With this candle burning bright;
protect these babes all through the light.
Keep them save as they sleep;
and peaceful dreams in their minds keep.
-MostEvilKitten "The Prayer"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hate is A Powerful Thing
Chapter Two: I am his bloody Godfather!
By: MostEvilKitten
Sirius Black was worried. No! He was panicked. He was on a mission for Dumbledore, and his secret order against Voldemort, when he got a letter from Ron telling him that Harry wasn't responding to anyone's letters. He hadn't known Harry for too long, but he knew that this was something to worry about. That was why he was sitting in the living room at the Burrow talking with Molly and Arthur Weasley about what they were going to do about Harry. It was Sirius' opinion as well as the opinion of all of the Weasleys that Harry should have gone straight to the Burrow from Hogwarts, but Dumbledore had said that he was to go to the Dursley's.
"Sirius, you know how much I want that boy here with us, so that he could get some proper treatment, but Albus wants him to stay with his Aunt and Uncle at least for the beginning of the summer." Said Arthur Weasley.
"I know Arthur, but what if they aren't treating him good." Sirius sat on the couch with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. "Arthur what if they are starving him again? What if they locked him in his room and not letting him go outside?" There was a long pause where Sirius' shoulders shook in a silent sob. "Arthur?" his voice was shaking. "What if they are hurting him? I don't think I could take if they hurt my godson."
"Sirius." Molly said in her most motherly voice as she sat down next to him and put her hand on his back. "Harry is probably just fine. He is probably out having fun with the other kids in the neighborhood and wasn't there when the owls came." Molly tried her best to sound like she actually believed what she was saying, but her voice wavered a little and Sirius noticed.
"Molly, I am not a little kid. You don't have to put up a brave face for me. I know that you are just as worried about him as I am." Sirius said and with that Molly's eyes started to tear up.
"Oh you're right Sirius. I am not just worried about him. I am scared for him. I mean after what happened in the final task of that bloody tournament, and the way that he was so upset. I don't know Sirius. I just hope that he doesn't do anything stupid." Molly said. Sirius hadn't even thought about that particular thing. Was Harry capable of hurting himself, or even trying to kill himself? He didn't know and that was another thing that he kicked himself for.
He was the boy's Godfather and he didn't know if he was capable of killing himself. He didn't know if the boy was hurting himself or was depressed. He was supposed to be looking out for Harry and he couldn't even get near the house that he lived in. How could he call himself Harry's Godfather?
"I am sorry, Sirius, I upset you even more." Said Molly as she wiped the tears from her eyes. All Sirius could do was lift his head and smile at her with a bittersweet smile that made her soul ache. She was about to open her mouth to say something else but there was a noise that came from the kitchen, alerting her that dinner was yet. "Well dinner is ready and Sirius you are staying here tonight." Sirius went to protest, but she stopped him. "No I will not have you arguing with me. You are simply to upset to do anything, so you are having dinner with us and stay the night on the couch. We will see Albus in the morning."
Sirius nodded at her and followed her into the kitchen with Arthur close behind him. They sat down at the table as Molly called up for the kids to come down stairs. Fred and George ran into the room a second later. Ginny and Percy walked down the stair calmly. The six Weasleys plus Sirius sat waiting for Ron and Hermione to came into dinner. Molly called for them a couple more times before she sent the twins up to get them. A couple of minutes later the twin came back down to tell their mother that the two younger teenagers were not up stairs at all.
"Where can those two be?" she asked, her voice was worried. She got up to look for them when they heard a noise from the living room, and a moment later in came Ron and Hermione covered in soot. "And where did you two get off to?" The two teenagers looked at each other with sadden expressions before turning to the slightly angry older woman.
"We went to see the Headmaster." Said Ron shyly.
"You did what!" exclaimed Molly. "I thought I told you not to bother the Headmaster, and that your father and I would deal with it tomorrow."
