DISLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$ from this…

DETAILED SUMMARY:

AU. This is a time fic wherein the entire work of Canon is assumed as the base timeline, including the Epilogue. But, as a time flick, we can also ignore all of that, can't we.

I really have appreciated the reviews and interest in this story and those of you who had alerted and/or favorited this story or me as an author.

For my reviewer who's one concern was that students in Britain have no school ID's … not something on the internet. I regret to report I am an American and while such ID's are not universal here, they are common. In my other story, I apparently have done a good job of describing London and Britain in detail. As I said in an A/N then, I try an research this stuff in detail. I've been to France, Spain and Italy, but never Britain or London. It is amazing how much you can learn from the Internet - and talking to folks who have been there… (Not that I don't want to - on the contrary. But that costs money and such… One day, I hope…)

To that critic I ask - if not a school ID, what about an NHS card? (National Health Service - unlike us Americans, the Brits have universal Health Insurance… An issue I have here, politically speaking - one of many…)

CHAPTER FOUR: AWAKWNING

FRIDAY, MAY 13, 1988 - ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, LONDON, U.K.

The Avatar had observed the Boy over the next week or so. The Boy remained in a coma as he underwent four more operations to repair his damaged bones, both the recent damage and the older injuries. The Girl had come to the hospital every day after school. Apparently, even though she lived miles away in Essex, she attended a parochial school only a few blocks from the hospital. She would stay until seven in the evenings and then take the Underground to her hometown where one of her parents would pick her up. The Avatar had not seen this as he was tied to the Boy. He knew because she had told the boy all about herself, even though the Boy could not hear her.

She would do her homework sitting beside his unconscious form. Once done, she would talk to him and hold his hand. If she ran out of things to say, she would read to him from The Lord of the Rings, not knowing he was reading that work the day he was found. The Avatar noted that the Boy seemed to improve whenever she was around him. The Girl always asked about his condition and seemed eager for the day when he would finally be awake.

The Avatar noted she was usually his only visitor. On one day her mother had joined her vigil. Aside from that the Boy had no one. In a way the Avatar was pleased. There were several people the Avatar's memories told him that should stay as far away from the Boy as possible, at least until he had an opportunity to develop a relationship with the Boy.

The Girl learned Thursday night that the doctor's planned to take the Boy off of sedation. Hopefully he would be awake sometime the next day. They still had no idea who he was. No one had come looking for him. It was almost as if no one wanted him at all.

"That's not true, Frodo," the Girl said. "I want you in my life. You're my first real friend, as odd as that may sound given you've been asleep this whole time. But I feel like we are and can be friends. I wish I could tell you what will happen to you when you're well enough to leave this place. All I know for certain is you probably are going to live with someone else and not your parents. I hope it's with me, but Mum and Dad aren't saying anything. I don't know why. Perhaps they just don't want me getting my hopes up. If that's it they are failing as each day I get even more hopeful.

"Goodnight, my friend Frodo," she said, kissing the Boy on the forehead as she had done everyday since her first visit. "Sleep well and sweet dreams. I'll see you again tomorrow."

The Avatar hoped the Boy would wind up with the Girl's family and was annoyed there was nothing he could do to see to it that it happened. The Boy would be safe there. Safer than anywhere the Avatar could imagine and aside from getting the Boy away from his relatives, the Boy's safety was his most important mission at this time.

_____________________________________________________________

The Avatar was maintaining his vigil early Friday afternoon when a nurse entered the hospital room. Apparently the Boy had heard the noise and his eyes opened for the first time in over a week. He tried to speak, but could only manage a cough. It was enough to attract the nurse's attention. She walked over to the Boy and poured a large glass of water.

"I see sleeping beauty is finally awake," the Nurse said. "Here's a tumbler of water, Son. Drink up. That way you can talk if you want to."

The Boy drank the water as it he was dying of thirst. In a way he was. While he was getting plenty of fluids, it was all intravenously. Not a drop of water had passed down his throat in a week.

