A/N: These things are like an addiction. Once you start, it's hard to stop. Oh well, just a few notes going out. Answers really. If you asked me questions, folks, as long as it doesn't compromise the story, I'm happy to answer them.

If I missed you, it's because these answers are based on reviews as of 11242001.

Mirand: Not to worry. Fever is a complete story. I'm just posting this one chapter by chapter instead of all at once, as I did with Family Life, which ran 49 chapters in its entirety.

Dumbledore's True Love: See Chapter Three. Also, no new characters in Fever. Again, see Chapter Three about the doctor. (Oh, wait, if you're reading this you're reading Chapter Three.)

Mystic Vaporeon: If you enjoy stories dealing with Sirius and Harry's relationship (Non-slash), I shamelessly plug my other story, Family Life. But be forewarned. It's a bit....long.

Beth: Hedwig likely is at the Shrieking Shack, it just isn't pointed out int he story. But she does seem to be wherever Harry is unless she's working the postal job. The reason they don't owl Dumbledore is because he isn't at the castle and won't be back for several days. Yes, Hedwig could likely find him, but when Dumbledore leaves the castle, it's usually only for extremely important reasons and Remus and Sirius likely don't feel they should bother him just yet.

Kiara Black: Not to worry. Read my Bio. page. I don't post unfinished stories. I posted one story, Family Life, my first fanfiction, all at once, and I think the sheer length of the thing frightened people off. So I am doing Fever one chapter at a time. But it is complete.

Wolf Of Solitude: I like you. You ask direct questions. People, how will you ever learn anything if you don't ask questions? (Well, my teachers always told me that, anyway.) Ok, in order.

Nope, he's sick.

Can't tell you that.

Do you really think Remus made a mistake? The man is so thorough, his potions ingredients shelf is probably alphabetically organized.

I will not excuse your comment. There's no need. If that's the feeling I managed to get from you, then I'm doing a good job with this story as a writer.

Serena: Sorry, I can't respond through e-mails for a very long and complicated reason that would bore you to tears. I wish I could. It would simplify my life. However, Fever, Chapter One is posted and you can find it through my Bio. page through the directory. For some reason, last time I checked, I still wasn't coming up through the author search function.

Hermione Gulliver: All the chapters together? I don't know. I see so many stories posted chapter by chapter, so I thought it was OK.

To the rest of you who reviewed. Thank you. You have made my day.

For those who commented on Family Life: (Those of you who didn't, just skip on down to the chapter heading.)

First of all, God bless you, everyone. You made my day.

However, since I posted Family Life all at once, I missed the fun of answering questions. So allow me a few lines to do so here and hope those kind people are also reading Fever and will see this.

First of all, yes, Family Life will be sequeled. But don't expect it soon. It took me five to six months to write that behemoth, and although I'm not expecting the sequel to be as long, it will likely be a weekend reader.

For those who asked, there is story in the works titled Reputation, which looks at Sirius and Arabella's relationship during their school days at Hogwarts.

A few personal responses now.

Erin: Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!! You are the only person who caught that. Obviously I wasn't blatant enough, though I tried to drop hints.

Folks! Really! Voldemort is the most powerful dark wizard this century. Possibly ever. Didn't you think he gave up a little too easily? Also, the Deatheaters that were still in the lair made no attempt whatsoever to stop the group as they escaped. No one considered that a bit odd? As well, didn't you think getting to Voldemort was a bit easy as well. And do you really think Peter suddenly grew a conscience after fourteen years? (Well, I guess anything's possible, but.....).

Remember one thing if nothing else about Voldemort, which I feel is true in the original stories. If nothing else, Voldemort is a master manipulator of circumstances. He is very good at getting you to do exactly what he wants you to do without your realizing it. So, don't be so sure good old Voldemort is out of Harry's life just yet. He has ways of turning up in the most unusual places.

