The Care Giver
a Harry Potter story
by Tina
Sirius Black lay across his bed in the Gryffindor dormitory marveling at his good fortune. After weeks of trying, he had finally managed to catch the head cold that had been making it's way around Hogwart's for the last month or so. He had all but given up hope that he would get it, and then he had awoken the previous day feeling quite unwell. He had managed to hide it from Remus all day and then spent the cold damp night frolicking in the full moon. James had realized he was getting sick but Sirius had managed to persuade him not to tell Remus. Both knew that If Remus even suspected he was ill there would be know way he would allow Padfoot to be there for the transformation. He took inventory of his symptoms, his nose was totally stuffed, his throat very dry and scratchy, giving him a very hoarse voice and he had been sneezing all morning. Other than the rather annoying pounding headache, all of his symptoms were very obvious, which was just perfect. He could hardly wait for Remus to get back, he was sure to notice right away that he was sick. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the dormitory door opening. He turned, expecting to see Remus but saw instead Peter, apparently in the midst of a sneezing fit. His faced clouded with anger, "You bloody bastard! You stole my cold!"
Peter looked up, stunned, the sneeze he had been on the verge of now frightened away. "W..w...what?" he stammered.
"You heard me you berk! I'm sick, you're not supposed to be sick. Just me! You stole my cold!"
Peter considered arguing, but one look at Sirius' face convinced him that he should leave, and leave quickly. He tossed the library books he was carrying onto his bed and backed out of the room." I... I was just going to see Madame Pomfrey for some Pepper Up."
"Good Peter, you do that!" Sirius called after him, his anger now dissipated. Peter couldn't be sick, then Remus would want to take care of him too. And he wanted Remus all to himself. To Sirius, there was nothing better in the world, than Remus is full care giver mode. He knew that when Remus saw that he was ill, he would be sure to take care of him. It didn't seem wrong to assume this of Remus, that was just him. It was his way, how he was when any of them were ill. That was what made it so annoying that Peter was sick too. Good for him getting that Pepper Up, thought Sirius. There was no way that he was going to get any Pepper Up. Of course, Remus would suggest it, but he would absolutely refuse. Remus would argue that he was lucky that he could take Pepper up, while others like Remus himself, were immune to it's effects, but he wouldn't budge .He had a number of excuses to use, but regardless, there was no way he would be taking anything to get rid if his cold. He had waited too long for it to come.
He was pleased to realize that even the timing of his cold was perfect. He hadn't even thought about the full moon, but certainly a long cold night of running around outside and not getting any sleep had done its work to worsen the cold. Plus, the fact that it was Saturday gave them two days to lounge about in the dormitory without Remus having to worry about missing any classes. He couldn't have done any better if he had scheduled it.
His thoughts were again interrupted by sneezing, this time his own. He realized as he felt his nose tickling that he hadn't bothered to get any tissues or a handkerchief yet so, after a moment's hesitation, he sneezed freely onto his pillow. "ETCHOOOOOOO!!!!!! Ishooooooooo! Etchhhhhh!!"
"Ewwwww Padfoot, " He was startled by James' voice beside him, "At least cover your mouth! That was disgusting!"
"Sorry mate, "Sirius grinned sheepishly, "Didn't hear you come in. Excuse me"
"I know. Bless you anyway Pads."James grinned back, then his expression turned more serious. "You sound terrible. Your cold's worse." It was really more of a statement than a question, so Sirius didn't answer. "Really shouldn't have had you running around in the cold last night." James shook his head, disappointed in himself for letting Sirius down.
"Pffffffft, I needed to be there for Moony, you know that." Sirius answered, "Besides, I made you promise."
"I know, but I still feel bad your sick" James looked quite guilty. "Why don't you go down to hospital for some Pepper Up?" He asked hopefully.
"Ughhhhhh!!! There is no way that I am having any of that vile concoction. It's worse than being sick, drinking that stuff!! I'd much rather deal with the cold. Heh.... heh..... Hehtchoooooo!!!! Etchaaaaa!!!"
James just shook his head, knowing that there was no point in arguing with Sirius once his mind was set. " Bless you again. Wish you would Pads, but I won't even bother trying to convince you . I'm headed down for some lunch are you coming?"
