Harry was in and out of sleep the rest of the day. Despite the potions he had been given, he still felt pretty miserable and weak. Neville, Ron, and Hermione stayed with him the whole day, embarrassing Harry to no end with taking care of him.
"Harry, don't be embarrassed. You're sick. You are allowed to be taken care of for once in your life," Hermione said as she cooled the washcloth on Harry's head again.
"I'm not embarrassed," he muttered.
"Then why does your face turn red each time we try to help you?" Neville piped in, with a raised eyebrow.
"Because I'm hot," he insisted.
"Ah, you're not that hot," teased Hermione, insinuating that Harry had been referring to his looks. Harry blushed even brighter while Ron and Neville just laughed.
"Can't I just take off some of these bloody blankets?" he whined.
"Only if your temperature gets too high. The heat is actually good for you though, Har. The reason your body's getting a temperature is because it's trying to reach a heat that any bug you might have gotten can't stand, so it will kill it off, and since your immune system is weak, you'll need all the help you can get," Ron explained. Everyone looked at him in surprise.
"How do you know all that?" Neville asked.
Ron blushed a bit.
"Well, I've done a lot of medical research lately. I've read through those books so many times, I guess some of it sticks with you," he said with a shrug. "Besides, it's kind of interesting."
Harry couldn't help but feel slightly guilty for all the work his friends had gone to on his behalf. Luckily, Hermione quickly prevented the situation from becoming awkward and gasped in fake shock.
"No! Not you Ron Weasley. It can't be true. You? Finding something you read—in a book—interesting? It must be someone under a Polyjuice Potion, not my boyfriend!"
"Hey, why do you get to call me your boyfriend and I don't get to call you my girlfriend?" Ron asked indignantly.
"Because when I say it, I don't make you sound like a brainless object. No arguing," she said, putting up a hand to stop him.
"Girls," Ron sighed in exasperation. Neville and Harry nodded knowingly.
Later that night, Neville went off to study with Eloise and explain to her what had happened. Harry was still slightly feverish and, though temporarily awake, seemed ready to fall asleep at any moment. They had told their dormmates that the trio had all been slightly sick, and Neville had stayed behind to take care of them, since he insisted he was too bad at acting to pretend to be sick. Hermione and Ron had changed into their nightclothes before class had gotten out to make it more convincing. Everyone believed them, assuming that the trio had once again been sneaking around outside in the middle of the night on one of their adventures and had probably caught a cold.
At dinner, Ron went down to the kitchens to get some food for him and Hermione, and some chicken broth for Harry. The house elves, especially Dobby, were very obliging and Ron considered going down to the kitchens for dinner more often. Not only did he get anything he wanted, but Dobby praised him the whole time. Toward the end, it got slightly awkward though, and he grabbed the bundle of food and left swiftly.
He had just gotten through the portrait to the empty Gryffindor common room, when he heard his name being called. He turned around to see Fred and George scrambling through the portrait after him.
"Oy little brother, I heard you were skiving on classes today," said Fred.
"With Harry, Hermione, and Neville Longbottom," added George.
"What's going on?"
They simultaneously crossed their arms as Mrs. Weasley did when waiting for an answer.
"Er…"
He couldn't bring himself to lie to his brothers about something like this. He wanted to tell them so badly, just to have someone besides Hermione to talk to about it. But he also knew that he couldn't possibly be the one to tell them. Even if it wasn't only Harry's to tell, he couldn't have brought himself to deliver such horrible news. He did not envy what Harry was going to have to do as soon as he got well enough to have the conversation.
"Hey, Ron, what's wrong?" Fred asked worriedly at seeing the distressed expression on his little brother's face.
"I…er…well, it's nothing. Well of course it's not nothing. It's something, but I can't…I can't…" he trailed off, trying to get a grip on his emotions. The twins exchanged a worried look.
"Ron, tell us. Maybe we can help," George said comfortingly, resting a hand on Ron's shoulder. Ron looked at him with sadness in his eyes.
"I wish you could. I promise, you'll find out soon, just not right now," he sighed.
"Does this have to do with Harry?" George asked with deep concern.
Ron numbly nodded. "But don't ask me about it right now, and don't go spying on him or anything. He's going to tell you very soon," he pleaded.
"What about now?" Fred asked.
Ron shook his head. "He's a little sick right now," he said sadly. "I promise, he'll tell you soon."
"Wait Ron, does it have to do with You-Know-Who?" Fred asked with a tinge of fright in his voice.
