Disclaimer: I don't own squat.
A/N: I am going to update now, sorry for the month long wait, or close to it. I just didn't feel like writing. SORRY! I got into everything I was reading, and blah, blah, blah. Like you guys care. Okay, on with it.
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After emptying his stomach, and going through some extremely painful dry heaves, he sat back against the wall, with one arm leaning against the toilet. He didn't know why he was feeling so sick all of the sudden, but he didn't have a good feeling about it.
Harry shakily got to his feet, using the sink for support. He really felt like passing out, but stubbornly moved forward anyways. He figured if he could make it to Ron's bedroom in time, he could just lie down and it would go away. He took one more step and knew no more.
He could hear someone calling his name. He had never felt so tired before in his life. He wished they would shut up so he could go back to sleep. But then they started shaking him. 'Bastards.' he grumbled to himself.
"What?" he asked, irritably. He wanted desperately to go back to sleep. Upon opening his eyes, however, he realized he was surrounded by Weasley's and his godfather. He thought he spotted Albus's beard somewhere in the mix as well. After further investigation, he realized he was on the floor.
"Why am I on the floor?" he asked, voicing his confusion.
"You passed out." said Sirius with concern lacing his voice.
"Really?" he asked. He couldn't believe he had actually passed out. He was sure he would have made it to Ron's room.
"Yes, really." stated Mrs. Weasley emphatically. "We need to get you into bed."
Just by hearing their voices, Harry could tell they were nearly hysterical, but trying their hardest to keep it at bay. He thought of the last time he had become ill and knew why. 'They think I'm dying.' Harry said to himself. Then the implications sank in. 'Am I?' he questioned. The image of a coffin lid suddenly sprang to life inside his mind and he started to panic.
He started to stand up, quite quickly, and nearly ended up on the floor again.
"Harry, be careful, you're still shaky." he heard the voice, but was too stricken to figure out who it came from.
Arms suddenly wrapped around him in a comforting gesture and he sank into it. His fear ebbed away and a feeling of peace surrounded him. He could handle this, he wasn't going to die. Not again. They would figure out what was wrong and fix it. And they were going to wait at least ten years before they even put his dead body in a casket, just to be certain. This last thought brought a disgusting mental image to Harry's mind. But he also found it slightly amusing. He shook his head at the implications. Maybe he was losing his mind.
"Do you think I am going to…well, you know…again?" he asked Madame Pomfrey, who looked shocked out of her socks at the question.
"It happened once, Harry. We have to assume that it could happen again, and take precautions. We won't make the same mistakes twice." stated Dumbledore. Harry assumed he was talking about the whole 'bury Harry alive in the casket' scenario.
"We should get you back to the school, so Poppy can keep an eye on you." Poppy nodded her head, as that was the only way she would have it.
It was with a quiet air of deep melancholy that they returned to Hogwarts. Madame Pomfrey had been adamant that Harry stay in the hospital wing, but Dumbledore decided to let him stay in Gryffindor tower unless things got worse. Ron was to stay with him at all times, and Hermione was on her way back from visiting with her parents.
The next day Ron and Harry spent most of the afternoon opening the Christmas presents they hadn't gotten the chance to open the day before. But neither of them were too into the spirit of things. How could they be? Harry walked around with the constant fear of never waking up again. He kept imagining himself walking down the corridors of Hogwarts, and then falling to the ground, dead. He found himself slipping into a deep depression. And no one could do a damn thing about it.
School started again and Harry attended his classes, but he never seemed to be paying attention. He had other, more dire, thoughts running through his head. He spent the entirety of Transfiguration on the second day of classes making out a Will. All the money in his Gringotts bank was going to Ron and his family, as they would need it the most. His invisibility cloak and the picture album Hagrid had given him were to go to Sirius and Remus. Ron would also get his Firebolt and his old Nimbus Ron had just given him for Christmas. Hermione would get every single book in his possession. He had decided to give Hedwig to Hagrid, as he was the one who had given it to him for his birthday. He had also written a letter for Dumbledore to read, but only after he had passed on. After the class had ended, he quickly stowed the Will away in his bag. It wouldn't do well for his friends if they saw what he was up to.
