Resolutions
By Neurotica
Forty-Two
Harry stood against the wall in the hospital room at St. Mungo's, watching Healers bending over Sirius, waving wands and muttering things to pieces of parchment beside them—everything they said instantly appeared on the parchment. It had been a week since Sirius had been brought back to Number Twelve, and he still hadn't woken up. Ted Tonks had recommended that Sirius should be taken to the hospital so that Healers could have a proper look over him. Harry came to see his godfather every chance got, between lessons from Naomi, Andromeda Tonks, and Remus, who had started helping out with Transfiguration and History of Magic. To Hermione's relief, Remus had also been able to help with Ancient Runes.
"You know, it's not good for you to spend all your free time here," a voice said in Harry's ear.
Harry jumped a little and turned to find Remus had come into the room, still in his Ministry robes. "Well, I'd like to be here when he wakes up."
A strange look appeared on Remus' face, one Harry had never seen on his surrogate godfather. "We all would," Remus said quietly, looking over at Sirius' bed. The Healers were finally finishing up with their examination—they rolled up their parchment, gave Harry and Remus a small smile, and left the room.
The two wizards approached the bed and sat down on either side of Sirius. He looked all right—all the cuts and bruises had healed. The only problem was that no one could explain why Sirius hadn't woken up yet. If it had just been a curse that caused paralysis, he should have woken long ago, but the Healers had told Remus they thought the curse was much worse than what they'd originally thought.
"Where's Naomi?" Harry asked just to say something.
Remus snapped his head up from where he'd been staring at the floor. "She'll be by soon. She's just finishing up with some worksheets for you, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. Emmeline is coming as well; she wanted to pop into Number Twelve and check on the twins."
Harry nodded and went back to staring at Sirius, not bothering to ask why Remus hadn't gone to see his sons as well.
Right now, Harry couldn't care less about studying for N.E.W.T.s, much to Hermione's dismay. He tried not to think about what life for Sirius would be like if he couldn't use his legs anymore. But he had realized that could be a real possibility. Would Sirius be allowed to keep his job as Head Auror if he was in a wheelchair? How would he help teach Mira how to walk or fly on a broomstick when she was old enough?
Naomi and Emmeline arrived, and Harry and Remus got up to give them their chairs. Naomi didn't say a word of greeting as she went to her husband and took his hand. Silently, Remus conjured two more chairs for himself and Harry.
"How is he?" Emmeline asked Remus as he sat down.
Remus shrugged. "I've only been here for about half an hour," he said. "None of the Healers stopped to tell me anything. Harry's been here all day, though."
"Not all day," Harry muttered. "Just most of it." Remus smiled a little. "But I don't really know anything, either. The Healers won't talk or look to me unless they're asking me to move away from the bed or staring at my scar when they come in the room."
"Well, I'm sure we'll get an update soon," Remus assured them. "Ted is one of Sirius' Healers; he'll let us know what's going on as soon as he has answers to give us."
At one point in the evening, Sirius groaned a little, causing his family members to snap themselves from their thoughts and stare at him, hoping he was finally awake. But after watching him for ten minutes with baited breath, they realized that Sirius was not going to do any more than that. Feeling quite disappointed, Harry turned to Remus. "I think I'm going to go up for a cup of tea," he said quietly.
Remus nodded. "I think I'll go with you," he said. He rubbed at his eyes as he got up from the chair, kissed Emmeline, looked at Sirius once more, and followed Harry out of the room.
They walked silently to the tearoom on the fifth floor, knowing the path quite well, since they'd been there so many times—times when Sirius had been injured so badly that even Madam Pomfrey couldn't do anything for him. The tearoom doubled as a hospital cafeteria, but Harry hadn't had an appetite for days. In fact, it had come to a point that the smell of food made him slightly nauseated. The two wizards got their tea and sat down in two squashy, very comfortable armchairs in a far corner of the room. Neither of them felt like being around other people at the moment.
"Have you been doing the work Andromeda and I have set you?" Remus asked.
"A little bit," Harry muttered. "I can't concentrate on anything..."
Remus nodded understandingly. "I've had trouble at work myself. Everything I read seems to blur together, and I can't get myself settled down long enough to finish anything."
"Do you think he's going to be all right?" Harry asked, staring at the tea dregs in his cup.
Remus hesitated. "I honestly don't know, Harry. No one can seem to pinpoint exactly what's wrong with him. Once they can, I assume they'll be able to counteract whatever he was hit with. Originally, I thought he was just hit with a paralysis curse, but I can't believe that anymore. There was something else he had to have been hit with."
