A/N This is a bit of a filler chapter to see if anyone is interested. At the moment, interest isn't high, so if you like it and want me to continue, please review! And thanks to Abigaya Moreel for being an awesome beta!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
Despite Dumbledore's warning to not panic, Sirius was horrified and alarmed. The knowledge that his godson had gone through so much and seen such horrendous things that evening was bad enough, but the added implication of being bitten by a werewolf was too much for Sirius.
"He's been WHAT?" he yelled loudly into the headmasters face, not noticing Harry flinch at the loud noise. He was desperately hoping that he had heard wrong, or that the headmaster had been mistaken, not able to bear the thought of Harry dealing with more than he had already been forced to.
"Sirius, I know that you heard me perfectly clear. Harry has been bitten by a werewolf and needs medical attention. Now please, if only for your godson's sake, calm down so that we may proceed to the hospital wing." At Dumbledore's words, Sirius glanced down at his godson who was still seated on the chair. His face pale and gaunt, Sirius recognized the symptoms of shock starting to show on Harry. He bent down slowly, this time aware of what sudden movements would do to his condition, and took Harry's shaking hand within his own.
"Harry, we are going to go and see Madame Pomfrey now, are you able to walk or would you prefer I carry you?"
The frightened teen at first seemed to not hear his godfather, and his eyes remained staring at the same spot in the wall. But as Sirius bent down to lift him in his arms, he rapidly shook his head and began to rise to his feet. Arms braced against the chair, he stood up slowly, face contorting in pain as he did so. It took all the restraint Sirius had to not reach over pull his godson into a hug, where he could protect him from farther harm. But realizing this was not beneficial to Harry in the slightest, he compromised by supporting Harry's weight.
As they walked out of the headmaster's office, Harry could feel the adrenalin he had previously been relying on start to disappear. Every step he took sent waves of pain right up his leg and through his torso, and his head felt too heavy to support. He knew he was relying on his godfather, and most of his weight was being carried by him, and for some reason, that made him feel safe. But as they neared the staircase Harry knew he couldn't push his body much further. His feet were dragging and he was stumbling every few steps.
"Sirius, I can't walk anymore-" he began to gasp, but was cut off when his legs suddenly gave way and he collapsed to the floor. The impact was thankfully lightened by Sirius' arms, but he still could not hold in his cry of agony. He looked up, embarrassed, to see Dumbledore on his knees and his concerned eyes boring into him.
"I am sorry, Professor." Harry whispered hoarsely.
"It is quite alright, Harry. As I have said before, you have been through too much tonight, and it was only a matter of time before your body gave up. I must now insist though that you allow Sirius to carry you the rest of the way." Harry weakly nodded at his request, and did not struggle against the strong arms embracing him. Rather, he was quite thankful for the comfort they brought.
The rest of the walk to the hospital wing was spent in silence and Harry found himself fighting to keep his eyes open. Sleep was so close, but he was afraid to give in. He knew there would be nightmares waiting for him, and he was not sure he could deal with them. After wrestling his eyes back open for the third time, he saw Dumbledore push open the hospital wing doors and knew that they had arrived at their destination. Sleep making his mind hazy, Harry did not concentrate on who was in the large room, instead focusing on the huge bed he was being carried to. He mumbled a quiet thank you to Sirius as he lay him down on the soft mattress. Sleep was slowly claiming Harry, and he was no longer fighting the waves of fatigue. He could faintly hear arguing in the distance, and was sure he recognized the voice of Molly Weasley along with several cries of 'Sirius Black', but he was not lucid enough to be sure. However it was not long before he was woken from his state of rest and peace when someone touched his leg and he cried out in painful surprise.
"Sorry Mr Potter, but I need to examine your leg and then I will give you a Dreamless Sleep Potion." Madame Pomfrey said softly and comfortingly. Harry clenched his teeth together and nodded.
