How could he have let this happen? What would James say? He has failed as a godfather. He should have been there for Harry…
Sorry James…
Sirius's mind was racing. He was glued to the spot, unable to move. Seeing Harry's shattered figure seemed to have sucked his soul out of his body. He couldn't hold his tears anymore.This was worse than anything he had imagined…
"S-Sirius?" Harry breathed out.
Something inside Sirius had lit up. He had to act…
"Harry, yes, it's me." he ran towards the group on the grass, embracing Harry in a tight hug. "I'm here for you."
Harry was trying to reach for breath, coughing heavily.
"Steady Sirius, steady." Dumbledore whispered calmly.
Sirius let go, looking straight into Harry's eyes. Both seemed to have been filled with tears. Harry's because of the undeniable pain, Sirius's because of undeniable grief.
Harry had to look away, down to the grass, because he didn't want his godfather to see him like that. Sirius looked up to find Remus, his face looking older than when he had last seen him.
Their unheard talk was broken by the sound of Harry's coughs again. It was as if he was choking. He leaned towards the grass trying to calm himself down, only to find that he was coughing blood onto the ground. Sirius's eyes widened. He and Remus looked desperately towards Dumbledore.
Dumbledore was clearly caught in the middle of his thinking but noticed the situation and started to murmur a long incantation. When he ended, Harry stopped coughing. His whole body seemed to have lost all weight and his mind seemed to have lost all thoughts. He didn't know what has happened, he didn't know who were the people around him, he even forgot who he was. It was a great feeling, Harry thought. He hoped this would last forever. He noticed that he was probably being carried away up to the castle, the people around him were talking, but his ears didn't seem to care. Harry drifted off into sleep.
...
"BUT WHY WOULD YOU LET HIM GO WITH THOSE TWO! You were mad Dumbledore. Sorry, it's true."
"I already told Sirius. I knew Alastor was suspicious but I trust Severus deeply. He knew about my suspicion, but he just wasn't quick enough. All the professors had to take to the students back to castle. Sirius, and I had to inform the Ministry about …"
"BUT I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE MINISTRY! HARRY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE MINISTRY! HARRY IS THE PRIORITY! I THINK WE HAVE ALREADY SETTLED THAT!"
"Sirius, I agree with you. Although we both know that the Ministry had to be informed about the events…"
"BUT HARRY.."
"SIRIUS!... do not ventilate your gathered anger from all those years towards me now. And you know you're doing that!"
"Sorry… but... you know I'm right Dumbledore."
Remus was sitting in the corner of Dumbledore's office, pressing his fingers to the root of his nose, fed up with the discussion he was witnessing. He was eyeing the boy who was lying in a bed on the other side of the office. Harry's breathing seemed to have gone from normal to fast again.