating descriptive violence Harry described. The professional air was there, yet the increasing tense atmosphere was apparent to all.
"When did your uncle begin using the belt Harry? And had he or any other relative use anything before that?"
A dark shadow passed Harry's face as he straightened in his seat, "Second year. There was an incident, with magic; it wasn't me, but the house elf had disappeared and I was left for blame. That was the first time it properly went down. That's when I realised he genuinely hated me. It wasn't a punishment for him anymore, it was satisfaction. He always threatened to beat the freakishness out of me, and that's when he really started to try. I think deep down he knew he wouldn't be able to – but it didn't stop him trying."
"And any other relative?" Ms Bhurnes spoke for the first time, her voice hard and unwavering at Harry's ramble.
"Uh- erm – Just Aunt Petunia used to whack me the frying pan sometimes or wallop me with a wooden spoon if I wasn't doing something well in the kitchen. Dudley was just your usual school boy bully so I don't think that counts – it was just fully condoned by his parents."
"So things were getting better Potter; what possibly could have caused them to change back to their old ways?" said Ms Bhurnes, her voice cynical. Snape and the other two witches both caught it, but Harry ignored the tone and answered honestly, his eyes surprisingly dry.
"Like I mentioned earlier, they included me for a while until Sirius – my godfather, passed away; no more fear of a crazy convict – who was innocent as you know – coming to murder them. Uncle Vernon was threatened by Mad-Eye Moody, Mr Weasley and a couple of others about my treatment and there was a rule that I had to write to them every three days. That of course continued. He made sure there was no damage to my right hand across the summer and whenever the Order's owl came to collect my letter, Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia read through it first."
"Are you ready to tell us more about this most recent summer Harry? How you came to have the injuries that Professor Snape reported?"
"Well, it was only Uncle Vernon, really. The ribcage- that was the chair incident but Aunt Petunia was furious so that didn't happen again-"
"Sorry to interrupt you Harry, could you elaborate on this chair incident you're talking about?" asked Madame Pomfrey with a frown.
Harry leaned back on his seat slightly, crossing one leg over the other. "He hit me with a chair, down my side, that's why there was more bruising on my hip and the rib that cracked. The chair splintered, and that's why Aunt Petunia was furious. She was disgusted that I managed to break a chair."
"She was offended by the broken piece of furniture, not Mr Dursley's actions?" said Professor McGonagall, unable to keep the horror from her voice.
"Well she was annoyed at him for using the chair instead of the belt. It's all mainly his belt, and Aunt Petunia generally isn't in at the time. There was the odd punch here and there from Dudley, but he was out most the time as well so I didn't get much stick from him this past summer either."
"Thank you, Harry, for explaining so clearly. Are there any memories from your younger years that stand out to you that would be worthwhile logging? Some form of conduct that hasn't been mentioned as of yet?"
"No I don't think so," replied Harry quickly, too quickly for the liking of Professor Snape.
"Mr Potter, it's better to get these things out in the open now. You have no idea when such matters will be brought up again, and this is your moment to come out. Do not conceal for those who do not deserve protection," said Professor Snape calmly, reassuringly in fact.
That man doesn't miss anything. Harry nodded slowly and began speaking in a quiet, flat voice. "He hit me with a car, once. It wasn't a hard impact as it was only in the driveway whilst I was gardening, but it really hurt. I was nine. He didn't even help me up, and I think it was only due to accidental magic I didn't have any broken bones. The bruising was there for weeks and the gash was pretty deep. I had to crawl back into the house round the back, because Uncle Vernon had locked the front door. I used their first aid supplies on myself, I didn't have a clue what I was doing and it stung so much; and to top it off, I got into trouble for using their first aid kit. No one even questioned what happened, so it was literally between Uncle Vernon and me. I know he wasn't trying to kill me or anything- but-"
And that was it; a sob escaped Harry's throat as he hung his head into his arms. He muttered through his hands, "I'd like to think Aunt Petunia would have had a problem with it but I would be kidding myself. I think I'm done here." The other three Hogwarts members looked at each other sympathetically, understanding that Harry had finally had enough.
