Old Habits Die Hard (HP - Harry)

[Not_Telling]

It's doooooone, it's doooone IT'S DOOOOONE

So here's the gist: Last year I started writing an HP story (http://www.sneezefet...opic=52123&st=0). Wanted to continue, but lacked the talent and the inspiration to. Then I met my true love VividBubbles! and we got married and moved to Antarctica to dance with magical talking leprechauns and...actually no, that's not exactly what happened . But we did rewrite and finish this fanfiction together! Should be of satisfying length, as it is (according to VB) 22 parts with an epilogue, 43 pages, 13,417 words, and 63,060 characters not including spaces. We'll probably be posting a new part every day, so keep your eyes peeled!

Anyway, enough backstory. It's Harrytime!

Enjoy

***

Part One

"Hermione, I'm cold!"

"Stop complaining, Ron!"

It was a brisk late-November day. The lightly tanned autumn leaves had long since fallen off the trees in the forest path leading from Hogwarts, leaving only a few strewn among the branches, waiting in earnest for that last gust of wind to knock them straight off. The air was damp and humid, and post-rain puddles were scattered around the area. Ron and Hermione were walking on the outskirts of the school grounds in hopes of finding Harry, who had left the castle after breakfast and hadn't returned since.

Hermione was getting a bit annoyed at Ron's whining. His best friend left without a word of where he was going, it was almost sun-down, and Ron didn't seem the least bit concerned. Rather, he complained about the weather.

"You know, he's probably back at Hogwarts by now. Where it's warm..."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Honestly Ron, do you ever think of anyone but yourself?"

The redhead gasped and dramatically retorted that he did too care about others and that he was never getting any credit for his selfless, kind-hearted, gra-

"Shush, Ron!" Hermione interrupted. The two stood in silence for a few seconds. She turned to him and asked, "Did you hear that?"

"If it was the sound of your incessant nagging then yes..."

"No, not that! Listen."

H'keshh!

Ron nodded. "I heard it." It was very faint, but he could just barely make it out. After a minute or so, they heard it again.

H'keshh!

"What was that?" asked Hermione.

Ron shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. It kind of sounds like...a sneeze?" When they heard it for the third time, they decided to investigate.

As they followed the sound, the sneezes got gradually louder. Suddenly, Hermione stopped and pointed. "Ron, look!" In the distance, they could barely see a figure slowly approaching, hunched over, frequently stumbling and who appeared to be struggling. Immediately their eyes widened and they looked at each other as they both had the same thought.

"You don't think..."

"I sure hope not."

They both sprinted over to the lone figure who had just collapsed and began coughing deep, hoarse coughs. Hermione nearly fell over when she saw who he was. "Oh my god. Harry!"

(ETA: Saw a typo and it was bugging me...)

[Not_Telling]

So...am I posting the next part tomorrow VB, or are you? Because I wrote the next part, but...we could alternate if you want. Doesn't really matter to me, whichever way we do it

[OhDearBlessYou]

Omgomgomg this is great! I love your witty style And Harry's sneezes are adorable! I can't wait for more! Congratulations on getting this project done, you have a fan.

[beatlelover22]

Wow, this is exciting! Can't wait to read more

[Seniorstatus14]

Love it!! Thanks for continuing!

[HPG]

Yay!

[irishsneezeandkisses]

Yay for doneness! Now hurry up and post it! Please...

[Not_Telling]

Omgomgomg this is great! I love your witty style And Harry's sneezes are adorable! I can't wait for more! Congratulations on getting this project done, you have a fan.

AWWWW thank you so much!!! It took a lot of work, but it's definitely paying off

Wow, this is exciting! Can't wait to read more

Thanks! Can't wait to post more

Love it!! Thanks for continuing!

Aww <3 no prob senior!

Yay!

Yay indeed!

Yay for doneness! Now hurry up and post it! Please...

We're posting our parts daily! Here's one now, since the first part was kind of done in the middle of the night (even though it was still technically "today") but whatever.

