A/N: Here's another vignette.  This is wonderful therapy for my otherwise drained brain!  Okay, I know I'm probably going to get some reviews discussing how I haven't covered every possibility, that Professor Thornby didn't have to stay awake with Harry until she collapsed because this or this could have happened, but I'm aware that I may have missed something.  It was hard for me to figure out how to do this and I don't think the circumstances are airtight, but I feel I've tied up the loose ends well enough to post.

PhoenixTearsp322: Yes, I know that Professor Thornby doesn't seem very Slytherin-ish.  You're not the only person to say so.  You've hit the right note, though, in that she used to be somewhat different and has changed.  She's got something of a past and somehow I never got around to making a point of that, so Harry's just going to have to be surprised with everyone else when it comes out.  (Don't worry, she was never a Death Eater or anything like that.)  I didn't have her use the "Disillusionment Charm" because it didn't exist when started this story a year and a half ago.  Phoenix was not published at the time and I had the details all planned out in my head.  Even if I had wanted to incorporate the charm, though, I wouldn't have remembered it.  I didn't even think of it until you mentioned it.  I have read Phoenix twice, but it was my least favorite book (again, due to Whiny Harry).  As to the number of house-elves, I figure there would be between six and eight.  The exact number wasn't crucial to the story.  A lot more would be funny… pop, pop, pop… but that would be too many for one house.

Pepperjack: Long time, no see!  It's great to have a review from you again.  Lucky you – Sirius IS next.  And I changed the name from "In Another's Eyes" to "Back Stories" because of the wording you used in your review.  I like "Back Stories" a lot better.  I like your name too, by the way.  I love pepperjack cheese.  Mmm.

totallystellar: The force-feeding scene is here, though it's not so funny when it's actually happening because Sirius is so distressed at the time.  Poor guy.

Danae: I'm glad you have something else to look forward to because I'm so fried on the other story right now.  I'm hoping that by the time the weekend rolls around I'll be rested up and ready to go again.

Two: The Vigil (Sirius Black)

"It's over."

"It is?"  Sirius sat up from where he had been leaning against a tree.  "Why?"

"Dumbledore doesn't know why the Death Eaters decided to leave, but they have gone," said Lupin.  He shook his head.  "I don't understand.  They might yet have destroyed Hogsmeade entirely.  Why would they give up now?"

Sirius was thinking the same thing.  There had been dozens and dozens of Death Eaters in the village; he would never have thought that Voldemort could recruit so many people so fast.  And this is only the beginning, he thought grimly.

Lupin peered around the tree trunk to look at the village, several hundred feet away.  Sirius had been forced to hide in the stand of trees when he wasn't out scouting as a canine, and even then his coat had had to be changed from black to brown.  There were too many people who might recognize his Animagus form.  Still, Sirius was glad to be helping in any way at all, and he was away from Alverbrooke for the first time in a long while.  When the news of the attack reached them, Lupin and Bellaton had tried to convince Sirius not to come, but he had insisted.

"Are they gone?" asked Sirius.

"Nearly," said Lupin.  Sirius leaned over himself to see the Ministry Aurors heading away from Dumbledore and back into the village.  "Stay put, you fool!" said Lupin.  "If you can see them, they can see you.  All they have to do is look this way."

"That idiot Fudge," Sirius said darkly.  "One whole day he waffled before sending Aurors, and he still won't admit that the attackers were Death Eaters.  Does he need to see Voldemort with his own eyes before he'll believe?"

"Probably," Lupin said dryly.  "Oh, this is interesting – Severus is coming up to Dumbledore.  It looks like he's running."

"That coward," Sirius said derisively.  "The rest of us spend three days in the mud trying to save Hogsmeade, and where has he been?  Back at the nice, dry castle."

"I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with you on that point," said Lupin, squinting at the faraway figures.  "Severus is many unpleasant things, but he's no coward.  If he's been at Hogwarts the whole time, he must have had good reason."

"Yes, well, I'd love to hear it," said Sirius.  "Even Dumbledore doesn't know why he stayed."  It was true; Snape had never answered the headmaster's summons to Hogsmeade though the other resident professors had.  No word had been received from him since.

"Ardoc is motioning us to come back," said Lupin.  "I think we'd better hurry – he seems anxious or excited or something."