"You did mom." Said Ron. "We were just so worried about Harry that we went to see him, but he told just that Harry has to stay at his Aunt and Uncle's until after his birthday."
"Harry shouldn't have to be at that horrible place on his birthday!" said Hermione. She was obviously upset about the whole Harry situation that she was yelling and crying. Molly, being the mother figure to everyone that knew her, went over to the teenaged girl and gathered her into a large hug.
"It will be okay dear. Arthur, Sirius and myself will go see the Headmaster tomorrow and see if we can't sort this thing out." Molly said in a comforting voice. "We will have Harry at this table by tomorrow night, you'll see." She smiled at the two teens and motioned them to the table. The rest of dinner was eaten in silence.
When they all finished eating all of the children went up stairs to their respective rooms the three adults stayed down stairs in the kitchen. The three of them sat together in silence thinking about things. Sirius sat at the kitchen table with his elbows on it and his chin in his hand. He was worried about Harry and Molly could see it in his expression.
"Sirius, I know you are worried. We all are."
"I know Molly. Its just that I have a really bad feeling that something is really wrong and it is getting worst by the minute." Sirius' voice was anxious. Molly knew what he meant, because she was feeling the exactly same thing. It was like a cold hand was settling over their hearts and was closing its fingers every passing minute.
"I know how you feel Sirius." Said Molly and she got up and started to pace the kitchen. "But he told the children that we can't go get Harry." There was a long pause and then Molly spoke again. "Maybe we can go and talk some reason into Albus and we can have Harry home by breakfast."
Sirius looked up at Molly and there was a twinkle of hope in his eyes. "Yes lets go talked to Dumbledore." Soon after all three adults were assembled by the fireplace with Floo powder in hand ready to head to the headmasters office. Then one by one they disappeared with a flash of light.
A couple of minutes later the three of them were standing in front of the headmaster's desk. Albus Dumbledore sat behind the desk and looked up at the three of them through his half moon shaped glasses.
"I was accepting you three to visit me, but I am sorry to tell you the same thing I told the two children earlier today. Harry must stay at his relative's until his birthday and then he will be able to come to the Burrow." Albus said in a calm voice.
"Albus I have to see him and know that he is okay or I think that I might go out of my mind." Sirius said as he rushed forward.
"Sirius my dear boy, I assure you that Harry is fine, if he wasn't then the wards around his house would alert me to anything." He said and motioned to a room at the back of his office where he had alarms for the wards around the Dursley's house.
"Professor?" Sirius said in a pleading voice. "Do you think I can look at the wards? Just so that I can have some peace of mind." Dumbledore smiled at him.
"Sure my dear boy you can." The two men went into the other room leaving Arthur and Molly out in the office. When Sirius got into the room he noticed that there were bells of all shapes and sizes floating around the room, each bell was glowing a different color, in order for a person to tell actually which ward it was connected to. "As you can see Sirius, everything is fine and there is no need for worry."
Sirius breathed a breath of relief when he saw the glowing bells and that the wards were still around the house and that they weren't going off. He smiled and nodded at the Headmaster, then as he was heading out the door went something stopped him.
A sudden chill went up his spine as he stopped in the doorway. He made eye contact with Molly whose face suddenly twisted into a horrified expression as she looked passed him into the room where a single bell had gone off and then as quick as it went off it was silenced. Sirius turned around to find that the bells were not glowing any more, all except three wards, one to tell them Harry was still alive, one for Apparating and one ward that only let people, would didn't want to harm anyone who lived in the house, past.
"By the gods." Breathed Albus. "The wards are down. We have to get to Harry immediately." The four rushed out of the Headmaster's office, out onto the grounds and just outside the Apparating ward. A good ten minutes after they left the headmaster's office they were standing at the end of Privet Drive, just outside the Apparating ward and they started running for the house when they saw a cloaked and hooded figure on the other end of the drive. The figure was carrying the small body of a boy. Sirius looked at the boy and his breath caught in his throat when he saw a small lighten bolt scar on his forehead.
