1-4 Nov 2001

When Sirius awoke, it was to a general feeling of un-comfortableness that was quickly transitioning to pain. Using his arms, he tried to sit up, only to fail as his body exploded into more pain. "Uuuuggggghhhhh," he managed as the world moved into focus.

"Good evening Siri," Andromeda spoke quietly. "How are you feeling?"

"Lousy," muttered Sirius. "It's quiet…"

"Yes. Alice is in my room with Frank. I think he awoke about an hour ago. I reassured him that everyone was alive, gave him a nice, strong pain potion, and he went back to sleep. I contacted Ted at work and told him to pick up Nymphadora and take her to the park or something. The boys are sleeping quietly for now."

"Even Harry?"

Andromeda laughed. " He might have had the help of a mild toddler's sleeping potion."

"Running you dry are we?" Sirius cracked with a small smile as his fists clenched in pain.

"Oh, I am a healer with a highly clumsy daughter. I'll have you know that my stocks are quite deep. And I can also grab some more from St. Mungos." Seeing the look of panic on Sirius' face she quickly reassured "I take potions all the time. Nobody will notice if I simply take stronger pain potions that normal. Speaking of which, the potion I gave you earlier should have worn off by now. How do you feel?"

"Still hurts like a bitch. But maybe a bit better."

"Good. Let me test your reactions real quick then I can drug you up and let you sleep some more."

"Okay"

Quickly, Andromeda tested Sirius's grip strength, asked him to try to move his toes, and tested where he had sensation. She marked everything down then quickly dosed Sirius with another potion before he could ask her what it meant. She didn't know. She only hoped that the fact the Sirius wasn't entirely paralyzed meant he might get better. She could hope, even if the chances were slim.

The next time Sirius awoke was to the sounds of giggling. With only a slight groan of pain he managed to maneuver himself into a little bit more of a sitting position, only to be attacked by an exuberant pinked-haired eight year old.

"Cousin Siri!" shouted Nymphadora in glee. "I knew you weren't bad! Everyone thinks so, but they don't know you like I do. I just knew that you could never ever be evil! Mummy said you were hurt, but you don't look hurt. Are you okay? Do you need any potions? Mummy always gives me lots of foul tasting potions when I am hurt…"

"Whoa there Dora," interrupted Sirius, "I'm glad you believed in me. That means a lot." He shifted uncomfortably, trying to deal with the added weight of the eight year old. "And yah, your mum is feeding me plenty of potions." With a slight grimace, he reached his arm around Dora bringing her into a full hug as Andromeda walked into the room.

"Okay Nymphadora," chided Andromeda gently.

"Don't call me Nymphadora!" interrupted Dora.

"Fine, Dora. Why don't you take Harry and Neville into the kitchen and feed them a snack. I need a few minutes alone with Cousin Siri here."

"Okay," humped Dora as she lead the two toddlers into the kitchen with promises of food.

"And how do you feel this morning?" questioned Andromeda.

"Better, I think. The pain isn't as bad," replied Sirius as he gingerly tried to readjust himself.

"That's good. I want to wait a few more minutes before giving you any more pain potion so I can take some measurements again. But first, do you need the loo?"

Sirius blushed slightly at her question.

"Sirius, no need to be embarrassed. I am a healer and deal with this sort of stuff all the time. I can help you to the loo if you feel up to it."

"I know you do this all the time Andy. Its not that, its…" Sirius trailed off, blushing more.

"Its what?"

Sirius gulped awkwardly. "Its just that… I don't know if I need to… you know… use the facilities. I can't feel anything…" Sirius felt his face redden considerably as he wished he could just disappear.

"Oh."

"Yah."

"Its okay. I'll just use a spell." Seeing the look on his face, she elaborated. "It's nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed at. We use it all the time on patients in comas or who can't get up or move for some reason. It's just… not a viable long term solution."

