Hey everyone,
This chapter is going to clear up just how badly Sirius' state is, how he survived and where's he been – or at least a bit in regards to the latter. Also, for those wanting to say "There is no way Sirius could survive being stuck somewhere by himself for so long" I would like to refer to a statement he himself made in the PoA movie:
"I DID MY WAITING! TWELVE YEARS OF IT! IN AZKABAN!" The environment of where he's been staying won't be as bad as Azkaban was, plus the guy has a sense of endurance and stubbornness that he is practically infamous for. That and this is fanfiction. You don't like those explanations, don't read this story.
No more objections,

Venquine1990
Shout-Out To:
Tyler'sPrincess
V.L. Crawford
Aradia1967
Jostanos
Kirsty21


Chapter 02
The Grim In Pain

21st of December 1996
Grimmauld Place, London
Harry's POV

Madam Pomfrey nods at Dumbledore and instantly rushes for the wounded dog, running her wand over his bleeding form. And the sight of the blood seeping back into his wounds, which close up slowly but shortly is finally enough for my own strength to leave me. I stumble over and sag through my knees as I fall down in front of them.
Madam Pomfrey looks at me, but I just crawl over to Sirius' head and lie it in my lap. This makes the woman grimace, but she doesn't object and I silently thank her for this. Especially because, just the ability to hold my godfather's Animagus form in my hands and have his head lying in my lap, makes his survival that little bit more real.
I then turn to the one being who has made all this possible and I say: "Go help Draco, Kreacher. Remember the restrictions, but do what needs to be done to keep him healthy. And please, send Dobby over to help us. I know he'd rather be here and you rather be there." The Elf looks at me startled and then vanishes with a pop.
"Not to mention I know your presence can't be any good for Sirius' mental state." I think to myself as I try to make sure to run my hand through the fur on his head while avoiding any potential wounds, even the ones Madam Pomfrey has already treated. The woman herself seems busy checking the form over, both inside and out.

And just the growing look of horror and amazement that grows on her face as she continues waving her wand over him makes it harder and harder for me not to let my own growing concern be felt through the strength of my hand running through the fur. The woman finishes her wand waving and lets out a soft exclamation.
"Good Merlin, there is just no stopping this man." We all look at her and she turns to Dumbledore as she says: "I won't lie to you, Albus. It really is fortunate that we found him now and not two or three days later. His health is bad, but, if we had, he would have been too weak for any of us to do anything. It would have been too late.
And while my readings prove that he really is just too resilient for his own good, would even his own magic and body have given up on him sometime around New Year – if we hadn't found him." And the sound of all this, even the relieved tone of her voice at the end, isn't enough for me not to break down in horrified relief.

I bend my body over Sirius' form, the dog trying valiantly to raise his head up to mine and his rogue tongue running over my cheeks, licking up the tears that seep out of my closed eyes as I can only focus on one thing. Madam Pomfrey saying we were almost too late, that Sirius would have died if we hadn't come here.
"He's going to be alright, Harry. Madam Pomfrey will tell us what we need to do and we will follow her recipes and instructions to the letter. You have your godfather back, now we will make sure he will be back to full health." Bill says, coming to sit beside me and from the corner of my eye I notice the other two adults nod at this.
I hiccup and show them a small grateful smile, laughing a little as Sirius hits a ticklish point under my chin as he licks up another tear. "Thank you, all of you." I whisper before bending down a little further over my godfather's form. And the other three allow me to do so and just remain quiet, giving me the chance to regain myself.

I draw comfort and strength and reassurance from the way that I am now almost completely bend over the Animagus body and the fact that, even though I can sense how weak he really is, he is here. This takes me a couple of minutes and then I pull up again, using a conjured handkerchief to wipe my face clean afterwards.
I mutter another statement of gratitude and then Bill asks: "What do we need to do?" And Madam Pomfrey turns from the caring witch she was the last few minutes to the professional healer I know her to be. "I will not lie, Mr. Black does have a long path ahead of him before he will be back to full health, that is for sure.
The first thing you all need to understand is that changing him back, whether by his own power or by the spell, is not allowed. I know that the stomach of a dog is bigger than that of a human and while his has shrunk, is it also full of rocks, which I can only assume is the only thing in his environment that he could eat at the time."

This makes me look at Sirius in shock and Dumbledore hums: "The environment he was in must have been a replica from the Room of Death." Sirius whines and nods at this before Madam Pomfrey says: "That will also explain all those injuries. Obviously he had to slam his body into those rocks to break them in order to eat them.
Now, as I was saying, transforming is out of the question. The rocks are already messing up his stomach and filling the most of the space inside. If he were to transform, his stomach would shrink even more and that could cause even more injuries, if not deadly ones." This scares me and I nod, showing I understand.
The woman grimaces for a second, proving she feels bad for scaring me like this before she goes on: "The same can be said for his other organs, though they are in a better state of health. However, he will need a plethora of potions and will have to keep taking these for a very long period, until halfway through January at the least.