After thirty minutes of vigorous questioning and emotionally exhausting every secret he had ever kept regarding the Dursleys, Harry had reached his end point.
...
Apart from Ms Bhurnes, the rest of the adults had collectively decided to give it a half an hour break before they continued with scan. Harry had just been settled into one of the private Hospital Wing beds and had been asked to get changed into pyjamas. Harry didn't think he'd be able to nap even if he tried to. Nevertheless, the bed had been warded off with silencing charms and he couldn't hear what was going on outside of the curtains. It frustrated him to think they were talking about him right this second whilst he was lying helplessly on a bed.
"This is an unnecessary waste of time Pomfrey. It doesn't matter who the boy is, there is no need for him to have wind down time. If we gave every abused file the amount of time we've given this one, we'd never get through them all!" huffed Ms Bhurnes through a cup of coffee.
"We've made it very clear from the start that Potter will be treated just like any other case, regardless of name and status. That is vital, in order to ensure that this information will remain confidential," said Snape sternly, surprising McGonagall more so than Madam Pomfrey; the mediwitch was not unfamiliar with Severus' protective attitude towards abused children, and sure enough, Harry would be no different. Professor McGonagall was most certainly not faring well and was rather shaken up indeed.
"Why did he hide it? What on earth caused him to keep such information from our world?" she asked unsteadily.
"I believe he is beginning to understand now that it was not his burden to bear. He wouldn't have spoken so intrinsically, otherwise. Unfortunately, I think those blasted muggles drilled no self-worth into his head and it has now cost him dearly, mentally and physically. And this year, he admitted to me that it was only one summer left – that he felt he could handle it and it was simply too dangerous to stay with anyone else," replied Professor Snape neutrally.
"But Professor Dumbledore would never have stood for this; he will be furious! Of course Mr Potter will not stay with them next summer, I'll be damned if he does!" McGonagall bristled, eyes flashing.
"The Headmaster has no reason to know about this meeting, just like any other pupil at this school. Suffice it to say, that is something that can be discussed later," replied Severus shortly and swiftly just like earlier; Professor McGonagall understood the intention immediately but gave a short retort in a return this time.
"Yes, indeed we shall Severus," Professor McGonagall replied, eyes narrowing with uncertainty.
"Are we ready for the scan Harry?" Madame Pomfrey asked gently, peering through the private screen curtains. It hurt her to see just how much weight Harry had truly lost which was now obvious in the hospital gown.
"Yeah, better to get this done and over with I think," sighed Harry, beginning to sit up.
"No, no – stay lying down. I'm going to attach this bronze band across your forehead, and also one to each of your ankles. Then, I am going to perform a spell that shall record any injuries that are still present now. Due to the nature of this spell and the general original intention when the spell was first created, this will not include scarring. As you are above the age of fifteen, the rules are a little different dear. If you do not wish for me to check over for any permanent marks, that's fully your choice. You don't have to make the decision now, but I'll ask you after this?"
"Yes ma'am," replied Harry calmly, relief spreading through him. No scars; which means no questions about the self-harm. Harry was tempted to give his decision to not be checked over immediately, but out of respect for Madame Pomfrey, as well as not wishing to come across suspicious, he figured he should wait until she asks. Madame Pomfrey gave Harry a moderate smile and began to attach the bands to him. Once she had finished she confirmed with Harry if he was ready for the spell, and warned him that should there be a gentle tingle across his body, not to worry. Harry reluctantly agreed and braced himself by closing his eyes tight as Madame Pomfrey performed the magic.
He felt her leave the area, and for the first time in a long time, he wished he had adult there with him.
A few moments later, Professor Snape walked behind the curtain and sat down in the chair besides Harry. He could see the bronze bands glowing slightly, and witnessed the parchment hovering above the end of the bed and recording rapidly. Snape wasn't too sure what drove him to sit beside the boy, but it felt appropriate.
