Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.

Free.

Sirius was just finishing the work he had to do for Dumbledore, when Harry woke up again. The man noticed his godson was shivering slightly under the blankets, and looking at his watch he remembered it was time for Harry to take another fever reducing potion. Sirius was just about to go out the room to get the potion when Remus came in, a goblet tightly held in his left hand.

Both men smiled at each other and moved to the bed, where Harry had curled up, burying himself in the warmth of the bed. Sirius gently brushed the sweaty bangs out of his forehead, making the child open his eyes.

"Hey, kiddo, did you have a good nap?"

Harry nodded slightly, curling up even more. "F.f.fine, Daddy."

Sirius carefully took his shivering son into his arms and set him on his lap, keeping the blankets tightly around the small boy. Putting a hand against Harry's forehead, Remus frowned. "Here, drink this, Harry, it will help you with your fever."

Sirius took the goblet from his friend and held it against Harry's lips. The child sipped a bit of the potion, but immediately turned his head away due to the bitter taste of the liquid. Both men shared a concerned look, starting to think this was going to be more difficult than they had thought at first.

Sirius tried to put the goblet against Harry's lips again. "Come on kid, just drink it up and you'll feel better, I promise."

But Harry turned his head away again. Remus knelt in front of them. "Harry, child, how about I give you some chocolate after you've drunk the potion?"

Sirius looked at his friend with raised eyebrows. "So, now you're bribing the kid?"

Remus ignored him and kept his gaze trained towards the child. Harry seemed to consider the statement for a moment, but when Sirius tried to put the goblet to his lips again, he moved his head.

Sighing, Sirius handed the goblet back to Remus, it seemed they would have to be a bit more persuasive. Meaning they wouldn't give the boy a choice.

Sirius wrapped a firm arm around the small form of his godson and positioned him so the child's head was leaning against his left arm. Holding the head firm in place with his other hand, he motioned for Remus to pour the potion into the boy's mouth. The other man seemed reluctant, but seeing no other option, complied.

Harry tried to fight against the hands that were holding him in place, but to no avail, Sirius was much stronger and he couldn't do anything else but swallow the foul tasting potion, tears leaking out of his eyes. Once he had drunk all of it, Sirius loosened his grip and gathered the crying boy against his chest.

"Hush, child, I'm sorry, but you had to drink it to get better."

Soon after that, Harry was sleeping again and Sirius gently tucked him back into bed, sighing sadly.

Without a word, Remus patted his shoulder and left the room, taking the empty goblet with him. He knew Sirius didn't like to have to force Harry to do things, but sometimes the child was just too stubborn. After all it was for his own good. Luckily Harry loved Sirius enough to not hold it against him, else Remus didn't even want to imagine the troubles there would be in their strange household.



Dumbledore came by a few hours later. He had come to collect Sirius' work and to check on how things were going with Harry. The small boy was still sleeping but Sirius decided to wake him up since he had already missed breakfast and lunch. Harry blinked a bit when he was gently shaken awake, looking up he frowned up at his godfather and buried his head in his pillow.

"Harry, it's time to wake up, you have to eat something."

"I'm not hungry."

"It won't be much, I promise, but you have not eaten anything since yesterday."

Harry didn't seem to care how long it had been since he had last eaten and just snuggled tighter into the covers. Sirius, seeing that reasoning wasn't going to get him anywhere, gently pried the child from the blankets, wrapped him in a warm robe and lifted him into his arms. Harry struggled a bit but in the end just accepted it and put his head into his godfather's shoulder, closing his eyes again.

Remus and Dumbledore looked up when Sirius came into the kitchen, Harry half-asleep in his arms again. The headmaster smiled softly and looked as Sirius sat down in his usual chair, trying to convince Harry to stay awake.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled when he spoke. "It seems young Harry is even more of a handful when he's ill, don't you agree Sirius?"

The man sighed in resignation, accepting the bowl of soup Remus had handed him. "Oh, I can assure you he is." The dark-haired man started to feed Harry slowly, while the child grudgingly swallowed the soup.

Remus sat down in front of the pair and looked at Dumbledore. "What brings you here, Headmaster?"

The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes disappeared. "I came to collect the papers I asked Sirius to work on, are they done?"

Padfoot looked up from Harry and nodded. "Yes, they are in my room. Do you mind holding Harry for a moment? I'm going to get it."

Dumbledore extended his arms, nodding, and gathered the small child into his lap, noticing the unnatural warmth coming from his body.

Harry looked up at him, his eyes torn between sleep and curiosity at the man who was now holding him. Dumbledore smiled gently down at the boy. "Hello Harry."

Sighing, Harry snuggled closer to the old man. "Hey, professor."

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired, but Daddy said I had to eat."

Harry pouted slightly, making Remus and Dumbledore laugh. Before the headmaster had a chance to reply, Sirius came back, a black carpet clutched in his hands. "Here you go, Albus."

The old headmaster accepted the folder and handed Harry back to his godfather, who once again set up to feed the small child. Remus turned his gaze once again to the old man and saw a worried look in his eyes. "Albus, what's wrong? You seem worried."

Dumbledore looked at the younger man and sighed. "It's nothing, Remus, don't worry about it."

But Sirius had already looked up and caught the look. "Albus, it's not nothing, you don't look worried for nothing."

The old man was slightly annoyed but gave in. "Severus was summoned just before I left the castle. I'm worried about him, it's the first time Voldemort has called him and I'm afraid something will happen to him."

Sirius chose not to comment. He and Snape hated each other and he had no trouble in admitting it. He also knew Dumbledore would be upset if he said anything offending right now, so he chose the wises way and focused on Harry.

Remus, sensing the tension coming from his friend and from the headmaster tried to reassure the older man. "It'll be ok, he has done it many times and no one has ever suspected him, I'm sure Severus will be able to pull this off."

Dumbledore simply nodded in response, he didn't seem to be reassured in the least, but he had caught the tense expression in Sirius' face and decided to keep his worries to himself. Soon he decided it was time to return to Hogwarts and left the two men alone.

Remus immediately turned to Sirius. "I wish you wouldn't act so weird every time Severus is mentioned. You know Albus worries about the man, and even if you don't like him, you could try to get along with him, even if it's only for Dumbledore's sake."

Sirius scowled at him. "I do all I can, I didn't even insult him. I can't do miracles Remus, I hate the man, always have and always will. I'm willing to lay off for Dumbledore, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Remus sighed in frustration, would his friend ever get over it? Probably not.

Harry had listened to the exchange for a moment, but finally let the sleep that had been threatening to overcome him win, and slumped in his godfather's arms. He was sure the two men would be able to sort their disagreements out much better without him listening on them.

To be continued.

A/N: Thanks for all reviews.