Finding fireworks || Sirius Black

10

"Amato Animo Animato Animagus,"

Jocelyn's POV

Despite how little I had slept, I was full of energy the following morning. I woke up way too early, so decided to go for a quick run. It was so cold the ground was hard and frozen, which was much nicer than wet and muddy so long as I didn't slip on an ice patch. I began my run exactly at sunrise and I had been at it for about twenty minutes when I circled the castle and almost had a heart attack. James, looking disheveled and dirty, was carrying a semi-unconscious Sirius. He appeared to be bleeding profusely.

"Oh my God! What happened James?" I asked. He hadn't seen me until I spoke and looked absolutely horrified at the sight of me.

"Jocelyn" I didn't give him time to ask any stupid questions. It was obvious Sirius was injured and in pain and I could not bear it.

"We'll talk later, we need to get Sirius to the infirmary, right now," I said, hurrying over to them and helping James carry him.

"Jo?" Sirius said, weakly.

"Hey, you'll be okay. Hang on, ok? I got you" I told him. He smiled but it quickly turned into a grimace of pain. I tried to move back in the direction I had come, but James shook his head.

"We're not going to make it if we go that way," he said. "I trust you to keep this a secret" he moved forward towards a rock formation that rested against one of the castle walls and took out his wand. With a few taps, a passage opened for us.

"Where does it lead to?"

"Almost all the way to the Infirmary" I nodded and we started making our way through the passage, which had closed itself behind us.

I could feel Sirius trying really hard to help us, and failing miserably. His breathing was very shallow, and he was sweating even though the passage was freezing. He was heavy, and I couldn't help but marvel at James' strength. I had no idea how long he'd carried him for on his own, but it had not been easy. I thanked Merlin for the fact that, despite my small and slim frame, I was much, much stronger than I looked or I would have been completely useless.

"Wait here a second, I need to check there's no one on the corridor" James whispered when we finally made it to the end of the passage. I nodded. He gently helped Sirius lean on me fully and dashed forward.

"We're almost there Sirius, it's only a little bit further, ok?" I wasn't sure what to tell him. He was getting paler by the minute, and I was getting desperate. I would have done anything, given anything to take his pain away, but I couldn't.

"You..." he tried.

"Don't, don't speak. You can tell me when you're better"

"You called me Sirius" he whispered, lifting his eyes to mine and smiling weakly. I felt my breath catch. There were about a million things he should be thinking about right now, and I was pretty sure that wasn't one of them. Once again, I was trapped in his eyes, unable to look away, unable to say a word.

"Right, the coast is clear. Come on, let's get you to Poppy" James came back and helped me carry Sirius again.

We burst into the infirmary shouting 'help, Madame Pomfrey, quickly, please', which seemed to do the trick. She took one look at Sirius and ushered us to the nearest bed, helping by levitating him onto it with her wand.

"Off, off with you. I need space to work!" she kicked us out and closed the curtains. James and I stood there awkwardly.

"Do you think he's going to be okay?" he asked me. I looked at him and my heart broke for him. There was a look of pure terror on his face, and I realized he'd been keeping himself in check for the sake of his friend.