Hey guys, I'm so glad to see that you like it so far :D The authoring of each part is kind of irregular, due to certain...conflicts, so VB and I will just post whichever part we wrote, and reply to the comment for our own parts (which will be posted daily). I wrote parts 1-3, 5, 7-14, 16-17, 19, 21, and Epilogue, and VB wrote the rest! Of course, we both edited everything so really we each wrote everything but I'm rambling now and this doesn't even matter, so...Anyway...

Here's part 2! Part 3 will be up tomorrow

***

Part Two

Harry glanced up at them and managed a smile. "Hey," he grimaced.

Ron crouched down and was surprised when he noticed the condition he was in. "Hey, yourself. You look bloody awful, mate." Ron mentally evaluated him, taking note of his pale complexion, his strikingly scarlet nose, and his tired looking eyes. Harry's cheeks were reddened from fever, and he was sopping wet. They helped him to his feet.

"What were you even doing out here?!"

Harry explained, "Well, this morning I went to visit Hagrid." He swallowed and winced at how hoarse his voice sounded. "When it was getting close to lunch, I started to make my way back to the castle, but the rain....Heh'Kshoo!....the rain got in the way, and somehow I.....H'kshoo! Heh'Kshhh! I....I.....Heh'Kshoo!" The boy shivered, and Hermione really began to worry.

"Bless you! Harry, you don't sound well at all!" Hermione stated.

"M'fine, Hermione. It's just a....H'Kshhn! A bit of a chill, that’s all." Harry rubbed his sleeve on his nose and gave a congested sniffle. Hermione looked at him disbelievingly. "A bit of a chill? Harry, you just collapsed on the ground in a fit of breathless coughing. You can't even finish a sentence without sneezing!"

“She’s got a point.” Ron noted.

Harry began to say something, but broke off into coughing instead. They were deep and wet and he muffled them into the back of his hand, surprising all three of them. Ron placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, growing deep concern for his friend.

"Whoa. You sure you’re alright there, mate?"

In truth, Harry was not alright. He had been feeling dreadfully ill for the past two days, but he didn't want to worry his friends, so he had pretended to be fine up until now. Before he knew it, Hermione had her palm on his forehead. He leaned into her cool touch, too tired to argue anymore. "Harry! You're running a fever! He’s burning up, Ron!" Harry unsteadily rocked on his feet, swaying dizzily.

"Am I now? That's....interesting....."

And just like that, Harry's knees buckled and he dropped onto the ground, unconscious.

[Seniorstatus14]

AHHH!!! It's so perfect!!

[beatlelover22]

THis is literally AMAZING I LOVE IT. Ahhhh thanks for updating!

[Pyrus_Fangmon]

Ooohhhhhhhhh I just found this! I never really got into Harry Potter, but this is slowly changing me! Please continue.

[Not_Telling]

AHHH!!! It's so perfect!!

Omigosh thaaank youuuu!!! <3

THis is literally AMAZING I LOVE IT. Ahhhh thanks for updating!

I'm literally gushing right now. Thank you so much!!

Ooohhhhhhhhh I just found this! I never really got into Harry Potter, but this is slowly changing me! Please continue.

Faaaaang yes Harry Potter will consuuuume us alllll!! I think sneeze fiction is actually what got me into Harry Potter in the first place...

Okay! Here's Part Three! Dun dun dunnnn!!

***

Part Three

Hagrid strolled along the path leading to Hogwarts, carrying a potion and some other things in his arms and humming as he did so. "Hmm hmm......Going on over to Gryffindor Tower....Hm hm hm.....Gonna- HEY! RON! 'ERMIONE!" He spotted the two kneeling on the path and grinned. He didn't notice Harry, who was lying on the ground unconscious. Hermione looked over her shoulder to see Hagrid as he continued. "WHAT BRINGS YEH OU’ AT THIS HOUR?!"

"Hagrid! Harry's just fainted!"

Hagrid immediately dropped everything he was doing (quite literally, in fact) and rushed over to the scene. He crouched down to get a better look and noticed that Harry was shivering. Hermione filled him in on the details and Hagrid just nodded.

