Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
Fate
Harry woke up slowly by the light coming into his room through the half closed window, he could tell it was still pretty early. Shifting a bit, he could feel that the pain in his muscles had lessened a bit and he was able to sit up slowly without feeling dizzy. Looking at the clock standing on the desk next to his bed, he confirmed his earlier suspicion seeing it was barely six o'clock in the morning. Slyth was still deeply asleep and didn't even wake up when Harry carefully got out of bed. Stretching his sore muscles a bit, he picked up a bathrobe and put it over his pyjamas. Harry slowly made his way out of his room and to the bathroom, trying to not make any noises since he knew that if either Sirius or Remus heard him, they would be at his side in a minute, demanding that he got back into bed before he fell down. As quickly as his tired body allowed, he took a warm shower. He was drying his long hair with a towel when Remus burst into the room, a worried frown etched on his face.
Harry couldn't help but look at him a bit amused. "Good morning."
Remus couldn't help but sigh in relief at seeing the boy standing there calmly. When he had woken up to the sound of running water, he had first thought that one of the adults was in the bathroom, but after checking on Sirius, James, and Lily, he had become worried. It had to be one of the children, and the state they had been in didn't reassure him that they would be alright by themselves since Hermione had barely managed to get back to her room the day before when James had broken that cup.
Looking at the boy in front of him, he frowned a bit. "You shouldn't be out of bed, especially not if none of us are awake to help you if you start to feel ill."
Harry nodded slightly. He had known that, but he actually had wanted to see if he was strong enough to do something by himself, without having anyone hovering over him. Sighing, he put the towel down and leaned against the sink, starting to feel tired. Remus put a hand on his forehead and his frown deepened at the feel of the feverish skin under his hand. Grabbing the tired boy by his arm, he gently helped him to get dressed, ignoring Harry's constant protests by telling him he should have stayed in bed if he didn't want to get embarrassed. Harry grumbled a bit at that, but allowed Remus to take him out of the bathroom and back to his bedroom. Remus waved his wand towards the bed, changing the sheets, while keeping an eye on Harry, who was now leaning lightly against his side. "Madam Pomfrey will have your head for getting out of bed on your own; she's going to come by later, and there's no way she will not notice that you're too tired."
Harry groaned softly, and laid back down, snuggling into the warm blankets while Remus tucked him in. The older man stood at his side, and smiled down at him. "What do you want for breakfast?"
Harry shrugged and closed his eyes. His little trip to the bathroom had taken much more out of him that he had thought it would. He felt a gentle hand running through his hair. "Harry?"
The boy buried his head in the pillow and mumbled one word: "tired."
Remus chuckled softly. "No wonder, you really shouldn't have been up yet. Go back to sleep, it's still early. Later in the morning, you'll have something to eat."
Harry barely heard him, already falling into the deep and peaceful darkness.
'WAKE UP!'
Harry sat up in his bed abruptly, wincing in pain at his sharp movement and eyes wide open, trying to find the source of the shout. It took his sleepy mind a few moments to realize that the voice hadn't come from anywhere in his room, but rather from his own mind. Once he had established that fact, he finally managed to make out the sound of laughing coming from his best friend. With an annoyed sigh, he let himself lay back down and closed his eyes. 'Very funny, Griffin.'
Before the other boy had the chance to answer him, Hermione's angry voice boomed through their heads. 'Griffin! I told you to leave Dragon alone!'
The red head rolled his eyes in his room. 'Sorry, Dragon, but I couldn't resist the temptation.'
Dragon growled a bit. 'Was there a particular reason for waking me up?'
Phoenix sniffed. 'Actually, there was, but there wasn't any need to wake you up.'
Ron spoke, ignoring Harry's exasperated sigh. 'We just thought you should know that Madam Pomfrey just arrived.'
The black-haired boy groaned. 'Thank you so much, Griffin. I wish you had let me sleep, maybe she would have left me alone.'
Both his friends laughed. 'Not a chance in hell, Brother. She would have just barged in there and waken you up, specially with Sirius around here. You know he's overprotective and would have insisted that she took a look at you no matter what.'
Phoenix's sharp voice, cut Harry groan short. 'Quiet, try to make them think you're asleep, they're on their way up here.'
Harry snuggled deeper under the blankets and relaxed as much as possible. He could feel some of the adults come down the hall, and he wasn't very surprised when he heard that his door was the first one to open. Madam Pomfrey always had had something of an obsession with him, probably due to all the times he had ended up in the hospital wing under her care.
