THE FORBIDDEN FOREST-JAMES SIRIUS POTTER

12: St. Mungos

Lily Luna Potter sat at the corner of the bed with a book in her hands, reading to the frail man who laid next to her. She was quite content with herself and her reading, as she was able to read well for her age. With all the time she spent at home with her parents and without her brothers, she had picked up skills quickly. She read stories from The Tales of  Beedle the Bard, a gift she had received from her father for her eleventh birthday that December, in different voices for the man's entertainment. Every once and a while she would look at the man, who wore a bright smile as he listened, then to his daughter, who sat in the chair next to him wearing a grave look on her face. 

After Dean Grace fell asleep,  Lily moved from the bed to sit next to his daughter. Sofia gave the redhead a weak smile. "Sofia," Lily whispered, "James and Dad are here to take us and your Mum to my Grandmum's for lunch. Grandpa's set up the old muggle television, James thought you and your Mum might want to watch old episodes of stuff while you eat and rest." The young girl grabbed Sofia's hand. 

"Why is your family doing this for us?" Sofia mumbled and rubbed her eye with her free hand. 

Lily glanced at Sofia and let out a small giggle. "James talks about you all the time, you're already part of the family," said Lily. She stood up and held out her hand to Sofia. Lily was so small compared to Sofia, sometimes the blonde forgot that Lily was so young because of how mature she acted during the last two weeks. She was no taller than Sofia's elbow. 

The pair walked out of the room to be met by Harry and James. At a glance, you may not have been able to tell the difference between the two. Unlike Harry, James was lankier, resembling his many uncles on the Weasley side of his family. He stood a little taller than his father. His hair, glasses, and many of his facial features were the same but, like Harry, he had his mother's eyes. Both of the Potter men had sorrowful looks on their faces that they tried to hide with a smile. 

Sofia wordlessly walked up to the pair and grabbed James's hand. Harry apparated with Lily before coming back for Sofia and James. When Harry came back, he offered his arm for Sofia to take. She reluctantly let go of James's hand and grabbed Harry's arm. Once the pair appeared in front of the Burrow, the mix of the sensation of apparation and the disgusting hopeless feeling brought on by her father's condition came to a head. Sofia lurched forward onto her hands and knees before Harry could take her to the house and threw up. Molly Weasley came hurrying out of the burrow with a towel and shooed her son-in-law who apparated to get James. Her plump face was kind. "Oh, sweetheart, come here,"  the woman helped her up and handed her the washcloth. Sofia thanked Mrs. Weasley with a mumble and wiped her face off. Mrs. Weasley helped Sofia to the house where she ordered the blonde to lay on the couch next to her mother who was dead asleep. The old woman threw a knit blanket over her and bustled away, probably to continue making whatever the smell was that drifted from the kitchen. 

Soon enough, James burst through the door in search of Sofia. "Grandma! Is she okay? Dad told me she threw up," said James. 

Mrs. Weasley called back, "She's on the couch, James!"

"It was the apparation, son, I'm sure she's just fine," Harry said calmly as he came in the door behind James, who was already walking quickly over to the couch. Sofia was already beginning to doze off, and James noticed this. He sat on the floor next to her. He hadn't really left her side since his father had come back on New Year to send everyone at the party home, and take James to St. Mungo's along with Ginny. It was only when Harry forced James to leave Sofia's side that he actually did. Sofia didn't mind having James there, the fact that he had already been there through all of her father's letters and bad news, including the first one, made James a reassuring presence. 

James didn't speak to her when he saw Sofia falling asleep. He knew that usually in Sofia's dreams, she was carefree. She sometimes had nightmares, and when she woke up James would be there with tea or water. One of the two. He did the same for Sofia's mother as well. The boy had carried on this routine for a week now, but he didn't mind. James quietly picked up the old remote that his Grandfather had left out for the TV and, like his Dad had taught him, put the Friends Season Four DVD into the DVD player. Still half-awake, Sofia smiled lightly and watched the episode James had chosen. He had taken a liking to Friends and was determined to finish it before Christmas Break was done.