A/N: Hey all! I'm back! So I am going to try to get you all another chapter today. This is the first time in a long time that I don't have work, or school, or homework (that can't be put off until later), or anything else to do! It's so weird, but I figured I'd take advantage of it! (It's either this or wash my car.) So onto the story:

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The boy rose to leave. "Thank you, Sir." As he walked out of the office, much steadier on his feet than when he came down, Snape drew his wand and whispered a spell at the boy's back.

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It had been a few weeks since their talk in Snape's office, and Harry wasn't doing well. Every night when he fell asleep he had those awful dreams and he always woke up screaming in pain. This was nothing like when it was just his scar hurting—which it still was. He was lucky if he got more than half an hour of sleep each night, and even that wasn't restful because he knew what was coming: Death Eater meetings where Voldemort tortured his servants and attacks on small villages.

Harry had made another discovery as well—Crucio wasn't the only curse he felt during these times, it was just the most often used. One night when there was an especially vicious attack on a town somewhere near the coast (Harry could hear the ocean nearby) Voldemort cast Incendio upon a young girl while she was still alive. Harry woke up with not only his insides burning from the Cruciatus curse, but his skin also felt deeply scorched, though there were no visible marks.

He tried to fill his time at the castle by doing homework or sometimes wandering the halls, but his sleep-deprived body wouldn't allow him to do much and most of the time when he sat down to do homework he wound up falling into a light sleep, just to be woken up moments later in searing pain. One time he woke up from one of his nightmares and found himself in an old, abandoned corridor. He then remembered taking a walk and realized he must have fallen asleep in his exhaustion and after that he didn't wander too far from the Gryffindor common room.

His mind was also being affected by the lack of sleep and constant pain. He'd often lose track of what he'd been thinking about, or just stop thinking altogether and stare into space. His vision often got blurry when he tried to read one of his textbooks and he could feel his eyes threatening to close.

Dumbledore still hadn't returned to the castle and Harry vaguely wondered where he was and if he was all right. As far as Harry knew, he and Snape were still the only ones in the castle, but he didn't mind it as much as he thought he would. The truth was, Harry didn't feel like pretending he was okay around people and being social and they wouldn't understand why he was so tired, so he figured it was all for the best. And Snape wasn't that bad either. He did seem genuinely concerned about Harry's condition and every time Harry went down to his office (which wasn't often because it was an incredibly long walk) he was pouring over numerous old, leather-bound books, most of which were in different languages Harry didn't recognize.

Snape wasn't being his usual callous self either; he was willing to let Harry just sit there across the desk from him and catch his breath from the walk. Every five or six days he would give Harry a small bottle of Dreamless Sleep potion, the only thing, Harry thought, that was keeping him sane. Every time he visited, Harry asked his professor if he'd figured anything out yet and Snape always answered in the same way, "Not as of yet, but I will let you know when I do." His tone wasn't hostile and he never yelled at Harry for being impatient, which Harry at first thought was a good thing. But he was then reminded again of the doctor shows his aunt watched when everybody was really nice to the patients who had no hope of getting better.

During one of these times in Snape's office, Harry got bored of the silence they were sitting in so he decided to bring up something he'd been wondering about. "Sir?" he spoke aloud.

The man across the desk looked up and met his eyes without saying anything, obviously waiting for him to continue.

"Um, I was wondering something… Uh, in the Potions homework, you wanted an essay about a potion that makes people grow hair really fast all over their body, but I can't find it anywhere in the Potions book and I was wondering-"

"You're doing homework?" Snape asked in surprise.

"Well, trying to anyway. There's nothing else to do. So anyway, about the potion—I don't think-"

"Potter, there are much more important things to attend to than trying to impart the delicate knowledge of potion making into your brain. Do not waste your time with that right now." With that, he returned to reading the book on his desk.

Through his surprise at his professor referring to learning about potions a waste of his time, Harry said, "But Sir, I'm not doing anything. If I don't do my homework, what am I supposed to do, just sit around? I have to do something! Can I help you?"

Not looking up from the book, Snape responded, "Not unless you can fluently read Latin or Greek, no. I have already read every book in English on the subject."

Harry sighed and rose to leave. "Alright then, goodbye, Sir."

Snape also sighed and stood up from his chair and Harry could hear his bones creaking in protest, as if he hadn't risen from that chair in a long time. He walked to a bookshelf behind his desk, quickly scanned the titles, and removed a thick, dusty book. He handed it to the boy and said, "Here, this will have what you need for the assignment."

Harry took it from him, confused. "But Sir, why would you assign an essay if the information isn't even in the textbook?"

"It is not a crime to study, Mr. Potter. I'm sure Ms. Granger will have no problem with this assignment. The answers can be found if one is determined enough." He sat back down in his chair and said, "Good day, Mr. Potter."

Harry didn't feel the need to argue that many students didn't have access to such materials over the summer so he quietly said, "Thanks," and left the office.

Once he finally made his way back up to the tower (going down was always much easier than going up) he collapsed into an armchair by the fire and opened the book Snape had given him, which seemed to have gotten heavier with every step he'd taken. As Snape had said, there was an entire section devoted to hair-growth potions and Harry quickly found what he needed for the assignment. Too bad Potions hadn't been this easy before.

As he sat there, he could feel himself drifting off as sleep threatening to pull him into its painful grasp.

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A/N: Sorry, I know it's even shorter than the last chapter, but I have lost my concentration. I do, however, know where I am going in the next chapter. In fact, I have 2 more scenes in my mind… whereas normally I kind of make it up as I go. This chapter was a little boring, but it is a transition chapter of sorts, so the next one should be better.

Oh, oops! Did I forget to tell you all what spell Snape cast on Harry in the last chapter? How silly of me! Evil grin It should come into play in the next chapter though. You can wait a little longer.

Oh, and as always if there are any really bad mistake, please let me know so I can fix them!

Adios!