"So, as it turns out, sniff, sniff, Professor Flitwick, sniff, had it on his head the, sniff,
sniff, the whole time!" Laughs and chuckles erupted from their end of the
Gryffindor table.
Ron's
pleasure from storytelling was quickly destroyed, however, by Hermione, who was
holding her fork very tightly in her hand. "Ronald, for goodness sakes, blow
your nose!" she whispered, though it was loud enough for him and everyone else
to hear it. Seamus and Dean took this as their cue to leave the discussion and
Neville buried his nose in his Herbology textbook.
Ron turned
a bright shade of red from cheeks to ears. "Hermione!" he exclaimed, his voice
cracking in the middle, ending with a higher pitch. "Sniff! Sniff! I just did.
Sniff! Not that it's any of your
business, sniff, sniff, of course. SNIFF!"
She sighed
in frustration, knuckles turning white. "Well, then, do it again. Because
you're still sniffling like mad and none of us wants to hear that." He did not
move. "Go on," she urged, in a no-nonsense tone of voice.
Scowling at
her, he pulled out his handkerchief, unfolded it, cupped it to his face, and
blew as strongly as he could several times. The sound was partly wet and full and
partly honking, but it was all loud and just as noticeable as his sniffles, in
his opinion. "There," he said, folding it back up and shoving it into one of
the pockets of his robe. "Happy now?" he asked with a bit of attitude.
Hermione
replied with a nod to let him know that was satisfactory. "Honestly, I would
have thought your mother taught you better than this." She looked over at Ginny
in question.
"Oh, she
did," Ginny said, quickly swallowing her last gulp of pumpkin juice in order to
jump into the conversation. "When we were kids and sick at home, Mum never even
let us get out of bed if we were still sniffling."
"Is that
so...?" Hermione said, raising her eyebrows and looking back at Ron. "In that
case, I think you should go back to bed."
"What?" Ron
said, exasperated. "You're not my
mother. Sniff! I'm feeling
better. Sniff! Sniff! And I can have dinner here if I like." He looked
straight at her and gave an especially strong sniffle, his nostrils flaring. "SNIIIIFFFF!"
Hermione
gave a loud sigh. "If you're even a little sick, still, the polite thing to do
is to stay in bed so the rest of us don't catch it. Right Harry?"
Harry
looked up from his plate, startled at the sudden realization that they were
speaking to him. He hadn't really been following a word of the conversation. He
looked at Hermione who was nodding leadingly at him. Then he looked at Ron who
was adamantly shaking his head 'no'. Filled with panic, Harry had no idea which
friend he was supposed to side with on this matter, whatever it was. Desperate,
he looked over at Ginny, his new girlfriend, hoping her opinion would be the
one to trust. Ginny's head was tilted, her long, flaming red hair fell onto a
shoulder and then past it. Her eyes were wide, as though pleading with him to
agree. He took a deep breath. "Oh, ah. Yeah. Right. Absolutely."
"Harry!"
Ron groaned, throwing his head back to gaze up at the ceiling in frustration.
He sniffed again. "Sniff! Sniff! You're
supposed to be my best mate. Sniff! Why
can't you take my side? Sniff, sniiifff!
You know I'm feeling better." That was relatively true. After three days of
almost constant sneezing, Ron did look and sound loads better. Maybe not
perfect yet, but certainly vastly improved.
"Sorry,"
Harry mumbled. "I sort of had my mind on something else." His friends knew that
was Harry-code for the situation with Voldemort, and did not press him about
it. "I'm going upstairs to do some thinking and studying before bed. See you
all later." Harry dug into his pocket and pulled out a wad of tissues. He
stood, leaned over the table, and handed them to Ron. "Ron, blow your nose. You
know how annoyed the girls get when you sniffle."
As Harry
headed away, he heard Ginny exclaim, "See?!" Presumably the THWACK he heard was
Ginny hitting Ron in the arm, because he complained that it hurt a moment
later. Harry could hear him blowing his nose, however, and chuckled. He thought
to turn back and give Ginny a little kiss goodbye, but he knew she liked it
best when they were alone together, not in front of prying eyes of past
boyfriends. Besides, she and Harry had plans to get together the next day for
more than a little kiss.