"HARRY!" yelled Sirius as a starting sprinting as fast as he could toward the figure, but before Sirius got to far he ran straight into a wards and was thrown backwards. Landing on his back he got the breath knocked out of him, but still he sat up just in time to watch the cloaked figure disappear with a pop before darkness surrounded his vision and he fainted.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Severus had turned on the light with a blinding flash. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the new light and when they did he wished that he never turned the damn light on. His hand automatically went to his mouth as his eyes wondered over this horrible scene. The first thing he noticed was the smell. Everything smelt of death, blood, torture and stale sex. The room was mostly bare and the windows were boarded up allowing no light to come in from the outside. The only piece of furniture in the room was a bed with an old bare mattress. On top of the bed lay a rather old and small blanket that had many holes in it. The carpet which notice was in the room was gone, leaving only the wooden floor, but there was something wrong with the floor.
On the floor there where places that were discolored as if there had been pools of blood just laying around and let dry without even cleaning them up. But that couldn't he right? Could it?
His eyes swept across the room another time, but he couldn't see the boy anywhere. It wasn't has if the boy, if he really was here, had anywhere to hide. Then he heard the weak voice chant the verse again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I'll be good."
It was coming from the other side of the bed. Severus took a deep breath and gathered his courage. He really didn't want to look. He knew something was terribly wrong and all his instincts told him to go, to run away and not look back. This wasn't his concern.
It wasn't like this was his child. In fact this was James' child, the person that took his Lily away from him, so who care if the James' clone died, he didn't. Did he? Well he didn't care that James had died, but Lily.
"Oh Lily give me strength." Severus said a whispered prayer has he walked forward towards the bed. His eyes carefully watching the floor around the bed to see whoever it was, but as he was rounding the bed he stopped suddenly, as the weak voice had just as sudden stopped. This made Severus start to panic, and then he noticed something, which made him panic even more. Blood! A gathering pool of blood seemed to stretch out towards him.
It was coming from the side of the bed where the weak voice stopped only moments before. With a rush of adrenaline to his body, he jumped over the corner of the bed to find a rather small ebony haired boy curled up into a ball on the floor next to the bed. The boy was covered in blood and burns, which made Severus stumble back in horror.
In all the many years that he was a Death Eater and spy he had seen many torture sites where Voldemort like to have fun with his victims, but this room was far worst than any he had ever seen. The boy was laying in a gathering pool of his own blood. He was wearing only a pair of torn sweat pants that were way to large for him.
The skin that he could see was covered in large dark bruises, raged cuts, and assorted burns. The glasses that he once wore were missing and one of his eyes was swollen shut. There was a long cut down the side of his face that looked as if it was mad by a knife. The boy's breathing was labored and shallow, which told him that one or more of the boy's ribs were broken.
Severus slipped a hand into his cloak and pulled out a couple of bottles of healing potions. He poured each potion down Harry's throat, first went the one to control some of the bleeding, and then there was the one to help Harry breath and then a pain-killing potion. As soon as all of the potions were given to Harry he grabbed the small blanket off the bed quickly and wrapped it around the boy's small frame.
He picked up the boy and was amazed at how light the boy was. There wasn't a once of fat on his small boy. He was beginning to be even more worried at this. The boy would be weaker than he thought because it seemed the boy hadn't eaten anything since he left Hogwarts. If that was so then how could the boy have enough strength to heal? Severus knew that he had to move quickly if he was going to save the boy, but he couldn't do anything here. What if the boy's relatives would come back? He would be able to help Harry with them around.
Severus pulled the boy's small frame close to his body, his arms around the boy in a protective manner. He quickly left the room and headed down the stairs. He looked back around the house one last time, telling himself that he would come back for the boy's things later. Then after a moment he went outside. He heading down Privet Drive to get to the end of the Apparating wards and was almost there when he heard four small pops from the other end of the drive that told him someone else was there as well.
