CHAPTER XIII

The need to get as far away as they could drove them forward even as their feet started to drag in the unsteady, wet ground below them. 

Another group of drowners had attacked them, no doubt attracted by the smell of blood, but they managed to fight them off before they could pull anyone underwater, Sirius’ and Bokorova’s precise hexes quickly disposing of the two drowners that tried to jump Theo while he was busy protecting their flank. The spells they had sent out briefly illuminated their surroundings, bathing their silhouettes and the trees surrounding them in a glow of purples and blues.

There was a movement to his right. James kicked one too brave drowner before its needle-like teeth could connect with the back of Bokorova’s injured leg, sending it sprawling back into the water. 

The creature let out an angry hiss and Bokorova’s head snapped to it, the noise quickly cutting off as the drowner fell into the dark water of the swamp with a loud splash.

“I think that’s all of them,” Theo voiced, his breathing heavier with exertion. The last spell he sent out had been dark red, its light quickly disappearing as it flew between the trees, following the escape route of the last drowner. 

Within a moment, they were once more surrounded by darkness, the moonlight barely making its way through the heavy crowns of trees above.

“For now at least,” Sirius agreed grimly, with an odd note to his voice that made James’ eyes immediately snap to him with worry. That wasn’t the way Sirius normally talked. His heart gave a painful squeeze as he noticed the way Sirius swayed slightly to the side on his feet.

“We should rest for a moment,” James decided swiftly, and Theo nodded, his body visibly sagging. James threw one last cautious look at the dark waters around them, then scanned the rest of their group, only now noticing Bokorova watching him with an irate expression, her lips pulled into a thin line.

“Fine,” she gritted out and abruptly turned away, pulling a bewildered Theo with her.

What’s her problem now, James thought to himself, shaking his head slightly, then immediately regretted it when his vision blackened at the edges. Bad idea.

“Pleasant as always, right?” James chuckled quietly, then stepped closer to Sirius, helping him store his wand away before carefully grabbing his uninjured arm. “Let’s get you comfortable, what do you say?”

He led him to sit on a nearby stump, his worry rising when Sirius gave only a weak protest. Normally, he’d have to fight for every step of the way, but now Sirius only trailed after him, his usually sharp eyes glazed over.

James crouched down in front of him, then carefully reached out towards the make-shift bandage around Sirius’ arm. The weak moonlight filtering through the canopy of trees above was enough to see that the tips of his fingers immediately coloured red. James felt his throat constrict.

“I think it’s broken,” Sirius confessed quietly, his gaze lowered to his arm.  “I barely felt it before with all the adrenaline, but now…”

James cursed, hanging his head low. If only he had been a little bit faster, if only he had jumped out of the way in time, if only he paid more attention — had been quicker, stronger, — Sirius wouldn’t be hurt right now.

“I’ll try another spell,” he decided abruptly, raising his arm, but Sirius’ hand shot out before he could point his wand, curling around his fingers.

“Don’t.”

“Sirius—”

“ James.” The fingers squeezed, Sirius’ gaze boring into him with renewed intensity. “This can’t be healed by just an incantation, you know that. You’d just be wasting your energy.”

“Healing you,” James said, tugging his hand away, frustration seeping into his voice, “is not wasting my anything.”

He moved his wand up, only for Sirius' hand to catch his again.

“It is when it’s not working. You already tried twice. I’m fine.” Slightly unfocused grey eyes flitted around James’ face, then darted down to his side before looking back at him with palpable concern. “You’re hurt too, aren’t you?”

There was a small, barely noticeable slur to his voice now, which made James even angrier.

“I don’t care,” he bit back, jaw clenched tight. He tried to jerk his hand away, but Sirius’ fingers squeezed tighter, refusing to let go. “It could still work. It can still work.”

“James…”

“No. There is no wasting when it comes to you.”

Sirius’ grip slackened.

“James,” Theo called out quietly, moving forward and leaving Bokorova as far behind as the ribbon allowed. “I think something is fo— Merlin, is he alright?!”

James darted forward, steadying Sirius from tilting too far before Theo even got the last words out.