"Well, is anyone hungry?" asked Ron, as they left the last class of the day, Potions. Harry had been surprised when he had only assigned a brief quiz on the chapter they had just covered.
"Nah, not really." replied Harry, walking in between his two friends.
Ron and Hermione glanced worriedly at each other before moving on.
"Harry, you need to eat. This isn't healthy." said Hermione. Harry's eating habits had slowly dwindled down to almost nothing at all over the last couple of weeks.
"What does it matter, Hermione? I mean, we both know I'm not going to last for much longer anyways." he said.
"No, Harry, we don't know that." Hermione grounded out. "Did you forget, or did the fact that you came back to us slip your mind. This isn't over, Harry James Potter. Stop acting like you're going to die and live!" she yelled, gathering the attention of those around them.
Harry dropped his head, looking for all the world like a properly admonished child.
"What if…it…happens and I don't come back, Hermione?" he asked, imploringly. "I don't want to die, not like this." He wasn't exactly scared of dying. In fact, he was pretty much used to the idea, what with Voldemort and all. But the thought of dying because of some stupid sickness that nobody even understood freaked him out. It also scared him, knowing that if he died he would leave all his friends, and all his 'family' to deal with Voldemort on their own. And that scared him more than anything else.
"Don't worry, Harry. We'll figure something out. I don't care what I have to do, I'll figure out a way to help you." stated Hermione. She looked so determined that Harry and Ron believed that she would.
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After Hermione's little outburst Harry had pulled himself out of his depression and was helping her work on finding out a cure, or something, to help him.
"There's got to be something we are missing." said Hermione. "I mean, you were legally dead, how on earth did you just come back to life?" she asked, more to herself that to anyone around her.
"Maybe it was a spell of some kind?" said Ron, helpfully.
"No, you can't bring back the dead, Ron. It had to be something stronger than that." she replied, thoughtfully. An idea had popped into her head. But she wasn't sure. If she was right, then they had no time to lose. Harry was running out of time.
"I have to go look into something." she told Harry and Ron. "I'll be back in a little while." she said and rushed out of the library. She hadn't wanted to say anything to either of them, on the off chance that she was wrong. No use getting their hopes up, just to shoot them down again. But first, she had a letter to be sent. She rushed directly to the owlery.
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Remus stared at the man sitting in front of him in absolute shock. He couldn't be serious. But he was. Dumbledore had that blasted twinkle in his eye and the biggest grin on his face. But all Remus could do was stare. It took all of five minutes for the truth to sink in and for a whoop of joy to come out of his mouth.
"Are you sure? Are you absolutely positive?" he asked, breathless from his yelling.
"Yes, Remus. I am completely sure. An investigation had been conducted after he was spotted that day by all those respectable witches and wizards. Now how could the minister refute them? So, naturally, in order to save his own rear end, he went after Pettigrew. He's in their custody as we speak. And Sirius, my dear friend, has been cleared of all charges." stated Dumbledore, smiling.
Remus jumped up from his chair and made for the door. "I have to tell him. He'll be so thrilled." With that he ran from the headmaster's office.
As Dumbledore watched him leave the smile slowly faded from his face, for this was what Harry had been waiting for. He had been waiting for live with his godfather since the end of his third year. And now he may not get the chance.
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Harry sat in the Great Hall with his two best friends on either side of him, as had become the norm. There were a variety of foods covering the table in front of him, and the more he looked at them, the more he wanted to puke. But he didn't want his friends to realize he didn't feel good. Because to admit it would mean he would have to face it, and he really didn't want to do that. He hoped that by ignoring it, it would go away. But past mistakes always seem to come back and bite you in the ass. Ignoring something will never make it go away.
Along with his churning stomach, he also had the joy of body pains. They had come upon him so suddenly that he didn't think he was going to be able to sit there any longer. He remembered feeling this way before, but when he realized when that time was, he felt worse. It had been when he was unconscious right before he had 'died.' Oddly, he could remember that part quite clearly, even if he was unconscious.
