Sick as a Dog
I rounded
the corner quite slowly, hesitantly. But he looked as bad as last I'd seen, no
worse. His cheek rested upon the toilet seat, one arm bent upon it. He sat on
the cold floor, legs bent halfway, other arm wrapped around his middle. His
pale eyes opened and looked up at me but his mouth stayed closed and his body
motionless.
I set my
armful of things on the floor by the doorway and entered the bathroom, then
settled myself down on the floor beside him. He shivered violently and closed
his eyes again. "It's been a few hours," I told him, squeezing his upper arm
then rubbing my hand up and down it. He had been sweating, beads still on his
forehead. Hot and sweating from sickness, from fever, from effort. And now the
bathroom had grown cold to him again. "I think it's safe to go back to bed
now." I pulled the hair tie from Sirius's long hair, letting it fall to cover
his ears, the back of his neck. After pulling my wand out, I pointed it towards
the pile I'd brought in. "Assio blanket!" It soared right over and unfolded
itself in mid air for me. I took it and draped it around Sirius' broad
shoulders as his teeth began to chatter.
Sirius
clenched both sides of the blanket in a fist at his chest but did not budge
otherwise. "I don't want to move."
"I'll
help," I assured him. I summoned another of the items over, and swabbed his
face and neck with a cloth. Then, feeling that he needed further convincing,
"I'm sure your stomach has settled by now." But Sirius still looked reluctant,
looking up at me with raised eyebrows. I summoned another of the objects,
"Assio goblet!" and grasped onto the goblet quickly before it could spill a
drop. Sirius scowled at the goblet and pulled shrank from it. With a sigh,
"It's my mother's recipe. Sparkling splink juice. It'll make you feel better, I
promise." He still looked reluctant, but lifted his head rather curiously. I
smiled and held it up to him to examine. The liquid was as thin and clear as
water, but filled with sparkles which glowed and faded in beautiful colors.
"Trust me?"
Hesitantly,
he nodded, sniffled, and took the goblet. I warned him to take just a few small
sips only. It didn't look like he wanted to have more than one sip at first
anyway, and he closed his eyes as he drank. Then a pleasantly surprised look
crossed his face. I knew well what he must be experiencing, a soothing bubbling
feeling. The bubbles tickled the itches in his throat and coated his stomach in
a relaxing, calming warmth. And he took another sip and looked into my eyes
with thankfulness.
I took back
the goblet after a third sip, promising he could have more once he was in bed.
Sirius seemed less reluctant to leave the bathroom now, and so I gripped him
around his waist and took one of his hands to help him up. I pulled his arm
around my shoulders and pulled him forward. He was wearing flannel pajamas,
blue-gray with dark black paw prints covering them, a present from me at last
Christmas. I made sure the blanket stayed around him, feeling him shiver beside
me, lean closer into me.
Then I felt
him stiffen and he stopped in his tracks, breaths hitching. Then he snapped
forward twice with two booming "har-Chuhh! Charshh!" sneezes. He gasped
afterwards to regain breath and pulled back, sniffling into his wrist. "So
sorry," he mumbled, a bit embarrassed. "I didn't have a handkerchief and..."
I shook my
head, tightening my grip around his waist and pulling back the blankets of the
bed. "Nothing to worry about, Siri. You're sick." Yes, he was. He'd been sick
all day in fact. I'd woken this morning to find cold at my back. And as Sirius
always woke much later than I, and usually with much reluctance, I was
concerned. The light from the bathroom called me over, to find him there being
violently ill. Off and on all morning, he was either sick or asleep but nowhere
in between. I dozed beside him on the bathroom floor and got Severus to cover
my Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. He was quite happy to do so, in part
because he wanted to teach the subject himself, and in part because he was
rather pleased to hear of Sirius in pain. You know what they say about the more
things change...
I pulled
the blanket off Sirius as I helped him into bed. "I put a warming charm on the
blankets. Let me know if you get too hot." Shivering, Sirius snuggled into the
sheets as I tucked the blankets around his body. I touched my wand to his
forehead and said softly, "Temperatus." A red bubble floated out the end of the
wand with a bright '37.9' turning over and over in the middle. Still had a
fever, but it wasn't as bad as earlier that day.
