"Seriously Harry, you've been like this for weeks now and it's only gotten worse. I insist you go to see Madam Pomfrey."

As he had grown ever more tired with the passing days, he had also grown more irritable, and gave Hermione a sneer for her concern.

"Don't look at me like that Harry, you know it's true. How are you ever going to keep up with your classes if you're sleeping through them?"

"I'm still getting E's and O's aren't I?" he asked with narrowed eyes as they neared their classroom.

"Yes, but only because you're staying up half the night studying."

"You do the same thing," Ron pointed out.

"Yes, but I also sleep before going to class."

Harry stifled a yawn and said, "Give it a rest. I'm not going to Pomfrey and you're not either."

She crossed her arms and gave Harry her own sour look. "Suit yourself, but when they place you in remedial everything, then don't come begging me for help." She hurried on ahead of them and once they were in the classroom, made it clear that there was no room for Ron or Harry at her table in the front row. Harry was insistent on sitting in the back anyhow, for as much as he tried to keep his eyes open during his classes this day, his vision blurred after a few minutes and his head bobbed as he drifted off.

Ron prodded Harry awake twice to add things to his cauldron, and once Harry cut his finger because he was too tired to hold the knife correctly.

"Maybe she's right," Ron said. "You already lost points in Transfiguration. Just think what Snape will do if he catches you sleeping or exploding your cauldron."

Harry yawned again and rubbed at his eyes, which were raw from being rubbed so often.

"Just stop, ok? I just need to concentrate."

"Why don't you just go to Pomfrey?"

"Because." His tone had such finality in it that Ron didn't press any further, even though he wanted to.

Truth be told, every time Harry drifted off at night, he was met with dreams so full of death, destruction, or abuse, that he woke immediately after. If Voldemort wasn't sending him visions of his most recent atrocities, then he was reliving his own horrid summer at the Dursleys, where he had once again been unceremoniously dumped into the shed with his things, and been made to scrounge for food around the neighborhood. Luckily, he thought as he tried to read the instructions in his book, he had been smart enough to keep a little Muggle money with him when he returned from Hogwarts, so that he could walk into town for supplies now and again, even if they did consist of potato chips and other cheap things that wouldn't go bad in the shed full of spiders.

Harry was just remembering vividly waking up on his first morning back covered in large spiders when suddenly there was a bang and he was so startled he nearly fell off his chair. His eyes shot open and he looked up, startled to see his furious Potions master standing in front of him, fist on his desk where he had slammed it down.

"How dare you sleep in my class Potter?" The man was seething and Harry's eyes were wide for the first time that day. He would never admit it, although he was fairly certain that Ron knew, but he was often intimidated by the tall man with curtains of black hair. Normally he was up to acting defiant to cover his fear, but today was not one of those days and Snape seemed to realize it.

"Arrogant, self-conceited, spoiled, disrespectful Potter," the man ranted on in front of everybody. Harry was tense and felt like he couldn't breathe. Snape reminded him forcefully of Uncle Vernon on his bad days... on the days that Harry usually ended up with black eyes or broken bones.

"I'm sorry," Harry squeaked out.

"Get out of my classroom Potter." It was a deadly tone and Harry hastened to obey.

"Be back here at seven o'clock sharp or you'll wish you'd been eaten by a Grindylow!"

Harry hurried out of the class, bag slung over his shoulder and didn't stop until he was down the corridor and around the corner, where he let his head bang against the wall behind him. That was too close, Harry thought. Maybe Ron and Hermione were right. After catching his breath he made his way up to the Entrance Hall, noticing that the Gryffindor hourglass had suddenly lost a good fifty red rubies, and was disheartened. He wouldn't be popular for a few days after this he thought.

Thinking that he might be able to get a short nap between now and detention, he sluggishly made his way up to his soft bed, and was out cold as he hit the mattress.

* * *

"This floor had better be shining Potter, or you'll be here all night until it's done."

"Yes sir."

Harry wanted to not turn his back on the man when he started scrubbing, but he had no choice, no matter how vulnerable and uncomfortable it made him feel. He just had this feeling that one day Snape would snap and hex him senseless... or worse, roll up his sleeves and splay him out on the stone floor. No hexes came however, and the night wore on at an excruciating pace.

His stomach grumbled from sleeping through dinner, and Snape took to ranting at him every now and again about respect and being a disgrace even to the name of Gryffindor. Harry tried to listen but his mind was fuzzy. His sleep had been absent of nightmares during his little nap, but he'd been woken all too soon by Ron and sent on his way down to the Dungeons.

At least I'm doing something, Harry thought to himself as nine o'clock came and went. If he weren't here he'd be trying to fall asleep and being dragged into nightmares worse than he'd ever had.

Finally it was nine forty five and Snape seemed to have given his last rant for the night. Harry was dismissed with stern warnings not to disrespect him again by falling asleep in class, and headed up to the dorms.

"How'd it go?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged as he passed by on his way up the stairs, hopes of getting some decent sleep gripping him tightly. "Scrubbed floors. Got told off. Pissed him off." He didn't wait for Ron to say anything else and kept walking. It was only fifteen minutes before he was back downstairs again with his books. Ron and Hermione had no idea that he'd been out cold before being woken by a gripping dream of Voldemort trying to murder him with his bare hands, laughing manically all the while.

"What are you working on?" Ron asked.

"Potions apparently," Harry said as he rubbed his tired eyes for the thousandth time that day. "Snape gave me extra homework... half a foot on respecting my elders."

Ron stuck his tongue out at the thought and left Harry to it.