The third time I shared a bed with Sirius Black was in fourth year. I had been injured in a Quidditch match. I was hit in the back by a bludger and had cracked several vertebrae. Madame Pomfrey was forced to remove them because of the nerve damage and I was literally tied to a bed overnight and fed skelegrow every four hours. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life.
When I had fallen Sirius had been the one to catch me. He had been the one to fly me all the way up to the castle so I wasn't jolted unnecessarily by being transferred from his broom. As soon as they started tying me to the bed he vanished. I won't pretend that it didn't hurt, but I understood. Seeing your best friend tied to a bed can't be easy. What I didn't expect was him to be back in the hospital wing less than an hour later with yellow tentacles sprouting all over his left arm.
'What did you do Padfoot?' I asked through gritted teeth. The skelegrow was just beginning to kick in and its effects were making concentration difficult. He just grinned at me.
'I asked Moony...'
'You can't go getting him involved in something like this, what if he was caught? He'd get detention at the very least,' I was aghast.
'He said no, Prongs. Told me I was being an idiot and that you'd rather I wasn't annoying you all night when you should be recovering.' He grinned ruefully, 'He's evidently not had skelegrow before.'
'So how do you explain...' I looked at his arm pointedly. He grinned again.
'Oh, that. I called Snivellus a greasy slimebag, among other things. Apparently he doesn't take kindly to the idea that his mother must have slept with a troll at some point for him to have been born...' We both laughed at that, though I stopped after it started aching too much. He crossed to my bed immediately.
'What's wrong Prongs?' he asked, suddenly overly concerned. I was breathing quickly as the splintering pain of the skelegrow intensified.
'Skelegrow's kicking in.' I said through clenched teeth. He blinked, looking more shocked than I expected him to be.
'You mean they already gave you a dose? I had no idea,' He sat down on the chair next to my bed and softly, carefully, held my hand. I clenched it tightly as the skelegrow took more of an effect.
We sat like that, talking about other things when I was able to, for four long and painful hours. Suddenly, a small tinkling bell rang through the Hospital Wing. I would have shuddered had I not been restrained at the time. Sirius looked at me, confused.
'Time for my next dose.' I mumbled, trying to sound upbeat. I failed miserably, but that was probably to be expected.
'How many doses do you have to have?' he asked, looking worried.
'Three.' He winced in sympathy. I was slightly disconcerted. He seemed to know an awful lot about skelegrow, and multiple doses of it, which, to my knowledge, were only ever used when multiple bones were badly broken, but at that point in time I had more important things to worry about.
Sirius went back to bed before Madame Pomfrey came out of her office. She checked the fractured vertebrae before clicking her tongue and pouring out another dose of skelegrow, mutter all the time about the stupidity of the young boys these days who played Quidditch. She poured the vile drink into my mouth, checked that I had swallowed it, and reset her timer to go off in another four hours, telling her that I needed my final dose.
Almost before Madame Pomfrey had left the room Sirius was back at my bedside, holding my hand tightly. The pain was worse this time, building on the pain that already existed and intensifying it. I bit my lip, trying to stifle a pained moan as the splintering sensation started. Sirius moved closer then, stroking my hair and trying to help. It was comforting, to feel his presence so close to me as I whimpered my way through another four hours of skelegrow. Again the charm went off. Another dose was administered. Sirius returned to my bedside as soon as Madame Pomfrey had left the room. This time I was barely conscious. I was fighting my restraints and mumbling incoherently. I don't remember much to be honest of the next four hours.
The next thing I remember in waking up in the hospital wing in daylight with Sirius lying across my chest and an ache in my back but no sharp pain. He had been there with me all night, helping me with the pain. I smiled and tried to run a hand through his hair but found myself still tethered to the bed. Well that would become annoying. Quickly.