Disclaimer: I'm poor so you'll get nothing out of me if you sue me for this fanfic. I wish I was making the money off this series but I'm not.

Bad Author Note: To all the Snapes lovers out there, you'll be happy with the next chapter. Just be patient.

Speechless

By Lady FoxFire

Jan 13, 2002

"Poppy?" Dumbledore called for Madam Pomfrey as he opened the hospital wing doors.

"Right here, Professor." Pomfrey said as she stepped out from behind a curtain. "Not that dog again!" She exclaimed as Sirius trotted in as the black hound.

"Now Poppy, that’s not important right now." Dumbledore said as Harry's body floated in behind Sirius.

Madam Pomfrey’s eyes grew wide as the boy was lowered on to one of the beds. "Oh dear God, what happened to him?" she asked, stricken, as she stared down at Harry's bruised, sleeping face.

"His family," a deep, dangerous voice said.

Madam Pomfrey looked around for the owner of the dangerous voice. "Sirius Black!" Pomfrey's voice broke in terror at sight the insane, escaped murderer. Her wand shook like a leaf in a windstorm as she pointed it him. "I won't let you harm a hair on this boy’s head!"

"Poppy, put your wand away," Dumbledore said with a small smile on his face at her plucky bravery.

"But Dumbledore, that’s Sirius Black!" Madam Pomfrey said with disbelief in her voice. "He murdered thirteen people with one curse, and furthermore, he betrayed this boy's parents to You Know Who."

"He’s an innocent man wrongfully charged," Dumbledore replied sternly.

"Innocent?!?" she squealed in disbelief.

Dumbledore nodded. "I’ll explain everything to you later, Poppy. Right now he needs you more," he said with a nod towards Harry.

Pomfrey chewed on her bottom lip as she debated with herself the wisdom of trusting Black. "If you hurt on hair on any child at this school, you better hope you can get to the Dementors before I get my hands on you," Pomfrey said with stern look in her eyes as she lowered her wand.

"Yes, ma’am." Black replied meekly as he realized for the first time how dangerous Madam Pomfrey could be if her anger was aroused.

"Now why don’t you explain to me what happened to this boy?" Pomfrey demanded as her lips curled back in disgust as she used her magic to peel back the filthy sheets surround the child, exposing his bruised and battered naked body.

"Over the break, everyone was receiving owls from Harry regular as clockwork. He was writing how bored he was, how he missed Hogwarts and that the Dursleys were actually treating him halfway decently this summer." Black began his tale as he sank down onto a bed next to Harry's. "I should have realized that something was wrong then. The Dursley have never treated him even halfway decently."

Sirius ran a hand through this long black hair. "His letters to me seemed cold, distant. I just figured it was Cedric's death that was affecting him. My guess is that they were forcing him to write them."

"Then a little over a week ago all the letters stopped, I didn't know what had happened. All Dumbledore could tell me was that my godson was still safe at their house."

"And to my knowledge he was, Sirius. There had been no change in their normal routine. As far as we could tell everything was normal inside that household." Dumbledore explained, more for Sirius's benefit than for Madam Pomfrey's.

Pomfrey made encouraging noises as she continued her examination of Harry.

With a weary sigh Black took up his story once again. "When I found out that Harry hadn’t arrived at Hogwarts yet, I figured that it would be best if I did some investigating myself. When I found Harry he was chained to his bed. His eyes were opened but they… " Sirius’s voice trailed off as he relived the moment in found his godson in that room.

"But what?" Madam Pomfrey asked gently.

Sirius looked up at her. His dark brown eyes were so filled with pain and confusion that her heart almost broke from the sight. "It was like he was dead inside but was still alive. He would just stare straight ahead and if you touched him, he would flinch as if he was afraid of you. He’s never been afraid of me except when we first met after I escaped," Sirius explained, as his hands twisted his robes into knots.

"He finally fell asleep when we got to Hogwarts. He never said a word the whole time." Sirius stood up suddenly and began to pace the room nervously, stopping dead at the foot of Harry’s bed. "I… I think they… I think they may have raped him," he struggled to get out as he gazed down upon his godson.

"Oh dear god," Pomfrey said as she sank down on a bed. "They raped him…" she said in a small voice.

Dumbledore took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling when he heard this news. "Sirius," he said softly, "I forbid you to return to Harry's aunt and uncle’s house or to harm them in any way."