"Guys, I'm going to go to the common room, I'll see you later." he said rather quickly and stood up from the table. He made it halfway to the doors when he knew he wasn't going to make it unless he ran, which would draw attention. 'Draw attention or puke in front of everybody?' he asked himself. Quickly making his decision, he took off in a dead run, reaching the double doors in record time, and pushed them open. He then ran down the corridor, trying to find the nearest bathroom. He found it and rushed inside, vomiting as soon as he reached a toilet.
After emptying his stomach, he noticed that he wasn't alone. He wearily looked up and saw Hermione and Ron staring at him.
"Are you alright, Harry?" she asked, shakily. Harry just leaned his head back on the toilet seat and tried to nod. His entire body was screaming at him in pain and he didn't think he could move even if he wanted to. So he just laid there.
"Is everything alright?" Harry could hear Dumbledore's voice, but made no effort to acknowledge his presence.
"He's been sick." said Ron.
"Very well," started the headmaster, moving into the cubicle that Harry was in. "let's get you to the infirmary." Ron and Hermione thought they saw a flicker of sadness or despair in their professor's eyes as he passed them. They looked to each other in turn. 'Could this be it?' they asked themselves.
Despite Dumbledore's old age he easily scooped Harry into his arms. They all grew nervous when Harry gasped in pain and visibly started to flinch against the touch.
"Hang on, Harry." said Albus, rushing out of the bathroom, with Ron and Hermione following close behind. "Hermione, go find Sirius and Remus."
Hermione nodded and ran in the opposite direction. However, before she was even barely down the hall, an owl flew out of the Great Hall's open doors and landed on her shoulder. She almost knocked it off in surprise. Taking the letter from the owl and ripping it open, she hoped it was from who she thought it was. And it was.
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A/N: Sorry, I know this is short. But I wanted to get this out for you all since it's been so long. You can all thank Biggi and blackenedsoul for this chapter as well! They emailed me and were very nice about asking me to update, unlike some. I thank them very much.
Sailor Sol: Yes, you have to feel sorry for him. Why, thank you. Yes, my wrist still is doing well. Sorry for my delay in updating. Don't hate me. Keep reviewing and I'll keep updating and all that jazz.
VB: Language, language. That's okay though, I understand how you can get into the story. So now you know, kind of.
Someone Reading: Ah yes, well, that's okay if you had an issue with my characterization. I mainly did that because I have a thing about people doing something in a moment where they aren't exactly thinking and then feeling bad about it later. I was basically having Remus take Harry to 'task' as you put it, because he was worried about Ron, but then he realized something was wrong with Harry as well. I'm just weird like that. Sorry you didn't get my jist. Does that mean you haven't read it from the beginning? Yes, it would be a good idea to read it from the start; otherwise it might not make much sense.
Lei Dumbledore: Well, I'm glad you found them again. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!
Englishgirl: Yes, he's sick again! Poor guy, I know.
JaimeyKay: Where've you been? I was going to email you, but hadn't gotten to it. So this will have to do. I hope this chapter will be enough to set your week off well again! I laughed reading that (Good observation, Dumbley). I know, I went to write this chapter, and since I haven't looked at it in over a month, I was like "What is going on and what am I doing?" I had to go back and read the stupid story again! And I wrote it! If you haven't noticed, this story will be ending soon. I just have to figure out a way to get Voldemort back into the scene and do his evil little jig. IT was stupid, at the ending at least. Sorry I killed it! Did you get over being sick? Just curious. Yes, you are still the only one who can threaten me. Someone, Agnei something or the other, threatened to take me off her favorites list if I didn't update in the next few days. Well, I hope she did, because she can kiss my butt. No Ron/Hermione???? But you know I must! I'm not in the right mind either, oh well. Later, love ya!
Blackenedsoul: it was you who emailed me, right? I went and praised you, so I hope it was you! Well, I can't tell you if he dies or not, that would ruin it! Sorry! I'm sorry it took so long to update, by the way.
Aphrienna: okay, they got home because they just kind of happened upon it. They were surprised because it took like forever to find Harry and Ron in the first place, that's all. I hope you like this chapter!