He turned around to see four people he knew stand at the other end of the Drive staring at him. Severus turned and hurried to the end of the Apparating wards, which were only a few more feet, when he heard one of the four yell out Harry's name. He had got to the end of the ward and turned to look again at the four people.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
He woke up in the hospital wing sometimes later. Molly Weasley was sitting nearby with Ron and Hermione around her and she was crying. He sat and watched her for a moment before anyone noticed that he was awake.
"Oh Sirius." Exclaim Hermione. "Sirius, Harry." she couldn't finish her statement before dissolving into tears. A coldness went over his heart when he heard the way she had to stop speaking and cry.
"Sirius, it's Harry." Said Ron his voice was a little shaky but he kept it steady so that he could relay the important information to the worried godfather. "Last night after you guys got back to Hogwarts the Headmaster went up to his room to see what happened to the wards, only to find the ward to show that Harry was still alive." tears slide down his face as he stopped for a moment to take a breath. "Well the ward was not working anymore."
"No." Sirius whispered. This was all just a bad dream that he was having. He would wake up any minute and Harry would be right there where Ron was sitting, smiling at him. Harry would be there to tell him everything was one big bad joke and there was nothing wrong, but then there was the way that Molly Weasley was crying. The way a mother would cry when she learned that one of her children had just died.
There was also that feeling as if a hand was closing over his heart, and now it felt like the hand was squeezing all the life out of him. "No." he said again, but no one would tell him for sure. Minutes felt like hours as he sat there looking at each face for the answer to all of his questions, but something told him that he already knew the answer, he just didn't want to listening to it.
Then suddenly the doors to the hospital wing opened and Dumbledore came through the doors followed closely by Snape would looked as if he had just went through a torture session with Voldemort. Dumbledore came up to his bed. The twinkle in eye was lost and the smile that seemed never to leave the Headmaster's face was gone. "Sirius I have some bad news."
protect these babes all through the light.
Keep them save as they sleep;
and peaceful dreams in their minds keep.
-MostEvilKitten "The Prayer"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hate is A Powerful Thing
Chapter Two: I am his bloody Godfather!
By: MostEvilKitten
Sirius Black was worried. No! He was panicked. He was on a mission for Dumbledore, and his secret order against Voldemort, when he got a letter from Ron telling him that Harry wasn't responding to anyone's letters. He hadn't known Harry for too long, but he knew that this was something to worry about. That was why he was sitting in the living room at the Burrow talking with Molly and Arthur Weasley about what they were going to do about Harry. It was Sirius' opinion as well as the opinion of all of the Weasleys that Harry should have gone straight to the Burrow from Hogwarts, but Dumbledore had said that he was to go to the Dursley's.
"Sirius, you know how much I want that boy here with us, so that he could get some proper treatment, but Albus wants him to stay with his Aunt and Uncle at least for the beginning of the summer." Said Arthur Weasley.
"I know Arthur, but what if they aren't treating him good." Sirius sat on the couch with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. "Arthur what if they are starving him again? What if they locked him in his room and not letting him go outside?" There was a long pause where Sirius' shoulders shook in a silent sob. "Arthur?" his voice was shaking. "What if they are hurting him? I don't think I could take if they hurt my godson."
"Sirius." Molly said in her most motherly voice as she sat down next to him and put her hand on his back. "Harry is probably just fine. He is probably out having fun with the other kids in the neighborhood and wasn't there when the owls came." Molly tried her best to sound like she actually believed what she was saying, but her voice wavered a little and Sirius noticed.
"Molly, I am not a little kid. You don't have to put up a brave face for me. I know that you are just as worried about him as I am." Sirius said and with that Molly's eyes started to tear up.
