A/N: Hello, everyone! I'M BACK! And yes I have plans for Harry's Wish. I know you're thinking I've abandoned the story. I HAVEN'T! Have hope, people! I want to finish the story before I post the rest of the chapters. So it may be a while. I also have to wait for inspiration. Anyways, here's a one-shot to keep you entertained! :D
Disclaimer!: I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER! J.K. ROWLING DOES!
Stomach Problems
"Harry... Harry, wake up. HARRY!"
I jerked awake, gasping.
"What the heck, Ron?!" I shouted. It was a Saturday, for crying out loud.
"Harry, it's a Hogsmeade weekend." Ron pointed out. "We have to leave in a half hour if we're going."
The thought of going to Hogsmeade was not at all appealing. Something about me felt off. I couldn't quite place it...
"I'm not going." I muttered, burrowing under my blankets.
"Are you okay, mate?" Ron asked, concern in his voice. "You do look a little pale."
"I don't know," I answered honestly. "I guess I feel a little off. Although I don't know why."
"Maybe it's best you stay here then." Ron said. "I could-"
"No." I cut him off. "You go with Hermione. Have fun, and let her know I'm okay, yeah?" Ron hesitated briefly.
"Go." I said, almost sternly.
"Alright." Ron agreed. "Anna is downstairs. She's not going. You know she knows tons about everything. You can ask her what's up with you."
"I'm fine, Ron." I said, rolling my eyes.
"Okay. Bye, Harry."
"Bye Ron." I heard the dormitory door close. I rolled over, intending to sleep the day away, but suddenly there was a lurch in my stomach. I stopped. Carefully, I rolled onto my back. My belly gurgled. Frowning, I placed my hand on my tummy and waited. A few moments later it gurgled again, bubbling against my palm.
Then it started to hurt. There was a pain low in my abdomen. Well, not a pain, exactly... A cramp. It took me by surprise. I pushed my hand into my lower abdomen and grimaced when my stomach growled.
Then the cramps came back. They rolled through my abdomen and took my breath away. A cramp tightened in the middle of my belly and it felt like my tummy was being squeezed to death. I gasped, wrapping my arms tightly around my middle and curled into a ball, waiting for them to ease up.
After a couple minutes, the cramps faded. I remained still, waiting to see if they came back. They did not. Putting on my glasses, I slowly got out of bed and stretched. My stomach clenched, letting out an angry growl.
"Ugh," I moaned. It continued to rumble angrily. Putting a hand to my tummy, I rubbed it lightly, hoping to settle it. I changed from my pajamas to jeans and a t-shirt. The jeans were loose, for which I was grateful. I couldn't bear the thought of anything tight on my stomach.
I didn't really want to stay up in the dorms alone, so I decided to go to the common room and work on my Defense essay that was due on Monday. I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed down to the common room. There were a couple groups of first and second years talking or working on homework. There was a group of seventh years quizzing each other for an exam.
I scanned the room, looking for Anna. Ron had said she was down here. Finally, I saw her, sitting at an empty table, bent over her parchment, scribbling quickly, occasionally stopping and quickly thumbing through the book next to her and scribbling some more.
I made my way over to her and stopped beside the open seat across from her.
"Hullo Anna," I said. "Mind if I join you?" She looked up, startled at first, but then she smiled.
"Hullo, Harry." She greeted warmly. "Of course you can sit here. I was rather lonely." I took a seat and began pulling out my supplies. "I'm working on my Defense essay." Anna said.
"Me too," I replied. "I'm almost finished."
"I am as well, but I've always struggled at the theories behind it." She blushed a little and looked down, avoiding my eyes.
"Oh, well I can help you if you want." I offered. She glanced up at me then. Her face was still red, but there was a sparkle in her eyes as she smiled. There was a squeezing sensation in my chest I did my best to ignore.
"Thanks, Harry!" She said, grinning at me. "We can finish our essays and then you could look over mine?"
