Out of nowhere, he heard an evil cackle to his right, then saw Bellatrix shoot a spell at him out of the corner of his eye. Everything went black for a moment and he had the sensation that he was falling. When he opened his eyes, he was on the ground and his dad had run off to fight Bellatrix. Harry tried to get up and go after him, but he was groggy and his head hurt, so he just managed to stand up.

Sirius felt more than saw his son collapse behind him. He turned towards the person who had hit his child and let out a roar of anger upon seeing who it was. Not leaving Harry's side, Sirius sent curse after curse at his evil cousin until he finally managed to hit her with a petrificus totalus. He felt mild satisfaction at watching one of his many torturers from his childhood keel over, but that was replaced when he saw Harry lying at his feet.

"Please, no," he whispered, kneeling down and feeling for a pulse. Relief coursed through him when he found a thready and weak heartbeat. Looking around, he noticed Remus and the other Order members, having restrained the Death Eaters, were approaching them. "Someone help me!" He shouted, picking Harry up and rushing towards the others.

Dumbledore met him immediately, his eyes wide. "Sirius, what happened?"

"Bellatrix… she hit him with some strange spell… he just collapsed and I don't-"

"DAD!" Harry shouted, jerking forward and almost falling out of Sirius's arms.

"Harry? Puppy, can you hear me?" Sirius asked, kneeling down again and gently shaking him.

When Harry didn't respond, Sirius looked up desperately to Dumbledore. The man had a grim expression on his face as he motioned for Sirius to follow him. "Let's get him to Poppy… I think I may have a theory on what's wrong."

Sirius nodded and followed Dumbledore quickly out of the ministry; Remus and Tonks went with them, leaving Kingsley and the other aurors behind to sort out the Death Eaters. When they got to the ministry lobby, Sirius gripped his son tightly against his chest, as to avoid any lingering ministry workers, and apparated them to just outside of Hogwarts.

Running as quickly as they could, the four made their way to the hospital wing. Sirius laid Harry gently on a nearby bed, then turned to call for the matron.

"What happened?" Pomfrey asked, grabbing her wand and rushing over to Harry's bedside.

"It was Bellatrix-" Sirius started, but was cut off by Dumbledore.

"I believe he's been cursed, though for what means, I am unsure of…" Dumbledore said slowly, giving Sirius a calculating look.

"Well, it's definitely dark magic… I'm not sure that I can wake him up," Pomfrey said worriedly, turning back to her office to see if she had another solution beyond potions and spells.

Sirius gave his former headmaster a grim look. "What was the theory you were considering-"

"Dad! Sirius! Sirius Black!" Harry shouted from the bed, jerking and rolling off the top. He would have hit the floor, had Sirius not jumped forward and grabbed him. Cradling his son, Sirius looked fiercely up at the older man. "What's wrong with him, Albus?"

Remus, who was on the other side of Harry's bed and had been looking worriedly at the two, turned to his former headmaster, eyes also demanding an answer.

"I believe Bellatrix hit Harry with a curse when she realized the death eaters were fighting a losing battle - perhaps it was Voldemort's back up plan, or it could have been her own doing, though I doubt that such a loyal follower of Voldemort's would do anything to his number one target without strict permission from her master. I think this spell is meant to weaken Harry both physically and emotionally by showing him the one thing that he believes he cannot live without being taken away…" Dumbledore trailed off, surveying Sirius for his reaction.

"I…" Sirius swallowed hard, then turned to look at Remus. "I don't follow…"

"Sirius, don't you see?" Remus said, moving forward to grasp his friend's shoulder. "Harry see's you dying somehow. That's why he keeps shouting for you."

"No, that can't be it…" Sirius said, attempting to squash the guilt rising inside of him that he could be the indirect reason for his son's suffering. "Besides, why would Voldemort just want to weaken Harry? What will that do for him if Harry's is safely inside Hogwarts?"

"Well…" Dumbledore said slowly, looking down at the now still form of the Boy-Who-Lived, who had been returned to his bed. "For one thing, if Harry is too weak to even wake up, then he's probably too weak to use occlumency, or prevent possession from Voldemort himself. In fact, with all the love inside Harry, and more specifically, all the love he has for you, Sirius, I believe that the heartbreak of losing you could potentially kill him-"

"Stop," Sirius breathed out, getting to his feet and pacing the room. "No, Harry won't die, he couldn't! He'll be fine, he'll wake up-"

"Sirius, calm down," Remus attempted to soothe, walking up to his friend.