"Oh you're right Sirius. I am not just worried about him. I am scared for him. I mean after what happened in the final task of that bloody tournament, and the way that he was so upset. I don't know Sirius. I just hope that he doesn't do anything stupid." Molly said. Sirius hadn't even thought about that particular thing. Was Harry capable of hurting himself, or even trying to kill himself? He didn't know and that was another thing that he kicked himself for.
He was the boy's Godfather and he didn't know if he was capable of killing himself. He didn't know if the boy was hurting himself or was depressed. He was supposed to be looking out for Harry and he couldn't even get near the house that he lived in. How could he call himself Harry's Godfather?
"I am sorry, Sirius, I upset you even more." Said Molly as she wiped the tears from her eyes. All Sirius could do was lift his head and smile at her with a bittersweet smile that made her soul ache. She was about to open her mouth to say something else but there was a noise that came from the kitchen, alerting her that dinner was yet. "Well dinner is ready and Sirius you are staying here tonight." Sirius went to protest, but she stopped him. "No I will not have you arguing with me. You are simply to upset to do anything, so you are having dinner with us and stay the night on the couch. We will see Albus in the morning."
Sirius nodded at her and followed her into the kitchen with Arthur close behind him. They sat down at the table as Molly called up for the kids to come down stairs. Fred and George ran into the room a second later. Ginny and Percy walked down the stair calmly. The six Weasleys plus Sirius sat waiting for Ron and Hermione to came into dinner. Molly called for them a couple more times before she sent the twins up to get them. A couple of minutes later the twin came back down to tell their mother that the two younger teenagers were not up stairs at all.
"Where can those two be?" she asked, her voice was worried. She got up to look for them when they heard a noise from the living room, and a moment later in came Ron and Hermione covered in soot. "And where did you two get off to?" The two teenagers looked at each other with sadden expressions before turning to the slightly angry older woman.
"We went to see the Headmaster." Said Ron shyly.
"You did what!" exclaimed Molly. "I thought I told you not to bother the Headmaster, and that your father and I would deal with it tomorrow."
"You did mom." Said Ron. "We were just so worried about Harry that we went to see him, but he told just that Harry has to stay at his Aunt and Uncle's until after his birthday."
"Harry shouldn't have to be at that horrible place on his birthday!" said Hermione. She was obviously upset about the whole Harry situation that she was yelling and crying. Molly, being the mother figure to everyone that knew her, went over to the teenaged girl and gathered her into a large hug.
"It will be okay dear. Arthur, Sirius and myself will go see the Headmaster tomorrow and see if we can't sort this thing out." Molly said in a comforting voice. "We will have Harry at this table by tomorrow night, you'll see." She smiled at the two teens and motioned them to the table. The rest of dinner was eaten in silence.
When they all finished eating all of the children went up stairs to their respective rooms the three adults stayed down stairs in the kitchen. The three of them sat together in silence thinking about things. Sirius sat at the kitchen table with his elbows on it and his chin in his hand. He was worried about Harry and Molly could see it in his expression.
"Sirius, I know you are worried. We all are."
"I know Molly. Its just that I have a really bad feeling that something is really wrong and it is getting worst by the minute." Sirius' voice was anxious. Molly knew what he meant, because she was feeling the exactly same thing. It was like a cold hand was settling over their hearts and was closing its fingers every passing minute.
"I know how you feel Sirius." Said Molly and she got up and started to pace the kitchen. "But he told the children that we can't go get Harry." There was a long pause and then Molly spoke again. "Maybe we can go and talk some reason into Albus and we can have Harry home by breakfast."
Sirius looked up at Molly and there was a twinkle of hope in his eyes. "Yes lets go talked to Dumbledore." Soon after all three adults were assembled by the fireplace with Floo powder in hand ready to head to the headmasters office. Then one by one they disappeared with a flash of light.
A couple of minutes later the three of them were standing in front of the headmaster's desk. Albus Dumbledore sat behind the desk and looked up at the three of them through his half moon shaped glasses.