"Yeah." I said, offering a smile of my own in return. Anna blushed a deep red and dropped her gaze to her parchment.
We worked for an hour or so, finishing our essays. I was beginning to believe my stomach upset this morning was gone for good, when the cramps returned. They weren't as bad as this morning, but they were painful nonetheless. The rumbling feeling returned too, and my tummy felt bloated.
"I can look over your essay now, if you're done." I said to Anna.
"Oh, yeah. Thanks." She handed my her parchment.
I leaned back in my chair and read through the essay. Her handwriting was very clear. Her talent was obviously writing because her paragraphs were organized, and it was very clear where she was going in her essay. I almost got distracted by her format, and had to remind myself to check for content.
Anna's knowledge of dementors, which was the topic we were given, was much more advanced than I had expected.
"This is really good." I said, handing her paper back with a smile. "You don't need my help, but as it turns out, I may need yours." Anna looked surprised.
"Need my help? But you're the best in the class!"
"No, I mean writing in general. I don't know how you learned to write like that!" I said. Anna blushed again.
"I uh... I make outlines first." She said, somewhat nervously. "I map out my essay. I make a strong topic paragraph where I describe the topic in a overview kind of way. My conclusion states my closing thoughts or my opinion, and the middle is split into what I want to talk about." She unrolled her parchment. "See? Here, I talk about the experience of being near a dementor, here I talk about getting the soul sucked out, and here, I talk about what a patronus is."
"Wow." I said, impressed. "That must take forever."
"Not really. I put all my information in the outline, so all I have to do is rewrite it. But sometimes as I'm rewriting it, I want to find more information."
"Wow." I said again. My stomach cramped up at that moment, and I couldn't help grimacing. I pushed my hand to my belly.
"Are you okay?" Anna asked, concern coloring her tone.
I opened my mouth to say I was fine, but the cramps tightened, squeezing my belly painfully. My tummy growled.
"Oh," I gasped, doubling over slightly. I felt an arm wrap around my waist, and Anna pulled me up. I hunched over and wrapped my arms around my middle.
"I'm taking you back to your dorm." She said, somehow managing to half lead, half carry me up the stairs and to the sixth-year boys dorms. I stumbled to my bed and basically collapsed. I curled into a ball and hugged my cramping belly tightly, feeling it rumble and gurgle.
Anna pulled up a chair sat beside the head of my bed.
"Where does it hurt?" She asked. Her voice was calm and warm. "Can you lie flat for me?"
I remembered that Ron and Hermione had said Anna knew a lot about many things. Maybe she knew a little bit about whatever this was.
I rolled onto my back with a groan. Anna moved the chair so she was closer to my abdomen.
"It hurts here," I gestured to the middle of my stomach. "And down here." I moved my hand lower, over my intestines.
"What does it feel like?" Anna asked, a concerned frown marring her features.
"It's mostly cramps here." I touched the middle of my stomach again. "And a tightness, I guess."
"Mm-hm" Anna hummed. "What about lower? What does that feel like?"
"There's cramps and tightness too, but there's also this feeling like my intestines are being squeezed really tight by a snake or something. Here." I lightly ran my hand over my belly button. Then I moved my hand lower. "And here."
"Hmm..." Anna hummed again and slid closer to me. "I'm going to check you out, okay? See what's going on." I nodded, then gasped as my stomach cramped tightly. "You're okay." She soothed. Somehow, I believed her.
Anna pulled my shirt up and placed her hands on my belly, lightly pressing down in some places. My tummy rumbled angrily against her hand when she pressed on my lower abdomen.
"Your tummy is a little bloated, did you notice?"she said suddenly. I blinked.
"Yeah, I noticed earlier..." I replied.
"When did these stomach problems start?" Anna asked, opening her school bag and taking out her wand.
"This morning, around the time after Ron left." I said. "The cramps faded after a while and I came downstairs."
"Okay." Anna said. "I have a stethoscope in my room, but I'm just going to cast a spell that will allow me to listen to your stomach. Okay?" I nodded wearily, suddenly tired.