"Please, don't go off into anymore of those save-the-world escapades. It was horrible when Ginny…." George trailed off. They both knew he was referring to the Chamber of Secrets. "I don't want to have to go through that again with any of you, okay?"
"It doesn't…it doesn't have to do with…him," he said with a bit of a shudder. "But please, don't ask me, okay? You'll find out soon," he promised.
The twins reluctantly nodded.
"We're holding you to that, Ron," George warned.
He nodded and made his way quickly up the stairs as the twins went off to dinner.
Ron quietly opened the door in case Harry had fallen asleep again, to find that he was still awake, though barely. He and Hermione were sitting up in Harry's bed, leaning against the headboard. Harry's head was resting on Hermione's shoulder while she read to him.
They looked up as he entered, giving him quick smiles before turning their eyes back down at the pages. Harry didn't have his glasses on, so Ron wondered briefly why he even bothered. Hermione continued to read aloud a description of what sounded like a very hideous witch who had obviously been in several magical accidents. The two chuckled at the description, which Ron thought was slightly mean, since the poor witch had to be quite misfortunate to have gotten green skin.
He set down the food on Harry's nightstand, handing Hermione a biscuit and Harry a thermos of chicken broth, each thanking him quickly before going back to giggling at what Hermione was reading. Ron squeezed in next to Harry, sandwich in hand, throwing only the top blanket over his lap, while sitting on all the rest.
"What are you guys reading?"
"It's a Muggle fiction book that my aunt sent me for Christmas. It talks about what Muggles think witches are like, the stereotypes for them. They're quite funny actually."
"Yeah, did you know that I thought all witches had long noses with warts all over them until Hogwarts?" Harry said with amusement.
"And green faces, like in the Wizard of Oz," Hermione pitched in.
"Green faces and warts?" he asked incredulously. Then his expression turned thoughtful. "Actually, that kind of sounds like my Aunt Mildred." They all laughed.
"And Muggles generally think of witches as evil. Turning people into frogs, eating little kids, and constantly making potions for evil purposes."
"Eating little kids? Well, there's a whole different side to the female population of Hogwarts that I've been severely misinformed about," Ron muttered jokingly. "And doing potions all the time? No wonder people say Muggles are crazy. Only someone truly insane could think of actually enjoying potions. Where do they get this stuff from?"
"Stories and movies and stuff. 'Hansel and Gretel,' The Wizard of Oz, Disney movies, all the stuff we've seen or heard since we were little," Harry explained before remembering Ron had no idea what he was talking about.
"Hansen and Grendel? Who?" Ron asked, very confused.
"All right, Ron, it's time for a little Muggle culture lesson. Story time," she said, closing the book with a smack and setting it aside.
"Yay! Story time!" Ron joked, while Harry clapped his hands eagerly. They all dissolved in fits of laughter.
"That's right, boys, story time. First, let's get you tucked in," she said with a smile. The two boys chuckled and scooted down until their heads were lying on the pillows. Hermione pulled the blankets up to their chins, which was slightly difficult since Ron was lying on top of half the covers that Harry was under.
"All right, once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a brother and a sister named Hansel and Gretel," she started in a soft voice.
"Is Hansel the girl or the boy?" Ron asked.
"The boy. Gretel was his sister. Anyway, one day…"
When she finished the story, which had only been interrupted by a sharp gasp from Ron ("She was going to EAT him?!) and a comment from Harry at the part where Hansel was getting fattened up by the witch, ("Hmm…sounds like Dudley."), she started onto the description of the witch from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, which, because of a very curious Ron, led into the telling of the whole story.
The rest of the boys came into the dorm later in the middle of her stories and, after settling into their own beds, began to listen as well. She laughed and said they reminded her of the lost boys from Peter Pan. Dean and Harry chuckled, while everyone else remained puzzled. She shrugged and began telling that story, even if it strayed from her theme.
By the time she had gotten through The Wizard of Oz ("Melt under water? Muggles are so weird," murmured Seamus through a yawn.), all the boys, including Ron and Harry, had fallen asleep. Hermione was barely awake herself and had no energy to go back to her own dorm. Half asleep, she slipped under the covers beside Harry and fell into slumber.
The next morning, the three woke to a bright flash followed by chuckling. Each of them groaned and glared at Seamus who was standing at the foot of the bed with Colin Creevey's camera in hand.
"Aww, how cute, the three class-skiving sickies," he cooed.
"Sorry guys, couldn't let there be no proof of the fact that Hermione not only spent a night in the boys dorm, but stayed in a bed with two blokes," Dean added.
Hermione groaned and chucked a book at them. Ron gave her a sleepy high five over Harry.