Creamy Mimi: Good catch. It was Sirius, in a metaphorical sort of way. Keep in mind, Harry's dream was about the future. Remember, when he started having them, he hadn't even met Arabella yet. So the dream is going to be a bit unclear in details. In real life, Sirius didn't actually pull Arabella out of the way of Voldemort's attack. In real life, he took her place. Also, just for reference, Family Life was over fifty chapters long originally. I deleted some because I felt it was too long. One day I may repost with all the chapters included. Those that were taken out didn't really hurt the story and no important details were left out. They were migrated to other chapters.

Hermione Gulliver: Awwwww. The most brilliant? Me? Thank you. You made my day. I, myself, recommend RavenNat for the title for the story Midnight Visitors (a must read, folks.). But, again, thank you. Also, what makes you (and everyone else for that matter) think Voldemort is dead? And sorry, but for a long, boring reason, I can't respond through e-mails.

To Psychopath Pyro, Kat, Debbie C., 007, Giesbrecht, littlepooh, sweets, wyltk, Magma, VMR, heero0102, amadeus, elf-cat, MeShelly, Daphne Black, Vlawn, Lordess of Magic, and especially LRM, thank you all for your reviews. Every author likes to know their story was read and appreciated.

Thank you as well for baring with me through this. On with the story.

Chapter Three: A Medical Opinion

Lupin stood outside the door to the infirmary for several moments before venturing inside. He was fortunate to have found Madam Pomfrey in at all, as that it was the summer holidays. But Filtch, who never seemed to leave the castle, had informed him at the door that she was indeed spending a few weeks of the summer there in order to catch up on some records.

After rehearsing what he was going to say to her for the hundredth time, Lupin finally opened the door just enough to stick his head in, knocking loudly on it as he did so.

"Madam Pomfrey?" He called.

Madam Pomfrey came bustling out of her office.

Lupin was somewhat surprised at her appearance. Almost always in her robes, she now wore what looked like an old pair of muggle jeans and an oversized shirt. Her hair, though in disarray, was piled up in a bun on top of her head very reminiscent of Professor Mcgonagoll's.

"Oh!" She sounded slightly embarrassed. "Professor Lupin. I must say, you're the last person I expected to see here over the summer."

"As are you, Madam Pomfrey. But Flitch said you were catching up on some work?"

"House cleaning is more like it. I don't think anyone's gone through these records in a hundred years. I thought the summer would be a good time to do a bit of clearing out, as it were."

"Well, I'm sorry to disturb your 'clearing out', but I'm afraid my matter is somewhat urgent, you see."

"Well, I have to warn you, Professor Lupin, my knowledge of werewolves is somewhat limited, I'm afraid. Never had much call for dealing with them."

"The problem isn't mine, Madam Pomfrey." Lupin exclaimed, although he was pleased to see she didn't regard him with any change of expression at the thought that he might be her patient. Most would have likely wringed up their noses at the least.

"Oh?"

"No. I've come about the Potter boy, Harry."

"Potter?" Madam Pomfrey's expression changed to one of bewilderment. "What has Potter got to do with this?"

Lupin directed her back to her office. "I'm afraid, my dear Madam Pomfrey, that that is going to take a bit of explaining."

*******************

Sirius sat quietly on the side of Harry's bed. His godson's body shook slightly in an uneasy sleep as he held him still in his arms.

Sirius felt as though his whole body were slowly going numb, having not moved it in some time. Where was Lupin? Harry's fever was worst than ever. Surely they had to do something and do it soon.

Suddenly Sirius heard voices downstairs, and, despite his anxiety over the danger the situation presented for him, breathed a sigh of relief as he recognized Madam Pomfrey's voice. He even managed a slight smile as he listened to her browbeating Lupin for having not called her sooner, sure it wasn't the first time Lupin had endured the lecture.

Sirius hugged Harry a little tighter due to his own growing tension as he watched Madam Pomfrey step into the room. The school nurse paused just inside the room as she eyed Sirius suspiciously. But her gaze quickly seemed to take in the whole scene in front of her. Surely he didn't fulfill her expectations of the insane murderer the ministry had painted him as, sitting on the bed holding his godson in his arms.

"Sirius Black." She finally said, though her voice was very cool.