Luckily, the wait was not long but the strain from the bands eventually became exhausting for Harry. He let out a small whimper once the bronze bands finally cooled down and before he knew it, Harry was trembling and tears were leaking out of the corner of his eyes. He unexpectedly felt a hand grip his arm tightly, and when he opened his eyes, to his horror or gratefulness – Harry wasn't too sure – he saw Professor Snape, his onyx eyes staring supportively into his green ones. And Harry let it all out. Every single emotion that built up across the past three weeks or perhaps even three months released, and Severus let him. They remained like this for a while, undisturbed. Every feeling that had been pent up was expressed. And Professor Snape held on, he held on to Harry's arm, to show that he was there, and wasn't planning on letting go any time soon.
When it seemed like Harry had eventually quietened, Severus silently stood up and removed the bands from Harry's forehead and ankles. He placed them in a container and nipped around the curtain to signal Madame Pomfrey back inside the ward. She entered with a dressing gown and a box of tissues, her face oddly apologetic.
"Your job is done now, you can relax. Madame Pomfrey and I will be waiting outside for when you're ready to come and join us," said Severus calmly waiting for Harry to respond. The Gryffindor merely nodded back, his body still trembling ever so slightly. The two adults left the ward again, with the records produced, presumably back to their original seats.
Harry took a few calming breaths before sitting up from the bed and grabbing the dressing gown Madame Pomfrey had left for him. It was soft and snug, which felt warm compared to the thin hospital gown. It also covered his weight loss, just like his uniform. He picked out a couple of tissues and wiped his face clean. Strangely, Harry didn't feel mortified by his encounter with Snape. It was oddly comforting the man was there without the need for any prompting. It was almost as if he actually cared.
Finally, Harry got off the bed, neatened the bed sheets and left the ward, his eyes still red and puffy. The very first thing he noticed was that all three of the Hogwarts staff members were looking rather upset indeed. Ms Bhurnes had disappeared.
Madame Pomfrey cleared her throat and asked Harry to sit down. He complied hesitantly; what had come up on the scan that had caused the teachers to become so solemn?
"Harry we can easily speak about all of this tomorrow, if you would rather." Madame Pomfrey began.
"No. I'd rather sort this all out tonight. If that's okay with you of course. And where's the other lady gone?" replied Harry.
"Of course it is. We've turned the recorder off, so our meeting is officially over; therefore she's taken the scan's recordings and left. I shall start with our good news. Fortunately, Professor Snape is indeed a more than capable Healer with all his potions skills, and it appears that any injuries do not need any further treatment."
Harrys shot a mildly grateful look at Snape who inclined his head non-committedly.
"However, we've reached a slight issue regarding the rate of your healing, Harry."
"What do you mean?" asked Harry quickly.
"Harry, the scan has come up to show me there are a numerous different concerns that need addressing in terms of deficiencies. But first of all, we are well aware that you are currently severely underweight. This is not a huge problem, we can solve this with nutrient potions on a weekly basis, and perhaps a supplement tablet with each meal to ensure your energy transfer is more efficient whilst we're working on you putting on weight. Other than that, the scan is telling us you have anaemia for one thing, which is a lack of iron. We believe it is due to your diet in the past few months as well as a low red blood cell count at the moment. Professor Snape and I would rather not jump into blood transfusion, so once again, we shall focus on iron tablets and some extra vitamins to boost your system up. Once you have finished your dosage, we'll do another scan to see how much progress has been made."
Harry blinked a couple of times as he digested the information being thrown at him. There seemed to be a lot of things that needed fixing about him, but it didn't seem overly serious so far. But Madame Pomfrey didn't seem to have finished speaking.
"Harry, have you heard of osteomalacia?"
"No," said Harry blankly, and he saw Professor Snape roll his eyes in the corner of his eye.
"I wouldn't have thought so; it's very rare. It's, to put it simply, the adult form of rickets. I trust you have heard of rickets?"
