Hey! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. I had to go on two road trips and I had absolutely no time to write. But I'm making up for it with the length of this chapter. Please leave a review at the end of a chapter and tell me what you think. If you have any ideas or suggestions for what you'd like to see later on in the story, feel free to let me know!

Green-Eyed Tears Confrontations

Bright light shone through Harry's eyelids. He pried his tired eyes to reveal sunlight streaming through tall windows. There was white everywhere and everything smelled…well, clean. As his eyes adjusted to a vague blurriness, it began to dawn on him where he was – the Hospital Wing. He was at Hogwarts…that meant…somebody knew.

Harry started to panic slightly and wondered who had found him and just how many people knew so far. His thoughts were interrupted as quiet muttering reached his ears from a far corner. He turned his slightly aching head to the direction of the voices but his eyes caught a glimpse of something black. Harry looked down to find his godfather's head resting next to his right arm, his hand over Harry's own. Harry smiled slightly; then his stomach dropped. Sirius knew. He would wake up soon and tell Harry how much of a disappointment he was and how he should have been able to defend himself. This is exactly what he had been trying to prevent from happening…everyone was going to be so angry with him. Harry didn't know if he would be able to handle it.

Harry had been so immersed in his thoughts that he had forgotten about the mutterings. He looked around and saw the outlines of two people with their backs to him. One was Madam Pomfrey; Harry would know her anywhere, from all the times he had ended up in the Hospital Wing. The other was a man who looked familiar. The man, who had been talking, paused. He turned around and Harry realized who it was; Professor Lupin.

"Harry! You're up!" Professor Lupin exclaimed.

Madam Pomfrey also turned around to face Harry. "Finally," she said, "Now that you're rested I can heal you up a bit more." Harry's face was burning; he was extremely embarrassed at the moment. Madam Pomfrey, Professor Lupin, and Sirius all knew about his uncle.

'Maybe they don't know,' thought Harry desperately, 'Maybe they think it was something else'. But another, more practical voice in his head was telling him there was no hope; they had probably already told Dumbledore, too. The other occupants of the room didn't seem to notice his discomfort.

"Alright Mr. Potter," said the matron, "We're going to need to sit you up so I can have a look at you."

Remus strode over with her and attempted to awaken Sirius who was still dozing lazily at Harry's side. He shook his shoulder gently. "Sirius," he whispered. No answer. "Sirius. Come on, mate, Harry's up," he said, this time a little louder. This seemed to grab Sirius's attention; he jumped slightly with a sleepy grunt and slowly lifted his tired head. He brought his hands to his face and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He opened one eye to the bright light and spotted Harry. A wide smile suddenly spread across his face, "Harry! You're finally up! Are you okay? Did anything happen while I was out?" He said all this very hurriedly.

"Please calm down Mr. Black or I shall be forced to throw you from this hospital wing," Madam Pomfrey admonished exasperatedly.

Sirius drew back slightly but still looked rather anxious. Remus leaned over when Sirius had moved to sit on the next bed over and helped Harry into a sitting position while Madam Pomfrey bustled around the edge of the room, gathering vials and syringes.

Harry tried to hide his grimace but he couldn't help but wince as the movement jarred his sore body. Madam Pomfrey appeared at the foot of the bed and dumped the vials of potions unceremoniously on the blankets. She went around the bed until she stood next to Harry, placing her hands gently on his shoulder and leaning him forward slightly to look at his back. Remus still stood on Harry's other side, supporting his other shoulder and neck so he couldn't lie back down. Madam Pomfrey looked up and down his bare back with a sad look on her face, surveying the damage. She would occasionally run a finger over a particularly bruised area making Harry hiss in pain.

"Hmm…some Blood Thinning Potions and a strong Healing Potion should do the trick," she muttered, finished examining Harry's back. She then instructed Lupin to lie him back down gently. She began to unwrap the bandages on Harry's stomach, taking care to cause him as little pain as possible. Harry closed his eyes; it wasn't so much the pain (though Harry was doing his best not to let out a cry), as not wanting to see the damage his uncle had done and relive the memories that would come flooding back. He jumped slightly when he felt something cold on his chest and he opened one eye a little; Madam Pomfrey was smearing a thin, clear substance across his skin. "To help with the welts and cuts," explained the nurse. She finished up on his torso and re-wrapped the bandages around his stomach. She then began to fish through the pile of potions at Harry's feet until she found the one she was looking for; a dark green one in a small bottle. She held a needle to the bottle and filled the syringe with the dark liquid, tapping the needle slightly on the side to get rid of the air bubbles. She bent forward and lifted Harry's arm, flexing it until she found a vein. She slowly pushed the needle through the skin and pressed the plunger slowly. She repeated this with a bright red potion and set a goblet of a slightly smoking substance on the bedside table.