Sirius nodded, still wishing he could just disappear as Andromeda muttered a spell. "There, all done" she pronounced.

"That's it?" questioned Sirius, confused by the lack anything appearing to happen.

"Yes. Like I said, it is not a long-term solution. If we need one I suppose we shall have to look into what muggles do in situations like this. Now, let me check your reflexes and such and then I can give you another pain potion."

Frank felt the presence of his wife's arms wrapped around his body and the warmth of the covers. Wrapping his hand around one of hers he felt her other arm snake its way onto his chest, massage the area around his nipples. He moaned a little in pleasure at the feeling of her presence.

"Good morning husband of mine," she whispered into his ear, and then slid free of him and out of the bed.

"Don't leave," He responded.

"Sorry love. Healer's orders. I am supposed to alert Andy when you awoke."

At the mention of Andy, Frank opened his eyes to find himself in an unfamiliar room. Rolling over, he suddenly gave out a cry of pain as his right leg throbbed loudly. Moving his hand down to the source of pain he felt the presence of bandages, then… nothing. Panicking, he sat up suddenly as Alice turned to him concern evident on her face.

"My leg," he muttered.

"Shush, remember what Andy said yesterday? You lost your leg in the attack. Bellatrix hit it, there was nothing Andy could do."

Frank nodded, the events of the last couple days coming back to him. Seeing her husband relax, Alice left the room to grab Andromeda.

"How are you feeling, Frank?" questioned Andromeda as she pulled out her wand and began muttering a spell.

"Okay, I guess."

"Any pain?"

"Only when I move my leg quickly, or put to much pressure on it."

"That's good. Now just relax. I am going to remove the bandages and take a look. Hopefully it should be healed up enough to let you out of bed and into a shower."

"Sounds good," replied Frank as Andromeda's hands carefully unwound the layers of gauze and fabric surrounding his newly shortened leg. As she removed the last layer of gauze, Frank couldn't help but look down. The leg looked surprisingly good for only two days having passed. The skin at the end was smooth and pink, and there was no more bleeding. "Looks good. It is healing nicely. Would you like a shower?"

"That sounds appealing. How do I…"

Before he finished asking Alice had picked up a pair of aluminum crutches. With Andy's help, he carefully swung his leg over the edge of the bed and stood. As he inched across the room, Andy followed behind, ready to catch him.

"Okay. Alice can help you shower and I will make some lunch. If you feel up to it, you can come eat in the dinning room, but if not, that is okay. Just have Alice let me know and I can bring you lunch in here."

Frank nodded, limping his way into the bathroom, Alice close behind.

About forty-five minutes later, a freshly washed Frank slowly made his way down the hall into the kitchen, where he found Andromeda, Ted, Dora, and the two boys already sitting at the table.

"Where is Sirius?"

"Sleeping in the living room. I will bring him some food later."

Frank nodded, but could tell there was something Andromeda was hiding. The only physical injury Frank saw on Sirius was the cut to his shoulder. That wouldn't cause problems over two days later and something was clearly worrying Andromeda. Setting the worry aside, Frank started on the soup in front of him, quickly realizing he was quite hungry.

When he finished, an eager Neville cried until he was taken out of his high chair and placed on Frank's lap.

"Hey buddy," Frank cooed. "How is my big boy?"

"Dada! I play wi' Hawwy!"

"You did, did you?"

Neville nodded eagerly, "funny fa'es!"

Laughing, Alice clarified, "He means Dora entertained him and Harry by morphing her face. She is quite good at it."

Dora beamed, and immediately began cycling through different hair colors, eye colors, and even a few different noses.

"That she is," Frank replied as he let the sounds of the children's laughter sooth him. They were all safe and that was what mattered.

