Harry clenched his teeth as his back locked and pain radiated through his body. His face screwed up in pain as waves of agony drenched him to the core.
He couldn't cope with this for much longer.
Harry watched as McGonagall walked towards him and crouched down next to him.
"Is it your back?" she asked sympathetically.
"Yes." Harry replied through clenched teeth as his eyes started to water.
"You are excused. Go straight to Madam Pomfrey. I'll pack your things away."
Once Harry left the room, his face crumpled and he let out a few agonized sobs, before pulling himself together. He slowly made his way up to the hospital wing, his back jerking and locking as he walked. The trek that would normally take him ten minutes took him half an hour as he kept on having to stop and rest.
"Madam Pomfrey!" Harry called out as laid down on his usual bed.
"Oh, Potter, is it your back?" Madam Pomfrey asked, running off to fetch a painkiller.
"Yeah, but worse than usual." Harry replied as his back locked yet again.
"I'm going to give you this painkiller and a dreamless sleep potion. It could be caused by stress or depression. We'll try you on a anti-depressant potion for a while, but first I'll let you sleep."
Harry nodded in understand. He had read somewhere that depression and stress could cause physical pain. He drank his potions and waited for the dreamless sleep potion to work, however, it doidn't take effect. "Erm, Madam Pomfrey, it hasn't worked."
Madam Pomfrey spun round and stared at Harry in shock. "Has the pain potion worked? I can't believe this! You've taken this potion once before in my care! Once!"
"The pain potion has helped a bit." Harry reassured her, smiling a bit.
"It might take a bit longer to work than usual. We'll wait another twenty minutes to whether it starts to work."
Twenty minutes later and Harry felt weird. He felt as though he was floating and everything around him seemed to move and spin. Shadows would form shapes and stalk him, while beams of light would attempt to keep them away from him.
"Another one!" Harry screeched, pointing towards the offending shadow. "Help! It's going to get me!"
Harry payed no attention Madam Pomfrey who was trying in vain to calm him down. The poor matron knew that she would never give dreamless sleep potion to the boy again.
"Felicity!" Madam Pomfrey called, and a moment later a house elf appeared before her. "Go and get Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall and tell them to get here quickly, thank you!"
The house elf popped away and Madam Pomfrey turned her attention back to Harry and trying to calm him down.
"It's in my head!" Harry yelled as he started to punch himself in the head.
Madam Pomfrey jumped into action and restrained Harry's hands by lying him down and pinning his hands to the bed, using her body weight to keep them there. A moment later, while Harry was still screeching, the hospital wing doors flew open and Dumbledore and McGonagall ran in.
"Poppy what-"
"Not now, Minerva! Just help me restrain him! I'll tell you later!" Madam Pomfrey shouted over Harry's screams.
After half an hour of Harry trying to fight with invisible attackers, he calmed down and instead laid peacefully, blankly staring at one spot on the wall.
"Poppy, what is wrong with Harry?" Dumbledore asked as the three sat down.
"I don't know. I gave him dreamless sleep, but it hasn't fully worked. For it to work, the potion has to cause a few hallucinations before the patient falls asleep, however the potion has not put Harry to sleep, so the hallucinations have continued."
"When will this end?" McGonagall asked, glancing worriedly at Harry.
"Hopefully in ten or eleven hours. I'm not sure whether to get someone from St Mungos to have a look at him or not." Madam Pomfrey confessed. "It's like he isn't there anymore."
"Lets wait," Dumbledore stated.
It was a long wait for the three. Transfiguration had been cancelled for the day, and thankfully no more students needed treating for injuries or sickness. Ron and Hermione had come to visit Harry, but they had been told that Harry was too ill for visitors and shooed away.
"I want a dog, pony and snake." Harry rambled to Dumbledore. "Snakes are funny. They tell you jokes and make you laugh. Aunt Petunia is scared of snakes. Did ya' know that, Sir?"
"No, no I didn't." Dumbledore chuckled. "What else is aunt Petunia scared of?"
"Well..." Harry drawled, lolling his head around. "Magic. She hates magic 'cause she is scared. Like I hate dementors cause they scare me. She is scared of all animals. They make mess and mess is bad for her." Harry went silent for a moment and then turned to Dumbledore. "Professor, what're you scared of?"
"Well," Dumbledore replied. "I'm scared of butterflies."
"Ron's scared of spiders." Harry rattled off, apparently not phased by the headmaster's fear. "Hermione is scared of doing bad. I'm scared of scared. I have to get rid of spiders for Ron. Apart from Aragog, he's too big to get rid of. Oh yeah! Spiders are scared of snakes cause snakes eat them! Do spiders and bad marks eat people..."
"No, I believe they don't." Dumbledore replied, his eyes twinkling as he held in his laughter.
"I need to do a wee." Harry stated, looking at the headmaster. "I have this feeling and I think it means that I need the toilet."
Dumbledore waved his wand and watched as Harry frowned in confusion before shrugging.
"The feeling went away!"
Dumbledore chuckled and continued to talk to Harry while the two witches watched the interaction.
Harry opened his eyes and the sound that came out of his mouth faded away. What had he just been doing? What had he been saying? He snapped his head round to find Professor Dumbledore looking at him in amusement.
"Welcome back, Mr Potter." Madam Pomfrey said, before waving her wand over you. "How do you feel?"
"Confused... What just happened? I was in here for my back and I took potions, they didn't work and then nothing."
"You had a bad reaction to the dreamless sleep potion. You started hallucinating and attacking yourself." Madam Pomfrey replied. "Now, it is late and you need to sleep."
Harry just nodded, closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep; exhausted by the events that he couldn't remember.
Okay, guys, I should probably tell you that all of thisispart of the same condition. I do know what is wrong with Harry and I do know loads about the condition, as I have it myself. I am not going to tell you what the condition is. I'll let you try and guess.
I hope you liked it!
Hannah x