Midnight Comfort

Summary: Due to a side effect of nutrient potions, Harry is up in the middle of the night with stomach cramps. Sirius provides him with comfort.

Sirius noticed the time on a clock on the mantle in the study, he had created out of the sitting room. He was sitting at his desk, sorting through papers for the Hogwarts Board of Governors'. Sirius was granted the Black seat as Lucius was thrown off. They had given it to Sirius as the rightfully Black seat. It was part of Dumbledore's assistance to help Sirius start over, even though a lot of his possessions were in his personal vault. He was able to reclaim the Black Family vault as the last living male of the family.

Things had changed for Sirius over the last month. He was freed, declared innocent and given custody of his godson, Harry. From the time Harry came home, it was a whirlwind of getting Harry sorted and settled into his new home and for numerous healers' appointment for himself and Harry.

Sirius put away his paperwork and headed to the stairs to head to bed. He had a meeting with Professor Dumbledore to talk about a temporary teaching job at Hogwarts in the morning. It was heading towards midnight and Sirius needed to get some sleep.

Remus was gone on a business trip, something that Dumbledore had arranged. Sirius didn't ask many questions about it, except when he left and when he would be back.

Sirius headed into his bedroom and started to get ready for bed. He changed into his pajamas and was getting ready to get into bed when he had a feeling that something wasn't right.

He left his bedroom and headed towards Harry's. Was Harry having another nightmare?

He was about to turn the knob of Harry's bedroom door when he heard a moan. Sirius stopped. Harry was an almost fourteen-year-old boy and Sirius was once a fourteen-year-old boy. He blushed as he thought back during that difficult time in his life. He didn't want to barge in thinking something else was wrong only to find….

Sirius shook his head of those thoughts. Harry was still a child in his mind and not old enough for that.

Instead of turning the knob and walking in, Sirius lifted a slightly closed fist to the wooden door. After three knocks he paused, noticing the moaning as stopped.

"Yeah?" Harry called, weakly.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Sirius asked.

Instead of the 'I'm fine, Sirius, it's nothing' he was expecting, he got, "No, I'm not," in a groaning voice.

"Something's wrong," Sirius thought. He turned the knob and found Harry curled up in a ball, whimpering.

"Harry?" Sirius approached the bed. Harry turned onto his back, clutching his stomach. He moaned again, this time a little louder.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked, concerned.

"My stomach hurts," Harry groaned. His stomach cramped, severely, making him moan.

"Do you feel sick?" Sirius inquired. He reviewed what they ate for supper that night. Pork shoulder, roasted potatoes, and carrots with a chocolate cake for dessert, and Harry didn't eat but one serving of each and had a small piece of cake.

"No. It just hurts," Harry groaned.

Sirius thought over what could have caused this in his head. Then it clicked. The nutrient potion Harry had to take to help his body to grow to fit his fourteen-year-old self. It was supposed to catch Harry up, but the type of nutrient potion he had to take wasn't easy on the stomach. Healer Morris had warned Sirius that Harry might suffer from stomach cramps as a result. He didn't expect the cramps to start this soon. But maybe Harry had been suffering from cramps and they're just getting really bad enough they were painful. He would need to ask Harry later.

"Ow," Harry groaned, as his stomach cramped again. He clutched his stomach tightly.

"It's okay," Sirius soothed. He rubbed his back in soothing circles, hoping to provide Harry some comfort.

Healer Morris had told him that sometimes a stomach potion would help soothe the cramps. All Sirius had at the house stomach potion wise was stomach soothers. He didn't have any stomach calmers. There was one in Harry's bathroom.

"Let me go and get you a potion. I'll be right back, Pup," Sirius assured him.

He left Harry's room briefly to go into the bathroom. Opening the cabinet, he found the stomach soother. He made a mental note to get Harry more stomach soothers and more stomach calmers if they worked better for stomach cramps when he went to Diagon Alley again, which he would need to do in a few days because they would be out of some supplies.