Harry took
the most direct route up to the dormitories and didn't relax until he'd flopped
face-first onto his four poster bed. He pulled himself up towards the pillows
and made his very best attempt to reach for his texts... but his head felt heavy
and his eyes felt tired. He pulled the covers up over him and basked for a
moment in the warmth and comfort, intending to nap only for a few moments.
*
Harry woke to
find the sixth year boys' dormitory room blanketed in darkness. He lifted his
arm and pushed the little button on the side of his watch. It lit in a blue
glow, telling him that it was nearly a quarter past one in the morning. Harry
groaned to himself and sat up, looking around. All the hangings around the
other beds were drawn closed, and Neville's usual strong snores they had all
grown used to in six years filled the air.
He shivered
and cupped his hands. When he took a deep breath in order to breathe into his
cupped hands, his nose tickled. He scrunched up his face and rubbed the tickle
away. Then he climbed off the bed and headed towards the middle of the
dormitory. There was a fire burning in the space heater and Harry stopped
shivering as soon as he was standing in front of it, rubbing his hands
together.
It was the
spring, but the nights were still rather cool. Harry felt much colder than he
thought he should have, though. Cold and definitely sneezier. "HAHShhoo! HahhChoo!"
Sheets and blankets rustled all over the room
as Harry's roommates woke at the sound. The sneezes had filled and echoed
through the room. "Ron," Seamus' voice called out. "Quit yer sneezin'. We're
tryin' ta sleep here, Mate."
Harry
sniffed and cleared his throat. He did his best Ron impersonation. "Sorry! Go
back to sleep!" They did. There was more rustling and then the snores resumed
right away.
Harry
sighed and went back to bed. He curled up in his blankets, shivering just a
little until the blankets warmed to him. "hehh..."
Unfortunately, the sneezes weren't as easy to deal with. "hahh!" He pressed two fingers beneath his nose then burrowed under
the blankets and pillows. "h'chmmmph!
Shmphhh!" He sniffed and blindly reached out towards his nightstand. His
fingers found the edge of the table then bumped the side of the tissue box.
Straining, he took hold of the box. He immediately pulled it underneath with
him and grabbed a few tissues from it. "hahhhh..."
His eyes closed as he held the tissues to his nose and blew hard. The urge to
sneeze disappeared as he blew repeatedly. He sighed deeply and relaxed.
It was warm
there, under the blankets. Harry was tempted to stay but needed some fresh air.
He poked his head out and it sank into the feather pillow. He was asleep in
mere seconds.
*
Harry slept
straight through breakfast. He had an inkling that someone tried to wake him up
for it, but whoever it was must not have been tremendously persuasive because
he couldn't even remember opening his eyes and considering the notion.
When he
woke it was just around lunchtime, but he wasn't particularly hungry then
either. He was supposed to meet up with Ginny in an hour or two for a teatime
picnic out by the lake, anyway. She had insisted upon taking care of the
arrangements and he was sure she was employing a trick or two from her
brothers, the twins, in order to sneak food out of the kitchens and out onto
the grounds. She'd been so excited about the event and he was looking forward to
it as well. He'd never picnicked with anyone like this. Certainly not with a
girl... a girlfriend... just as though he were normal and not The Boy Who Lived.
"hahh-hahhhChihhh! hahhChooo!" Except
that the problem was that he was feeling especially ordinary now. The sort of
ordinary wherein it was easy to catch one's best friend's head cold. "ahhh... hahhhhChooo! hahhh-Shoo! Sniff!"
Sniffing hurt, as his nose already felt full and throbbed with pressure. "hahhChuhhh! hahhShahh!"
Holding the
back of his hand up to his nose, Harry reached under the covers and felt
around, searching for the tissue box. "hahhShoo!
K'Shooo!" His nose dripping, he groaned, his hand feeling nothing but
blankets and sheets. "Where is it? Sniff! Sniff! huhhhh!" His eyes closed
but he found the box. One side was smashed in and the whole thing was squished,
but the tissues were still good. He pulled several out and cupped them to his
nose. "hah-Schhoo! hahhhShuhh!"