She murmured a spell too low for me to make out the words, and tapped my tummy with her wand.
A gurgling, rumbling sound filled the room. Anna winced.
"That doesn't sound good." She said. I would have laughed at her comment, except for the awful sensations happening inside me matched the sounds she was commenting on, and I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that.
"Well, it's good to know my tummy sounds just as upset as it feels." I said dryly, pressing my hands to my very upset stomach. The rumbles and gurgles became more intense. I grimaced and released the pressure.
"Well that just made it worse." Anna said, hearing the change from the spell.
"You're telling me!" I groaned. "What is it? What's wrong with me?"
"You've had this since around nine?" She asked. I nodded. "Did you ever throw up?"
"No."
"Did you ever feel nauseated?"
"I felt a lurch in my stomach this morning, but it left and I hadn't felt like I was going to be sick." I said. Anna frowned.
"What's wrong with me?" I asked. Anna waved her wand once, cancelling the spell on my stomach, and again, undoubtedly performing a sort of diagnostic charm.
After a while, she raised her head and looked at me.
"Well, I don't know for sure Harry, but I think you ate something that upset your stomach." She finally said.
"Like what?" I asked, confused.
"I don't know." Anna admitted. "Are you allergic to anything? Is there something that makes your stomach upset when you eat it?" I shook my head.
"No, I don't think so." My stomach gurgled. I grimaced, pressing my hands to my rumbly tummy, closing my eyes. The cramps returned with a vengeance. I moaned, pushing down on my belly hard.
Anna reached over and pried my hands away from my stomach. She placed her hand there instead and began rubbing my belly in a circular motion.
After my initial surprise, I relaxed against the pillows. My lower stomach cramped, causing me to grimace.
"Where does it hurt?" Anna murmured. Another cramp rolled through my belly.
"Lower." I moaned. She moved her hand to my belly button. "Ugh-" I groaned. "Little more." She moved her hand lower, just above the waistband of my jeans, and continued her massage. I sighed in relief, closing my eyes.
I was close to sleep when my stomach gurgled. I moaned and pressed my hand over Anna's, pushing in a little. It gurgled again.
She rolled her hand back and forth against my stomach, attempting to sooth my cranky belly. It continued to gurgle and cramp.
"Does it only hurt down here?" Anna asked, lightly moving her hand from my belly button back to just above the waistband of my jeans.
"Yes." I replied, closing my eyes as another cramp seized low in my belly. It let out an angry rumbling sound, and I winced. "Ah!"
Anna started using both hands, kneading my bloated belly, adding pressure as she went. I relaxed, watching her hands on my stomach. My tummy gurgled and she looked concerned.
"Am I hurting you?" She asked.
"No." I assured. "That feels good." Anna nodded and continued her massage. The longer she kneaded my stomach, the less crampy I felt. After a while, I drifted asleep.
I woke a little while later, not sure what woke me. I could feel Anna's hand rubbing my tummy, which still felt bloated. Suddenly it let out an angry growl, and it felt as though my intestines were being tied to knots. I groaned, pressing my hands to my cranky belly.
"Damn..." Anna muttered. "I was hoping you would get to sleep longer."
"My stomach had other plans," I deadpanned. "It prefers torturing me." My stomach growled loudly, rumbling angrily against my hands. "Ugh!"
"Hold on," Anna said suddenly. "I'll be right back." She left the dorm, and I heard her feet on the stairs. I wondered what she was doing. My stomach cramped up again, letting out a loud gurgle. I moaned and curled into a ball, wrapping my arms tightly around my belly.
After what seemed like hours, I heard the door to the dormitory open. I cracked my eyes open. Anna had returned with a corked vial in her hand.
"Hey," she murmured. "You're not feeling any better, are you?" I shrugged. Another strong cramp rolled through my abdomen, and I winced, hugging my belly tighter.
"No." I moaned, my voice muffled against my pillow. I felt her hand card through my hair.