"I think we're about to hear why Severus has been in hiding," said Sirius, and he transformed back into a dog.  Lupin turned his coat brown, and the two of them left the stand of trees for the edge of the village.

"Hurry up, you fools!" Snape barked as they came trotting up.  Sirius transformed back into himself and opened his mouth, intent on giving Snape the rough side of his tongue, but the Potions Master cut him off.  "Your godson is dying, Black.  We have to leave now."

Sirius felt as if he had been hit between the eyes.  "What?"

"Apparate to Alverbrooke," Dumbledore said crisply.  "The breakfast room."  Sirius opened his mouth to demand more information, but Dumbledore cut him off.  "Not now, Sirius!  Just do as I say!"  He vanished, and the others followed suit.

They all appeared in the breakfast room, and Dumbledore immediately began to shout.  "Celeste?  Celeste!"  They quickly made their way toward the main staircase, calling her name the whole way.  Sirius' mind was racing frantically.  Dying?  I thought he was only sick!

There was a crack, and a house-elf appeared in front of them.  There were tears streaming from its tennis ball eyes.

"Pip!" Dumbledore exclaimed.  "Where are they?"

"Upstairs," the elf sobbed.  "The green room.  Mistress will not wake up; Pip does not know what to do!"

But the wizards had not stayed to listen.  One and all they were racing up the stairs to the third floor.

Snape burst through the doorway first, followed closely by Sirius, Dumbledore, Lupin, and Bellaton.  Sirius froze when he saw the scene before him, and the others had to push him out of the way to get by.  He barely noticed.  Harry was lying in a bed, still and pale.  On the floor next to him lay Celeste Thornby.  Her chest was rising and falling with the even rhythm of sleep, but Sirius could see no such movement in his godson.  For one terrible moment, he was sure that they were too late.

Snape and Dumbledore bent over Harry, pushing open his eyelids and feeling for a pulse.  Sirius remained in the doorway as still as stone, watching.  Snape exhaled slowly.  "He's alive, and not nearly as far gone as she said he was," he said quietly, glancing down at the woman on the floor.  "We are in plenty of time."

The adults let out a collective sigh.  Lupin shoved a chair beneath Sirius just as his legs gave way. 

Snape pulled a vial of white liquid from his robes and uncorked it.  "We must get him to take this, though."

"Unless you have a syringe, I don't see how you'll manage that," said Bellaton.

"A what?" said Snape in scandalized tones.  "Do you take me for one of those Muggle butchers they have the nerve to call a doctor?  No, Potter will be swallowing the antidote."

Sirius' head jerked up.  "Antidote?!"

"Why, because you said so?" said Bellaton, barking a short laugh.

"That usually does the trick," said Snape, and he gave Bellaton a sardonic smile.

"Antidote?" Sirius repeated forcefully.  "What exactly is the nature of Harry's illness?"

A scowl returned to Snape's face.  "Be silent, Black," he spat.  "The longer you distract me, the longer the poison eats away at him."

Sirius was so shocked that he didn't reply.  Poisoned?  His head swam, and he was suddenly very glad to be sitting down.

"Allow me," said Dumbledore.  He gently pried Harry's mouth open.  Snape poured the liquid in and Dumbledore shut Harry's mouth.  They waited for a few moments, but he didn't swallow.

"Foolish boy doesn't know what's good for him," Snape said.  There had been no heat in his voice, but Sirius glared at him anyway.

"Now what?" Lupin said worriedly.

Dumbledore calmly reached down and pinched Harry's nostrils shut.  A moment or two went by, and then Harry reflexively swallowed.  A fit of weak coughing followed.

"That should do it," said Snape.  "Give him a few days and he will be back to his insufferable self."

Sirius snarled when he heard his godson insulted.  "It would be like you to kick him while he's down."

The look Snape shot back was so superior that Sirius ground his teeth.  "Can't you tell the difference between when I'm truly being insulting and when I'm not?  No wonder you've been a blister on my heel for the past quarter-century."

"Stop it, both of you."  Dumbledore spoke softly, but it was all he needed to say.  Snape crossed his arms in the most supercilious manner and turned away.  Sirius ignored him.  He wanted answers, and he wanted them now.

"Harry's not the only one here who needs help!" Bellaton said sharply.  He was shaking Celeste rather roughly in an attempt to rouse her, but to no avail.  He carefully scooped her up into his arms and stood up.