On the third day after the attack Sirius woke to find a small pile of boy curled up against his side. Carefully shifting onto his, although tiring, didn't prove to be too painful, a reassuring thing in Sirius' opinion. Upon making it to his right side, he realized the small pile of boy was, in fact, his godson curled up on his side. Sirius smiled and ran his fingers through Harry's messy hair. As a consequence of all the pain potions he had been taking the last few days, he had hardly been up or seen his godson since the deaths of James and Lily. Wrapping his hand around Harry, he began rubbing the boy's back, enjoying the feeling of his godson.

Andromeda entered the room to find Sirius awake and alert, seemingly not in pain. Smiling to herself, she hoped that the pain was truly gone. Her scans indicated he would never regain the use of his legs, but lack of pain would be lucky enough, considering the spell he was hit by.

"Good Morning sleepyhead. I see you have finally rejoined the land of the living. How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, actually," replied Sirius with a smile. "The pain is mostly gone, and I am enjoying the company of my godson."

"Ah, yes. This morning he decided that he could go no longer without a cuddle from you and would not relax until I let him lie down with you. Since his presence couldn't really hurt you, I figured it was alright."

"Thanks. How is Frank?"

"He is doing well considering. He was up and about yesterday, even ate lunch with us, unlike a certain cousin I have. You must be hungry."

"Starving," smirked Sirius. Then turning more somber, "he lost his leg didn't he?"

Andromeda nodded sadly. Sirius really didn't need to hear more bad news right now. Neither did Frank for that matter, which was why she had not told him about Sirius' condition yesterday. "There was nothing I could do. Now, let me make you something to eat. What would you prefer?"

"Some eggs and toast would be lovely."

"Tea?"

"Black, one sugar."

"Give me a few minutes to make it, then I'll come back and we shall try to get you sitting up. I'm sure you could do with a change in the view."

"Well, now that you mention it, the ceiling is a little plain. I have been meaning to file a complaint."

Giving Sirius a light swat on the head, Andromeda turned and left.

A few hours later, after a meal and another nap, Sirius grew antsy. He was not one who usually sat about doing nothing, and after three days of it, even if he was mostly asleep, he was growing bored. He wanted up. He also wanted a shower. A good old hospital style scourgify might keep one technically clean, but it really wasn't the same as a nice hot shower or bath. But, currently, he was stuck on the couch with only a book and a cup of tea as company. He had hoped Frank or Alice would have joined him, but apparently Alice was at a muggle toy store buying a few necessities for the boys, and Frank, after having been up and about most of the morning (not that Sirius had seen him) was sleeping again. He was bored. Grabbing the book of the table, he sighed. A Tale of Two Cities was it. At least it was something he hadn't read before. Something muggle he thought.

Just as he had settled into the surprisingly good book, the floo came alive. Sirius, on instinct, reached for his wand, only to find it out of his reach. "Dammit," he thought as he attempted to pull himself into at least a sitting position. He reached for his wand again, but it was still out of reach (next time someone else was in the room he would have to fix that) as Andromeda stepped out of the floo.

"Dammit Andy!" Sirius grumbled. "You left my wand out of reach! And me, lying here, helpless! You can't do that!"

Realizing Sirius was panicking, Andromeda quickly stepped over to him, wrapping her arms around him. "Shh, its alright Siri, you are okay. The floo is password protected. Nobody who wants to hurt you can get in. But I'll give you your wand anyways. I just didn't Nymphadora or one of the boys playing with it. Are you okay?"

Sirius nodded, his face buried in Andy's shoulder. "Dammit Andy, I was an Auror, and now I am laying here, helpless. Even Dora could take me down at this point." Tears were flowing down his checks as held in sobs.

"Its okay Siri. Its okay. We will get you better, you won't be hopeless. Everything will be okay. It just takes time." Holding her cousin tightly in her arms, Andy just sat on the bed, letting Sirius cry. Letting him cry for his lost friends, for the pain, the uncertainty, for the knowledge that nothing would ever be the same.