"It's good of you to come, Madam Pomfrey." Sirius replied with as much gratefulness on his voice as he could manage.

"Professor Lupin was quite insistent. And when he explained the situation to me, it did sound as though you were in need of some more 'advanced' medical help."

Sirius watched her carefully. The school nurse had not moved from her position just inside the doorway of the bedroom. Sensing her unease, Sirius carefully began to extracted himself from under Harry. But at the movement, Harry moaned softly and called Sirius' name, grabbing hold of his hand.

Sirius quickly leaned back down to his godson's, taking the pale, shaking hand between both of his.

"I'm right here, Harry." Sirius assured him, brushing the sweat dampened hair off his forehead. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Harry mumbled something that only Sirius seemed to hear as he smiled slightly at his godson, who had opened one eye and was staring at him.

"I'm not going anywhere, Harry." Sirius replied softly. "You know that. I promised I wouldn't leave you. And I meant it. But Madam Pomfrey's come to see you, all right?"

Harry didn't respond as he seemed to drift off again. Sirius carefully pulled away from his godson and moved to the corner of the room.

As soon as Sirius had established himself at a safe distance, Madam Pomfrey came quickly over to the bed and began checking Harry's vital signs.

"Good Lord!" She exclaimed as she laid a hand on his forehead. "This boy is burning up with fever." She shot a dangerous stare at Sirius. "What were you planning to do? Let him die from it? No questions in that, are there?"

"Madam Pomfrey." Lupin interjected carefully. "Sirius rescued Harry from his aunt and uncle's. Why would he do that just to sit back and watch the boy die?"

"No fun in watching from a distance, is there?" She spat at Sirius.

"There is no fun in it at all for me to watch my godson die." Sirius replied solemnly. "And I am willing to do whatever it takes to see he gets well. Ask whatever you want of me, I'll give it to you if I can. Anything, if it means saving my godson's life."

Madam Pomfrey sat for a moment staring at the man in the corner of the room. Then she turned slowly back to her patient. "You can start with bringing me a cup of cold water." She said, though her voice was a bit more of her old self this time.

When Sirius returned with the water, Madam Pomfrey reached into the bag she had brought with her and pulled out a small jar. She mixed a spoonful of the contents into the cup and lifted it to Harry's lips.

Sirius watched her go through several failed attempts to get the boy to drink the potion. After the fifth try he slowly stepped forward, his hand reaching for the cup.

"Please," he said quietly, trying not to alarm her with his movements, "let me try."

Madam Pomfrey eyed him cautiously, then handed him the cup as she got to her feet.

Sirius quickly assumed his former position, lifting Harry carefully into his lap. He whispered his name a few times as he slowly tilted the cup to his lips, gently nudging it between his lips. At first Harry barely responded at all to the liquid against his lips. But as soon as a small amount slipped into his mouth, he greedily accepted the rest, draining the cup in only a few gulps.

As soon as Harry finished the potion, Madam Pomfrey practically shoved Sirius off the bed as she took his place by Harry's side. Pulling out a small piece of parchment, she carefully attached it to the head of the bed and tapped it with her wand. The paper immediately wrote Harry's full name across the top of it, then began listing various vial signs. Finally it scribbled out his temperature, which currently read 104. But as the parchment continued to list various statistics, the number next to Temperature dropped a degree.

"Ah." Madam Pomfrey stated with satisfaction. "The potion is already starting to work."

Sirius and Lupin watched as over the course of a few minutes Harry's temperature dropped from 103 to 99. Madam Pomfrey watched the parchment for a few seconds, then tapped it sharply over the temperature reading. It immediately changed to 98.6.

"Sometimes it gets stuck." She admitted with a bit of embarrassment.

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief as he stared at the parchment, then turned to Lupin. "Next time, go to Snape for your potions." He said, his voice reflecting his relief. "He may be the world's biggest git, but his potions are usually good."

Lupin seemed not to even hear Sirius as he continued to stare at the parchment. As he watched, the number next to the reading of 'temperature' suddenly jumped back to 99.