Sirius shook his head, "I'm not really very hungry, besides, I'll wait for Moony to come back.. He should be along soon."
James nodded, "Can I bring you anything back? Some soup maybe?" Sirius shook his head. "How about some tea?"
Sirius considered the tea for a moment, the nodded. "Tea would be brilliant James, thanks." The thought of hot tea sounded fantastic to him, and at least it would save Remus a trip to get it for him later, he smiled to himself.
"I'll be back soon Pads," he ruffled his hair."Feel better mate."
"Thanks James." Sirius smiled after his friend thinking James wasn't too bad at care giving himself, but of course, he was no Remus.
Sirius was dozing in his bed a short time later when he heard the dormitory door open once more. He rolled over sleepily to finally see Remus making his way into the dorm. He was just about to hoarsely call out to Remus, proclaiming his illness, when he took a good look at his friend and the words died on his lips.
Remus stood frozen just inside the doorway, breath hitching, eyes closed fist raised halfway to his face. Looking more closely, Sirius noticed the exceptionally pale complexion, the red, chapped nose and the handkerchief balled up in Remus' fist. With absolute horror, he realized that Remus was sick. That was something he had no considered at all.
The sneezes finally came to Remus, to Sirius they seemed to painfully wrack his frail body. " Etchhhhhh!!!!!! Isshooooo!!! Ishhhhhhhh!!!! ETCHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" He sneezed into his handkerchief and then blew his nose wetly. Sirius winced at the sound, knowing how badly Remus must be feeling. He leapt out of bed and made his way to his friend.
"Oh Moony, you're ill. Come on, to bed with you." He put his arm around his friend and guided him towards his bed. "You have a seat, I'll get your pyjamas."
Remus smiled at Sirius in surprise. "Thanks, Padfoot." His whispered, the cold and the night of howling had clearly taken their toll on his voice. "But are you alright? You sound a little hoarse. You're not sick too are you?" Remus asked, with worry in his voice.
Sirius shook his head and smiled, "No Moony, don't worry about me, I'm fine. Just a bit of a frog in my throat, that's all." He retrieved Remus pyjamas and tapped his wand on them with a warming spell before handing them to his friend. He helped Remus pull off his robes and his sweater before turning away to give him some privacy while he finished undressing. He used that time to retrieve a stack of handkerchiefs from Remus' drawer and a large glass of water to put beside the bed. He insisted that Remus climb under the covers and tucked him in snugly.
"Sirius,"Remus whispered, looking closely at his friend, "Are you sure you're not ill? I saw Peter down in the infirmary and he said..."
Sirius cut him off before he could finish, "Peter clearly doesn't know what he is talking about Moony. Now you rest your voice. I'm going down to get you some soup, and James should be up in a few minutes with some tea, is there anything else I can get you?"
Remus just shook his head and smiled, After a moment though, a puzzled look came onto his face. "Why is James coming up with tea? How would he know...."
"Save your voice Moony!" Sirius ordered, quickly making his way to the door. "I'll be back in just a few minutes, you be sure to stay in bed and stay warm!"
Remus nodded, the puzzled look still remaining on his face as Sirius hurried out of the room. Sirius quickly made his way to the secret passage to the infirmary. It would be the fastest way to get there and take a quick dose of Pepper Up before picking up Remus' soup from the Great Hall. He felt so badly that Remus was sick, and unable to take the Pepper Up himself. But he did smile slightly to realize that there definitely would be some care giving going on, just not the way that he had planned.
A very happy, sick Sirius waits for Remus to come and take care of him. In response to Weekly Hatching #87(General)- The first paragraph MUST include this quote: "[INSERT your own angry comment/explicative here]! You stole my cold!"
I love this bunny. It totally inspired me, I haven't had an even moderately intelligent thought to write for 2 weeks and this just jumped out at me. I read it yesterday and the story was composing itself in my head since then. By the time I sat down to actually type it tonight, it was alredy finished. I've read it over several times, so I hope my editing isn't too bad(but it could be). I just really wanted to get it posted before I got distracted and lost track of it.