...GOoHS...

Chapter 2

A Bit of Residue

Not for the first time ever, Harry woke up feeling a bit off. His head was swimming and his vision foggier than usual. Of course, he still had to get to his glasses but that didn't matter because the dull pain in his head made it hard for him to stay focused anyway – with glasses or not. He could feel a headache coming on. He left it alone and went to the bathroom to get ready for the day. By the time he was done, his head had begun throbbing.

Harry could vaguely remember the first time something like this happened. Usually, his head would throb painfully for a few minutes and then he'd be fine. Fine but exhausted.

However, this was different. Whatever it was that was wrong with him, it seemed to intensify that morning. It never reached a full five minutes before and the pain only seemed to become worse with every second that passed.

He was torn between waiting it out or going down to ask his parents for some kind of potion. On the one hand, this wasn't new to him. Sure it lasted longer than the previous ones but he was able to wait it out. Asking for help might seem easier but the way his mother treated them every time they got sick or injured kept popping up inside his head. She was unstoppable when it came to her children and he was sure that the moment he told them, he would seal himself to a fate where he would be resting in his bed, wrapped in multiple layers of sweaters and blankets, and being slowly tortured by a horrendous excuse for a healing potion his mother was sure to feed him.

Nevertheless, Harry forced himself to go downstairs and meet everyone for breakfast despite his body's protests. He shouldn't panic. There were many possible explanations to this if he just thought about it. Maybe he just had an oncoming cold. He might have caught it from staying in the cold library for hours without a blanket or warm clothes. After all, it was nearing winter.

Harry eventually reached the dining room where he found his family just getting ready to start breakfast. To his surprise, the three of them were dressed for an outing. Odd. He was never notified.

"Oh! Harry! There you are!" Lily exclaimed as she finished placing a plate of waffles on the table. The house elf she took the plate from, scowled, obviously displeased at her actions, and popped away to somewhere in the manor. "I was about to send an elf up to wake you." She added while putting food on Lucas' plate.

"W-What's going on?" Harry asked her. Lily didn't reply immediately. She looked a bit distracted. She was moving so quickly, like she needed to get everything done before whatever it was that she was expecting was going to happen. James, thankfully, stopped her from moving around for them to actually start their meal.

Everyone else dug in except for Harry. He was still expecting an answer and he seemed to have lost his appetite. Maybe he was sick after all.

"What's going on?" Harry asked again.

All three of them looked up at him in mild shock. Lily and James even exchanged confused glances.

"Blimey, Harry! Did we forget to tell you?" James asked him.

Harry shook his head. "Tell me what?"

Lily, who had her hand cupped over her mouth, looked at him apologetically. "We meant to tell you, really. It's just that… the party last night was so… There were so many people and we couldn't say no. And… apparently, we said 'yes' to a ceremony in honor of the Prime Minister's second-degree cousin. He was said to be the youngest ever to receive an Order of Merlin, third-class. And we said 'yes' to the invitation last night… I think. We don't really remember much of what happened."

Harry felt his stomach twist uneasily. He didn't know if it had something to do with his current condition or the fact that his parents were leaving him alone so early in the morning. This was a first. They only ever left in the afternoons and evenings. Never in the mornings.

And they never left without notifying him the day before.

"Harry? Are you alright?" Lily suddenly asked, concern evident in her voice. She had stopped fussing over her husband's choice of robes. She noticed that her son wasn't eating anything and he looked a lot paler than he normally was. That sent her on edge.

Harry forced a reassuring smile at her and tried to pull himself upright. He didn't know why but he was feeling lightheaded. His headache had worsened and the pain in his stomach wasn't helping. His eyes widened when he tasted bile coming up to his mouth and he immediately clamped it shut with his hand. 'Oh no…'

"Harry?" Lily said, standing up and going over to him.

Harry got up from his seat before she could even reach him and ran to the nearest toilet. Lily's panic went up in full force and she immediately followed.

"Harry!" Lily shrieked as she reached him. She was horrified when she found Harry over the toilet bowl, emptying his stomachs of all its contents.

"James! James!" she called as she knelt down to help her son and rub his back soothingly. Harry kept gagging and spitting and Lily had to steel herself. She never liked it when her children got sick.

"Shh… Come on…" She kept rubbing his back and whispered soothing words to him.

Harry pulled his head back and shuddered. He didn't understand how he could possibly feel like he had more to vomit out. He hadn't eaten anything. Before he knew it, he was facing the toilet bowl again.

He felt his mother's hands on his back and heard his father's frantic footsteps outside along with Lucas' wailing.

Something was different in his vomit. It didn't taste like bile. It tasted somewhat metallic. He pulled his head back again and stared horrified at the toilet bowl.

He had vomited blood.

His mother must have noticed too because he heard a sharp intake of breath from her. She stopped rubbing his back and instead, reached for a towel and wiped his mouth. She didn't say anything as she carefully hoisted him up and guided him out towards the living room.

James was with them in a heartbeat. He took one look at his wife's face and he knew this was nothing good.

"I-I'll take Lucas." He stuttered as he hurriedly moved out of the way. He paled at the sight of his son weakly clinging onto his mother as he was being guided towards the fireplace.

