The Unintended Victim
a Harry Potter story
by Tina
Sirius Black quickly made his way behind the tall row of hedges along the path back to behind the great oak tree where James Potter was awaiting him.
"They're both together, Snape and Malfoy! Just came `round the bend," He panted, his eyes dancing with mischief, "They should be here in a minute or so...."
"Are you sure we shouldn't wait until tomorrow morning before the Quidditch match?" James asked.
Sirius shook his head, "No Jamie, now is the perfect time! They'll be expecting something tomorrow, and besides the spell causes 24 hours of sneezing! From what I've heard it can't easily be countered, so there's no way they won't still be sneezing in the morning. "
James grinned at his friend, "Brilliant!"
Unfortunately, the Slytherins in question had noticed the movements behind the hedge and had become suspicious. They took advantage of the unsuspecting Remus J Lupin passing by, quickly moving to the side of the path and allowing him to pass ahead of them. Remus, distracted as he was looking for James and Sirius hadn't even noticed Snape and Malfoy before the let him pass. It was the day following his transformation and he hadn't been able to find his friends anywhere in the castle since he had left the hospital wing earlier in the day.
Sirius and James waited behind the oak tree listening for the sound of footsteps. Suddenly there was rustling of robes and Sirius yelled, "Now!" He and James jumped out from behind the tree, wands at the ready. As Sirius shouted the spell, James caught sight of their intended victim, and realized that they had made a mistake.
"Wait!, "He shouted holding his arm out to Sirius, but it was too late.
Remus looked up in surprise and grinned at his friends, totally unaware. "What are you two.... heschsssssssh" He didn't even have time to finish a sentence before the sneezing started. "Etchoooooo!! Heh.....hehchoo!!! Ishhhhhhhh!... `Scuse.........ISHOOOOOOO!!!! Excuse me."
Remus, having no idea what had happened was somewhat puzzled and embarrassed by his sudden sneezing fit. "Etchooooo!!!! Heh.....eh.....hehchoooo!!!" He fumbled in his pockets searching for his handkerchief. He attempted to blow his nose, but every time he tried the sneezing just continued on without pause. "Ishoooo!! Etchoooo! Etchhhh!" He finally settled for just wiping his nose between the powerful sneezes.
After several minutes in dawned on him that his friends were strangely silent. Sirius was never silent, normally he would've been poking fun and teasing him about all the sneezes and James would've been blessing him. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he noticed the shocked , guilty expressions on their faces and the wands still in their hands.
He heard snickering as Malfoy and Snape made their way down the path, elbowing past him. "Nice aim Black, " Snape called to him.
"Better check on Lupin boys, "Malfoy smirked at them, "Seems like he might've caught something."
A look of realization briefly came to Remus' face but was quickly dissolved with a fresh round of sneezing. "Did..... etchhhhhh.... ISHOOOOOOOOO!!! you two....heh..... eh..... do..... ETCHOOOO!!!! this? " He demanded breathlessly.
It was James who spoke first, `We're so sorry Remus......"
"It was a mistake, "Sirius chimed in, "Was supposed to hit Snape and Malfoy not you!" He couldn't bring himself to meet Remus' eye.
"Ahhhhhhchooooo!!! Ishhhhhhh! How...... ishoooooooo!!!! how......etchooooooo ......heh...long? " He managed to ask and got no response.
"Sir.....heh......ehhhh.. Sirius, " He grabbed his arm tightly, " Chooooooo!!!!! How ... ishhhhhhhhh!!!! long?"
Sirius looked down at his feet and mumbled, "Twenty four hours", too quietly for Remus to hear.
"How ..... chh'shhhhh ......long?" Remus squeezed his arm again.
Finally Sirius gathered his courage and looked at Remus' face. "Twenty four hours, " He was shocked at what he saw, how bad Remus already looked with his eyes were already red, his nose running nonstop , the uncontrollable sneezes taking their toll on him. "I'm really sorry Moony....."
Remus, made no reply, Sirius wasn't even sure he could reply if he wanted to. The sneezes continued to consume him, "Ahhhhhchooooo!!!!! Ishoooooooo!!!! Etchhhhhhh!!!" Sirius and James watched him helplessly, unsure of what to do.
Remus closed his eyes and reached out again to Sirius' arm. Sirius noticed him to be swaying slightly. He quickly put his arm around Remus' shoulders to hold him up. "Moony, you alright?" He asked with concern, Remus, still sneezing made no reply.
"Are you feeling dizzy mate?" James asked reaching over to help steady Remus. Remus nodded, wiping his nose with his now sodden handkerchief. "We need to get you to hospital Remus...."
"But then...."Sirius started to protest but then a second glance at his suffering friend told him of course there was no other option for poor Remus. "I'll take him, "He told James, feeling totally responsible for Remus' condition, "You go on to practice."
James looked at Sirius with surprise, "You sure Padfoot? You've got him ok alone?" Sirius nodded and hurried James on his way.
