My Godfather

Chapter XVI: Merry Christmas

The atmosphere of the room became significantly colder at that. Sirius wasn't sure what to say. "Severus has taken him to the hospital wing. We're not exactly sure about how to cure him." Mcgonagall said, her face taut with worry.

"Who was the student?" Sirius inquired.

"Colin Creevy." Sirius searched his mind for the student of the given name and easily recalled the first year Gryffindor who had followed Harry for quite a few days since the school had reopened. Sirius had had quite a laugh back then.

"I think we should warn the students and we need to make sure this doesn't escalate into something any bigger. Where's Albus?" Asked Sirius.

"He's in the hospital wing as well."

"Fine. Please do keep me updated." Sirius answered, clearly tensed. The professors nodded, before showing themselves out of the classroom. This was so not good. He knew a lot of things about the Chamber of secrets and unsurprisingly, none of them were pleasant.

************

"Students, quiet down please! This is an important announcement." All the students settled down at the razor sharp voice of their Head of House. Harry looked at Mcgonagall's face, wondering what was so urgent. "There have been certain events at Hogwarts recently. Only today, Colin Creevy, your fellow house member was found petrified."

There was a sharp gasp from the students. "We don't know what caused this or why this has happened. Unfortunately, in light of this event, you'll will not be allowed to stay back during Christmas vacations. You shall return after the break. Until the holidays, lessons shall continue as per the normal schedule. For safety measures, no student is to be left alone in the corridors, at any time, under any circumstances whatsoever. Further details shall be given to you later."

Everyone hung on to every word Mcgonagall had just said, absorbing the information. To say that Harry was stunned was an understatement. This incident further made it clear that it would be best if he told Sirius about the voices that he had been hearing. He knew that Sirius would be less than pleased with him if the man found out that he was hiding things from him.

"I'm going to bed," he suddenly announced to his two friends.

"But it's only 8 o'clock, Harry." Said Hermione, looking worried.

"I'm tired 'mione. I'll see you'll tomorrow." That wasn't a complete lie. For some reason, his head was aching a bit. He picked up his books and went off to meet Sirius. He decided to spend the night there instead of his dorm.

As he climbed the staircase, he made up his mind to tell his godfather everything. He didn't want to hide things anymore. He had done a lot of lying and he was pretty sure that if he kept up with this charade, he'd get his mouth scourgified. He did not want that happening.

*********

"Hey, pup." Sirius greeted as Harry walked in. His smile however faded the moment he saw the look on the boy's face. He looked quite pale and he was pretty sure that his godson hadn't had dinner or lunch that day. Something was not right here and Sirius wasn't going to rest until he found out. But first, dinner.

He gestured Harry over to the living room sofa and called for some dinner. "I'm not hungry, Sirius." Harry protested but the look from the man was enough to get him to eat. So, with a resigned sigh he picked up his fork and started to shovel chicken salad into his mouth.

After he had eaten, he threw his head back against the sofa and closed his eyes. He felt long fingers stroking his hair and relaxed slightly. "What's wrong, kiddo?"