"Can I have
more of that... spark... hreh...heh-Chishh! Cheshhh!"
I reached
over and retrieved a handkerchief from a pile I'd just washed and pressed,
guessing he'd be needing the lot. "First blow your nose, then you can have
another sip of juice." I summoned the goblet back over and settled on the bed
beside him, where I usually lay; he'd naturally made room for me.
He blew his
nose thoroughly then I handed the goblet over and he stole two sips before I
took it back. He sniffled, rubbing beneath his nose with the side of his hand.
"What tibe is it?"
I pulled
myself off the bed and ducked into the living room to the clock. There were
three faces on the clock to form a triangle. The top face told accurate time.
The bottom left told our locations. My hand pointed to 'home', Harry's pointed
to 'work', and Sirius' pointed to 'sick in bed'. My heart fell to see it. The
bottom right clock told what drink was best at the present time. Throughout the
winter storms, it seemed always stuck on 'butter beer' but right now it pointed
between that and 'fruit juice'. I headed back into the bedroom and onto the
bed. "Just a few minutes after... noon." I'd nearly said lunch and I didn't want
to mention any sort of food in front of him.
But Sirius
brought it up. "You should eat, Rebus," he said, nearly wincing at the thought.
I shook my
head. "Not very hungry," I lied. I'd not even thought of breakfast in all of
the commotion that morning.
"Go od ub
to the castle add eat." His nose wiggled. "I'll be fide alo... alode...hip-"
One fist gripped the blankets as he seized up with tension. "ep-Kushhoo!
Cheshhh! Ketchuhh!" He shook in bed, and sniffled wetly.
I reached
over, taking a handkerchief, rubbing his nose for him. He was tired, weak, in
absolutely no condition to take care of himself. What if his stomach began to
hurt again? What if his fever rose? What if he collapsed trying to get up and
hurt himself? "I said I'm not very hungry." I pulled up tightly behind him and
draped my arm around him tightly, warmly. Whispering, "and I'm staying right
here with you."
He shivered
but then relaxed in my arms, back against me, with a deep sigh which told me
how very thankful he felt that I was staying put. "You do't dow how good that
feels." I nuzzled the back of his neck and gave it a soft kiss. I did know, but
this wasn't the time to say so. So I simply hugged him tightly, securely,
reaching over to rub at his nose with the handkerchief every so often. After a
few more minutes he spoke again. "I'b sorry, so sorry you had to biss classes."
I smiled.
"It's all right. Couldn't be helped."
"But you
have to biss classes a few days every bodth already." He sniffled. "I'b sorry I
bade you biss bore."
My smile
grew wider as I tried not to laugh at his stuffy voice. "I was going to give
the fifth years a bit of a pop quiz today, so they'll be most thankful to see
Severus instead of me." As if most students could ever be thankful to see
Severus Snape at all. "Love, I'd rather spend the day with you than my
students."
He nodded
with a cough. A cough that made me nervous. I pulled myself up a bit, looking
at him closely. But it was a controllable cough, and didn't pull at his stomach
as much as I thought it might. He closed his eyes, sniffling as his nose
twitched with tickles. He pulled back with a deep breath, then shot forward. "huhhhh-Eptchhhh!
Heh-Herushhh! Cheshh! Ketchhh!" He buried his face in the pillow miserably
as I tried to get at his nose. I managed to get him to blow his nose a few
times, then quickly discarded the handkerchief in place of a fresh one. He
snuffled wetly, then changed to breathe through his mouth. After a few silent
moments, he spoke again. "I thidk it was that Widstod boy."
I thought a
moment, then, "Calumn Winston?" I asked. I'd always been good at names. Though
this one seemed a bit random.
Sirius
nodded. "Rad idto hib a few days ago by the tool shed. Boor kid was sick as a
dog." He smirked at the irony of the statement. "I walked hib over to the
closest bathroob, thed over to the hosbital widg byself." Well, that certainly
made sense. Wincing, he coughed and hugged his arms against his stomach. "Add
dow I'b sick."