"I was accepting you three to visit me, but I am sorry to tell you the same thing I told the two children earlier today. Harry must stay at his relative's until his birthday and then he will be able to come to the Burrow." Albus said in a calm voice.
"Albus I have to see him and know that he is okay or I think that I might go out of my mind." Sirius said as he rushed forward.
"Sirius my dear boy, I assure you that Harry is fine, if he wasn't then the wards around his house would alert me to anything." He said and motioned to a room at the back of his office where he had alarms for the wards around the Dursley's house.
"Professor?" Sirius said in a pleading voice. "Do you think I can look at the wards? Just so that I can have some peace of mind." Dumbledore smiled at him.
"Sure my dear boy you can." The two men went into the other room leaving Arthur and Molly out in the office. When Sirius got into the room he noticed that there were bells of all shapes and sizes floating around the room, each bell was glowing a different color, in order for a person to tell actually which ward it was connected to. "As you can see Sirius, everything is fine and there is no need for worry."
Sirius breathed a breath of relief when he saw the glowing bells and that the wards were still around the house and that they weren't going off. He smiled and nodded at the Headmaster, then as he was heading out the door went something stopped him.
A sudden chill went up his spine as he stopped in the doorway. He made eye contact with Molly whose face suddenly twisted into a horrified expression as she looked passed him into the room where a single bell had gone off and then as quick as it went off it was silenced. Sirius turned around to find that the bells were not glowing any more, all except three wards, one to tell them Harry was still alive, one for Apparating and one ward that only let people, would didn't want to harm anyone who lived in the house, past.
"By the gods." Breathed Albus. "The wards are down. We have to get to Harry immediately." The four rushed out of the Headmaster's office, out onto the grounds and just outside the Apparating ward. A good ten minutes after they left the headmaster's office they were standing at the end of Privet Drive, just outside the Apparating ward and they started running for the house when they saw a cloaked and hooded figure on the other end of the drive. The figure was carrying the small body of a boy. Sirius looked at the boy and his breath caught in his throat when he saw a small lighten bolt scar on his forehead.
"HARRY!" yelled Sirius as a starting sprinting as fast as he could toward the figure, but before Sirius got to far he ran straight into a wards and was thrown backwards. Landing on his back he got the breath knocked out of him, but still he sat up just in time to watch the cloaked figure disappear with a pop before darkness surrounded his vision and he fainted.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Severus had turned on the light with a blinding flash. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the new light and when they did he wished that he never turned the damn light on. His hand automatically went to his mouth as his eyes wondered over this horrible scene. The first thing he noticed was the smell. Everything smelt of death, blood, torture and stale sex. The room was mostly bare and the windows were boarded up allowing no light to come in from the outside. The only piece of furniture in the room was a bed with an old bare mattress. On top of the bed lay a rather old and small blanket that had many holes in it. The carpet which notice was in the room was gone, leaving only the wooden floor, but there was something wrong with the floor.
On the floor there where places that were discolored as if there had been pools of blood just laying around and let dry without even cleaning them up. But that couldn't he right? Could it?
His eyes swept across the room another time, but he couldn't see the boy anywhere. It wasn't has if the boy, if he really was here, had anywhere to hide. Then he heard the weak voice chant the verse again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I'll be good."
It was coming from the other side of the bed. Severus took a deep breath and gathered his courage. He really didn't want to look. He knew something was terribly wrong and all his instincts told him to go, to run away and not look back. This wasn't his concern.
It wasn't like this was his child. In fact this was James' child, the person that took his Lily away from him, so who care if the James' clone died, he didn't. Did he? Well he didn't care that James had died, but Lily.
"Oh Lily give me strength." Severus said a whispered prayer has he walked forward towards the bed. His eyes carefully watching the floor around the bed to see whoever it was, but as he was rounding the bed he stopped suddenly, as the weak voice had just as sudden stopped. This made Severus start to panic, and then he noticed something, which made him panic even more. Blood! A gathering pool of blood seemed to stretch out towards him.