Harry heard what Remus said, but didn't reply. He was staring at a shape in his cup. It was in the shape of a large dog.
"There you are!" said a voice from the door of the tearoom. Harry and Remus looked over, finding Ted Tonks approaching them. He pulled up a chair in front of them and sat. "I've just met with Healer Goldsmith, and we think we know what Sirius was hit with."
Remus and Harry both sat up straighter in their chairs.
"It's much worse than we thought, and before I tell you both this, I need you to promise you won't start a commotion in the tearoom. I'd rather not advertise this to the entire hospital," Ted said quietly.
Remus raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Harry who had a look of slight confusion on his face. "Of course we won't," Remus said quickly.
Ted sighed. "You say that now..." he said under his breath. "We'd hoped it was merely a paralysis curse—we can fix that easily once the patient is conscious. But after many tests, Goldsmith and I are agreed that it may have been the Torchier Curse."
Remus groaned and put his head in his hands. "Oh no," he breathed.
"What? What is that?" Harry asked quickly, looking between Remus and Ted.
Ted sighed. "It's a curse that causes symptoms resembling a coma. The victim is basically trapped within his own mind and can't get out. If it was the Torchier Curse, there is a very good chance that Sirius will not wake up. If he does, he will be paralyzed."
"You can fix it, though, right?" Harry asked desperately. "Healers can fix anything..."
Ted smiled sadly. "I wish that were true, Harry," he said gently. "But with this curse, there is no reversing it. It's up to Sirius to get out of this."
"And if he doesn't?"
"He'll either be trapped for the rest of his natural life or his body will give up, and he'll die."
"Have you told Naomi?" Remus asked heavily, looking close to tears.
Ted nodded. "I have, and she didn't take it too well. Emmeline and I tried to calm her down, but we ended up having to give her a calming draught. She's asleep right now."
"Is Sirius in any pain?"
"No," Ted replied. "We've used potions and spells to make certain he's comfortable."
"Has anyone tried Legilimency to see if he's strong enough to get out of it?"
"We have, but we were blocked before we got too far in. I didn't know Sirius was an Occlumens."
Remus snorted a little. "He's not; he's just very stubborn. Emmeline has had trouble getting into his mind when she was trying to teach him Occlumency."
Ted smiled. "That would do it," he said. "I should get back to work. We've got a few people looking through books, trying to find anything that would help us with Sirius. We'll keep you updated."
"Thank you, Ted," Remus said quietly, shaking the Healer's hand.
"You're welcome," Ted said, looking just as troubled as Remus did.
"So what now?" Harry asked, turning back to Remus once Ted left.
Remus sighed shakily. "I don't know," he said very quietly, and slightly miserably. "You heard Ted; all we can do is wait and see..."
Remus decided to stay at St. Mungo's that night, while Emmeline and Harry went back to Number Twelve. Naomi was still asleep, due to the potion she'd been given by the Healers. Emmeline seemed lost in her thoughts as they walked to the fireplaces to get back to Number Twelve. Not wanting to interrupt her, Harry walked beside her silently. They Flooed back to Number Twelve and were bombarded with questions from Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George. Mrs. Weasley must have seen the looks on Harry and Emmeline's faces; she shouted for everyone to back off and leave them alone.
"Are you hungry?" she asked gently Harry and Emmeline once the uproar died down.
Emmeline shook her head. "I'm definitely not," she said.
"Me neither," Harry said quietly. "Actually, I think I'm going to bed."
"It's only eight o'clock!" Ron said incredulously.
"Ronald," Mrs. Weasley hissed. "Let him be."
Harry walked past his friends without looking at any of them and headed up to his bedroom, closing and magically locking the door to be certain no one would be able to bother him. He collapsed on his bed and stared at the ceiling for hours. When he got bored from trying to make out shapes on the ceiling, he turned and stared at the pictures on his bedside table. Sighing, he reached out for the most recent picture he had. It was of his entire family, the babies included. Sirius and Naomi stood on one side, Sirius holding Mira, smiling and waving happily. Remus and Emmeline each held one of their twins. Harry stood between Sirius and Remus, his arms around each of them.
Why can't we just be happy? Why does this stuff always happen to us?
Sniffing and wiping at his eyes under his glasses, Harry put the picture back on his bedside table and looked around the room for his stuffed stag and dog. He found the black dog under his desk, but Prongs seemed to be missing. He went back to his bed and laid down, holding the stuffed animal close to his chest. He fell asleep an hour later, large drops of tears still hitting his pillow.
