Chapter 21 In the Long Term

When Sirius awoke early the next morning, the first thought was that he had to go and see his godson. He nearly bumped straight into Hermione who was coming to the common room from the Great Hall after grabbing breakfast. "Good morning, Sirius!" She greeted happily. "Let me guess where you're going."

Sirius smiled. "Have you seen him? How is he?"

"He's doing just fine, Sirius. He woke up late last night but we didn't have the heart to wake you up."

Sirius laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "How kind of you. That's awesome that he's feeling better. I'll bet he's wiped out."

"Yeah-he's been sleeping on and off today. Well-I'm going to go and do some reading for next year-I'll see you later."

Sirius shook his head with a smirk as Hermione walked past him and into the tower. Reading over the summer-typical Hermione behavior.

When he reached the hospital wing, he headed over to Harry's bed where Mrs. Weasley sat singing softly.

"Hey." Sirius whispered and tiptoed over to the opposite side of the bed. He placed a hand against Harry's forehead, very pleased at how cool it felt. Mrs. Weasley smiled.

"He's doing much better, Sirius," she announced, and he looked ready to collapse with relief.

"That's excellent," Sirius replied, trying not to speak too loudly as to startle Harry. Even though had taken a lot to get him to bed as it was, but he had to admit, the night of somewhat proper sleep felt wonderful.

"There you are!"

Sirius turned to see Madame Pomfrey walking over and nodded a greeting. "Good morning, Poppy."

"Sirius-I wanted to discuss the possible long term effects due to Harry's illness. You might want to take some precautionary measures."

Sirius nodded and gave his godson's frail hand a small squeeze before joining the nurse out in the corridor. They didn't speak for a moment, because the nurse was trying to gather her thoughts.

"Bad news?" Sirius asked after he couldn't take the silence any longer.

"Not so bad," Madame Pomfrey admitted. "Harry will feel stronger within a few weeks, but there are some chronic issues that he developed after this illness. He'll still have bad allergies during certain seasons of the year, which you told me he had already. However, as I told Molly, there are ways that these diseases can be controlled."

Sirius nodded. "At least that's good."

Madame Pomfrey nodded. "Yes it is. He'll need allergy shots once every two weeks, and of course, he's not the first student to have this condition. I treat many during the years," She explained when she saw the surprise on Sirius's face. Then she leaned forward. "And some good news-that scar on his forehead has disappeared."

Sirius's mouth dropped. "Are you kidding me?" he asked in amazement.

Madame Pomfrey shook her head with a grin. "I'm not. In a few moments you can have a look for yourself."

Sirius hadn't felt this happy in a while. He'd been on his toes with his godson's health all summer long, and hopefully Harry was going to feel better for a while. Madame Pomfrey then led Sirius back into the hospital wing and urged Mrs. Weasley to head off and get some sleep. When she left, Sirius took her spot on the chair and brushed Harry's bangs away from his forehead. Sure enough, there wasn't a scar. Harry opened his eyes slowly and focused on Sirius's face for a few minutes.

"Hey there bud. How are you feeling today?" Sirius asked.

"Better." Harry admitted. "How are you?"

"Just fine, Harry. I'm so glad you're going to be all right. You have no idea how frightened I was."

Harry held out his arms and Sirius gave his godson a hug. "I don't know what I would have done if you'd left me." He whispered, choking on a sob. Then he released Harry with a chuckle. "I'm sorry I'm getting all emotional on you. I'm sure you've had enough of that over the past few hours."

Harry just smiled weakly. "It's okay, Sirius. Really." Then he paused. "What did the nurse have to say?"

"Just what we have to expect in the long term." Sirius replied truthfully.

"Which is what?" Harry asked.

"Well--unfortunately your allergies will still be there, so we just have to worry about keeping them under control."

Harry nodded. "Oh." he shrugged. "Well, I s'ppose that won't be so bad. " he managed a smile, and Sirius laughed, patting his arm.

"I know it'll be tough, but you'll be fine," Sirius explained. "Madame Pomfrey told me you can still play Quidditch, as long as you take care of yourself. Madame Pomfrey and I will help you through it and so will Hermione and Ron, I'm sure. But it's really up to you to help yourself."

Harry closed his eyes for a moment; he was still so exhausted, which was primarily a result of the fever and the long nights of coughing. He was thoroughly embarassed at having put his family and friends through this, even though he knew it wasnt entirely his fault.

Sirius took the goblet from the nightstand and offered it to Harry. "Would you like some water?" He asked.

"Sure. Thanks." Harry accepted the goblet and drank the liquid rather greedily.

"Slow down, kid. You don't want to get sick to your stomach by drinking too much at once." Sirius ruffled Harry's messy black hair, receiving the familiar look of annoyance, and grinned. It was definitely clear the boy was feeling better.

"I'm just so thirsty," Harry gasped when he'd finished and handed the cup back to his godfather who set it on the table again.

"I can imagine. Well-you really should go back to sleep. Your system's still recovering and I don't want anything else to happen to you. I'm sure even a small cold could be dangerous right now."

Without an argument, Harry burried himself back underneath his covers and closed his eyes, sighing in content. Sirius seriously hoped this ordeal was over-he didn't think he could take it if Harry came down with another illness like this past one. Sirius stroked Harry's hair, thanking God for letting the boy stay with him.