Harry
sighed and sat up in bed. Either everyone already knew he was sick and were
politely keeping silent on the subject, or all of his roommates were out for
the day. Harry reached up and pulled back on his curtains to look around. He
was most definitely alone.
"hah!" His mouth dropping open and his
eyes closing, he grabbed a new tissue. "hahhhShoo!
hahhChoo!" Taking a very deep breath, he blew his nose hard. Over. And
over. And over again. He blew until it went from wet to dry and until the
pressure he felt in his nose was relieved a little. Then he took another deep
breath and let it out slowly.
His nose
tickled again, as did his throat. He immediately went for more tissues. "HAHShoo! H'Shoo! Snuffffff! Sniff-sniff! HihChoo!
hahhhShoo!" Harry blew his nose again, repeatedly, then balled the tissues
up and dropped them into his lap.
He leaned
back against his headboard with a sigh. He felt sick. And sneezy. And stuffed
up. And a bit achy. Everything in him said he was sick and if that was the case
then he shouldn't even be thinking of
getting out of bed. However, that date with Ginny was still on his mind, and if
there was anything in the world that could possibly cheer him up, it was that.
Feeling
another pair of sneezes coming on, Harry slowly pulled another tissue out of
the box. He planned to head them off for a moment with a strong blow. His nose
still tickled and ran just as much, though. Perhaps even more. It was as if the
blow had irritated his nose so much that the sneezes came more easily. "hahChooo! Hahhh-Chahhh!"
However, it
was not as though he could keep from blowing his nose. Apart from tickling, it was
also stuffed-up and running. He tried just pressing a handful of tissues to his
nose, but eventually the urge to clear his nose overpowered him. And, as soon
as he did, he snapped forward with more sneezes. "hahCHOO! hahhShooo!" Afterwards, with his nose streaming, he had to
blow his nose again.
And so
began the repetition of blowing and sneezing which went on far longer than
Harry could have imagined. He stayed in bed for an hour, then slowly rose and
dressed. He kept the tissue box, which was quickly being depleted, close at
hand. His hand dove back towards it after nearly every item of clothing was
taken off or put on. When he was finally dressed, he sat back down on the edge
of the bed and blew his nose heartily. It was starting to feel sore from all
the attention, and his whole head felt stuffed, starting with his nose.
Harry knew
a shower would probably help him, right about now. If he had a knut for every
time he'd told Ron to go take a shower because it would help... well, then he'd
have a couple handfuls of knuts. But he did not have enough time to take a nice
steamy shower if he was going to meet up with Ginny and be on time. He didn't
want to risk being late and having her yell at him for sleeping all day.
So Harry
laced up his shoes, loaded his pocket with tissues, gave his nose a final rub,
and headed out. Luckily, he didn't meet up with anyone on the way. He passed
Peeves circling Mrs. Norris, who was batting at him, trying to catch him to no
avail. Her hisses were sure to attract the attention of Filch, however, so
Harry did not want to linger. Instead he hurried along down the stairs and
hallways until he was out of the castle.
The spot by
the lake where they'd agreed to meet was not far from where had had saved
Sirius years before. They'd selected it because it was out of the way and
surrounded by trees on one side.
The bright
blue blanket spread out on the ground immediately drew his attention. Harry
quickened his pace in anticipation. Ginny knelt upon it, a picnic basket at her
knees. She was slowly taking out its contents, which were small sandwiches and
cookies thus far. Harry still didn't feel very hungry, but he smiled at the
mere sight of her. His nose tickled, and he pulled a tissue out to haphazardly
wipe it, but he did not pause in his walking for a moment.
"Hi,
Ginny," he said, paying attention to his nose and deliberately trying to
pronounce her name without sounding too stuffy.
She looked
up and over, smiling warmly at him. "Right on time," she replied. Then she
patted the spot next to her on the blanket. Though there was a huge vacant area
of blanket in front of her beyond the basket and only a small spot beside her,
he sat down right where she'd told him to.
