(Author's notes)
Hello everybody! I just thought that I'd share just a cute little fluffy scene between Harry and everybody's favorite Godfather! Enjoy! ^_^
(Story)
It was in the middle of the night, as it usually was when Harry had his nightmares. Once again, he was sitting in the library, lighting a fire to the large fireplace that resided on the room. After a few attempts of starting a fire, he got it lit and began blowing into it, increasing the flames. After a few minutes, the fire began roaring in the big fireplace. As Harry sat on the edge of the fire and felt the warmth of the fire, he glanced around library and began thinking about the past year.
He'd defeated Voldemort more than a year ago and he, Ron, and Hermione were able to squeeze in the sessions they missed. Miraculously (along with Hermione's help) the three of them managed to graduate with the rest of their class. Not only were they able to graduate, but Sirius had managed to finish his trial that day and he was a free man again. Harry was honored that the first thing he did as a free man was to see him graduate.
After his graduation, Harry was bombarded with job offers, ranging from Auror at the ministry to working at a peddlers cart in Diagon Ally. Harry tried to move into the Leaky Cauldron as a home, but the press continued to follow him there. Sirius himself had been followed constantly from the press following his trial. After enduring the invisible torture of the press, Sirius and Harry decided that they would both move back to 12 Grimmauld Place where the Fidelius Charm would hide them form the public.
However, Harry was still not able to hide form the aftereffects of the battle. He continued to have nightmares about the war at Hogwarts. He often woke up in a cold sweat after re-witnessing his friends and peers being mercilessly killed off by death eaters; or the screams of the dying or loved ones watching them die. Tonight was such a night. After breaking in cold sweats, he would after go to the bathroom (careful not to wake Sirius) and splash himself with cold water to calm the nerve, and then return to his bed to try to go to sleep again. Tonight, however, Harry decided that he'd had enough of trying to go back to sleep…back to those horrible nightmares.
That's it! I'm not going to have those nightmares again! I'm going to stay up and have a peaceful night for once in my God-damned life!
That led to what Harry was doing at this very moment…sitting in front of the fire re-thinking about the past year. After a while, he began to feel the heat of the fire and he went to the bathroom once again. He successfully made it upstairs and to the bathroom without waking Sirius again and he immediately went over to the sink. He filled up the sink with the cold tap water and he started to splash his face with the cold water again. As he rested his hands on the sides of the sink, he looked into the mirror and just glanced at himself in the mirror. He then noticed something that never happened before. A few streams of water ran from his face where he'd splashed himself, giving off the impression that he was crying.
…Oh what I wouldn't give to cry right now.
Harry began thinking about all of the pesky events that've happened the past year.
They follow me everywhere.
Harry lifted his hand and touched the mirror where his scar was.
Now I'm stuck in this house…as is Sirius. He's stuck back in the place that he despises the most because of me!
Harry thought back to when Sirius asked to move in with him, how insane he though Sirius was for asking that.
God…I didn't want this for him!
Harry then moved his hands to the mirror frame.
I love him! I love him so much! I didn't want to be a burden!
He lifted the large mirror away from the wall.
I'M TIRED OF BEING A BURDEN TO THE PERSON I LOVE THE MOST!
With that last thought and shaking hands and trembling breath, Harry felt the strength in his arms increase ten times as he threw the mirror across the bathroom. With a crash, the mirror rammed into the wall and shattered. Harry flinched at the noise, realizing how loud it was. He then heard Sirius's muffled voice form the other side of the wall.
"AH! Oh my God, what the fucking hell was that!" Sirius's muffled voice exclaimed. Harry gasped and widened his eyes as he heard Sirius.
"Shit!" Harry said quietly to himself. He dashed out of the bathroom door and began to sprint down the hallway, only to crash into Sirius. As they both fell to the floor, Sirius instinctively clenched onto Harry, protecting him from the fall. After Sirius landed on his back, Harry go ton his arms and knees and stared down wide-eyed at Sirius.
"Oh God! Sirius, I'm so sorry! Are you all right?" Harry asked. As Sirius saw him panic, he reached his hand out and placed it on Harry's neck, smoothly caressing his hair as he did so.
"I'm fine Harry, I'm fine." Sirius reassured Harry. Sirius then noticed how he was caressing Harry, soothing him with his hands in his hair. He then noticed how scared and sad Harry looked as he looked down at Sirius.
Gods…I wish this sadness about Harry would disappear already. He doesn't deserve this.