I also recommend that he rests at almost all the time. Keep him calm and make sure he rests at soft, comfortable locations. Couches, soft chairs, beds, blankets, floors that have a carpet on them, stuff like that. I'm not saying he shouldn't move at all, but for the next couple of days, I would recommend keeping the movement to a minimum.
However, if he wants to move or if he needs to go, let him. As for the latter, I'm afraid that the rocks have caused some nasty problems there as well. It would seem that, because they were only broken down to pebbles, but not small pebbles, he is suffering from a very bad hemorrhoid. It will need a salve applied twice a day."
At this Sirius whines, but I turn to Bill and then to Madam Pomfrey and say: "Have a Hogwarts House Elf send the salve to the room I share with Ron at the Burrow. Bill will keep quiet about this and I will apply it myself when Ron's asleep. I always wake up before him anyway." The woman nods and Sirius licks my hand.
"I have no reason to tell mum or the others about this. Just the fact that Sirius is alive, but injured will be enough to keep them busy." Bill then reassures us all and then Madam Pomfrey turns to him and says: "Speaking of your family, see if you can get some Puking Pastilles from your twin brothers." This shocks us all.

The woman turns back to Sirius and says: "His stomach is both shrunk and badly affected by the constant lack of anything other than rocks. Even if he drinks a bit of water, it might upset his stomach something horrible. The antidote part of those pastilles should prevent that from happening. It might still hurt him, but not as much."
At this Bill nods, but then I smirk and say: "Leave that to me. The twins – well, we have a little deal between us." The other three all look at me, but I just keep quiet and Bill and Dumbledore smile, while Madam Pomfrey rolls her eyes and says: "Very well, see you get that done before you feed Mr. Black anything, just to be sure."
I nod, hoping that the twins haven't left for the store yet and determined to go there myself if they have. Madam Pomfrey then turns back to Sirius and says: "Now, let me just summarize everything. Mr. Black will need to take several potions to help restore his internal organs, will need plenty of rest and only minimal exercise at first.
He will need to be kept in soft locations such as on beds and couches and carpets and Mr. Potter will need to apply the salve twice a day. And remember, most importantly, he is not to transform until his stomach has taken back the usual size when it comes to a dog and the stones he has eaten have been reduced and taken out.

Now I do admit that I could try a Vanishing charm, but because of how many stones are in his stomach and because of the shrunk size, I just don't want to risk that, lest I actually vanish his entire stomach instead. Therefore, he will need to take various potions that will hopefully break the stones down and change their texture.
This will make it easier for him to release them from his form without further injuring himself. Though unfortunately, it will still hurt the first few times, so I won't be surprised if his body will try to do so in his sleep, to save him any further conscious pain." I nod and say: "I will make sure to feed him pain relief in the morning, then."
The woman nods, smiling shortly before she frowns and says: "However, I do know one problem we have on our hands right now. Mr. Black is extremely weak and both Apparation and Floo are just not plausible options of travel for him right now. Floo is too wild and Apparation will make him really feel the internal injuries."

This makes the other two frown and grimace, but I smile as I already know for sure that we are being overheard even now. And indeed, a pop sound is suddenly heard and I feel as if we moved from one place to another with the speed of flipping a switch. This startles the other three, but I just smile and whisper: "Thank you, Dobby."
Yet then I notice that, while Bill and I are actually out on the field in front of the entrance to the kitchen, just slightly out of sight of the kitchen windows, Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey aren't with us and Bill says: "Looks like whatever brought us here, took them inside and left us out here. Wonder why."
"Because of who we're with, of course. Even if your mum sees Dumbledore with Sirius, she will probably curse first and ask questions later. She is too constantly concerned and worried." Bill grimaces at this, but he does nod and we all look at the Burrow, all three of us wondering what is going on inside.

In the kitchen
Dumbledore's POV

"I really should have seen that coming." I think as Molly yelps in fright at the sight of us suddenly appearing in the middle of her kitchen. "Apologies, Molly. We were at London and had to be taken here by House Elf as transport through either Apparation or Floo just – oh, I see that Dobby went a little further than expected."
I say as I notice that Poppy is the only one here with me and while I really hope that Sirius has been laid down in a soft grass patch or something, does this make Poppy grimace. "Albus, what? Why were you at London? Why was Poppy with you? Are Harry and Bill alright? Surely the place wasn't –?" Molly whimpers in the end and I shake my head.
"No Molly, there were no threats or Death Eaters anywhere near. No, it would appear that, somehow, Sirius survived the Veil. He was, instead, left in an environment that I can only imagine was a mix between Azkaban, thus locked or sealed up in someway and the room of the Veil itself, thus with nothing but a rocky raised dais."