Immediately
Harry wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his side. She
tilted her head, resting it on his shoulder. In doing so, her hair came to
brush against his cheek and, much to his dismay, his nose. He sniffled and then
his breath caught. His hand shot up, pressing a finger beneath his nose. It was
slightly sore to the touch, but worth such a minor pain. It worked for the
moment, but Ginny heard his unusual breath and pulled away to look at him.
Naturally, he dropped his hand back into his lap, not wanting her to see how
silly he must have looked. That was all his nose needed. "HEHHHShooo! HahhhChooo! Sniff! hah-hahhChooo! ahhhChoo!" Reluctantly
he dug the tissues out of his pocket and rubbed his face into them, sniffling
and wiping at his nose.
"Harry?"
Ginny said, sounding curious.
"Yes?" he
replied, lifting his head and trying to meet her gaze. But a second later his
nose tickled and he was right back in the tissues again. "HahhhhShooo! hahhhSHOO!"
"Oh, Harry!" Ginny exclaimed, pulling back a
little more. "You're sick! You've caught what Ron had!"
Harry
nodded. "It's jusd a liddle code id by dose. Snniiiiifff!" Harry really hadn't meant to sniff like that. He knew
she wasn't so keen on the sound, and he did have tissues right there to blow
his nose into. He would have done so if he didn't think it would make him
sneeze more. The talking had made his nose tingle a little and run and he just
couldn't help but sniff. He hoped she'd rather have him sniff than see his nose
run. But, either way, he wiped his nose again and began wishing he'd brought
the whole crushed tissue box along rather than just a handful. "hah-hih-hahhh-AHHShooo! HahhhChooo!" He
gave his nose just a little blow.
Ginny
narrowed her eyes at him. "That is not
just a little cold. That is a very big cold." She folded her arms over her
chest. "Harry, why are you here?"
He snuffled
into the tissues. "Ah, because we had a date?" he answered, trying to gauge by
her reaction if that was the proper answer. From what he saw in her eyes, it
didn't look like it. "I bead, because I wadted to see you. Dot eved sdeezes
could keeb be frub you." He knew it sounded childish and cheesy, but maybe she
would buy it.
She didn't
come close to buying it. "Harry James Potter! You knew you were sick and you wanted to come down here to see me? Why?
What in the world were you thinking?"
"Well... we
were subbosed to..." He tried to give her a sweet, charming smile, and for that
he dropped his hand with the tissues into his lap and resisted the urge to
sniffle again. "Well, we haved't had a chadge to sdog broberly id quite a
while..."
Ginny
inched back on the blanket, pulling a face. He got the message, and his heart
sunk. "It's not that I don't want to
snog you," she told him. "It's that you're quite obviously sick. It's not that
I don't want to be around you, it's that you should be up in bed right now. You
need to rest in order to get better."
"I dow,"
Harry said, nodding. His nose twitched and he had to turn his head quickly,
unable to raise his hand in time to block the sneezes. "hehhhChooo! Hah-Choo!" Ginny reached into her pocket and pulled out
a handkerchief for him. It was thin but dry and certainly softer than his
tissues. He rubbed and blew his nose into it appreciatively. Then he addressed
her again. "I thought cubig here would helb be feel better, too. Beig with you
sure beats sittig id bed sdeezig by head off. Sniff! You could kiss be add bake it all better."
She shook
her head. "You're not going to get as much as a kiss on the cheek out of me,"
said Ginny. "In fact, you're going to get something quite different if you
don't head right off to bed this instant."
"Giddy..."
Harry sighed, trying to stall while he figured out what to tell her.
"Uh-uh."
She pulled her wand out. "You're sick. I don't even want you thinking about getting up and out of bed
again until you're feeling better." She sounded just like her mother at the
moment, only possibly scarier, what with the way her eyes were staring him
down, making him feel ashamed. "If you don't go right now, I swear I'll hex
you!"
Harry knew
that Ginny Weasley was not one for idle threats. Quickly he stood. "Fide! I'b
going!" he snapped, then stormed off back towards the tower.