"WHAT?!?!" Sirius roared at Dumbledore. "Look at what they did to him! Look at him! They should be dragged out into the streets and given to the Dementors!" He exclaimed in a fury.

Dumbledore looked Sirius right in the eye. "And right now, that boy need you more than he needs revenge. Or do you want to go and have your soul ripped out so that he has no one left."

Sirius closed his eyes and turned his face away from his old headmaster. "I can't even touch him with making him flinch." Sirius said, as a tear escaped his eye. "What good am I? I can't even protect my own godson."

Dumbledore laid a hand on Black's shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. "You're doing what you can Sirius. That all any of us can do."

"It's not enough. It's not enough." Sirius said as he wiped away his tears.

"It never is." Dumbledore said before turned back to Madam Pomfrey. " Poppy?"

"It's not good. He's got a number of broken bones, he's malnourished, concussed, he has internal injuries… The list just goes on," she explained as she brushed a stray piece of hair away from her face. "But all that can be healed… my big concern is his mind. He's fled inside of it to escape the abuse and I don't know how to bring him out."

****

As Dumbledore stepped out of the hospital wing, he was confronted by Professor Snapes, Professor McGonagall and Hagrid.

"Dumbledore, what’s the emergency?" Hagrid asked, concern in his voice. "Does it have anything to do with Harry?"

"In a way it does," Dumbledore said to the huge, kindhearted man. "But what goes on here…."

At that moment, Sirius Black, lost in thought, stepped out of the hospital wing pulling the door shut behind him.

"SIRIUS BLACK!!" Hagrid bellowed as he took a huge step past Dumbledore and grabbed Black by the neck. "I swore I would kill you with my bare hands, if I ever saw you again!" He said as he lifted Sirius off the floor by the neck.

Black's hands clawed at the hands holding his throat as he struggled for air. His legs kicked frantically in an efforts to find a purchase.

"I swore that I would get you for what you did to Lily, James and Harry," Hagrid growled as his hands tightened on Sirius’ throat. Sirius gasped for breath as his fight lessened.

"Hagrid, let him go." Dumbledore said wearily.

"But?!?" Hagrid said in confusion.

"I said, LET HIM GO." Dumbledore said in a voice that left no room for argument.

Sirius dropped to the floor when Hagrid opened his hands. Sirius lay on the floor panting for breath, as he rubbed his bruised neck. "I didn't betray them," he gasped out as he leaned back against the wall.

"Liar!" Hagrid snarled with murder in his voice. "You were Lily and James' Secret-Keeper! You sold them out. You tried to kill Harry!"

"No, Hagrid, he's telling the truth," Dumbledore said sadly. "Peter Pettigrew was their Secret-Keeper. Sirius was just a decoy."

"But what about his attack on the Fat Lady and on Ron Weasley?" Professor McGonagall suddenly asked after watching what happened.

Sirius looked at McGonagall from his place on the floor. "I was trying to save my godson from Pettigrew."

"But he's dead. You kill…" McGonagall was saying when Black interrupted her.

"No, he isn't. He's an Animagus; to be exact, he's a rat. He's spent the past twelve years as the familiar of the Weasley family," Sirius explained wearily. "And if you don't believe me ask Ron, Hermione or even Remus."

"And what about Harry? Should we ask Harry about that too?" Hagrid asked when he realized that Black had neglected to mention him. "Where is Harry?" His eyes narrowed.

Sirius didn't answer; he just looked over at the closed hospital wing door, his eyes heartsick.

"What happened to Harry?" Professor McGonagall asked as her quick mind started to put things together.

"Right now he's in the able hands of Madam Pomfrey," Dumbledore said as he pulled everyone's attention away from the door. "And we have things to do in order to keep him safe. First, Minerva, I need you and Sererus to go collect Harry's things at his aunt and uncle's home. I don't want anyone in that house harmed in any way, is that understood?" Dumbledore said sternly.

"But…" Sirius started to say as Dumbledore turned to him

"Sirius, right now I need you to watch and guard Harry. I don't want anyone to know that he or you are here at Hogwarts. I'm going to prepare a room for you and Harry to stay in while he recovers." Dumbledore explained.

"What do you need me to do?" Hagrid asked innocently.

Dumbledore looked up at the kindhearted half-giant. "Right now, I want you to guard the hospital wing out here. I'm expecting Sererus and Minerva to return with a very sick owl if the state Harry’s in is any indication. Now please get to work."