Frank was just about to enter the living room when he heard Sirius crying. He paused, knowing that Sirius didn't like other people to know when he was hurting. He was about to head back towards the guest room when he heard Sirius say something to Andromeda.

"How can I raise Harry when I can't even walk?"

Frank paused. "Can't even walk?" he thought. As far as he was aware, Sirius had only really been hit by a diffindio in the shoulder. Although, now that he though about it, he hadn't seen Sirius since the attack and he had been sleeping during lunch yesterday. Not normal behavior for Sirius. Leaning against the wall, Frank thought about what he knew and grew concerned. Here he was, standing and moving about just three days after his leg was blown off. If Sirius couldn't even walk, what was he hit by? Deciding that simply standing here thinking about it would only make him more anxious, Frank slowly made his way down the hall.

When he reached the door to the living room, he saw Sirius sitting in what appeared to be a transfigured bed, head buried in Andromeda's shoulder. He was no longer crying, but appeared in no hurry to move from his position. Clearing his throat loudly to catch Andromeda and Sirius' attention, Frank made his way into the living room.

"Hello Frank," greeted Andromeda as she summoned a few pillows.

"Hello Andromeda, Sirius. Mind if I sit?"

"Not at all," replied Andromeda, and she placed the summoned pillows behind Sirius back. Gingerly, she helped Sirius lean back against the pillows. Frank watched carefully and noticed the lines of pain that spread across his friend's face as he leaned back.

"How are you feeling?" asked Sirius, his voice somber, the only evidence left of his emotional breakdown.

"Surprisingly good. Andromeda here is a great healer."

"Call me Andy," she smiled, "Anyone who bleeds out more than a pint of blood on my floor is part of the family."

Sirius barked in laughter. "Guess you have to keep me now!"

"Don't remind me!" she retorted.

"Sorry about that…" muttered Frank.

"Nonsense. Now plop that butt down into that chair and let me grab you boys some lunch. It's nearly three and soon Dora will be back from school. Not to mention Alice will retuen the boys. You two will need your energy." And with that, Andy left the room, leaving the two men to talk.

"So…" began Frank, unsure of wear to start.

"Right…" replied Sirius. He looked down at his hands nervously. "Are you really alright?"

"Yah. I mean I'd prefer to have both of my natural legs, but as long as I keep both eyes I shouldn't look too much like Moody."

Sirius grinned, "Maybe you should try to get a replacement leg that clanks a little less than Moody's. Would help with the whole sneaking up business."

"True, but I think I might go for a cane. I've seen just how often he smacked you with it when you misbehaved."

"Oi! Not fair, that man likes to smack anyone!"

"Fair enough. But enough about Moody. How are you?"

"Fine."

"Sirius, I went to school with you and James for five years. I know when you are lying. So cut it out and tell me what happened. All I remember is getting my leg blown off then you nailing Bellatrix. Feeling the anti-portkey wards fall, I got us out of there. So spill it. Fill me in."

Sirius sighed, and then rubbed his eyes. "She got me with a curse right before I blew here up. A nasty one. I got lucky, I guess, in that I killed her before the curse was completed."

"What is the curse?"

"Tenebris Opstupefio"

"Don't know it."

"Not surprised. It's a real dark one. Black family curse. Even my parents disapproved of it. It paralyzes a person completely and subjects them to pain similar to the cruciatus curse. Since they can't move or speak, Healers try to keep them alive, not knowing that their patient is in excruciating pain. There is no cure."

"Damn."

"Yah. Like I said, she didn't get to truly complete it."

"How bad?"

"I can't move anything from about mid-chest down. The pain started real bad but is going away. It's nearly gone except when I move now. Andy thinks it will be completely gone by the end of the week. Like I said, I guess I got lucky."

Frank sat there in silence. What does one say in response to that? I'm sorry just doesn't really cut it. Instead he just sighed and the two continued to sit there staring at their hands until Andy arrived about five minutes later, bearing sandwiches and pumpkin juice.