Are You Sure It's Love?
Chapter 5
Natty got up to the room in about three minutes, but it felt a lot longer to James. He was pacing back and forth across the room.
"Natty!" he exclaimed, hearing the house elf pop into the room. "Can you help?" He motioned to the still unconscious Sirius laying on the bed.
Natty's eyes widened when she saw the figure. "What is you wanting Natty to do?" she asked.
"Anything you possibly can, particularly with his arm," James replied. Natty worked for quite a while, and by the time she was done, Sirius's arm was healed, he wasn't as bloody, and the bruises and cuts were mostly healed.
"How's it coming?" Severus asked from the doorway.
"He's mostly healed," James answered, not even turning around.
"Come on," Severus said, pulling James from the room. When James protested, he explained. "I know exactly what you'll do. You won't leave him alone at least until he wakes up, and even then rarely. You are going to eat now so you don't pass out later. Now hurry up!"
"Fine, fine," James muttered, even though he knew Severus was right. He ate as fast as he could, and then ran back upstairs, leaving Severus alone in the living room with his book. By the time he got back up the stairs, Sirius was just starting to come around.
"How are you feeling?" James asked, sitting down in the armchair beside the bed.
"Awful," Sirius replied, groggily. "I'm sorry for coming like this. I just didn't know where else I could go."
"Shush, Padfoot, it's alright," James said soothingly. He asked, "Do you want anything?" but Sirius was already asleep again.
The next time Sirius woke up, he was in for a slightly unpleasant surprise.
"I still think you should get Lupin to convince his mother to check on him. He can't be alright. He's slept for at least 15 hours," a voice that he knew he had heard before said.
"Yeah, well, you'd be sleeping a lot, too, if you'd walked the whole way from London," James retorted. "And anyway, I'm going to as soon as he wakes up, and tomorrow if he doesn't."
"If you really think that's best," the voice said, clearly stating his opinion.
"Listen, I appreciate the help, but I really don't think there is immediate danger," James said.
"And being a doctor, you'd know that. Whatever. I'm going back downstairs. Will you be eating lunch?"
"Could you have Natty bring something up?"
"Yeah, sure," the voice answered, leaving the room.
"James?" Sirius called weakly.
"Yeah, Sirius? It's about time you woke up, I was getting worried," James said.
"Who was in here earlier?" Sirius asked.
"My new step-brother. Never mind him, however. Do you want anything to eat?" James said.
Sirius simply nodded. He closed his eyes again, trying not to fall asleep. He heard the door open.
"Where's Natty?" he heard James ask. Apparently this was the other voice, James's step-brother.
"She was cleaning, so I told her I'd get the food myself," the voice answered. With a start, Sirius realized just whose that voice was. He went still, pretending to be asleep until he heard Snape leave the room.
"So that's your new step-brother?" Sirius asked, sure that Snape had left the room.
"Yeah," James answered cautiously.
"Am I still welcome here?" Sirius asked.
"Of course," James replied, seeming genuinely shocked. "Why wouldn't you be?"
"Can you really ask that after what I did?" Sirius countered, pulling himself up into a sitting position.
"So you were an idiot," James shrugged. He sat next to Sirius, putting his arm around him. "Happens to the best of us. Anyway, do you really think Severus would have been half as concerned as he has been if he was still mad?"
"What about his mum?" Sirius asked, not baring to believe that he was actually completely forgiven.
"Well, besides the fact that she's not here," James started. At Sirius's puzzled look, he explained, "Dad and Paula got married a few days ago, and are on their honeymoon. They won't be back for quite a while. That's why we had Natty heal you as best as she could. Anyway, I think she'd rather you be here than at your house."
"Erm," Sirius said, confused. "Care to clarify?"
"I'd be glad to if I knew what exactly I meant," James shrugged. Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Well, it's nothing definite, just a feeling, and I'm not explaining any farther, so don't ask, mostly because I'm fairly sure I can't."
"Well fine then," Sirius shrugged.
"Is he awake, or are you just talking to yourself?" Severus asked, poking his head into the room.
"Both," James replied, glancing at the door.
"Is sanity the first thing to go?" Severus asked, falling back on the jibe he had used many times.
"No. We've been over this, it's the third. Is memory the first thing that Slytherins lose?" James dead-panned.
"Of course it is," Severus replied, rolling his eyes. "Right before honesty and integrity."
"Good to know where your priorities are," James answered. Sirius was almost in shock. He never thought that it would be possible for James and Snape to actually talk, and not only talk, but talk civilly.
"Anyway," Severus was saying, breaking Sirius out of his thoughts. "Here are some potions Natty sent up. She said that she would have brought them herself, but she's making a huge lunch, apparently."
"Thank you for bringing them up," Sirius said, shocking himself possibly more than he shocked Severus and James combined.
"Your welcome," Severus replied. He then turned to leave the room. "Don't forget," he said, turning back around. "That Mum and Jonathan are going to check in tonight." He then left the room.