"I
noticed," I smiled, rubbing my cool hand against his forehead. "Poor kid," I
whispered in a tone that made it clear that I didn't mean Winston. And I
craned, kissing his cheek softly. He gave a soft, contented sigh and coughed
again. I noticed his eyes fighting to stay open for me, but losing the battle.
"How about one more sip of juice then a nice long nap with me, Padfoot?" I
suggested.
Quite
relieved, he nodded and I passed him the goblet. He sniffled, rubbing his nose
with his wrist and handed it back after a long sip. "So tired," he mumbled,
closing his eyes. This was certainly not surprising as he had been up much
earlier than usual and was rather sick on top of that. "Get ludch while I
sleeb, Rebus. I'll be a while." And he d gave a strong shiver and yawn.
After
making him blow his nose again thoroughly. "I'll stay with you," I dismissed
his suggestion. And hugged him tightly through the blankets until he fell
asleep, which he did quickly. Admittedly, I was much in need of a nap myself so
I pressed my cheek against the back of his head and closed my eyes, hoping that
he would sleep soundly as long as I did.
I strode
into the bedroom, finishing off a thick cheese sandwich. I'd still not gotten
dressed that morning, but dawned a fluffy bathrobe to keep warm as I'd told the
fires not to follow me but stay in the bedroom with Sirius. Sirius, though
still asleep, did not look any better.
I settled
on half of the bed to grade homeworks, spreading out the piles by class in
front of me and on my lap. I managed to get through all the papers of the first
and second years before I needed to turn my attention towards Sirius.
"No... not
me... it was Peter. Please... at Hogwarts... Harry... must save Harry. Got to get to
Hogwarts." He was having a nightmare. And the worst kind of memory, the sort
that was completely real.
I rubbed
his arm, pulling down the blankets a bit to cool him. "Padfoot, wake up." I
hated to wake him; he needed sleep. But this wasn't the sort of sleep he
needed.
But he was
getting worse. Starting to turn and thrash about. Louder, in desperation. "No!
It's not me. Let me out! It was Peter... Peter the whole time!"
I shook his
arm again, pressing my wand to his forehead with a cooling spell. "Wake up.
Please, just wake up. You're all right." As Sirius fought back against my
tough, I started to get worried. I grasped his shoulder with my free hand and
shook harder. "Wake up, Love!"
Sirius,
shaking, thrashing, yelled out a loud "Not the kiss!" before his eyes sprang
open and he panted like an overly exerted dog, staring up at me blankly. He'd
pulled his wand out from beneath his pillow and was gripping it as if about to
use it. I hoped it was to perform an anti-dementor incantation rather than a
spell meant to kill Peter.
"Peter's dead."
I assured him. "Years ago. You're safe at home... with me." The look of
recognition was slow to show on his face, but finally did. His wand dropped
from his hand and his wrist went limp, back onto the blankets. "You've got a
fever, that's all."
He reached
up and wrapped his thick arms around me, pulling him down on the bed, on top of
him. He was sweating, heart racing, still panting. "Dementors," he sobbed into
my neck. "And Harry..."
"He's all
right," I explained quickly. "So are you. We're all fine. It's just the fever."
He was squeezing me so tightly against himself that I could barely breathe let
alone talk. With a burst of strength, I pulled out of his arms, gasping for
breath. "You're all right." I felt his forehead, then his cheeks, finding them
both cooler. His fever seemed to have broken.
Finally he
nodded, then let me lie down beside him. He snuggled back into my arms, which I
wrapped around his middle loosely. "I was dreaming... ten years ago when I was in
Azkaban."
I'd
noticed, of course. "It's all over now." He nodded in agreement. We sat in
silence a while longer, until I worked up the courage to ask, "How're you
feeling? You sound better." He did indeed.
"Stomach
feels all right. I'm kinda hot." He pushed two of the blankets down and rolled
up his sleeves. Suddenly, he shivered and, frustrated, pushed his sleeves back
down. "Or cold," he muttered, closing his eyes. "What time is it?"
"About
three-thirty or so... I think." I'd not seen the clock for a while, but the sun
outside had a three-thirty feel to it. "Time for a game of exploding snap?"
