The first part of this chapter is cheesy as hell...but please ignore that, it was kept in their for the sake of my memories!
After wiggling his toes, Harry just smiled to himself, thinking, "I'm going to be alright. I'm going to walk again if it takes everything I've got, Sirius is going to get freed, and I'm surrounded by people who love me. For the first time ever, life is good."
With those happy thoughts, Harry drifted into blissful sleep. When he woke the next morning, he was happy to see that Sirius had kept his word and remained on his cot. It was, however, obvious that the cot was considerably closer to Harry's bed than it had been the night before. Harry found this quite amusing and was having trouble keeping his laughter quiet. In fact, he was laughing so hard that he woke up Sirius, the man who it was supposedly impossible to wake without a bucket of ice water. Sirius at first looked confused, then grinned at Harry, "Well someone's in a good mood this morning. What may I ask do you find so amusing."
Harry was laughing so hard now that almost couldn't speak, "Its—really not that funny—I—don't know why I'm laughing so hard—but—why are you so close to my bed? Did—you get a little—lonely last—night or some—thing?" disappointed
Sirius looked at Harry slightly embarrassed, "Can I help not wanting to be near my godson?" Sirius joked, although his embarrassment was highly visible to Harry. The truth was that Sirius hadn't even realized that he had moved the cot closer, it must have been one of those things that the subconscious is nice enough to do for you.
Harry laughed even harder at this, and Sirius soon gave up on his embarrassment, and joined the laughing. They were laughing so hard, that they woke up the third party in the house, who came in to see what the fuss was all about.
"What are you doing? You two could wake the dead!" Remus muttered. When Sirius and Harry turned to see Remus, their laughter increased ten- fold. His hair was flipped up straight on one side, and his face was red on one side from his pillow. His pajamas were twisted around him, so the buttons of his shirt were almost under his arm.
"What?" Remus asked, totally confused.
"You look—SO funny!" Harry choked out, before grabbing hold of his stomach because it hurt from laughing so hard. Sirius couldn't say anything, he just nodded his head, before rolling off his cot and onto the floor. Both he and Harry laughed even harder at this, if that was even possible.
Remus, walked over to a mirror in the room to see exactly what they thought was so funny. He couldn't help but grin at his own image. He chuckled a little too, but nowhere near the magnitude of Sirius and Harry. "Okay, so what were you laughing at before I came in?"
Sirius still couldn't manage to talk, so Harry did it for him after calming down a bit, "Well, when I woke up, Sirius was considerably closer than the night before," he started laughing a bit again, "and. . . well, I just thought it was kind of funny."
Remus just looked at him like he was off his rocker for finding that funny. "Okay. . . So since we are all up at the crack of dawn, how about getting ready for the day?" The others just stared at him.
"What are you going to do about Wormtail?" Harry finally asked, sobering quickly at the thought.
Remus just looked at him kindly, despite his hideous state, and said, "Wormtail will just have to wait until we're good and ready to deal with him. So get over your GIGGLES, and shower. I'll be out in a few, and then you two are up." He then walked right out the door.
"He needs a good shower, huh, Harry?" Sirius muttered once Remus was out of hearing distance. Harry also burst into laughter again, which was soon followed by tears of mirth. He couldn't speak, so he just nodded his head. Sirius was laughing right a long with him.
Once they had calmed down yet again, Sirius walked over and sat on the edge of Harry's bed. "So how are you feeling today?"
"Much better," Harry said cheerfully. "I think, not sure, but I think that I moved my toes last night."
Sirius looked at him shocked. "Harry! Are you serious? That's great! That means you'll probably be on your feet again in no time. But. . . What do you mean you think?"
"Well I was concentrating on trying to move them, but it was too dark to see. Anyway, I heard the sheets move."
Sirius looked a little less excited, but there was still enthusiasm in his voice, "Why don't you try again?"
"Okay," Harry said. He focused on his feet and tried to make them move. Nothing happened. His face immediately fell.
"Don't give up Harry. You can't expect it to work every time. Try again, and if you fail keep on trying, it's bound to work sometime!"
Harry nodded, and tried again. Again, nothing happened. He sighed. "I'm telling you Harry don't give up hope."
Harry stared down at his feet once more, he tried to move his feet back and forth. He expected nothing to come of it, but this time it did! Harry looked up at Sirius, shocked. Sirius was beaming with pride.
"See Harry. You can do anything if you want to enough. Good job. Now try to get better at that, and maybe we'll get you standing some time soon."
Harry grinned, but it soon faded. "What's up, Harry?" Sirius asked quietly.
