Sunflowers

S.D.S.

"Where are we going?" Thia walked beside her aunt down the London street, smothering a yawn behind her hand. Not even a month into summer break, and already she had two episodes. One lasted only a few minutes, the other over 3 hours. Her aunt just slipped an arm over her shoulders and let her lean against her as they walked.

"You'll see soon enough, love." The little witch rolled her eyes but kept pace with Poppy. Within a few minutes, though, they stopped outside a small building entitled, "S.D.S."  Everyone around them seemed to pass without noticing it, just like muggles outside the Leaky Cauldron. 

Madam Pomfrey led the way through the doors, right up to the secretary, who smiled brightly. Thia hid just behind her aunt, enough so that she wasn't the centre of attention.

"Welcome to S.D.S.! How can I help you?" What in Merlin's beard is S.D.S.? Thia thought, glancing around the fairly empty lobby. There was nothing to hint at what it might be.

"We have an appointment with Ben Jenkins? Under Simmons." The man scanned his appointment book.

"Ah, yes! Helianthia? Are you her legal guardian?" Poppy nodded, "Alright just fill out these forms, and Helianthia, if you'll follow me, we can get started." Poppy shooed her after him, and she wrapped her arms around herself. He smiled down at her, "Are you excited?"

"For what? My aunt didn't tell me why we came." The man laughed, opening a door for her.

"To get a service dog. S.D.S. stands for Service Dog Summer. Every summer, we pair witches and wizards with service dogs to help with PTSD, anxiety, balance issues, and other things that disrupt their daily like." He led her to an office with framed pictures of dogs and their new owners, "Today, you'll hopefully begin training with a service dog that fits your needs. The director will be in in a minute."

Thia sat hesitantly in one of the chairs in front of the desk, her hands fiddling with the end of her shirt. A service dog? Like Mickey's? How would that work at school? In the dorms? Did their apartment in Hogsmeade allow that?

Another man came in, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans and carrying a clipboard. He gave Thia a smile, settling into the chair behind the desk. Thia sat up a little, folding her hands tightly in her lap.

 "Helianthia Simmons, yes?" Thia nodded, "Alright. I'm Dr Ben Jenkins. While we wait for your godmum, why don't you tell me a little about you?" 

"What do you want to know?" Dr Ben shrugged.

"You go to Hogwarts, yeah? What house are you in?"

"I'm a Gryffindor," he raised an eyebrow, and a blush coloured her cheeks, "The Hat seemed to think I'm quite brave."

"Do you think you're brave?" Dr Ben leaned back in his chair, and Thia saw that he was careful to keep his hands where she could see them. She hesitated, gnawing at her lip. Was she?

"Everyone keeps saying I am. I don't know if brave is the right word though. It feels like there's an 'if' to it. 'You're so brave, if you keep living.'" Thia looked up from her clasped hands, seeing that he was nodding along.

"I've always felt that too. That there were always constraints to the compliments." At that moment, Poppy joined them, settling beside Thia, "Ah, hello, Ms Pomfrey. Now we can begin!"

~

An hour later, Dr Ben brought the pair out to a fenced-in yard. Someone had set some obstacles and things up throughout the area. Dr Ben noticed her attention and smiled.

"Some of our dogs get bored easily, so we set this up so they could play a little. Now," he turned back to the pair, "We're going to bring out some of the dogs that have been trained for PTSD and balance, and we'll see who fits. Sound good?" Thia nodded.