"I'm going to go and visit Sirius, I won't be able to sleep without seeing he's ok for myself." Replied Remus.
"Ok, just let us know how he is." Said James, climbing into his bed.
Agreeing, Remus threw the cloak over himself and headed back down to the hospital wing. There was something going on and Madam Pomfrey hadn't answered the question they'd asked earlier. Just how was Sirius? And what was being kept from them?
Having dodged past Flitch and avoided Snape, Remus crept quietly into the hospital wing. Glancing around, he saw that Sirius was alone at the end of the room. Pulling the cloak off, Remus made his way over to his friend.
"Oh Padfoot", he sighed when he finally got a good look at him, "what have you done to yourself?"
Sirius however didn't answer as he slept on unaware of his visitor.
"Why didn't you talk to me?" Moony asked quietly, knowing that even if Patfoot had been awake, he still wouldn't have got an answer.
It wasn't the first time that Sirius had withheld telling his friends what was going on. He would badger them if he even had an inkling that something was upsetting them, but when it came to him, he clammed up tighter than an oil drum. It was as if he thought he wasn't worth the worry. Remus knew that this belief had a lot to do with his treatment at home, but like everything else, they only got glimpses of his life outside of school term.
Hearing a faint moan, Remus looked up from his contemplation. He watched as a grimace of pain chased itself across Padfoot's face. Reached out, he took a small, cold hand in his.
"It's ok Patfoot, I'm here and I'm not leaving you." He whispered brushing a soft kiss across his friend's forehead. "Everything is ok, you're going to be just fine."
"Yes he will be." Came a voice from behind.
Whirling around, Remus came face to face with the Headmaster.
"Erm, Headmaster, I was just, I mean, you see Sirius.." He stammered trying to explain why he had snuck back into the infirmary.
An amused smile twitched at the corner of Dumbledore's mouth, before it settled into a gentle smile.
"It is quite ok Mr Lupin, I fear that if I was in your place I should have done the exact same thing. Mr Black needs his friend around him, even if it does mean that those friends bend the rules a little." He said as he ran a gentle hand over Sirius's head.
"Is he going to be alright?" Remus asked.
"He needs rest and food but he should be fine, at least physically, however," Dumbledore said, a slight frown on his face, "he has to recover from more than just the physical."
Looking at Dumbledore, Remus saw the worry that the Headmaster held.
"He has faced something that no person, let alone a child should ever have to, and I admit it concerns me greatly that he may not ask for or accept help."
"What happened?" Asked Moony in a hushed voice.
"It is not my place to tell you, though I do hope that Mr Black will confide in you and Mr Potter. Your unconditional support is going to mean a lot to him when he has to finally face everything."
Staring down at Remus, Dumbledore studied the boy in front of him carefully. Would he and Mr Potter be able to help Sirius or would the walls the boy on the bed created be too high for even his closest confidents to scale?
"Will you be willing to do anything for your friend?" He asked, his voice the most serious Remus had ever heard.
"He is my best friend and I love him. I will do anything to help him," Remus stated, the conviction apparent in his voice and on his face. "And as soon as he wakes I'll tell him that."
Placing a comforting hand on Moony's shoulder, Dumbledore gestured for him to stand.
"Then, I do believe that Mr Black will be alright. And now, my young friend, I do feel it is time for you to head back to your bed. As Madam Pomfrey said earlier, you may visit before breakfast."
Feeling a gentle push on his back, Remus glanced over his shoulder at Sirius. Seeing his friend asleep, his face relaxed, Remus nodded to Dumbledore and made his way back to his dorm.
"Headmaster, what are you still doing here?" Asked Madam Pomfrey as she came into the room to check on her patient.
"Just checking that all is right with Mr Black." He replied.
Looking at the forlorn figure on the bed, Poppy shook her head.
"Monsters." She hissed. Her temper getting the better of her. "That they could do that to such a sweet child. It makes my blood boil. Never have I seen such an inhuman act, even You Know Who had never stooped so low, as to harm a child like that."
"Calm, Poppy." Dumbledore said placing his hands on her shaking shoulders. "We will not allow anything to happen to the boy, and I shall personally see that those monsters never come near him again. Come now, let us leave the boy to rest. He will be alright here."
Walking out of the room, they didn't see the dark shadow creep slowly towards the vulnerable boy. Didn't see as it flowed over his body, a menacing laugh fading away as the shadow disappeared back the way it came.
In a dark room, miles from the school, a hunched figure sat looking into the fire.
"Don't think you are safe from me boy, my fun has only just started. You belong to me, and no teacher can protect you, after all you can't escape the shadows in your mind."