"You'll feel better soon." She soothed. "I brought a potion that should help. You need to sit up though."
With a sigh, I uncurled myself slowly. I pushed myself up against the pillows, my tummy rumbling angrily. I pressed a hand to my middle with a grimace.
Anna handed me the vial, and I eyed it warily. I didn't want to chance anything making my stomach more upset.
"It's a stomach calmer." Anna supplied, answering my silent question. "It should help you feel better."
I lifted it to my mouth and gulped it down, grimacing at the taste. I could feel it settle in my stomach. For once, my stomach didn't feel quite so upset. Anna handed me a glass of water, and I drank that too, though slower. I drank about half of the water before handing her back the glass. I sank back into the pillows and closed my eyes.
After about a minute, I felt the water settle heavily in my stomach. My belly gurgled, rumbling uncomfortably. I pressed a hand to it, frowning.
"That's odd." Anna said. "The potion should be working." But my belly didn't feel better; it felt bloated.
"It's the water," I moaned. My tummy growled again, cramping up, and I winced. "Damn..."
Anna made a face. "I'm sorry."
A strong wave of cramps rolled through my abdomen, causing me to moan. "Hey, Anna?"
"Yes?" She replied, leaning forward and eyeing me with concern. I blushed a little.
"Can you rub my tummy?" I basically whispered. Her massage had eased the cramps earlier... Her face softened.
"Of course." She murmured. She crawled onto my bed and lay down next to me. She pushed my shirt up and began to lightly massage the middle of my tummy. The cramping began to fade. I still felt bloated, though, as she rubbed my stomach. Anna looked concerned as she rubbed soothing circles over my rumbling belly.
"Are you okay?" She asked. I was going to say yes, but she looked like she really wanted to make me feel at least a little better. I shrugged instead.
"I don't know," I said. "I don't feel sick, just really uncomfortable."
"Uncomfortable how?" Anna questioned. "Like cramps?"
"Yes, but it's not only that." I said. "Like..." My face reddened. "I feel... bloated." Anna smiled softly at me. She pressed her hand deeper into my stomach, adding pressure, but not too much. In response, it growled.
I sighed, relaxing against the pillows. Anna's massage did little to ease the cramps or the rumbly feeling low in my belly. My tummy growled angrily again, and I grimaced. Anna frowned.
"Your tummy isn't feeling any better, is it?" She murmured.
"Not really." I admitted. "Can you go lower?" Anna moved her hand lower on my belly, just above the waistband of my jeans. She rolled her hand back and forth against my rumbly stomach.
The feeling in my gut, in my intestines, was worsening. Cramps tightened low in my gut, causing my stomach to growl angrily. Suddenly, my belly let out a warning gurgle. I threw off the covers and sprang out of bed.
Anna jumped. "Harry?" She sounded worried. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be back." I said over my shoulder, as I rushed to the bathroom. I closed the door and locked it.
When I was done, I left the bathroom and staggered to bed, dizzy. The room spun horribly, and I almost fell. Anna grabbed me and steered me to bed.
She made sure I got in bed without falling. My head spun and my stomach hurt. I closed my eyes and pressed my hands to my stomach.
"Harry?" Anna's voice was quiet, though I could hear worry in her tone. "Did you- I mean, were you sick, just now?"
"Sick how?" I moaned. I cracked my eyes open to look up at her. "I didn't throw up, if that's what you're asking." Anna's eyebrows knitted together in confusion briefly, then her eyes filled with understanding. My face reddened, and I dropped my gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
"Does your stomach still hurt?" She asked, worriedly. I nodded as more cramps rolled through my belly. It gurgled angrily.
Anna placed her hands on my belly again, over my intestines. She began kneading my bloated tummy. I could feel her massage easing the awful cramping and sick feeling in my stomach.
"That feels really good." I said, closing my eyes.
"I'm glad." Anna replied. My belly gurgled again, and she rolled her hand back and forth against my abdomen, over my intestines. The uncomfortable, sick feeling in my gut eased up a little, and I drifted to sleep, exhausted.
