"We'll take the lot!"

He grinned as he passed over a handful of the large gold coins. The seller, an elderly woman, who hunched over her rickety cart returned her smile. Some part of Harry twitched at that smile. It was not a good smile; it was something dark and unhealthy. A smile that lurked in the shadows of the radiator vents, and around the corners of the bushes.

In a moment, Harry dismissed that smile though. He would be able to have candy! As much as he wanted; and all he could eat! The most he'd ever had was a small bite of a Mars bar that Dudley had dropped on the floor and then had skittered under the couch that one time. A few years ago.

His stomach clenched at the thought of finally getting something to eat. Uncle Vernon had made it clear that he was not happy that Harry had gone shopping with Hagrid; and while they did not take away his new room, nor did they hit him with the frying pan again, they had also decided that he only needed water to eat. Harry still remembered the words the man had used. "After all, if Jesus can go forty days and forty nights with no food, then the little freak can make it until his damned school starts."

Of course, that was neglecting to mention that he'd only had a small bag of chips the previous week, and the week before that he'd only gotten a slice of bread that he had dredged in bacon grease. All-in-all, Vernon had never really needed an excuse to ensure that Harry did not eat for weeks at a time.

Shrugging his shoulders, Harry glanced around at the piles of candies that his gold coins had bought him. Strange, oddly colored boxes, with even stranger names. Charm Chocs in a red and blue metal tin. A red foiled wrap bar of something labeled Honeyduke's Best. A cardboard box apparently filled with Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. And a dozen others.

A massive stash of flavors and tastes that were just as new as the train ride, and the shopping trip and his magic wand.

Harry grabbed the first box within his reach. "Chocolate Frog" the box read, and had an animated picture of a frog bouncing around it. He opened the box, and felt the candy inside twitch.

A sudden horrifying thought slipped through his mind, and he looked up at his new friend. "They're not real frogs are they?"

The boy looked up from where he had been digging through the pile of candy, a smear of chocolate and red filling striping one cheek, and he shook his head. "Nah, they're just magicked a bit to hop around"

Harry nodded and then opened the foil wrapper. In a flash, the frog had jumped out, and landed on the compartment's window. Another hop, and it was outside and swept away by the wind of the train's movement.

Harry blinked as he realized that his first candy had ran away from him.

"That's too bad," came Ron's response to the fleeing candy. "They've only got the one good jump in them usually."

Harry glanced at the trading card that was left in the package, and ignored Ron's talking about it. Instead Harry grabbed another package. This one was labeled chocoballs. It was wrapped in clear cellophane that had stars swirling around it. He unwrapped the thing, and found himself holding a hand sized ball of chocolate cake; red and white cream was swirled around in the middle between the two halves, and a white icing was drizzled on top.

Harry bit into it, and savored the mix of flavors: chocolate, strawberry and clotted cream.

This was wonderful. This was beyond anything he could have dreamed of.

In two more large bites, the first chocoball was gone. Harry glanced down, and saw that there were five more of them. In a matter of moments, they had all followed on after the first.

And so it went. Sweet after sweet, consumed, eaten as fast as he could.

A box of chocolate cauldrons.

Packages of Fizzing Whizzbees were alternated with cups full of Glacial Snow Flakes.

Pumpkin Pasties, Ice Mice, and Nougat Chunks followed on.

Even the Jelly Slugs, Cockroach Clusters and Blood flavored lollipops were eaten. Though the Cockroach Clusters, which were bundles of caramels, with nuts and what appeared to be the legs of some insect, did give him pause before he just shrugged and ate them.

Harry had no idea that when he said "we'll take the lot" that he would have this many different flavors and experiences. This much new. It was an uplifting, and marvelous experience.

Best of all, for what felt like the first time in his life, young Harry Potter was actually feeling full. He twitched as his body fought the conflicting demands of his body both marveling at the energy of having food, and desiring to take a nap due to actually having enough food in his stomach.

This was what life should be like! Was the thought that ran through his head as he leaned back against the comfortable seats. Not even the annoying blond boy, or the bossy girl could really get a rise out of him.

A swell of nausea rippled through him. He groaned at the sudden sensations. A click glance showed that Ron was lost in his own world, half asleep while his pet rat chewed at something chocolate.

