Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J. K. Rowling, not me.
Dumbledore Answers Harry - Chapter 18 - Visiting Sirius
"Lunch time!" came Molly Weasley's voice, echoing upstairs.
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny were in Harry's room, playing a game of exploding snap, which Ginny was winning. After their group hug, they decided to play a game, despite Ginny's protest that the other two needed `alone time.' They ended their game with a card exploding in Harry's hand and went downstairs.
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"Hello dears," said Molly, pretending to be cheerful. She was just as worried as the rest of them.
The three kids walked up to the large table and sat on one side of it with Hermione in the middle instead of Harry. Mrs. Weasley noticed this change from Harry usually being in the middle, and also noticed Ginny's eyes, which appeared to have recently shed some tears.
"So, how has your morning been?" she asked, hoping to find out what happened.
Harry took a deep breath. "Okay, apart from worrying about Sirius and the rest of the Order."
"Yeah," Hermione nodded nervously.
Ginny looked at the table. "Fine," she muttered.
Molly wasn't convinced of that, but decided to wait until after lunch to pursue the matter. "Well, the sandwiches are on the table. Tuck in."
While they were still eating, the floo activated, and Mad-Eye Moody walked into the kitchen with a grim expression.
"Is it over?" said Harry, suddenly showing the panic he'd been hiding.
"Yes," he said nodding, "and the Death Eaters didn't get to cause nearly as much mayhem as they like, and many of the younger ones were captured. Bellatrix, Snape, and Malfoy all escaped, but were seen leading the attacks."
"So when will Sirius be back?"
"Actually, Potter, Sirius is at St. Mungo's. According to the guy who sent him there, he was dueling his cousin and got cocky. While they were dueling he backed up directly underneath a sign that she broke above him and it collapsed. He was too busy insulting her to pay attention to his surroundings. He should have practiced constant vigilance! Even more so in a fight! He…"
"How badly is he hurt?" asked Molly as Harry paled.
Moody sighed, calming down from his sermon on constant vigilance. "After the sign collapsed on him, he was awake but she used the Cruciatus Curse on him. While he was thrashing under the spell, he repeatedly hit his head. He was unconscious when he was portkeyed away."
"Then we've got to see him!" shouted Harry.
"Can we floo there?" asked Ginny.
"No," said Hermione. "St. Mungo's keeps their floo open only for emergencies. They don't want visitors to delay injured people arriving. I read about it in `Modern Healing in the Wizarding World.'"
"Hermione's right," said Mrs. Weasley. "I guess we could take the Knight Bus, though."
"Not without at least one more escort," said Mad-Eye. Then he said a bit more softly, "I'll get someone."
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An hour later they were walking into Sirius' room at the hospital after taking a trip with an Order member Harry had never met before. She was a middle-aged woman named Joyce Lawly. She had dark brown hair that was just beginning to gray and a worried expression on her face. She looked almost as paranoid as Moody, but wasn't as scarred up, aside from a circular scar on her neck. Harry didn't ask about it, but did wonder what spell had caused it until he heard her speak halfway through the trip. Her voice was barely a whisper. When Hermione had asked her to speak up, she explained that she couldn't because a spell had all but destroyed her voice box.
Harry looked at his unconscious godfather as he lay in bed and instantly felt the guilt overwhelm him. "He's hurt because I told…"
"He wanted to fight. He knew the risks," said Ginny.
"If you hadn't told him about your dream a lot more people would be hurt or worse," added Hermione.
"But it wouldn't be Sirius."
"It might have been all of us," said Hermione.
"Maybe I could've helped! I…"
"He didn't want you to get hurt like this," said Molly. "As your guardian it's his decision, and I happen to agree with it."
"Why did he have to take time out to talk to Bellatrix?" asked Harry. "Couldn't he have paid more attention? That's what he always tells me when we practice! I can't believe he…"
"I can't believe it either," said Sirius, groggily.
Harry and the others smiled brightly. "You're awake!" he exclaimed.
"I'll go get a healer," said Molly excitedly.
"Sorry about that," said Sirius wearily. "I guess I let our old rivalry take over instead of using my head. You should never talk during your duels unless you want to end up hurt." Looking around he added, "I guess I'm at St. Mungo's." When they nodded, he asked, "How'd the rest of the battle go?"
Mad-Eye started to answer when the door opened and Mrs. Weasley entered with a female Healer.
"Hello everyone. I'm Healer Owen."
"How is Sirius?" asked Harry.
"Yeah," said Sirius softly, "How am I?"
She smiled at Padfoot. "Well, Mr. Black, your injuries from the sign collapsing have been healed already. The only concern we have now is that you have a concussion and will probably have a terrible headache once your pain potion wears off. That potion is why you're so drowsy. We'll need to keep you here for twenty-four hours of observation to make sure you're alright. We don't like to take chances with head injuries."
"So other than that?" Sirius said.
"Other than that you're okay."
"That's great," said Harry, showing relief in his eyes as he faced Healer Owen.
As she looked at him, her eyes flicked to his forehead. "You're Harry Potter," she said with a grin.
"That explains my scar," he said, stiffening up. "Sirius is my guardian."
"Really? Mr. Black will be just fine. I'll leave you all to chat with him for about fifteen minutes, and then we'll have to run some more simple tests."
Once the healer had gone, Sirius looked at Harry, who was standing with Hermione and Ginny. With a broad smile on his face, mainly to show he was fine, Padfoot said, "I see you've brought your two girlfriends with you."
Harry looked at the ground, Hermione looked at the ceiling shifting uncomfortably, and unshed tears filled Ginny's eyes as she turned and started walking toward her mum.
"What? Aren't you gonna correct me, pup?" Sirius asked, wondering what was wrong.
Mrs. Weasley was looking between her daughter and Harry, and then at Hermione. She seemed to be catching on.
"I'm not his girlfriend," said Ginny after fifteen seconds of silence, "Hermione is."
"Is that true?" asked Molly, looking straight in Ginny's eyes. She nodded her mother. "Ginny, would you like to go home?"
"No, I'm fine. We talked it over today. We're still friends."
"Best friends," said Harry, approaching Ginny from behind and squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.
Sirius sighed and then smiled brightly, "Well then, I guess I should congratulate Harry and Hermione. Now I can accurately harass you both."
"Thanks, I think," said Harry softly as Hermione blushed.
"So Mad-Eye, you were about to tell us about the fight at Diagon Alley before Healer Owen came in."
"So I was."
Moody filled them all in on the battles that had taken place while Sirius was fighting his cousin. He had personally fought Snape and had him cornered until the former Potions teacher disapparated away. Halfway through the discussion, Sirius fell asleep.
"That must be a strong potion," said Harry with a smirk, "To make Sirius fall asleep while listening to a battle."
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True to the healer's words, Sirius came home the next day, and naturally, they had a party. Time passed very quickly after that, and it was soon the day before they were to return to Hogwarts. Molly Weasley had been a bit distant toward Harry since the revelation that he was dating Hermione, but no one commented on it. Right after lunch, Harry got Hermione and Ginny (who was getting more used to the idea of Harry dating Hermione, even though the new couple still hadn't actually gone out on a date or kissed, etc.) to do the elemental aptitude test in the basement of his home.
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Please review. Sorry it's been so long. I took about a week off from writing (or reading) fanfics, but I'm back now. Sorry the chapter's so short.
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