Broken

By Neurotica

Eight

Julia woke suddenly, as though someone had shouted in her ear. It took her a moment to calm herself enough to fall back to sleep. And that's when she felt it. Her bed was shaking slightly—perhaps it was her, but somehow she didn't think so. With wide eyes, she turned around in her bed, hoping to Merlin that Remus was playing some sort of prank on her—if he was, she'd kill him, but at least she'd know what was going on.

As her eyes rested on the small shape covered by blankets in her bed, her first thought was that this was Remus' worst prank ever. Cautiously, she pulled the blankets way from where she thought the shape's head would be. Then she jumped so far back that she fell off the bed with a strangled yell. She fumbled on the nightstand for her wand, but only succeeded in knocking the bedside lamp to the floor with a crash.

Her wand finally located, she muttered weakly, "Lumos." The tip of her wand began to glow and she pulled herself from the floor to peek over the edge of the bed. Just as her mind vaguely registered that the shape in the bed was her godson, her bedroom door burst open, causing her to fall off the bed again.

Even in the pale light of her wand, Remus looked angrier than Julia had ever wanted to see him. He switched on the bedroom light and paled in an instant. He dropped his wand by the door and rushed to Harry's side—Julia crawled on the bed beside them.

"What's wrong with him?" she practically begged to her friend.

Slowly, very slowly, Remus turned his head away from Harry to look at the door. "What did you do to him?" he growled.

Julia started to ask who he was talking to, but followed his gaze. She nearly had her second heart attack of the night when she spotted the man she'd thought about more in the past week than any other time in the last six years.

Sirius steadily held Remus' glare. "I didn't do anything to him," he said hoarsely. "This is how I found him."

Remus' jaw clenched visibly—Julia wasn't sure if he believed Sirius or not—as he turned back to Harry. They realized the child was barely breathing as Remus unwrapped him from the cocoon of blankets. "We have to get him to Hogwarts," he said quietly. Julia was barely paying any attention—between Harry and Sirius, she was lucky not to have fallen off the bed again. "Julia," Remus said more forcefully. She snapped her eyes from Sirius' hollow ones to look at Remus. "Harry has to go to Hogwarts."

Julia nodded slowly. "Okay," she whispered.

Remus stood from the bed, obviously trying to regain control of the situation. He waited for Julia to push herself from the bed. She went to her wardrobe and fumbled around, looking for something to cover her thin nightshirt. She pulled out an old Puddlemere United jersey, and Remus realized too late that it had once belonged to Sirius.

Remus felt around for his wand—he'd had it a minute ago, but now it was nowhere to be seen. Movement out of the corner of his eye caused him to snap his head to the door. Sirius was bending over to the floor... to pick up Remus' wand. The werewolf exchanged a startled glance with Julia, who tightened the grip on her own wand—maybe she didn't trust Sirius as much as he'd thought...

But instead of turning the wand on the other two and holding them hostage, the Animagus tossed the wand in the air and caught it by its tip, handing it over to Remus. Slightly shocked at the surrender, Remus took his wand back.

"Doesn't mean I trust you," he muttered to the other wizard.

Sirius shrugged and backed into the wall, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

"Do you want me to take Harry?" Julia asked quietly through the tense atmosphere.

Remus nodded. "Yes, and I'll take him," he gestured to Sirius, "I'm sure Dumbledore will be thrilled to see him."

Julia moved to the other side of the room, biting her lip hard as she passed Sirius, and picked Harry up from the bed. She held the child close to her and walked out of the room. Remus and Sirius followed, the latter being held at wandpoint. Julia made it to the top of the stairs before she too began to shake.

Sirius pushed past Remus before the other wizard could stop him. "Julia, let me take him," he begged hoarsely.

"Don't you touch him," Remus spat, the tip of his wand between Sirius' eyes.

"She's going to drop him!" Sirius cried.

"What do you care?" Remus asked bitterly.

"I care a lot," Sirius said, hurt evident in his voice. "He's my godson."

Remus opened his mouth to reply, but Julia silenced him with a glare. "Are you two quite done now? We can discuss this when Harry's not on the verge of death," she said to the both of them.

