Protection: The Sword and the Shield

Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Dr., Surrey, England

S

Harry Potter did not remember his mother. That was not entirely true; he would often dream about a woman screaming "Not Harry" and a flash of green light. But he was not entirely sure that person was his mother though something inside of him wanted to believe that it was. He was presently sitting in his room deep in concentration because he was trying to recapture that fleeting memory in hopes of confirming that it was in fact his mother's voice.

He was 7 years old and the last year of his life had been wonderful. After moving into his cousin's second bedroom he had seen a reduction in his chores at home and shortly after that his school life became equally wonderful. The change in school came about 3 months after his trip to the hospital.

He had already fully accepted his freakiness, much to his relative's dismay. His hair had grown to shoulder length, and would not remain cut if shortened. He had decided to wear it tied back in a ponytail. His aunt and uncle still refused to spend more than the barest requirement for his upkeep but he had found an old leather tool belt in a dumpster and with patience and some research in the library had made it into two gauntlets that he wore tied to each of his forearms.

With the help of that library, he had taught himself to sew and started turning his cousin's oversize hand-me-downs into his own freaky fashion statements. His favorites were his t-shirts. He cut vertical strips out of the oversized shirts and then sewed them back together into something that fit. The weird breaks in the patterns on the shirts looked odd and was exactly the look he wanted.

His relatives desperately wanted to curtail his behavior but decided instead that his behavior fed into the lies they had told the neighborhood about him and it was better than spending money on him. Most of their anger since his change was because no matter how many people agreed that he looked like a freak and a delinquent, he would only become happier and thank them for realizing he "wasn't boring".

The day that his school life turned around started similarly to the previous great change with a meeting with a nurse. Nurse Chambers was new to the school and was taking time to review and update every students file. Harry got called because his file was so sparse. It lacked the typical reports about small cuts and similar incidents one would expect from a small boy. The nurse had asked around and the general belief was that the kid was "freaky" and "unruly", but too smart to get caught causing trouble.

The irregular file was explained as being due to an expected unwillingness to report himself out of fear that he would get caught in whatever scheme he had hatched. That sounded a little convoluted for a 7 year old so she called him to the office.

......Nurses Office, Surrey Elementary School

When Harry arrived he was met by another of his kind. The nurse was dressed in professional pants and a conservative button down blouse but she had three piercings in her right ear and two in her left. She had another in her nose and when she welcomed him into the office he found that she had another in her tongue. He also noticed the end of a tattoo peeking out of her shirtsleeve.

Looking at her chest, Harry was also able to see her nipples through her blouse but to him they seemed oddly shaped. His curiosity got the better of him and he found himself staring longer than was appropriate. He flushed when she said "you're at little young to be interested in those, aren't you." He looked at her with a face that was red from embarrassment but still confused.

Harry was not sure why she explained it to him and though he didn't know it, neither was the nurse, but she told him that the odd impression was because she had her nipples pierced like her ears, nose and tongue. He was shocked because he never even considered that to be possible but smiled brightly at her. He had a feeling like he had once again found his people.