"Oh shit," James muttered. "They'll floo in about 30 mintues," he said, glancing at his watch. "Are you hungry?"
"Yeah," Sirius answered, sitting up. "Since when are you on friendly terms with Snape?"
"Since I got home," James answered. "I wasn't at first, but after my dad and I fought and made up, I decided it was probably easier to be friends, than to have everyone in the house, pretty much, against me. Anyway, are you strong enough to go down to the kitchen? Lunch'll be ready soon."
Sirius nodded, and tried to stand up. He had only gone about two feet towards the door, however, when he started to fall. James caught him before he hit the ground.
"Are you sure that you shouldn't just stay here?" James asked worriedly. Sirius shook his head, but continued towards the door. "As long as you're sure," James said, clearly amused. Sirius turned around to stick his tongue out at him, but stumbled again. Again, James caught him.
"You wouldn't think that being in bed for that long would make me this weak," Sirius said, trying to laugh.
"Well, I don't know. Maybe it's those healing charms Natty did," James said, uncertainly. Then he really looked at his boyfriend. He was just skin and bones! "Siri, when was the last time you really ate a full meal?"
"Um, ah, well," Sirius said, trying not to answer. "The Leaving Feast?"
"Have you ate anytime this summer?" James asked, hoping he had, but fearing the worst, especially from his friend's family.
"No," Sirius answered, looking at the floor.
"Alright, sit down," James said, growing paler by the second.
"But I don't want to be up here anymore," Sirius frowned. "I've got to keep my strength up."
"Huh-uh. Sit down. You walked all the way from London, and you haven't eaten an actual meal since we got out of school? Forget about keeping your strength up. How about just keeping it?" James said, clearly worried.
"I'll be fine," Sirius said. As if to prove his point, he headed out the door. He barely got through before his legs collapsed underneath him.
"Fine, huh?" James asked, him into the armchair. "You stay here, I'll get Natty to bring up whatever she can find." He came back shortly, followed by the house elf, who had a tray full of light food, like crackers, that you would normally feed people who had the flu or something and couldn't keep much down.
"Here, at least try to eat something," James said, as Natty sat the tray down beside Sirius. "I've got to go downstairs to talk to whichever one decides to floo tonight. I'll be back as soon as I can."
He ran back downstairs. It was really about 20 minutes until either his dad or Paula would fire-call, but he had to talk to Remus.
"Hi, Mrs. Lupin," he said, when he was finally connected. "Can I talk to Remus?"
"Sure, James," she said. "Remus!" He heard her call from the hallway outside of the living room.
When Remus finally appeared, James didn't waste anytime. "He's at my house," he said, expecting Remus to understand, which he didn't.
"James, if you must know, I had to wake up to talk to you. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't be so cryptic," Remus said.
"Fine," James said, rolling his eyes. "But, um," He stalled, motioning with his head at Mrs. Lupin, who had come back into the room to continue dusting.
"What? Oh!" Remus said, comprehension dawning. "Um, Mum? Could you leave us alone for a little bit?"
"Sure," Mrs. Lupin shrugged.
"Sirius came to my house a couple nights ago," James said, once she had left the room.
Remus looked shocked. "Is he alright?"
"When has he ever been alright when he ran away?" James pointed out. "He hasn't eaten since school let out, and he was beaten bad enough to break his arm, as well as a couple of ribs."
"Did you take him to St. Mungos?" Remus asked worriedly.
"I thought you were the smart one," James said, rolling his eyes. "The first thing that they would do would be to contact his parents. Believe it or not, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be a good thing."
"Alright, alright," Remus said, holding up his hands in surrender. "No need to get so sarcastic. What do you want me to do about it?"
"Well, seeing as your Mum is a medi-witch…," James said, pretending to be leading up to a point.
"Alright, I get it," Remus said, rolling his eyes. "I'll see what I can do. But you know she hates him now."
"Will it change her mind if Severus has forgiven him?" James asked.
"You can't be serious," Remus said, his mouth hanging open in shock.
"Oh, but I am," James said, enjoying the effect he had on Remus. "He's been here for a couple of days, anyway, and despite all the occasions to poison him, he hasn't yet, nor has he made any attempt to kill him in any other way. He has also at the very least expressed concern about him."
"Alright, alright, I get the point," Remus said. "I never would have thought that possible."
"Yeah, well, I've got my own theories on that, but I think I'll save them," James said, half to himself, half to Remus. "Anyway, will you at least ask your Mum?"
"Yeah, sure. I will right now if you want me to," Remus replied, getting up.
"Whenever. I've got to go now, though, because either Dad or Paula is about to floo to check up on us. See you later," James said as he disappeared into the fire.
Author's Note: How'd you like it? Thanks to those who reviewed the first chapter! Feel free to do so again! Review even if you haven't before, I'm not picky!