"Harry and Aries aren't here are they?" asked Ron, looking around as he entered the dorm room at the start of the fourth week of term. Dean and Seamus were sprawled on the floor playing exploding snap and Neville was lying on his bed, half his attention on their game, the other half on a Herbology book. They shook their heads and looked at him, intrigued.
"Listen, I wanted to talk to you guys. Have you noticed Harry and Aries are never here when we wake up in the mornings, they're down in the common room and when I wake up in the night they're either lying in their beds awake or have gone down there to talk?" The others nodded and waited, wondering why he was asking them this.
"Well, you might not have noticed so much- he does do a bloody good silencing charm- but Harry's had bad nightmares since the end of fourth year, and well, I think things have got worse, after Sirius' death, y'now, his godfather, at the Ministry in June."
Neville shuddered a little "I don't blame him, I still get nightmares from the Death Chamber sometimes and I didn't even know Sirius Black. To see your godfather die, after Cedric and everything…" he trailed off.
"Well, anyway, you must have noticed Harry hasn't really been himself, he's exhausted all the time- looks like a bloody panda with those shadows under his eyes." Ron continued.
Seamus and Dean exchanged a glance and smirked a little at Ron's description. "Yeah, we've seen. Can't be healthy, poor bloke." An uncharacteristically serious look crossed the Irish boy's face as he spoke.
"Aries is almost as bad. Sirius was his dad and he's had trouble dealing with his death and he told me his mum died some time this spring too. Harry let slip that Aries was there and that it was bad but he wouldn't say anything else." Chipped in Neville, his round face worried on behalf of his friends.
"I didn't know that" said Ron, looking slightly guilty. He had been mainly concerned with Harry; Aries was just a minor consideration as far as he was concerned. He felt a little guilty now for his jealousy of the younger boy; he had resented what he saw as the muscling in on his friendship with Harry, an attempt to steal his place as best friend, but if he had lost his entire family in the space of a year it would be only natural to cling to the last link to them.
"I reckon they can't be getting more than about three hours of sleep a night" mused Dean "no wonder they don't look too good."
"Harry's always been stubborn when it comes to his health, he really hates the hospital wing. There's no way he'll go on his own but they need to see Madam Pomfrey. They can't carry on like this- I'm surprised they haven't collapsed already" explained Ron.
The others made noises of agreement and Neville spoke up once more "Well, we'll have to confront them, it's for their own good, and if they won't go we'll just have to make them." A year ago the determined look on his face would have looked comical but his recent growth spurt combined with his new confidence and maturity ensured that was no longer the case.
"Make them?" questioned Seamus.
"Physically drag them if we have to" Ron confirmed. "You and Neville take Aries, me and Dean'll take Harry."
The four teens nodded in agreement and settled back down, waiting for their missing friends to arrive. It didn't take long, five minutes later Harry and Aries stumbled through the door, clutching their sides and in fits of uncontrollable giggles.
"Did you see his face?" sniggered Aries.
"That expression- priceless!" Harry agreed, flopping down on his bed. Aries deposited his bag by his trunk and collapsed onto his own four-poster. They looked around and noticed the sombre expressions on their dorm-mates' faces for the first time. "Um, guys, is everything okay?" enquired a bemused Harry.
"We wanted to talk to you guys," started Ron, looking around at the others to back him up "we, er, well, we share a dorm with you so it's kinda hard to miss" he trailed off, unsure how to say it.
"We noticed you guys don't seem to be sleeping very well" interrupted Neville
"Or at all really" Dean added helpfully.
"We're worried, we think you should go to Madam Pomfrey" Seamus explained.
Harry's reaction was exactly what they had expected, he leapt to his feet and glared at all of them "I'm perfectly fine, thank you, I don't need you lot sticking your noses into what doesn't concern you." He snarled sounding, for a second, disturbingly similar to the Snape when he was in a rage. Aries stayed in the background, seemingly happy to let Harry handle this argument.
"But you're not fine mate, neither of you are. You're like sleepwalkers, you keep nearly dropping off in class and you look a mess. You can't be feeling well either, anyone could tell you that just by looking at you."
"Not everyone needs 10 hours of sleep a night like you Ron." Tension was written in every line of Harry's body as he glared at the four boys.
"But you clearly need more than the two or three which are all you're actually getting" interjected Dean.
While they were all focused on Harry, Aries had risen to his feet and begun slowly edging towards the door, hoping to escape the confrontation. Neville noticed when he was within a metre and a half and jumped up, grabbing Aries arm.
"Oh no you don't! You're not running away from us. You're coming down to the infirmary with us right now." Neville told him. The smaller boy struggled against his friend but gave up when Seamus grabbed his other arm and they began frog-marching him down the stairs. Harry would have laughed at his god-brother's predicament had Ron and Dean not grabbed him under an arm each and started dragging him along too.
"NO! Guys! Let me go!" he protested as they passed through the common room where the usual chatter had paused to watch their strange procession, amused murmuring starting up again the second they had passed.
Luckily the corridors were almost deserted, most people having returned to their common rooms to relax after a long day of lessons. Harry tried digging his heels in but the smooth stone floor offered no purchase and both his captors were taller and stronger than him. Ahead of him he could see Aries renewed struggles were meeting with just as little success as his own.
They rounded a corner on the first floor, only a few corridors from the Hospital Wing, when `they almost barrelled into Professor McGonagall. Their stern Head of House raised one eyebrow and looked at them all "Would someone please care to explain what on earth is going on here?" she enquired.
They exchanged glances before Neville spoke up "We're taking them to the Hospital Wing, professor McGonagall." He explained.
"And why exactly does that require you to drag them down the corridor like this?" there was a hint of steel in her tone.
"Because they're too bloody stubborn to admit they need help and go on their own, Professor." Seamus told her, flushing a bit when he realised what he'd just said in front of her.
"Language Mr Finnigan." She scolded before looking over the group once more "Carry on, gentlemen" she said, nodding and sweeping off in a whirl of emerald green robes.
The four of them breathed a sigh of relief while Harry and Aries scowled that she had not rescued them. Their struggles became more pronounced as approached the doors of the infirmary but it was no good. They burst through the doors, startling Madam Pomfrey, who was organising her inventory in the large walk-in cupboard at the back of the ward.
"What is the meaning of this you six?" she demanded.
"Nothing, they're just being idiots, we'll just leave." Harry quickly replied, trying to turn and leave, only to be stopped by Ron and Dean.
"It's not nothing, Ma'am, they haven't been getting any sleep but they're too pig-headed to come and see you about it" Seamus cut him off. They pushed Harry and Aries forward before bolting for the doors, shutting and locking them behind them.
Harry groaned as he watched his last chance at escape slip through his fingers.
A/N: hopefully the double upload makes up for the lack of posting over the last few weeks. i've got the next few chapters planned so should be back on schedule (for a while at least). please review and let my know what you think, let me know what you thought went well/you liked and any improvements :)