Dreaming and Accidents
Harry tied his leash to the bed again.
"Sorry about this, Shadow." He whispered, "But I can't let you get hurt."
Sirius waited for almost an hour after Harry and Ron had left before shifting into his human form. It was late enough that he didn't have to worry about the other boys waking up, though he was a little nervous since Neville wasn't in the room. He found the boy lying in the common room under a Body-Bind Curse.
He shifted back into his dog form. He did feel kind of bad for not undoing the curse, but it would have blown his cover if he had. Instead, he licked the boy's face and whined in sympathy. The poor boy had probably tried to stop Harry and the others. Sirius sighed and slipped out of the room. Once he was in one of the secret passages, he turned human again.
The door to Fluffy's room was open when Sirius got there. He cursed quietly. The kids were probably through the trapdoor now. Which meant that Sirius would have to follow them. Fluffy was sleeping when he walked in. The trapdoor was open too, so Sirius cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and jumped down.
It wasn't really hard to find the kids. They'd left a trail, and it wasn't as though there were many other directions to go in the first place. He ended up running into Hermione, Ron, and Draco. Thankfully, the Charm hadn't worn off yet, but Sirius was extremely worried that Harry wasn't with them, and Ron was unconscious. Draco and Hermione were carrying him.
"Do you really think Harry will be alright?" Draco asked.
"Absolutely." Hermione answered, "He's stronger than he thinks he is. Besides, even Shadow wouldn't have been able to follow him through that last challenge. It was one person only, remember?"
"I know." Draco sighed. He shook his head, "Let's focus on getting out."
Sirius moved to a shadowed corner of the room and conjured a ladder. He pushed it a little so it would fall into the kids' sight.
"Well, that's... convenient." Draco frowned.
Hermione nodded.
Sirius continued on. Harry was still in danger.
------------------------line break---------------------------
Of course getting to Harry couldn't be so easy. Sirius glared at the line of potions. The one that would have gotten him through the black flames was completely gone. Still, he was a Marauder! They could always find another way.
It took him longer than he'd wanted to think of the spell. It was one Lily had made up, he couldn't remember why, but it got him through the flame. He was too late. Harry was out cold on the floor, a strange, red stone in his hand.
"Harry!" Sirius rushed to his side. He was still breathing, just passed out. Sirius sighed in relief. He slipped the Stone into Harry's pocket- they could deal with that later- and scooped his godson into his arms.
Harry groaned as he started walking.
"It's okay, pup. I've got you. You're alright. I won't let anything else hurt you." He pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead, "I promise."
The boy's eyes fluttered open when they passed through the purple fire.
"Who-"
"Shh." Sirius smiled at him, "Don't talk too much, pup. You're hurt."
Harry frowned, "But, who are you?"
"I'm your godfather."
"Why-"
"We couldn't talk before. And I'm sorry, but I can't take you away from the Dursleys just yet. It's a long story, Harry. I'll tell you everything one day. I will stay close by though," Harry's eyes were closing again. Sirius smiled and his voice dropped to a whisper, "I'll be right by your side, whenever you need me."
------------------------line break----------------------
Sirius had to put Harry down and shift back into his dog form when they reached the ladder, he could hear voices at the top and see a figure starting to descend. Sirius barked when he recognized the figure as Dumbledore.
The headmaster gave him a knowing look before bringing them both up. Sirius followed him to the hospital wing, panicking. Did Dumbledore know? Was he going to force him to reveal himself? Or send him away? He wouldn't do that though, right? If he was going to he would have done it when he first found out, wouldn't he? Sirius decided not to worry about it right now. The headmaster hadn't said anything, so either he didn't know or wasn't going to do anything about it. Probably.
Sirius spent the next three days at his godson's side. Harry's friends visited every day at lunch and just before dinner, many of the other students sent sweets. Dumbledore came the third day during afternoon classes.
Dumbledore smiled at Sirius and scratched his ears- which lead Sirius to believe that he didn't know.
"I see you haven't left. Such a loyal dog."
Then again... The words themselves told him nothing, the way they were said on the other hand...
Harry woke up a few minutes later.
"Good afternoon, Harry."
Harry stared at him for a couple of minutes before he seemed to remember, "Sir! The Stone! It was Quirrell! He's-"
"Calm yourself, dear boy. Quirrell does not have the Stone."
Sirius nudged Harry's hand gently. He looked relieved to see the dog and started petting him.
"Who- who, um, does?"
"No one, it was destroyed." Dumbledore assured him.
"H-how long have I been here?"
"Three days. Quite a clever dog you have here, Harry. It appears he dragged you back to the trapdoor."
Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around Sirius, "Thank you, Shadow."
Sirius licked his cheek.
"Sir! The others. Are they-"
"Perfectly fine. They have been rather worried about you. As you may have noticed, you've got many an admirer after this... excursion."
"Sir?" Harry swallowed, "Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who-"
"Call him Voldemort, Harry. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."
Harry nodded, "Voldemort- does he have other ways of coming back? I mean, if he tried once he'll try again, right?"
Dumbledore smiled, "Try? I have no doubt of it. I do not believe he will succeed. He may find another body to share, eventually, but without the Stone it will take far more time for him to truly return. If he is delayed enough, he may never return at all."
"Sir, why couldn't Quirrell touch me?" Harry blurted out.
"Your mother found a way to save you, Harry. A love as powerful as your mother's was for you leaves a sort of mark. Not a scar, no visible sign... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, couldn't touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch something so good."
Sirius let out a small whine. He hadn't wanted to cry this much since seeing the Mirror of Erised. Harry sat up and kissed his head.
"Sir, can I ask just one more thing?"
"Just one? Go right ahead, my boy."
"How did I get the Stone out of the mirror?"
Sirius blinked. Clearly, he'd missed a lot. Sure he'd heard bits of what had happened from other students, mainly Harry's friends, but he hadn't heard that Harry got the Stone from a mirror!
"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to /find/ the Stone- find it, but not use it- would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes... Now, enough questions. I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit-flavored one, and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them- but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee. Do you mind?"
Harry shook his head.
He smiled and popped the golden-brown bean into his mouth. Then he choked, "Alas! Ear wax!"
---------------------line break----------------------
That night, Sirius cuddled close to Harry.
"Do people dream when they're unconscious, Shadow? Because I think I did." He whispered. "There was this man. He was carrying me somewhere. He said he was my godfather. It was a really nice dream."
Harry buried his nose in Sirius's fur, "I wish it was real, boy. It seemed like he really loved me. You know, the way parents are supposed to love their kids. Maybe he would've spoiled me the way Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon spoil Dudley. Not that I'd want to be like Dudley, of course. But, it might be nice, sometimes."
Sirius's heart twisted. Harry thought it was a dream. Maybe that was for the best, his secret was safe.
"Even if he couldn't take me away it would be nice to know there was someone who cared about me like that." He sighed, "At least I can go to Draco's and the Weasley's this summer. I won't be stuck at the Dursleys' the whole time."
Sirius waited until Harry had fallen asleep before changing form. It was late enough that he wasn't really worried about Pomfrey coming to check on the boy. He hugged his godson tight. "You weren't dreaming, Harry. I'm here, and I love you. I'll find a way to clear my name and then we can live together. You and me. We can even fix things between me and your Uncle Remus. You'll love him."
They stayed like that for too long. Harry in Sirius's arms. Only, Sirius didn't pay enough attention, and Harry woke up before he could change back.