Hey! Here's a long chapter. Thanks for my reviewers. Anonymous reviewers are now welcome!
Chapter 8. Two Weeks of Nightmares (Part 1)
Harry Lillian Potter went in hand in hand with the man eagerly awaiting getting his reward, a yellow lego. Harry really liked yellow. His dream was to be sorted into the house of black and yellow like his favorite brother in the whole world Samuel Luthor Potter.
Harry innocently went with the man. The man led Harry to a car and opened the door to a passenger seat. Harry look at the open door and then at man thinking if he should go. Harry knew that he was already in trouble with his parents. Was he willing to go with the man? He looked safe enough.
"Ummm…. Sir, is your house far away? See I have to go home and…."
"Don't worry son. I'll take you home in my car after we go to my house. We'll just stop by for the lego and maybe some drinks then you can go."
"Oh. Okay!" Harry thought that it should be okay, again he was already in trouble anyway. "Let's go then!"
Harry willingly went inside the car, and the man drove away for about an hour. Harry was having fun staring at the streets, trees, buildings and houses they passed. Harry wasn't worried, because he was having so much fun looking at the new sights they were passing. After various turns and many more different houses, Harry spotted a row of similar normal looking houses with garages each. The man indicated that they were finally at his house. The man then parked to one of the garages, and the boy and man went inside a house with a blue door.
Harry walked inside with an excited glee. Harry was looking everywhere, he had only visited few adult muggle houses accompanied with no children his age, and this was the farthest house he had visited so far.
"Why don't you sit on the sofa, son?"
Harry obediently went to sit on the sofa. His legs dangling on the sofa, childishly swinging up and down.
"Wait here a moment, son." The man then went outside the living room. He went to his son's room and searched for the lego box that his son had always played with. Then went back to Harry swinging his feet on the sofa, and bouncing in his seat in a hyperactive state.
"Here why don't you open this lego box, and search for all the yellow and blue legos.
The yellow ones will be for you while the blue ones will be for me. I've always liked the color blue. While you arrange this, I'll go get us some drinks."
"Okay!!" Harry opened the box eagerly, and gleefully observed the bunch of different colored lego blocks inside.
While Harry was busy, the man went to the kitchen. He made some tea for himself, and heated hot milk for the boy. When the milk was done, he got his Lawrence's yellow mug and poured hot milk in it. He filled the yellow mug halfway with milk, then took a suspicious bottle with a colorless liquid inside. The other half of the mug was then filled with this strange concoction. The man then took a spoon and mixed it together. The finish product was a normal looking lukewarm milk. When the man went back to the living room, he smiled at the sight of the child happily separating lego blocks into yellow and blue piles.
Harry was so happy with playing with the legos that he didn't notice that it was getting quite late. When he saw the man approaching with the drinks, he suddenly realized that he felt really thirsty.
The man put down the drinks, and gave the yellow mug to the child. Harry took the mug with two hands and said a big "Thank You!" to the man. Harry then eagerly drank the milk finishing it all up. After he finished his drink, he spotted the wall clock behind the man.
"Oh! It's already 7:00!! My mom and dad will kill me. I gotta go, Mister!! Thank you for the milk and letting me play!"
Harry then jumped down the sofa, hurriedly wore his backpack which was also yellow, and was running to the door leading outside the house, when he felt something not quite right with his surroundings. Harry slowed his pace and looked at the door leading outside. Why were there 3 blue doors? He shook his head trying to clear his vision, but then everything begun spinning. Harry then begun feeling dizzy, and weak in the knees. He then put his right hand on the wall to steady himself but everything was now becoming fuzzy. Cold sweat then started to run down his forehead and back, making his messy uniform stick to his back. Harry brushed the sweat out of his eyes and furiously blinked, but it didn't help. Black surrounded the corners of Harry's already fuzzy vision. The last thing Harry saw were the man's brown shoes, then he knew no more. Harry had fallen unconscious.
The man calmly walked to the unconscious boy, swept his arms under the boy's shoulders and knees and lifted the boy bridal style to his Lawrence's room. Inside the room, he shifted the child's position letting boy's head fall on his neck. With his left arm, the man supported the boy's bottom, while his right hand was busy taking off the little boy's backpack from his shoulders.