"See you three at breakfast," they laughed and left the trio to finish waking up.
The three continued to lay in bed, too comfortable and tired to move.
"How ya feelin' Harry?" Hermione asked in a part whisper since her voice had yet to fully kick in.
"Mmm…much better, just not quite awake yet," he murmured with a sleepy grin.
"I ran into Fred and George last night. They wanted to know why we had all missed class," Ron said.
"What did you say?" Harry asked, though not caring as much at the answer as he would have if fully awake.
"Said that you'd tell 'em soon. You really have to, Har."
"Mm'kay," he murmured.
"Really?"
"Yeah. You're right. I'll tell 'em."
"If you need us, we're here for you," Hermione said sympathetically, turning on her side and propping her head up with her hand.
Harry smiled at her. "Thanks 'Mione."
There was a long comfortable pause.
"I wonder what your dormmates are going to say when they find out you spent the night in the boys' dorm," Harry said with a grin.
"Yeah, 'Mione, you should…enhance the story, for entertainment purposes," Ron added with a mischievous grin.
"Nah, I'll just tell them nothing happened. That's the best way to put their imaginations at work," she said with a chuckle.
"First punching Malfoy, now this? I think you're becoming worse than Harry and I. Soon, you're going to be a bad influence on us," said Ron in amusement.
"Well, I'll start being a bad influence on you after O.W.L.s. are on Monday. Good thing it's a Saturday. We can study all today and tomorrow."
Ron and Harry rolled their eyes and groaned.
"Two weeks of tests," Ron moaned miserably. "That's torture, that is."
"Well, what would you rather do: have two weeks of tests or two weeks of detention with Snape?" Hermione asked.
"All right, you win. I'd take the tests any day," Ron admitted miserably.
"No way, I'd go for the detention with Snape. That's far better than two weeks of tests," Harry argued.
"What if it was two weeks detention with Lockhart?" Hermione asked.
Harry made gagging sounds. "Bring on the tests. Of course we all know what you'd pick 'Mione," he teased. Hermione scowled at him.
"What are you saying, Harry? Choosing between Lockhart and tests? That's like asking her if she'd like a pile of gold or a pile of diamonds."
"Hey, shut it you two! I'm not so keen on him ever since it came out that he hadn't done all that stuff he had said.
Ron cleared his throat and waited, but Hermione only raised an eyebrow.
"And what about the fact that he tried to steal our memories and drive us mad?" Ron said in exasperation.
"Oh, well you couldn't really blame him for that now could you?" she asked innocently. The two boys pulled faces at her and finally got out of bed. They walked with Hermione down to the common room just to see if any of her dormmates had noticed her absence the night before, and sure enough, the common room was occupied by several very excited and anxious-looking girls.
When they saw Hermione walking down in her pajamas from the boys' staircase, they burst out into whispers and giggles. Parvati and Lavender raced over, each grabbing one of her arms and practically dragging her up the girls' staircase, Ginny racing up behind them.
Ron and Harry laughed and went back up to get showered and dressed.
The weekend was extremely hectic, with long, intense study periods along with tutoring Neville and Eloise. Everyone was more serious about studying than ever before, and Harry made sure that they all took breaks every time he could tell the stress was getting a bit too much.
Once Eloise burst out in tears saying that she would never understand Potions and was going to flunk out of school because she was so stupid. Harry and Neville gently reminded her of her A that she had gotten on the test, which cheered her up. They went down to the kitchens and drank hot chocolate with cookies until they were relaxed enough to go back to Potions.
Ron and Hermione had dragged him to see Madam Pomfrey Saturday morning and she gave him several potions with instructions to start taking them daily. Throughout the weekend, he realized that he was constantly feeling weak now, though surprisingly, his powers were staying as strong as ever. Unfortunately, using these powers drained him of energy he hardly had in the first place and he therefore refrained from putting them to much use. He had lost his appetite almost completely, much to the dismay of his friends.
What was truly plaguing his mind, however, was the seemingly impossible task of telling the Weasleys about the cancer. Saturday night, he couldn't find Fred and George, and even though Ginny was in the common room, he wanted to tell them all together, so couldn't that night. Sunday night, he found them, but they were surrounded by books and looked stressed. They did have N.E.W.T.s starting the next day after all. Harry kicked himself for waiting this long to do it, since now the stress of his bad news would only add to the stress of their exams. He decided to wait until the beginning of the following weekend, so the shock of his announcement would be eased by the weekend before they had to go back to their tests.
He passed the idea to Ron, who reluctantly agreed that Harry had a point.