The woman looks at me flabbergasted and then Poppy moves over and waves her wand over a small bit of parchment that lies on the table next to the Weasley matriarch. "My most recent check up results, of only a few minutes ago. As you can see, these results can only come from someone in the situation just described."
Molly instantly reads through the results and I share a quick look with Poppy, who lets off the softest of nods, proving that she did indeed let out the hemorrhoid that Sirius is suffering from. "How – how – how is he –?" Molly asks, her voice breaking and Poppy replies: "By sheer force of will and an incredible stubbornness.
Not to mention his incredible core as his magic has been keeping his form alive for several weeks now. However, his core was draining the longer it had to keep doing this and I can honestly say that he would have only been able to do so for another week, at the max. After that, he would have surely died, if only in his sleep."

The woman lets out a soft shriek of horror and I say: "However, Poppy has already given both your son and Harry instructions and has assured us all that, if we follow these instructions, Sirius will make a full recovery. Can he and Harry count on you and yours as well, Molly?" And instantly the mother I know has a heart of gold replies:
"Of course, the poor dear. I can't believe I never saw him for the brave, strong soul that he was. Holding on with the desire to get back to Harry, even if – oh Merlin, if his room really was sealed off, he must have only had the Veil as his exit and he must have feared that it would kill him if he did go through. That poor man.
Oh, I was so horrible to him last year, so degrading. Wait a minute, where are they?" She shrieks in the end and I answer: "Probably outside. I can only imagine that Dobby, the House Elf that brought us here, feared you would curse Sirius, because you would see him as someone wanting to trick and hurt Harry before you would hear us out."

The woman looks horrified at me for this, but I smile at her and say: "It is just the little Elf's way of being like you, Molly. Overprotective and with a need to take things better safe than sorry. And if you see the state Sirius is in, how weak he is, you will probably agree." The woman nods tentatively and I pull out my wand.
I conjure a Patronus, allowing for the Silver Phoenix to land on my arm as I say: "It's safe, you can come in. Molly has been informed." And the Phoenix flies straight through the window after this. "Molly, please change your flooring. Sirius needs as much comfort as possible. Try and put carpet everywhere possible."
Poppy tells the matron who nods. And just as the hardboard floor changes into a soft, fluffy carpet, do Harry and Bill come in, Bill using his wand to levitate Sirius in. The man smiles as he sees this, yet his mother lets out a soft scream of horrified shock. Yet Harry just motions Bill with his head and leads the older man into the living room.

We all follow him, Sirius having turned his head away in shame as he heard Molly scream, but when Bill walks into the living room, does Harry say: "Lie him down here, Bill. He needs it." And we all smile as Harry has come to stand in front of the fireplace that is now also stationed here, even if it's not connected to the Floo.
Instantly Molly rushes over and a flick of her wand sets the fireplace ablaze, Harry smiling at her gratefully. And as Bill lies Sirius down, do the other Weasley kids and Mss. Granger come down, their faces proving they have been listening in. "I know we all just heard it, but – I – I still can't believe it." Ronald mutters, his face showing his shock.
And while Molly obviously wants to reprimand him for listening in, does she ignore it and then I spot something very fortunate. The twins are actually still here and are nodding in agreement with their younger brother. Harry notices it as well and smiles widely before he says: "Fred, George, I need a word with you two."

And after he looks to make sure that Sirius is lying comfortably close to the fire, does he move over to the two and actually lead them out of the living room, closing the door behind them. Molly looks at this confused and Poppy says: "Molly, Sirius' main injury is in his stomach. Even just a bit of water might upset it.
Because of this, did I advise William to have his brothers provide Sirius with the Puking pastilles as I know the antidote part will prevent this from making his state even worse. However, Mr. Potter told us to leave it to him instead. It seems that is what he is doing right now. And no, Molly, he wouldn't tell us why we should leave it to him."
Yet just by looking at young Mss. Granger and Ronald, do I know that they are aware of what this could be. I look at them inquiringly, but Ron shakes his head and says: "This is something for either Harry or the twins to reveal. I would love to, but it's not my story. And I already know that trying to change it is just impossible."
The three of us nod and then we hear the Floo activating in the other room. Yet just as one of the twins and young Harry come in, do I notice something. Something that makes me glad I hadn't put my wand away yet as I move to stand in front of Sirius and aim my wand at a large shadow. And from this someone walks out.


Wait, who is it?
Well, I think the title already gave it away, but now that Sirius has been taken to the Burrow and Molly, Bill and Harry are all aware of what he is going to need to heal, I feel it's time we focus on both the title of the story and the answer behind the mystery of where Sirius has been staying for these many long months.
Let's do this,

Venquine1990