It was coming from the side of the bed where the weak voice stopped only moments before. With a rush of adrenaline to his body, he jumped over the corner of the bed to find a rather small ebony haired boy curled up into a ball on the floor next to the bed. The boy was covered in blood and burns, which made Severus stumble back in horror.
In all the many years that he was a Death Eater and spy he had seen many torture sites where Voldemort like to have fun with his victims, but this room was far worst than any he had ever seen. The boy was laying in a gathering pool of his own blood. He was wearing only a pair of torn sweat pants that were way to large for him.
The skin that he could see was covered in large dark bruises, raged cuts, and assorted burns. The glasses that he once wore were missing and one of his eyes was swollen shut. There was a long cut down the side of his face that looked as if it was mad by a knife. The boy's breathing was labored and shallow, which told him that one or more of the boy's ribs were broken.
Severus slipped a hand into his cloak and pulled out a couple of bottles of healing potions. He poured each potion down Harry's throat, first went the one to control some of the bleeding, and then there was the one to help Harry breath and then a pain-killing potion. As soon as all of the potions were given to Harry he grabbed the small blanket off the bed quickly and wrapped it around the boy's small frame.
He picked up the boy and was amazed at how light the boy was. There wasn't a once of fat on his small boy. He was beginning to be even more worried at this. The boy would be weaker than he thought because it seemed the boy hadn't eaten anything since he left Hogwarts. If that was so then how could the boy have enough strength to heal? Severus knew that he had to move quickly if he was going to save the boy, but he couldn't do anything here. What if the boy's relatives would come back? He would be able to help Harry with them around.
Severus pulled the boy's small frame close to his body, his arms around the boy in a protective manner. He quickly left the room and headed down the stairs. He looked back around the house one last time, telling himself that he would come back for the boy's things later. Then after a moment he went outside. He heading down Privet Drive to get to the end of the Apparating wards and was almost there when he heard four small pops from the other end of the drive that told him someone else was there as well.
He turned around to see four people he knew stand at the other end of the Drive staring at him. Severus turned and hurried to the end of the Apparating wards, which were only a few more feet, when he heard one of the four yell out Harry's name. He had got to the end of the ward and turned to look again at the four people.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
He woke up in the hospital wing sometimes later. Molly Weasley was sitting nearby with Ron and Hermione around her and she was crying. He sat and watched her for a moment before anyone noticed that he was awake.
"Oh Sirius." Exclaim Hermione. "Sirius, Harry." she couldn't finish her statement before dissolving into tears. A coldness went over his heart when he heard the way she had to stop speaking and cry.
"Sirius, it's Harry." Said Ron his voice was a little shaky but he kept it steady so that he could relay the important information to the worried godfather. "Last night after you guys got back to Hogwarts the Headmaster went up to his room to see what happened to the wards, only to find the ward to show that Harry was still alive." tears slide down his face as he stopped for a moment to take a breath. "Well the ward was not working anymore."
"No." Sirius whispered. This was all just a bad dream that he was having. He would wake up any minute and Harry would be right there where Ron was sitting, smiling at him. Harry would be there to tell him everything was one big bad joke and there was nothing wrong, but then there was the way that Molly Weasley was crying. The way a mother would cry when she learned that one of her children had just died.
There was also that feeling as if a hand was closing over his heart, and now it felt like the hand was squeezing all the life out of him. "No." he said again, but no one would tell him for sure. Minutes felt like hours as he sat there looking at each face for the answer to all of his questions, but something told him that he already knew the answer, he just didn't want to listening to it.
Then suddenly the doors to the hospital wing opened and Dumbledore came through the doors followed closely by Snape would looked as if he had just went through a torture session with Voldemort. Dumbledore came up to his bed. The twinkle in eye was lost and the smile that seemed never to leave the Headmaster's face was gone. "Sirius I have some bad news."