"Yes, the thing you treat with limes," Harry replied, and immediately felt stupid when he saw all three adults look at him with disbelief.
"Yes- well- that was one particular scenario in the 1700's, Harry, where British sailors consumed citrus fruits to prevent getting rickets whilst on board ships." said Madame Pomfrey with half a smile.
"It was something I learnt at muggle school, before Hogwa-"
"Can we get back to the subject at hand please?" snapped Snape and Professor McGonagall sniffed in agreement. Madame Pomfrey immediately became forlorn.
"Harry, osteomalacia is just like rickets, which is in essence a severe Vitamin D deficiency. Your case is not incredibly serious, but it's something we need to sort out immediately. To be deficient of Vitamin D is very common over here in the UK, however, problems such as osteomalacia and rickets are rather rare as we have so many supplements of Vitamin D added to our diet. Vitamin D is incredibly important for our bodies, as it ensures healthy, strong bones and is even important for our muscles. Have you been feeling rather achy recently?"
Now this sounded a lot more serious, Harry thought to himself as he nodded slowly, his heart rate beginning to increase. "What-what are the implications?"
"For starters, we will have to limit your level of exercise whilst giving you large levels of Vitamin D. This will mean refraining from Quidditch practice for a little while and-"
"What?!" replied Harry heatedly, "That's not fair, it's not like I'm just going to fall apart if I sit on a broom, there's got to be something-"
"For now, let us not focus on implications, but on things we need to do to ensure your health is returned to scratch as quickly and safely as possible. I'm sure Madame Pomfrey agrees that it's probably best you remain in the hospital wing for tonight," said Snape sternly, but this did nothing to quench Harry's frustration. This really didn't sound good.
Professor McGonagall stood up. "I'll see to him. Good night everyone."
"Good night, Minerva, and good night Harry. Thank you for all your cooperation."
Harry merely stood up, nodding back in response, "Good night."
...
Once Harry had calmed, washed, dressed and settled into the bed, Professor McGonagall came and sat down next to him.
"Professor Snape was rather reluctant to leave but we deemed it probably best before anyone noticed the absence." By anyone, both Harry and McGonagall understood that meant Dumbledore. She shot Harry a wry smile at the prospect of Severus' restlessness being due to Harry Potter. Her smiled dropped, however, as she began to word very carefully what she had been waiting to say to Harry the whole evening.
"Mr Potter – Harry – I want to personally apologise to you for letting you down so horrendously. I'm despairing over the fact you returned there every year whilst under my care in my House."
Harry looked at his Head of House's forlorn face and realised this was exactly what he didn't want. For people to start feeling sorry for what happened to him along with apologies and pity. No thanks; he'd been alone long enough to address these topics without requiring someone to show him just how bad it was. Harry simply shrugged in response.
"You didn't know what was going on Professor, so it wasn't your fault."
"The point is, is that we should have known," She gave a deep sigh and stood up to leave, "We have a lot to make up for. Have a good night's sleep Mr Potter."
Yes. Yes they should have known, and those that did should have done something about it.
"Good night Professor."
...
*Peaks up* So... What did you think?
I tried my best to ensure the Professors and Harry were kept in character, it'd be great to get some feedback on this. I made an attempt at giving Harry more personal thoughts in italics. Did you deem that appropriate or were we better off without them?
This was actually a lot harder to write than I was expecting it to be! That was a contributing factor as to why it took me so long to update, as well as the fact I was sitting some rather important exams. These exams will determine whether I go to university next year or not; perhaps some reviews from all you lovely Potterheads to calm my nerves? ;)
Thank you to Murgy31, Vernieklein, Silverstargirl, Caraline fisher, Witchy-Raven, mei101, Chameleon lover, JWOHPfan, AnimagnaLoverFE, all guests, and Gary the Snail for reviewing!
Best wishes
Raiise
P.S: I've been hearing a lot about The Fault In Our Stars? To anyone who has read/watched, do you recommend, or no?