Chapter Five: My Life is not so Lonesome, for I am Being Guided by the Voices of my Comrades

The rest of the week passed almost without incident- Ron cut himself pretty viciously during the safety lesson of their non-Double Potions class, so Dean and Seamus had to take him up to the Hospital Wing- but when their Double Potions class came around, all Hell broke loose.

Professor Snape had come sweeping in, took roll, and there were no incidents until after he put the instructions on the board and told them to start brewing. Whatever unholy being that was organizing the universe had put Ron and Neville together as partners. Ten minutes into the class, Professor Snape had to vanish their potion before it exploded. Then Professor Snape exploded.

"I don't know what you were thinking, nor can I even begin to fathom what idiocy you two dunderheads were up to. I can't even begin to figure out what went wrong with that potion! Five points from Gryffindor, and you both have detention with me starting at eight tonight," Snape snarled. Both boys slouched and watched the rest of the class finish their potions. At lunch, the Slytherins grabbed lunch in the Hall, and then herded Harry outside.

"Okay, spill," Daphne said. "You were struggling in there, especially with prep. What's going on? Was Professor Snape intimidating you?"

"No," Harry muttered. "I don't get it, but ever since I got here it's just gotten harder to concentrate. Prep itself should be a breeze- I've done a lot of cooking, including fancy stuff- and I don't get it!"

"You've done a lot of cooking before?" Draco asked. "What, do you enjoy it?"

"It's not the worst thing I've had to do," Harry replied, shrugging. Several of the Slytherins around him exchanged Looks.

"I think you should get checked out by Madame Pomfrey," Blaise finally said- rather bluntly. Harry looked up at them, confused.

"Obviously something is wrong, if you've never had these problems concentrating before," Theo explained. Harry frowned, and then nodded.

"It's settled then," Daphne said. "During our free periods we'll take you up to see her. Now come on, finish eating."

Harry obediently finished his food, along with his housemates, and then they headed to the Hall to drop off their dishes and then headed to the hospital wing.

The long room that the hospital wing consisted of was bright and didn't really smell too strongly. The matron was fussing over an older Gryffindor, but when she saw the Slytherins she ushered him out.

"So, what's gone wrong now?" She asked.

"We think something's wrong with Harry," Daphne said. "He says he hasn't been able to think right, and he's awfully small… We were wondering if you could do a full check up?"

Madame Pomfrey looked Harry up and down, and then nodded. "All right. So a full physical check up? Have you ever had one before?" She asked, pinning Harry with a piercing stare. Harry shook his head. "You've never had a medical checkup?" She restated, drawing back, and Harry confirmed. She sighed. "Okay then, come on back." She led Harry to a back room, where she directed him to strip down to his undergarments.

"Boy, I can count your ribs," she said, and shook her head. When she saw some of the scars of his back, she had to hold back a growl. She pulled a couple potions from the shelves. "I'm going to take a wild guess that you've never had your immunizations, so take these potions." She set a couple of the potions- a translucent green and a thick blue with tinges of purple- on the table. Harry reached over to the potions, unstoppering the green one and giving it a quick sniff. It smelled like blood, and Harry wrinkled his nose and downed it quickly. It tasted like blood, too. The blue one went down with a consistency like melted chocolate, but it tasted more like vanilla ice cream. Madame Pomfrey then stood in front of him, and motioned for him to stand up. He did as told, and she waved her wand at him. A quill started to write on a piece of parchment as she continuously cast the spell. Whatever the quill was writing was displeasing, as the look on her face as she read grew continuously darker. She finished casting and picked up the parchment.

"So what's wrong with me?" Harry asked, sighing and sitting down on the bed.

"Well, you are severely malnourished. You are underweight, your bones aren't formed right, and some of your joints are not formed right. Not to mention blocks on your magic and even your mind. I can start you on nutrient potions to help counter the malnourishment, but for everything else you need to see someone specialized," Madame Pomfrey said. She rolled up the parchment and handed it to Harry and motioned for him to get dressed. He dressed, and she handed him a bag. "The bag has featherlight and expansion charms on it. It holds a week's worth of nutrition potions. Take one right before bed and one right after you wake up. Come back in a week."

"Yes ma'am," Harry said, and headed out to where his yearmates were waiting. They all had varying levels of worry displayed on their faces, and it none of them really looked like they wanted to ask until finally one of them bolstered their courage.

"So? What's wrong?" Millicent asked.

"Lots," Harry said, sighing. He fell in with the rest of the Slytherins as they all headed to the dungeons. Everyone headed to their dorms and changed out of their heavy school robes before heading out onto the grounds. They skirted the forest, not talking. Harry was in the back in between Blaise and Millicent, and the group of Slytherins just circled the grounds until about dinner time. They headed in, and quite a few of the Gryffindors stared at them as they entered.

"We need to get you some new clothes soon," Daphne hissed to Harry as they sat down to eat. He nodded in agreement.

Halfway through dinner, Professor Snape came down from on high to where Harry and company were eating. He had a sour look on his face and his eyes were dark with undisguised fury.

"Potter! Professor Dumbledore requests your presence in his office after dinner," Snape said, and Harry frowned.

"What for?" he asked, tilting his head.

"He did not say," the professor replied and started to leave.

"Wait," Harry said, ready to get up and follow him. "You're going to be there, right?"

"I guess," Snape replied, and headed back up to the table.

"I wonder what the headmaster wants with you," Daphne said, resting her chin in her hand. Her brow was slightly furrowed and she looked very curious. Harry simply shrugged.

"I haven't gotten in trouble this week," he replied, and shrugs were shared all around the table. Harry drug his feet through dinner, eating slower and slower until at long last, his plate was clean.

"Well, bye," Tracey said, and she waved at him. "Do you prefer yew or mahogany?" Harry sighed, said "Pine", and left to face his doom.

Disclaimer: I am female. That's where the similarities between JKR and myself end.

So what did all of you think? There are a few chapters that just don't feel right, might be a little controversial to everyone, and might not be as good a quality and this is one of them. Five more reviews, and I'll post on Saturday again. If not, I'll be posting next Wednesday.

Question: Do any of you watch anime? If so, which ones?

Next Time: Harry meets Dumbledore, gets frustrated, and Blaise is a good friend