Collecting the stomach calmer, he headed back to Harry's bedroom, finding Harry in the same way he had left him, curled up in his bed, arms wrapped around his middle tightly.

"I've got something that will help. I promise it should help you," he soothed.

Sirius sat down on his bed, handing Harry the potion, sitting the potion down on Harry's nightstand.

"What it is?" Harry inquired.

"Stomach calmer, there better for stomach cramps. Remus swears by it," Sirius replied. "Can you sit up for me, Pup?"

Harry nodded. "Slowly. It hurts when I move."

"It does?" Sirius inquired. Harry nodded again.

Sirius helped him sit up. Harry moved slowly, carefully not wanting to make his stomach hurt more. He groaned feeling his stomach cramp at the sudden movement. He tried to keep from whimpering at the movement, but couldn't help groaning in pain softly.

"Sirius." Harry's voice sounded weak, cracking at the end.

Sirius rubbed his back soothingly. "I know, Pup. I know."

He picked up the stomach calmer he had sat down on the nightstand. Sirius opened the vial, checking the dosage before pulling out the cork.

"Drink the whole thing, Harry," Sirius directed. He guided the vial to Harry's lips as Harry was supporting himself with one hand and the other was wrapped around his waist.

He watched Harry swallow the potion and once Harry nodded, Sirius pulled the vial away and sat it back down on the side table.

"Does your stomach feel better?"

Harry shook his head. Sirius sighed.

"It's okay Pup," Sirius soothed. "It's going to be okay, Pup. The potion needs time to work. It will get better."

"Sirius?"

"Yes, Pup?"

"Can you…can you…?" Harry trailed off, not sure how to ask his question without sounding like a baby.

"What is it, Harry?" Sirius asked.

"Can you stay with me?" Harry eventually got out.

Sirius smiled, nodding. "Of course, I will Pup. Why don't you lie back down and get some sleep? The potions should start working in a minute."

Harry laid down on his bed, slowly. Sirius moved to sit in an armchair in the opposite corner of Harry's bedroom, watching his godson. He had thought Harry had gone to sleep as he was quiet, but Sirius didn't know Harry was trying hard not to groan or moan in pain. His stomach cramps hadn't receded or not yet anyway.

Try as he might, Harry couldn't go back to sleep. The cramps in his stomach were too bad for him to relax and go back to sleep.

After five minutes, Harry couldn't hold it in any longer. He let out a low moan, screwing his face up in discomfort, his hands pressed into his stomach as hard as he could as his eyes started watering.

'Great,' Harry thought. 'Now, I'm a wimpy baby who can't take a little bit of pain.' A sharper cramp ripped through his abdomen. 'Okay, I have a reason.'

"Stomach still hurt?" Sirius asked. Harry nodded. Sirius slipped his hand under Harry's shirt, using his other hand to move Harry's out of the way. Even with Harry lying on his side, Sirius was able to feel that Harry's abdomen wasn't bloated or distended and this was the cramps caused by the potions.

"Ow," Harry groaned, pressing his stomach again. Sirius could feel the tense muscles underneath his hand. Harry groaned again, making Sirius's heart flip.

"Bloody hell, that was the worst one," Harry sighed. Then he winced, pressing his hands to his stomach as hard as he could. "I spoke too soon, this one's worse."

"It's okay, Harry. It's okay," Sirius whispered softly to him. He ran his hand through Harry's hair.

Harry moaned again as his stomach cramped. He tightly clutched his belly, continuing to moan in pain.

"It's okay, Pup. It's going to be okay," Sirius soothed. He made a mental note to floo the healer in the morning to ask if stomach cramps of this severity are normal with the nutrient potion. If it is, Sirius was going to ask if Harry could be switched to a different one. While the effects were the same, the severity wasn't.

Harry let out a long breath, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again.

"Okay?" Sirius asked.

Harry nodded. "I'm okay…." He trailed off. "For now."

Sirius smiled softly, reaching over to push away hair from Harry's face. "How's your stomach?"