The man then carefully laid the beautiful child on his son's bed. The man then took warm wet washcloth and warm blue cotton pajamas back to the child. He removed the pale red-headed child's uniform and spotted a necklace with a green pendant and bracelet. The necklace was the one with the Emy stone pendant (as previously discussed from previous chapters). The bracelet, on the other hand, had a shape of a stag with a lily flower on its mouth at center of the gold band and an engraving of Harry Lillian Potter on the inside of the simple gold band bracelet adorning the child's delicate wrist. The 2 spotted jewelry were also removed and was kept by the man.
The man then wiped the child's angelic face and small pale body with the washcloth he had and caringly clothed the little child with the blue cotton pajamas. Throughout all the proceedings, Harry just stirred once and mumbled some incoherent words. After this, the man took out a syringe and injected the child on the inside of his elbow with it. The injection was medicine that Lawrence always had to take once or more depending on his current state to keep him from getting too sick and weak. Unfortunately if injected to a normal boy without Lawrence's particular sickness, it had the reverse effect. The medicine will only make someone sick and weak. Instead of killing the virus of Lawrence's particular sickness, it will destroy the immune system of the person given with the medicine.
Harry woke in the middle of the night feeling feverish and sick. He opened his eyes to an unfamiliar room illuminated by the moonlight. He unsteadily got out of bed, and swayed to the door. He opened the door and went out to the dark hallway. Everything was dark, but he felt a doorknob right across the room he was in. Harry opened the door, and saw a faint outline of a sink and a toilet seat. Lucky, he was in the loo. Harry opened the toilet seat and threw up everything he had eaten and drunk that day.
The man had awoken to retching sounds, and went outside his bedroom. He went towards the sound, turned on the lights, and discovered a child being violently sick. He went to the side of the poor child and patted the child's back.
After Harry was finished vomiting, he rested his forehead on the porcelain seat. Harry felt someone lifting him up, but was already feeling so drained to complain, let alone resist. The person carrying him was soothingly rubbing his back, and pressed a glass of cool water to his lips. Harry washed his mouth of the remaining bile with the assistance of the man.
The man then carried him back to the unfamiliar room, opened the lights and laid him on the bed, his back resting on the headboard of the bed. Harry closed his eyes at the sudden harsh lights, and weakly opened his eyes again to look around. He discovered that this wasn't his room. Not his room, and the man wasn't his dad or one of his brothers. Harry then looked at the man and said:
"I want to go home. Sir, please call my mom or you could take me back. My home number and address are written on the inside of my bag." After saying his piece, Harry closed his eyes against the lights that were hurting his eyes.
The man narrowed his eyes and said. "Why don't you sleep now? This is after all your home, Lawrence."
Harry was startled at the name of Lawrence, and fluttered his eyes open and denied, "Sir, I think you're mistaken. I'm Harry. It's even written here." Harry was pointing at his now missing bracelet. Harry then discovered that not only was his bracelet that was given by his parents missing, but his Emy stone was as well.
Harry panicked and asked, "Sir, where are my bracelet and necklace? Please give it back."
The man took Harry's things from out of his pocket, and presented it to Harry. Harry was relieved and quickly took his Emy stone back. He hurriedly wore his necklace back and then took his bracelet from the man.
Harry then pointed on the inside of the silver band and said, "See, this here. Look my name's written here. Harry Lillian Potter."
After the man had read it, Harry was on the process of wearing it back, when the man suddenly snatched the bracelet from his possession. Harry was surprised at the sudden action and stared at the man, his green eyes big and round.
The man took the bracelet and shoved it back to his pocket. "Lawrence, you're confused. Look your name's not Harry Lillian Potter. Your real name is Lawrence Cooper. And I'm you're father Robert Cooper. They stole you away from me a year ago."
Harry was now starting to get scared. "But, Sir, Mr. Cooper. I'm Harry. See I've been living with my mom and dad, Lily and James since I was born. I can't be your son, you just said that he disappeared a year ago, and I've been living with my family for many years as long as I can remember."
The man, Robert Cooper was adamant. "No, you are my son. Before my son disappeared, he was sick and kept forgetting who he was. You're name is Lawrence."
Harry was now really scared, his heart beating a mile a minute despite his feverish state. "Please Mr. Cooper, just call my mom, they can tell you all about me."
The man then angrily said, "Don't call me Mr. Cooper, I'm your Dad. And I will not call the people who stole you away from me."
Harry was trembling and shivering because he was ill and the situation he was now in definitely wasn't helping. "No, no. Sir, please I'm not your son. Ummm, do you have a picture of you're son? I probably don't look like him."
Robert noticed his son's shivering state, and wrapped the blanket around his Lawrence. He then placated and said: "Look, son. You're still ill which if I might add is another evidence that you're my son. You should rest now. We'll continue this discussion tomorrow."
