One of the nice things about being in Hufflepuff was that the roommate concept did not exist. Each Hufflepuff got his or her own dorm room. These rooms were somewhat small, but Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah didn't mind this. They were each extremely grateful to have their own dorm rooms.
On Monday, September 2nd at 5 A.M. Hogwarts time, Harry was awoken by a flying paper airplane hitting him squarely in the stomach. The paper airplane unfurled itself and Harry saw that there was bold black writing on it.
"Dear Mr. Potter, would you kindly dress and then come along to the hospital wing. I will escort you there as I will be standing just outside your door.
- Hufflepuff Head of House, Pomona Sprout."
Harry had no idea why Professor Sprout wanted him to go to the hospital wing, but he got out of bed and dressed himself and met Professor Sprout outside his door.
Professor Sprout took Harry's hand and quietly led him to the hospital wing. When they passed through its doors, Harry saw that Amy, Susan, and Hannah were all there as was a woman he didn't recognize but assumed must be the school nurse.
"Hello, Mr. Potter, " said the nurse kindly, "I am Madam Poppy Pomfrey, the Hogwarts school nurse."
Looking at Amy, Susan, and Hannah, Harry let out a gasp.
"Has something happened to one of them?" Harry asked Madam Pomfrey urgently, pointing at Amy, Susan, and Hannah, "At first I couldn't understand why Professor Sprout brought me up here. Is it to inform me of something that has happened to one or more of my friends?"
"Miss Alworth, Miss Bones, and Miss Abbott are perfectly fine, " said Madam Pomfrey reassuringly, "You on the other hand...…."
"Mr. Potter, " explained Professor Sprout, "After some observations Miss Alworth, Miss Bones, and Miss Abbott made about you yesterday, they came to me last night with their concerns. I, in turn, contacted Madam Pomfrey and we agreed that Madam Pomfrey would see you this morning. At their request, Miss Alworth, Miss Bones, and Miss Abbott have joined us here to keep you company and provide support as you will be undergoing some uncomfortable questioning and processes."
"Let's cut to the chase then, " said Harry impatiently, "I don't feel ill or sick. I mean, it's not like I lost my dinner last night or anything. What did Amy, Susan, and Hannah tell Professor Sprout that is so concerning?"
"Miss Alworth helped you with your trunk on the Hogwarts Express, I am correct Mr. Potter?" asked Professor Sprout.
"Yes, " said Harry, smiling at Amy, "I'd been struggling with my trunk for several minutes and people, including a boy I now know to be Draco Malfoy, mocked me about it. But when Amy came, she graciously offered to help me with my trunk and did so."
"Well, " said Professor Sprout, her voice turning more serious, "Miss Alworth told me that as she took your trunk, she noticed that you looked small, short, thin, and underfed."
"As a professional nurse, I only needed one look at Mr. Potter to see how malnourished he is, " said Madam Pomfrey uncomfortably.
"Could it just be hereditary?" asked Harry, "Were my parents small and short for their age when they were at Hogwarts?"
"James was small and short for his age when he was eleven, " answered Professor Sprout, "But not to as much of an extreme of an extent as you are. More importantly, he never looked thin or underfed."
"May I have permission to speak honestly about my home life?" asked Harry nervously.
"Not only do you have permission to do so, but we want you to do so, " said Professor Sprout encouragingly.
"There have been times when my aunt and uncle have used withholding of meals as punishment, " said Harry.
Amy, Susan, Hannah, Professor Sprout, and especially Madam Pomfrey cringed at the nonchalant way in which Harry said this. Clearly Harry was used to this.
"STRAVATION IS NOT A PUNISHMENT! IT IS ABUSE!" screamed Madam Pomfrey, "Mr. Potter is a growing boy! He needs three proper meals every day!"
"Would it be worse to be overfed?" Harry asked Madam Pomfrey.
"No, but it would be just as bad, "answered Madam Pomfrey, "Why do you ask?"
"My cousin Dudley is so overweight that in a few years he will be wider than he is tall," explained Harry, "He has no conception of moderation and his parents have never tried to instill it in him, " Harry told Madam Pomfrey.
Madam Pomfrey gave a stiff and disapproving shake of her head.
"This Dudley will be dead before he's thirty, "said Madam Pomfrey.
"We'll keep that in mind, said Professor Sprout, "But for now our primary concern is Mr. Potter's well being."
"Exactly, "said Madam Pomfrey urgently, "There are a few things to keep in mind here. Hogwarts food is good quality for growing boys and girls thanks to the elite cooking skill of the house elves. However, it is imperative that Mr. Potter NOT skip any meals, no matter his mood. Miss Alworth, Miss Bones, and Miss Abbott, would you three kindly look after Mr. Potter and made sure he eats every meal every day while at Hogwarts?"
"Of course!" chorused Amy, Susan, and Hannah.
"Before you leave, " Madam Pomfrey told Harry, "I will be giving you a two week supply of Nutrient Potion. Bear in mind that while Nutrient Potion can help replenish some of the nutrition you've been missing, it will only do its job if combined with eating proper meals at present time. I want you to take Nutrient Potion with your dinner every night for the next two weeks. At that time, I will further reevaluate the situation."
"Okay then, " said Harry in understanding, "Any other concerns?"
"Miss Bones and Miss Abbott joined you and Miss Alworth in your compartment on the Hogwarts Express just after lunch, right?" Professor Sprout asked Harry.
"Yes, "1 replied Harry matter of factly, "Susan told me that she and Hannah had left their compartment because a big fight was starting, and they didn't want to be caught in the middle of it. Susan asked if she and Hannah could join me and Amy and we said yes."