"Yeah, Harry was lookin' a little, yah know, a bit peaky this mornin', an' I suspected he wasn't feelin' well....." He paused when he touched Harry's cheek and felt how warm he was. "Yep, that's a fever, alright." Harry coughed weakly in response.

"At least he's not completely unconscious." Ron noted optimistically.

Hermione glared at Ron as Hagrid hoisted Harry up into his arms. "What?" Ron defended, "It's a valid statement." She just rolled her eyes at him, too worried to argue.

Pretty soon, Hagrid had Harry cradled in his arms bridal-style and they walked back to Hogwarts. They were on school grounds, so it was a pretty short walk, but not too short for conversation.

"So Hagrid," Hermione asked. "Where were you off to this evening before stumbling across Harry?"

"Oh. Well, as I mentioned before, Harry was lookin' a little, well, yah know, an' so I brewed up a bit of Pepper-Up for ‘im. As a matter o' fact, I was on my way to bring it to ‘im when I ran into yeh lot, sayin' tha’ Harry's gone and passed out." Ron and Hermione perked up at the word 'Pepper-Up'.

"So, uh, where is it?" Ron asked.

"Where- ohhh the Pepper-Up? Well, I uhh.....Yah know that potion I spilled earlier when yeh told me abou' Harry?"

"Yes..." Ron answered expectantly.

"Well that, uh, that was the Pepper-Up."

They groaned. Under normal circumstances, they would've just taken him to Madame Pomfrey, but she was in Hogsmeade on a mandatory Student Caretaker’s Conference.

"Well, I guess all we can do know is take him back to Gryffindor Tower," Hermione said.

Hagrid nodded and they continued their walk.

[Pyrus_Fangmon]

Heeheehee this is art my friend. This is art.

[beatlelover22]

Awww this is awesome. Pepper-Up... of course! Poor Harry!

[VividBubbles!]

Hey guys! So, I guess it's kind of my turn to post a part now. I hope you like it! PS. I'm not quite sure if I posted this too early or not, but if I did then oh well.

***

Part Four (VB!)

With Hagrid's long strides, it didn't take the group too long to reach the castle and head up to Gryffindor tower. The Fat Lady let them in easily enough, muttering in concern at Harry's prone form.

Hagrid carried Harry up to the boys' dormitory, his long legs taking him up two or three steps at a time, Ron and Hermione trailing behind. They found the dormitory empty, but that was to be expected. It was the middle of the day, after all.

Hagrid laid Harry on his bed, the young wizard letting out a low groan at the change of position. The trio took it as a sign that he might be coming around.

"Harry?" Hermione questioned, her voice laced with concern. Harry moaned again, this time turning his head to face her voice.

"'Mione?" His voice was raspy and weak, barely loud enough to qualify as a whisper. "Wha-"

"Shh," Hermione interrupted, placing her hand on Harry's overly warm cheek. "Just rest. We can talk in the morning."

Harry groaned, sweat drops gathering on his forehead.

“Ron,” Hermione said, turning to the red-head, “will you go wet a washcloth with some cool water for me, please?” Ron nodded and left the room quickly, maneuvering himself around Hagrid.

Hermione turned back to Harry, cupping his cheek with her palm as he whimpered in pain. Tears formed in her eyes, unable to hold back the emotions from seeing Harry so vulnerable and in obvious pain.

Ron returned about two minutes later with a cool, wet deep red cloth. He handed it over to her, giving Harry a concerned, pitying glance. Hermione stroked Harry’s face once with the cloth, wiping up the sweat as Harry whimpered once more, shying away from the overly cold object.

“Shhhh,” Hermione whispered, laying the cloth on Harry’s forehead, “you’re alright, just go to sleep.”

Harry didn't resist, merely rolling over and falling asleep. Hermione turned to Ron, who had been leaning over her shoulder, his face colored with concern for his best friend. "Oh, Ron, how did he get so bad?"