Following Lupin's stare, Sirius turned just in time to see the number change.

"Madam Pomfrey." Sirius said slowly as the number changed to 100.

The nurse turned to the two men, then followed their stares to the parchment. The number hung onto 100 for a few more seconds, then changed to 101, quickly jumping to 102, then 103.

Madam Pomfrey watched the parchment in bewilderment. "This shouldn't be." She exclaimed. "That potion has never failed with fevers." She looked over Harry's still form for a few seconds, thinking, then turned back to the two men standing at the door. "Does this house have a bathtub?" She asked.

Lupin nodded.

"Go and fill it with cool water. Not too cold. That could send him into shock. But cool enough to be comfortable."

Lupin hurried off as Sirius walked over to the bed. "We gave him a potion for fever before." He told the nurse.

"Professor Lupin told me. This is much the same reaction you got then?"

Sirius nodded.

"Well, we have to do something that will lower his temperature. If putting him cool water doesn't work, I'm strongly recommending the boy goes to St. Mungo's."

"St. Mungo's?" Sirius repeated in alarm. "But...but he has a fever, that's all."

"The boy has a great deal more than 'just a fever'." Madam Pomfrey stated, reminding Sirius of Harry's other injuries, which were still clearly evident. "And I'm finding it hard to believe this is nothing more than a simple fever. If it were the potion should have lowered his temperature and kept it there."

"Then what else?" Sirius asked.

Madam Pomfrey paused for a moment, as though thinking over the situation, but finally shook her head. "I'm not sure." She admitted. "The illness simply isn't reacting naturally. If I didn't know better I'd think the boy was reacting as though he'd been poisoned."

"Poisoned?"

Lupin returned just then.

"The tub is ready." He announced.

Pomfrey turned to Sirius. "Strip the boy down and bring him to the bathroom. I need to add a few things to the water before we put him in it."

A few moments later Sirius joined Madam Pomfrey and Lupin in the bathroom, carrying Harry in his arms. He carefully lowered his godson's body into the water, adjusting his placement so that Harry's head rested on the edge of the tub.

"He'll need to stay here for at least an hour." Pomfrey explained to Sirius. "As soon as the time is up, take him back to his room and put him back to bed. I'll leave a different type of potion by the bed. Make sure he takes it."

Sirius looked up. "You're leaving?"

"I'm returning to Hogwarts to get a few more things. Things we're likely going to need."

Sirius stared anxiously back at her.

"I'm not going to bring any Dementors back with me, Black, if that's what you're worried about."

"I don't care what you bring back," Sirius replied solemnly, "as long as it helps my godson."

"Then I'd best be going. Remember. One hour, and make sure he takes that potion. I should be back by then if not sooner."

Sirius sat quietly on the side of the bathtub, scooping handfuls of water up and letting it run through Harry's hair, making sure the potion-infused water reached every part of his body.

Lupin stood in the doorway for several minutes watching Sirius continue his ritual.

"You know," he said finally, "a cup might work better. Certainly hold more."

But Sirius silently shook his head as he poured another handful of water over Harry's scalp, gently following it's path with his hand before scooping up another handful from the tub.

"He can't die, Remes." Sirius said softly, his voice nearly broken with emotion. "He can't." Sirius paused, working hard to get his emotions back under control with little success. "I should have been there sooner. I should have gone after him when I felt something was wrong. I should have been there for him. He should have a home with me, not those...those stupid muggles!" Sirius' hand had closed around the last handful of water, clenching into a fist. "He was sick and they didn't care. They would have left him in that cupboard to die and never helped. I should have gone sooner. I should have gone..."

"You did what you could, Sirius." Lupin reminded him softly, standing behind his friend as he rested his hands on Sirius' shoulders. "If you hadn't been cautious, you might have been caught long before Harry got locked back in that cupboard. Then where would he have been without you coming to get him away from the muggles? Where would he be in the future without you being there for him? I think I would be a very poor substitute of you to Harry."

"He can't die, Remes." Sirius said again. "He can't. He's want I live for. He's what keeps me anchored to life. To wanting to live."