“I’m fine,” Sirius murmured, each blink of his eyes lanquid, as if he was fighting to keep his eyes open.

“If that is fine, I’m Morgana herself.” Bokorova shook her head from a few paces away, her expression blank except for the furrow between her brows. “Looks like a damn concussion to me.”

“Padfoot,” James urged, barely suppressed panic rising in his voice as he shook Sirius slightly. “Stay with me.”

Sirius’ eyelashes fluttered, grey eyes slowly blinking open. His lips parted. “Prongs?”

James took in a deep breath and hung his head, eyes falling shut as he willed his heart to settle down from its panicked rush. “Yeah, Padfoot. It’s me.” 

He looked up, willing his hands to stop clutching at Sirius, though he didn’t let go, keeping his palms on his shoulders as he scooted slightly closer, his knees protesting at the prolonged squatting.

Sirius’ eyes moved from him to stare at his wrist, a dismayed, disbelieving expression settling on his face. “I lost the ribbon…” he said after a moment, his brows frowning.

“It’s fine,” James assured him. He couldn't care less about gaining any extra points right now. 

“No,” Sirius shook his head, eyes distressed. “It’s not fine, you don’t understand. I wanted to—” He pressed his lips together, looking away.

Something squeezed painfully inside James’ chest. He didn’t understand, but he’d do anything to make that pained look go away. He moved even closer, until his knees were touching Sirius’ legs, trying to catch his gaze again.

“Hey, it’s fine, really, you can keep mine.”

Silver eyes snapped back to him, widening ever so slightly. James gave him a small reassuring smile.

“How are you feeling? Do you remember where we are?”

“Yeah.” Sirius blinked, more awareness returning to his gaze. “Yeah, I think… I do. Everything just got a little hazy, but it’s clearer now. The pain from the broken arm helps.”

“What the fuck,” Theo murmured, shock and reverence mixing in his voice as his eyes flitted between them. “He took out two drowners with a broken hand?”

“I’ve been using my other arm to cast,” Sirius replied, his voice still a bit slurry but returning to its normal evenness. “It’s the blood loss that’s more annoying.”

“Right.” Theo swallowed. “Of course.”

James couldn’t help the fond smile that appeared on his face at Sirius’ words even as his chest still constricted with worry.

He allowed himself another moment of holding onto Sirius, letting the feeling ground him, then cast the strongest healing spell he knew. The dim light of the incantation briefly illuminated the worrying whiteness of Sirius’ face. James fought down a sigh and ignored Sirius’ look as he rose up from the ground, one hand still firmly on his shoulder.

“We need to get moving,” James said, then called out to Bokorova, “How’s your knee?”

“None of your business.”

“So still the same.” James turned his head slightly. “Your shoulder, Theo?”

“Still hurts, but nothing major.”

“Alright.” James nodded, ready to move when he felt a light tug on his arm.

“What about you?” Sirius demanded, looking up at him, voice still slightly slurry but barely so, as if he was powering through it with his sheer willpower alone.

There was a strong pang somewhere near James’ heart. “I’ll be alright when you get better.”

“Pretty sure that despite your best efforts, you two are not actually one being,” Bokorova remarked drily.

Sirius’ eyes narrowed at her, and James quickly turned his head away to hide the pleased smile that expression brought out on his face.

“It’s time to go, we have company,” Bokorova added, nodding with her head towards the water. James only caught a glance of small yellow eyes before they noiselessly disappeared back beneath the dark, still surface of the water. 

“That’s actually what I came to say,” Theo confessed, scratching at the back of his neck with a sheepish smile.

“Alright, let’s move out.”

It took some time before any of them spoke again. The trees around started to part, more of the moonlight seeping in and showing them the way. James had thought about conjuring a light as he had done before but ultimately discarded the idea. There was no need to make themselves even more of a target. 

He focused on putting one foot in front of the other, keeping a watchful eye on Sirius in case he started to feel dizzy again. Every so often, his side would throb with pain, but he pushed through it, gritting his teeth whenever a certain movement pulled at his muscles too hard.