"Would you like another glass?"

The Boy nodded eagerly. He drank this one even faster than the first.

"Th-thanks," the Boy finally managed. "Wh-who are you? Wh-where am I? What happened? Lord, I must be in so much trouble."

"Slow down," the Nurse said. "I'll answer your questions if you promise to answer mine. Deal?"

The Boy nodded.

"And you promise to tell me the truth no matter what?"

The Boy paled.

"I promise you, nothing will happen to you if you do."

"How can you…" the Boy began.

"Tut, tut. Rest assured I can make that promise and keep it. Now, as to who I am, my name is Gail and I am a pediatrics Nurse. Who are you by the way? That's the big question as nobody here knows that."

"I'm Harry," the Boy said. "Harry Potter."

"Nice to meet you, Harry. Now your next question was where are you, right?"

Harry nodded.

"You're in St. Bart's Children's Hospital in London."

"Never been to London before," Harry said. "Wow."

"You passed out crossing a street last Saturday. A nice family saw you go down and called for an ambulance. You were in really bad shape and you were transferred here Saturday night because the local hospital was ill equipped to deal with everything that was wrong with you."

"How long have I been here?"

"Today's Friday so almost a week. You were in really bad shape. You've been asleep since you arrived."

"What was wrong with me?"

"A lot of things. Broken bones. Cuts. You had a nasty infection. We had to operate on you five times to fix everything."

"It didn't seem that bad," Harry said.

"Are you used to being hurt like that?"

Harry nodded.

"Did your parents hurt you?"

"My parents are dead. Died in a car crash when I was a baby."

"Where do you live, Harry?"

"Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging."

"That's in Surrey, right?"

"I guess. I don't know."

"Well they found you in Surrey."

"I suppose."

"Who do you live with?"

"My Aunt, Uncle and Cousin."

"Did they hurt you?"

The Boy was silent. She knew they had. "The truth Harry, remember."

"Yes."

"Yes you remember or yes they hurt you?"

"Both. Well not so much Aunt Petunia, she's just mean, but the others did. Mainly my Uncle."

"I see. Why?"

"They say I'm a freak and they want to beat the freakiness out of me for my own good."

"What do you mean by a freak?"

"Don't know. They don't tell me. If I knew maybe I could stop being one."

"I see."

"Do you think I'm a freak?"

"No. Not at all, Harry. You're a scared little boy who has been through what no child should ever have to go through."

Harry nodded. The Nurse heard his breath hitch. He was crying now. "Why do they hate me?" He wailed.

"I don't know," the Nurse said softly. "I do know you don't deserve to be hated."

"How can you be sure?"

"You seem like a nice young boy. Do you hurt other people?"

"No."

"Tease them, make fun of them?"

"No."

"Do you want to?"

"Not really, no. I mean sometimes I wish the Dursleys would die, but I don't…"

"That's normal, Harry, under the circumstances."

"I want to be normal," Harry said.

"Why might you think you're not?"

"My only relatives hate me. I live in a closet under the stairs. I have to do all the chores while my Cousin does none. They don't let me eat much, usually table scraps and even then, only when my Uncle's sister is not visiting with her dogs. I want to have friends, but if anyone tries to be nice to me my Cousin Dudley and his gang beat them up - and then me. Every night I dream of someone taking me away from there, but until now it's never happened.

"How long do I have to stay here?"

"At least three more weeks, Harry."

Harry started to cry. "They'll kill me! They won't pay for this! They'll say its all my fault."

"Harry, that's not your worry, okay? You probably will never see them again."

"I won't?"

"Not unless you want to."

"But where will I live?"

"With someone else. Someone who will take care of you properly."

"Oh," Harry seemed disappointed. "Who?"

"Don't know yet. They are working on it. Do you know no one except the family that found you has looked for you?"

Harry shrugged. "Not surprised," he said. "My Uncle's sister came over last Friday, I suppose. She took my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin on a surprise holiday to some place called Care Bean. They're not supposed to be back for a few weeks."