"He isn't going to die." Lupin tried to reassure him. "Now listen to me." Lupin said, sitting next to him on the edge of the tub and forcing Sirius to look at him. "If we can't stop the fever by tonight, if Madam Pomfrey can't do anything more for him, we'll take him to St. Mungo's. Agreed?"

Sirius stared at his friend, horrified at the idea of turning Harry over to a bunch of strangers. One's that would separate them. Who wouldn't let him see his godson anymore.

"Sirius!" Lupin stated firmly, holding his stare. "Look at me. We take him to St. Mungo's. Agreed?"

Sirius focused on Lupin's hard expression. He could see traces of the wolf lingering just below the surface. The gentle but fierce protector who would always stand and fight for his own. He knew Lupin was right. If they couldn't find out what was wrong, the only thing to do was to take Harry to the hospital. He would have to swallow his pride and his fears and admit he had failed his godson and his friend and let someone else take care Harry again.

Sirius turned slowly back to Harry. Reaching down he picked up another handful of water and slowly caressed it over the head of dampened black hair.

"Sirius!" Lupin demanded.

Sirius turned back to him with a defeated look, then back to Harry. Slowly he nodded his head.

"All right then." Lupin stated in a calmer tone as he got to his feet. "We're in agreement then." He checked his watch. "You stay with Harry. I'll wait downstairs for Madam Pomfrey. You call if you need me."

Sirius nodded again.

Lupin bend down and wrapped his arms reassuringly about Sirius' shoulders before he left. "He'll be all right, Sirius." Lupin whispered to him. "You'll see."

An hour later, Sirius was settling Harry back into his bed. Lupin had changed the sheets, stating he had needed something constructive to do. As Sirius carefully laid his godson's body on the crisp white sheets, he felt his anger rising again as he glanced over the purple and black patches that covered the majority of Harry's body. Pomfrey had worked a few mending charms on the cracked ribs and sprained wrist and shoulder and the fracture at the bridge of his nose. Though the rest looked much worse, she had assured them the other injuries were only bruises and shouldn't cause any permanent damage. But all the reassurances in the world would have done little to quell Sirius' growing rage. Dursley would have to pay this time. And Sirius promised his godson to think up something very appropriate.

Harry stirred again as Sirius pulled the cool, white cotton sheet over him and tucked it about his body just over his chest. Turning slightly under the sheet, he opened his one eye and quickly focused on Sirius.

"Sirius?" He mumbled in a strained voice, barely getting the name past his swollen lip and dry throat.

Sirius quickly poured a cup of water and sat by Harry's side. He carefully rested his godson in his arms again and lifted the glass to his lips.

"All right now. Be a good boy, Harry. Drink that for me."

Sirius had expected the usual struggle. But Harry quickly wrapped two shaking hands about the cup and drained it in nearly one gulp.

Sirius took that as a positive sign. Kissing Harry's forehead he leaned down and hugged him lightly.

"That was very good, Harry. Do you want some more?" He asked softly, brushing Harry's hair back with one hand.

To his delight Harry nodded.

Sirius poured another cup from the pitcher on the nightstand. Lifting the cup to his godson's lips, Harry accepted it as eagerly as the first.

When he had finished he pushed the cup back at Sirius. "More." he whispered.

But Sirius took the cup and sat it on the nightstand instead.

"Not now, Harry." Sirius replied softly, taking hold of his godson's hand. "Let your body work on that for a little bit, OK?"

Harry tightened his grip on Sirius' hand. "No." He whispered hoarsely, a tear rolling down his cheek. "Please. More."

Sirius felt his resolve weakening as he looked into his godson's stricken face. But some of Madam Pomfrey's parting instructions had been no more than two cupfuls of water every half hour. And he knew all too well that too much too soon would cause more problems than it solved.

Just then Lupin stepped back into the room. "Sirius, Madam Pomfrey's returned. And she's brought back help for Harry."

Sirius looked up just in time to see Severus Snape step through the door of his godson's room.