Next morning, during breakfast, which Harry didn't touch, Remus and Naomi returned from St. Mungo's. Naomi's eyes were red and swollen from crying, and Remus didn't look much better. Harry looked at Remus, his heart beating hard.
"He's still the same," Remus said quietly, answering Harry's unasked question. "Naomi and I were just talking to the Healers, and they still don't think there's a way to reverse it."
Harry sighed in relief. By the looks on Remus and Naomi's faces, he'd thought Sirius had died in the night, a thought that made his heart fall to his feet.
"Harry, you need to eat something," Remus chided when he saw Harry was only pushing his eggs around the plate with his fork. "We don't need you in St. Mungo's for malnutrition."
Harry nodded and tried nibbling a piece of toast. He realized quickly that if he ate anymore, he'd be sick, and so put the toast back on the plate. He'd tried not to look at his friends. He didn't feel like explaining everything Ted had told him and Remus about Sirius last night, and he knew they would want to know. Ginny tried to catch his eye numerous times, but he avoided her by staring at his bacon.
"Can I go see Sirius?" Harry asked Remus as Mrs. Weasley started cleaning the table and shooing everyone out of the kitchen.
"Not right now," Remus said. "The Healers are examining him and doing tests. It may take all day... Later this evening, Naomi and I are going back, so you can go with us then."
Slightly disappointed, Harry nodded.
"I'm taking the day off work," Remus went on. "Naomi's in no state to teach you lot anything in Defense, so I'm going to take over temporarily. It'll be good for both of us to get our minds on something else for a little bit."
"All right," Harry said resignedly. He was in no mood to do schoolwork or face his friends, both of which he would be forced to do if they were being tutored. "I'll get my books. Are we meeting in the library?"
Remus smiled a little. "Where else?"
He sat in his room, staring vaguely at the wall. Fleur had already left for Gringotts, but he'd claimed he was too sick to work. He knew his mother would be fussing over him once she finished serving breakfast to the rest of the house, so he had to do this now. He'd been given orders to do this, but he'd had trouble finding an item to use. Finally he'd found something. The one giving him his orders, his master, would be pleased with his work. He vaguely wondered why he was doing this, he didn't think he wanted to do this, but those thoughts drifted away from him, and he continued on with his orders.
Sirius felt like he was floating high above the clouds. He looked around and found he wasn't using a broom, and wondered how he'd gotten here. He began to descend to what looked to be an island covered with trees and surrounded by clear blue water. When his feet touched the sand, he looked all around him with a furrowed brow. There was nobody within sight, no buildings... There was nothing.
Okay, this must be what it feels like to be dead, he mused, recalling his thoughts when he'd woken up at the hospital after Mira had been born. Am I dead?
He tried to remember back. His thoughts were blurry, but a scene suddenly popped up of a duel between him, Proudfoot, Malfoy, and another Death Eater. He remembered being thrown back and hitting the ground hard, and afterwards, his legs hadn't worked. He remembered seeing Malfoy had been killed from the rubble that was once his home. Everything after that was blank.
I must have passed out, he thought. So how long have I been like this? It can't have been too long; I usually wake up rather quickly after being knocked unconscious.
"You've been out cold for nearly two weeks," said a voice Sirius recognized immediately. He spun around with wide eyes and began to back away when he saw the voice's owner step out of the trees.
"Stay away from me," Sirius said firmly. "I'm not falling for your tricks this time."
James grinned. "But you've always fallen for my tricks, ever since we were kids."
Sirius furrowed his brow. In his nightmares, James would be starting to decay by now—but James just stood there, hands in his pockets, grinning easily, and altogether looking perfectly normal. James never grinned like that in Sirius' dreams anymore... It was usually an evil grin that silently promised horrible things. But this—this was the same playful grin his best friend had always worn.
"Who are you?" Sirius asked skeptically, his hand reaching for his wand, but not finding it.
"Who am I?" James said, laughing. "You're kidding, right?"
"No, I'm not," Sirius said evenly. "If you're Voldemort, get the hell away from me."
Realization dawned on James. "You think this is one of your nightmares, don't you?" he asked sadly.
"It is, isn't it?"
"Not unless you want it to be, but I've heard you talking about those nightmares, and I don't know why you'd want them," James replied.
"So, you're really Prongs?" Sirius said quietly, trying not to get his hopes up.
"The one and only," James said with a bow.
Trying hard not to grin at the familiarity of the person before him, Sirius approached the figure cautiously. "Is this a dream?" he asked.