He laughed,
laughs turning to coughs quickly. "I'll settle for chess," he croaked. This was
lucky, as I'd not played exploding snap in so many years that I didn't think I
remembered the rules. "Unless you'd rather catch your last class... you've got
time."
I pulled my
wand out of the bathrobe and summoned over the set. "I told you, I'd rather
stay with you today." To be totally honest, I was afraid of what might happen
should his fever rise again. Or should his stomach ache return. I was growing
warmer in the room, fire growing brightly as salamanders danced in the flames.
I summoned over a few drinks from the kitchen. One was a fresh goblet of the
sparkling juice, the other a goblet of sweet iced tea. "I want you to start
drinking more. But small sips, and slowly." I handed him his goblet gently.
He rolled
his eyes, taking the goblet. Before he could say anything, he sneezed. Five
massive sneezes that had probably been threatening to come out since he'd woken
up. "heh-CHISHH! Hep-KETchh! CHESHhhuh! Heh-Chishhh! Cheshoo!" I reached
across him for a handkerchief from the pile but he got there first, taking one,
rubbing fiercely at his nose. "heh-Empphh! Huh-Chumphh!" And blowing it
strongly, too. When he'd finished, he looked up at me rather annoyed. "This isd't the first tibe I've beed sick,
Rebus. I dow how to dridk. I dow how to blow by own dose."
I helped
him sit up, plumping the pillows behind his back, tucking the blankets around
his waist. "And I know how you can get when you're sick." I smiled sweetly,
trying not to look as concerned as I felt. "And I just don't want you feeling
any worse."
He paused a
moment, looking back at me with large, pale eyes. Then took a short sip of the
juice, and closed his eyes to swallow. When he opened them, he found me leaning
over the chess board, lips pressed against his softly. He tasted delightfully
like juice, and I lingered there a moment with his bottom lip between mine.
Then I pulled back, eyes still closed. He reached up, hand on my cheek gently,
and kissed me back.
I pushed my
bangs, brown and gray, back out of my face with a smile as I straightened up.
"There now, not feeling any worse, are you?"
Smiling, he
shook his head, all annoyance forgotten. Then he turned on his side, leaning on
the pillows rather upright still, towards me and the chess board which set
itself up for us.
We played a
good number of games, only one of which I won. Though admittedly my mind hadn't
been entirely into the game. Every time he coughed my heart jumped nervously
and every time he sneezed I shuffled around to make sure he had a handkerchief.
We must have looked the pair, two forty-two-year-olds in pajamas, playing chess
on their bed far into the afternoon. Near dinner time, I insisted he take
another nap and tucked him into bed as he settled in. He didn't protest an
instant, eyes tired, body weary. Not a good sign, really.
I decided
it was about time to change for the day, picking out a pair of jeans and a
button-down shirt that I didn't bother to button. After pulling on socks and
shoes, then a thick coat and pair of gloves, I opened the door and went outside
to the shed beside our cabin. Inside, a warm fire in the center burned with a
bunch of salamanders jumping about in the flames. There were cages and tanks
all about, most of them empty. But on one side there were two matching cages with
little nearly-matching creatures in each. One cage contained Fairies, who were
currently taking naps, snuggled together in front of the large mirror he had
placed on one wall of the special cage. The cage beside it was filled with
doxies, which had thicker wings and an extra set of limbs. They did not look
quite as docile and were jumping about their cage with an angry buzzing and
fluttering, making rather rude gestures at me. "Just another two days, little
ones," I said soothingly and magiced bowls of food into both cages. I needed
them all for my third and fourth year classes this week. I checked on the stack
of papers on the desk inside to be sure I'd filled out the forms properly. I
needed a shipment of new creatures to explain in class for my third and fourth
years. First and second were still mostly in theory, though I would probably
let them have a look or two at the fairies since they were here anyway. I threw
another log onto the fire and slipped out, the door locking behind me. I had
taken two of the completed forms, rolled them up, and next headed to the owlry
with them.