"It's Dreamless Sleep Potion. Given your recent…experiences, I thought it might be in order." With that, she gathered up her materials and strode through the door into her office. Sirius, who had been waiting impatiently through Madam Pomfrey's examination, returned immediately to Harry's side, joining Lupin. An uncomfortable silence fell over the trio, held until Sirius gathered the courage to try to start a conversation.

"Harry-" he began.

"Where're Ron and Hermione?" Harry asked, interrupting his godfather.

"They went down to the kitchens about fifteen minutes ago. They've been here all night with us and we thought they could use a bite to eat," Remus explained. "In fact, I told them I'd tell them straight away if anything happened so I'll be back in a bit." He put a hand on Harry's shoulder but removed it when he flinched. Sirius caught this and looked as if his heart had broken in two. Remus stood and walked down the wing until he reached the oak doors and slipped out.

Sirius turned back to Harry and stared quietly at his face. Harry remained silent, his eyes downcast and staring at the white blanket. "You know, Harry…we're going to have to talk about this sooner or later."

"Talk about what?" he asked, trying to sound ignorant even though he knew there was no use in pretending.

"Was it your uncle who did this to you?" Silence. "C'mon, Harry, pleases don't do this."

"Do what?" he muttered.

"Close yourself off, bury everything inside until it drives you crazy," Sirius said sadly. "We both know that's not what you need, especially right now."

Harry was screaming inside. Sirius didn't understand. Harry didn't want to hear how much of a disappointment he was or how ashamed he should be. Now that he was away from the Dursleys, he wouldn't have any more problems. He didn't have ANYTHING to talk about. Nothing was wrong with him. Couldn't anybody see that? Didn't anybody care?

Harry was saved by the hospital doors bursting open and his two best friends bounding up the ward.

"Oh my gosh, Harry, I was so worried when we found you and we brought you here and we had to wait in the hall for hours and then we were allowed to come back in but you were sleeping and we had to be really quiet and then we finally fell asleep and woke up when it was still dark and Remus made us go get something to eat and we didn't want to leave but they said they'd come and get us and they did and now you're awake. I was so worried!" Hermione said this all in one breath. She was panting from the run from the kitchens and her hair was falling in front of her eyes. She had dark circles under her eyes and her face looked rather care-worn.

Ron, who was now standing next to her, seemed to be in the same state but was more subdued with a sad, thoughtful look on his face. He wasn't quite sure what to say to his best friend. He didn't want to upset him but he also knew that leaving Harry alone to deal with his misery and memories was not a smart thing to do.

"Hey, mate," Ron whispered hoarsely. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine," Harry replied. Sirius looked down and Hermione rolled her eyes. They all knew he was far from being fine. However, the time to talk would come soon enough; for now, Harry needed to relax and forget about everything for a while. Eventually, everyone settled in. Ron sat on the bed next to Harry's and Hermione crawled up next to him, starting a game of chess with the set that Ron had brought down from the dorms. Sirius and Remus sat back to watch, occasionally sneaking an unnoticed glance at Harry. Harry himself settled back into the soft pillows after having drunk the Dreamless Sleep Potion. He slowly drifted into unconsciousness, listening to his two best friends laughing and talking quietly.

Albus Dumbledore sat solemnly at his desk in his office. Fawkes was perched a few feet away, on top of a bookshelf. Albus had just received word via Floo from Madam Pomfrey. Harry had woken up and she had examined him, giving him some extra healing potions and pain relievers.

The old professor had never experienced such a deep, piercing feeling of guilt. He had placed a boy, an innocent boy, into the care of unfeeling monsters. He had lived a life of neglect and abuse since the age of one all because of him. He hadn't even bothered to find out what kind of people he was leaving Harry with. He had assumed he would be fine and, in doing so, had probably put him as far away from "fine" as it is possible to be. He didn't know if they would ever get the old Harry back. But they would have to try…it was Harry's only chance.

Well, hope that made up for the lone wait. If not, there's another chapter coming soon so, not to worry. If you want the next chapter out as soon as possible, press the button that says "Go" and review; c'mon, you know you want to smiles and winks.

Review Responses:

GoddesGirl123 – I'm glad you liked the story so much and, once again, I'm sorry I made you wait so long for an update. Keep reading and sending reviews!

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Big E 3 I LOVE NASCAR – I've read a story like that before and I really enjoyed it but I don't think that will fit in with want I want to do with this fic. I hope you continue to read this even though it's not exactly what you want. If you don't, I'll be sorry to see you go but I have to go with my original plot.

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