"Let me see," said Snape.  He peered into her face and put a finger against her neck.  "She is deeply asleep.  I expect she will wake when she is ready."

"Thank you," said Bellaton, and he carried her out of the room.

"Are you sure she's only sleeping?" said Lupin as Bellaton left.

Snape gave him a withering look.  "Use your eyes," he said, waving his hand toward the workbench on the other side of the room.  "She has been looking after Potter for three days."  He picked up an empty bottle from the nightstand and sniffed it.  "Stamina Potion.  I'll wager she's not slept since she arrived.  And neither have I," he added.

Bellaton returned alone.  "The house-elves are putting her to bed."

"How did all this happen?" said Lupin calmly.

Snape looked at Dumbledore.  "Please, tell the tale," said the headmaster.  "You are the only one here who knows it in full."

"Very well," said Snape.  He drew himself up, and Sirius realized that he was going to enjoy being the center of attention.  "It starts when we received the summons to Hogsmeade at the castle.  Perhaps some of you are thinking that I was too cowardly to join in the defense of the village, but that is most certainly untrue."  His black eyes glittered at Sirius.  Sirius was anxious to hear the story, but he couldn't resist baiting Snape.  He smiled sweetly back, and Snape scowled.  "I received an owl at almost the same moment.  It was from Celeste, saying that Potter had been poisoned with Dragonthistle Potion and she could not make the antidote herself."

"Dragonthistle?" Lupin murmured.  "Harry should be dead."

"An astute observation," Snape said acidly.

"Who poisoned him?" said Sirius, his voice icy cold.

"His fool relatives," said Snape.

"What?" roared Sirius, leaping to his feet.

"Temper, temper," clucked Snape.  "You always were rather hot under the collar."

"Easy, Sirius," said Dumbledore, though his aged face was troubled.  "I have a feeling that we have not heard all."

"No, you haven't," said Snape.  "According to the letter, the whole thing was nothing more than an unfortunate accident."

"Accident?" hissed Sirius.  "The Dursleys have never been kind to Harry.  He doesn't complain, but I know he's unhappy there.  I'm sure this was an accident that they were all too willing to let happen!  I should wring all their necks!"

"Please do," Snape sneered, "because then we can send you back to Azkaban for good."

Sirius rounded on him, but Dumbledore cut them off.  "Enough!" the headmaster shouted.  "If this baiting does not stop this instant, we will wait for Celeste to wake up and tell the rest of the story!"

"As you say," Snape said smoothly.  Sirius nodded reluctantly, but he still looked daggers at the Potions Master.

"As I was saying, Potter's relations gave him the poison under the false notion that it was some kind of 'home remedy'."

"A remedy for what?" mused Bellaton.

"You will have to ask Potter," said Snape.  "They got it from their friendly neighborhood Death Eaters whom we all know as Fergus and Ludmilla Blake.  Don't waste your breath," he said when Sirius opened his mouth.  "They'll be long gone by now."

Dumbledore shook his head wearily.  "They couldn't get within fifty yards of the house due to the wards, so they used the Dursleys as their go-between.  Clever."

"There wasn't much in the letter after that," said Snape.  "As soon as I finished reading I started the potion.  The headmaster never answered my owl, so I came to Hogsmeade as soon as it was done."

"I never received your owl," said Dumbledore.  "Did it return?"

"I have no idea," said Snape.

"Why didn't you come to Alverbrooke to make the potion?" said Lupin.

Snape's lip curled.  "I didn't think of that until it was too late," he admitted.  "This is one of the most complicated antidotes of all.  I couldn't just pack up and move once I was in the middle of it.  This took me three sleepless nights to finish."

"I wonder why Celeste never tried to contact us," Sirius said.

"I am sure she did," said Dumbledore, "but the chain broke somewhere along the way.  Whether the owls were killed or the letters were lost in the battle, we never got the news."

"Still, all's well that ends well," said Bellaton.

"There is something here that does not make sense," said Snape.  "I went to your quarters, headmaster, to get the unicorn's horn and finish the potion.  I found a small pile of notes on the floor.  Apparently Celeste had tossed them through the Floo network.  I looked at a few on the top, and she made it sound as if Potter were at death's door.  Yet when we arrived he was not nearly so far gone."

"And he could not have overcome the poison on his own," said Bellaton.