"Sore," Harry answered, honestly. "It feels like it's been trampled by Buckbeak."

Sirius wanted to help Harry but didn't know-how. If Harry had a stomachache, he'd give him a potion and keep an eye on him. But' he'd already given him a stomach calmer, which Remus said works the best for stomach cramps. The potion should be working.

Trying to think of something else he could do for Harry, he remembered Remus purchasing a heating pad. The purpose of the purchase was to help with the aches and pains following the full moon. When Harry moved in, Remus purchased two more, along with water bottles that could be heated, an alternative and something they can take to Hogwarts as the heat pad requires electricity.

"Harry, I'll be right back," Sirius assured him and headed to the airing cupboard in the hallway where they kept things that don't use on a daily basis and a few extra supplies like toilet roll and hand soap. Sirius found the heat pads in the basket they kept them in beside the first aid supplies. He picked up one and a water bottle in case Harry preferred it and returned to Harry's bedroom.

"Which would you rather have, the heat pad or the water bottle?" He asked.

"Heat pad," Harry replied without a second thought.

Sirius leaned over to plug in the heat pad in the outlet opposite Harry's nightstand. When it started to warm up, Sirius adjusted the temperature and then laid it on Harry's abdomen.

"Better?" Sirius inquired.

"Much," Harry sighed. "Thanks, Sirius."

"I think when we go to Diagon Alley again, we'll make a stop at Quality Quidditch Supplies and pick one a few of their sports ones. They come filled and all you need to do is heat it up," Sirius explained. "Or we'll get the ones from the apothecary."

Harry nodded. "Add it to the list."

"I will," Sirius promised. "Is your stomach still cramping?"

"A little, but nothing like what it was," Harry admitted. "Is this going to happen as long as I'm on the nutrient potion?"

"Unfortunately," Sirius answered, sympathetically. "But I'm going to talk to Healer Morris and see if we can't switch to a different kind, or recommend something that helps with the cramping. I'm sure when you wake up in the morning your stomach muscles will be sore, maybe. With us doing this, maybe not."

Sirius figured the potion must have kicked in as Harry hadn't complained about stomach cramps for a while. He removed the heating pad from Harry's stomach when the fifteen-minute time limit was up. It was then when he remembered something else that helped when Harry had stomach aches as a baby. He would sit and rub circles on Harry's stomach when he was a baby and it seemed like it worked then. But the question was would Harry let him.

"Harry, there's something I want to try. If you don't like it I'll stop," Sirius said.

Harry nodded his permission and Sirius slipped his hand under Harry's t-shirt and laid his hand down on Harry's belly. At first contact, Harry's stomach tensed but then he relaxed. Slowly, he began rubbing circles on Harry's stomach. He could tell his hands were a little on the rough side compared to the skin of Harry abdomen, but Harry didn't say anything about it.

"Is this okay?" Sirius asked.

Harry nodded. "Feels good."

Sirius smiled. "I did this when you were a baby. You had something your Mum called Colic and this seemed to help you and when you had gas too. I'd lay you on the couch and do this until you went to sleep. It used to always put you to sleep."

Sirius looked up at Harry, noticing his even breathing. "Still works I see," he murmured.

He kept up the stomach rub until he was sure Harry was asleep. Then he gently removed his hand from under Harry's t-shirt and straightened his shirt up. Ever so slowly, he stood up from where he was sitting on the side of the bed and moved to the armchair in the corner. Like a flash where a man was standing, a dog now stood.

Making a decision, Sirius in his dog form jumped on the bed, glancing up at the head of the bed, hoping he didn't wake Harry and laid down, his head near Harry's hand.

When he was sure Harry was in a deep sleep and he wasn't going to wake up with cramps again, Sirius laid his head down and went to sleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Harry woke up the next morning, the cramps were officially gone for the time being. Sirius had flooed Healer Morris's office and spoke with the healer personally. While he assured Sirius stomach cramps was a side effect, the severity that Harry had them wasn't. He suggested cutting the dosage in half from a full vial to half, warning Sirius that it might cause Harry to have less of an appetite. If that didn't work, Sirius was to bring Harry in and they would come up with a solution which would most likely be switching to a different nutrient potion.

