hello, all. it's been...a while...ahem. about that. sorry! I was rather busy with the play at school, my new boyfriend, and loads of homework, among other things. so anyway, we'll put that behind us, and here we are at chapter four. hope you enjoy it! remember to review...

Disclaimer: nope. don't own Harry Potter.

Warnings: preslash. more in future chapters.

Reflections

Chapter Four: New Developments

Mrs. Weasley looked in on the pair later that day. She quietly opened the door and peered in. Sirius was still sleeping, and Harry was sitting at the bedside, holding his hand and gently stroking his hair.

She smiled to herself and said softly, "Harry?"

He started and looked around, dropping his hand from Sirius's face as he did so. "Yes?"

She took in his disheveled appearance. He still looked tired, and rather peaky. "Why don't you come downstairs and have a bite to eat?" He frowned slightly, and glanced back at his sleeping godfather. Noticing this, she suggested, "Or I could bring something up here, if you'd like."

"Well, if it wouldn't be too much trouble…" He trailed off.

Mrs. Weasley dismissed this with a wave of her hand. "Don't be silly. Of course it isn't. I'll have something ready in a minute." With that she bustled out of the room.

No sooner had she left the room, Ron's face appeared in the doorway. "Harry?" He said hesitantly. "Mum wouldn't let me in earlier, she said you needed rest." He edged into the room and asked awkwardly, "So…uh…how are you?"

Harry smiled at him. "Good. Really good," He said softly, looking back down at Sirius. "Better than I have been in a long time."

Ron looked down on the sleeping man with awe. "I just…Sirius…wow."

"I know." They were silent for a few minutes.

"I'm really glad he's back," Ron said finally. He was sometimes blunt and even rude, and although he often said the wrong things, he could still be sincere and honest. Harry was very grateful for that part of him. It was what made him such a great friend. Before he had a chance to reply, however, there came the sound of someone climbing the stairs.

Ron glanced nervously over his shoulder. "Listen, mate, she'd probably be pretty mad if she found me here, so I better go."

"Yeah, ok then, see you later."

"All right," he said, and was gone with a final wave of his hand. Shortly after he left, Mrs. Weasley entered the room again, carrying a tray that held a steaming bowl of soup and a large sandwich.

"Here you go, dear, call if you need anything else," She said as she set the tray on the bedside table.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley." She nodded and smiled, and left the room. Harry picked at his food--he really wasn't that hungry. He turned his attention instead back on Sirius, who was still asleep. He wanted to make sure that Sirius was really going to be okay before completely relaxing. Besides that, he wanted to spend as much time with Sirius as possible. He'd never realized how much Sirius meant to him until he was gone, and he didn't want to waste any time now that he had a second chance.

Harry tentatively reached to Sirius's face. His skin was smooth, soft, and pale. Harry stroked his cheek lovingly. With his free hand, he grasped Sirius's. He remained in that position for a long time.

Finally, Sirius stirred and opened his eyes. "Harry?" He said quietly, blinking up at him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better than I was." They smiled at each other, and at this point, Harry realized that his hand was still on Sirius's face. He quickly pulled away. "Don't…" Sirius whispered. Harry froze. Don't pull his hand away? Sirius was looking at him strangely. Intensely. Harry opened his mouth and found that he couldn't speak.

"Um…" someone said suddenly, and the moment was ruined. Harry ripped his eyes away from Sirius and looked around. Ron was standing in the doorway looking at him awkwardly. Heat rose in Harry's face. How long had he been standing there? "I was just wondering how you were doing."

"Oh, well, I'm fine…" Harry answered.

Behind him, Sirius sat up. "Hi, Ron."

"Glad to see you're feeling better, Sirius. You had us worried for a while," Ron said, grinning at him. "Anyway, I came to tell you guys that--"

"Harry! Sirius!" Someone squealed. Harry saw a flash of bushy brown hair before he was pulled into a bone-breaking hug.

"--Hermione's here," Ron finished.

"Oh Harry, how are you? And you, Sirius? I got an owl from Ron and came right over--"

"Let him breathe, Hermione," Ron chuckled.

Hermione pulled back and smiled at Harry, wiping her eyes. She then turned to Sirius and hugged him as well. He smiled and awkwardly patted her on the back. She finally released him and stood back, looking at both of them happily.

After talking with them for a while, Ron and Hermione left the room and headed outside. The sun was setting, and the sky was painted with red and gold. They sat on a bench in the garden, not saying anything for a while.

"I'm so happy for Harry," Hermione said at last. Ron looked over at her. "He's finally smiling again."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he smiled before, but he didn't really mean it. Now I can see that he's truly happy. He's found someone to love again." Ron looked over at her as he pondered this. It made sense. She actually looked quite nice with her face illuminated by the brilliant sunset.

Hermione looked back at the sky. "This is beautiful." Ron silently agreed. He looked over at her once more, took a breath, and slowly reached over and covered Hermione's hand with his own. She looked over at him, startled but glad. They stayed sitting outside until well after dark.

Meanwhile, Harry was wondering just what had happened between him and Sirius earlier that day. He gazed down at his peaceful sleeping godfather and found that he was almost angry with Ron for interrupting. Now he'd never know what might have transpired.

Sitting there, looking down at him, Harry came to realize that Sirius was different somehow. He didn't look any different, and his mannerisms and attitude hadn't changed, but somehow…he was just different. Their relationship was somehow different. There seemed to be a sort of tension between them all the time. It wasn't exactly bad, just...new. And besides that, when exactly had Sirius become so attractive? No, not attractive...Harry had just missed him. That's all. That had to be the reason why he couldn't keep his eyes off him. Or maybe Sirius hadn't changed at all. Maybe it was Harry.

Sirius took a deep breath and opened his eyes. "Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry that I've been sleeping so much. I'll get up tomorrow for sure, I promise." Harry smiled fondly at him and squeezed his hand. He didn't mind the wait--he didn't plan on leaving Sirius's side anytime soon. Actually, he didn't really plan on leaving his side ever again.

so. did ya like? review! I shall update...sometime! sometime in the near future!