The Weight

The Weight

Chapter Four: Padfoot

Author: Prongs

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all things \'Harry Potter.\'

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed or commented on this story. I really appreciate all of your feedback. I\'m glad that you\'re enjoying this story so far.

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\"I should go in alone,\" Harry said softly.

Draco gently ran his fingers through Harry\'s unruly hair. \"I agree. I will be out here waiting for you, though.\"

\"I know,\" Harry replied as he grabbed Draco\'s hands. \"Thank you.\"

Draco leaned forward and kissed Harry\'s forehead. \"You\'re very welcome.\"

\"I\'m nervous,\" Harry admitted quietly. \"And I don\'t know why. I know Sirius, but it\'s just that…this all feels very odd to me.\"

\"I understand completely,\" Draco said. \"But I think that once you go in there and start talking with him again, you won\'t feel nervous at all. I\'m quite sure you\'re going to feel wonderful, Harry. Think about how much you miss him.\"

\"You\'re right,\" Harry whispered. He wrapped his arms around Draco and briefly hugged him. \"You promise you\'ll be right out here?\"

\"I promise.\"

\"Good. I want Sirius to meet you, too.\"

\"I would love that,\" Draco replied. \"I want to meet him, as well.\"

Harry released Draco and smiled worriedly. \"Right. I\'m going in now.\"

\"Good luck,\" Draco said as he watched his lover walk into the infirmary.

Harry looked around for several seconds and then noticed Dumbledore.

\"I want you to talk with Sirius first,\" the headmaster explained.

\"I know,\" Harry replied. \"I got your owl, sir. Is my father here, too?\"

\"He\'s in one of the other rooms in the infirmary,\" Dumbledore said softly. \"Sirius\' bed is over here.\"

\"Is he awake?\"

\"He was earlier, but I believe he\'s sleeping right now.\"

\"Have you talked with him?\" Harry asked eagerly.

The headmaster nodded his head. \"I have explained to him that both he and James have been brought back to life. He knows that you made the decision to choose the two of them. He does not know how or why, although he has asked me numerous times.\"

\"All right,\" Harry said nervously. \"May I see him now or should I wait until he\'s awake?\"

\"Go ahead,\" Dumbledore replied, motioning to Sirius\' bed.

Harry swallowed hard and pulled back the curtain. He gasped when he saw his godfather lying in the bed sound asleep. Sirius\' face was slightly pale, but his long, black hair looked shiny and clean. He was wearing what appeared to be white hospital robes, but it was difficult to tell since several blankets were covering his body.

Harry felt a tear slide down his face as he sat down in the chair next to his godfather\'s bed. Harry took Sirius\' hand in his own and gently stroked it. Draco was indeed correct. Any apprehension was now gone and all Harry felt now was an immense love for the man lying before him. The man who he had looked up to for the few years that he knew him.

\"Harry,\" Sirius murmured as his eyes opened.

\"Sirius, I\'m so glad you\'re here again,\" Harry replied as he jumped out of the chair.

Sirius grinned and sat up in bed. Harry lunged at him, and the two hugged each other tightly for several minutes. Both were crying now.

\"Thank you, Harry,\" Sirius whispered when they finally broke away from each other.

Harry sat down on the edge of Sirius\' bed. \"Don\'t thank me, Sirius. I don\'t understand how any of it happened. Dumbledore just told me I could choose two people to bring back to life, and I had to see you again, Sirius. Do you know how much I\'ve missed you? I love you so much, Sirius. I was so depressed and upset after you died, and it was all my fault, and I-\"

\"None of it was your fault,\" Sirius interrupted as he embraced his godson once again. \"Don\'t ever talk like that, Harry.\"

\"Yes, but I-\"

\"It wasn\'t your fault, Harry,\" Sirius repeated. \"And I love you, too, Harry. I wish everything could have been different.\"

\"So do I,\" Harry whispered. \"But I\'m so glad you\'re here again. I\'ve missed you so much. You\'re the only person who has ever been a p a parent to me, and you mean everything to me, and it\'s all my fault-\"

\"Harry,\" Sirius said in a warning tone.

Harry sighed. \"You\'re just like Draco, you know. Whenever I say it\'s my fault, he gets onto me, too.\"

\"Draco?\" Sirius said, raising an eyebrow.

Harry grinned. \"Well, a lot has happened since you, erm, since-\"

\"You\'re going to have to catch me up then,\" Sirius said. \"What has happened?\"

\"Well, Hermione and Ron are finally going out.\"

\"That was so obviously coming, you know,\" Sirius remarked.

\"Obvious to everyone except for them,\" Harry commented.

\"Exactly,\" Sirius agreed. \"What else? What\'s this about Draco? Draco Malfoy?\"

\"They\'re not bad,\" Harry explained. \"Lucius Malfoy has been spying for Dumbledore for many years apparently.\"

\"The Order didn\'t even know about it?\" Sirius looked surprised.

