Hello, hello! I've been working on this piece and I hope you enjoy it very much!
And now, proudly presenting...
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"I'm Fine" by PenNameless1994
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"Harry?"
Mrs. Daniels was beckoning him to her desk.
He hesitated, glancing at the other children, filing out to the playground for recess. Not that Harry really enjoyed recess, so he padded quietly over to where his teacher sat.
"Are you alright?" she asked kindly. She bent over so she could look him in the eye.
"I'm fine," he said, not really looking at her concerned face.
He was tired- Uncle Vernon hadn't let him go to bed until he finished his chores.
He was hungry- Uncle Vernon hadn't let him eat because he finished his chores too late.
He was in pain- That cupboard was getting rather cramped, and his lungs seemed to be on fire from exposure the cleaning chemicals kept in the airless space under the stairs.
But, really, he was fine.
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"Mr. Potter?"
Professor McGonagall was looking at him askance.
"Are you alright?"
He stopped rubbing his scar to look up at her from under his fringe.
"I'm fine," he muttered, grabbing his books from the table and hastening from the classroom.
He was scared, in a very un-Gryffindor way- He couldn't stop thinking about the creature in the Forest last night, and how Voldemort could very well be coming back.
He was worried- Quirrell seemed to have finally cracked, and they had no idea how to stop Snape.
He was stressed- In everything going on, he had completely forgotten to study for that exam he had just taken.
And his scar was burning like bloody hell.
But, really, he was fine.
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"Mate?"
From over his shoulder, Ron's sleep-heavy voice jutted out against the snores of their dorm-mates.
"You're up late. Are you alright?"
He turned to briefly see his friend's pale face shining in the moonlight that streamed through the tower window.
"I'm fine," he said quietly. "Go back to bed." Again, he stared out the window and resumed his stroking of his owl's soft white feathers as he listened to Ron clumsily return to bed.
He was nervous for his friends- With the attack on Nearly Headless Nick yesterday, it seemed that not even the ghosts were safe.
He was getting jumpy- The murderously chilling voice in his head that, according to Hermione, couldn't possibly be a good thing, was speaking louder and more frequently.
He was conflicted- Despite what the Sorting Had had said last year and what the rest of the school thought, he could not possibly be Slytherin's Heir because he was a Gryffindor. Still, he could not help but think that maybe, just maybe, he might be…
But, really, he was fine.
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"Harry?"
Professor Lupin examined his fallen student concernedly as he knelt by him.
"Are you alright?"
He grabbed his wand from floor and waved his professor off.
"I'm fine," he said, straight-faced even as he readied himself for another go at the boggart-dementor.
He was torn- He was in the middle of his two best friends, who seemed to be at insurmountable odds over their pets, at a complete loss for how to fix the three of them.
He was being hunted- Though, it was not the first time he had had a mass murderer after him.
He had this awful ache in his chest- For the first time, he was hearing his parents' voices, and, for the sake of Quidditch and his sanity, he could not keep them.
But, really, he was fine.
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"Harry?"
Sirius laid a hand on his godson's shoulder before he was able to slip out of the cave.
"Are you aright?"
He turned around and swept his eyes across his godfather's face, lingering on the concern and absolute devotion for him.
"I'm fine," he said, clapping Sirius quickly on the shoulder and hurrying back out to the castle.
He was on edge- His dreams-that-weren't-dreams and that-he-shouldn't-be-having-in-the-first-place were increasingly strange and worrisome.
Despite Hermione, he felt alone- His first and best friend had betrayed him to join the rest of the school in vilifying him as an attention-seeking brat.
He was frightened- How in the seven circles of Hell was a skinny fourth-year supposed to survive a tournament people had died in?
But, really, he thought as he made his way down the rocky slope, he was fine.
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"Harry?"
With the Ron and Hermione gone to bed, there was only Neville across from him as he sat, blood floating on the surface of the Murtlap Essence that filled the bowl his aching, bleeding hand was in.
"Are you alright?"
He avoided the other's eyes, preferring to contemplatively look instead at the carved I must not tell lies in his hand as he sighed away the tension in his shoulders.
"Yeah, Neville. I'm fine."
He was pleased and anxious and worried- Umbridge was cracking down on the DA, and while, he really did not want anyone's hand to look like his, he was glad that the pressure only made his students work harder, especially in light of the break-out from Azkaban.
He was elated and angry- Irrationally and all the time, at Voldemort's whim, and he was seriously worried about just how much of him was under Voldemort's control.
He was desperate- He was exhausting himself trying to be just enough like his father because he feared that he was not enough, and he did not want Sirius to leave him, too.
But, really, he was fine.
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"Harry?"
He almost smiled as he realized that she always seemed to find him here.
"Are the Wrackspurts bothering you?" she asked, as she offered him a bit of meat in her typical unassuming way.
"No, Luna, I'm fine," he said, accepting the dead bit of cow and offering it up to Tiberius.
He was suspicious - Draco Malfoy was skulking around at the same time Voldemort had strengthened his efforts to take the Wizarding World, and he knew it meant something.
He felt unprepared- Horcruxes? He was expected to take on a man so evil had split his soul seven times? Dumbledore was completely off his rocker if he thought he could win, even with love on his side.
He was depressed- He needed guidance, advice, or, hell, a comforting word, but he had managed to lead Sirius, the one person he felt safe in turning to for any of that, to his death the year before.
But, really, he thought as he basked in the calm of Luna and the thestral's combined presence, he was fine.
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"Harry?"
Hermione finally spoke up. It was about time, too, because she had been sneaking glances at him for the past five minutes.
"Are you alright?" She almost looked like she wanted to hug him and was just barely refraining herself.
"I'm fine," he said shortly, ignoring her rather touching concern and pretending to keep his watch on the frosted white forest outside. He listened as she returned quietly to the tent at the continuation of his cold shoulder.
He was hurt- But a snake bit and a bit of a burn on his chest did not seem much in comparison to his other scars.
He felt shammed- Like his and Dumbledore's entire relationship had been trickery, just like the Old Man had tricked him and his friends into taking the Horcrux mission without usable information and allowed them to flounder out on their own.
He felt abandoned- Because, for the second time in their friendship, Ron had up and left, this time, leaving him and Hermione to be killed, or worse.
But, really, he was fine.
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"Harry, dear?"
"Hmm?" he hummed absently, lowering his hand from the remaining phantom image of red hair riding away.
"Are you alright?"
He looked from the families still mingling about after the departure of the Hogwarts Express from Platform Nine and Three Quarters to where Ginny was nestled his side under his embracing arm.
"I'm fine," he said, giving his wife a quick peck on the lips, before apparating the two of them home.
Even though he continually felt the emptiness of loved ones lost,
Even though he faced the stress of building up an equal and fair society his children and godson could be proud of,
Even though he felt the bitter-sweetness of his only daughter and youngest child leaving home for Hogwarts,
He was, for once, better than fine.
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Alright, folks. Just in case you missed it, that was a scene from Elementary school, each Hogwarts year, and a Life-After bit. Hope you like it, please review!