Chapter 2: A Good Actor
Notes: Thanks for reading everyone! I will try to read any of your stories if I haven't already. I really like to read as well. I am enjoying writing; I didn't expect any reviews in the first day. You may have noticed this is a part humor, well some of the humor part comes in here. Keep in mind he was telling it after it happened, at the time it wasn't a laughing matter (well not some of it…) I know it is short, but I prefer to leave them short so that I can get some out quicker.
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I was in the hospital wing, but I certainly was not alone. I was with a lot of people who cared about Harry. Ron and Hermione were there. Most of the Weasleys were there. Hagrid and McGonagall were right there as well. Sirius was also there, at the time in dog form. Everyone in the room already knew about him, but it was too risky for some certain people *cough Snape cough* to find out that he was at the school. Imagine what hell he would raise…
It seemed quite obvious to us all that he was going to die. Just seeing him there pale and lifeless. Pomfrey tried everything that she could think of, but nothing had worked. The child hadn't moved at all since last night, not even when we carried him out of the forest. She let us all know that his pulse has slowed since last night. At the time we didn't think it to be from him sleeping.
Sirius (or Snuffles) whimpered up at me. His godson was dying, and he couldn't do anything about it. He looked up at me with a look that clearly said, "This is all my fault". I whispered so that no one but a dog could hear "its not your fault Sirius" and massaged the back of his neck. He laid down at my feet in that position dogs often go into when they are in trouble. He tried hard not to let tears fall, but he miserably failed at it.
Ron and Hermione as well as the rest of the kids were all crying. Even the extremely insensitive Weasley twins had silent tears streaming down their cheeks. It damn well could have been the only time those two have cried in their lives since they were babies. Ginny, being as sensitive as she is, stood there, staring in horror. I as well as anyone else in the room knew how much she likes him. I have probably even helped Sirius torture Harry with it a few times. (Out of school, of course, I could have been fired if I did it whilst I was teaching)
Hagrid and McGonagall were gawking at what they were looking at. To them, as well as all the rest of us adults, he was something besides a friend. He was the boy who lived. Harry was responsible for the downfall of Voldemort some 15 years ago. It was odd to see them like this, but after all Hagrid was pretty close to Harry. McGonagall, well this just proves that there must be some sort of heart even under the sternest exterior shell.
It seemed as though some of them had lost all hope and were saying goodbyes to him. I hadn't lost my hope yet, because he had lived through some near miraculous things. Whatever attacked him out there that night was obviously something powerful, if it wasn't Voldemort himself. Even if it was he, Harry had survived some four attacks from him, including one when he was a baby. I wouldn't allow myself to think that the fifth would be the last.
A few hours passed, and not much had happened. Dumbledore came in to tell us that they had sent some aurors out to investigate what had happened, which I took as a bad sign as well as Sirius. The reason this is bad is because when Harry wakes, he could just TELL us what happened out there. Sirius had obviously been thinking the way that I do (for a change) because he jumped up, looked at me, and let out a very distinct low growl.
"I really liked him, you know. Harry is dying, and he will never get a chance to hear this. All of those times when I have scolded him or told on him, they were because I really do care about him. He is more than just a friend or a brother to me, I love him!" Hermione wailed. We were all shocked by what she just said, but it was good that she said it.
I was the first to notice it. Harry stirred, and peeped his eyes open. Sirius then noticed it too. We were happy by this, although we didn't know he was ok. Ron however, sensed this, and started sniggering. Harry rolled his eyes at Hermione, causing Sirius to snort. He tried to make it sound like a sneeze, but failed miserably for the second time that day.
"What dare I ask is so funny?" snapped Hermione, who was appalled by both Ron and Sirius's behavior. "Harry is dying, and you are laughing at what I have to say! Uggh! Men…" Instead of one of them saying what was so funny, Harry spoke up for them. At first what he said made no sense to us, we thought he was a little crazy or something.
"Damn, there goes 10 sickles," said Harry. Hermione jumped, and she wasn't the only one. Everyone else who hadn't already noticed that he was awake jumped too. Then they looked at him like he was a nutter. Sirius howled in a way that I could tell was dog laughter. Obviously he seemed to know exactly what Harry was saying. McGonagall muttered something about language, and then asked Harry "What the hell are you talking about?" Ron false sneezed something that sounded oddly like "hypocrite" Sirius snorted yet again.
"You see, I bet, er, someone that Hermione fancied Ron…" started Harry, causing Ron to blush a brilliant color of magenta. Hermione froze in horror about the fact that he had been awake to hear it. I had a feeling she said it out of one of those fear type things. She just ran out of the room as fast as she could, turning redder with every step that she took. Sirius made sure no one was looking who didn't know, then turned into human form."
"Ah never mind that kiddo," said Sirius, trying to help him shrug it off. "How long have you been awake?" Harry explained he had heard Dumbledore come in, and he had been awake enough to hear Hermione start. Sirius seemed green with envy that he was able to pull that one off. It really didn't surprise me that he was able to do that; after all, James was an excellent actor. He seemed to be in a good mood for just near dying, padfoot seemed to have noticed this and was curious about this.
"How are you feeling Harry?" asked Sirius in his best concerned parent voice. It wasn't that good, if it wasn't such a serious moment, I would have probably made fun of him for it. "Maybe you should go back to sleep Harry, you don't look too good." He was right; he looked the same he did that night, only he was conscious. Harry was still beaten up and cut, and pale.
"I feel fine Sirius, I want to get out of here, I hate hospitals," stated Harry as convincingly as possible, and it was pretty good. Sirius looked at Pomfrey, who lifted a finger to protest, but Sirius quickly started out with his trust speech that was so good you would think he prepared it if you didn't know him well enough to know that Sirius has never prepared for anything in his life.
"If the boy says he is fine, he is fine," said Sirius sternly. "You have to trust people. Now, let him go. Just clean him up a bit, and let him go on his way. Of course, he will report to you regularly for as long as you see fit. Right Harry?" asked Sirius. Harry nodded eagerly. I am probably the only one who saw him stifle a cough as Pomfrey went to get her wand.
I looked at him skeptically, and he held his finger up to his lip telling me not to say anything. I really didn't think it was a good idea for him to go yet because I could tell he is not well. But I thought about it a moment, and it was his choice, so I didn't say anything. He shot me a grateful look, and I shot him a "yeah-yeah" look right back. The marauder in me is still not totally gone.
Pomfrey healed all the cuts he had, except for the big gash in his stomach. She put a wrap around it because it was too big to heal magically. I hope that he doesn't have any more scars from this one, those were some pretty big cuts. I wonder how much blood he lost. Then she lectured him about coming right back if anything was wrong, and he nodded in silent agreement. He stifled another cough, then rubbed his ribcage. I shot him a malicious glance, and he shot it back. He really is just like his father…
TBC… Please R/R!