They were just wading their way through a large field of tall grass — mud and water sploshing under their feet, only a few last trees scattered nearby — when Theo broke the silence, his voice hesitant as he spoke to his teammate.

“Do you think they saw the flares?”

Even up ahead, James could easily hear as Bokorova scoffed.

“Yeah. Doesn’t mean they’re coming though.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Don’t you think it’s weird we haven’t heard or seen any sign of a search party by now?”

A distant, drawn-out howl echoed in the air. Any reply Theo had been about to give died somewhere between his lungs and his lips.

James motioned for them to keep up, eyes carefully scanning their surroundings for any hint of movement while he kept his other hand still firmly around Sirius’ good arm, not intending to let go any time soon. 

Slowly, the unsteady, half-submerged ground beneath their feet gained a slight incline. In the middle of the grass sea swaying in the wind rose a hill. At its peak towered a  stone arch, its smooth surface reflecting some of the moonlight from the large white orb above it.

They made their way up as fast as they could, their feet digging into the mud and slipping in the water. They were barely in the middle when a snarl echoed through the air and James’ head immediately snapped to the sound, the hair on the back of his neck rising. He only caught a glimpse of a dark shadow slowly stalking forward by the edge of the swamp, its shape inscrutable in the darkness the trees granted him, but that was enough — he knew by the sound alone. The werewolf had caught up with them.

Their group froze. Theo’s eyes flitted between the arch and the creature, but it seemed he came to the same conclusion as the rest of them. They couldn’t afford to just turn their back on the wolf. They wouldn’t be able to outrun it, not with the injuries they collectively had.

Bokorova let out what sounded like a Hungarian curse. “Maybe we should have put it down when we had a chance.”

James shot her a look, then reached for his wand as well.

“We kicked its ass once, we can do it again,” Sirius stated, voice tight but controlled. James gave a small nod, eyes zeroing in on the creature with determination. Sirius was right. No matter how hurt, they could all still fight.

The wolf let out another howl, the sound piercing their eardrums. It crouched, moving forward, light falling onto its sharp claws.

For a heartbeat, everything stood still. Then the wolf leapt forward.

James narrowed his eyes and was about to raise his arm when a burst of red light hit the wolf to its flank, throwing it to the side.

“To the portkey!” commanded a sharp voice that James knew too well, and then Professor McGonagall appeared from the trees, her wand still raised high.

The wolf growled, low and frenzied. It dodged another yellow hex from the professor’s wand and ran at her, sharp claws leaving a bloody scratch on her arm before a second spell knocked the wolf away.

James’ eyes snapped to where the hex came from just in time to see Professor Evergreen emerge from the dark, wand already going through the motions of another spell. A panting Flitwick appeared at her side not a second later, a large navigational talisman levitating in front of him. Close on his heels was Eriksson, the Durmstrang Headmaster, with his wand already raised as well, his narrowed eyes  rapidly scanning their surroundings.

“What are you waiting for?” Professor Evergreen called out to them, her white cloak fluttering as she cast another hex, the gust of wind keeping the wolf back from coming in too close. “We’ve got this. Get to safety.”

Flinching, James snapped back to reality. He started moving, urging Sirius from his stillness to go with him . Above them, Theo and Bokorova were already scrambling their way up the last part of the hill, mud flying off their feet.

The portkey burst into white light as they stepped through the stone arch, and between one blink and the next, they disappeared. Panting, James finally dragged himself up to the top of the hill, supporting Sirius whenever he lost his balance on the slippery surface, Sirius doing the same for him.

The sound of ongoing battle carried over to their ears and James couldn’t help but sneak one last look one over his shoulder to make sure everything was going alright before his feet fell on the polished stone block of the portkey.

His body jerked forward. He was dimly aware of Sirius being pulled in too before everything collapsed, a dizzying explosion of all the colours of the night appearing before his eyes. Wincing, he tried to close his eyes, but before his eyelids could move, the darkness expanded and righted again. A burst of bright orange assaulted his vision as steady ground appeared under his feet again, Sirius’ body bumping into him not a second later.