**Approximately Two Days Earlier**

Harry glared down at the meal before him, rubbing at his temples while trying to ignore the dull throb that had taken leisure in his head. Merlin, he felt absolutely horrid.

He'd awoken a day earlier with a tickle in his throat and had immediately passed it off as nothing. Harry was used to having random aches and pains throughout his body after playing Quidditch for so long. And after all, it was just a bit of a tickle. Nothing to worry about, he'd told himself. Oh, how wrong he'd been.

He'd woken that day with a miserable headache, a nose filled with what acted as cement one minute and water the next, and a throat that must have been sanded while he slept. He'd taken a shower and, while it had helped with his cement filled nose and pounding headache, it hadn't done anything to help with his obnoxiously sore throat. This was why he was now glaring accusingly at his food.

Harry winced as he attempted to swallow a bite of bread. He cursed under his breath. He was actually hungry, which was neither a good nor a bad sign. (He wasn't one to immediately loose his appetite on the first day of an illness. It usually left after he was ill for a day and stayed away for a couple days after he was no longer sick.) But he was unable to eat anything because of his throat.

"Are you quite done, Harry?" Hermione's impatient question brought Harry out of his internal brooding and he turned his attention onto his two friends who were standing and looking at him imploringly. With a quick look around he noticed the almost emptiness of the Great Hall. Have I really been daydreaming for that long? A bit embarrassed, Harry stood quickly, muttering a quick apology and bad excuse.

Ron and Hermione seemed to accept it, though not without each sending him a suspicious glance.

"Alright, then, come on. We don't want to be late for Herbology." Hermione said, Ron rolling his eyes behind her back. "Of course, we wouldn't want to miss out on getting bitten by flesh-eating slugs," he mumbled to Harry.

Although a headache like the one he had now would've normally kept Harry from finding any humor in his mate's antics, he couldn't keep himself from giving a bit of a smile.

"Okay," was the only word he could get out before he and Ron were ushered out the Great Hall doors by the bushy-haired witch, finally on their way to class.

[Not_Telling]

Heeheehee this is art my friend. This is art.

An artist at her work Thanks so much!

Awww this is awesome. Pepper-Up... of course! Poor Harry!

Of course, it just has to be the Pepper-Up! Thanks

Heeeeere is part 5!! Please keep commenting cuz it makes us happy!!!

***

Part Five (N_T!)

Harry sighed. Not again, he thought to himself. He wrinkled his nose, trying to get rid of the insistent tickle lingering inside. As his breath quickened, he realized he was not going to win this battle. Harry quickly pinched his nostrils shut as his head bobbed forward in a nearly silent sneeze.

All day long, it had been going on like this. Some nose-pinches here, some stifled coughs there, and the occasional shake of the head to clear his swimming vision. He’d nearly fallen asleep in History of Magic, and he’d sworn that their Charms teacher had cast a spell on the classroom, turning it upside-down and making it spin. He was absolutely miserable, to say in the least. Thankfully, Hermione and Ron did not seem to be catching on to his discomfort.

At least this was his last class of the day: Potions. Now, as much as Harry hated Potions, he was relieved that the school day was almost over. The remaining students rushed into the room and quickly took their seats before the start of class. Nobody would dare to ever be late to Potions. Why? The reason for this was standing at the front of the room, ready to begin his lecture. Professor Snape was famous for his impatience, his unhesitant retribution, and of course his most famous line: “Ten points from Gryffindor”.

Throughout the lecture, Harry tried extra hard to keep his symptoms at bay. For him to be caught with his illness at any time was bad enough. To be caught by Snape? He’d had enough humiliation for one year.

“…Another intoxicating potion, known as Garroting Gas, induces choking and on occasion suffocates the idiot who is stupid enough to take it...” Snape droned on in his monotonous voice. As Harry struggled more and more to keep his eyelids open, a new problem began to arise. In his nose, particularly.

Over the course of the day, his fits had gotten more and more frequent, and much more difficult and painful to stifle. Harry pinched his nose and sprung forward in a volley of stifles, most of which were silent, except for the last few. “Nxxgt! Tsh! Heh….Eh-Kshh!”

