"Why was it addressed there?" Fred asked, frowning a bit.
"That's where I slept until I was almost eleven," Harry admitted. Fred struggled to hold back his anger. He didn't want Harry to think that he was mad at him afterall.
"Harry, why don't we take you to see Madam Pomfrey?" Professor Lupin asked gently. "We can continue this conversation there, but I'm worried that you might need her help, so I'd like to have her take a look at you." Fred felt Harry tense up in his arms at that, but eventually he relaxed enough to give a reluctant nod. Fred stood, placing his hand on Harry's shoulder as George gripped the other, and they guided him out of the room, shouldering past the worried third year boys, with only a quick reassuring glance at Ron, as the professor trailed behind them.
"So, Quidditch tryouts are coming up soon, are you ready for them?" George asked Harry as they walked to the Hospital Wing in an attempt to break the silence before it became awkward.
"Yeah," Harry beamed excitedly. "I mean, I might be a bit rusty, 'cause I can't practice over the summer, but I still think I'm good enough to get the seeker position again this year."
"Don't get your hopes up too high, Harry," Professor Lupin spoke up. "Madam Pomfrey might not even let you try out if her exam goes the way I think it will."
"In which case, we'll have to enforce her rules, Harry," Fred said gently.
"But why?" Harry asked.
"It might not be healthy for you to play Quidditch this year," Professor Lupin explained.
"And as much as George and I want to see you happy, you need to be healthy first," Fred told the boy, who visibly deflated.
"Would I still be able to fly?" Harry asked, already resigning himself to not being able to play Quidditch for a whole year.
"It depends on the outcome of your checkup," Professor Lupin told him.
"But I need to be able to fly!" Harry protested. "I'll go insane if I can't!"
"He uses it as a coping method," Fred explained at Professor Lupin's amused look. "Most members of the team go for a fly after a rough day."
"Well, you might have to develop new coping methods then," the professor informed Harry sympathetically as the neared the Hospital Wing.
As soon as the door opened, the matron immediately began fussing over Harry. "In the Hospital Wing already, Mr. Potter?" she questioned, incredulously."It's barely even a week into the school year! What could you have possibly done to yourself already? And this late at night too!"
"He had a nightmare that prompted the Weasley twins to accuse his relatives of abusing him," Professor Lupin informed her. "And based on the conversation I've had with him so far, it seems like their concerns are very well founded. I was wondering if you could run a full scan on him and draw up a list of all past and current injuries that were likely a result of abuse or neglect. We need to build up our case against his relatives."
"Of course I can run an exam on the poor dear!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed. "Now you just sit down right here, and I'll be back in just a minute," she sat Harry down on one of the beds and disappeared into a side room. She quickly reappeared with a few brightly colored bottles in her hands.
"If you would just take these, dear," she told Harry, "then we can get started with the examination. They'll make injuries that aren't always apparent on a regular scan apparent." Harry grimaced, but plugged his nose and downed the potions without complaint. "Now just let me cast the diagnostic spells," the matron mumbled under her breath. A roll of parchment appeared and started unrolling as new injuries were catalogued and added to the list. As the roll unravelled, leaving a trail that grew ever longer on the floor, Fred's heart sunk. Was Harry's home life really that bad?