"Potter does love to save the day, but he could not save himself here," said Snape.  "No, I think that she did something other than give him all these antidotes here, and we won't know what it was until she wakes up."

Sirius stood up and began to pace around the room.  He was full of inner turmoil; part of him raged against the Dursleys, another wanted to weep for sheer relief, and the rest contemplated Snape.  Sirius was sure of one thing – if Snape had not spent all that time on the antidote, Harry would be in a very dire position right now, whatever Celeste had done.  It was time to swallow his pride and give credit where credit was due.

"Severus," he said.  "Thank you."

Snape raised one dark eyebrow.  "I didn't do this for you."

"I know," Sirius said evenly.

"Yes, well, you'll want to save the rest of your thanks for our sleeping professor.  From what her notes said, we might not have come in time had she not done… whatever she did.  Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I have earned the right to sleep myself."

"Sweet dreams," said Lupin with a smirk.

Snape narrowed his eyes.  "As long as they don't include you, Potter, or Black, they will be.  Anything else will be most welcome."

"There, now," said Dumbledore after Snape had gone.  "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"It galls me to be beholden to that greasy git," Sirius said bitterly.  "But since he helped Harry, I'd kiss him if he asked me to."

Lupin laughed softly.  "I'd say there's little chance of that."

"Thank God," said Sirius.  "Now Celeste, on the other hand… I wonder if she will require a thank-you kiss."

"From a ne'er-do-well like you?" laughed Bellaton.

"My rebellious nature is one of my most endearing qualities," Sirius said lightly, and the others chuckled.  He grew serious once again as he stood up and walked over to Harry's side.  "He doesn't look any different," he said.  "How can we be sure that the antidote worked?"

"Severus is a master craftsman," Dumbledore said wryly.  "There are few that can rival his skill."

"He's too pale," Sirius complained.

"Are you referring to Harry or to Severus?" Lupin joked.

Dumbledore rose from his chair with a very stern expression.  "This goes for both of you," he said, taking in Sirius and Lupin with his eyes.  "You had better learn to cooperate with Severus.  One of these days you will be bickering when you should be working together, and the result will be disastrous."

"How can you set us down and spare him?" said Sirius, feeling his anger rise once again.

"I will speak with him when he has slept," Dumbledore said evenly.  "Now, let us hear no more of this pointless feud.  One of your foursome is long dead, another has become a Death Eater, you are a convicted murderer, and your life runs on the lunar cycle," he said, looking at Sirius and Lupin in turn.  "You both have more important things to worry about than whether or not you have the last word."  Sirius and Lupin nodded, and the headmaster seemed satisfied.  "I suggest you all get some rest," he said.  "Some of us will have to return to Hogsmeade to help with the rebuilding."

Dumbledore and Bellaton left the room, but Sirius and Lupin lingered.  Sirius pulled a chair up to the bedside and sat.  Lupin hovered over his shoulder, looking down at the sleeping teenager.

"He looks so much like James it's almost scary," said Lupin.

"But he doesn't act like him at all, except on the Quidditch field," said Sirius.

"I expect we have the Dursleys to thank for that," said Lupin.  "You'd think he'd have turned out badly after all that neglect, but he didn't."

Lupin's words were like a dagger in Sirius' heart.  Neglect.  All Harry's years without love could be traced back to one bad choice.  If only he had remained Lily and James' secret keeper.  Why had he ever suggested Wormtail?  Why hadn't he been able to see Peter for what he was?

"He hid it well," said Lupin, and Sirius realized that he'd been speaking aloud.  "We've been over this before, Padfoot.  There was no way you could have known.  You were doing what you thought was best.  The guilt lies with Wormtail and no one else."

"Harry may have turned out well, but I wish Dumbledore had never sent him to live with the Dursleys," said Sirius.  "I know he had his reasons, but to have a family that doesn't want you… you might as well have no family at all."

Lupin smiled sadly.  "More than once I wished I could have taken him myself, but how could an impoverished werewolf raise a child?"

"I didn't know that," said Sirius, twisting to look up at his friend.  "He would have liked that.  You would make a good father."

"I wouldn't have been his father.  I could never have replaced James."

"Of course not, but maybe you'll have children of your own someday."

"Let's not kid ourselves," said Lupin.  "I will never have children because no sane person would ever marry a werewolf."

