Harry Potter A New Sirius Black

Pride and grief swelled in Sirius's heart as Mrs. Diggory helped Harry to lie down again. He had been there with Harry all through his talk with the Diggorys, and had followed him to the room where Cedric lay. When he had seen Cedric's body, still and pale with a look of fear plastered on his face, Sirius had felt a fresh bout of helpless fury roil through him. Peter Pettigrew had taken another life, someone who was an innocent in all of this and who had so many hopes and dreams in front of him. Cedric's statuelike appearance had brought Sirius back to all the civilians he had seen fall during Voldemort's first rise, all the people he was unable to save. The looks on their faces matched Cedric's to a tee; they had been caught up in something they never would have imagined. Those frozen faces had burned behind his eyelids through all his years in Azkaban, and Sirius almost couldn't handle being confronted with another one.

Sirius's breathing had grown constricted as he had witnessed Harry summon all the bravery he possessed, and look directly into Cedric's face, promising him that he would continue to fight. His emerald eyes had been so full of heartache and sorrow, and Sirius fell apart with him. It had been no wonder that in the moments after, Harry's body had given out on him. As Sirius saw Mr. Diggory catch Harry, he wished that he could have been the one to do it. He felt like his heart was bleeding for the courageous, amazing boy who lay in the bed now, fast asleep as the potion worked its way through his system.

Mrs. Diggory's eyes were soft as she gazed upon Harry. Squeezing his hand gently, she turned to the others in the room. "Amos and I must go now," she said, blinking rapidly to keep tears from escaping her eyes. "We need to take Cedric to our local funeral parlor."

"We will inform you of when the funeral is to take place," Mr. Diggory added, every word costing him a great effort.

Mrs. Diggory nodded. Turning to Minerva, she went on, "Please take care of Harry. He possesses bravery beyond anything I have yet seen. I would also like you to let Harry know he is invited once the funeral date is set. Under no circumstances are we forcing him to attend; that poor boy has been through enough. I fear it has already been too much." Her eyes returned to the boy on the bed, and she tenderly touched his hand. "But we want him to know he is welcome."

"Thank you for everything you've done for us," Mr. Diggory said as his face crumpled. "Thank you for making our Ced's time here at Hogwarts so special to him."

"Amos, Eileen, we are all so sorry," said Madam Pomfrey quietly. She embraced Mrs. Diggory, and shook Mr. Diggory's hand. Sirius could sense the raw emotion radiating from her, even though she was making an enormous effort to suppress it. As a Healer, it was extremely painful to know that Cedric was past her ministrations. Every life was precious, yet Poppy could not save this one.

After some final words were exchanged, the Diggorys departed, leaving Sirius, Minerva, and Poppy in the room. The weight of all the emotions felt extremely oppressive as several seconds of silence passed.

Finally, Sirius could hold back no longer, and took the Disillusionment Charm off himself. "Merlin," he whispered once he reappeared to everyone. "Harry ... he went above and beyond anything expected of him. But I was right; it was entirely too much." He turned accusing eyes on Minerva, daring her to disagree.

"Maybe," she conceded, sighing heavily. "But I think this will ultimately help him in his recovery. Amos and Eileen Diggory's support should go a long way."

Sirius knew this was true, but as he watched Harry's chest rise and fall in sleep, he thought of how much this morning's ordeal had cost him. Had it truly been worth it, to put himself through that? Would it really help him move forward? Recalling the agony in Harry's eyes before he had fainted in Mr. Diggory's arms, Sirius severely doubted it. Not knowing how to answer, he turned his eyes away from Minerva and back to Harry.

Madam Pomfrey ran her wand over Harry again, and then spoke to the two anxious adults. "Harry needs his rest now," she said, her voice adopting a stern tone. "And you two need to leave his bedside. He needs complete silence around him so he can receive the best sleep possible."

Minerva glanced back at Harry, and nodded at the Healer, even though regret showed in her expression. "I must attend to my other Gryffindors," she replied. "I trust that Mr. Potter will receive the care he requires."

"Of course, Minerva," Poppy said. "I will make sure of that."

Minerva nodded, and looked over her shoulder at Harry one last time as she exited the room, her footsteps clicking on the tiled floor. It was clear by her mannerisms that she was loath to leave Harry alone.