"I'm worried that this is something Harry will have to overcome on his own - of course, Poppy will continue to look for a cure, but Harry will need to find his will to live stronger than his grief of losing you… otherwise, Voldemort could take control of his body, and who knows what will happen then." Dumbledore said gravely, looking down at Harry, who was now writhing on the hospital bed and whimpering quiet words like "dad" and "Siri."

Sirius sat down at the chair next to Harry's hospital bed, defeated. This was probably the worst off he had been in protecting his son - at least after all the other things they had gone through, he was able to comfort him and help deal with the aftermath. This time, he was powerless; Harry was stuck inside his own head without a father figure to help him, and all Sirius could do was sit by his bedside until he woke up.

Dumbledore took one last, fleeting glance at Sirius, before turning to Remus and Tonks. "Tonks, I would like for you to return to the Ministry. Help clear up things for the Order and take care of the Death Eaters. Remus, keep an eye on the two of them. I firmly believe that Harry will have the strength to persevere… just make sure Sirius stays strong."

Both of them nodded, then Dumbledore followed Tonks out of the hospital wing. Remus didn't attempt to say anything; he knew Sirius was plagued with guilt at the moment, and wouldn't want to speak for a little while. Instead, he grabbed a chair and moved to offer solace to his friend during his time of need.


"Harry, I need you to stand up for me, okay? We have to floo back to Hogwarts and I don't think I can carry you while I do that." Remus said, panicking slightly at the thought of Voldemort being nearby.

"I don't want to… dad…" Harry mumbled, pressing his knuckles to his eyes to avoid any extra moisture from leaking out. He didn't think he had the energy to even sit up, much less walk; every time he closed his eyes he saw the jet green light hitting his father, the man's limp body falling to the ground in front of him…

Remus sighed and pulled Harry closer to him - it was clear the boy would rather be left at the ministry than willingly walk away from his dead father, so he had one choice. Grabbing a handful of powder, he stepped in the fireplace and shouted "Dumbledore's office," with Harry wrapped up in his arms.

The two arrived in the cluttered room immediately, and Remus placed Harry on the nearby couch. Truly, he wanted to behave similarly to Harry, but knew he had to stay strong for him. He wasn't sure what would happen now with Harry; sure, he had partial guardianship of him, but would Harry want to live with him? And could he ever live up to Sirius's level of devotion for the boy?

A soft whimpering sound pulled him out of his thoughts, and Remus turned towards Harry. The boy was curled into himself, crying quietly and pressing his hands to his face as if he were ashamed of himself.

"Harry, kiddo, it's okay." Remus soothed, kneeling down beside the couch and attempting to move Harry's hands away. "It's okay to cry, you loved Sirius."

Harry shook his head fiercely, but continued to remain silent. Sirius's loss truly began to hit Remus then - Sirius was always the one to comfort Harry when something was wrong. Why would Harry let him in now, just because Sirius was gone? The truth was, he wouldn't. The boy was a closed to book to anyone other than the few he held dear, and now that one of those few were gone, it did not mean Harry would just open up to someone else.

Harry, on the other hand, wasn't thinking about any of that at all. When he closed his eyes, all he could see was his father's lifeless body on the ground. When he opened them, however, he faced something different: a reality in which Sirius was no longer alive. Harry wasn't sure which was worse, so when keeping his eyes closed became too much to bear, he'd open them and cry into one of Dumbledore's throw pillows.

After about an hour of watching Harry suffer, and attempting to comfort him, Remus was ready to beg. "Harry, kiddo, please talk to me. Say something, anything that I can do to help you feel just a little better."

Harry shook his head and buried himself deeper into the couch. He needed Sirius, his father, but the man was gone. He had been killed by his insane cousin for no reason…

Suddenly, a burning desire for revenge coursed through Harry's body. Wiping the tears from his cheeks, Harry bounced up, past a shocked Remus, and towards the floo.

"Ministry of Magic!" Harry shouted, before flying out of Remus's line of vision.

TBC.

A/N: I think this is a bit more clear with what I'm doing, and should become moreso as the chapters progress. Please read and review! Sorry it's short, I want to take time to develop this plot.