The next twenty minutes was spent by Madame Pomfrey examining and treating his wounds, with her main concern being the wolf bite on his leg. Harry tried to hold back his cries of pain as much as he could, but there were some times when he simply couldn't. Sometime during the examination, Harry became aware of Mrs Weasley next to him. At first he denied her comfort, insisting he was fine, but many cries later he was welcoming her soothing touch and comforting words. He couldn't remember his mother comforting him, though he knew she had, and was (you could put something here to finish the sentence sweetly like: and was watching over him)
"There you go Mr Potter, I am finished for now. There is a dreamless sleep potion on the bench beside you, which I suggest you use when you are ready. And please do not hesitate to call for me if you need anything."
Madame Pomfrey walked away slowly towards her office and Harry allowed himself a soft sigh of relief. The pain was almost gone, and for that he was exceptionally grateful. He hesitantly looked over to the people surrounding his bed. Ron was sitting on a chair, attempting to be strong after witnessing his best friend's pain. Harry gave him a small smile of gratitude before looking at Hermione. She had made no effort to hide her tears during the examination and still had them running down her face. Harry felt terrible for making her witness that, but knew she would accept no apology. He also gave her a small smile.
Sirius was sitting on one side of him, looking horrified at the scene that had just taken place. But he remained there for Harry despite his instincts telling him to run and scream and yell at his godson's pain. And for that, Harry was grateful.
Mrs Weasley was sitting beside him too, flashing nervous glancing to Sirius every few seconds, continuing to rub soothing circles on the back of Harry's hand. Every now and then she would hum softly and the tune made Harry even drowsier than he had been before. Seeing this, Mrs Weasley urged him to lay down and take the potion. Seeing no valuable reason to argue against the sensible suggestion, Harry cautiously relaxed against the pillows and gulped a few mouthfuls of the potion. It wasn't long before his mind went blank and sleep claimed him.
Harry wasn't sure how much time had passed when he next opened his eyes. Sirius was asleep next to him, slumped over in his chair and Mrs Weasley, Hermione and Ron had left, most likely to get some rest. But it was the presence on the other side of him, where Mrs Weasley had sat that startled Harry. It was Remus Lupin.
As far as Harry could tell, Remus was looking healthier than normal. His robes were still old and tatty but he didn't look pale are exhausted. Deep in sleep, he seemed relaxed and peaceful, and Harry quickly decided against disturbing him.
Harry took the time alone in silence to reflect upon the events he had just experienced. Thinking of Cedric was too painful, and he knew he had failed by letting Voldemort return. There was no more to it.
But there was plenty to think about regarding the injury on his leg. When Dumbledore had first said he had been bitten by a werewolf, he hadn't known what to think. Part of him was repulsed, another terrified. But he also felt incredible dread, dread at what consequences were going to arise because of it. Now, lying in the hospital bed, he felt no pain at all, but he was exceedingly terrified.
Harry felt his breathing speed up and fought with himself to calm down. Panicking was a form of weakness and something he refused to do. But not matter what he did; he couldn't stop the occasional tear from escaping. It was all just too much for him. He hadn't even noticed Lupin wake up until he felt him hug him, and he accepted the comfort willingly. The arms encircling him were warm and safe, seemingly absorbing all the pain and sorrow as he cried. After a short while, Harry had calmed down again and was pointedly staring at his crisp bed sheets. Only one of Remus's arms stayed around Harry, grounding him and providing steady reassurance. Harry was trying to avoid the conversation he knew was coming, not eager to further discuss anything. He sat in silence as he fiddled with the sheets, hoping Remus would let him be. His hopes were not granted though.
"Harry? Would you mind if we had a small chat?" Harry mentally sighed but nodded in consent, understanding he didn't really have a choice. His father's friend was never one to let things go unsaid.
"Alright. Now I know this may be difficult to hear, but Madame Pomfrey is positive in her conclusion that the bite you sustained was in fact caused by a werewolf." Lupin's voice became strained. "And you are now going to have to deal with becoming a werewolf once a month. I am so sorry Harry."
It was clear to Harry that Lupin, also being a werewolf, was extremely distressed that it had happened and Harry appreciated him being there for him. But that didn't mean that the news was accepted any easier, and Harry soon found himself fighting tears again.