"Okay, as long as you don't let worrying about telling them mess you up on your exams," Ron said.
"Don't worry, I won't," Harry said. Both of them secretly knew that it wouldn't matter how Harry did on the tests, but it was never said aloud.
Monday came, bringing their first O.W.L. test, the written portion of the Defense test. Everyone was extremely nervous. Neville nearly had a nervous breakdown when he realized he had forgotten his quill as they were passing out the tests, but Hermione, who had brought eleven just in case, let him borrow one.
When the test was actually in front of him, Harry's nerves were eased. The questions were things that he easily knew. He had thought that the questions were going to try to trick him or be on things he hadn't learned about, but he was certain about the answer to every single one. He knew he might have had an easier time with the test than others thanks to preparing for the Tri-Wizard tournament the year before and his extra defense lessons this year, and felt slightly guilty about the extra advantage.
The practical exam on Tuesday, was also easy for Harry. He seemed to be having a far easier time than the other students around him, but all of the spells in this portion of the exam, he was sure they had learned in class.
Wednesday and Thursday brought the written and practical portions of the Potions test. Harry thanked Merlin he had tutored Eloise and Neville, since he might have forgotten several of the potions if he hadn't. After the test, the two ran up and hugged him, thanking him profusely.
"The examiner that was testing me said she was impressed," exclaimed Neville. "Snape was right there and he looked like he had swallowed a Bludger."
"And my potion turned out looking exactly like it should and he asked what I would do if I wanted to disguise the taste, and I knew! I said I would add Boomslang skin before the Knoxwood, and he nodded and said 'very good'," Eloise said excitedly.
"See, I told you guys you could do it!" Harry said with equal fervor.
Ron came out grumbling a bit at the three happy students. "Why didn't I join your study group? Why?" he groaned. "I don't know what went wrong, but it was green at the end. It dripped on the table and made it really shiny. The examiner reckons I invented a new magical wood polish, but since we were trying to make a truth-telling potion, I think I'm screwed."
Neville patted him comfortingly on the back. "Well, on the bright side, you might not have to take potions next year," he reminded him.
But Ron's mood didn't brighten as much as they'd hoped. In fact, he looked even more depressed.
Hermione bounded up to them energetically. "How do you guys think it went? I think I did well. It turned out like it should have I think."
"Oh Merlin, I'm the only one who failed," Ron said dejectedly.
"You don't know that you failed, Ron. Maybe your potion is a wood polish and a truth serum," Harry said hopefully.
"No, I'm just a royal idiot."
Hermione immediately quelled her overly joyous antics and hugged Ron.
"No you're not. Would I ever date an idiot? I don't think so. Maybe potions just isn't your thing. I think you're much better in charms," she said.
Ron seemed to forget all the mishaps in charms that year and smiled. "Really?"
"Of course!" she said brightly. "Not that you should slack off for the charms exam next week. I'd say study extra hard so you can show off."
All the boys rolled their eyes.
"Hey, it's true! You should all study this weekend! I'm not…hey! Oh shut it you buggers. Eloise is obviously my only true friend here, so us girls are going to go down to the kitchens for an ice cream and pie celebration without you lot."
She linked arms with a giggling Eloise, and the two marched off toward the kitchens.
"Ice cream?" asked Neville.
"Pie?" said Ron.
The three raced after the girls.
"Severus."
Snape jumped and whirled around, nearly breaking a beaker full of volatile acid. He glared as the headmaster raised an amused eyebrow.
"Albus, do you not have anything better to do than sneak up on people?" he asked, turning back to his experiment.
"I just wanted to check on your progress and make sure you eat. The house elves are setting up your favorite meal in your living room and you're going to take a break to eat it," he said sternly. "I know how you get with your research."
With a slight scowl, Snape put out the fire and set down the beaker. "I'm not a child Albus," he said indignantly. His stomach chose that moment to growl.
"Yet you still cannot manage to feed yourself," Dumbledore said with a smile. He put an arm around the potions master's shoulders, knowing he was the only one who would ever be allowed to do such a thing, and led him out into the dining room.
The two sat down at the table and Snape raised an eyebrow at the feast before him.
"You went overboard again, Albus."
"Overboard is a very interesting place to be. It's much less confining, wouldn't you agree?" he said thoughtfully. Snape simply raised an eyebrow, not quite sure what exactly it was he was supposed to be agreeing to. "So, how is your research going?" Dumbledore asked, cutting his pork chops.
"Well, I think I've figured out how to isolate the cancer and remove it, but not without it damaging the life energy. I think I'm on to something though. It's all in theory though and it will be very difficult to test it," he said with a frown. "By the way, who did you get to fill in for my classes last week?"
