It was such a small thing. A fever. Not like it was the first fever he had ever had; no was it likely to be his last.

It wasn't a particularly high fever either, just a couple tenths of a degree. Enough to make him constantly feel hot and tired, but Harry just ignored it and pushed through the discomfort. It had only been a few days since Harry, with the help of his best friends Rona nd Hermione, had saved the Philosopher's Stone from falling into the hands of a teacher possessed by the spirit of Voldemort. No one would really be expecting him to feel one hundred percent at the moment anyway.

So when he bounced back quickly, most were pleasantly surprised.

What no one atHogwarts realized at first was that Harry had not really bounced back that fast. He was just hiding the discomfort and exhaustion he was feeling. The Dursleys never gave a damn when he was feeling out of sorts, so it had become a habit to hide it any time he wasn't feeling well.

For the last week at Hogwarts, life went on like normal for the vast majority of the students, though Ron, Hermione, and Harry were watched and lauded by many of the students. However while Ron reveled in being the center of attention and Hermione just seemed to ignore it, Harry felt increasingly uncomfortable. Being the center of attention at Privit Drive always meant there was trouble coming.

For a week, Harry ignored the fever that lingered after the confrontation with Quirrel and Voldemort. It was uncomfortable and draining, but what else was he supposed to do. He certainly wasn't going to go back to the infirmary and whine to Madame Pomphrey over something so minor.

Packing the night before the train ride back to London was a chore he could have down without, but it had to be done. The rest of his dormmates were rather eager to be heading home, but Harry could not dredge up much enthusiasm for the prospect, either of the train ride or of returning to the Dursleys.

"Hey, Harry, why aren't you more excited, mate? We're headed home tomorrow. Think, three months of no classes, no homework," Seamus enthused, slinging an arm arond the black-haired seeker's shoulders.

"No Snape!" Ron added as he haphazardly dropped a stack of text books in his trunk.

"Yeah," Dean agreed from where he was pulling stray socks and other bits of clothing form under his bed.

Harry plastered a grin on his face as he ducked out from under the confining arm. "That will be good, but it just seems a let down. Going back tot he muggle world after having seen all that magic can do, I mean," Harry hedged.

Dean shrugged, "Yeah, a bit I guess, but still we'll get to catch up on what's going on in the outside world as well. I know I'm dying to know how United is doing this season. My dad said he's going to take me to see a couple games this summer. You follow any teams, Harry?"

Harry shook his head as he grabbed the last of his books and added them to his trunk. He was almost done packing, which was a relief since he was getting very tired. "Not really. Never really got into sports before coming to Hogwarts."

"Ah, too bad, you're a natural, Mr. Youngest-Seeker-in-a-Century" Seamus quipped.

Harry ducked his head to hide his embarrassment as the rest of the dorm chuckled. Swiftly closing his trunk, Harry looked around for some way to change the subject, since the discussion was getting very uncomfortable for him.

Harry was surprised when Neville asked, "Y...you feeling okay, Harry?" Apparently, while he had been quiet throughout the discussion, he had noticed his discomfiture and flushed face.

Harry immediately waved away his concern. "I'm fine, just getting a bit hungry. Lunch was a long time ago."

"Well, come on then," Ron announced boisterously, catching a hold of Harry's arm and beginning to drag him toward the common room and the portrait hole. "I'm famished and the rest of the packing can wait until after dinner."

Harry had to admit he was not feeling his best, but the habit to hide how he was feeling was deeply ingrained. During the walk toward the Great Hall, most of the first year Gryffindor boys were laughing and shoving playfully while Harry moved to walk in front of the group, not wanting to be pushed about in their horseplay.

Just as they reached the final stairs down to the Entrance Hall, Harry was suddenly seized by a bout of dizziness and stopped to let it pass. Unfortunately it was also at that instant that Seamus, still in a great mood about heading home, gave Neville a playful shove, telling the increasingly worried young wizard to 'lighten up.' Neville, who was walking directly behind Harry brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what about Harry was worrying him, lost his balance and fell foward into Harry's back.

"Harry!"

Harry heard the shouts of his dormmates, but was helpless to stop himself as he lost his footing.

"Catch him!" Seamus added as he tried to dive passed Neville, but it was too late.

The four boys watched in horror as Harry tumbled down the flight of stairs only to fetch up like a ragdoll at the feet of the person that had stepped out of the Great Hall to see what all the shouting was about.