Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling; it's not mine.
Harry watched Snape leave, before turning back to Sirius and Remus. Both looked to have been crying and Harry was concerned. Do they know?
"Sirius? Professor Lupin? What's wrong?"
"Shh… Harry, call me Remus."
"Nothing's wrong, foal. Now, get some rest; you need to save your strength."
"Why were you crying?"
Sirius and Remus hastily wiped their cheeks dry and looked at Harry with serious expressions.
"We almost lost you Harry," Sirius choked and coughed before speaking. "We were crying because we were happy that you're still here."
"How did I get here?" Harry gave a dry laugh. "Where am I?"
"This is our new home. Remus and I live here. Snape and I went to the Dursleys," Sirius paused as Harry shuddered, "and we brought you here to stay."
"Harry," Remus spoke hesitantly. He wished he didn't need to have this talk, but Harry needed to admit the abuse he lived through. "Do you want to tell us what happened?"
Sirius shot Remus a seething glare, but Remus ignored him and watched Harry imploringly.
"Why? Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry."
"No, foal, of course you didn't do anything wrong! Absolutely nothing wrong. We just wanted to know how you ended up like this." He gestured loosely at Harry's body.
Harry looked down. He was covered in blood. It looked a lot worse then it felt, but that was probably due to a Pain Relieving potion. Harry tried to move his arms but they felt as if they were crafted from stone. He could barely even feel his legs. Harry became worried. He cried out in frustration with the dire hope that his head would still follow his directions even though his body would not.
"I fell down the stairs."
"Harry! Do not lie to us. Tell us who did this and we'll see that they are justly punished!"
"NO! Don't hurt them! It was my fault. If I wasn't such a freak; if I had stopped Moody from threatening them!" Harry broke into tears. "Why in the name of Merlin do my legs not work?"
Sirius gave a quick glance at Remus, who nodded his head slightly. Sirius grabbed onto Harry's shoulders and pulled him close, enveloping in a bone-crushing hug.
Harry yelped and tried to push Sirius away, but his attempts were feeble at best, as he had very little strength.
"Listen to me! You are not a freak and it is not your fault that Moody threatened them. Do not blame yourself." Sirius paused and allowed Harry to pull away. "I'll take off your Body Bind and you can have a nice hot bath."
When the spell was released, Harry immediately made to stand up, however Harry did not possess enough strength to even roll over. Sirius made to help Harry, but Remus placed his hand on Sirius' shoulder to stall him.
"Let me help him," Remus whispered. "He won't like it if you have to help him have a bath. He won't want you of all people to see him that vulnerable."
Sirius nodded as Remus picked Harry up off of the couch and across the hall into the bathroom. He placed Harry on the edge of the bathtub and shut the door on Sirius. Harry slumped against the wall and Remus realized that Harry would not be able to bathe on his own. He turned on the tap and put a small amount of water on the bottom of the tub. Remus took hold of Harry's shirt and made to pull it off of him, but he stalled as Harry whimpered. Remus sighed. Harry probably wouldn't let anyone else bathe him, so Remus had to find a way to make Harry comfortable.
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Harry slapped himself mentally. Remus won't hurt me. He's just going to give me a bath. He probably thinks I'm a coward, but with the way he backed away when I whimpered… they must know something. How? How do they know what happened? The only possible way would be…MY LETTER. No! They can't have found it; there is no way. Oh please Merlin let them have missed the letter. Harry noticed Remus watching him, so he decided to apologize.
"I'm sorry Remus. I'm just a little sore. I promise I won't hurt you."
Remus nodded and slowly began to undress Harry. He could see Harry was uncomfortable, but he didn't think it had anything to do with him being a werewolf. Remus instinctively knew that Sirius was still standing outside the door, so Remus decided he would see what Harry had to say.
"How are you feeling, Harry?"
"Tired. Remus, and of course Sirius, I know you are listening, why are you guys so concerned? I mean, I know why you are concerned but all I did was fall down the stairs. Why are you insinuating another cause?"
Remus sighed and for a split second thought about lying to Harry. He doesn't need the added pressure of thinking everyone knows. But, he needs the truth. He kept the truth from us. Look at how well that turned out. He needs to know he can talk to us.
"Look, Harry. We found your letter."
At this Harry inhaled sharply.
"We only read it because we were worried about you," Remus hurried to explain. "We didn't know if you would make it. We couldn't-and still can't-help you if we don't know what happened in the first place… Why didn't you tell us you weren't okay? We could have taken you away from there!"
"I didn't want to bother anyone. You would have worried and I know you guys have enough on your plates as it is. You're busy and I would have just gotten in the way."
"Yurntabthraneealwysavtmefroo," came the muffled reply from the hall.
Remus would have smiled if not for the seriousness of their conversation. "Padfoot says that you are not a not a bother and we always have time for you. Moony definitely agrees on this one. It's our job to take care of you and we can't do that if you don't talk to us. Both of us promised James and Lily that we would never ever stop caring about you. But even if we hadn't promised, Harry, you are a great kid. You are just what Siri and I always wanted in a child and we love you like our own."
Harry smiled. Remus finished washing almost all of Harry. The only part left was currently covered by threadbare y-fronts and Moony knew this would be the hardest part for Harry. Remus paused and glanced at Harry.
"Are you okay? I don't have to do this. Is there someone you would be more comfortable with?" Remus asked out of politeness, but he knew what Harry's reply would be.
Harry shook his head violently, so Remus slowly lowered Harry's briefs. Harry cried out in fear and Remus couldn't help himself from pulling back with shock. Sirius yelled from outside the door.
"I'm okay. I'm okay." I thought was ready for this but I guess not. I need to get over this.
Remus began to wash Harry; careful not to linger for too long on any spot.
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Washing Harry like this saddened Remus. This poor boy has been through too much. Remus grabbed a nearby bottle of calming lotion and poured it into the bath while Harry's eyes clenched shut in fear. Harry inhaled deeply many times before falling asleep. Remus was left to dry and dress him, before tucking him safely into bed.
Wow, I know it has been a long while since I updated, but with yearbook and then the holiday season, everything is really hectic. Now that everyone is either at work or visting friends and I am stuck at home on winter vacation with nothing to do, I have lots of time to work on hobbies. Sorry about the wait and I'll see what I can do about getting another chapter out today. Sirius and Remus aren't too important to the story but they will be in it until Harry goes back to school and then they will only pop in every once in a while. Thanks to all my great reviewers. It really helps after a day of working to know someone appreciates what I'm doing. Review if you have the time. Lots of love.