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily. "Well, I took over a few, when Sirius was busy getting his house ready for summer. There's a lot of work to be done there since it hasn't been lived in for so long and he needs to fix up a room for Harry," he said casually.
Snape blanched. "Sirius Black? You got that—that man to teach my potions class? Are you insane? He probably only taught them how to turn people's hair different colors or some other horrid prank. Oh no. Please tell me my classroom is in one piece. Oh dear Merlin," he said horrified.
"Severus, though Sirius's talents in potions will never nearly match yours, you must admit he is more than competent in the subject. He just finds different joys in it than you do," the elder man said calmly.
"Joys such as blowing things up and making people miserable," he muttered, stabbing his own dinner viciously with his fork.
"I seem to remember a few potions you made as a student with some interesting side effects as well," said Dumbledore amusedly.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Snape said, trying to conceal a smirk.
There was a long pause.
"Severus, do you think you might be able to save Harry?" Dumbledore asked seriously.
Snape sighed. "I don't know Albus. If I can get this potion right, it'll be close. I'm working as fast as I can. The longer he can hold on, the better chance I'll have to get it out of him. Of course, even if I do, his immune system will most likely be damaged, but he'd be able to live with it."
"Well that's more hope than we've had." He grinned with amusement and Snape knew what was coming. "You know Severus…"
"Albus, don't even start it," he warned.
"Start what?"
"Start telling me that it's obvious I care for the boy and that this is good for me and I need to stop being a lonely, grumpy, isolated bastard and start reaching out and all that usual crap you try to spoon feed me," he said, exasperated.
"Actually, I was just going to say that you should try the mashed potatoes, but I'm glad you're starting to admit all this," said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye.
Snape glared daggers at him.
"I do not care about him. I am just trying to find the cure as a little project. It's a new challenge," he said, matter-of-factly.
"Then I guess you wouldn't care about what Poppy told me about his health," Dumbledore said with a shrug, taking another bite of mashed potatoes.
"No, I don't care," Snape said indifferently. There was a long pause while he seemed to be having an inner struggle. Finally, he looked up in defeat. "Fine, what did she say?"
"Well, if you don't care, I wouldn't want to bore you with the details."
"Albus," Snape said warningly, "stop trying to be manipulative and just tell me."
Dumbledore laughed slightly before sighing sadly. "He's beginning to have to take potions on a daily basis and she fears that may need to be increased soon. She says that his immune system is beginning to lose the battle against the illness, and his health will soon start declining even more rapidly. She doesn't think he has much time left, even with all the potions he's on."
Snape shook his head and slammed down his fork. "It's not fair, Albus. You know, I overheard the Weasley boy saying that Potter stood up for me against his friends. He stood up for me. Nobody—nobody does that, except for you. After everything I've done to him… Is this his punishment or something? Is this my punishment? It's just so ridiculously unfair," he spat.
Dumbledore sighed. "I wish it weren't so, but life has its unfortunate twists. Sometimes evil prevails and the best people are dealt the worst of fates. In Harry's case, his goodness led him right into this horrible mess."
"It was his choice, but it was our faults. We conditioned him to believe that it was his destiny to face the Dark Lord. He's just a child. He must've believed that it was his destiny to die, since it must seem to him impossible to win. Maybe he was right," Snape said angrily.
"It is not up to us to decide people's destiny. There is still time, and because of you, there is still hope."
Snape sighed and leaned back in his chair. "So I guess it's down to me. It's resting on my shoulders now."
"Severus, you're doing more than I ever hoped for. Whether or not this works, you'll still be like a son to me. Do you understand that?" Dumbledore asked seriously.
"Oh bother. Here comes the sappiness…" Snape started with a roll of the eyes.
"Severus, I'm very serious. I want you to understand that. I've recently discovered what could happen when somebody doesn't believe that there's somebody who loves them. I don't know what I'd do if that were to be you," he said sincerely.
Snape looked at the older man awkwardly. "I understand, Albus. Thank you."
Dumbledore gave him a sad smile. "I best be off," he said, standing and waving away his dishes with a flick of the hand. "I want you to start taking care of yourself. That means eating and sleeping as actual humans do. I'll come and check on you, and I don't want to see any under eye circles or hear any growling of the stomach," he said sternly. "Take care."
"You too," Snape said. Dumbledore then disappeared out the door, leaving a thoughtful Snape behind.
The potions master called a house elf to clear away the food and returned to working on his experiments, for some reason, with even more determination than he had before.