"And where were you to stay?"

"At the house."

"Who was to look after you?"

"No one. They left me some food. I can cook."

"You were to stay at home alone for weeks?"

Harry nodded.

"What about school?"

"I was told not to go. I was told that they'd get in trouble if I went and Dudley didn't and if they got into trouble, well…"

"I see. Why were you out last Saturday?"

"I went to the Library. I like reading, but they don't let me read at home. I go to the Library 'cause they never look for me there and there are loads of books."

"What books have you read?"

"Loads. Just finished the Chronicles of Narnia and the Hobbit. I was reading the Fellowship of the Ring. Do you have that here? If I am going to be here, I'd like to…"

"I'll check, okay?"

"Thanks," Harry said with a slight smile.

The Nurse nodded. "Feel up to a few more questions?"

Harry nodded.

"Who hurt you arm?"

"Uncle Vernon. He hurt my chest too. It was Thursday and I didn't want to get a haircut. He told me not to be a freak and hurt me."

"Your back?"

"Him again, Friday. I kicked his sister's dog."

"Why did you do that?"

"It was biting my leg and that really hurt."

"Why was it biting you?"

"She set it on me 'cause she didn't like my tone."

"I see. How old are you, Harry?"

"Seven."

"Do you know when you were born?"

"July 31st, 1980. Didn't know that at all until I went to school."

"You never had a birthday?"

Harry shook his head.

"Do you want to go back to your relatives?"

"No. But I probably will have to."

"We'll see. Final question: are you hungry?"

Harry nodded.

_____________________________________________________________

Gail Nelson was more than just a pediatrics Nurse. True, she had the degree and had worked as one for a few years. But she had seen abused children far too often and knew how hard it was for law enforcement to obtain sufficient information on the abusers. She developed a talent for getting the children to talk. It was soon noticed and now she was an Officer with the Metropolitan Police investigating abuse cases. All through her interview with Harry, a recording device recorded the conversation. She would remain at the Hospital for now as a Nurse to keep an eye on the child. The tape recording was on its way to New Scotland Yard.

Within hours, a warrant issued for a search of the Dursely home in Surrey. There was ample evidence of abuse that the fastidious Mrs. Dursley's household cleaning products could not hide from the forensics team. Half of the ground floor had been splattered with the boy's blood at one time or another. The X-rays showed years of abuse and neglect. The poor boy was emaciated on top of all his other problems.

By the next day, a warrant was issued for the arrest of the Dursleys. It was passed to immigration control once it was verified that the Dursleys had indeed left the country for the Bahamas. They would be arrested upon their return, including Marge Dursley for the dog attack. A third warrant called for the dog to be detained and destroyed.

Social services had reached a decision regarding his placement, but Harry would not be told yet. In fact Harry was unaware of everything happening outside of his hospital room.

_____________________________________________________________

When the Girl arrived for her daily visit Harry was asleep again. The Nurse had told her that he had woken up earlier and had a meal, but the sedation was still wearing off. He should be awake tomorrow. The Girl was a little disappointed that he had been awake and she had not been there. But at least she now knew his name: Harry Potter.

She sat next to him and noticed the book lying on his slowly rising chest. She almost squealed with delight. He was reading the same book she had been reading to him. He was much further along than she had been last night, so it seems he had been reading it before all this happened. Nobody she knew her own age had read that book. Maybe he would not be put off by her as everyone else her age seemed to be. Maybe she could finally have a friend!

She did her homework as well as an essay that was not due for a week. She knew Harry was seven and would turn eight at the end of July. She wondered if they were in the same year in school and if they would go to the same school once he was better. She hoped they would.

As she was told not to wake him up, once her homework was done she held his hand and read her own book. She had finished the Lord of the Rings. It was not easy for her at eight years of age, but she loved the books and was now trying a similar series that was said to be a little easier and quicker to read: The Chronicles of Narnia.