James' smile faltered as he hesitated. "Sort of," he said. He sighed heavily and ran a hand roughly through his hair. "Like I said before, you've been out cold for nearly two weeks. You've been hit with a Torchier Curse, mate. It was meant for your partner, but he ducked it and it got you."
Sirius must have looked shocked and horrified—that's what he was feeling, at least. "Torchier Curse?" he said weakly. "You're kidding, right?"
James shook his head, smiling sadly. "Wish I was. The Healers at St. Mungo's finally figured it out and told Naomi, Emmeline, Harry, and Remus. Then, of course, Emmeline told Molly Weasley and some of the older Weasleys. Everyone's miserable..."
"How do I get out of here?" he asked.
"You've got to figure that one out on your own," said another familiar voice behind Sirius, this one sending shivers down his spine. He spun around to find Julia and Lily had appeared.
Sirius felt like he'd gotten all the wind knocked out of him. "Julia..." he said, smiling. "You look... gorgeous..."
She smiled back at him. "You don't look half bad yourself, Black," she said. "But I shouldn't be flirting with you, now that you're married and all that."
He didn't know what to say to that. He was quickly falling into old habits, wanting nothing more than to kiss Julia senseless. Then he remembered Naomi and Mira. He bit his lip and nodded. "You know I still love you. I always will."
She nodded and smiled wider. "I know."
"Aren't you forgetting someone, Black?" Lily said airily.
Sirius looked at her and grinned. "No, Evans, I don't believe I am."
She glared playfully. "Now that we're all reunited, we've got business to take care of," she said. James came to stand beside her. "You've got to find your way out of here, Sirius. It's the only way you'll live to see your daughter grow up."
"How am I supposed to do that?" Sirius asked, looking around the island. "Am I supposed to swim?"
"No, idiot," James said, rolling his eyes. "You've got to get through that." He pointed at the jungle behind them.
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "What's in there?" he asked cautiously.
"Nothing more than trees and grass," Lily said.
"Can't I just Apparate out of here?"
"Nope," Lily replied. "There's no magic here. And you don't have your wand, so you can stop trying to find it."
Sirius frowned deeply and pulled his empty hand out of the pocket of his robes. "Well, you three can help me get through, can't you?"
Lily, James, and Julia looked at him remorsefully. "We can't," Julia said. "I'm sorry... You have to do this on your own. You're the only one who can get you out of here and back to your family."
Sirius gulped and looked the jungle again. He thought momentarily about asking whether he could just stay where he was with James, Julia, and Lily, but he knew their answer would be no. "What's on the other side of the jungle?" he asked instead.
"Your life," James said simply. "Once you get to the other side, you'll wake up in St. Mungo's, people will start fussing over you, Naomi will start crying, Remus will call you a git for doing this to them, and everything will be fine."
Lily gave him a look and James suddenly looked sheepish.
"What?" Sirius asked, looking between them.
It was Julia who answered. "Do you know the side effects of the Torchier Curse, Sirius?"
Sirius thought. "Um, coma-like symptoms... potential death... And if the person does wake up..." he trailed off with another horrified look on his face.
"Irreversible paralysis," Lily finished for him. "You've already lost nearly all feeling below your waist, and you'll be stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of your life."
"I'm fine now, though," he said weakly. "Maybe once I get through the jungle, I'll wake up and be able to use my legs."
"Maybe," Julia said sadly. The look in her eyes told Sirius plain well that she didn't believe it. "We have to go, Sirius. We've used up too much time as it is."
Sirius nodded. "Okay," he said quietly. "Will I see you three again?"
They all smiled at him. "You might," James said with a wink. "Take care of yourself, Padfoot. Give everyone my love."
"And ours," Julia said, indicating herself and Lily.
"I will," Sirius assured them.
"See you, then," James said. He grinned, and threw his arms heavily around Lily and Julia. "Come along, ladies, we've much to do today."
Julia rolled her eyes and ducked out from under James's arm. James shrugged and started off with his wife. Julia stayed back for a moment, smiling at Sirius. "Just so you know," she said very quietly so Lily and James couldn't hear. "I love you, too. And I'm very, very happy for you. I always hoped you would move on and find somebody to love."
"Bet you never thought it would be Naomi," Sirius grinned.
Julia laughed. "No, you're quite right about that, but she's been good for you. Mira is precious."
"She is," Sirius agreed. "Well, you should go. Lily and James are waiting."
Julia looked over her shoulder where the Potters stood looking out at the ocean, not paying any attention to her or Sirius. "Right. Like James said, take care of yourself. You'll be fine. Just do me one favor?"
Sirius nodded. "Anything," he said quickly.
