(Note: After a 2 year hiatus I will be finishing this story. Please read the note at the end of the chapter, and enjoy.)
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Harry's head swam as he blinked his eyes open, shivering because of the slight fever that had made him go to the doctor in the first place. After it hadn't gone away for a few days and no matter how much he slept he still felt exhausted, apparently they were the signs of chronic leukemia finally attacking. He was aware that Severus and Draco were with him, but the heat of being in bed with them was too much. With a large amount of care he extracted himself without making the other two.
Harry watched with a sense of detachment as they curled towards each other in his absence.
Walking over to his desk he looked at the neatly stacked papers with precise markings on them, it had to be Draco's handwriting because it certainly wasn't Sev's. He flipped through to see the four years of students papers left to be graded, and was thankful. With a bit of wandless magic he set water to boil for tea, and sat down to compile subjects to be reviewed before the final exams, OWLs and NEWTs. He curled up in the window seat as the sun started to rise.
It was over half an hour before the others woke, likely from the smell of tea. Draco stretched before finding Harry, gaping at the fact that he was back to working so soon. Severus had looked at him oddly, but had poured himself tea before asking about it, "Draco graded those so you wouldn't have to do so much work."
"I have to write lesson plans through the end of the year." Harry sighed without looking up.
"It could be that soon?" Draco accepted a cup from Severus as he sat by Harry's feet.
"All I was told was that I had passed the accelerated stage, and that depending on the results, it could be weeks." Harry was still writing, but seemed to be finishing up what he was working on.
"Would you like me to go with you tomorrow?" Severus didn't say the word appointment, but they all heard it there.
"No," Harry shook his head as he capped the ink, "I don't think you'd really want to hear them say how soon it will be. I'm not sure I could really take seeing your faces while I'm there either."
"We'll be here for you when you get back," Draco said quietly.
"Just," Harry shifted uncomfortably, "Just be there for each other when this is all over."
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He struggled to keep positive through his classes, moving to the practical side of charms, and keeping note of where his students needed more work. Harry made notes on papers, and in his spare time managed to get a week ahead of his classes in lesson plans. Quiet rumors had spread that he would not be returning the following year, and students had been trying to show how good they were to convince him to come back. By Thursday night he had decided to just ignore it, and by the end of classes on Friday he was tired of their compliance.
After packing up his things, he dropped by his rooms and grabbed a heavier cloak to keep him warm despite the mild fever and forced down a quick meal that he had no appetite for. Taking passageways to avoid attention, Harry made his way out of the castle and to the apparition point. The transportation made him dizzy, but he managed to stay on his feet as he wandered into the small wizarding town, and into the doctor's building. Doctor Vita was an older woman, one who mixed muggle and wizard healing methods, and someone he trusted to keep his identity a secret.
"It's great to see you, though you've managed not to lose to much weight. That's good." She had been concerned with his weight during his last video, and he let himself relax as she had him sit across from her in a regular chair. "How are you holding up?"
"I've been better, but I'm just trying to get things in order." Harry replied honestly.
"Have you told anyone? Those boyfriends of yours?"
"Yes, them and the nurse at our school."
"You may want to tell the headmistress soon." Vita said seriously, "I had hoped you were still at the stage where treatment was possible, and there is still treatment available, but I don't think you will consent to it."
"At least let me know what the options are."
"There's muggle chemo, which sometimes works but makes you sick and weak as a result, or can give you severe infections. The spread of your disease would make surgery by muggle or wizard means impossible, and though there are some treatment options available, they are in a testing phase, 30% survival rate and will give you about two years at this point. Maybe longer."
"The side effects?"
"Weak immune system, loss of appetite, infections and well, you could possibly lose your magic." She grimaced as it came out of her mouth.
Harry shook his head, pushing his emotions aside as he asked, "And if we do nothing?"
"I'd estimate about two months."
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(Author's Note: I understand that this work was previously abandoned, but after two years and dealing with the death of two family members from cancer I felt that this needed to be completed for my own sense of closure. I will still keep to my main storyline, but will be elongating it to show the aftereffects on individuals. A special thank you to user "evil minded" who sent me a pm (2 years ago) that was both compassionate and the reason why I ever considered this story. Thank you for all of you who have read my work even after all this time, and thank you for your support. -SlytherinsScribe)