Sirius, keeping his arm tightly around the sneezing Remus' shoulders turned him around and guided him back towards the castle. Remus blindly followed Sirius' lead, still sneezing almost continuously. Sirius stopped frequently trying to allow Remus to catch his breath which was almost impossible. Remus, feeling weak and dizzy leaned into his friend as they walked. Sirius held him more tightly, talking softly to Remus, blessing him and apologizing for the mistake.
They were back in the castle but still some distance from the hospital wing when Sirius felt Remus starting to go down. He shifted his stance quickly and scooped Remus up into his arms to carry him. "No," Remus shook his head, "Ishhhhhhh!!!! Too heavy..........hehchoooo!!!"
"Shhhhh Remus, you're fine, I've got you. You're not too heavy." Sirius felt overwhelmed with guilt, to think that he had done this to his mate. Remus tried to protest further, but knowing he probably wouldn't be able to utter a whole sentence let alone walk to the infirmary, he stopped.
Remus initially struggled to capture the onslaught of sneezes into his soggy handkerchief, but finally, due to Sirius' insistence and his own weakness he gave up and allowed himself to sneeze into Sirius' chest, dampening his friend's robes. With each sneeze Remus pressed against him and Sirius felt more and more guilty, berating himself for the stupid prank gone totally awry with poor innocent Remus was paying the price.
They finally made in to the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey saw them coming down the hallway and quickly ushered Sirius in and directed him to place Remus on the first bed. Remus' sneezing was still continuing without pause and he was unable to answer any of her questions.
"What happened Mr Black? What has he been exposed to, to cause such a severe allergic reaction?" She asked, busying herself attending to Remus.
"Well, " Sirius looked at the floor as Madame Pomfrey waited expectantly. "It's not an allergy, he was accidently hit with a sneezing spell......"
In a second, her kind eyes turned dangerously angry. Sirius knew he deserved whatever punishment came to him. "Mr Black you have just bought yourself a great deal of trouble! Do you have any idea what this is doing to him? I will be speaking to the Headmaster just as soon as..."
Remus summoned all his strength, and all his breath to interrupt her. "No.....ch'shhhhhh Wasn't his fault....heh.... ehhhh... was an.....eh......accident.....ETCHOOOOO!!!!!"
Sirius turned to Remus with a look of surprise and deep gratitude and squeezed his hand. Madame Pomfrey, momentarily derailed from her train of thought turned to Remus questioningly "If you're sure Remus...." He nodded and she turned back to Sirius. "Very well Mr Black, you are off the hook for the moment, but I will speak with Mr Lupin again later on when he is able to give me more of an explanation. Now why don't you just go on your way."
"Please, Madame Pomfrey, ` Sirius looked at her with pleading eyes, "Can I stay? Can you help him?"
She softened momentarily seeing the concern in his eyes. "There's not much I can do for him, it just needs to run it's course. There are a few spells to lessen the severity of the reaction and I'll give him a sedative potion so he can sleep through the worst of it." She patted Sirius on the arm. "You can stay just until he's settled in and I give him the sedative, then he needs to sleep."
"Thank you, " Sirius whispered gratefully and sat next to Remus' bed while she went to prepare the potion for him.
Remus still shook with forceful sneezes, his nose and eyes still running. Sirius grabbed a handful of tissues from the bedside table and wiped Remus' face gently. "I'm so sorry Remus, ` He spoke softly, pushing Remus' hair back from his face, " I never meant for this to happen to you....I should've been more careful, should've let you in on the plan....." Sirius was near tears himself, seeing his friend suffering so much, knowing that Remus was already weakened following the moon.
"It's alright Sirius..... Ishhhhhhh!!!! I know ehhhh ...ehhhh... it was... hehchoooo....an accident. AhhhhhCHOOOO!!!!!" He reached out and weakly squeezed Sirius' arm. " I .....ehchooo!!!! Don't blame you..." He blurted out quickly before being overcome once again by an especially violent volley of sneezes.
Sirius almost felt more guilty knowing that Remus was letting him off the hook so easily. He leaned down and gave his friend an awkward hug, "I don't deserve a mate like you Remus. I promise I'll make it up to you." Remus quickly pulled away to avoid sneezing in Sirius' hair.
Madame Pomfrey returned then with various potions for Remus and sent Sirius on his way, telling him not to come back again until the next day. Sirius left slowly, wishing he could stay with Remus and try to help him feel better, or at least watch over him to be sure he was ok.
He couldn't bring himself to join James at Quidditch practice, he felt too consumed by guilt. He spent most of the afternoon wandering the grounds until he finally found himself sitting out by the lake until late in the evening. It was James who found him there long after practice and supper were finished.'There you are Padfoot, " He called out with great relief. "Peter and I've been looking all over for you." Sirius looked up at James for a moment then turned back to the lake.
James sat down next to Sirius, "Thought you were still with Moony, but then I got worried when we went to hospital and Madame Pomfrey said you'd left hours ago."