Harry sensed the nurse, Sirius, and his mother enter his room, and decided he had even more reasons to try and fake sleep since he really wasn't comfortable around the woman and didn't wish to talk to her. They all stopped at his bedside, and soon he could feel the warm magic of Madam Pomfrey running through his aching body. Once she was finished, he was half asleep, but he still managed to hear her words.
"He's tired; the stunt they pulled with the Death Eaters took a lot out of them, and only Merlin knows what happened after that. Have any of you asked?"
Sirius didn't bother to answer, but Harry guessed he had nodded, because Madam Pomfrey continued. "I see, I think someone should talk to them. Physically, they will be fine with a lot of rest, but they might need some help copping with what happened."
This time Sirius answered verbally. "I don't think any of them will talk to us; they usually refuse to tell us much, but they have been going to a doctor regularly. He has known them for a long while, maybe he will be able to help."
Madam Pomfrey nodded, and the young boy heard her put something on the bedside table. "I need you to give him these potions, Sirius, one is a pain potion and the other an energy restorer. I'm also going to leave a fever reducing potion, give it to him if his fever raises and then call me at once."
Sirius nodded again and the two women moved to the door, intend to go to the next room.
When they were alone, Sirius moved closer to the bed and sad down on the edge. Gentle hands gripped his shoulders and he was moved so he was leaning against his godfather's broad chest. His drowsiness was threatening to overtake him, but he still felt a cold goblet being placed against his lips. Sirius' voice spoke softly to his ear. "Come on, Harry, drink this, it will make you feel better."
The boy didn't think that Sirius had noticed he was awake, but nevertheless, he moved his lips slightly to allow the bitter potion to fill his mouth. Deciding it was time to drop the act since his mother wasn't there anymore, he couldn't help but grimace a bit at the taste of the potion and opened his eyes slightly. Sirius tightened his grip on his waist, preventing him to move out of his grasp, while he continued to pour the potion down his throat. Harry swallowed as quickly as possible, trying to get it over with. When he was finally finished, Sirius removed the goblet from his mouth and Harry couldn't help but whimper a bit. He hated to seem so weak, but right now he couldn't help it, he was too tired. Sirius quickly shushed him and a new goblet was placed against his lips. Harry tried to move his head away from the goblet as much as possible, trying to prevent the potion to enter his mouth. Sirius sighed softly. "Harry, please, you need to drink this potion."
Harry groaned slightly, but knowing he was not going to get away from it, he kept his head still when the goblet returned to his lips. This potion was spicier; it made him feel like he was on fire before leaving him completely exhausted, leaning limply against the other man. They both stayed still for a few moments, while Harry felt his headache disappear and his body relax even more, the pain in his limbs disappearing, leaving him sleepy. He was about to drop off when Sirius shook him lightly. "Harry, stay awake, you need to eat something."
The boy whimpered, he wasn't hungry; he just wanted to sleep. Ignoring the other man, Harry buried himself deeper in his godfather's arms. Sirius sighed again, Harry was really starting to get a bit difficult, but he guessed he was just not feeling well. Picking up the bowl of cereal he had brought with him from the kitchen, he tried to feed the small boy. Unluckily for him, Harry really didn't want to eat anything, so when he felt a spoon trying to make his way inside his mouth, he flung it aside with a bit of magic. Sirius blinked in surprise when he felt the spoon flee out of his hand and bang against a wall, falling near Slyth, who woke up with a sharp hiss. Harry didn't mind his snake, he was more curious as to what Sirius was going to do. The man looked towards the place where the spoon had fallen and then frowned down at Harry. "That wasn't very nice, young man. You need to eat!"
Sirius summoned a clean spoon and tried again, only to find himself covered in cereal when the whole bowl was emptied on his head.
"Harry!" Sirius was now getting angry. "That's enough! If you don't eat, I'll get your father to feed you."
Sirius regretted those words as soon as they left his mouth; he felt Harry tense and try to get away from him. Quickly, he tightened his grip on the boy's waist and kept him close to him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. But please, Harry, you haven't eaten in days, I'm really worried."
Cautiously, Sirius tried again and this time Harry didn't move, he simply ate without uttering a word. Finally, when he thought he was going to burst, he moved his head away, refusing to eat anything more. Sirius sighed a bit, he didn't think the boy had eaten enough, but seeing the detached look in his godson's eyes, he decided he had pushed him enough and made the bowl disappear to the kitchen. As gently as possible, he lowered Harry back into his bed and looked sadly as the teen curled up without sparing him a glance. Sighing again, he leaned over the bed and carefully brushed his lips on the boy's forehead.
"Get some rest, we'll be downstairs, call us if you need anything."
Harry's only answer was a small nod, and Sirius turned to leave.
To be continued.
A/N: Thanks for all reviews, and special thanks to my beta-reader, Vinnie.