Harry was still trembling despite the warm blanket, "But Sir, please. I want to go home."
Robert forced Harry to lay down and tightly tucked him into bed. "This is home. This discussion is over. You are my Lawrence. You even have green eyes like my dead wife, like my Lawrence."
Robert then closed the lights and walked out the room. He then went outside and threw the bracelet down the trash.
Harry couldn't sleep even though he was tired. Adrenaline was rushing to his veins in his panic state. I want to go home. Mom. Dad. Sam. John. Ri.
Meanwhile on the Potter side…
The twins who were supposed to come for Harry were late as usual. They weren't worried because Harry was strictly told to wait for someone before going back home. So when the twins arrived at the school expecting to see their little brother waiting on the steps of the school, they were surprised to discover no little baby brother.
The twins went back home correctly assuming that Harry went back on his own and waited and waited and waited. But still, when the clock chimed 7pm, there was still no Harry. The twins were starting to get agitated, John was pacing back and forth. And his twin, Orion, was in no better shape, tapping his foot repeatedly on the ground.
Finally the Potter twins were impatient. They decided to look for Harry outside. Maybe he just took the long route or was just near the house. After all, their little brother was known for going on his spontaneous little adventures but it was usually near their house, where a forest was located nearby. The forest was relatively safe, but it was getting dark…
The twins were fruitlessly searching. They searched everywhere they could think of, and still no Harry. When they went back inside their house hoping that Harry was back, their mom was already back from her clinic. She saw her twin son's worried faces and asked:
"What's wrong?" She then called out, "Harry come down here."
The twins looked worried and guilty. Ri finally blurted out, "Actually Mom, that's the problem, Harry isn't here yet."
John added with, "We already searched outside to all the places nearby and to every place we could think of. It's time to use the charm on Harry's bracelet to track the place where he's at."
Lily worriedly said, "But we need both my and your father's magic to track Harry with the bracelet. You two both work in the same Auror Department, where is he?"
Ri replied with, "Dad's still in his office. Let's go"
The three worried Potters quickly went and flooed to James's office. The Potter house were surrounded by anti-apparation wards for security sake.
James was just about to floo home, when three people stumbled out of the fireplace near his office. Lily then dragged James back to the floo and flooed back home. The twins followed after their parents.
When the four Potters arrived back to their home. Lily quickly explained to James that Harry was missing, and they then activated the tracking charm on the bracelet. They then took out a map, and used the charm again to point out the location of Harry. The red dot that was Harry on the map was moving.
The twins stayed inside the house just in case. Lily and James then apparated to the places where Harry was but the rate that Harry was moving was very fast. When the apparation chase stopped. The final place was a dump site. It was already morning. They then only found the bracelet without any living person near the place. Their little Harry was still nowhere to be found.
Back to Harry….
When everything was quiet, Harry sneaked outside the room. Harry remembered that there was a phone in the living room, maybe he could call. Harry's feet were still unsteady because he wasn't feeling well. When he was going down the stairs, he missed a step and rolled all the way down the last 10 steps. On the final step, Harry finally rolled to a stop and was still. Harry was in pain. He hurt everywhere. Finally the fates gave him mercy, Harry, for the second time that day, fell unconscious.
When Harry woke up, he was back in the unfamiliar room. He tried to get up but his right leg wasn't cooperating. When jarred, it was really painful. Harry thinks it might be broken. Harry tried to remember what his mother would usually do with broken bones. He knew that it should be set first, and then healed or should remain immobile through healing.
Since Harry doesn't have a wand yet, he stopped trying to get up and stayed lying on his bed. Harry through his fall had acquired a bunch of bruises on his body and a broken leg. Aside from the pain in his leg, his body felt sore, his throat ached and felt scratchy, he still felt weak and feverish, and even with the blanket on, he still felt cold. Added to Harry's physical aches, he wanted to go home. He didn't want to stay in a strange place with a crazy man. He wanted Snuffles who slept beside him. He wanted his room. He wanted his mom and dad, he wanted Sam, and he was even starting to miss the twins.
Harry tried to hold it in, but he couldn't take it. Harry was now crying and sniffling. He was rubbing his nose and eyes with his pajama sleeves, but the tears just kept falling. He kept sniffling and crying and hiccupping. It hurts. Mommy, Daddy, where are you? Come find me. I want to go home. In Harry's distress, he couldn't help calling his mom and dad as Mommy and Daddy.
