Piece By Piece

Chapter Seventeen: Recovery (Is a Process)

      Sirius had spent the next three weeks in and around his bed in the infirmary. He saw his friends and family only in shifts. Harry would come in absurdly early in the morning because he seemed to know that neither of them could sleep through the night. James and Regulus would come at breakfast, bringing whatever food they thought he'd like; then Remus and Dora would do the same at lunchtime. Truthfully it was thanks to them that Sirius was able to gain back a lot of his strength; the food that the infirmary gave him for the sake of nutrients was bland and didn't make him any less hungry. Lily, Dora, and Harry would visit any time they finished a training session, and then Lily and James would bring dinner. Regulus would make his final visit just before bed.

      With all these visits Sirius had been worried that he'd have to explain various events to James and Lily; but thankfully Harry had done it already. Sirius was far more overjoyed to hear the new information regarding his stay in Azkaban: that he'd been exonerated. When Harry had told him he had flung his arms around his godson and nearly ripped open some stitches on his stomach in the process. For the first time in years, he felt truly free.

      During the last week and a half of his stay in the infirmary Neville had implored Sirius to get up and walk just a little so that his leg muscles wouldn't atrophy. He obliged, but when visitors came he refused to do more than sit on the edge of the bed and swing his legs back and forth. He didn't want them to see how truly painful it was for him to stand up and walk. 

      At last, one morning in the third week, while Harry was visiting, Neville made it clear that Sirius could leave if he wanted to.

      "As far as I'm concerned," Neville said, "As long as Sirius is taking the medicine I've been giving him he's good to go."

      Sirius looked at him, surprised. "Really?"

      Neville nodded. "And it means you'll be walking more. You could be at breakfast today if you wanted to."

      Sirius turned to Harry, who was eyeing him cautiously. He turned back to Neville. "If- if it's alright with you," He stammered.

      "You can say you've been waiting to leave," Neville deadpanned. "I won't be insulted." 

      Sirius let out a cross between a relieved sigh and a laugh. "Then thank you, Nevile, for everything, but I think I'd very much like to leave."

      Neville smiled and left to gather a bag of medicine for Sirius. Harry pulled out from a small bag next to the bed an outfit for Sirius to change into. It was comprised of various items from James and Regulus' closets and a sweater that Molly Weasely had knitted for him upon his arrival; which he had been immensely greatful for. Before putting on the clothes Sirius managed to stand up and walk slowly to the bathroom where he took a shower and used all the cleaning magic he could to make his hair look less curly. The final product was a shoulder-length mess of dark brown waves; but at least it wasn't greasy. 

       When Sirius emerged from the bathroom to put on the outfit, Harry was sound asleep on the bed next to the one he'd occupied; though the noise he made when he nearly fell onto the bed was enough to wake Harry up.

      "My bad," Sirius apologized. 

      Harry shook his head. "No. No, you're fine. I uh-" He laughed a little. "-I don't know why I fell asleep." 

      Sirius nodded, unable to form the correct response, and got dressed; though deep down he suspected that him being released from the infirmary relieved a great deal of Harry's stress. He pulled on the clothes Harry had put out and once Neville returned with the medicine bag, Sirius and Harry left for the Cafeteria.