"Then we'll just have to find a nice, insane lady for you, Moony," Sirius teased.  "But if we can't, we'll just end up a pair of old bachelors together.  I don't think the girls go for escaped convicts any more than they go for werewolves."

"Maybe if we found two insane ladies?" Lupin suggested.

Sirius laughed bitterly.  "Do you ever look at your life and wonder how it turned out to be such a mess?" he said.

"Our lives aren't over yet, Padfoot," Lupin said quietly.

"No," said Sirius.  "But when I was Harry's age, I never imagined the things that would happen to me.  One of my closest friends was murdered, another betrayed me, and I spent twelve years in Azkaban."  He reached over and took Harry's cold hand.  "By God, I won't let anything like that happen to him."

"There are a few obstacles in our way," said Lupin.

"Then we'll overcome them," Sirius said firmly, "starting with the Dursleys.  I don't care what Dumbledore says; Harry won't be going back there ever again."

"This time I think he might not disagree with you," said Lupin.

Sirius squeezed Harry's hand, and Harry's fingers twitched.  "Hah!  Did you see that?" Sirius exclaimed joyfully.

"I did," said Lupin, smiling.

"I suppose the old bat does know what he's doing."

"Just don't let Dumbledore hear you saying things like that."

Sirius gave his friend a feral grin.  "I'll do my best to hold my tongue in front of Snape, but I fully intend to go on slaughtering him in private."

Lupin attempted to stifle a yawn behind his hand.  "If you're staying, Padfoot, then I'm going to get some sleep," he said.

"I'm staying until Harry wakes up," said Sirius.

"That could be a while."

"So be it.  Sleep well."

Lupin left, and Sirius turned his full attention back to his godson.  "Hang there, Harry," he said fiercely.  "We'll not be abandoning you again."

**********

Sirius paced back and forth across the floor.  The room was not small, but it was beginning to feel that way with five people inside.  Sirius felt like a tightly wound spring that would violently uncoil at any moment.

"Sirius, will you please sit down?  You're giving me a headache," said Celeste.

"No can do," Sirius said brusquely.  "I couldn't possibly sit still."  In truth he was getting a headache himself, but it was from the tension, not the motion.  They had been waiting for three days for Harry to wake up, and Sirius had reached the end of his rope.  Healer Bigelow had said that Harry would come around at any moment now, but that moment seemed very long in coming.  It was like waiting for water to boil – it never happened while you watched.

"I still can't see why I can't wait with Dumbledore," Sirius complained.

"Because I said so," said Healer Bigelow.  "Harry's first few minutes awake should be very calm, and you're anything but."

"Just so you know, we've got your room all ready for when you collapse afterwards," smirked Bellaton.

Sirius gave him a dour look.  He had slept as little as possible since arriving at Alverbrooke, and the others were constantly trying to get him to rest.  He knew that Bellaton was only teasing, but everything seemed to be getting under his skin that day.  He felt like needling someone, and his eyes fell on the hapless Remus Lupin who was sitting quietly in a chair, reading a book.  "How can you just sit there?" Sirius charged him.  "Don't you realize that Harry is about to wake up?"

Lupin sighed and put down the book.  "I won't be seeing him until some time after," he said.  "You're going to monopolize him."

"Well, I am his godfather."

"Only because I turned the job down first."

"What?"

"Only joking," said Lupin, picking up the book again with a smile.

Sirius resumed his pacing.  "What on earth is taking him so long?  You'd think that six days of sleep would be enough."

The others grinned at each other.  "We'll make sure Harry knows that he's not quite resilient enough for you," said Bellaton.

Dumbledore appeared in the doorway.  Sirius froze in his tracks.  The headmaster smiled, and Sirius leapt through the doorway and down the hall.  He skidded into Harry's room to see his godson sitting up and grinning at him, looking as healthy as a normal fifteen-year-old should.

"Sirius!" he shouted.

It was the sweetest sound in all the world.  Sirius threw his arms around Harry and burst into passionate tears.

Harry squeezed his hand.  "It's all right, Sirius, I'm fine."

Harry was trying to console him!  The realization only made Sirius cry harder.  He never cried in front of anyone; his father had always called tears a sign of weakness.  But in that sublime moment, Sirius didn't care who heard or saw.  Harry had finally made it, and it was the happiest day of his life.