"When Miss Bones and Miss Abbott joined your compartment, Miss Bones noticed that your muggle clothes were way too big for you and that you were wearing broken glasses held together by a lot of scotch tape, " revealed Professor Sprout.
Feeling a bit more comfortable now, Harry informed Professor Sprout that, "All I have to wear are old clothes of Dudley's and Dudley is four times bigger than I am. As for the glasses, they are held together with scotch tape because of all the times Dudley punched me on the nose."
"Along those lines, " added Professor Sprout, "Miss Abbott told me that when you took off your shirt to change into your robes on the Hogwarts Express, she noticed several bruises and scars on your back, some of them clearly fairly new."
"My aunt hits me with her frying pan if my cooking isn't good enough and my uncle hits me with his belt when he's mad. Bear in mind that I am often punished for things I have no control over because my aunt and uncle are intolerant of my accidental magic."
"Your aunt and uncle can be dealt with later, "said Professor Sprout firmly, "Getting your well being up to snuff is much more urgent."
"Along those lines, "piped up Madam Pomfrey, "I am going to be giving you some scar removal cream. As with the Nutrient Potion, I want you to apply scar removal cream to every scar on your body except for the lightning bolt scar on your forehead every night for two weeks. I will reevaluate that situation in two weeks as well. As for the glasses, you won't need them anymore after I've done a few procedures on your eyes so don't worry about getting them fixed."
"Until such time as we can get you better clothes, I give you permission to wear your school robes on weekends, " Professor Sprout told Harry.
"Thanks, everyone, "said Harry gently, "But if I may ask, Amy, Susan, Hannah, why were you three essentially studying me on the train? Don't misunderstand, I'm not mad at any of you. Your observations are going to help me out immensely. I'm just legitimately curious as to why you three were studying me?"
"That's exactly what puts in perspective just how bad your situation is, Harry, " groaned Amy, "We weren't studying you at all. We made these observations without much effort."
"It was a bit of a shock to Hannah and me that you came to Hogwarts in a pitiful condition, "fretted Susan.
"How soon can Harry's eyes be fixed?" Hannah asked Madam Pomfrey.
"Right now, " said Madam Pomfrey, "I'm going to perform some nonverbal magic to correct Mr. Potter's vision. Now, Mr. Potter, you may feel a blowing sensation in your eyes as I perform these spells, but I promise you'll be able to see 20-20 without glasses after I'm done."
"Okay," replied Harry simply.
Madam Pomfrey raised her wand and made several different movements with it. Harry did feel what almost felt like wind in his eyes as Madam Pomfrey worked. But as Madam Pomfrey had promised, Harry could see 20-20 without glasses when she had finished.
"It worked just like you said it would, Madam Pomfrey, "said Harry happily, "I can see great without my glasses now."
"Well, that's one less thing to worry about then, " said Professor Sprout Happily.
"OHHHHHHHHHH!" piped up Harry suddenly.
"What is it Harry?" chorused Madam Pomfrey, Professor Sprout, Amy, Susan, and Hannah.
"Let's hold off on looking into new clothes for me until we know what effect the Nutrient Potion has on me. I think once that runs its course it will be more appropriate to buy new clothes for me. It would suck to buy new clothes for me in the next few days only for the effects of the Nutrient Potion to cause me to outgrow them."
"Mr. Potter is EXACTLY RIGHT!" said Professor Sprout approvingly.
"I should have thought of that myself, " said Madam Pomfrey, "Let me get Mr. Potter his Nutrient Potion and scar removal cream and then he can go."
Madam Pomfrey opened a drawer that held tubes of what must be scar removal cream.
These tubes came in red, green, yellow, blue, orange, purple, and hot pink.
"What color tube would you like Mr. Potter?" asked Madam Pomfrey, "They all contain scar removal cream, which is white in color."
"Yellow, "said Harry instantly, "As I'm part of the Yellow Quartet."
"What is the Yellow Quartet?" asked Madam Pomfrey curiously.
"It should be obvious, Poppy, " smirked Professor Sprout, "The Yellow Quartet is a friendship group consisting of Mr. Potter, Miss Alworth, Miss Bones, and Miss Abbott. Yellow for Hufflepuff and quartet for the fact there are four members of the group."
"Yes," smiled Harry, taking two tubes of scar removal cream from Madam Pomfrey.
Madam Pomfrey smiled and opened a second drawer that contained several vials of an earthy green potion.
"Nutrient Potion?" asked Harry.
"Yes, " answered Madam Pomfrey as she handed him two vials.
"So, " observed Harry, "I guess a tube and a vial is a one week supply."
"Exactly, " said Madam Pomfrey, "You just need to rub a very small amount of cream on each scar each night. Remember to exclude your lightning bolt scar. There's nothing that can be done about that. As for the Nutrient Potion, three drops a day should do the trick. Overdosing on Nutrient Potion can lead to obesity, so I prefer the doses to be small and only once a day. Remember Mr. Potter, Nutrient Potion before dinner, scar removing cream before bed. I'll see you in two weeks."
"You four may go, "said Professor Sprout kindly, "And thirty points to Hufflepuff for Miss Alworth, Miss Bones, and Miss Abbott for showing genuine concern for a friend."
A bit later at breakfast, as Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah were enjoying a breakfast of pancakes, sausage patties, and Budweiser, Harry addressed his three friends.
"Amy, Susan, and Hannah, "said Harry sincerely, "I just want to thank you three for caring enough about me to take your concerns to Professor Sprout. I'm going to enjoy a great improvement in my quality of life because you three cared enough about me to look after me proactively. I want you to know that it's noticed, and it's appreciated."
"The Yellow Quartet!" said Amy, Susan, and Hannah.
"The Yellow Quartet!" repeated Harry with a grin.