His head spun as thundering cheers echoed around them, and he scrambled to support Sirius as well as himself, his legs suddenly growing weak as the adrenaline of the fight started to fade away. He blinked, then again, his eyes stinging from the sudden assault of brightness after spending so long in the dark.

Steading himself enough to look around, he realised they’d landed in the middle of the Quidditch field, bright torches burning in a wide outer circle around three stone arches, their designs identical to that in the swamp.

Sirius’ grip around his forearm grew tighter, making James’ attention immediately snap back to him.

“I think I’m going to hurl...” Sirius whispered, lips twisted in disgust, and James smoothed a hand down his back, intending to tell him to just let it out — the field had seen worse — when Madam Pomfrey’s shrill but commanding voice cut through the air, easily rising above all the cheers.

“Black, Potter, how bad is it?”

Turning his head, James realised she was standing near one of the outer benches in front of the changing rooms, at the bottom floor of the tribunes. Brown-haired girl that James vaguely recognised as Alice Fortescue seemed to be helping her, as she just finished tying a bright white bandage around Bokorova’s knee, the Durmstrang student seething with obvious animosity. Theo was sitting next to her on the bench, his shoulder still untreated, if the way he was nursing it was any indication, but when James looked at him, he sent him a relieved smile.

“Well?” Pomfrey pressed, already making her way over to them.

“Sirius’ hand is broken,” James forced out, his throat constricting slightly with each word. “I tried some first aid spells, but nothing was working. He lost a lot of blood.” James drew in a sharp breath. “He probably has a concussion as well, he almost fainted a few times.”

Pomfrey’s already clouded face darkened quicker than the sky during a storm, a long deep line emerging on her forehead as she came to stand in  front of them. “I knew I should have brought more supplies with me,” she muttered, the white hat on her head rustling slightly as she shook her head, the sound immediately swallowed by the still raging ovations and excitement around them.

“Mr. Black, please look at me,” she ordered, voice back to professional sharpness. Sirius did so, swaying slightly in James’ hold, his own grip around James’ hand slackening.

The expression on his face had Madam Pomfrey’s lips pressing together with obvious displeasure. She quickly checked the rest of him, curtly confirming his hand was indeed broken, then produced a vial of something brightly blue out of the leather bag slung across her shoulder.

“Alice,” she called out over her shoulder as she emptied the contents of the vial onto Sirius’ shoulder only a second after making a swift work of getting rid of the makeshift bandage around his arm. “Run for Mr. Longbottom; we’ll need more hands to get all the champions to the healing tent.”

“Yes, Madam.”

“I can walk myself,” Sirius protested, the slight slur in his voice and the way he kept heavily leaning into James’ side making Madam Pomfrey raise a questioning brow.

“Are you so sure about that, dear?”

“I don’t—”

“I’ll help him there,” James interjected.

“Oh, trust me, Mr. Potter, I’m aware you’re hurt too; you’re definitely coming with. But are you sure you feel up to helping Mr. Black? You’ve all been through quite the ordeal.”

“It’s fine, Madam Pomfrey.” James smiled, the motion tired but genuine, stray specks of mud still coating his cheek. “To be honest, I keep leaning on him too.”

Madam Pomfrey’s expression softened slightly, the frown fading for a second as her eyes flitted between them. It looked as if she finally realised there was no way Sirius would let anyone else help him when he was vulnerable like this. 

“Alright. I suppose there is no point in separating the two of you anyways. But if either of you starts to faint, tell me before you collapse, or, so help me Lady Morgana, I might just leave you there.”

She made to turn, then stopped, squinting a little at Sirius’ pale face. “That doesn’t count for you, of course, Mr. Black; if you feel faint, that is just to be expected.”

“Noted,” Sirius echoed distantly.

Supporting his weight, James led Sirius after Madam Pomfrey through the wooden arches of the tribunes and out through one of the main exits, then down one of the dirt paths until a sizable red-and-white tent came into view. As they neared, the flaps of the tent drew aside, Alice Fortescue emerging from within with Frank Longbottom quick on her heels.