"If when you wake up, you find you can't move your legs, please don't fall into a depression. It won't do you or anyone around you any good. Got it?"
"I got it," Sirius said with a small smile.
"I'll see you, then."
"See you."
Julia moved towards him a little and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. Sirius thought it had lasted hours, though it had barely lasted a second. When she pulled away, she smiled a little and turned, making her way over to the Potters. Before they left, James turned around and waved. Sirius returned it. Soon after, he couldn't see them anymore, and knew he was completely alone. His only hope was the jungle in front of him. He couldn't see any path or even some sort of opening.
Guess I've just got to make my own path, he thought.
Sighing, he began towards the tall, thick grass and into the trees. He'd get home somehow.
"What's he doing?" Naomi asked quietly, watching her husband's facial expressions change slightly. "Is he hurting?"
Remus shook his head slowly. "No, I think he's dreaming," he said, a bit surprised.
"That's a good sign, right?" Harry asked from the foot of the bed.
"I would assume so," Remus said uncertainly. "I've never seen anyone who's had the Torchier Curse placed on them. It's been illegal for at least a century and most people have completely forgotten about it."
"Should we get a Healer?" Naomi asked.
"No," Remus replied, sitting back down in his chair. "He's fine. If he was in pain, we'd know."
Harry sat down beside him and rested his head on Remus' shoulder. With a smile, Remus looked down at the boy's messy black hair. He put an arm around Harry's shoulder and kissed his head. Naomi looked on with a small smile of her own. The three of them sat there for hours in silence. Every so often, a Healer would come in to take Sirius' vitals, but they were mostly left alone. It was nearing eleven when Remus declared it was time to head back to Number Twelve. Naomi was reluctant to leave her husband, but she'd already spent a night away from her daughter, and she needed to get back herself.
"We'll be back tomorrow, Padfoot," Remus said quietly, squeezing Sirius' hand. He may have been imagining it, but he thought Sirius might have squeezed back. "Come home soon, mate, we miss you."
They walked silently to the fireplaces and Flooed back to Number Twelve one-by-one. When they entered the kitchen, they found a large group had assembled. Remus realized there must have been an Order meeting he'd forgotten about.
"Ah, Remus, Naomi, Harry," Dumbledore said, standing at the end of the long kitchen table. "We were wondering when you would return."
"How's Sirius?" three or four people asked.
"He's the same as he was yesterday. We're still waiting for him to wake up," Remus said, not wanting to get into details. "Er, Harry, you should go upstairs..."
"Actually, Remus," Dumbledore said, "if the rest of the Order agrees, I think Harry can sit in on one meeting."
"Really?" Harry blurted out.
Remus sighed. He didn't want Harry in the meetings, but Dumbledore seemed insistent upon it, and there was no winning against Albus Dumbledore. The Order agreed and Harry took a seat between Remus and Elphias Doge. Naomi decided to skip the meeting to go be with Mira.
"As I was saying before," Dumbledore said. "The Ministry is currently working to capture the other Death Eaters. The death of Lucius Malfoy, though admittedly it was in our favor, has undoubtedly angered Voldemort. I have had a few very reliable sources tell me that he plans to loose three giants, each in different parts of the country, as revenge. The Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures," he inclined his head to Remus, "is working diligently to prevent the giants from killing any innocent Muggles or wizards."
"The only problem," Remus said, "is we don't when Voldemort is going to let the giants go. It's not as though he sent us an owl with dates and times. We're basically blind."
Dumbledore nodded. "Quite understandable. However, your department has never failed to capture giants when they've threatened the country. I have no doubt that you will succeed this time as well."
"Is there any word on when Hogwarts will reopen?" Emmeline asked.
"None," Dumbledore said. "Unfortunately the school governors still believe the school is unsafe for students to remain there. Until the time when danger passes, the school shall remain closed."
"Still think that's rubbish," Dung muttered.
"As do we all, Mundungus," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"All the governors are doing is making the students suffer," Tonks said. "Look at Harry and his friends—sure they've got some excellent tutors, but they're missing everything that makes seventh year great."
"Would you agree with that, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, looking to the younger wizard.
Harry looked a bit startled at being addressed during a meeting. "Er, yeah, I would," he said a tad shyly. Remus barely held back a chuckle. "We all miss Hogwarts."
Dumbledore smiled at him. "There you are. If only the school governors realized what they have done by closing Hogwarts..." He paused for a moment. Remus wondered if he was getting his temper under control. Dumbledore had been quite angry when he'd found out the school would be closing, as had most of the Order.