"Harry, what were you doing so late at night? And what was that crash that I…oh my God! Harry, what did you do to your hand?" Sirius said as he noticed Harry's hands as he was getting up. Harry gave him a confused look as first before looking at his hand. The palm of his has a deep gash in it.
"Shit! Must've happened with the mirror." Harry said.
"The mirror?" Sirius said. He instantly got up from underneath Harry and strolled over toward the bathroom. Harry just sat there cursing at himself for saying that aloud. As Sirius glanced at mirror, than Harry, than back again, he pieced together the scenario and then made a final gaze at Harry.
"Oh Harry…" Sirius said, sadness becoming apparent in his eyes. He then walked back to Harry and kneeled next to him as gingerly took his hand, caressing it gently with his thumb.
"…Why would you do that Harry? Now you've hurt yourself! Hold on, let me go downstairs and fetch my medic kit from downstairs." Sirius said. Before Harry could protest, Sirius went into his room, retrieved his wand, and headed downstairs. Harry just continued to sit there and squeeze his eyes shut; because he knew that before you reached the medic closet, you had to pass the library. Harry head Sirius a moment later.
"What the…? Harry, you had a fire going too? How long have you been up?" Sirius asked from downstairs. As Sirius spoke, Harry got up off the floor and headed downstairs. He then sat on the last stair and watched Sirius find the medic wipes and wrap. As soon as Sirius finished finding the medic equipment, he turned and strolled over to Harry, who was keeping his head down in shame.
Sirius gingerly took Harry's hand again and gazed up at him.
"Harry…what were you doing up so late? And what would drive you to break the mirror upstairs and hurt yourself?" Sirius asked. Harry just simply kept his head down in shame, not even trying to look up at Sirius. After a few moments, Sirius heaved a heavy sigh and tapped Harry's hand with his wand, healing the gash. Sirius couldn't completely heal the wound though, as there was still a very big scratch in Harry's hand that trickled with blood.
"Oh, come on boy!" Sirius exclaimed as he clasped Harry's hand and led him into the library. Harry felt himself holding his breath.
Oh my God! Sirius is holding my hand!
Sirius made Harry sit on the couch with him as he continued to clasp the hand while cleaning the blood from it.
"Harry…please…please tell me what's the matter." Sirius gently pleaded. Again, Harry didn't respond. Sirius heaved another sigh of defeat, and returned to cleaning Harry's hand.
"…Nightmares." Harry quietly said.
"What?" Sirius asked. Harry then perked his head up a bit.
"Nightmares. I get them every single time I go to sleep, I dream about the war and all of the people dying a-and the screams and…the chaos…and Voldemort's face!" Harry exclaimed. As he talked about his dreams, he brought his free hand to his face, hiding his watering eyes. Sirius sat there frozen and wide-eyed as he heard the boy exclaim his nightmares.
"Harry…how long have you been having these nightmares?" Sirius asked.
"…A while. Many years now. They haven't gotten better since the dream I saw of Mr. Weasley getting attacked by the snake. They used to just be occasional things but now…!" Harry quietly said. HE tried to push a few more words, but the lump in his throat stopped him from doing do. Sirius felt his own sadness swell inside him as he saw the boy he loved begin to break down.
"Oh Harry…" Sirius gently said as he began to lift his hand to Harry. However, he brought his hand back once Harry began to speak again.
"But tonight…I've just had enough of the nightmares and I didn't want to go back to sleep. So I came down here and made the fire. Then I went upstairs to the bathroom and…and my mind began to wander. I thought about how everyone's been asking me how I'm doing since the war and…you being stuck here because of me!" Harry exclaimed. Before Sirius could protest that last statement, the boy continued waiting.
"I mean, you're stuck here in the place that you despise the most because of me! I know that you've wanted to walk free out of this place ever since you were found innocent but…you can't do that now! In the end I…I couldn't stand to look at myself in the mirror! God, I'm such a burden!" Harry whispered as he began to sob in his hand. Sirius stared at him wide-eyed in shock.
He's been suffering this much for so long?
Sirius lowered his head, wondering what he could do or say. He'd never received any form of comfort whatsoever form his family, and his time with his friends were always happy times; so Sirius had no experience with a situation like this. He closed his eyes and wondered what he could do to help Harry. In the end, Sirius just decided to trust his gut on this.
Sirius reached his hand out again and gently landed it on Harry's neck, caressing his hair once more.
"Harry…" Sirius said as he moved his hand away from Harry's neck and le this fingers graze the boy's cheek. Harry felt himself shiver and tense up at the touch.