It was
unbelievably warm inside, compared with the cold winter afternoon out. Owls
were packed in, fluttering, waking, playing, feeding. Perhaps they were
restless, for when I stuck out my papers towards the school owls, six of them
flew down and began to nip at me for the job. Laughing, I closed my eyes and
picked one, who looked quite proud and waited with one leg sticking out until
I'd tied it properly and recited the destination clearly. It was a pity to
leave the warmth of the owlry so soon, but I feared annoying the owls for
lingering without any good reason.
There was a thin white cover on the
grass, and a light snow fell from the sky. My breath puffed out of my mouth in a
visible cloud as I hurried back inside our cabin. I rubbed my hands together,
sans gloves, and shed my coat in order to get accustomed to the warmth inside
more quickly. As I headed to the kitchen to make some homemade butter beer, I
noticed the lack of Sirius' deep, congested snores.
"Rebus?" My
eyes widened, and I turned quickly to find the man shivering in the doorway of
the bedroom. "Where's Harry? We deed to get the old crowd together. Voldebort
has beed restored." He sounded worried, anxious. His nose was twitching and he
rubbed at it.
I sighed,
zipping over to Sirius, putting my arm around his waist again and turning him
back to the bedroom. "Voldemort's gone. Harry's at home with Ron. He's just
fine. They're probably just sitting down to dinner." He looked confused a
moment as I tucked him back into bed. "You have a fever," I said, tapping my
wand to his head. The temperature spell told me his fever was slight at '37.6'.
"You had another dream," I explained, holding my hand on his forehead to keep
him cooler without chilling him.
"heh-ehShehhh!
Heh-hepchahh! Cheshhh! Chishh!" He sniffled miserably into his sleeve, and
I handed him another handkerchief.
"Feeling
sneezey again?" I asked as he buried his face in the handkerchief with a half-sneezing
expression still on his face.
He nodded,
closing his eyes in wait. Then shook in bed. "heh-Ehchhh! Cheshhh! Chushh!"
I sat beside his curled body, stroking his head as one does a dog. He was
sniffling between sneezes, clearly bothered.
"It's all
right," I said soothingly, continuing to pet him. "Just a few sneezes."
"ehh-Hepshoo!
Heh-Chishh! Hih-Cheshuh! Sniff! Sniff!" But it wasn't exactly just a few
sneezes. More like a hundred. The man barely finished with one small bout when
another one started. "heh-Cheshh! hih-Cheshh! heh...ehh-Ehshishh!"
It was as if even after finishing a sneeze, he felt he needed to sneeze again.
I tried to sit him up, still stroking his head calmingly.
The sneezes grew fewer and further
in between, but between bouts he still looked as if about to sneeze. "Just
cad't stob... sdee... heh-Ehchooo! CHISHH! Cheshh!" He rubbed his nose in
the handkerchief. "Sdeezig," he snuffled miserably.
I took him
in my arms, squeezing him as tightly as possible around his shaking body. The
sneezes only subsided when Sirius fell asleep. Not wanting to wake him, I let
him continue to lie against me. I drifted off to sleep myself for a while, not
being able to reach the pile of homeworks so not having anything to do. Except
sleep or sit awake, listening to his deep snores.
At dinner
time or sometime close thereafter, there was a knock on the door, booming. The
knock was quickly followed by a loud tapping. Both wrenched Sirius out of
sleep. Kissing his cheek, I slipped out from beneath him and headed to the
door. I swung it open quickly as more knocks sounded. A beautiful snowy owl
swooped in, settled on top of the kitchen table, and shook a letter off her
leg. "Hello, Hedwig," I smiled, shaking a few crackers out of a canister for
her and setting out a small saucer of milk. That accounted for the tapping,
beak against glass window. But he knocking belonged to another visitor, one who
was filling up nearly the entire doorway. "And hello, Hagrid. Come in out of
the cold?"
"Oh, yeah,
thanks." He ducked to get through and closed the door behind him. He held a
large, covered tray. "Thought I'd bring ye lads a bit o' dinner." He set down
the tray. "How's Sirius?" Hagrid's face wrinkled in concern. He was old, at
least twenty years older than us. But his hair was still all black from top of
head to beard. Giants could live for hundreds of years and it seemed Hagrid had
inherited a bit of longevity as well as a bit of size from his giantess mother.