Arizosa: Whoa, were you cursing me??? ME?? Okay, I just thought I'd ask. It's okay, go ahead. Me, make something gruesome??? Hmm…we'll see.
Iniysa: I know, that's always the best part. The poor kid. I'll be easy on him, well, maybe not.
Amy Potter 13: I'm very glad you thought it was cool. Sorry, I didn't get to update as soon as I had planned, but I just wasn't getting into the whole writing thing!
Rachel: yea! I'm one of your favorites. Cool!
Ed: I'm sorry I'm such a bloody sadist. I don't mean to be. But, you know, it's kind of fun! Cool. I'm glad you liked the Keeper of Power.
MixedUpAgain: Hello! I have no idea what SARS is. Did you figure it out? If so, tell me so I'll know. Cremated would suck. Oh yeah. Wow, my birthday is in August as well. It's the 22nd. I am 21 years old. I feel old now. Yes, waiting is a horrible thing. I can't wait to see the third movie. I can't wait even more for the next book. Yes, it will take me forever, at least a week! , to read the book! Oh well. Then I can start writing again. Weird dream. You were in the house? Hmm…I wonder what that means. No one got hurt? Hmm…well, I can't tell you if he dies again. He may, he may not. It just depends. Indra is just weird in herself. She has weird powers. Why thank you, I appreciate that u think my stories are great!
Inigma: Glad your happy! You saw it, the movie I mean, what didn't you like? We can compare. You're funny. You need sleep, 3:05 isn't healthy. You should read it at 6:00 in the a.m. That'll work! Have you read my new fic yet? Yes, it's about Snape. Kind of with the abuse. But it focuses on the relationship between them more. And it's not Slash, if you're thinking that. I like those! I'll put my ficcy's up there, if you want me to. Just tell me what to do and I'll see what I can do. That just makes my day! I'm one of the best. Sweet! Later, email me if you want to about the ficcy's!
Gryfindor towr deth eatr: You've got to make your name shorter!!!! Kidding, it's okay, It just takes me a while to make sure I've spelt it the way you do! I'm sorry! Don't pull out your hair, girl, geez. Were you plushies okay after your psychotic moment? I hope so!
lizhowHP: Why, thank you. Here's the update!
Kiara Malfoy: It shall, don't worry. Although, I am almost finished with it! Isn't that exciting. I'm glad you love it!
Danny's Girl: You're welcome. Sorry it took so long!
Jade Caminus: Well, the finished product will probably be soon, so brace yourself! Glad u liked it.
Lanfear: Alright many different persons, how you doing??? I just felt like Joey off of Friends, if you ever watch that? You were drunk were you??? How old are you? I seem to be asking everyone that question. I'm just curious. Glad you accepted my apology! Geez!
Dream: I'm sorry about the cliffhangers. Really! I updated, though!
LittleLovelyGirl: Since you begged with cherries on top and all, here's the next chapter! You don't have to dance!
Shinigami06: Well, I'm very sorry, even if it is besides the point. I'm glad you like them, or dislike them, or whichever! Why thank you very much. Writing skills are hard to come by, I suppose. As you can see, Harry is sick again. Wow, Ingenious, really? I can't say it enough, thank you. Your review was very nice for me. I hope you liked this chapter. Nothing really interesting happened; I was just putting in some things that are essential to the upcoming chapters.
Clairamalfoy: I hope to see more reviews from you then!
Acontiae Malfoy: Sorry it took so long, and here's the update!
Biggi: Hello again! So that was the first review you had ever written? Neat. I am very sorry I made you wait for so long. No, I wasn't sick or anything. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as it was written just for you!
Agnei Smith: Okay you brat, I updated!
Wowsergirl: Yes, loud keys on the keyboard are a dead give away that you're still awake. Did you get caught? Thank you. I think. Most of the time my words come out eloquently, Okay, I guess it's a compliment! I hope you like this chapter!
LisaRose: Yes, life can be hectic, but it's really just been that I'm too lazy to write the story. Isn't that awful! Okay, I will just have to write the chapters more frequently, even if I am being a bum. But really, my grandma was sick and all that crap, so I do kind of have an excuse. I hope you love this chapter as well!