Fate
Harry woke up slowly by the light coming into his room through the half closed window, he could tell it was still pretty early. Shifting a bit, he could feel that the pain in his muscles had lessened a bit and he was able to sit up slowly without feeling dizzy. Looking at the clock standing on the desk next to his bed, he confirmed his earlier suspicion seeing it was barely six o'clock in the morning. Slyth was still deeply asleep and didn't even wake up when Harry carefully got out of bed. Stretching his sore muscles a bit, he picked up a bathrobe and put it over his pyjamas. Harry slowly made his way out of his room and to the bathroom, trying to not make any noises since he knew that if either Sirius or Remus heard him, they would be at his side in a minute, demanding that he got back into bed before he fell down. As quickly as his tired body allowed, he took a warm shower. He was drying his long hair with a towel when Remus burst into the room, a worried frown etched on his face.
Harry couldn't help but look at him a bit amused. "Good morning."
Remus couldn't help but sigh in relief at seeing the boy standing there calmly. When he had woken up to the sound of running water, he had first thought that one of the adults was in the bathroom, but after checking on Sirius, James, and Lily, he had become worried. It had to be one of the children, and the state they had been in didn't reassure him that they would be alright by themselves since Hermione had barely managed to get back to her room the day before when James had broken that cup.
Looking at the boy in front of him, he frowned a bit. "You shouldn't be out of bed, especially not if none of us are awake to help you if you start to feel ill."
Harry nodded slightly. He had known that, but he actually had wanted to see if he was strong enough to do something by himself, without having anyone hovering over him. Sighing, he put the towel down and leaned against the sink, starting to feel tired. Remus put a hand on his forehead and his frown deepened at the feel of the feverish skin under his hand. Grabbing the tired boy by his arm, he gently helped him to get dressed, ignoring Harry's constant protests by telling him he should have stayed in bed if he didn't want to get embarrassed. Harry grumbled a bit at that, but allowed Remus to take him out of the bathroom and back to his bedroom. Remus waved his wand towards the bed, changing the sheets, while keeping an eye on Harry, who was now leaning lightly against his side. "Madam Pomfrey will have your head for getting out of bed on your own; she's going to come by later, and there's no way she will not notice that you're too tired."
Harry groaned softly, and laid back down, snuggling into the warm blankets while Remus tucked him in. The older man stood at his side, and smiled down at him. "What do you want for breakfast?"
Harry shrugged and closed his eyes. His little trip to the bathroom had taken much more out of him that he had thought it would. He felt a gentle hand running through his hair. "Harry?"
The boy buried his head in the pillow and mumbled one word: "tired."
Remus chuckled softly. "No wonder, you really shouldn't have been up yet. Go back to sleep, it's still early. Later in the morning, you'll have something to eat."
Harry barely heard him, already falling into the deep and peaceful darkness.
'WAKE UP!'
Harry sat up in his bed abruptly, wincing in pain at his sharp movement and eyes wide open, trying to find the source of the shout. It took his sleepy mind a few moments to realize that the voice hadn't come from anywhere in his room, but rather from his own mind. Once he had established that fact, he finally managed to make out the sound of laughing coming from his best friend. With an annoyed sigh, he let himself lay back down and closed his eyes. 'Very funny, Griffin.'
Before the other boy had the chance to answer him, Hermione's angry voice boomed through their heads. 'Griffin! I told you to leave Dragon alone!'
The red head rolled his eyes in his room. 'Sorry, Dragon, but I couldn't resist the temptation.'
Dragon growled a bit. 'Was there a particular reason for waking me up?'
Phoenix sniffed. 'Actually, there was, but there wasn't any need to wake you up.'
Ron spoke, ignoring Harry's exasperated sigh. 'We just thought you should know that Madam Pomfrey just arrived.'
The black-haired boy groaned. 'Thank you so much, Griffin. I wish you had let me sleep, maybe she would have left me alone.'
Both his friends laughed. 'Not a chance in hell, Brother. She would have just barged in there and waken you up, specially with Sirius around here. You know he's overprotective and would have insisted that she took a look at you no matter what.'
Phoenix's sharp voice, cut Harry groan short. 'Quiet, try to make them think you're asleep, they're on their way up here.'
Harry snuggled deeper under the blankets and relaxed as much as possible. He could feel some of the adults come down the hall, and he wasn't very surprised when he heard that his door was the first one to open. Madam Pomfrey always had had something of an obsession with him, probably due to all the times he had ended up in the hospital wing under her care.