Harry flushed in embarrassment. That last one was particularly loud. Snape stopped mid-sentence and glared at him. The Slytherins snickered as Hermione looked up from her notes and whispered, “Bless you, Harry.”

Professor Snape was soon towering over him, giving the most distasteful of sneers. “Mister Potter, is there a problem?” Harry quickly shook his head. “Ndo, sir. I bead,” he sniffled to clear his congestion. “No, sir.”

The Professor looked in annoyance at the boy, who was still sniffling quietly. Rolling his eyes, he pulled out his wand and flicked it towards the table, transfiguring a box of tissues out of thin air.

“Blow. Your. Nose.”

Harry just sat there a moment, staring at his instructor. A few Slytherins were positively howling with laughter at this point. He could even see that Hermione was trying not to laugh. Well, so much for not humiliating himself. After a brief silence, Harry cleared his throat. “Um, sir-“

“Mister Potter, I suggest you obey my command as I do not particularly like to be kept waiting.” Snape raised an eyebrow. Finally, Harry reluctantly grabbed a tissue from the box and blew his nose as softly as he could. When he was finished he pulled out his wand and dematerialized the box and the tissue, and looked at the professor as if to say, ‘Are you satisfied?’

“Better, Potter?”

“Yessir,” Harry mumbled as Snape returned to the front of the room and quieted down the other students by snapping at them to shut up and that he would bestow a detention onto the next student who dared to make a sound.

Of course, sneezes were no exception to the rule of ‘no sound’, as Professor Snape rarely made exceptions, especially when they came to any house other than his own, and even more so when they came to Harry. But he couldn’t help it.

Heh…Nxxtshh!!

“Detention, Mr. Potter! At eight o’ clock. Tonight.”

[Pyrus_Fangmon]

Ohhhhh Poor Harry. He tried so hard but all attempts failed.

[Seniorstatus14]

The Professor looked in annoyance at the boy, who was still sniffling quietly. Rolling his eyes, he pulled out his wand and flicked it towards the table, transfiguring a box of tissues out of thin air.

“Blow. Your. Nose.”

Oh my goodness! I giggled at this! So funny!

[VividBubbles!]

Here's part 6 feat. some Snape torture! Enjoy!

***

Part Six (VB!)

*just before detention*

Harry absolutely couldn't believe how bloody bad he felt. He'd taken about a 3 hour nap after he'd finished his classes and somehow he'd woken feeling worse than he had when he'd gone to sleep. It was perplexing and absolutely unfair.

Heading down to the dungeons, he couldn't keep from shivering. Probably Harry's least favorite place in the castle, the dungeons were dark and dank, smelling of the more potent (and typically retched) potion ingredients, which normally wouldn't be such an unfortunate thing. However, today the potency of all of the smells made Harry's already sensitive nose tingle and itch terribly.

As Harry reached the doors to the Potions class where he would, judging from Snape's attitude towards his current ailment earlier, meet his untimely and unfortunate demise, he let out all the sneezes he could before he had to go into the classroom.

Hikshiew! Eh’ksshh! Keshhooo! H’keshh! Kishshh!

Dizzy from his fit, Harry had to lean against the Potion classroom's doors to keep from losing his balance. It was in vain, however, when the doors swung open unexpectedly, revealing an unwelcome figure in long black robes with greasy black hair and a large, hooked nose.

Snape addressed him with his usual cold tone of voice. "Potter," somehow turned into a word of disdain and contempt, as Harry stumbled into his classroom, tripping over his own feet before managing to regain his balance with the help of a nearby shelf.

Unfortunately, the shelf was covered in dirt and dust which rained down on Harry when it was jostled.

H’keshh! Hk’shhn! K’shhooo!

The third sneeze sent Harry into a coughing fit that scraped his throat raw (well, more raw than it'd been before) and made his chest ache. He wanted to sit down but he doubted he could find a chair in his current shape.

