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Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Rice, etcetera

Harry nearly slept through to the next morning after his meeting with Ms. Tina and the police. He awoke with a start from an intense dream that faded the moment he opened his eyes. He vaguely remembered being woken periodically to cough, to prevent pneumonia and such, during the night. A different nurse had been there.

“You needed the sleep, Harry,” Beth said coming over to him. “How do you feel?”

“Better, I think,” Harry said. He was hungry, and there was a tray of breakfast waiting. The scents of it wafted towards his nose. There was bacon, and he wouldn’t have to fight for it.

“Your fever is down. Do you need to go to the toilet? I removed your catheter a bit ago, and you slept through it.”

“Oh, that’s why,” Harry said, nodding to himself. “Yes, I could use the loo. How do I get there?”

“The physiotherapist was here earlier. He is just down the hall checking on his other patients. He’ll be here again soon, to show you how,” Beth said briskly. “How about you get started on your breakfast? We need to improve your nutrition. You also need to eat for the pain meds we’re giving you.”

With that, Beth raised the head of his bed so that he was sitting up, and he caught sight of the remainder of his leg again. In moments, his mind felt separated from his body for a few seconds. How is this even real? Less real than turning Dudley’s hair purple. Uncle Vernon almost killed me. Harry tried to take a deep breath and hold it as his thoughts flashed through his mind too quickly. He was able to take a breath and let it out slowly. He had been able to do such calming techniques in the past and thought now would be a good time to try them again. He closed his eyes.

“Harry?” Beth asked. He opened his eyes quickly.

“I’m awake. Just calming down” he said anxiously, his eyes popping open immediately.

“Here’s your breakfast. Please eat at much as you possibly can, while we’re waiting,” she said. Harry dug into his food, still vaguely wondering if this was all real, but he kept telling himself that it was. While he ate, Beth added some bags to his IV. Would he be able to go to the loo with the IV pump?

Harry had just finished his meal when the physiotherapist entered the room. Harry looked at the physio, and decided he seemed to be about Uncle Vernon’s age, perhaps. However, he did not look at all like Uncle Vernon (much slimmer and no mustache), so maybe this guy would be okay.

“Hello, Harry, mate. I’m Ben, physiotherapist,” he said with a smile, offering his hand, which Harry shook. “I will start out coming to you for a few days, but then you’ll start coming to the PT room. It’s loads more fun. But first, we need to get you moving!” He held up the forearm crutches he had been holding at his side. “Sometimes I start my patients with a walker, but I think these crutches will be better suited for you.”

“I’m going to get up? Now? I don’t know, sir. Isn’t it too soon?” Harry said. He could feel his eyes growing wider behind his glasses. He didn’t really know what to think about this. He had thought maybe he would be carried and set on the toilet like Aunt Petunia had done for him only two mornings ago.

“We need to get you up and moving as soon as possible, otherwise it will be more difficult later,” Ben said. “And it is fine now to move your residual limb. How’s your pain overall?”

“It’s not bad,” Harry replied. “Residual limb is the rest of my leg, right?” Harry’s book knowledge came in handy here, even though at the Dursley’s, too much knowledge meant punishment. Here, he was starting to feel a bit safe to share that he was smart and knowledgeable. They didn’t think he was a freak.

“Yeah, Harry, that’s right,” Ben replied and flashed Harry a smile.

“I’ve read some books,” Harry said as Ben help him sit all the way up on the left side of his bed. He felt a passing lightheadedness. Beth brought the cup of water over for him to sip for a moment.

“It seems that you love to learn,” Ben said, as he looked over the dressings on Harry’s residual limb.

“I do, but I get in trouble if I do better in school than Dudley.” Harry’s voice trailed off into a whisper. He hasn’t meant to say that aloud. Again.

“Well,” Ben said looking up kindly at Harry, “you needn’t worry about that just now. Your incision looks good, and Beth told me your temperature is already down to normal. That’s incredible! I can wrap your leg now. This is important to allow it to heal well and in a good shape for your prosthetic leg. You will need to leave the wrap on.”

Harry watched, incredibly interested in what was happening to his leg, in spite of himself. Part of his mind was telling him that he should be angry, but the rest of his brain, the curious student, wanted to know everything.

“When will I get my new leg?” he asked.

“I think we can get you measured in about five weeks, perhaps. Meanwhile, let’s get you up on these crutches,” Ben said, finishing up the elastic bandages that went up to just short of Harry’s hip. With Ben on one side and Beth on the other, he reached with his foot to the floor. They help him stand on his remaining leg very slowly. The water must have helped his lightheadedness. He felt fine, except for the sensation of blood rushing to his residual limb. Despite some pain, Harry snorted a laugh as he remembered. Stump, it was usually called a stump in books. He disliked that word, and no one would use it around him. The adults glanced at him.

