The Hierarchy of James' heart (Chapter 21)
Disclaimer: I own nothing!!!!!!!!!!!
Wincing in pain, Peter half walked-half wobbled away from the mansion that held his master. Peter winced again but then smiled.
'I may have been punished today, but when I deliver The Potters and Black to my master, I'll be rewarded above my wildest dreams.'
Sirius slowly woke up from his long nap and looked to the side of him. He smiled when he saw his lover sleeping contently next to him.
"James?"
James heard the sick man's voice and immediately awoke.
"Siri, whatsthematter? Youokay?"
Sirius smirked at his incoherent lover. James had always been like that when he first woke up. The only people who could ever understand James until he had at least two cups of coffee were Lily, Remus and himself.
"Nothing is the matter Prongs, I'm fine, I just thought I'd wake you up because your probably going to have a stiff neck if you sleep any longer in that position.
James tested his muscles and indeed did have a stiff neck.
"Ow."
Sirius smirked again.
"Told ya."
James glared at his lover. Before anymore words could be said Remus walked in with a cup of coffee which he handed to James.
"Thought you could use a little pick-me-up."
James smiled gratefully at the werewolf before gulping down the coffee. Remus laughed.
"Lily's here too. She'll probably bring you another cup when she comes in. Right now she's talking to the doctors about some stuff."
James nodded absentmindedly, all the while thinking he needed another cup of coffee.
Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Prongs loves coffee more than he loves Lily."
James glared.
"Donot"
Remus laughed.
"Probably more than he loves Lily or you, Padfoot."
Sirius rolled his eyes again.
"That's obvious."
Remus quirked an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
Sirius smirked.
"Here's the hierarchy of James' heart."
Remus chuckled.
"Here we go."
Sirius glared at the werewolf. James sat there and listened carefully.
"Do you want to hear this or not?"
Remus nodded.
"Yes King Padfoot. Share with us your wisdom."
Sirius ignored the comment and just smiled.
"Alright, here's the hierarchy of James' heart. First there's Peter. He loves him of course but just as a good friend. Then there's you Moony. You're his brother. Then there is me, I'm his best friend. Then there is Lily, she's his wife, his soul-mate. Then on the top of the list there are his parents who he loves more than life."
Remus rolled his eyes.
"See, I think it goes like this. First there is Peter and Me, contrary to popular belief I think James cares about Peter and I the same. Then there are you and Lily who he loves EQUALLY, then there are his parents."
Lily walked in to hear the tail end up Remus' conclusions and quirked an eyebrow. She handed James a second and third cup of coffee before turning to the sick man and the werewolf.
"What are we discussing?"
Sirius smiled as the red-haired witch kissed his forehead.
"We're talking about the levels of love for each of us in James' heart. Like who he loves least and who he loves most."
Lily smiled.
"Well that's easy. First there's Peter, then there's Remus, then there's me, Then there's you and then there's his parents."
Sirius shook his head.
"No Lils, you got it backwards! It's Wormtail, then Moony, then ME, THEN YOU, then his parents."
James stood up and glared at everyone in the room.
"ACTUALLY, if you want to know the true order, here is how it goes. First there's Peter. Your right Padfoot, Peter and I are close but recently he hasn't been around recently so he's not exactly on a brother level, but more of a friend level. I do however care for him very much. Then there are my parents and Moony. I love my parents and Moony all equally because they are my parents and Moony is my brother. THEN there's you and Lily, who I love most of all."
Sirius looked like he was going to argue but Healer White walked in and cut his retort short.
"Well Mr. Black it seems you're a popular person. Not only do you have three people in your room with you right now but you also have an Andromeda Tonks, a Nymphadora Tonks and a Ted Tonks outside waiting to see you, are you up to a little more company?"
Sirius quirked an eyebrow at James and Lily.
"Did you two call Andy and tell her what's going on?"
The Potters both shook their heads and Remus jumped in with an explanation.
"Actually I told Nymphadora, who by the way prefers to be called just Tonks, what's going on. I ran into her earlier today while you two were sleeping. She is here working over the summer to earn extra money to help with Auror training. Anyway, I told her that I was looking for Healer White and she asked why and I told her you were in here."
"What reason did you give her?"
"I told her you're an idiot."
Sirius glared, but then looked at Healer White and nodded his head.
A nice looking woman with long black hair walked into the room first, followed by a tall man with dark brown hair. Lastly to walk in the room was a blue-haired Tonks.
"Sirius darling how are you feeling?"
Sirius rolled his eyes. Andy always had the tendency to mother him.
"Actually Andy I feel just fine."
Andromeda didn't even appear to be paying attention to him.
"How did this happen?"
Sirius winced, definitely not wanting to upset his favorite cousin.
"Oh you know a little of this a little of that."
Lily glared at the dog animagus.
"Tell her the truth Sirius."
Sirius glared at Lily right back.
"I think I'd like a few minutes alone with my family please."
James glared at Sirius, Remus winced, this could end up being another huge fight if he didn't intervene.
"Alright James, Lily, how about we go talk to Healer White in the hallway about what we were talking about earlier James. Sirius, we'll leave you alone with your family for a few minutes, however know this, if I come back in here and you haven't told them the truth about why you are here, I'll tell them myself and I'll make sure to dramatize it.