Travelling in his state probably wouldn't bring any good to Harry but Lily disregarded that thought. She needed to get her son to St. Mungo's and fast. Her heart pounded inside her chest and her grip on Harry tightened. Was he going to be alright?

Lily fretfully paced around the hallway as she, James, and Lucas waited for a healer to come out and tell them about Harry's condition. The rational side of her told her not to panic. After all, it had only been forty or so minutes since the healers saw to her son. Harry got medical attention immediately after arrival so she was relieved at that, at least.

Still, for it to take this long… She didn't want to think about it but she couldn't deny the possibility that something was horribly wrong with her child.

"Lily, sit down."

Lily's head snapped towards her husband. She stopped pacing but she gave no indication of heeding his words.

James patted the seat next to him and said, "Come on. You've been pacing the entire time we got here. Sit down."

Lucas, who sat on the chair on James' other side, looked at his mother. He looked worried.

'Maybe it's because of the way I look right now.' Lily thought as she made her decision and sat down next to James. Nobody could blame her though. She was a worried mother and that was the type of person no one should cross or question.

Lily sighed and put her hands up to her face and slid them down with another sigh. She felt James rub circles on her back and she felt grateful for the comfort. James reached out and had her look him in the eyes.

"He's with the healers. They're doing all they can. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. He'll be fi-"

James didn't get to finish his sentence as a door swung open and a healer stepped out. Lily got up in a flash and ran up to talk to him. James looked at Lucas and squeezed his shoulders.

"Why don't you… uh… stay here for a while, buddy? We're gonna talk to that healer over there. Can you do that for me?"

Lucas wasn't thrilled with the idea of being left alone but he wisely kept his mouth shut. He didn't like the idea that Harry was getting their parents' attention while he was left alone.

Lucas nodded slowly and James grinned at him.

"Alright. Just stay here okay? You see mummy, right? We'll be over there. Okay?" James gave him one more squeeze on his shoulder before standing up and going over to where his wife was.

"…and it's very complicated." the Healer said as he looked at a clipboard he was carrying.

James arrived just in time to hear him say that. Lily's face looked stricken when he saw it.

"Excuse me, what did you say? W-What's complicated?" James asked the healer. He felt Lily's hands gripping his arm and he instinctively placed his hand over them.

The healer's face said it all. Whatever had happened to his son, it was nothing good.

"Mr. Potter, I… well, your son's condition is very… unusual. And complicated. I've looked at his medical records. He seemed healthy at birth-"

"He was!" Lily interrupted.

"Yes but… I don't know if you've noticed but somewhere around the age of two, his weight has been slowly declining. It's a little change but…"

"And you're saying that that's the reason why he…"

"Partly. Did something happen between age one and age two? I mean, I know about the attack on Godric's Hollow but-"

"The attack… Voldemort? You mean Voldemort's attack had something to do with this?"

The healer cringed at the name. "We don't know if it's possible but… as you well know, being exposed to Dark magic can have some effects. When there were healers looking over him and his brother… did they say anything about..."

James thought back to that night. If he remembered correctly, there was a bit of a commotion over the signature of dark magic that hovered over his children. However it was…

"It was far more noticeable on Harry…" James mumbled as his eyes widened. "Yes, I… that night, I remember them talking about it. The… The Dark magic, it was particularly stronger on Harry."

The healer slowly nodded but he looked like he expected James' answer. "This is just a hypothesis, but it's the closest thing we have to an explanation. We found a small trace of dark magic in him. Maybe it's still clinging to him even after all these years."

"Then we cleanse it. We take it out of him." Lily told the healer, her eyes burning.

The healer shook his head. "I'm afraid it's not that simple. The remnants of the magic, it's deep inside him. It's difficult enough to remove a curse mark on the skin but this… something deep inside his body… that's a risk I'm not willing to take."

"And what? You're just gonna leave it there?!" Lily yelled at him.

"Until we find a solution, then yes. I'm afraid it'll have to stay."

Lily looked ready to curse the healer and hex him to bits.

"I'm sorry. I know it's difficult but please hear me out. Having something like that inside a person… it can cause many problems. You've already seen them this morning."

James gasped. "You mean… the vomiting and the…"

The healer nodded. "Yes, that and his weight problem. I don't know if more problems will arise in the future so I'll need you two to steel yourselves. This is something we haven't encountered yet. If what you say is true and he got that magic residue from You-Know-Who's attack… then he's had dark magic for six years inside his body. And we don't know enough to foresee what other complications it might bring in the future. I'm sorry."

A/N: Okay, so I'm hoping at least one of you get what I'm trying to do here. The dark residue bit and stuff (INSIDE him *hint* *hint*). It's plays a huge part in this and I don't know if you've connected the dots or not but oh well. I tried. At least it's still hidden and still waiting for the "dramatic" reveal.

And yes, NOT COOL, I come back as if nothing's wrong when in fact I've vanished from the face of the world in months. Err… I'm really sorry? I'M SAARRREEEEHHHH! NO! COME BACK READERS!

(I apologize for the grammatical errors. My english is dying)