“All right, Harry?” Beth asked. Harry nodded. Ben told Harry to put his hand through the cuff of the crutch, and then gave him the second one. Harry had his fingers wrapped around the handles as fast as possible. He was excited to be up, and he really did need the loo badly now.

“Looks as if I measured correctly,” Ben commented, stepping back to study how Harry was standing. “You need the loo, don’t you, young man? Let’s go. Ever use crutches before?” Harry shook his head, although in his mind he thought immediately of the times they might have been helpful in recovering from injuries in the past, particularly his left hip. Ben, whom Harry was really starting to like, demonstrated to Harry how to swing his intact leg through. Harry enthusiastically followed his instructions and got into it as quickly as his pain and IV allowed him.

Beth helped him a bit in the loo. There were bars around the toilet so that he could mostly help himself. Beth assured him that she was there just in case and to help him with his IV line. At first he wasn’t sure about this, but he realized it was because this was a hospital and she must keep him safe, and he was new to this amputation situation. His balance was different. He knew that he had to get used to it, heal more, and then he would be able to go really fast on the crutches. A smile even ghosted across this face briefly at the thought. The adults were pleased to see the 10-year-old looking somewhat happy. They liked this kid. Beth suddenly remembered Harry’s request from the previous morning. He had wanted something to read. After getting Harry settled back in bed, Beth told him she would be back in 10 minutes. She had a book in her locker that she had finished re-reading the week before. It was one of her personal favorites.

“Harry, have you read the Lord of the Rings trilogy, before?” she asked as she dropped the heavy paperback into Harry’s waiting hands. He looked up at her and smiled gratefully.

“Half the first. That’s all I had time for in the school library, and then someone else checked it out and took it home,” he said.

“This one is so large because it contains all three books,” Beth said, bringing up the table over Harry’s lap again. She placed the book on the table. Harry casually murmured his thanks. He would start again from the beginning. He needed to get away for a little while.

Harry put his book down when Lydia, the evening nurse, suggested that he should eat his supper. Lydia pulled his table over to him, and set a tray containing chicken, rice and some vegetables in front of him. Harry cut up his chicken and began to eat eagerly. It was so good! In books, hospital food always tasted terrible to the characters, but he was so hungry, he gulped it down, and drank another cup of water. He wondered how they made the chicken and rice. There was definitely salt, and he quite liked it.
When Lydia came to retrieve his tray, he mentioned that he needed to go to the loo once more. She accompanied him the bathroom guiding his iv pump after she helped him off the bed. She waited outside the door while he did his business. It was so tiring just going to the bathroom, and while he liked being permitted to get up on his crutches again to do so, he was tired. Slowly he swung himself over to his bed, Lydia right next to him to keep him safe. As she tucked him in, he realized that this was a new feeling. Except for the library times with his Librarian, he had never felt so safe before.

LLLL

Tina Shayani arrived at her sister’s house at seven in the evening a few nights later. She had made plans to eat with her sister and her brother in law earlier in the day. She carried a few containers filled with homemade joujeh kabob, dill rice, and some aash soup she had prepared the day before. Her brother in law, Tim (yes, her sister married someone with a T name as well), let her in and took some things from her full arms. After the food had been set down on the table and they had hugged their greetings, Tina stepped back, and looked at Tim. Her brother-in-law looked utterly exhausted. It had been a long day at his dental practice. Tina also knew he was tired because his daughter was still in hospital. They were all looking forward to her release soon.

“Take a break, Tim,” Tina said. “I’ll reheat the food and set the table. When Tara comes home, I have an idea to run past you both.” She set to work. She loved feeding people, and she would just love to feed young Harry, too. He was entirely too thin, nearly skin and bones. According to his bloodwork, he was malnourished. She was still amazed the young boy had survived his ordeal. She had seen him that morning, eating a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and milk enthusiastically at the hospital. She resolved to drop off some fruit for him to eat as snacks between meals. She would ask what fruits he liked most.

About 20 minutes later, Taraneh slogged through the door, obviously exhausted.

“Tarajoon, you’re home!”, Tina said from her position at the stove, stirring the soup. She stepped away to kiss her sister in greeting.

“The food smells divine! Mersi, Tinajoon. Two major surgeries today. I hardly had enough time to visit with Hermione. I didn’t get a chance to pop into young Mr. Potter’s room to say hello. I wanted to, but then I was needed for an emergency consult and surgery. Hello, Tim, joon,” she said as her husband came forward to give her a kiss.

After the three of them sat down at the dining table, they helped themselves to the wonderful food. Tina found herself missing her usual dinner partner, her niece, again. After several weeks in hospital, her niece would be released next week. She could hardly wait! After they were finished eating, they all helped to clear the table, and put the extra food away. They then sat back down at the table with hot cups of tea. Tina pulled out some notes she had made, taking a deep breath.