A half forgotten memory floated through his mind, of his aunt chastising Dudley with the comments of that he should not eat too many sweets before dinner if he did not want a stomach ache.

Harry glanced at the small mountain of discarded papers and tins from all the candy that he and Ron had eaten during the first half of their train ride, and sighed.

"Maybe we did over do it just a bit," he muttered more to himself. He took a deep breath and held it a moment, before slowly exhaling. Then he did it again. The disturbing churning in his stomach settled slightly, and Harry decided that a short nap might just be in order.

He started awake as the train jerked.

An bored lady's voice echoed from the walls. "All students, please leave all luggage in the train. Your bags will be delivered to your rooms."

Harry dismissed the voice, and hurriedly finished pulling on his robes. A quick glance outside, saw that students were already starting to mill around the platform. He gave his new friend a quick shove, and a few minutes later they were following Hagrid down a poorly lit path, to see Hogwarts for the first time.

After the sorting and the Headmaster's nonsensical words, another pile of food appeared before them. Harry glanced around at all the various dishes. More food than he had every seen in one place before. Even counting the small mountain of candy that they had eaten on the train ride up to school. Roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, sausages, bacon, steak, joints, steak and kidney pie, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, mashed potato, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and peppermint humbugs.

It was all he could do but laugh. He grabbed slices of the roast beef, and a couple of sausages and four rashers of bacon. Pushing aside the steak and kidney pie, he served himself a giant helping of the Yorkshire pudding and some of the peppermint humbugs.

Then he ate it all. Halfway through his plate, he was once again, awarded that delicious full feeling. He knew thought that he could eat more than that single plate he had gotten; after all, he saw Dudley eat more than that at every meal.

So, he forced himself to clear his plate. Then loaded it up again. This time with chips and gravy and steak and some more of those wonderful sausages.

After finishing the second plate, he groaned slightly, and the Irish boy, Seamus, laughed at him. "Looks like Harry has a bit of the meat sweats!"

The girls around him, just kind of sniffed, while the boys laughed good naturedly. Harry blinked, it was the first time that he could remember anyone laughing at him good naturedely.

He smiled slightly in response, but before he could say something, all the food disappeared.

A moment later, desert apperared across the table. An overflowing cornucopia of deserts; blocks of assorted ice cream, apple pies, spotted dick, chocolate gateau, treacle tart, pumpkin tart, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, and rice pudding.

Harry recognized all of these. He had made most of these for the Dursleys at one time or the other, but had never actually gotten to try any of them before.

Ignoring the full feeling that currently crammed every inch of him, he got large servings of all the deserts within reach. Éclairs and doughnuts and tarts and five different flavors of ice cream. Vanilla, chocolate, plum, strawberry and pumpkin.

And again, he cleaned his plate. For a moment, Harry worried that he would need to be carried to his new dorm room, wherever that happened to be.

Then as a wave a nausea and light-headedness washed over him, he considered just laying down right there and going to sleep.

The Headmaster made a few more odd remarks, and the students as a whole stood. A second later Harry followed, and stumbled along behind the mass of students with red trim on their collars. As he climbed the hundreds of stairs, fire seemed to flare in his chest, rising from his stomach until it burned hot and bright just below his collarbone.

Harry wanted to do nothing more than go find somewhere to hide, and possibly vomit.

But he knew what would happen if he got sick. He had experienced that before, and had no desire for a repeat.

Finally, they arrived at their dorms, and the Prefect said something about the boys not being allowed up the girl's stairs, and the first years should have the dorm on the first landing.

Harry of course, was focusing entirely on the acidic burning twisting fire that seemed to want to consume him from the inside out.

Somehow he made it into a bed, and shivered under the heavy comforters. He twisted himself up into a small ball, hoping that would stop the burning twist. Instead it seemed to make his heart pound louder and faster than ever before. It was a constant, thump-thump that sang in his ears, as silent tears sliced down his face.

Darkness etched at his vision.

The last thought that passed through his mind before the darkness fully claimed him was: "How can Dudley stand to eat so much if this is what he feels like afterwards?"

A/N: The title is a reference to Refeeding Syndrome. This is something that can be deadly to adults that have been starved, or provided less than adequate nutrition, and then are able to eat huge amounts.