"Well, I think that will conclude our meeting for this evening," Dumbledore said after a few moments. "I will contact you with the time and date of our next get-together. Have a wonderful weekend."
Most everyone stood, but a few remained seated, including Tonks, Charlie, Bill, and Molly, all of whom wanted to know about Sirius. Dumbledore walked around the table to listen.
"He's not changed," Remus said. "I think he was dreaming tonight and I would think that's a good sign, but I really don't know."
"The Torchier Curse is not easy to recover from," Dumbledore said sadly. "I was very young when it was outlawed. My father knew the inventor, Adrien Torchier. Adrien began using his curse against his enemies and those who had wronged him in any way. Once the Ministry saw what was happening to his victims, they banned the curse and its incantation from being written in any book and labeled it as dark magic. For the better part of the last century, it's been forgotten—it's most unfortunate that the curse has come back now, but I cannot say that I am surprised. Lord Voldemort is constantly looking for the worst dark magic ever created to torture his victims."
"We know it causes paralysis if the victim wakes," Remus said quietly. "But are there any other side effects?"
Dumbledore thought for a moment. "In Sirius' case, I would be most worried about him falling into depression. It will be very difficult for him to be confined to a wheelchair when all his life he was able to walk around and do whatever he pleased—he won't have that luxury anymore."
Remus nodded. "That was my first thought as well."
"All you can do is make him as comfortable as possible. Make him feel as normal as possible. That, I believe, is the only way to keep Sirius' spirits up and to keep him from falling into a depression." Dumbledore pulled out his pocket watch and looked at it. "Well, I must be going. Please keep me informed on Sirius."
"We will, sir," Remus assured him. "Have a good evening."
"And you all as well," Dumbledore said to the table. "Good night."
Dumbledore went to the fireplace, and Flooed away moments later.
Harry turned to Remus. "I think I'm going to bed," he said tonelessly.
Remus sighed. He knew Harry was falling into his own depression due to his godfather's state of health, and he didn't know how to pull him out of it. Harry's friends were beginning to ask Remus why Harry was avoiding them, and Remus didn't have an answer for them.
"Sleep well, Harry. I'd like to have a talk with you tomorrow," he said.
Harry nodded indifferently, got up from the table, and left the kitchen.
Emmeline placed a hand on Remus' arm. "He'll be all right," she said quietly. "He's upset now, but once Sirius wakes, he'll be fine."
Remus nodded. He didn't want to say the thing that had been nagging at his brain for weeks: what if Sirius didn't make it? What if he'd been so hurt during the duel at Malfoy Manor that he just didn't have the strength or energy to get himself out?
"I think I need to go to bed as well," he said a few minutes later. "I'll see you all in the morning."
Harry lay in bed, wide-awake, indeed falling into his own depression, just as Remus believed. He was trying to brace himself for the day that the Healers told them that Sirius wasn't going to wake up, and that it would be better to put him out of his misery. It wasn't working. Harry couldn't think about a life without Sirius. Sirius and Remus had saved him from the hell that was living with the Dursleys, and they'd treated him like a son ever since. If one of them were to die, Harry didn't know what he would do. What would life be like when one of his fathers wasn't around to give him advice anymore? Harry didn't think he'd told Sirius he loved him enough. Sure Sirius knew, but Harry should have told him more often.
He couldn't see himself facing Voldemort with Sirius' death looming over him. Sirius was supposed to be with Harry when the time of the Final Battle arrived. Remus and Sirius were the ones who gave Harry confidence. They gave him a chance at a normal life. He was probably a little spoiled, but Harry never let that get to his head. He still got in trouble for things, and Sirius had had to punish him a few times—usually when Remus wasn't around.
One memory had come to Harry's mind the day Sirius was taken to St. Mungo's. And every time Harry thought of it, he felt like the world's worst person. It was back when Remus was missing in France, on Halloween, and Harry had decided to go out for some fresh air. He'd gone all the way down to Hogsmeade without being caught, and while he was looking at the Shrieking Shack, dementors had arrived. Harry had ended up in the hospital wing, and when he'd woken up, Sirius had been livid. Harry got angry right back at him, saying that Sirius wasn't his father and as such couldn't tell Harry what to do. That had broken his godfather's heart. And once Harry had said it, he'd felt horrible. It had taken until Christmas Eve before Harry had apologized to Sirius, mostly because Harry was afraid Sirius would be so angry with him that he didn't want anything to do with him anymore. Harry still felt guilty for that and wished he could take it back.