Please Sirius…don't touch my disgusting face like that…it doesn't deserve your beautiful touch.
But Sirius didn't stop. Instead, Sirius moved his fingers from Harry's cheek to under his chin, gingerly clasping it.
"Harry…look at me." Sirius softly asked. At his command and the gentle conducting of his fingers, Harry took his hand from his face and turned to Sirius. As soon as Harry made eye contact with him, Sirius scooted himself closer of his hands, intensely and sincerely gazing at him.
"Harry…you are not a burden. Don't say anything!" Sirius gently commanded as he moved his thumb over Harry's lips, stopping him from protesting.
"Harry, a burden is when you're forced to do something that you really don't want to do. Harry, this is no burden to me! I wanted to bring you here and keep you hidden and safe in a quiet place because…well, because I love you Harry!" Sirius said. Harry felt the fingers on his face claw out and tense up at Sirius spoke those last few words.
He loves me? Did he just say he loves me?
"And Harry…I really don't mind coming back here to this place because…" Sirius lowered his head and retreated his hands back to Harry's injured one. After a few moments, Sirius lifted his head back up at Harry and spoke again.
"Because I love it when you're here with me! I have somebody that I care for dearly by my side; and that helps me to get through the awful memories! This place is truly home to me when you're here in it with me." Sirius claimed. Harry could've sworn that his heart skipped a few beats as Sirius exclaimed all of this to him. Sirius then finished up cleaning the blood off of Harry's hand and began wrapping the injured hand with the wrap.
"…So please Harry…no more of this 'burden' nonsense because you are not one." Sirius softly said as he gazed at Harry while wrapping the injured hand. Sirius then pinned the wrap in place and clasped Harry's hand with both of his.
"…You're no tone at all." Sirius whispered before kissing Harry's hand ever-so-lovingly. Harry felt the mixture of joy and sadness as Sirius kissed his hand. Sirius then calmly watched as Harry leaned forward and rested his head in his chest.
"…You promise?" Harry asked, ignorant of how innocent he looked to Sirius. Sirius then lowered his head toward Harry's head and nuzzled his nose in Harry's hair.
"Absolutely." Sirius whispered, now letting his hand run through Harry's hair and press him closer to his chest. He then started kissing Harry's hair. After a few moments, Harry backed away from Sirius's chest and gazed up at him. As green and hazel eyes collided, a spark emerged. Harry relaxed his eyes as he stretched his neck toward Sirius, and Sirius leaned down toward Harry. They grazed each other's lips, both of them hesitating. Harry then closed his eyes completely and gathered himself.
"…Thank you." Harry whispered, and sealed their lips. Sirius slightly gasped through his nose at first, and then he let his eyes close and relaxed as he returned the kiss. It was a sweet and simple kiss, with nothing more that Sirius's hand on Harry's cheek. After a few moments, Harry broke away from the kiss.
"I love you too Sirius Black." Harry proclaimed to him. With that, Sirius moved his other hand up to Harry's other cheek and pressed his lips against Harry's, deepening the kiss as he help Harry's cheeks. Now their lips were parted and the kiss became more open as they poured out all of their passion, their desperation…their sheer love. After they both broke away from kissing, Harry spoke again.
"Hey Sirius…what if we went for a walk sometime; you know, with the press behind us? And, we'd be holding hands as we walk and every once in a while, kiss right in front of their faces." Harry asked with a playful grin. Sirius just smiled and laughed a bit as bliss swelled in him.
"You trouble-maker, you! Come here!" Sirius said as he tightly embraced Harry and fell back on the sofa, laughing as they fell.
"I'd love that Harry! But…not nearly as much as I love you." Sirius said with a soft tone as he gently smiled at Harry. Harry blushed and chuckled as he sweetly kissed Sirius once more. After they broke away, Harry rested his head on Sirius's chest once more, placing his injured hand over Sirius's heart, feeling it pump. Sirius, in turn, placed his own hand on the face of Harry's hand and gingerly clasped it. Now they were both feeling his heartbeat.
After a while, they both started to notice the warmth of the fire and each other. Both of them relaxed as sleep came over them. Even in his sleep, Sirius still held Harry's hand close to his heart. This contact from him made Harry not mind going to sleep. As long as Sirius was by his side, protecting and loving him, Harry felt safe and secure as he slept in Sirius's arms. For once in his life, Harry had a peaceful night.
(Author's notes)
Reviews are glady welcomed! I hope that you've enjoyed this one-shot scene as much as I had writing it!