...
I woke suddenly, with the room considerably darker, feeling awful. My gut was being assaulted with cramps. I groaned, pressing my hands to my belly. It clenched, letting out a gurgle.
"Harry?" Anna murmured nearby. "Are you alright?"
"It hurts," I moaned, doubling over as the cramping intensified.
"What hurts, Hun?" She asked. I heard footsteps as she came closer. There was a click, and the room filled with light. I blinked, my eyes adjusting to the light. More cramps ripped through my abdomen, and I clutched my middle.
"My stomach hurts." I groaned, though it sounded more like a whine. Anna looked worriedly at me. My belly growled angrily, and I winced, squeezing my eyes shut against the pain low in my gut.
I almost jumped out of my skin when I felt Anna's hand on my lower abdomen, gently massaging my cranky belly. I relaxed against the pillows and allowed her to ease the sick feeling in my stomach.
The relief only lasted a little while. After about a half hour my lower stomach started to ache. I felt bloated and uncomfortable. My belly started rumbling uncomfortably and it felt as though my tummy would burst.
"Are you feeling a little better?" Anna asked after a while, rolling her hand against my rumbling, aching stomach.
"No," I moaned, wincing at the sick feeling in my gut. The rumbly feeling in my intestines intensified, and my stomach cramped painfully, letting out a growl.
Anna rolled her hand back and forth against my abdomen, right above the waistband of my jeans, where my stomach hurt the most. It didn't really ease the cramps or awful feeling in my gut, and I still felt uncomfortable and bloated.
The pain in my gut flared, and I gasped a little, pressing my hand against Anna's. My belly gurgled against her hand. I slid out of bed with a groan, and stood, swaying a little. Anna reached out and steadied me.
"Harry?" She asked. "Where are you going?" The pain in my gut was worsening. My belly gurgled again and I moaned, pressing my hands to my stomach.
"Bathroom." I muttered. Anna released me, and I stumbled to the bathroom, my head spinning dizzily.
I staggered back to bed afterwards, dizzy. My stomach hurt terribly. I crawled into bed, doubling over at the feeling in my gut.
"Harry?" Anna asked, her voice laced with worry. "Your tummy still hurt?"
I nodded, wincing when I felt my stomach cramp. "It hurts." I moaned.
Anna started massaging my aching stomach, rolling her hand back and forth low on my abdomen, over my intestines. It gurgled angrily against her hand. I grimaced as my stomach cramped up, letting out an angry rumbling sound.
"I suppose you could have a version of the stomach flu." Anna murmured quietly, her hand rolling against my upset stomach. I moaned. Anna placed her hand against my forehead.
"You do seem a little warm." Anna muttered. She conjured a thermometer and placed it under my tongue. After a minute it beeped. Anna took it and looked at it, frowning.
"You don't have a fever, but that doesn't mean you don't have the flu." Anna muttered. "So back to square one."
I sighed. My stomach was aching. I winced as cramps rolled through my abdomen. Anna seemed to notice, because her hand was back, rubbing my tummy in soothing circles.
"Feel a little better?" She asked, hopefully.
"Not really." I admitted. My belly rumbled angrily against her hand. I grimaced. It continued rumbling uncomfortably, letting out a gurgle.
I closed my eyes against the sick feeling in my tummy. Anna continued to massage my upset stomach.
Suddenly, the room to the dormitory opened. I opened my eyes and turned my head to see who had come in. Ron and Hermione had comeback from Hogsmeade.
"Hey Harry, we're... Back..." Ron looked from me to Anna, and back again. "You're sick." He said. I shrugged.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, coming closer, worry etched onto her face.
"My stomach hurts." I admitted, wincing as more cramps attacked my abdomen. Anna rolled her hand against my belly, which eased the cramping slightly.
"I think it's the flu, but I'm not sure." Anna said. "I have half a mind to get Madame Pompfrey, but..."
"Ron and I can go get her... Ask her to come up?" Hermione offered.