Harry sighed and rolled over to face his Chudley Cannons poster. Sirius always hated the Cannons, and he'd argued constantly with Harry and Ron about how good the team really was. Sniffing, Harry swiped at his eyes. No matter what anyone said, there was a fairly large chance Sirius would never wake up from his coma or whatever it was he was in. There was a chance Harry wouldn't get a chance to argue about Quidditch with his godfather, or prank him, or have him see Harry marry Ginny and have children.
There was a soft knock on the door. Harry raised an eyebrow; it was past two in the morning. Who would still be awake? Before he could get out of bed, the door cracked open and Ginny poked her head into the room.
"Hey, I thought you might like some company," she said quietly.
Harry smiled and waved her in. Ginny closed the door quietly and slipped into bed beside him, wrapping her arms around him and nuzzling herself into his side, resting her head on his chest. Harry kissed the top of her head of red hair. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked her.
She shook her head. "No. We've all been worried about you. You haven't talked to any of us in days..."
"I'm sorry," Harry said sincerely, running his fingers through Ginny's long hair. "I've just been caught up in what's happening with Sirius."
"I know," she said. "But you know you can talk to us, right?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah, I know. I just haven't really felt like talking to anyone lately."
"Understandable."
The young couple lay there for a few minutes before Harry took off his glasses, placed them on his bedside table, taking his wand, and muttering, "Nox." The lights went out, and Harry got more comfortable, wrapping his arms around Ginny. Finally, he thought he might get a few hours of sleep—at least until Mrs. Weasley or Remus found out they'd shared a bed... But Harry didn't really care about that right now. He was more content than he'd been in weeks.
Breakfast the next morning seemed like any normal day. Ginny had managed to sneak back to her room before her mother came to wake her up, and every time she and Harry looked at each other, they grinned a little and went back to breakfast. Even though it was Sunday, most of those who worked at the Ministry had to go into work—the Minister wanted people from every department in their offices every day of the week. Charlie offered to cover for Remus so he could go visit Sirius, but Remus declined.
"I need to get my mind on something else for a little while," Remus said. "I can't spend another day in the hospital. Thank you for the offer, though."
Charlie smiled. "Anytime," he replied. "Oh, Mum, I won't be around tonight for dinner; the Tonkses have invited me over for dinner. They want to discuss the wedding."
Mrs. Weasley raised her eyebrow. "Do I get a say in this wedding?" she asked.
"Course you do," Charlie replied, taking a bite of toast. "They invited you as well, but I wasn't sure you'd want to come."
Charlie seemed to cower at the look his mother was giving him. Everyone else at the table tried to hold back grins. "Of course I want to go, Charles Arthur Weasley!"
"Okay, okay," Charlie said, "I'll owl the Tonkses and let them know you're coming after all."
Fred snorted into his pumpkin juice. "It's good to see someone else getting Mum's wrath," he said to Harry. "She's been on mine and George's cases for weeks about not leaving our prototypes all over the house. Only because she accidentally set off the Jack-in-the-Box that turns the user's hair different colors. She looked like Tonks all day, with rainbow hair."
Harry grinned.
The door to the kitchen opened and everyone looked at the top of the stairs. More than a few people were surprised to see Naomi walk down the steps. Over the last few weeks, she'd preferred to be alone unless she was with Mira or at the hospital with Sirius.
"Good morning, Naomi!" Mrs. Weasley greeted brightly after a few moments. "Would you like some breakfast?"
Naomi nodded slightly. "That'd be great, thanks, Molly."
Remus pulled out a chair for her and she sat down. "How're you feeling?" he asked.
"Groggy," she replied. "What was in that potion?"
Emmeline shrugged. "It was just your average sleeping draught," she replied. "It was a little stronger than usual; we thought you could do with a day or so of sleeping."
"Thanks," Naomi muttered, not looking around the table or acknowledging anyone else.
"I've got to go into work today, but afterwards, if you'd like, I'll go with you to the hospital," Remus offered.
"Okay," Naomi said indifferently. "What is today, anyway?"
"Sunday."
"Oh."
"Here you are, dear," Molly said, placing a plate full of enough food to fill anyone's appetite. "Mira's already been changed and fed. She's in the playpen now."
Naomi looked over to the corner of the kitchen where a playpen had been conjured. Mira was playing with a stuffed giraffe. "Thanks, Molly."
"You're welcome, dear," Molly said, looking over at Remus and Emmeline sadly.
Remus finished his breakfast a few minutes later and turned to Naomi. "Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were talking about going to Diagon Alley for some fresh air with Tonks and Charlie. Maybe you'd like to go with them, it may do you some good."