Frank’s expression turned even more grave as he noticed them, faltering mid-step. With him looking so worried, James thought they had to be making a pitiful sight.

“How is our patient, Mr. Longbottom?” Madam Pomfrey called out, her calm but sharp voice snapping Frank out of his thoughts.

“She’s fine, Madam. I’ve given her some detoxicants as you ordered, and the twisted ankle is setting nicely. I’d say she’ll be fine within an hour.”

“Good. Now help Miss Fortescue fetch the Durmstrang champions. Miss Bokorova will need a sleeping potion.”

Frank threw one last hesitant glance at them, then nodded when James gave him a faint smile. “Will do, Madam.”

Short brown hair bounced around Alice’s face as she quickly nodded as well, then the two of them took off.

The inside of the tent was larger than its outside, stairs with a wooden railing separating the whole space into two uneven parts. The downstairs area was wide, filled with multiple neatly lined stretchers of the exact same colour and style as those in the Hospital Wing back at the castle. There were even the customary privacy screens pushed in between them, most of them still folded, leaving most of the room open. In contrast, the upper floor was small and crammed to the brim, clearly acting as a simple storage space.

The stash of medical herbs and ingredients seemed to be smaller than in the Hospital Wing, but still quite impressive, with brightly purple-coloured leaves peeking through one of the bags in the left corner of the pile, the ends of the leaves fluttering slightly and letting out a quiet melody that resembled the sound of falling rain. 

Nearby lay numerous stacked crates, each labelled with a different runic sigil, the boxes surrounded with even more bags of various sizes. The rest of the space was filled with haphazardly piled trunks, one of the open lids revealing neat rows of vials filled with all sorts of liquids and dried herbs.

James noticed the blond hair of Apolline Verville peeking from one of the blankets near the middle of the room; she had to be the other patient Frank had mentioned. It wasn’t that much of a surprise that the Beauxbatons team finished first, though James didn’t dare to guess how large the gap between their times was.

“Let’s get you settled here,” Madam Pomfrey said, gesturing towards one of the beds closest to the entrance. 

James carefully helped Sirius sit down, biting his lip in worry when he saw Sirius hide a wince as his weight settled onto the white sheets. The colour was immediately soiled with grime and mud, but Madam Pomfrey didn’t seem to care, and instead reminded James to not let Sirius fall asleep while she hurried over to a long table by the stairs and started sorting through a pile of potions and elixirs.

“You’re hovering,” Sirius told him with a small quirk of his lips, slowly blinking up at him.

The bout of nausea seemed to have passed for now, but James still didn’t like the paleness that clung to his skin, or the way he kept leaning to the side even when already sitting.

“Of course I am,” he said, then gave in and reached out to stop Sirius from tilting too far. 

With a flash of white-and-red robes, Madam Pomfrey returned, pushing a potion into Sirius’ uninjured hand before emptying another vial on the angry gashes along his arm. The bleeding seemed to trail to a stop, but it was hard to say with all the matted blood still clinging to Sirius’ skin.

“Blood-Replenishing Potion,” Pomfrey said when Sirius didn’t make a move to drink it, though she had to be aware he knew what the potion was by smell alone. The strong whiff of iron that wafted from the potion easily carried over to where James was standing. “It tastes terrible, but you have to drink every last drop.”

Slowly, Sirius gave a dazed nod, staring at the potion as if only now realising he was already holding it. Then he tilted his head back and drank the whole thing in one go. 

James felt his face scrunch up in sympathy, and he found himself taking a step closer before he even realised he was doing it.

Pomfrey re-appeared, pushing another set of potions into their hands, then brought in a basin of warm water after she was sure they had drunk it all.

Her white robes rustled as she pushed the basin into James’ hands together with a linen cloth. “Wash away the blood while I prepare the salve, Mr. Potter. Those scratches you all have will need something more powerful than what I have on hand.”

James nodded, grateful to do something helpful. Pomfrey’s lips pulled into a small smile before she moved away to the corner of the room again, rummaging through one of the cabinets.

The water coloured with dirt as he wetted the cloth, grime falling off his hand in little specks. He did his best to keep the cloth as clean as possible, carefully dragging it across the exposed skin of Sirius’ arm and shoulder.

