Chapter 2 Harry's wish

Much to Harry's relief, he had a dreamless night and he was thankful for that. The next morning, Hermione woke up first. She sat there and watched him sleep. He seemed so peaceful for someone so traumatized. She sighed sadly at everything her friend has been through. Suddenly she felt her stomach churning. At first, she ignored it, but after it continued to protest, she realized she shouldn't wait any longer. So she got up on her feet and leaned forward to kiss Harry on the cheek.

"It's gonna be okay, Harry. I promise." She said softly and went down to the great hall to have breakfast.

While Harry spent the night at the hospital, Dumbledore announced to the school, that Sirius is in fact innocent and has been pardoned by the ministry of magic, so there should be no reason for alarm since he would be staying at the castle for a few days. Sirius sat at Gryffindor table as he did all those years ago. Granted, the other students were a little intimidated by him, but a few could see he was a harmless, nice, warm person. Strangely enough, Neville seemed to take an interest in him. Perhaps his history with death eaters and his parents made him a little more sympathetic to victims of the whole issue. He was talking to Sirius just as Hermione sat down beside him.

"Morning Hermione." Said Neville.

"Morning." She said and smiled at Sirius.

"Morning Sirius."

He smiled back, happy to return the gesture. It's been ages before someone smiled at him.

"Morning Hermione." He replied as she started to eat her beaten eggs for breakfast. After she swallowed a few mouthfuls, he asked.

"How is Harry doing?"

Hermione swallowed hard and downed her throat with some pumpkin juice. She sighed audibly

"He's still asleep." She said.

"You saw him this morning?" he asked.

"Sort of. I snuck into the hospital wing last night to keep him company and fell asleep at his bedside."

Sirius smiled warmly at that.

"You really care about Harry don't you?"

"Sure I do, he's my best friend."

"That's not what I meant Granger." He said and she blushed slightly. She stammered to find answer. Before she could give one, Neville interrupted her.

"There's no point in denying it Hermione. Everyone knows you fancy him."

Hermione's blush increased tenfold.

"I… is it that obvious?"

Neville nodded sheepishly.

She sighed.

"Does Harry know?"

"It's not my place to tell you that Hermione." Said Neville and she understood. She nodded. Sirius turned to the girl in front of him.

"You know if you really love Harry you should tell him. He may be a little emotionally detached, but he is still capable of loving other people. From what I've seen of how I looks at you and talks about you in his letters, it seems like he really adores you."

She blushed.

"But does he adore me in the romantic way?"

"Only he can tell you."

She nodded.

"Yeah…"

After a little more talking and eating Sirius excused himself from the great hall to check on Harry. He climbed up the stairs and into the hospital wing. He found Harry lying in his bed staring out the window. Sirius sat by his bed to get his attention.

"How're you feeling sport?"

Harry turned to look at him. He smiled slightly.

"Sirius." He said; glad to see his godfather near him.

"Are you feeling any better?"

Harry shrugged.

"I feel what I feel. I still feel guilty about letting Cedric die and letting Voldemort return to power, so you can probably imagine I'm feeling pretty bad about myself."

"Listen to me Harry." Said his godfather and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Some things are beyond our control. If Barty Crouch Jr. conspired to have you put in the tournament and then bewitch the trophy, it wasn't your fault that you and Cedric ended up in that graveyard. You were just trying to be fair to him and I'm sure he appreciated that. You were just trying to do the right thing. And it's not your fault you couldn't disarm Wormtail in time. The pain in your scar was just too great because Voldemort was near. No one can expect you to fight in that condition. Nothing of this was your fault. It was just rotten luck. Do you understand me?"

Harry nodded.

"Yeah."

Sirius smiled.

"Good, that's more like it," he smirked and Harry chuckled. The two men sent the next few minutes looking out the window. After a few minutes, Sirius spoke.

"So what's the story with you and Granger?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well clearly she loves you, and from what you told me in your letters you love her as well. Why don't you tell her? Are you gonna wait around until someone else steals her away?"

"No. I just thought I should wait until all this was over. If we would start dating now and then I would die in battle, she would be devastated. I don't that for her... at all…"

Sirius looked rather thoughtful.

"You are a lot like your mother you know that?"

"What's that got to do with it?"

"That you are both very kind. You've done so much for the people around you already Harry, but you also need to be kind to yourself and sometimes go after what you want for yourself and not what society wants from you. Stop being so selfless for one minute. If you wait too long you may lose your opportunity. She's as just as likely to die in battle as you are. Then you'll spend the rest of your life regretting not seizing the opportunity when you could have and would always wonder what could have been when you can have it now."

Harry let those words sink in. He has been rather selfless most of his life. He loved Hermione with every fiber of his being and it would break his heart to lose her. After he finished thinking, he met Sirius's gaze with his eyes.

"You're right. I should tell her."

Sirius nodded.

"Give yourself a break, okay Harry? You're a human not Jesus. You deserve happiness just as much as any of us do. Don't wait until it might be too late. You don't want to spend the rest of your life living with regret. Believe me, it isn't fun." Said the man, referring the mistakes he made all those years ago regarding Harry's parents. Harry's face softened at his godfather's guilt for letting them down and making Harry an orphan.

"It's not your fault Sirius. Your plan was good but you put your trust in the wrong man. I don't hold you responsible for it, so neither should you. For what it's worth, I still have my godfather, and that means a lot to me."

Sirius gave him a broken smile.

"You really are like Lily…"

He nodded with a smile.

"I know." He said and the two went in for a hug.

The two men spent the next few hours chatting and finally getting to know each other properly for the first time. While Sirius reclaimed his freedom and slowly reclaimed his godson, Harry acquired something he could only dream about having. A loving family…

To be continued…

So there it is. Sorry, about the long update. The next chapter will probably be the last one but that might change.

Anyway, hope you guys liked it.

Reviews are most welcome…

See you around…