At seven Harry had still not awoken. Her mother arrived to take her home and promised her they would return at nine the next morning. If Harry was willing, she could spend the day with him. They were told it might help with his recovery and she wanted to help. As always, she kissed Harry on the forehead just before she left and whispered "See you tomorrow, Frodo." She had an impish grin when she saw what looked like a smile on his face.

_____________________________________________________________

Harry finally woke up around nine that evening. The lights were still on in his room and the book was still on his chest. He reached to the nightstand to his right with his good arm for his glasses. They were new. He had no idea what had happened to his old ones. They fit better then any pair he had ever worn and he could see more clearly, mainly because the lenses were not scratched up.

As soon as his glasses were on, he saw he had another visitor.

"You were with me at the Library," Harry said.

The Old Man nodded. "I believe I told I thought you needed help."

Harry nodded.

"Seems I underestimated how bad you were, Harry."

"You know my name?"

The Old Man nodded. "You're Harry James Potter, son of James Tiberius Potter and Lily Marie (Evans) Potter. You were born on July 31st, 1980 in a village called Godrics Hollow in Devonshire. Your parents were murdered on October 31st, 1981..."

"How do you know all that? I never knew my parents names or where I was born. And what's this about murder? I was told they died in a car crash."

"Your Aunt and Uncle told you that?"

Harry nodded.

"Ask yourself this question, Harry. Why should you believe them?"

Harry pondered the question and looked up with a shrug.

"Your relatives have no reason to tell you the truth and, at least to them, every reason to lie to you."

"Why?"

"Later, Harry. You need not learn all of the secrets of the World in one sitting. At your age, despite how bright you are, I would advise against it and even more so given your current condition."

"How do you know this?"

"Again, we'll save that for later. But I will tell you. I promise. Suffices to say, I do know. I know a lot about you. Have to for my job."

"I thought you're a professor."

"I do look the part, don't I," the Old Man chuckled. "Indeed, I was one at one point in my youth. But no. That's not my job."

"What is your job?"

"For lack of a more apt description, I am your Guardian."

"You mean when I leave here I'll live with you?"

"No. It's not that kind of Guardian. I am supposed to watch out for you and, later, to teach you things that you cannot learn from books or in school."

"Why?"

"Later Harry. Tonight my sole task is to introduce myself to you."

"Oh."

"I could easily talk your ear off, you see. But you do need your rest. In time you will learn everything and more, okay?"

"I suppose."

"I'll stop by sometime tomorrow, Harry. I want to meet this friend of yours."

"I don't have any friends," Harry sulked. "Nobody likes me."

"Ah. Yes. Well what about that Nurse?"

"Nurse Gail?"

The Old Man nodded. "Do you think she doesn't like you?"

"No. Maybe she does."

"And me?"

"Maybe."

"And there is a girl about your age who has visited you every day since you arrived here. Does that sound like something you would do if you didn't like someone?"

"Maybe she's a nutter," Harry quipped.

"Anything is possible," the Old Man said. "But I don't think so. She'll be here in the morning. Give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she likes you until you know otherwise. I have a feeling you'll never know otherwise," the Old Man smiled.

Harry nodded.

"Until tomorrow then," the Old Man said as he rose. "Sweet Dreams, Harry."

"I never have sweet dreams," Harry sulked.

"Oh?"

"I dream of horrible things all the time. My only 'good' dreams are dreams about never having to see the Dursleys again."

"A dream, Harry, that appears will come true. Dream about that then."

"How?"

"Close your eyes and clear your mind of all thoughts, worries and fears and focus on your hopes and desires. The rest should follow."

"I'll try," Harry said. "Do you have a name, Sir?"

"Indeed I do. Again - later. For now, you can call me Sensei."

"What's that?"

"It defines my relationship with you: teacher, mentor, guide, guardian and other things."

"Oh."

"Good night, Harry."

"Good night, Sensei," Harry said closing his eyes. Once his eyes closed, Sensei disappeared.