Chapter Nine
We're making progress, Harry thought happily as he observed what he and Sirius had accomplished so far. They had removed god knows how many bricks from the wall, but so far they were able to stick their head through. With high hopes, Harry thought they might be able to remove enough bricks to crawl through by three days. Maybe even less—hopefully. But, he was a bit curious at what would be on the other side. Whether it was another room, a tunnel maybe, or even the outside. Freedom.
In the corner over in the shadows is where they set the bricks that they were able to pull out. They had settled in that certain area just in case Malfoy (senior) came by to 'check in' on them, and the bricks would be invisible in the darkness.
"Can you help with this one?" Sirius asked in a frustrated voice. "It's stuck." Harry was able to move his swollen foot so he'd be able to turn around and help his godfather, though a sheer jolt of pain came along with it. Harry grasped onto the side of the brick, tugging until it came loose enough to pull out.
"Maybe you should let me do some," Harry said uncertainly. He eyed the tips of Sirius's fingers, which were starting to bleed. Sirius frowned.
"Why?"
Harry raised his eyebrows, a smile tugging at the side of his lips. "You're bleeding," he pointed out.
"So?"
"So just take a break," Harry said, getting frustrated at his godfathers stubbornness.
"Don't think so," Sirius contradicted. "How can you be able to move with that swollen foot of yours?"
"I'm not moving my foot to take the bricks out," Harry said. "I'm using my hands. What's this got to do with my foot, anyway?" Sirius sighed, ignoring Harry and turning back to the bricks. "Just take a break," Harry said exasperatedly.
"I'm almost done, Harry."
"No, you're not," Harry debated, looking at the space in the wall that would only be big enough to fit his head in.
"I will be," Sirius corrected himself. "…Soon." Harry gave a sigh of defeat.
"You should take a break though, Siri. I wouldn't mind taking over for awhile, just to give your hands a rest, anyway. You look tired."
"Who's the adult here, anyway?" Sirius said with a grin. Harry grinned back, his face loosing its color. He moaned, holding his hands up against his stomach.
"I don't feel good," he complained. Sirius stopped prying the bricks with his hands to cast Harry a concerned look.
"You okay, kiddo?" Harry shook his head, feeling nausea sweep over him. "You're probably hungry," Sirius said, scowling. "No wonder. Malfoy hasn't fed you in—what?—a day?"
"Don't you mean us?" Harry managed to get out without vomiting.
"I mean you," Sirius said, a concerned look still plastered on his face. Harry closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall, inhaling and exhaling a few breaths. He felt too sick to argue with Sirius, and suddenly felt relieved as the nausea left slowly, but he was still left with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Ahh," Sirius muttered under his breath as he pulled another brick out of the wall. He tossed it over in the shadows, wincing as the brick made a horrible clanging noise on the cement floor. Sirius held his breath, hoping that Malfoy didn't hear the loud noise. He let his breath out and looked relieved as no sound of Lucius Malfoy was made.
"You were lucky that time," Harry said with a faint grin, still looking a bit green in the face. Sirius made a snort of agreement, turning back to the wall and busily working on another brick.
-
Once Remus had awoken to find a blazing sunshine beaming in through the window, the first thing on his mind was Harry and finding him. Wherever the boy was, he couldn't sit around doing nothing. He had to take action. All the accusations towards Lucius Malfoy had seemed to vanish overnight, though he was a mite suspicious. Just not as suspicious as last night.
Somehow, Remus could tell that Harry wasn't his best. It was almost a…feeling of a sort. It was as if he could tell what the boy was feeling, but that just might be his empathic side showing.
He let out a moan, knowing that that was the last time he'd fall asleep on the couch in an uncomfortable position again. He rubbed the nape of his neck; only one thing on his mind. Today was going to be the day that he'd find Harry—he knew it.
-
"Take a break!" Harry exclaimed, cursing Sirius for being so stubborn. Sirius ignored his godson, hearing enough of Harry's complaining commands. Harry's shoulders slouched, defeated. "Please?"
"Just rest," Sirius said finally. "I'm almost done. Look how much I've finished so far! We'll be out of here in no time, kiddo."
"I know," Harry replied, becoming chafed. "And I don't want to 'rest' anymore. I have been resting—and now it's your turn!"
"Calm down," Sirius said calmly, clenching his teeth together in pain as he tiredly pulled another brick out. He wiped the blood on the tips of his fingers onto his clothes. "Look how much bricks I've gotten out so far. I'll be done soon, Harry." Harry ignored Sirius, trying to calm the nausea that once again swept over him. He closed his eyes and took a few breaths.
"Fine," Harry managed to get out. When the feeling passed, Harry leaned over to look at what was behind the brick of walls. "That looks like a…" He trailed off, glancing at Sirius. "It looks like a room."
"Yeah," Sirius agreed. "I-I think it's big enough for you to crawl through. Go ahead; try."
"Why don't you try crawling through first?" Harry asked.
"Because," Sirius argued. "I want you to go to safety first." Harry rolled his eyes.
"How do you know that that room is safe?" Sirius shrugged.
"A guess. Now let me help you through." Carefully helping Harry through the tunnel that led to the room next to cell, Sirius went through after.
"It's—" Harry paused, leaning on Sirius for support. "Big."
-
A/N: This was a bit difficult and short for me to write because I have the unbearable bug called Flu. I don't know when I'll be writing and posting the next chapter, though I have a feeling it'll be after I don't have the flu anymore. Thank you for your reviews; I hope I'll be hearing (seeing, actually) more of them!