After getting off the floo with the healer, Sirius started cutting the dosage of the nutrient potions in half and keeping a close eye on Harry for effects of the potion. He decided to sleep in Harry's room with him in case something like the night before happened again. Sirius also told Harry to tell him if he felt the cramping starting up again.

True to his word, Harry told him two nights later.

Remus was back home and had cooked dinner, deciding to go simple with a pasta dish and a salad. Harry had helped himself to a second helping of pasta which was encouraging to Sirius that the potion was still working despite the change in dosage. They had ice cream for dessert, which Harry had two scoops of instead of his usual one.

It was the next night though when the cramps returned, only this time milder than they were previously.

Harry had woken up to due to the cramps and was relieved that while he did have cramps, this was nothing compared the ones from three nights ago. Sirius had returned to his room, making Harry promise to come to get him if he was woken up by cramps. Didn't matter how bad they were, Sirius said he still wanted to know and he'd give Harry a potion to help with the cramping. With the promise of relieve, of course, Harry was going to tell Sirius.

Slowly, Harry got up from his bed and quietly shuffled to the door. He carefully pushed it open and stepped out into the dark corridor. Trying to stay quiet, Harry carefully walked down the corridor towards Remus's room where he made a left and went straight across to Sirius's room.

The light was still on and coming from under the door.

Not sure if he should knock or open the door, Harry stood there debating over what to do. Deciding to go to with opening the door, Harry reached for the knob and slowly turned it, pushing it open.

Sirius was sitting on his bed above the duvet, reading a book he'd picked up when they went into Hatfield earlier that day. He looked up when the door squeaked and saw Harry standing there.

"Everything okay, Pup?" He asked.

"My stomach is cramping again," Harry replied. "Nothing like the other night."

Closing his book, Sirius pushed himself off the bed and headed towards his godson.

"Go on back to bed, I'll be there in a minute," Sirius directed.

Harry obeyed, wrapping his arms around his stomach as a slight cramp began in his belly. He re-entered his bedroom, turning on the lamp on his nightstand and sat down, waiting for Sirius.

It didn't take long for Sirius to come with a potion in hand. He uncorked it and broke the seal before handing it to Harry.

"Here you go, Prongslet," Sirius murmured, handing Harry the potion. Harry took the potion, bringing it to his mouth and swallowed the potion in one go. He traded Sirius the empty vial for a cup of water, sipping on it slowly at first before drinking the whole cup in one swallow.

Harry handed Sirius the cup back, loosely wrapping his arms around his middle.

"Thanks, Sirius," Harry murmured.

"You're welcome, Pup," Sirius replied, pushing away hair that had fallen in Harry's face. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

Harry nodded without even thinking about it. He laid back down, taking his glasses off and setting them on the nightstand beside the empty cup while Sirius pulled the sheet over him, tucking around him.

Then carefully as he could, Sirius climbed into bed, lying down behind Harry.

"Goodnight, Sirius," Harry said, his voice laced with sleep.

Sirius smiled as he leaned over and pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead.

"Goodnight, Pup."

Sirius listened for Harry to tell him the cramps weren't better but got his answer when he heard the soft snores coming from Harry, telling him he was asleep. Laying his head down on the pillow, Sirius let the sounds of his godson sleeping lull him to sleep. They slept through the night until late morning.

Remus came to check on them when he couldn't find Sirius in his room and found him and Harry still asleep. He smiled at the scene, knowing Sirius tell him about it later, and closed the door quietly, letting them sleep a little while longer.

When Harry was finally taken off of the nutrient potions at the end of the summer, he was relieved and hoped he'd never have the cramping like he did that one night ever again. But unfortunately, the next year when Harry had to take sleeping potions he had to deal with stomach cramps again. Only this time, he told Sirius and with telling his godfather he was able to get some midnight comfort.