"Whatever," she said. Harry wondered if she'd heard a word Remus had said. To everyone's surprise, Naomi cleared her plate. Once she put the plate in the sink, she went to the playpen and took Mira out before going back upstairs.
Diagon Alley wasn't the exciting place it once was. Most of the shops had closed, including Ollivander's wand shop and Eeylops Owl Emporium, and to Hermione's horror, Flourish and Blotts. Both Tonks and Charlie walked around the entire time with one hand in their robes wrapped around their wands. They advised Harry, Ron, and Hermione to do the same while Ginny walked in the center of the group, her being the only one still underage, and thus not allowed to perform magic. Naomi had decided not join them. They were there to pick up some potions ingredients from the Apothecary for Mrs. Weasley, but made stops at the Quidditch shop and of course, Fred and George's shop. Their shop seemed to be the busiest in all of Diagon Alley. Kids of all ages were crammed in the shop, looking at all sorts of odd things.
"This way, you lot," Charlie said, leading Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny to the front counter where they found the twins wearing magenta robes that clashed magnificently with their hair. "Business seems to be booming," Charlie said to George.
"It's been absolutely brilliant!" George said.
"Who'd like a tour?" Fred asked jovially.
"We had a tour on New Year's for your grand opening," Ron said. "We can find our way around."
George raised an eyebrow at his younger brother. "All right, Ron, you're not invited. Who else would like to see our newest products?"
Ron scowled at the twins and followed the group around anyway.
An hour later, Harry had armfuls of merchandise he was prepared to buy, but the twins pulled him aside and told him they wouldn't accept even a knut from him. "You helped us do all this," Fred said seriously.
"It would've taken us years to get this going," George said. "Anything you want, it's on the house. Just don't tell Ron; he'll want the same treatment."
When Charlie and Tonks called that it was time to go, Ron, Harry, Ginny, and even Hermione had bagfuls of things to take home. Ginny had bought a purple pygmy puff and named it Arnold.
"Why Arnold?" Hermione asked as they walked back to the Leaky Cauldron where they would have a quick lunch before returning to Number Twelve.
Ginny shrugged as she petted the animal. "He just looks like an Arnold. Don't you?" she added to the puff.
Harry chuckled and shook his head.
After lunch served to them by a very pleased Tom, who told them he hadn't had a customer stay in the pub for longer than five minutes in months, they used the fireplaces to Floo back to Number Twelve. Mrs. Weasley was waiting for them anxiously and breathed a huge sigh of relief when she saw they were all unharmed.
"You're late," she said sternly to Charlie.
"Calm down, Mum," Charlie said. "We stopped off at Fred and George's and that took a bit of time, then we had a bite to eat at the Leaky Cauldron."
Mrs. Weasley nodded and turned to her younger children. "What in the world is that?" she asked, staring at Arnold.
Ginny beamed. "It's a pygmy puff," she said brightly. "Fred and George breed them; they're miniature puffskeins."
Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips. "Well, since you've all eaten, out of the kitchen; I've cleaning to do. Go on, out with you."
Tonks chuckled as the door closed on Ron's back. "I love your mother," she said to Charlie.
"That's because you haven't grown up with her," Ron said, scowling at the door. "Don't get me wrong, I love my mum, but she's a bit of a manic when it comes to cleaning."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "She enjoys it, Ron," she said exasperatedly. "You and Harry become a bit manic when it comes to Quidditch."
While Ron argued with Hermione, which seemed to be the basis of their relationship and made it better, strangely enough, Harry and Ginny bid Charlie and Tonks a good day. Tonks had to go into work for the afternoon shift, and Charlie had his own errands to run.
"You're going to want to keep him away from Crookshanks," Harry said, nodding at Arnold as the couple sat down on the drawing room sofa. "He'd be a good snack..."
Ginny laughed. "No kidding." She was looking fondly at her new pet as Arnold crawled up on her shoulder.
While they sat there, Harry started to feel guilty. He'd had more fun today than he'd had in almost two months, and while he was doing that, Sirius was lying unconscious in St. Mungo's.
Knock it off, he chided himself. You know Sirius wouldn't want you moping around feeling sorry for him. He'd want you to have fun with your friends. And before you know it, he'll be back having fun, too, laughing loudly when you secretly give Ron a canary cream and he turns into a big yellow bird...
Grinning to himself, Harry vowed to be in a better mood. He knew that's what Sirius would want, and Harry wouldn't disappoint him. "Want to play a game of chess?" he asked Ginny.
She smiled widely. "You're on."