"I promise, Harry, that I am going to make this as easy as possible for you. I will be there for every one of your transformations and you can come to me for anything. And after the full moons, when you feel ill, your friends will be there to comfort you."
Harry listened closely to his reassurances, questions suddenly bubbling up out of nowhere and refusing to be ignored.
"Professor Lupin? What about at Hogwarts? And during the summer at the Dursley's? How am I going to manage? And what are the rest of the wizarding world going to think about their 'Golden Boy' becoming their 'Golden Wolf'? They don't accept me for who I am anyway, so being a werewolf isn't going to help matters any is it?"
There was a silence as Lupin considered the questions and how to answer them accurately. He wanted to quench Harry's fears, but also answer his questions truthfully.
"When you are at Hogwarts you will meet both Sirius and I in the Shrieking Shack on the nights of the full moon, and we will transform with you and stay the entire night. The next morning, we will take you to the hospital wing to recover if you need to. It is likely the first few transformations will be tough on you. During the summer, when you are staying at your relatives, I will come and pick you up on the afternoon of the full moon and we will go to my place where I have a room designed to keep us restrained. And Harry, if it is ok with you, we want to try and keep the fact that you are a werewolf a secret for as long as possible. We don't want Voldemort to know, as it is entirely possible he could use it to his advantage. Harry, I really don't want you to stress about it. We will all get through it together, you, me and Sirius. We won't let anything else happen to you."
Harry sat in silence, absorbing everything he had been told. To be truthful, the arrangements sounded fine to him, and he wasn't afraid as he thought he would be. He was certainly still apprehensive, but not afraid. It seemed Lupin noticed his relaxing figure, as he gave him a small smile.
Harry returned it full force, his grin lighting up his entire face.
Harry was out of the hospital wing within the next week. In classes, most people left him alone and didn't ask any questions about what had happened. And if anyone did look like they were going to ask him anything, Ron glared at them so fiercely that their eyes widened in fright and they walked off quickly. To an outsider, it would look like the trio were unaffected by the events of the past weeks, but to one who knew them, the truth was much grimmer. It wasn't uncommon for Hermione to disappear at odd times and return later with almost hidden tear tracks. Ron was angry at the world, and showed it by protecting his friends at any time of the day. Harry, understandably, was the worst affected. He hardly slept, would violently flinch whenever anyone mentioned Cedric, and had a sunken look in his emerald eyes. But he was making an effort to feel happier, laughing every now and then, and tried to socialize with people in the common room. In time, Harry would heal.
But then, two weeks after the Triwizard Tournament ended and three days before the end of term, Harry became withdrawn. He was nervous and anxious about the upcoming night, and no matter how much he denied it, afraid too. He dreaded the hour when he would have to meet Lupin and Sirius in the Shrieking Shack, because then it would seem more real. He would have to actually accept the fact that he was a werewolf.
Despite his constant willing of time to stop, five o'clock rolled around with alarming speed. Harry was seated in his bed, slowly eating an apple. Remus had advised him to eat beforehand, as he would be missing dinner, but Harry could barely bring himself to eat half the apple. Glaring at the clock hanging on the wall, he finally stood up and made his way towards the door. Hermione and Ron had offered to sit with him while he waited, but Harry had desperately pleaded for some time alone so that he could think and mentally prepare. He had taken the Wolfsbane potion at lunch, bit could still feel it in his stomach and taste the foul after-taste. It wasn't making things any easier, having the constant reminder. Harry finally reached the common room, and put on his passive face so that no one would suspect anything unusual. He politely smiled at Seamus, and nodded to his friends seated in the corner. Hermione and Ron stood up and walked over to join him, smiling reassuringly. Harry tried to return the grin but failed, instead producing a grimace.
"Let's go." He sighed, as he walked towards the common room door with Hermione and Ron. The three walked in silence until they were outside.
"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked softly. Harry breathed deeply before replying weakly.
"Not really. But I don't have a choice, I have to face it." His words were strong choices, but held none of the required conviction.
Please review, I have the next chapter finished and will post it soon.