He heard Snape say something, although he couldn't tell what, before his Potions teacher grabbed him roughly by the arm and dragged him over to a chair that he was roughly shoved into before Snape disappeared.

By this time the coughing had stopped, but Harry was now making a horrible wheezing sound that absolutely didn't sound healthy one single bit. He wasn’t sure how long he'd been sitting there wheezing when the glass of water was suddenly shoved into his hand. Harry raised it to his mouth and drank greedily, catching a glimpse of Snape as he did so. What he saw surprised him.

Snape wasn't looking at Harry with his usual look of hatred and apathy. Instead, the man looked almost concerned about him. His normal scowl of disinterest remained on his face but his eyes were different--wider, concerned, and sad.

When Harry was finally able to speak again he made himself say something that almost physically hurt him to say and actually mean it.

"Thank you, Professor."

Snape didn’t respond, turning his black-robed back to Harry and stopping at his desk, still not facing the boy. “Potter, as you deem it fit to interrupt my teachings whenever it pleases you, you will be writing me a 3,000 word essay on why you think you are more qualified to teach this class than I am. You will stay until it is complete.”

Harry wanted to interrupt, wanted to complain about how absolutely unfair Snape was being and how he was bloody sneezing, that greasy-haired git, and who punishes people for sneezing?! But he couldn’t say anything, he was dumbstruck, watching Snape sit down at his desk and grab what must have been an essay or something of the like off of a larger stack of similar looking papers.

It must have been at least a couple of minutes before Snape noticed Harry’s lack of movement and excess of staring. “Potter,” he said, his voice a monotone, “get to work.”

Harry snapped out of his trance. “Yessir,” he said, getting out a pad of paper and his quill. He let out a damp cough before starting to write.

*approximately an hour later*

Harry had never realized how astonishingly cold and drafty the dungeon was until he was stuck sick in detention with Snape. He was pretty sure he’d never been this cold in his life, or shivered this hard. As another cold breeze blew across his back, Harry let out a deep, wheezy cough, turning into his elbow as he just kept coughing, and coughing, and coughing.

He reached for the glass of water Snape had provided him with at the beginning of class, realizing too late that he had already drunken it all, and in the process he knocked over his ink bottle, spilling the liquid black across the papers in front of him and knocking it off the table. The shattering of the ink bottle must’ve been what finally got Snape’s attention.

Once again, the professor appeared in front of him from out of nowhere, holding another glass of water. “Drink, Potter,” he said, his eyes displaying his emotions once more, although this time they looked more guarded. Finally, Harry stopped coughing, breathing hardly while clutching the glass still half-way full of water and actively avoiding looking up into the face of his professor.

Snape sighed, snatching the water out of Harry’s hands and turning to head back to his desk.. "Go back to your dormitory, Potter. We'll move your punishment to a date when you'll be capable enough to perform such simple tasks as breathing, if such a date is ever to come. But clean up that mess first."

Harry couldn’t believe his luck. “Yes, Professor. Thank you, Professor,” he mumbled, picking up the shattered glass off the ground and his ruined essay off the table and throwing them away before scurrying out of the classroom and into the hallway.

[Seniorstatus14]

Aww Love Snape!

[beatlelover22]

Heh…Nxxtshh!!

“Detention, Mr. Potter! At eight o’ clock. Tonight.”

Yayyy! This is fantastic! I love Snape...

[irishsneezeandkisses]

This is great! I love it!

[Pyrus_Fangmon]

Poor Harry! I love this so much. *read again* So much love!

[The Kneezle]

Ahhh! All the love! The poor boy. I need more! Harry stifling is my favorite

[Not_Telling]

Ohhhhh Poor Harry. He tried so hard but all attempts failed.

I know poor baby. At least he tries his best!

The Professor looked in annoyance at the boy, who was still sniffling quietly. Rolling his eyes, he pulled out his wand and flicked it towards the table, transfiguring a box of tissues out of thin air.

“Blow. Your. Nose.”