I inspected
the tray, a pot of soup and stack of two bowls. A meaty sandwich in halves,
topped with olives. A bowl of fresh fruit. "He's feeling a bit better," I said,
hoping that were true.
From the
bedroom, several sneezes sounded. "heh-Sheshh! Keh-Cheshh! keh-Chishoo!"
Then the sound of a nose being blown, and "Rebus? Who is it?"
"Hagid!" I
called back. "He's brought dinner!" Not that he'd be having any, but it was a
very thoughtful gesture just the same. "How very thoughtful," I thanked Hagrid
with a pat to his arm. "Would you care for some tea, or something else to warm
you up?" I gestured toward a bottle of whiskey in the corner of the counter.
But he
shook his head with a jovial smile. "Nah, thanks though. I'm on my way back
home to check on... things."
I raised an
eyebrow. Did I really want to know what 'things' Hagrid was so eager to check
on? I decided that I really didn't, and nodded. "Well, thank you again. And
take care."
He gave a
single, giant nod back and left, ducking, and closed the door behind. Sirius
was sneezing again in the bedroom, then coughing. Before going back into the
bedroom, I walked over to Hedwig and read her letter from Harry. It was short
and concerned. "Dear Sirius and Remus. Heard Snuffles wasn't feeling too
well. Is there anything I can do or send? Send word back with Hedwig when you
get a chance. Ron and I send our love. Harry." Listening to Sirius sneeze
from the other room, I smiled, and shook my head. The boy did seem to know too
many things.
I scribbled a response, thanking
Harry for the concern and explaining there was nothing else to be done but I
would send word when Sirius felt better. I tied it around Hedwig's leg, then
stroked her gently. I waved my wand at the door, letting it open with a strong
gust of wind, and closing behind Hedwig. Then I headed back, settling on the
bed beside, patting the man's arm. "How are you feeling?"
He
shrugged, hugging his stomach, burying his face in the pillow and blankets.
"Are you
going to be sick again?" I asked, nearly jumping into action. I had just been
about to conjure up a basin for him.
He shook
his head, sniffling. He looked as if he might cry. Sirius did not easily cry.
"What's
wrong?" I asked softly, palm against his forehead. Warm, but not hot still.
The man
coughed and looked up at me, pale eyes concealing pain. "I dod't feel so good."
I knew that
much. Sick as a dog. "I know, Love." And I suggested, "I can go up to Madame
Pomfrey. Some 'Pepper-Up Potion' would make you feel--"
"Do!" he
exclaimed, sniffling. "I dod't wadt ady." It was an affront, and I knew it.
Strong, tough Sirius had survived Azkaban, curses, even Voldemort himself. He
wasn't about to be licked by a bit of flu. But my mention of it had done the
trick. He sat up, rubbing his wrist beneath his nose. "Did you say didder?"
I smiled,
nodded. "Just a few spoonfuls of soup." I pulled out my wand. "Assio tray."
And, once grasping the tray, poured just a bit of broth into the bowl for him.
"And if you can keep that down, you may have a little more. And are you still
drinking enough juice?"
He nodded,
looking thirsty, and I guessed he hadn't thought of it since he woke up. So we
snuggled together, eating the lightest dinner we'd ever shared. I still passed
him handkerchiefs as needed for sneezes, and monitored his drinking and eating.
After dinner, I settled in to finish my grading, Sirius' head in my lap as he
sneezed and slept. I stroked his head, my fingers sliding through the soft
black hair. I even scratched behind his ears, and we both dissolved into
giggles and rolled around the bed a bit.
He changed
into a different set of pajamas before getting into bed to sleep for the night.
And I joined him not long after, snuggling up from behind and wrapping both
arms around him lovingly. "G'night Padfoot," I whispered, holding him tight.
"Good
dight," he replied stuffily, his voice laced with congestion and fatigue both.
He'd be fine tomorrow, I knew it. Perhaps still sneezey, and perhaps possessed
of a bit of a sore throat still. But otherwise all right. No need to worry, no
need to stay home and tend to him. Though, apart from the worry and pain, it
really had been an enjoyable day.