“Padfoot, you with me?” he asked quietly when he noticed that the slow frequency of Sirius’ blinks had petered out to nothing, and his eyes had stayed closed for a little too long. 

A quiet hum.

James smiled a little. “Good. No funny business without me, you got it?”

Black hair swayed slightly as Sirius gave a weak nod, his eyes remaining closed. “Wouldn’t dare.”

By the time Madam Pomfrey was done with the healing salve, Frank and Alice had already brought in Theo and Bokorova, leading them to another set of beds. Within a few moments after Theo had snuggled into the covers, he appeared to be fast asleep, while Bokorova continued to warily watch Frank as he tried to treat her leg, quite obviously ignoring Alice who was ruffling the pillows of her bed.

Sirius gave an almost unnoticeable twitch as Madam Pomfrey carefully spread the salve over his arm, and James figured out why a few minutes later when Pomfrey handed him the bowl, the scratches on his arms and side stinging as he smeared the dark-coloured paste over them. The texture was strange, looking almost like tree bark and his arm and torso immediately started itching. James sort of wanted to scrape it straight off.

He could feel someone’s eyes on him, and he didn’t have to turn his head to know they were Sirius’. 

He had already helped him settle into the bed before he had settled upon the corner of the bedding, haphazardly spreading the brown paste on his skin, and Sirius had been watching him ever since, grey eyes never leaving him even as they grew more and more heavy. 

It was clear he was still out of it, but he didn’t seem to be in too much of a hurry to sleep, instead seeming content with just watching him.

“Don’t think about the smell too much,” Pomfrey advised him after she helped him wrap bandages around his whole side. She meant well, but her words were unfortunate, since James suddenly felt as if the oppressive smell of herbs had gotten even more stifling, clogging his whole nose.

He breathed out through his mouth and carefully put his t-shirt back on. There was no point in borrowing any clean clothes anyway, his skin dirtied with grime and mud. “How long do we have to keep it on?”

“A few hours. I added in a few detoxicants; one can never be too careful with drowners, not to mention you tracked through the swamp with exposed wounds.” She shook her head in disbelief.

James felt himself bristle. “There wasn’t much else we could have done.”

She met his eyes across the room, her expression softening slightly. “I know. You did good, kids, you did good.”

“Not a kid,” Bokorova grumbled, but Madam Pomfrey graciously ignored her and instead turned to Frank, who was just gathering empty vials from one of the side tables.

“Oh, I almost forgot, Mr. Longbottom, if you could untie our champions.”

Frank nodded happily, his eyes lighting up at the possibility of finally having enough time to talk to them. 

James blinked twice in quick succession. He hadn’t even realised they were still connected, he had been keeping so close to Sirius that it hadn’t even registered.

“Hey,” Frank greeted as he neared their bed, his voice slightly weaker than usual.“Don’t worry, I’ll be quick, and you can rest straight after. You should, actually.”

“I’m supposed to stay here overnight as well?” James asked, surprise seeping into this voice. Madam Pomfrey hadn’t looked pleased when she saw the extent of his wounds, but she hadn’t seemed too concerned either.

Frank seemed taken back. “Of course. You fought a werewolf . And packs of drowners.”

“In the hindsight, the drowners weren’t that bad.”

Frank chuckled a little in disbelief. “You know, I’m not sure you’re the best judge of what is 'that bad' or not, James, but it’s good to see you both in one piece. The fight was insane, I swear the tribunes weren't breathing for half of it.”

“Mr. Longbottom,” Madam Pomfrey called out. “I’m sure you must be happy to see your friends well, but we should really let all of them rest. All this time spend chatting can be detrimental to their recovery, they should be resting.”

“Of course, Madam,” Frank quickly replied, chastised. Swiftly, he undid the ribbon connecting James and Sirius together, then moved away with an encouraging smile.

Under Madam Pomfrey’s watchful gaze, James hopped off the bed, then regretted it a little as the motion pulled at his side, his legs shakier than he’d like. The exhaustion had to be catching up to him. The white bedsheets were starting to look more and more inviting with each passing second.

