Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing. It's J.K. Rowling's Magical world. I'm just renting residence. Heh.
Chapter Summary: Sirius and Remus are reunited with their Young Charge.
A/N: Hey guys. I'm sooo sorry about the long wait for this chapter! We had a big thunder storm here with scattered tornados and my power was out for days! –Sigh- The tragedy, eh? But I'm back online and with this long awaited chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 7: Forgiveness
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Hagrid had not told them whether Harry was alright or not, but then again, they had not stuck around after hearing the news to actually 'ask'. So to say that Sirius and Remus where relieved to see Harry alive and well in the hospital wing would be the understatement of the century. Sirius wanted to wake him and apologize profusely the moment he reached the raven-haired boy's bedside, but thought better of it.
He should probably get some sleep He told himself.
Madam Pomfrey was in there about fifteen seconds after them and was at the foot of the bed in a flash. They both looked at her as she quickly took out her wand and waved it over Harry for the third time.
"Thank goodness," she sighed after an unnerving silence. "Everything but the bruises and the malnourishment seem normal. He can take another Nourishment potion in the morning, and I'll send some with you when you leave, as well as the salve for Harry's bruises. He most likely would rather a familiar person do it than me," she told them with a sad smile. Remus nodded, knowing it to be true.
"When can he leave?" Sirius asked curiously.
"Tomorrow, most likely," she answered, pondering slightly, before returning to her office. Sirius and Remus slipped into chairs on either side of Harry.
"He's ok," Sirius sighed, more than extremely relieved.
"Physically, anyway," Remus interjected. Sirius nodded sadly. After that both men fell silent, absorbed in their thoughts. For there was a lot to be thinking about, but most important was that of how to regain what little of Harry's trust they had initially had.
How long they watched Harry sleep, neither knew. But it was not long until they fell into an uneasy sleep themselves. The exhaustion of the day's events - especially the running about the castle - had finally gotten to them.
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When Harry awoke, it was very dark. He was used to the dark, however, and would have been fine with it, if it was not for the fact that there was breathing on either side of him, alerting him to the presence of people in the room.
He knew he was not supposed to. That Uncle Vernon had forbidden him from ever doing anything of the sort - and that if he were to be caught he would most likely regret it greatly. But Uncle Vernon was not here and he 'did' need to be able to see who was there. So he sat up quietly, cross-legged, brought his hands together softly in front of him and then cupped them, revealing a small flame, born from his hands. Harry smiled to himself softly as it lit up half of the hospital wing, but gasped with surprise at seeing who exactly was sitting, asleep, on both sides of him. The fire was quickly extinguished plunging the room into darkness again.
Padfoot and Moony…they came back! Harry thought as his mind reeled with thoughts.
Have they weally come back fow me? Maybe I was wong and they didn't 'leave' they just had to use the potty or something… Harry thought hopefully.
Or…maybe they'we just here to tell me they've changed their minds and want to send me back… Harry thought anxiously, balling up his blankets in his small fists. His mind jumped back and forth with good reasons why they could be there and bad reasons why they could be there. Had he been wrong or had he been right? He had mixed feelings and was extremely confused. But before Harry had more time to ponder on it, Sirius began to stir...
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Sirius did not know what woke him, but he half wished it had not. He had been having a good dream about old times with James and Remus at school, but, none-the-less, it could not be helped, and here he was. The Black blearily opened his eyes, just to be greeted immediately by darkness. Rubbing the sleep from his bluish-grey eyes he vaguely wondered how long he had been out. Desiring to check-up on Harry, he took out his wand and tiredly muttered,
"Lumos." The little area around him lit up as his wand's tip ignited.
Moony's out cold by the looks of it, and Harry's up, Sirius thought casually, as he was still not fully awake. Wait…what? Sirius thought, surprised, almost saying it out loud. He quickly sat up straighter in his chair, fully awake now, and gazed at Harry, who, at the moment, was eyeing him warily…almost as if frightened. Sirius instantly felt a pang of guilt for leaving Harry alone yesterday, and, by the look in his Godson's emerald eyes, how it had affected him. He knew that by unintentionally breaking their promise, Remus and he had loosened considerably the already extremely loose thread of trust Harry had had in them. But Sirius desperately hoped that Harry's trust in them had not been severed, and that maybe with work, they could fix it completely.
"Hey, Prongslet," Sirius greeted softly, choosing his words carefully. "I'm really glad you came back, kiddo," he admitted truthfully, smiling somewhat. It seemed that had not been what Harry had been expecting Sirius to say for he looked surprised.
"You…you awe?" Harry questioned disbelievingly.
"Of course! We were going crazy looking for you. You have no idea how worried we were. We thought we'd lost you," said Sirius, sadness in his tone.
"You'we…you'we not…mad?" Harry asked, amazed.
"Why would I be?" Sirius answered smiling.
"Well…I left," Harry stated, wondering how Sirius could not be mad about something like that.
"And you had a very good reason, Prongslet. We had needed to talk with somebody and you were asleep. We didn't think it would be nice to wake you up so we just left and thought we'd get back before you awoke. Obviously, what we should have done was tell you, that way it wouldn't seem like we had broken our promise of not leaving. Because we would never do that to you," Sirius explained sincerely, willing Harry to believe him. Harry looked deep in thought as though different feelings were conflicting with each other. Then he looked back up a Sirius.
"You didn't mean to bweak your pwomise," Harry repeated softly, hope shinning in his eyes.
"No, and I'm so sorry, Prongslet, if you thought we did," Sirius replied honestly. Harry smiled. No one had ever apologized to him before. …Ever.
"Will you ever forgive me?" Sirius asked, wondering anxiously if Harry would. The young emerald eyed boy pushed his blankets off, got up on his knees on the bed, and hugged his Godfather, whose chair was right next to his bed.
"I fowgive you, Padfoot." Harry whispered. Sirius hugged Harry back, smiling, and brought the small boy into his lap on the chair. Harry tiredly rested his head on his Godfather's chest as Sirius hugged him to him. Harry could not help but feel safe in his Godfather's arms. He knew now that Sirius would never 'purposely' hurt him. The two fell into a peaceful silence as Harry soaked up the feeling that was that of being held. Harry, who was usually never hugged, could not help but love the feeling of it. Of being…loved, and cared for. Padfoot and Moony had actually been worried about him! No one had ever worried about him before. Harry did not know how or when he would pay them back, but he would. He promised himself that.
"…I love you, Padfoot," Harry murmured sleepily, eyes drooping.
"I love you too, Prongslet. You don't know how much," Sirius replied, voice choked somewhat, and kissed the top of Harry's unruly black hair, holding the small child close to him.
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A/N: How'd you like it? I thought some Sirius-Harry bonding would do well here. Harry may be cautious of them but at least he trusts them, which I believed was necessary. Sorry, again, for not updating sooner, but at least you didn't have to wait a month, right? x.x I know how that can be, it happens to me all the time with my favorite stories. –Sigh- Anyway, review please and I'll go put my finishing touches on the next chapter.