This stopped their verbal battle. Julia got a better grip on Harry and headed down the staircase. Sirius and Remus exchanged bemused looks and followed. Down in the living room, it took them a moment to find a Floo jar—Remus and Julia had been using Apparition to travel rather than the fireplace. Finally, the witch remembered she had a small packet of Floo powder in her purse, just enough for two one-way trips to Hogwarts.

Remus quickly retrieved it and instructed Sirius (by wandpoint) into the fireplace first—he would not be left alone with Julia and Harry. Sirius shook his head in disbelief, but did as instructed. Remus enlarged the fireplace with a wave of his wand and stepped in beside him, with his hand firmly around Sirius thin upper arm. He stowed his wand in his back pocket and threw a pinch of Floo powder at his feet, calling out their destination clearly. ("Hogwarts! Headmaster's office!") They disappeared in a whirl of green flames.

Julia stepped into the fireplace with a little more difficulty than the two wizards and poured the remains of the green powder at her own feet. She buried Harry's head in her chest to assure he wouldn't inhale any of the soot, and called out the same location as Remus had a moment before. Her grip around Harry tightened as they began to spin through the fireplaces. Julia closed her eyes to avoid being sick—she never did like Floo travel—and started to prepare herself for the impact she was sure to feel in a moment. She just hoped she didn't fall over with Harry in her arms.

She slid out of Dumbledore's fireplace and was caught around the middle by a pair of pale thin but strong arms. She looked up and found Sirius looking back at her. He attempted to smile and sat her back on her feet, making sure Harry was okay first.

"All right?" Remus asked her quietly, still glaring at Sirius. She adjusted he grip on Harry and nodded.

"How is he, Julia?" Albus Dumbledore's voice asked quietly.

"He's the same as before," she managed to say. "He'll be better when Madam Pomfrey has a look at him."

"Of course," Dumbledore said. "Remus and Julia, you will come with me to the hospital wing with Harry. Mister Black will remain here until we return."

Sirius must have realized that there was no arguing with the Headmaster — he snapped his mouth shut and nodded. "Yes, sir," he muttered.

If Dumbledore was surprised by Sirius' manners, he didn't show it. He merely nodded and led Remus and Julia with Harry to the hospital wing.

"Who would care to begin the explanations?" Dumbledore asked solemnly as Madam Pomfrey started her examinations of Harry.

Remus lifted his head from his hands and looked next to him at Julia. The witch looked back just as helplessly as he felt. Luckily for them, Madam Pomfrey came at that moment to update them about Harry.

He'd be fine, she told them, after a few days under her care. He'd need plenty of nourishment replenishment potions and a few other antibiotics. She'd taken care of his sunburn for the most part, and was trying to get his fever under control now. The Healer also recommended a large feast for the child when he was up to it. Dumbledore told her he would inform the house-elves.

"Perhaps we should continue our discussion in my office. I would like to hear from the last member of your party, as well," Dumbledore said. Remus and Julia hesitated. "Harry will be fine with Madam Pomfrey, I assure you. I think you've both had plenty of experience with our Healer to know that she is superb in her field."

The two friends nodded and stood, with one last look at Harry, to follow their former Headmaster out of the hospital wing. As they walked along the dark corridors, Remus put an arm around Julia's shoulders in comfort—not just for her comfort, though; he needed it just as much at the moment.

Julia's head was spinning out of control. In the span of ten minutes she'd been unofficially reunited with both her godson and former love. Whatever happened next would change her life again. As much as she wanted to believe Sirius was truly innocent, as often as she told Remus he was, she wasn't sure what to think or do now.

There was a big difference in believing something about a person when there was almost no hope of ever seeing said person again. Applying that hope to when that person suddenly appears back into one's life...

Dumbledore muttered the password—neither of his companions heard what he'd said—and led the way past the stone gargoyles onto the revolving stone staircase.

When they entered the Headmaster's study, Sirius was waiting for them on the sofa next to Dumbledore's office. He spotted the new arrivals and sprang up from his seat. "How is he? Is he okay?" he demanded from them.

"Young Harry will be just fine, Sirius," Dumbledore said quietly, gesturing for Remus and Julia to take a seat in front of his desk. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief and fell back to the sofa. "Now, however, I believe explanations are in order..."