Chapter 2: Only His Problems
The first few classes weren't as hard as any of the 6th year students would have thought. If there was anything wrong with any of them, it would probably have to be Potions. One of Snape's new nicknames for Harry had turned out to be 'Arrogant, self-absorbed egoist', which wasn't true. Malfoy's new nickname for him was 'Pothead'. This was more over something that described Dudley, not him. When did he ever learn about drugs, anyway? Harry thought.
Though the first few days were fine, he started to feel really stressed about all the homework. Unfortunately, along with his homework, Ginny had decided to give him back his spot on the Quidditch team. He stayed up past midnight, and nearly fell asleep during one of Angelina's pep-talks before the games. She was halfway through, and he had his head barely propped up against a wall, and was so tired...then he felt a sharp jab in the ribcage, and found she wasn't too happy with it.
But he wasn't going to give up so easily so early in the school year. Even though every night was just another headache, and every day another battle to stay awake. He wasn't exactly too pleased with many of the teachers. If anything, the only thing good about school now was the weekends. He had been too tired to say anything, and if he did, it was immediately interrupted by a long yawn. "Harry, have you even been getting sleep?" Ron asked him the next day. No response. "Harry, hello, anyone there? Hello? Come on, answer me already." Ron said, waving his hand in front of his face.
Ron bored himself of this, and immediately took a small book and slammed it hard on the back of Harry's head. "Oh, huh? What?" "Yeah, I thought so. Not even paying attention." Ron said as if he were actually disappointed. "Sorry, what did you want?" Harry asked innocently. "I asked you if you had been getting any sleep lately whatsoever." "Yeah, of course, why?" Harry lied. "Because, you fall asleep in class, and then you get extra homework, you don't talk to anyone at all, and you have bags under your eyes. That's why." "Ron, if I..." Harry yawned loudly. "If I hadn't been talking to anyone at all, then how would I be talking to you? Think about it..." "I—I—, well, I mean, you almost never talk to anyone at all." "Oh, sure. Well, I should getting homework my now finished be." "Huh?" "I should be getting my homework finished now." "Oh. Well, I'm going to go to bed. I will see you in a half-hour, right?" "Oh, yeah, sure." Harry said, practically ignoring him.
Ron awoke the next morning to see that Harry wasn't even in his bed. He nearly jogged down to the common room, and saw Harry still up, reading. "Of all the things, reading. You're turning into a young Hermione Granger." Harry jumped at the sound of his male best-friend's voice. "Oh, hey, Ron." He said lowly. "I'm just checking a few spells before class." "Harry, every moment is 'before class', how long have you been reading?" "Oh, Ron, I dunno, 4 or 5 hours, maybe?" Ron's jaw dropped. He couldn't even pay attention for 20 minutes. "Harry, you never even went to bed did you?"
"Nope, I don't think so. But this book is just so...so...interesting." Ron picked up the book. "'Hogwarts: A History?' Of all the books." Ron turned the front cover over, "'Property of Hermione Granger', and let it be known; for once, I WAS right." Ron said proudly. Then, his expression changed. "How could you? Come on, of all the ways to get over boredom...but reading??" He asked disappointedly. "Sorry, Ron, but I really can't think of much else to do. I mean, all that it was was sitting there on the table, and I was wondering what Hermione—" "'What Hermione' what?" there came the voice of Harry's female best-friend.
Harry was about to say something when Ron spoke up for him.
"Harry here was just telling me how absolutely interesting your book is, Hermione." Ron said as if he were making a fake impression to impress someone with a compliment. "Really? Well, I'm glad one of you two finally decided to read it." Hermione said happily. Harry retrieved the closed book and re-opened it again to the page he was reading. Hermione didn't get a good look at his face; he kept it facing the table. "Listen, Hermione, I really need to talk to you." Said Ron quickly, dragging her off to the staircase, abandoning Harry at the table. "Hermione, it is not a good thing that he's reading that book. He's been reading it all night. He's going to suffer from sleep deprivation, and--- and he's just not going to be able to go on like this. Haven't you noticed that he's got pitch black bags under his eyes?" Hermione looked somewhat impressed that Ron actually showed some sense of caring for someone beside himself. She tilted her head and moved it around to get a better look at her friend still sitting at the table.
"Ron, I'll talk to him, okay?" she said calmly. She turned on her heel, and walked over to the table. "Harry? Harry? Is that a good book you're reading there?" She asked first. "Yeah, uh-huh." He responded still reading. She was absolutely not satisfied. She was pretty smart, and knowing that he had reflexes quicker than he could think about it, she tore the glasses off of his face, making his head snap up and look at her, trying to understand what she was thinking. Hermione's face was dumbstruck. Ron was right. There were bags under his eyes. She sighed. "When was the last time you went to sleep?" She asked quietly. "Oh, I don't know, maybe when we first got back, or..." "Since we got back??? That was a month ago!!"
"Really? I hadn't noticed." "That's it. You are going to the hospital wing, you are going to sleep for at least 3 days, and you will feel better when you get up." Said Hermione, her voice softening as she went. "Now, come on, get up." She said lifting him up out of the chair. He was amazingly light. "Have you eaten anything either?" "Maybe some water or some bread..." "God, let's hurry. You might die before we can get to the hospital wing." She said. She expected him to follow, but she heard a loud thud on the floor, and found that his knees must have collapsed before he could go two steps. "Oh, great. Someday, this better be vice-versa." She said, picking him up off the floor, and carrying his extremely light body down to the hospital wing.
Lying him down on a bed, Hermione explained to Madame Pompfrey that he wasn't eating or sleeping. "Very well." Was all the nurse said. "Now, I'll be back later with some food, and you will eat it, won't you?" she asked him. "Of course, if it'll make you happy." Was all he said before dozing off.