Harry
wasn't really mad at her. He was mad at himself, if anything. He knew she was
right; he should have stayed in bed if he knew he was under the weather even a
little. But he also felt that she could have shown him a little more sympathy. "hahhh-Chuffff! hehhhShuffff!" Apart from
giving him her handkerchief, of course, which he had made great use of on the
walk back. It hadn't even made it to his pocket, he used it so frequently,
keeping it at chest level and at the ready.
Though he
knew he was risking a bad hexing from Ginny, Harry did not go straight to bed.
Instead he went to the boy's loo. He emptied his pockets of the soggy tissues
and stripped off his clothes on the way into the shower. The bathroom was
deserted, not surprising as it was the middle of the day and his fellow
Gryffindors had better things to do around the castle. He was glad to have it
all to himself, especially as his singing voice wasn't up to par at the moment.
But that
was all right. Harry didn't feel much like singing in the shower. He was much
more concerned with the hot water and steam. Within five minutes, the pressure
he felt in his sinuses was already improved. His nose still felt tickly and
stuffy, but even it felt soothed by the warm steam. Harry stood in the shower,
breathing deeply and letting the hot water rush over him. Occasionally he
sneezed but even those sneezes felt freer and more relaxed.
He had
intended to stay in until his fingers were all pruney, or longer if possible.
But after a while his nose really started to run and the sneezes came more often.
Rubbing at his nose and putting his head right under the spray did not help as
much as he'd hoped. So, reluctantly, he turned off the water, toweled down,
wrapped a towel around his waist, and ventured out of the shower.
He went
straight for the tissue box on the counter beside the row of sinks. But it
stuck to and then fell apart in his wet hand. He pulled tissue after tissue out
until he had enough layers to be useful, and then he blew his nose a little on
his way back to his dormitory room. His nose felt sore as he rubbed at it with
the tissues, and the pressure was starting to build back up again already.
When he got
there, he went towards his trunk. Squatting there, shivering and dripping, Harry
rifled around in it for a few minutes before finally extracting a handkerchief.
Then Harry pulled on his pajamas and climbed into bed for some rest. He had the
sorry-looking box of tissues on one hand, which he intended to use only to blow
his increasingly sore nose, and he had his handkerchief ready in the other. He
was certain that if he kept blowing his nose like earlier, he would sneeze as
much as earlier, and then he wouldn't be able to get to sleep. So he simply
kept his handkerchief pressed to his nose to catch the runs and apply just
enough pressure to keep his nose from tickling too badly.
"Harry?"
All too
suddenly, Harry realized he'd forgotten to pull the curtains closed around his
bed. Harry opened his eyes and looked up to see Ron hovering over him from
beside the bed.
"I ran into
Ginny," Ron said. "She told me what happened. So sorry you're sick, Mate."
Harry
shrugged, a gesture which could not be seen under the covers. "It's all right. Dot
your fault. Sniff! Was Giddy really
agry whed you saw her?"
Ron nodded,
his eyes wide to convey the extent of his emotion. "Ohhhh yeah. She called you
a git and said you must be mental to go out there when you were sick. She kept
going on about how she'd had it all planned out and set up and how much she'd
been looking forward to being with you..."
"I dow!"
Harry moaned. "That's why I thought I should show ub at least. Sniff! Add dow, sniff, sniff, dow she's bad at be."
"I don't
really think she's mad at you," Ron said, his tone sounding sympathetic now. "I
think she was just annoyed that you happened to get sick. I think she's just
disappointed and took it out on you the wrong way." Ron sighed. "Women. I'll
never understand 'em."
Harry
nodded in agreement and snuffled into his handkerchief.
"Anyway, I
just wanted to check on you and all. You look tired."
"Sniff! Sniff! I ab," Harry replied. "Thig
I'b goig to try add get sub rest." He closed his eyes.
"Good for
you. I'll just leave you alone then," Ron nodded. He slid the curtains over on
two of the three sides of the bed to give Harry privacy, then paused in the
open space by the third side. "Oh, and Harry?"
Harry
looked up. "Sniff! What? Sniff, sniff!"
"Blow your
nose, would you? That really is annoying." He said it with a playful smile, and
a smile appeared on Harry's face as well. He chuckled to himself as Ron closed
that curtain as well and left the room altogether.