"Well," Harry started. "It's just. . . If I can barely get my feet to move, how am I ever going to get to go back to Hogwarts? I can't very well go jumping the staircases to go from class to class! What am I going to do?" Harry was now panicking.
Sirius put an arm over his shoulders, and pulled Harry towards his side. He rested his chin on Harry's head as he spoke, "We'll find a way. . . Where there's a will, there's a way. Your father always told me that when we were at school. All you have to do is want it bad enough, and some how everything will be alright. We can get you a wheel chair if you need it, Harry. And there are special ways to get around Hogwarts without using the stairs. . . Trust me. And if I must, I will tell you all of them."
Harry just sighed. Sirius tickled his side in an attempt to lighten the heavy mood that had set in the room. Harry, flinched a little, but smiled and looked up at Sirius. "You ready to get clean Harry?" Sirius asked, "I think Remus is done now, sounds like the water stopped running."
Harry nodded, "I just wish I could do it myself."
"Soon, Harry, I know it," Sirius said reassuringly. He then stood, and scooped Harry up. Repeating the routine they had gone through the previous day. Once he got Harry out and ready, he set him back in bed and went to shower himself. He came back about 15 minutes later with a towel wrapped around his waist, and made for his closet.
"Forgot my clothes," he said, glancing at Harry who was giving him a look. Harry had been put in actual clothes this time. He was wearing track pants and a t-shirt that said, "Discover the Real England: Diagon Alley." He felt much better just wearing them then he had when he was stuck in two-sizes-too-big pajamas. Apparently, Remus had done a little shopping for him the previous day, Harry had no idea when, though.
Sirius quickly left the room after he gathered his clothes, he returned again a few minutes later. Fully dressed, wearing an outfit almost identical to Harry's. Harry grinned at Sirius when he saw him.
"We match," he said softly. Sirius grinned and then nodded his head.
"You ready for some breakfast? I think Moony's making pancakes, which are almost as good as his garlic bread!"
Harry grinned and nodded, he was starving as he had skipped dinner the night before.
"You'll be able to sit in a chair, right? It might hurt a bit to get bending again, but I think the more we loosen up those muscles, bones and joints, the sooner you'll be walking again."
"I'm up for it," Harry replied determinedly.
Sirius scooped him up and started walking out of the room. Harry's shirt had ridden up in the process, so Sirius took a moment to stop and blow a raspberry on Harry's stomach. Harry was at first shocked, but then smacked Sirius on the back of the head and pulled his shirt back down. Sirius grinned at Harry and headed down the stairs. Once they reached the kitchen Sirius pulled a chair out with his foot and plopped Harry down in it. He had to forcefully push Harry into a sitting position. He did it as gently as possible, but could tell he was slightly hurting his godson. "Sorry Harry, but I think it's for the best."
Harry nodded, "Yeah, it hurts, but it feels good to be sitting like a normal person again." Remus turned from the stove and sent Harry a sympathetic look.
"Breakfast's almost done," he said to the two at the table. Remus soon brought over a plate carrying a tower of pancakes. "Well you two are just Mutt and Jeff today aren't you?" Remus said, noting their matching outfits.
Harry looked confused, but Sirius smiled and nodded, throwing his arm around the back of Harry's chair. Harry just shrugged his shoulders. Then dug into the pancakes that Remus had slapped onto his plate. He ate as fast as he could, barely chewing. "Careful Harry, I don't want to have to do the Heimlich Charm," Remus said half joking half serious.
Harry slowed down momentarily, but then sped back up again. He hadn't been able to eat such wonderful food since Hogwarts, and there he would hold back a little. But now, Harry was at his home, and didn't really care what the other two thought. He was hungry, he was enjoying his food, and he was going to eat however much he wanted. And he did just that, eating for at least ten minutes after both Sirius and Remus had finished.
When he finally took his last bite, Remus grinned at him, but Sirius was looking very pensive. "Were they starving you too Harry? I have never seen anybody eat like that before. It looked like you hadn't eaten in days!"
"Well they had Dudley on a diet, so they decided to keep me on one too. I got enough though, I was never REALLY hungry. Don't worry about it Sirius, food was the least of my worries at the Dursley's. . ." Harry said, looking down at his plate, depressed at recalling what he had been through. Sirius put his arm over Harry's shoulders again, and squeezed him gently as a sign of support. Harry looked up and gave Sirius a brave grin.
Harry sighed, and looked up at Remus, "So, what are we doing today?"