The first few classes weren't as hard as any of the 6th year students would have thought. If there was anything wrong with any of them, it would probably have to be Potions. One of Snape's new nicknames for Harry had turned out to be 'Arrogant, self-absorbed egoist', which wasn't true. Malfoy's new nickname for him was 'Pothead'. This was more over something that described Dudley, not him. When did he ever learn about drugs, anyway? Harry thought.
Though the first few days were fine, he started to feel really stressed about all the homework. Unfortunately, along with his homework, Ginny had decided to give him back his spot on the Quidditch team. He stayed up past midnight, and nearly fell asleep during one of Angelina's pep-talks before the games. She was halfway through, and he had his head barely propped up against a wall, and was so tired...then he felt a sharp jab in the ribcage, and found she wasn't too happy with it.
But he wasn't going to give up so easily so early in the school year. Even though every night was just another headache, and every day another battle to stay awake. He wasn't exactly too pleased with many of the teachers. If anything, the only thing good about school now was the weekends. He had been too tired to say anything, and if he did, it was immediately interrupted by a long yawn. "Harry, have you even been getting sleep?" Ron asked him the next day. No response. "Harry, hello, anyone there? Hello? Come on, answer me already." Ron said, waving his hand in front of his face.
Ron bored himself of this, and immediately took a small book and slammed it hard on the back of Harry's head. "Oh, huh? What?" "Yeah, I thought so. Not even paying attention." Ron said as if he were actually disappointed. "Sorry, what did you want?" Harry asked innocently. "I asked you if you had been getting any sleep lately whatsoever." "Yeah, of course, why?" Harry lied. "Because, you fall asleep in class, and then you get extra homework, you don't talk to anyone at all, and you have bags under your eyes. That's why." "Ron, if I..." Harry yawned loudly. "If I hadn't been talking to anyone at all, then how would I be talking to you? Think about it..." "I—I—, well, I mean, you almost never talk to anyone at all." "Oh, sure. Well, I should getting homework my now finished be." "Huh?" "I should be getting my homework finished now." "Oh. Well, I'm going to go to bed. I will see you in a half-hour, right?" "Oh, yeah, sure." Harry said, practically ignoring him.
Ron awoke the next morning to see that Harry wasn't even in his bed. He nearly jogged down to the common room, and saw Harry still up, reading. "Of all the things, reading. You're turning into a young Hermione Granger." Harry jumped at the sound of his male best-friend's voice. "Oh, hey, Ron." He said lowly. "I'm just checking a few spells before class." "Harry, every moment is 'before class', how long have you been reading?" "Oh, Ron, I dunno, 4 or 5 hours, maybe?" Ron's jaw dropped. He couldn't even pay attention for 20 minutes. "Harry, you never even went to bed did you?"
"Nope, I don't think so. But this book is just so...so...interesting." Ron picked up the book. "'Hogwarts: A History?' Of all the books." Ron turned the front cover over, "'Property of Hermione Granger', and let it be known; for once, I WAS right." Ron said proudly. Then, his expression changed. "How could you? Come on, of all the ways to get over boredom...but reading??" He asked disappointedly. "Sorry, Ron, but I really can't think of much else to do. I mean, all that it was was sitting there on the table, and I was wondering what Hermione—" "'What Hermione' what?" there came the voice of Harry's female best-friend.
Harry was about to say something when Ron spoke up for him.
"Harry here was just telling me how absolutely interesting your book is, Hermione." Ron said as if he were making a fake impression to impress someone with a compliment. "Really? Well, I'm glad one of you two finally decided to read it." Hermione said happily. Harry retrieved the closed book and re-opened it again to the page he was reading. Hermione didn't get a good look at his face; he kept it facing the table. "Listen, Hermione, I really need to talk to you." Said Ron quickly, dragging her off to the staircase, abandoning Harry at the table. "Hermione, it is not a good thing that he's reading that book. He's been reading it all night. He's going to suffer from sleep deprivation, and--- and he's just not going to be able to go on like this. Haven't you noticed that he's got pitch black bags under his eyes?" Hermione looked somewhat impressed that Ron actually showed some sense of caring for someone beside himself. She tilted her head and moved it around to get a better look at her friend still sitting at the table.
"Ron, I'll talk to him, okay?" she said calmly. She turned on her heel, and walked over to the table. "Harry? Harry? Is that a good book you're reading there?" She asked first. "Yeah, uh-huh." He responded still reading. She was absolutely not satisfied. She was pretty smart, and knowing that he had reflexes quicker than he could think about it, she tore the glasses off of his face, making his head snap up and look at her, trying to understand what she was thinking. Hermione's face was dumbstruck. Ron was right. There were bags under his eyes. She sighed. "When was the last time you went to sleep?" She asked quietly. "Oh, I don't know, maybe when we first got back, or..." "Since we got back??? That was a month ago!!"
"Really? I hadn't noticed." "That's it. You are going to the hospital wing, you are going to sleep for at least 3 days, and you will feel better when you get up." Said Hermione, her voice softening as she went. "Now, come on, get up." She said lifting him up out of the chair. He was amazingly light. "Have you eaten anything either?" "Maybe some water or some bread..." "God, let's hurry. You might die before we can get to the hospital wing." She said. She expected him to follow, but she heard a loud thud on the floor, and found that his knees must have collapsed before he could go two steps. "Oh, great. Someday, this better be vice-versa." She said, picking him up off the floor, and carrying his extremely light body down to the hospital wing.
Lying him down on a bed, Hermione explained to Madame Pompfrey that he wasn't eating or sleeping. "Very well." Was all the nurse said. "Now, I'll be back later with some food, and you will eat it, won't you?" she asked him. "Of course, if it'll make you happy." Was all he said before dozing off.