Within You

Chapter Six: An Upside-Down World

"Okay, Harry, what's bothering you?" Amelia asked as she sat with Harry, in his second therapy session of that calendar year. "You hardly said a word last time we met, and now you're wearing a hole in my carpet. Talk to me about what's going on."

Harry sighed, crossing his arms in a protective gesture around himself and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really know how to answer that question..."

"Is this about your aunt and uncle?"

Harry shook his head. "No."

"About your cousin?"

"No."

"Did their solicitor reach out to you and do some low-ball intimidation tactics? Say the word, Harry, and that much'll get him disbarred..."

Harry swallowed. "No, it's got nothing to do with the Dursleys, or the trial. It's... It's something else, but I'm afraid that someone'll get in trouble if I say something..."

"Just talk to me, Harry," Amelia told him gently. "Maybe we can figure something out. The last thing I want is you worrying about something else."

Harry gritted his teeth in an attempt to focus. "During the Christmas hols, Dora took Remus and Valencia to England to meet her parents."

Amelia nodded. "Yes, he had mentioned that to me last time he dropped you off. By all accounts, the visit went well. He mentioned being worried about the age difference, but Ted and Dromeda didn't seem to mind one way or the other..."

"I wasn't worried about it," Harry told her. "I gave them a call before we left for court. Ted and Dromeda wished me luck. They seemed nice."

"Well, then, what's on your mind?"

Harry leaned back against the wall of the office, the winter sun seeping slightly into his back, as he kept his arms crossed. "I... I didn't go straight home after court, like I said I was going to. I took the train into Edinburgh, and looked around. I managed to get into a bar, and I had a drink, and, while I was there, I met someone, a guy..."

Amelia nodded. "And, you went home with him?"

"To his place," Harry said softly. "He had a flat not too far away. He was really nice, and we hung out for a bit, and they I went back to the villa."

"How old was he, Harry?"

"In this thirties," Harry said, his voice muffled as he lowered his head. "I just... I wanted to take some control, you know? He didn't pressure me or anything. He told me I didn't have to, but I wanted to..."

Amelia sighed, leaning back in her chair. "Well, obviously, if you weren't coerced, that's one thing. But I want to impress upon you how dangerous that situation was, Harry. It was a total stranger, an older one at that, and he could've done god knows what to you, once you were out of the bar. Do you understand that behavior, especially reckless behavior, has consequences?"

Harry bit his lower lip. "Yes."

"Good. I don't want to have to bring this up to Remus—"

"Please don't!" Harry cried out, his eyes flashing to Amelia's—he couldn't let Remus know, because he could let it slip out somehow, and then Dora could get involved, or Severus could figure out that something had been said— "Please, Amelia," Harry begged. "Don't let Remus find out about this. I know it was stupid, and it'll never happen again, I promise."

Amelia dragged her hand down her face. "And I've got your word that it'll never happen again, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, you've got my word."