"Today, we're going to deal with Wormtail. Dumbledore will be over again and we're going to discuss what the best way will be to deal with this situation. In the mean time, what do you want to do Harry?"
"Well, I wish I could see my friends some time, I really miss them, but I'm sure now is not a good time at all. I just don't want to lay in bed all day again, that's really not fun."
"Do you want to fly Harry?" Sirius asked tentatively, curious about what Harry would think of the idea.
"Sirius, NO!" Remus said, "You can't take him flying! He's just barely starting to improve, and you want to take the risk of him getting hurt? There is no way I'm letting you do this. No!" Sirius kept pleading with his eyes.
"Moony, come on! I'm going to be really careful, there is no way in Hell I'd let Harry fall off the broom. He loves flying, and I bet he really misses it. Think of how hard it must be for him. His life may be better while he's here, but he still can't do the things he loves to do and misses the most. I'm trying to make him happy Moony, and this really won't hurt him I swear!" Sirius had a begging tone in his voice. It was clear that he was willing to do almost anything to make Harry completely happy again. Harry looked between the two men with a grin on his face. It would make his day to be able to simply go outside, and nothing would feel better than to fly again.
Harry looked expectantly at Remus who looked like he was fighting an internal battle. He looked between Sirius and Harry and saw in their eyes how much they wanted to do it. "Oh what the Hell," Remus conceded. Harry and Sirius broke into identical huge grins. Remus smiled too, "Just take it easy. I don't want you practicing wronski feignts or anything okay?"
Harry and Sirius both nodded, their grins still spreading across their faces. "Can I talk to you for a minute before we deal with all this though, Sir?" Remus asked, looking a little pensive.
"Sure Moony. . ." Sirius said then turned to Harry who was still grinning broadly at the prospect of flying. "You'll be alright here for a few more minutes, right bud?"
Harry grinned and nodded. He had always wanted a pet name, and liked being called 'bud'. It was the kind of thing a parent would call a son and Harry wanted a parent more than anything.
Sirius and Remus walked out of the kitchen , through the living room, and into an office/den. "I have a plan, Padfoot. Harry said what he would like to do most today was have his friends over, so why don't we have them over? It would be the perfect distraction for him while we're talking to Dumbledore."
Sirius was surprised that Remus had thought of this. It seemed like the kind of crazy idea that he would have himself. Generally, Remus thought of the obvious things to do while Sirius thought of the harder things, but this time their roles switched. "That's a great idea Moony! Harry will love that. But do you think you can get them over at such a short notice? I mean what if they're doing something?"
"Well it can't hurt to try, am I right?"
Sirius shook his head, so Remus continued, "While you are out, flying, with Harry, I'll floo to Ron's house and pick him up, then apparate to Hermione's, I don't think her house will be hooked up. Then I'll probably apparate them to Diagon Alley, so we can floo back. I wish we could apparate to back here, but Harry would be at such a risk if we didn't have that. . . So what do you think?"
Sirius just looked at Remus shocked. When did he think all this up? He seemed to be able to think up plans in an instance. "Sounds really good Moony, how'd you come up with that so fast?"
"I guess I just want to make Harry happy, just like you with your lovely flying stint. I still don't really like the idea you know."
"Too bad, Harry and I are going flying. If you're done talking, I'm going to go get him ready to go outside. Man, Moony, Harry's going to be so surprised I can't wait!" With that, he turned and went back to the kitchen. He was beaming when he got back, and Harry looked curious as to why. When he asked, Sirius responded, "Oh, its nothing, I just haven't flown in a while. I'm kind of excited. Do you want to take your Firebolt, or Moony's old broom?"
Harry smirked, "The Firebolt of course!"
Sirius grinned, "How could I have been so stupid? I'll go grab it from your room, be right back."
He passed Remus at the stairs, "I'll be back soon Padfoot."
"Okay, Moony, bye," Remus replied before jogging up the stairs. He quickly retrieved the Firebolt and was about to head back downstairs when he heard an odd screeching noise coming from Remus's room.
He walked into the center of the room to see where the noise was coming from. His eyes immediately focused on Wormtail's jar. He was scratching at the sides of the jar, trying to find a way out. Sirius dropped the broom on the floor and closed the space between himself and the jar, drawn to it like a moth is to light. For a few moments he just stood there staring at the jar. Then suddenly and quickly he snatched it up in his hands.
Another short chapter, but I promise they get longer!
And people PLEASE do not read the original...the original is really, really sappy, and I'd rather you see it the way I'm fixing it to be now. I know I take a while to update, but if my cliffies are too much please just read a little ahead! I beg of you!
Review please!