Harry sensed the nurse, Sirius, and his mother enter his room, and decided he had even more reasons to try and fake sleep since he really wasn't comfortable around the woman and didn't wish to talk to her. They all stopped at his bedside, and soon he could feel the warm magic of Madam Pomfrey running through his aching body. Once she was finished, he was half asleep, but he still managed to hear her words.
"He's tired; the stunt they pulled with the Death Eaters took a lot out of them, and only Merlin knows what happened after that. Have any of you asked?"
Sirius didn't bother to answer, but Harry guessed he had nodded, because Madam Pomfrey continued. "I see, I think someone should talk to them. Physically, they will be fine with a lot of rest, but they might need some help copping with what happened."
This time Sirius answered verbally. "I don't think any of them will talk to us; they usually refuse to tell us much, but they have been going to a doctor regularly. He has known them for a long while, maybe he will be able to help."
Madam Pomfrey nodded, and the young boy heard her put something on the bedside table. "I need you to give him these potions, Sirius, one is a pain potion and the other an energy restorer. I'm also going to leave a fever reducing potion, give it to him if his fever raises and then call me at once."
Sirius nodded again and the two women moved to the door, intend to go to the next room.
When they were alone, Sirius moved closer to the bed and sad down on the edge. Gentle hands gripped his shoulders and he was moved so he was leaning against his godfather's broad chest. His drowsiness was threatening to overtake him, but he still felt a cold goblet being placed against his lips. Sirius' voice spoke softly to his ear. "Come on, Harry, drink this, it will make you feel better."
The boy didn't think that Sirius had noticed he was awake, but nevertheless, he moved his lips slightly to allow the bitter potion to fill his mouth. Deciding it was time to drop the act since his mother wasn't there anymore, he couldn't help but grimace a bit at the taste of the potion and opened his eyes slightly. Sirius tightened his grip on his waist, preventing him to move out of his grasp, while he continued to pour the potion down his throat. Harry swallowed as quickly as possible, trying to get it over with. When he was finally finished, Sirius removed the goblet from his mouth and Harry couldn't help but whimper a bit. He hated to seem so weak, but right now he couldn't help it, he was too tired. Sirius quickly shushed him and a new goblet was placed against his lips. Harry tried to move his head away from the goblet as much as possible, trying to prevent the potion to enter his mouth. Sirius sighed softly. "Harry, please, you need to drink this potion."
Harry groaned slightly, but knowing he was not going to get away from it, he kept his head still when the goblet returned to his lips. This potion was spicier; it made him feel like he was on fire before leaving him completely exhausted, leaning limply against the other man. They both stayed still for a few moments, while Harry felt his headache disappear and his body relax even more, the pain in his limbs disappearing, leaving him sleepy. He was about to drop off when Sirius shook him lightly. "Harry, stay awake, you need to eat something."
The boy whimpered, he wasn't hungry; he just wanted to sleep. Ignoring the other man, Harry buried himself deeper in his godfather's arms. Sirius sighed again, Harry was really starting to get a bit difficult, but he guessed he was just not feeling well. Picking up the bowl of cereal he had brought with him from the kitchen, he tried to feed the small boy. Unluckily for him, Harry really didn't want to eat anything, so when he felt a spoon trying to make his way inside his mouth, he flung it aside with a bit of magic. Sirius blinked in surprise when he felt the spoon flee out of his hand and bang against a wall, falling near Slyth, who woke up with a sharp hiss. Harry didn't mind his snake, he was more curious as to what Sirius was going to do. The man looked towards the place where the spoon had fallen and then frowned down at Harry. "That wasn't very nice, young man. You need to eat!"
Sirius summoned a clean spoon and tried again, only to find himself covered in cereal when the whole bowl was emptied on his head.
"Harry!" Sirius was now getting angry. "That's enough! If you don't eat, I'll get your father to feed you."
Sirius regretted those words as soon as they left his mouth; he felt Harry tense and try to get away from him. Quickly, he tightened his grip on the boy's waist and kept him close to him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. But please, Harry, you haven't eaten in days, I'm really worried."
Cautiously, Sirius tried again and this time Harry didn't move, he simply ate without uttering a word. Finally, when he thought he was going to burst, he moved his head away, refusing to eat anything more. Sirius sighed a bit, he didn't think the boy had eaten enough, but seeing the detached look in his godson's eyes, he decided he had pushed him enough and made the bowl disappear to the kitchen. As gently as possible, he lowered Harry back into his bed and looked sadly as the teen curled up without sparing him a glance. Sighing again, he leaned over the bed and carefully brushed his lips on the boy's forehead.
"Get some rest, we'll be downstairs, call us if you need anything."
Harry's only answer was a small nod, and Sirius turned to leave.
To be continued.
A/N: Thanks for all reviews, and special thanks to my beta-reader, Vinnie.
