James cautiously removed his arm from around Sirius' shoulders, trying unsuccessfully not to wake him. Sirius opened his eyes and looked blearily around, a look of confusion crossing his face as he saw James. He blinked a few times, then seemed to get a grip on himself and remember where he was.
"Feeling better, mate?"
"I guess…"
James watched as Sirius got up off the floor. Though the boy tried hard to hide it, it was fairly obvious that he was still in pain. He was holding his left arm slightly out to one side to stop it hitting off his bruised ribs and wincing every time he had to bend over even a little bit.
Getting to his feet as well, James made as though to put his arm around Sirius again, but stopped at an impatient gesture from his friend.
"I'm fine, James. Just a bit stiff. Sleeping on the floor doesn't agree with me."
'No, it's your mother's beating that doesn't agree with you,' thought James, but said nothing. Sirius had a terrible streak of pride. Nothing could be said or done that would make him admit that he was hurt.
"Do you feel up to having some breakfast? My mum was in here a while ago and she said to come downstairs when you woke up."
Sirius' eyes widened slightly.
"Did she mind that I was here? I don't want to piss her off. I shouldn't have come in the middle of the night, it's just that…"
"Siri," James interrupted. "It's fine. Don't get so worked up, Mum doesn't mind at all."
"You sure?" Asked his friend anxiously.
"Positive."
"Ok then, let's go. I guess I am kinda hungry."
"Good, 'cause I'm famished."
The two went into the kitchen, where they found Mary Potter sitting at the table drinking a cup of tea. She looked up and smiled when the boys came through the door.
"Hi Sirius. Haven't seen you for a while, dear." She put her cup down on the table and stood up. "I hear you had a rough time last night, let's see what we can do for you." Walking over to a shelf by the sink she started to take down various bottles and boxes.
"I'm fine, really," Sirius mumbled as James' mum deposited her armload on the table and steered him towards a chair next to the collection of medicine.
"Of course you are," she replied. "Now lift up your arm for me."
James nearly chuckled as Sirius meekly did everything that was asked of him. His mum was a nurse, and knew exactly how to deal with people. He watched as his friend unbuttoned his shirt – any thoughts of laughing vanished when he caught sight of the full extent of Sirius' injuries. Ugly red weals marred his side, and bruises littered the skin around them. A sharp intake of breath came from his mother as she saw the same thing. James cursed himself for not having called her as soon as Sirius turned up. He shouldn't have spent the night on the floor; he belonged in hospital or, at the very least, in a bed.
Sirius looked up at James and gave a half-hearted grin.
"It's not as bad as it looks, really."
"I somehow doubt that," came Mary Potter's voice. "Hmm, I can't do much more than bandage you up for now. We'll have to wait for Harold to get home to heal you properly."
"Mum's not a witch, you see," James explained to Sirius. "She works in a Muggle hospital."
"We could take you there, Sirius."
"No, please. I'll wait for your dad, James. They'll want to call my parents if I go to a hospital and, if you ignore the fact that they don't actually have a phone in the first place, I don't really want them to know where I am right now."
"Alright so, Harold should be home around nine. You two will have to amuse yourselves until then; I've got to work a shift at the hospital," Mrs. Potter glanced down at her watch. "And I'm supposed to be there in five minutes!" She grabbed her coat, gave James a peck on the cheek and practically flew out of the house – stopping only to tell them that Sirius' bandages would need to be changed every couple of hours.
"So…" James said a little awkwardly, trying to think of a subject other than Sirius' injuries. "What d'you want to do for the next eleven hours?"
***
And that was part two of my not-so-original story. I'm enjoying writing this, even though it's really clichéd. The world needs more Sirius/James fiction!!!