Chapter Text
Harry walked down the streets of London, a frown upon his face. He was tasked with buying groceries for his aunt and uncle, but frankly he was lost. The boy had tried to ask the people around him for directions, but was faced with cold stares and the occasional point in a general direction.
He clutched the 50 euro bill in his hand tightly. At this point, he was going to find himself out of London before he could find the grocery store.
Harry shivered at the thought. Wouldn’t that be scary? London was his home, he was never allowed to leave the city and never had. He tilted his head up, unwilling to let himself get lost anymore.
If the boy couldn’t find the way on his own, and he couldn’t get help, he’d find a map or something. Harry picked up his place a little, walking with much more conviction as he looked around the area. He couldn’t see any maps, but he’d eventually find one if he just kept walking.
He paused as he stepped on something wet, looking down to see what it was. People walked around him, and someone had even scoffed at him. He grimaced, noticing the small, and increasingly growing puddle of red around his feet.
The more he stared at the puddle, and the more he looked closely, he realized it looked more like a trail, which ran all the way into a dark, stingy alleyway. For a second, he wanted to run away, just move his eyes away and follow the crowd of people like he had been. His curiosity won through that urge.
Harry took a breath, before taking wobbly steps into the alleyway. He couldn’t see that well, but he could hear shaky breathing from inside. He hoped whoever or whatever was breathing was friendly.
“H-hello?” He muttered, a frown on his face. He hadn’t gotten an answer, but he was basically whispering, so perhaps they didn’t hear him? He walked closer into the alleyway.
After a few moments, he noticed someone, a man, leaning against the wall. They were slouched over, and Harry could see something stuck in their gut. For a split second, he took a step back, his eyes wide. Soon though, he quickened his pace, kneeling in front of the man.
“S-sir? Are you alright?” He whispered, unsure what to say. Now that he was getting a look at the man, he noticed that the thing stuck in his gut was a knife. Harry panicked.
He had always heard horror stories of being mugged, but seeing someone like this- in the flesh, was panic inducing. He didn’t know what to do.
“Don’t worry sir- I’ll- I’ll help you.”
The man hadn’t responded, and Harry noticed that he was unconscious. He also noticed the man almost looked like he was gripping the area around the knife stuck in his gut.
“You were going to take that out, right? That’s what you should do..” Harry nodded slightly, conviction creeping into his eyes.
“Let me help.”
Harry shuffled closer, gently pulling the man’s hand away, before getting a good grip on the knife in his abdomen. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he pulled on it. It took a few tries, but eventually he pulled it away, and he stumbled back a little, falling on his butt.
He looked back at the man with a small smile, a triumphant look on his face. He probably just saved him. This was what the hospitals did, right?
The man was still unconscious, and now that Harry had gotten a good look at him, he realized the blood was gushing out faster. But- that couldn’t be right, he had taken the knife away, hadn’t he? The man should be alright now.
“Oh- oh that’s it! You need a bandage.”
He sat up, and shuffled back over to the man, looking down at his hands for a second before frowning. He didn’t have any bandages on him. That was a bit of a problem, wasn’t it?
Harry frowned as he got closer, he hadn’t noticed, but the man’s breathing had gone quieter. That couldn’t be right, but maybe the man’s breathing quickened when he was stabbed?
“Sir..?”
The blood still gushed from the wound, and Harry frowned. He had seen once on TV while he was doing dishes that some people could use their shirt as a bandage, right?
Harry looked down at his oversized shirt, grabbing the edge slightly and pulling. That didn’t work. Harry pulled a little harder. But the shirt wouldn’t tear.
“Oh.”
He wasn’t strong enough. In a panic, he just pushed the edge of his shirt onto the open wound, making a squelch sound that Harry grimaced at. His breathing had gone almost silent, and Harry now knew something was up. He wasn’t sure what to do. Harry didn’t have a phone, and although he could call for help, he didn’t want to go to jail.
“You’re going to live… right? I- I saved you.”
He mumbled out, tears starting to form in his eyes as his head started to hurt. He wasn’t sure why, as it seemed almost too out of place.
“You’re fine.”
He said again, shifting a tinsy bit away, although he still had his shirt on the man.
“You’re fine and- ah..” His hands left their spot at the man’s gut to clutch his forehead. He shifted in pain. This was unlike any headache he had before.
For a few moments, Harry realized the face he was staring at did not look like the man he was trying to save earlier. No, it looked.. off. He wasn’t sure how to explain it and he really couldn’t, not with the headache that only grew worse.
His vision went blurry, and for a few seconds he thought he was going to pass out. He stumbled backwards again, clutching his head, as the pain in his forehead increased to more than just his forehead. It felt like his entire face was burning off.
“Ow- ow ow…”
Harry had started to cry, rubbing his face in an attempt to calm himself, or make the pain go away. In his panic, he knocked his glasses off his face. Which made his vision go even blurrier than usual.
He squeezed his eyes shut before he couldn’t handle the pressure in his head anymore and everything went black.