Sirius winced but nodded.
"Thanks Moony."
Remus nodded before following the healer outside, pulling Lily and James alone in their wake.
After the three friends had left, Ted Tonks looked at his cousin-in-law.
"So Sirius, what actually happened?"
Sirius sighed.
"You want the real truth?"
Andromeda glared at the younger man.
"Sirius Orion Black, I asked for the truth and I will continue to ask it until I get it. If I do not get it from you I will go outside and either talk to Remus or a Healer, but I would much rather hear it from you."
Sirius winced but then nodded.
"Okay Andy, what happened was a fellow Auror and myself were kidnapped by Death Eaters and taken to Lord Voldemort. We managed to escape the cage that they had put us in and we found out way into a room where our wands were kept. A death eater found us and fought us long enough for Voldemort to come in. The death eater fought Kingsley while Voldemort sought out me. I of course couldn't keep my mouth shut so he tortured me for a few minutes. I finally said the one thing to really upset him and when I did he fired the killing curse at me."
Here Sirius took a breath while the three family members gasped.
"But if he fired the killing curse how are you still alive?"
Sirius smiled fondly at the young girl.
"Because Regulus was there. He was one of the death eaters who came in when they heard me being tortured. He jumped in front of it for me. Regulus is dead Andy."
Andy sniffed a little before coming and wrapping her arms around the bed-ridden man.
"I'm sorry darling."
Sirius nodded. He knew that he tweaked the story a bit but he didn't want to explain his talk with Regulus in the "in between" as he was calling it now, and he didn't want to make Regulus out to be a bad guy, even though he had willingly joined the Death Eaters.
"Thanks."
Andromeda kissed the man's forehead before straightening up and looking at him calculatingly.
"So how are you really feeling? Don't try and lie to me Sirius. I am a healer which means I know the signs and symptoms of the Cruciatus curse."
Sirius sighed, knowing he couldn't lie to her.
"I feel like I've been run over by a heard of rampaging hippogriffs."
Andromeda smiled sympathetically.
"What are they giving you for the pain?"
Sirius just shrugged.
"No idea. They have given me a lot of different potions but before I can ask what they are, I am sound asleep."
Tonks giggled.
"Your snoozing away your life Siri."
Sirius smiled fondly at the young girl and motioned for her to come over towards him. He never noticed Remus, Lily and James walk in.
"So where's my hug little one?"
Tonks looked at him uneasily.
"What if I hurt you?"
Sirius shook his head.
"You wont, come here."
Tonks got on the bed carefully and laid next to her favorite cousin. Sirius wrapped his arms around her softly and kissed her forehead.
Lily watched the scene with a sad smile on her face and tears running down her face. She knew right then and there that Sirius would make a great father.
James smiled at the sight. He, like Lily, knew that Sirius would make an amazing father. However, he had seen Sirius the day that Tonks was born. He had been so excited that he had left Hogwarts without Dumbledore's permission to go to the hospital to see the new baby.
Remus smiled as well, but it was a sad sort of smile like Lily's. He knew that Sirius would be devastated if he ever found out that Lily had lost the baby.
Tonks snuggled into her cousin's arms. She loved Sirius like a big brother, and he always made her feel safe.
Andromeda and Ted just stared at the black-haired man holding their blue haired daughter. Ted smiled knowingly while Andy just stared, transfixed at the sight. She had watched Sirius transform into this arrogant child who thought that playing pranks on people was the coolest thing ever, to this caring, charming young man who was fiercely loyal and loved his family and friends more than life itself.
Sirius smiled down at the blue-haired child in his arms. He loved this little girl with all his heart. He had always loved kids, but for some reasons little Nymphadora had wormed her way into his heart the first day that he had seen her. After kissing her forehead once again he looked up and noticed everyone had stopped talking and where all staring at him. Then he noticed that Lily was crying.
"Lils what's wrong?"
Lily wiped her tears away and smiled.
"Nothing Sirius, just that was so sweet."
Sirius smirked.
"Well what can I say, I am a sweet person who drives people to tears by my good looks."
Lily rolled her eyes but before she could comment, Remus did it for her.
"Nah Padfoot, it's not by your good looks that people are driven to tears, it's after looking at you and then looking at Andromeda and Tonks, they wonder how all of you could come from the same family circle. I mean, those two are beautiful ladies and you're an ugly mutt."
The rest of the room erupted in laughter while Sirius tried to look put out.
"HEY!"
Remus just smiled innocently at him.
Healer White cleared his throat to let it be known to the room that he needed to speak.
"I hate to break this party up but it's time for Mr. Black's next round of potions which means he needs sleep. I'll allow one of you to stay with him for the night but the rest of you may come back tomorrow."
After talking about it quickly, they all decided that Remus would stay that night. Sirius waved to his family and his lovers and quickly took the potions, falling asleep before the last person left.
Remus smiled at the man and opened his book, slipping into the pages of his favorite novel.
TBC! So you actually have my mother to thank for this chapter being out. I am sitting in the hospital waiting room while my mom gets a spinal tap and to take my mind off of things I decided to write. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, I always have thought that Tonks and Sirius must have been close when Tonks was little, so I gave you some Tonks/Sirius bonding! Please leave me reviews!