(1) Brothers (A Harry Potter Fanfiction)

January 13, 1996

Harry didn't feel well. His head was thumping loudly, his stomach was twisted, and no food that he consumed would stay down. It had seemed that for the past two weeks, he had done nothing other than hide in his room and suffer. He had tried to help Snape in his lab, but the Potions Professor had shoved two potions in his hand and sent him back to his room.

There wasn't any physical reason that Harry was sick. He didn't have any sort of cold or flu symptoms, and there wasn't any sort of logical reason that could have brought on these conditions.

It had taken him two days to accept that it was the guilt that had been eating him up inside. The guilt and the shame over his actions. Ever since he had left Fleur's side, he had forced his emotions back inside their cage, but he couldn't allow himself to feel anything. Not only did he try and shove down his hate, his simmering bitterness, but the love he had for his friends and the trust he had for them. He had blocked himself off from every feeling, including those he had for Fleur. He made sure to stay away from anyone who might have him falling apart again.

After talking to Dumbledore and learning what could happen to him, he had started falling apart again. Harry had barely made it through the day but had managed to force himself to focus on his tasks, and then after dinner, he went and researched what he could on Obscurials. It was limited information, and it didn't elaborate any further than Dumbledore had just included a few cases that had been recorded.

But if Harry couldn't hold it all in, then he didn't know what to do. His thoughts were everywhere; he struggled to breathe when an overwhelming sadness washed over him, there was no moment of peace. All he wanted was for it to go away.

The aches in his body made him wonder if this was how it began, him becoming an Obscurial. He knew that Dumbledore was keeping a close watch on him, no doubt that Snape—when he checked in—was reporting back to the headmaster. No one had bothered him; Snape had only checked on him, left fresh potions before leaving. Food appeared, for every meal, on his table and then would disappear a few hours later, no matter if he had eaten or not.

Harry rubbed the sleep from his eyes and cradled his head in his hands. Even if he made it through all of this, he wasn't sure if his friendships would. He knew that it was only a matter of time before someone came knocking, and it had been Carlisle. After the day Harry had been through, he had snapped at his oldest friend, pushing him away. But when Carlisle had refused to leave him alone, he made sure to hit a nerve. Harry would never try and have sex with Amelia, he knew that the two of them would be together forever, and he would never ruin that. But suggesting that he would try was enough to get Carlisle to back off. His friend had socked him one, right across the jaw, and even though it had bloody hurt, he was glad his friend did it and left.

Jenna had appeared out of nowhere. As Carlisle marched off, she was suddenly beside me, checking my face and asking me if I was okay. She had the same worried eyes that Carlisle had beamed at him, desperate to help but concerned that something was really wrong.

Harry wasn't able to scare her off like he did Carlisle. She had helped him off the floor and onto the couch in his small living space. He had asked her to leave, which she ignored and sat beside him, holding an ice pack against his cheek.

She looked at him with some pity, her thumb had stroked his other cheek, and she said, "Why would you say such a thing to Carlisle?"

He didn't want to admit the truth. "Because he was annoying me."

"You don't mean that, and that wasn't why you said it."

"Why do you think I said it then?"

"Because you're hiding something, and rather than talk to your friends, you are keeping it in. Probably have some deluded thought that by keeping it in, you are saving us the trouble of helping you."