"Oh, would you?" Anna asked, relieved.
"Yeah." Ron replied. "We'll be back. C'mon Hermione." They left the dormitory, closing the door on the way out.
After about twenty minutes, they returned with Madame Pompfrey in tow. She looked at me and gave a little sigh.
"Potter, I swear..." She trailed off when I grimaced. My stomach really hurt. I pushed my hands to my tummy.
"When did this start?" She asked, pulling a stethoscope from her bag.
"This morning around nine." I groaned as my stomach rumbled angrily, my gut squeezing tight painfully. I hugged my belly tighter.
"Can you lift your shirt up, Potter?" Madame Pompfrey asked gently. I released the hold I had on my tummy and grabbed the hem of my t-shirt, lifting it up to expose my abdomen.
Madame Pompfrey placed her hands on the middle of my tummy, and pressed down, feeling my insides. She moved down slowly, and locked eyes with me as she pressed lower on my right side.
"If pressing there hurt, it could be appendicitis." She explained. I shook my head, to tell her I felt no pain there, and she continued downwards. My stomach gurgled against her hands when she pressed against my intestines. She looked apologetically at me, before continuing to press down all over my low belly, against my intestines.
I couldn't help grimacing. It hurt and was incredibly uncomfortable. The pressure made me feel like my tummy was going to burst. I actually groaned when Madame Pompfrey pressed down right above the waistband of my jeans. My belly gave a sickly gurgle, rumbling angrily against her hands.
"I'm sorry Potter." The matron said. "That part is over now. I'm going to run a diagnostic charm."
She waved her wand over my tummy and it glowed a light green color. She frowned a little and pressed her hand against my lower abdomen again. She added pressure and nodded a little to herself when my stomach growled, rumbling angrily against her hand.
"It seems you ate something that upset your stomach." Madame Pompfrey replied. "I say that because the spell I cast did not indicate food poisoning. Did you try something new recently? Whatever it was, I'd recommend not eating it again." I nodded. I couldn't remember what I had eaten the night before. Whatever it was really tore up my stomach.
"You should be alright by tomorrow, but take it easy." Madame Pompfrey continued. "Whatever you ate really upset your digestive tract. It will be a little out of sorts for a couple days. I recommend keeping to light foods. Maybe eat more small meals rather than three large ones for a couple days. See if that helps you." She reached into her bag and grabbed a potion. "Take this. It's a stomach soother. It should help a little. If your stomach feels upset the next couple of days that's normal. If you throw up, come see me. If your stomach doesn't feel better in three days, come see me. Just rest up."
With that, she left. Anna uncorked the potion and handed it to me. A drank it all in one go and waited. After a couple minutes, it settled in my stomach, easing the unsettled feeling and cramping. Ron and Hermione told us what they did at Hogsmeade.
Later, Hermione and Anna left, heading to their down, and Ron and I got ready for bed. I had just come out from the bathroom after brushing my teeth and climbed into bed when Ron came over to me.
"What's up?" I asked, looking over at him.
"Do you feel a little better?" He asked me, looking worried. I bit my lip to stop from smiling.
"Yeah," I replied, "the potion helped my stomach calm down."
"That's good." Ron said.
...
The next day, I took it easy, eating small snacks of plain foods to keep my stomach calm. Madame Pompfrey was right, of course. My stomach was a little out of sorts all day, but the bland food kept the cramping to a minimum.
Monday came, and I felt even better. I was a little tired, and my stomach would occasionally cramp up, but it was manageable.
The only time I actually thought I was going to throw up was in Potions. The scent of the ingredients left me feeling horribly nauseated. Ron and Hermione dragged me to Madame Pompfrey after class, but she assured me I was fine and gave me a potion to quell the queasy feeling in my tummy.
By Tuesday, I felt perfectly fine.
A/N: The addition of an O/C just kind of happened. Please don't flame that. If you have other healthy criticisms, feel free. But I reserve the right to add original characters to my stories.
Have a lovely day.