“Tara, Tim, I want to talk to you both about something very important, and you may want to ask Hermione’s opinion on this as well. You know something about the situation, Tara, but I don’t know how much you’ve told Tim. This is about Mr. Potter, the boy whose leg Tara had to amputate last week. Harry is doing much better physically. He will still be on IV antibiotics at least another week to be sure any and all infections are taken care of. He is eating well, although he arrived at the hospital moderately malnourished. He has been getting around a bit with crutches. He seems happier in hospital than he was at his home. Tara, you know that he was beaten by his uncle in the back garden of the home, with a shovel.”

Tim hadn’t heard this part before and was shocked. He and Taraneh had always wanted at least one more child, but after three miscarriages, they had given up. How could some – monster – do this to a child? he thought in a daze. Children were a blessing, difficult sometimes, but a blessing. Tara put her hand on his in comfort. She had been thinking the same.

Tina continued, “Harry was left to lay outdoors unconscious and bleeding for a few hours before his aunt got him inside to his cupboard! Not his room, his cupboard. It is a very small space with a small bed and spiders, and Harry grew up in there. That was where he was locked in, had food withheld from him, and suffered through injuries that would somehow heal eventually. Harry has an extremely high pain tolerance, perhaps because he had to learn how to get through life with his relatives. Last week, Harry was shut in the cupboard again, but this time with injuries that he could not heal from fast enough.”

Tina paused to look at Tim as he did not know much of this story. “Tara saw the leg after Harry’s aunt finally brought him to hospital the next morning. Wet gangrene had already developed, and a strep infection, besides multiple bone fractures and deep cuts. The growth plates in his knee and ankle would have been unrepairable. He’s 10 years old, and he’s fairly petite for his age, probably due to malnutrition. He has a lot of healing, eating, and growing to do.” Tim looked as if he would be sick at any moment, but Tina asked anyway. “Tim, do you wish to see a photo of Harry’s leg before surgery?”

Tim closed his eyelids for a few moments. He really, REALLY did not want to see the photo, but finally, he said, “I reckon I should.” As Tina pushed it close, Tim glanced at it and winced, his face paling. He struggled not to be sick. He saw some things in his work as a dentist, but nothing like this.

“I interviewed his aunt. She insists that long ago, she was told Harry must always live with her for protection. She refused to name who said this and why. She also said that her husband does not like Harry and has a lot of problems with Harry being in the house at all. Mrs. Dursley admitted that she has been rarely kind to Harry, because her sister ran off and married ‘the wrong sort of man.’ Harry has told me a few times, that they, including Harry’s same age cousin, have called him ‘freak’. Harry is scared to death at the moment of having to go back to the Dursley house at all because they value normalcy and he feels that without his leg, he will be even more ‘freaky.’ He is afraid his uncle will hurt him even worse for this. He is mostly scared of his uncle, because his aunt did attempt to help him. She was afraid of her husband’s abusive tendencies, mostly. She has expressed interest in trying to re-establish a kinder relationship with her nephew.”

“That said, I do not feel it is in Harry’s best interests to return to live with his aunt and uncle at this time. He may make the choice if he wishes to talk with them again. I am looking for a family to take temporary custody of Harry until the ‘home’ situation is fully investigated and we will see what happens at the trial. That’s where you come in. You have already been accepted as foster parents. I know you performed his surgery, Tara, but I also know you care about him already. He won’t be ready to leave the hospital for a bit. Think about it. You have an extra bedroom. I think he’d get along well with Hermione. He likes the rice he eats at hospital,” she finished with a laugh.

Taraneh was crying already, happy tears. She’d always wanted a little boy for her second child. Due to their careers, they had decided against trying to adopt a baby, but an older child who needed a loving home. Tim leaned over to give her another kiss, although he still looked a bit nauseated from the story he had just heard. He dealt with all sorts of dental emergencies . . . he normally had a strong stomach, but this was beyond the pale.

“Undoubtedly, yes,” Tara said, giving her husband and then her sister a hug.

“It won’t be easy, you know,” Tina said. “Particularly the emotional issues. He is very good at burying it inside himself. He can appear strong, but he is dealing with, well, too much.”

“We’ll help him deal with it, and we’ll show him that some adults can behave themselves,” Tim said. Tina hugged Tim in response.

“Do you want to ask Hermione her opinion first? If not, I have some of the paperwork ready to sign now.” She had already consulted an attorney and a judge, based on the statements from Harry to herself and the police, his aunt, hospital staff, and others, and had gotten a stay on Harry’s legal guardianship, pending some else to take it.

“I’m sure Hermione will love it,” Tim said, and Taraneh nodded in agreement.

“When we get him home, we will fill him up on good Persian food. We’ll show him that good Polo puts hospital rice to shame,” Taraneh stated happily. “And I’ll be able to really take care of him. Yes, I can perform surgery all day, and I love being able to do that, but this is different.”

“Whilst I,” Tim said dramatically, “shall care for his dental needs!” He looked over at his sister-in-law. “Do his teeth look fine?” Tina laughed.

“I think they look wonderful, which is amazing, considering his past,” she replied.