He was about to make his way to his own bed when he noticed the dejected expression on Sirius’ face. He was still lying on his side, but the lines of his face were all wrong. The corners of his lips were downturned ever so slightly, his gaze suddenly avoidant, his body turned slightly away from him whereas before it had been the opposite.

James distantly wondered how much Madam Pomfrey would berate him if he just decided that sleeping in a completely separate bed would not actually be okay. Slowly, he took a step closer and crouched down until his head was next to Sirius’, ignoring the way his abused muscles screamed in protest.

“Hey, what’s wrong? You should be sleeping,” he said quietly, but Sirius easily evaded his gaze, staring down at the sheets under his uninjured hand.

“Nothing,” he whispered after a moment, as if it took him this long to remember the meaning of that one word. The frown wouldn’t leave his face.

A memory flashed through James’ mind. Lifting his hand, he undid the knots securing the ribbon to his right wrist, then carefully grabbed Sirius’ hand and looped the ribbon around. He knew that Sirius was out of it right now, had been for a while and probably wouldn’t remember much of what was happening, much less a small moment like James promising to give the ribbon to him, but he didn’t care. 

It didn’t matter if Sirius remembered in the morning or not. For the few minutes before he finally fell asleep, he’d know, and that was enough for James. The idea that something so simple could bring Sirius some semblance of comfort, for whatever reason, that it could act as a tangible promise around his wrist, was more than enough.

“You have to rest,” James told him gently, letting his hand fall away. “Don’t try to fight it.”

Sirius stared at his wrist for a moment before his lips pulled into a small content smile, tension leaving his body. “Thanks, Prongs. You too, or I’ll strangle you.”

“Wouldn’t want it any other way.” James smiled a lopsided grin and lightly squeezed Sirius’ shoulder as he stood up.

The beds were only a few paces away from each other, but James made sure to draw it in a little bit closer as he took off his boots and glasses, leaving barely enough space between the stretchers for someone to squeeze through.

Dimly, he registered Pomfrey berating Bokorova for not resting properly, and then the candles were snuffed out, Sirius’ dark outline across from him the only thing he could discern. The quiet sound of rain carried over to his ears and he remembered the sack of plants one storey above, then wondered whether the sound was coming from there or from the outside. Then he blinked and didn’t wonder anything at all, the world falling away.

When he woke up, it was to someone talking outside the tent. The voice was familiar, but it took James a second to fully get his bearings, his hand already scrambling to his left out of habit, trying to find his glasses. A beat later, he realised he was only waving his hand through empty space; the chair he had left his things on was on the opposite side of the stretcher. By the time he managed to push himself up to sit, the side of the tent was already being pulled open, short blond hair jumping on top of Peter’s head as he hurried inside.

“Guys,” he exclaimed, his voice choked up with emotions. “You’re fine.” His shoulders lowered in obvious relief as he came in closer, eyes flitting between them before he hesitated. “You are fine, right?”

Sirius sent him an unimpressed look, the expression so familiar and him that it had James feeling elated. His arm was already set in a cast and secured with a white gauze that was tied around his neck. James instantly knew that Sirius hated it.

“Well,” Peter started, smiling sheepishly, “you certainly look better than yesterday.”

James shook his head a little, smirking. “I doubt that is much of an accomplishment.”

“I brought you some food from lunch. I hope that’s allowed?” He glanced at Madam Pomfrey, who frowned a little before nodding her head.

“I suppose there is no real reason why it shouldn’t be, just eat responsibly. Mr. Black, you’ll need to take another Blood-Replenishing Potion after, I’ll set it on the table over there for when you’re ready.”

“Alright.”

Peter beamed and started to rummage through the school bag he had in his hand while Madam Pomfrey finished changing the sheets on the bed James last saw occupied by Bokorova; now the tent was empty except for the four of them.

“What time is it?” James asked, his head still a little fuzzy. If he was calculating correctly, the trial went from before sundown through the better part of the night; it was no wonder he had crashed so hard, but not knowing how much time he’d lost still bothered him.