Harry nodded his head. \"It was all very secretive. I don\'t know the whole story, and I\'m not sure that even Draco does. Snape might know.\"

Sirius made a face. \"I had happily forgotten about that git,\" he mumbled. \"Thanks so much for reminding me, Harry,\" Sirius said, but he was grinning.

Harry laughed, \"Draco is convinced that Snape and Lucius are in love with each other.\"

Sirius groaned. \"Okay, Harry. Back to the Draco part? Explain, please.\"

Harry smiled. \"Draco and I are going out.\"

\"I figured that had to be it,\" Sirius said, smirking. \"You are positive his family isn\'t dark and evil, right?\"

\"Positive,\" Harry replied. \"You can talk to Dumbledore about it if you\'re worried, but I promise they\'re okay.\"

\"You know I am worried about you,\" Sirius said. \"I always worry about you, Harry. You\'re like my own son.\"

\"I know,\" Harry said with tears forming in his eyes again. He hugged his godfather yet another time. \"I\'ve missed your worrying about me, Sirius. I just can\'t tell you how happy I am that you\'re here again. You better not leave me ever again, you know.\"

\"I\'m certainly not planning on leaving,\" Sirius replied, gently kissing Harry\'s forehead. \"So you and Draco are a couple, huh? I never knew you were gay.\"

\"I never knew you were,\" Harry remarked carefully.

\"I probably should have told you, Harry. I\'m sorry. I-\"

\"Don\'t apologize. Everything was always so messed up then. What with Voldemort and everything.\" Harry paused. \"Did Dumbledore tell you Voldemort\'s gone?\"

Sirius smiled and nodded his head. \"Yes, he did. I\'m proud of you, Harry. You know your father will be proud of you, too.\"

\"Did you ever think about telling me that and and my dad were together?\" Harry questioned.

Sirius sighed and leaned back slightly. \"Several times I thought about it, but I honestly didn\'t know what you would have thought, so I didn\'t say anything. I didn\'t want to risk screwing up my relationship with you, Harry.\"

\"You never could have done that,\" Harry replied warmly. \"I\'m just glad that you\'ll be with him again. You deserve a much better life, Sirius. You\'ve been through so much.\"

\"So have you, Harry.\"

Harry shook his head. \"Not as much as you\'ve been through. You haven\'t seen my dad yet, have you?\"

\"No, I haven\'t. I hope…well, nevermind.\"

Harry opened his mouth to say something, and then shook his head. \"I\'m looking forward to meeting him, you know, but I\'m also worried about it. I never really knew him. What do you think he\'ll think of me?\"

\"I\'m positive James will be very proud of you, Harry. And I know he loves you more than you could possibly imagine.\"

Harry smiled nervously. \"Would you like to meet Draco? He really is a wonderful person. I don\'t know what I\'d do without him. He\'s helped me so much, and I love him t.\"t.\"

Sirius nodded his head. \"I would love to see him, Harry. I\'m glad he has been here for you.\"

Harry grinned and bolted for the doorway. He peeked his head into the hallway and motioned to his boyfriend.

\"Everything go okay?\" Draco asked.

Harry nodded enthusiastically. \"You were right,\" he replied. \"It\'s wonderful to know that Sirius is alive again.\"

\"I\'m so happy for you,\" Draco replied as he gently kissed Harry\'s cheek. \"Are you sure he\'s ready to meet me?\"

Harry rolled his eyes and grabbed Draco\'s hand. The two walked into the infirmary and over to Sirius\' bed.

\"Sirius, this is Draco Malfoy,\" Harry said, smiling.

Sirius grinned and shook Draco\'s hand. Then, he surprised both Draco and Harry by pulling Draco into a hug. \"Thank you for being here for my godson,\" he whispered into Draco\'s ear.

\"There\'s nowhere I would rather be,\" Draco replied warmly. \"It\'s an honor to meet you, Mr. Black.\"

The two pulled away and Sirius raised an eyebrow. \"Please call me Sirius,\" he said.

Draco nodded. \"All right, Sirius. I\'m very happy that you\'re alive again. You mean so much to so many people, especially Harry. He\'s lucky to have a godfather like you.\"

\"Thank you, Draco, but I believe he\'s very lucky to have a boyfriend like you, too.\"

\"Thank you,\" Draco said.

\"Aww, I see everything is going well,\" Dumbledore rked ked as he walked over to Sirius\' bed. \"Hello, Mr. Malfoy.\"

\"Hello, sir,\" Draco replied.

The headmaster looked toward Sirius with twinkling eyes. \"Would you like to see James now, Sirius? I believe it would be best if you talked with him first.\"

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TBC (Next chapter—James!!)