Chapter Six: I Got a Lot on my Mind; I Cannot Breathe
Harry met Snape by the gargoyle. Snape muttered the password and led Harry up the stairs. Dumbledore called for them to enter before they could even knock.

"Thank you, Severus, for showing young Harry up. You are dismissed," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling.

"With all due respect, headmaster, my pupil asked for my presence at this meeting. I am inclined to stay," Snape replied, and Dumbledore frowned.

"I'm sure you have nothing to worry about with me, my boy," he said, addressing Harry. "Do you think your Head of House's presence necessary?"

"Not to be offensive, sir, you look like the kind of person muggle parents tell their kids to stay away from. To be honest, so does Professor Snape, but I've known him longer than I've known you," Harry replied. Dumbledore's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, and Harry knew he had pushed a button.

"Very well. How have you been settling in? Has everyone been treating you well?" Dumbledore asked, taking up a grandfatherly persona. Warning bells went off in Harry's head, the kind of which only went off when an adult was about to show favoritism. Favoritism was something that had seriously screwed Harry in the past, and he frowned.

"Why are you having this meeting with just me? Everything I've heard from older students points to you almost never interacting with the student body," Harry replied.

"I knew your parents, my boy. I am merely checking up on you for their memory," Dumbledore replied, smiling very benignly.

"Well, I've settled in fine," Harry replied, shifting his weight to the balls of his feet and crossing his arms.

"You've been fitting in with your Slytherin Housemates?" There was a small pause before Dumbledore said Slytherin, and Harry frowned.

"Why wouldn't I be?" He replied.

"Well, most of their parents were followers of Voldemort, and you were the one who vanquished him," Dumbledore replied. Harry's head started to hurt as Dumbledore upped the intensity of the twinkling, like something was wrapping itself around his head and tightening. The snake was not happy about that.

"So you think they'll automatically hate me," Harry mused, his eyes glinting darkly. "Well, sorry to disappoint you. And before you ask if I think I need a resorting, I'll tell you that no, I don't. Thank you for caring about my welfare, headmaster, but I am doing perfectly fine." Harry turned on his heel and secretly wished he was wearing robes so it would look more impressive. He made his way down the stairs and then to the common room by himself. He stormed down into the dorms, and got ready for bed early. He settled into his bed and pulled out a book on ancient bloodlines that he had borrowed from the library and attempted to read it.

Key word: attempted.

The words would not comprehend. He read them, but the letters and sounds and meanings together, but he couldn't focus long enough to finish a paragraph- and he wasn't retaining what he read either.

So he threw the book across the room, and luckily it landed on Draco's bed uninjured. He growled and groaned and then rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.

That's how Blaise found him a few minutes later. The Italian boy picked the book up off Draco's bed and set it on Harry's desk before sitting down on the bed next to Harry.

"It's gotten worse, hasn't it," he stated. Harry groaned.

"You didn't even phrase that as a question," Harry replied, muffled through the pillow. Blaise frowned.

"From how your book was on Draco's bed with all evidence pointing to it having been thrown, I can guess that you were frustrated or upset by something," he replied. Harry groaned again, and moved his arms up to bury his face in them instead of the pillow.

"I have never had problems like that reading- my attention kept getting distracted, and the words didn't comprehend, and I couldn't remember what I could," Harry replied. "Madame Pomfrey said I had mental blocks, suggested I find a specialist, but how can I go through the four months of school until winter hols, and I don't even have anywhere to go for them or any way to get to Diagon Alley!"

"I'm sure that we can come up with some sort of solution," Blaise replied. "The hat put us all in Slytherin for a reason, and you at least have allies in almost every House. And if you can't wait until winter break, then Draco can talk to his father, who is on the Board of Governors for the school. Lord Malfoy could pull some influence and maybe get you away from Hogwarts sooner than Yule for you to see someone. Did Madame Pomfrey mention any other blocks?"

Harry nodded through his arms. "Magical blocks." Blaise nodded, pressing his lips into a thin line.

"We're going to clear you up," he said. "And we're going to make sure you don't go back to those muggles." Hesitantly, haltingly, Blaise put a hand on Harry's shoulder. They stayed like that for a moment, and then Blaise stood to prepare for bed.

Harry cried himself, silently, to sleep that night.

Disclaimer: I have never finished a piece of original non-fanfiction fiction ever. Therefor, I cannot be JKR

I honestly have no excuse other than laziness and I am a world-class procrastinator. Kept trying to think of a proper chapter title and nothing happened. I'll try to double post today, since this is a short chapter and you deserve better.

Question: What's your favorite genre of music?

Next Time: The Conspiracy continues.