It was in this crying state, that Robert Cooper walked into when he checked his son.
"What's wrong Lawrence? Don't cry."
"I'm not *hic* Lawrence. I'm *sniff* Harry. Please, Mr. Cooper. *hic* I want to go home."
Robert became angry, and shouted. "Don't call me Mr. Cooper. I'm your Dad. And You Are Home!"
At the furious shouting of the crazy man, Harry started crying harder and he backed into the corner of the bed despite his broken leg. The leg was hurting more, and Harry couldn't stop crying. He was sick and was hurt.
Harry covered his face with the blanket and hid under the covers. He was a quivering mass under the blankets, still crying, hiccupping and sniffling. He tried to be brave and not cry, but he just couldn't.
Despite Robert's anger, he still noticed the weird way his Lawrence scrambled back. There was something wrong with his leg, yesterday night he hadn't noticed anything wrong aside from the bruises when he carried Lawrence back to bed. But right now, it looked like something. Robert calmed down, and reined in his temper.
"Lawrence, let me look at your leg. I noticed there was something wrong."
Robert tried to gently tug the blanket away to uncover the leg, but Harry kept a tight hold. Robert tried to coax his Lawrence to let him let a look, but to no avail. He repeatedly tried to tug and coax, but his Lawrence refused to answer aside from his crying and kept a tight hold on the blanket. Robert was at the end of his rope.
Robert finally pulled hard on the blanket completely jostling the broken leg in the process. Harry cried out. The broken leg was really painful.
Without Harry's covering, he felt even more scared of the man. Harry pressed his face on the pillow on the corner of the bed beside the wall and tried to inch away as far as possible from the crazy man.
The bed wasn't that big. So even if Harry was in the far corner, Harry was still fairly reachable to Robert. So Robert didn't have a hard time, folding Harry's pajama leg in order to see the leg of the frightened tousled red-headed boy. The leg looked bad. It was bruised with grotesque colors of yellow, blue and red. Robert experimentally poked the leg trying to assess if it was broken.
"Oww!" Harry cried out and whimpered, the man's poking was making the pain worse. "Stop it! Stop it!" Harry mumbled into the pillow.
"Oh Lawrence, I think your leg's broken. Come let's get you to the hospital where I work at. You know your daddy works as a pharmacist there."
Harry didn't want to go to any muggle hospital or any magical hospital even. He wanted his Mom to heal it. It wouldn't take more than a minute with his mom. He had always been fascinated in seeing his mom work in her clinic or on anyone for that matter as long as it wasn't him. But now, he wanted his mom to heal his broken leg. Mommy.
Harry turned to the man with his tear-stained face, "Please Sir. *sniff sniff* Just call my Mom, she's a kind of doctor. *hic* She'll fix me up"
Robert tried to be patient. This was his Lawrence. "No Lawrence. I told you. Your mother's dead. Let's go to my hospital."
"My mom's not dead. Her name's Lily Potter, and I'm Harry!" Harry bravely said.
"No! How many times am I going to tell you that your name's Lawrence. You're Lawrence Cooper. You're mother's dead and not some nobody named Lily Potter."
At this insult, Harry stopped crying. His mom wasn't dead. She was alive! Harry just saw her this morning making him breakfast and giving him a kiss. "You're Crazy! My name's Harry Potter, Mr. Cooper. And my mom is Lily Potter who is a very good Healer!"
At the word healer, Harry covered his mouth. He wasn't supposed to reveal this to any muggle. Mom and Dad always reminded him to be careful around muggles.
At the word healer, Robert Cooper was more than convinced that his Lawrence was stolen from him by delusional people. For that matter, his Lawrence was still very sick. Robert then took the injection he had yesterday that was already loaded up again, pulled up the pajama sleeve of his son, and injected his Lawrence on the upper arm with his medicine.
Harry just froze. He knew what an injection was, but it was surreal to be injected with one. He felt a tiny prick, and then he unfroze. He started to pull out the injection, but the man held his hands away and procceded to empty the medicince into Harry. Harry felt the strange liquid running into his veins, and he didn't like it. He wanted to scratch his upper arm, but the man still held his hands. Then he started to feel woozy and dark spots started to appear in Harry's vision. The shock of another injection which Harry's body wasn't used to made Harry go into convulsions.
Robert saw his boy going into seizures. He was used to this, Lawrence usually had these seizures when the medicine was too much, aggressively fighting his sickness. Robert held the body of his son until the seizure was over. Harry was in the land of dreams yet again.