"I'm not leaving him," Mia said, shaking her head and ignoring the way that the
movement caused the tears in the corners of her eyes to blur her vision. "We'll take the
Floo. Jamie, grab the powder. Tilly, go find Mum and Dad, and tell them what happened."
James rushed to the fireplace to grab a fistful of Floo powder just as Tilly vanished
from sight. "Mia? What did happen?"
Sirius groaned when Mia adjusted him in her arms. "All right there, Prongs?"
Mia wiped her eyes as James returned to Sirius's side. His eyes were filled with
unshed tears, looking as though pure panic was the only thing keeping him from breaking
down. "What happened, Pads?" he asked with quiet urgency.
Sirius did not answer, his head lolling to the side, and the colour draining from his
face.
"All right, we'll hear about it all later. Let's get him to a Healer." James nodded to
Mia, kneeling down to help her adjust Sirius's weight before lifting him.
"Mia.. ." Sirius whispered.
She looked down at his face as she followed her brother to the fireplace, her lip
quivering at the sight of the blood dripping onto the hearth. Forcing herself to focus, she
cupped Sirius's face in her hands, wanting to kiss away every ounce of pain. If she could
take it herself, she would have. "Yes, love?"
"Am I a better man yet?" he whispered desperately.
At his words, she sobbed into his sweat-soaked hair, holding onto him tightly as
James yelled, "St Mungo's!" and took all three of them away at the same time in a blaze of
green.
"WHERE IS HE?"
On high alert with her adrenaline pumping and paranoia at the forefront of her
thoughts, Mia let her Animagus instincts take over. Even through the magical wards she
had created and the hustle and bustle of the busy hospital, she could hear her mother's
piercing voice echoed through the doors of the ground floor. The words echoed as though
they were magically amplified through the corridors and up the lift; they probably reached