Liquid Luck [Sirius Black]/editing

chapter 26

I start coughing, a whooping dog sort of cough, and attempt to rub my eyes clear of sleep. Lily gets up off her bed, preparing to wake me up for the day ahead, when she stops at the sight of me. Her eyes rake over me, "You look awful." She frowns in concern, reaching out to feel my forehead.

"Thanks," I chuckle lightly, coughing in the process. "I feel awful. Uh oh..." My eyes widen as I feel something creeping up my throat. I hold my hand over my mouth as I throw myself out of bed and rush to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. "I'm getting Madam Pomfrey!" I hear Lily call to me from the other side of the door as I vomit in the toilet bowl.

She frantically makes her way down the stairs, with her eyebrows tightly knit together and chewing on her lower lip. James picks himself up from his seat on one of the squishy couches and ruffles his hair. "Good morning, my Lily-Flower. Couldn't wait to see me, could you? Is Chiara ready to go?" James grins. The playful smile quickly falls off his face however and is replaced with a worried look at Lily's frantic appearance. "What's wrong, Evans?" James calls to her as she dashes towards the portrait hole.

"Chiara's ill, Potter!" She yells in annoyance, before continuing on her way, uncaring about her current state of dress being a pink satiny nightgown.

When Lily finally returns, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter watch as Madam Pomfrey trails closely behind her. The girls disappear up the stairs, returning with my body in Pomfrey's surprisingly strong arms.

"Boys, will you escort Ms Holland to the Hospital Wing? She seems to have a touch of food poisoning and I must prepare a little something for her."

Sirius and James immediately nod their heads and they waste no time in taking my limp body from Madam Pomfrey. I feel my surroundings spinning wildly and my head feels fuzzy. "This must be what it feels like to be plastered." I muse, laughing weakly at my sorry attempt at a joke.

"Even on her death bed she's still the same old Chiara." Remus grins, shaking his head at me in disbelief. Peter tilts his head to the side as he watches the boys support my weight. "She's dying?" Poor Peter, ever the most clueless boy to walk the planet.

I start feeling extremely cold and shove my head towards Sirius' warm chest. "Awe she's so cuddly." He smiles, nuzzling his nose in my hair happily. "But I hope she doesn't vomit all over me." I hear him add quickly before I drift off to sleep.

*

I flutter my eyes open, only to be greeted by a lonely Sirius sitting at my bedside. "You're still here?" I ask, my voice thick with sleep.

He whips his head to face me and smiles. "Afternoon, angel! Yeah," He replies sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck and refusing to meet my eyes. "I decided to skip classes today to keep you company. And, you know, to be here in case you needed anything."

"You didn't have to do that, Sirius. I'm sure I'll be fine here –" I start, however once again, bile creeps up my throat. Sirius is quick to grab the waste basket and bring it to me. I pull it closer to my side and start vomiting again.

"You were saying..." Sirius crosses his arms over his chest with a slight smirk but his eyes still hold concern.

"I don't remember." I sigh, spitting into the bin and laying back down against the uncomfortable hospital bed. Sirius drags his chair closer to me and offers me a towel from the bedside table. I mutter a soft thank you, before taking it from his grasp and wiping my mouth clean.

"Would you like me to get you some food from the Great Hall? Or I could even go to the Kitchens if you have something specific in mind." He suggests. "Are you hungry at all?"

"No," My face scrunches up as if I'd tasted something sour. "everything I thought I liked is coming back to haunt me right now."

Sirius frowns sadly at me. "How about some water? Or juice, I could get you juice!" He exclaims, his eyes pleading to let him do something to help.

I nod my head. "Yes please. I'll take whatever beverage you choose. My mouth just tastes horrid at the moment and I'd like to fix that. I'd even take pumpkin juice right now and you know how much I hate that."

He chuckles lightly and leans over the bed to press a gentle kiss to my forehead. I blush a shade of bright red at the feeling of his soft lips against my skin. He takes a step back and clears his throat awkwardly, the realization of his action hitting him suddenly. "Right, w-well I'm sure you'd be better off with some water. I-I'd better go get that n-now then!" He begins power-walking towards the door.

My eyelids feel heavy. I allow my eyes to close and feel relief wash over me. "Thank you, Sirius."

*

"Why are you still here? You must be exhausted. You should get some sleep and head back to the dorms. I'll be okay, I'm already starting to feel better." I reach over to squeeze his hand reassuringly.

"No, I'll stay until you fall asleep." He says. "James wanted to stay too but I caught him dozing off so I kicked him out." He admits, twiddling his fingers in his lap. "I'm sorry."

"What about?" I frown at the boy in confusion.

"I just know you've had a bad day. I never want you to have bad days. Or to feel bad, it's weird seeing you like this." He sucks his bottom lip into his mouth and begins nibbling it anxiously. "The girl that's always seen with a smile should always be smiling."

I can't help the grin that breaks out on my face. "You're cute. Thank you for being such a great friend to me." I wink at him. "I'll keep smiling for as long as you're around."

"Then I shall stay with you forever."