Oh my goodness! I giggled at this! So funny!

Haha thanks! Yeah VB liked that part too

Heh…Nxxtshh!!

“Detention, Mr. Potter! At eight o’ clock. Tonight.”

Yayyy! This is fantastic! I love Snape...

Aw, why thank you! Oh, Snape why you meaaaaan?

Okay, guys! Here is part 7! I'm probably going to ask VB to post the next few parts because I'm going on a camping trip this weekend for my birthday, and...well...no electronics, you know? But anyways enough babbling. Part 7!

Part Seven (N_T!)

As soon as Harry had been released from his detention, he'd gone straight to bed. He had a full day of classes and a Quidditch match the next day, and he couldn't afford to miss either because of a stupid cold. If only that stupid cold wasn't the reason he couldn't fall asleep.

"H'ksh-ooo! Heh'kshoo! K'shnn!" Harry sniffled and clutched his blanket closer to him, shivering undoubtedly from fever. His nose wouldn't stop running for the life of him, no matter how much he wished it would. Although he was almost too miserable to even bother, Harry had to at least try to keep his illness hidden. He could worry his friends, and he didn't want to be any trouble. But his nose wasn't done with him yet. "Ek'shhooo! H'keshh! H'kshhn!.......Heh....Heh-kshhh! H'ksh-ooo! Hah'kshoo! Heh'kshnn!"

"Harry?"

Harry froze. He hadn't heard Ron come in. "Nxtshh! Hnghh!" He stifled two more sneezes, and prayed that Ron would just go to sleep and forget everything he'd heard, and that the coughing he was attempting to suppress would not escape from his suffering lungs. Unfortunately, Harry's prayers remained unfulfilled, for he could not hold back the painful coughs any longer. He attempted to muffle them into his pillow, but knew it was in vain. They were loud, forceful, and made his chest hurt.

Harry tried to stop as he heard Ron's footsteps approach his bed, but the coughing only got louder. He looked up as Ron pulled back the curtains on his bed. "Oy Harry, are you... Blimey! Are you alright?" Ron looked at Harry with surprise as he continued to cough. "Do...do you need some water?"

At his weak nod, Ron hurried to pour Harry a cup of water and returned in no less than a minute. "Here you are, mate." Harry nodded his thanks and took the cup, relishing the feeling of the cool, refreshing liquid as it ran down his abused throat. To their relief, the coughing soon subsided.

Neither boy said anything. Ron just studied Harry's complexion. He looked worn out, paler than usual, and his cheeks were flushed. At closer inspection, he noticed that Harry was sweating, but shivering all the same.

"Bloody hell..."

Finally Harry found his voice, or at least a small part of it. "Rod, it's...snf...it's dot what you think."

"Yes it is. You're sick."

Ron was still in absolute shock. He hadn't expected to see Harry like this at all.

"I'm dot sick." Harry swallowed. He was beginning to lose his voice again. A few coughs were stifled behind his closed mouth, and Ron looked at him in disbelief.

"What are you, then? Cursed? Poisoned?"

"Ndo. I...I hab allergies, add I usually take allergy potiod, but...Nksshhoo! Heh'kshoo! Nnkghh! Madamb Pobfrey is ond thad Studed Caretaker's Codferedce, so I...H'kshhn! H'kshu! H'keshh! Ek'shhooo!"

Harry gave up on trying to speak, and Ron gave up on trying to believe him. The look on Harry's face said enough. Ron sighed. More than anything, he felt bad. How could he not have noticed his friend's condition earlier? After watching Harry give a particularly violent shiver, Ron stood.

"Well, I'm going to bed now. But Harry, if your 'allergies' are bothering you, or if you need anything, just let me know. I don't mind. I really don't."

"Thadks, Rod. But I'b fide. Really."

"Are you sure?"

Harry nodded, and Ron hesitantly closed the curtains. No sooner had he turned off the light than he heard that same dreadful coughing coming from Harry's bed. After a minute or so, it died down.

"Harry?"

"I'b fide, Rod. Go to sleep."