Sirius looked up with concern, "Remus is ok?"
"He's fine, "James patted him on the arm reassuringly, "Madame Pomfrey says he's been sleeping." He paused for a moment then met Sirius' eye, " I was kind of worried about you though Padfoot. Are you alright?" Sirius just shrugged and remained silent.
"Remus is ok, he'll be fine. It was just an accident...."
Sirius interrupted him before he said anymore. "Yes it was an accident, and I know he'll be ok, but it was awful for him. And it was all my fault. You should've seen him Jamie... he was miserable. He couldn't even breathe he was sneezing so much, he couldn't even walk by the time we got to hospital. And the moon was last night, who knows what it could do to him being so weak already...."
"Whoa, stop a minute Padfoot. It wasn't just your fault, it was both of us..."James began.
Sirius shook his head, "No Jamie, you were paying attention, you stopped yourself. I didn't.... So stupid...." He buried his head in his hands.
"Come on Sirius, let's get you back to the castle." James arose pulling Sirius to his feet.
Sirius followed along silently back to the castle. He bypassed the supper James and Peter had smuggled back to the dormitory and headed straight to bed, drawing the curtains immediately around his bed without speaking to James or Peter. Both his dormmates tried to engage him in conversation but soon gave up after receiving only grunts in response. He fell asleep finally, after hours of mentally reliving Remus' agony and torturing himself with guilt.
Next morning he awoke long before the others and headed to the hospital wing to try to get in to see Remus. Madame Pomfrey met him at the door, "He's still sleeping, you can see him later when he's awake."
"I'll wait then, til he's awake, " Sirius told her taking a seat on the bench in the hallway.
She shook her head as she walked away, assuring him she would be back for him once Remus awoke. She returned over an hour later, almost surprised to find Sirius sitting just where she had left him, staring at the floor. "Only a few minutes Mister Black, " She told him as she ushered him in, "He still needs to rest and the spell hasn't worn off yet."
Sirius nodded gratefully and headed to Remus' bed while she returned to her office. Remus rolled over to face him and struggled to push himself up in bed, "Padfoot, " his voice was hoarse. Sirius was relieved to see he at least looked a bit better than he had the previous day. His color was pale, and his eyes were red rimmed and his nose was red and raw but somehow he just looked better. The sneezing although less frequent, continued. "Hehchooooo!!!! Ishhhhhhhh"
"Bless you Moony, " Sirius sat down in the chair next to the bed, "I'm so sorry...."
Remus held up his hand, "Sirius, please stop apologizing. Etchhhhh. It's done, it was an accident. ISHHOOOOO!!! I don't blame you. " He snuffled into a handkerchief and blew his nose wetly.
Sirius looked on still feeling tremendous guilt, "How are you feeling?" He asked hesitantly.
Remus shrugged his shoulders, "A bit better than yesterday.. Ahhhchoooo!!!! Been sleeping mostly. Hetchhhhhh"
"You should probably sleep some more until it passes, " Sirius stood to go, " I don't want to keep you up and sneezing...."
"No, stay awhile Padfoot. I'm ok." Remus motioned for him to sit back down.
Sirius sat reluctantly, willing to do anything Remus asked at that point. "Will you sleep if I'm here ? You need to sleep..."
Remus nodded, "I will, Madame Pomfrey gave me some more of the sedative potion, but I'd like you to stay awhile. Heshhhhhh!!!!!"
"Bless you again, I'll stay until I'm kicked out." He smiled faintly at Remus and settled back in the chair. Noticing the expression of his face, Sirius retrieved the handkerchief he had dropped on the bed and handed it to him.
"Th....thanks, " Remus managed before trying to smother the next round of sneezing. `Hehchooooo!!!! Ishooooo!!!! eh.... eh... ETCHOOOOO!!!!!"
Sirius cringed at the force of the sneezes and patted Remus' arm comfortingly. "Bless you Moony, you should try to get some sleep. He looked at his watch , "You've still got about 6 more hours of this left." The thought of Remus spending six more hours suffering made him feel even worse.
"I will, `Remus smiled weakly, "But only if you agree to stop blessing me every time I sneeze. Otherwise you'll be the one without a voice by the time I get out of here."
Sirius grinned and agreed, helping Remus settle back comfortably in the bed. He watched his friend closely until he fell asleep. He finally fell asleep as well, curled up in the chair beside the bed, his arm resting protectively over Remus.
That was where James and Peter found him several hours later. Madame Pomfrey hadn't had the heart to wake him when she returned and found the two of them sleeping so peacefully. Neither of their dormmates wanted to wake them either, realizing that both needed the rest. So after seeing that both of their friends were ok, they headed off to the dining hall for breakfast, planning to return for Sirius before the afternoons Quidditch match.
JKR owns them all, I own absolutely nothing.
Written in response to Weekly Hatchling #63 - A Padfoot Prank Goes Awry. Thank you Brigidmn for another wonderful bunny! I never get anything written in the same week the bunny comes out and this is twice!