“Only a little after three. I know you wanted to rest, but I figured you must have been starving.”

James hummed. He hadn’t felt particularly hungry, but as Peter rolled open the paper bag and the smell of roasted potatoes and chicken filled the air, he found his mouth watering. The last thing he’d eaten were the toasts shared with Sirius while they’d waited  for the task to start, and that suddenly felt like ages ago.

Peter handed them a bag each, beaming as they thanked him, all three of them ignoring Madam Pomfrey’s pointed remarks about eating like civilised wizards. They filled most of their delayed lunchtime with stuffing their faces full, then finally got to answering Peter’s eager questions. Peter hung onto their every word, eyes widening as they filled in the blanks of what happened.

“I still can’t believe a werewolf was really there. I mean, the whole task was incredibly dangerous even before, but then when it appeared, I was so shocked I could only watch. Madam Pomfrey asked for volunteers to help her as soon as the fight got ugly, but I couldn’t even move an inch, it felt like I couldn’t even blink.” He gave a nervous laugh, hand scratching at the back of his neck. “I don’t know how you managed to stay calm and, well, do something.”

“I wouldn’t call it calm,” James said, thinking back to the moment. “Focused maybe. It was either do that or die.”

“Sideris said werewolves have one of the highest rates of causing death and injury among magical beasts, did you know that?” Peter blurted out, then blanched a little. “I mean, I overheard her say that, but she’s a Ravenclaw, so it might be true, right?”

“Weren’t you listening in Defense?” Sirius asked, raising a brow. “The statistics are outdated, but most books agree that when you encounter a fully transformed werewolf, the best thing you can do, and sometimes the only thing you can do, is to run. You should know that.”

He didn’t say why, but the words were heard anyway.

“I never really thought about it like that. It was always…” He glanced at Madam Pomfrey’s back with obvious trepidation. “I’ve never realised how scary it would be to see wizards fight a  werewolf before.”

James wanted to ask about how Remus was doing, but it felt a bit too on the nose to bring him up in the conversation now, considering Madam Pomfrey was still nearby, packing her equipment, the sound of vials gently clinking together filling the tent with soft noise.

“How are you feeling, really?” James asked after Peter had left and Madam Pomfrey was out of earshot. The unreadable expression on Sirius’ face shifted slightly, his lips pursing slightly in what James easily identified as distaste.

“I already hate this damn cast.”

“I can imagine. How long will you have to keep it on?”

The look on Sirius’ face soured further. “Two weeks. Pomfrey was too afraid to use any stronger potions with all the blood I’ve lost. At least the concussion’s all gone. I was getting real tired of the world constantly spinning around me.” 

James winced in sympathy, though some of the worry in his chest eased. It was good to know there would be no lasting damage, at least. “Is the pain any better now?”

“It’s alright. What about you?”

“Pomfrey told me to come see her for another potion and examination in a few days, but everything’s looking good.”

Sirius nodded, looking satisfied.

“Oh good, you’re still here. I was hoping to catch you,” came a new voice from the entrance, and James blinked in surprise at the sight of their Headmaster standing there, a large pointed hat with red stars balancing precariously on his head.

He didn’t seem to be willing to take it off to enter the inside of the tent and instead tried to crouch, the tip of his hat just barely passing through unharmed. 

Dumbledore smiled a little, then quickly gestured for them to stay seated as soon as he saw them moving to rise up. “That’s alright, boys, no need. You are still recovering after all.”

“Poppy mentioned you might still be here, I’m glad. I wanted to talk to you, and all the stairs in the castle are not very good for my knees.” He hummed a little, as if in deep thought. “Quite nasty things, those hills, I wonder how they are so popular? Then again, I must admit, I’m quite partial to hills myself, especially if they are downhills, you know?”

James didn’t know, but he nodded anyway.

“You wanted to discuss something with us, sir?” Sirius interjected calmly and Dumbledore nodded to himself, the look behind his half-moon glasses turning serious. 

“Yes, of course.” He glanced around, then pointed at the chair at the foot of James’ stretcher. “Mind if I take a seat?”