MAEVE WAS COMMITTED to the cause of getting Sirius Black back to full health as soon as he arrived at St Mungo's. She didn't know why she felt such an attachment to the couple, besides the fact that she was a witness to how committed they were to each other. Seeing how Charlus had to be pried away from Sirius' bedside so that he could get some sleep reminded Maeve of how hard Sirius had fought to remain with Charlus. The two carried such fighting spirits, it was refreshing to see for the young Healer.

Of course, while tending to Sirius and other patients within the hospital, she still saw Charlus as her responsibility as he was still in the recovery stage himself. It seemed every day they were getting into an argument regarding Charlus resting, while he wanted to be there in case Sirius woke up and needed help.

Eventually, they came to the compromise that Charlus could remain in Sirius' room while he rested.

"You'll be of no use to him if you're exhausted when he wakes up," Maeve told him as she handed over a sleeping draught. "Sleep."

Charlus looked down at the liquid before peering up at her again. "You'll wake me up if he wakes up, right?"

Folding her arms across her chest, Maeve narrowed her eyes in his direction. "Charlus, if you don't drink-"

He quickly gulped it down like an obedient child and Maeve watched as the extra-potent draught began working its magic rapidly. Within twenty seconds, Charlus slumped over in the armchair and was fast asleep. She waited until she heard the sound of light snoring emit from him before she summoned a blanket over and covered him.

Sirius had arrived at St Mungo's five days prior, malnourished and exhausted as his body gave out. Very similar to how Maeve had worked on Charlus' healing, she placed Sirius in a sleeping state while making sure he was getting proper water and nutrients, hoping to put some weight on him. His teeth were practically rotted inside his mouth, but she took care of that as well by Charlus' request and he followed up with brushing Sirius' teeth every day as well.

But while she healed Sirius mostly externally, she had to wonder how the man's mental state would be when he finally woke up. If it was anything like her experience with Charlus', Maeve found her dreading it slightly. However, the difference was, Sirius would only be receiving good news and Charlus would more than likely be the one to deliver it. And with every passing day, the good news continued to pour in.

Not only was Sirius a free man, but Peter Pettigrew had also been given a speedy trial, in which he was found guilty of all charges. It did not end there as the Ministry released an official apology on Sirius' behalf ( more than likely due to Charlus' threatening) and the media was having an absolute field day about it. Even though Minister Fudge had tried his best to keep matters hushed, by the end of the first day after Sirius' release, everyone in the wizarding world knew of the injustice that had taken place.

The parents of students in Hogwarts were absolutely furious to learn that a war criminal had been living within the castle walls. It wasn't necessarily Dumbledore's fault, but they needed someone to blame. Charlus and Sirius were being praised as heroes that had gone through hell and back for the sake of exposing the truth, leaving reporters hungry for an interview with either one of them.

However, St Mungo's kept their doors closed to any witch or wizard looking for a story, giving Sirius and Charlus the peace they deserved during such times.

And in hopes of keeping Charlus from damaging the image of the Ministry any further, the couple was being heavily compensated for "their troubles." Maeve had snuck in a look at one of the many letters delivered to Charlus from Minister Fudge, who was promising both men money and even a home in return for their silence.

Charlus made no promises as of yet, so Maeve was waiting to see what he would do next. The fight was only half over as she figured. Charlus' next goal was getting to his nephew and if he had managed to get Sirius back so quickly, she could safely assume nothing would stop him from getting to Harry.

A sudden cough startled Maeve from her thoughts as she turned her head and spotted Sirius shifting around in his bed. The slight cough turned into a fit, leaving her to hurry over with some water. Pushing Sirius up into a sitting position, Maeve used a free hand to manoeuvre her wand. She summoned the water out of the cup into a thin stream and guided it into Sirius' mouth to ease his swallowing.

He swallowed eagerly from his apparent thirst and eventually, he grabbed the glass of water from her hand and chugged the rest down. When he finished, he realised just how close Maeve was sitting to him and jumped before scooting away from her.

"Mr Black," Maeve spoke softly, " I don't know if you remember me. I'm Maeve Elpis, a Healer here at St Mungo's. I was the Healer on duty when Charlus was brought in. We spoke briefly...well, that's not important. What is important, is that you are safe and-"

She stopped talking abruptly as she followed Sirius' gaze as it fell on where Charlus was asleep in the background.

"It's alright," she said, " he's fine. He's only asleep. I had to give him a sleeping draught, he hasn't left your side or slept since you arrived here and that was days ago."

"Is that really him?" Sirius asked. "Or am I trapped in another nightmare?"

Maeve raised a brow, wondering if Sirius was implying that seeing Charlus again was considered a nightmare.

"It's another nightmare where I think I have him back, only to lose him again. It's happened so many times before, I don't know what's real anymore."

"I understand this is a lot to take in," Maeve said, " but I assure you this isn't a nightmare. You're not sleeping. You were brought here after being released from Azkaban. You were completely malnourished and we've been slowly getting you back to your full health. To keep your strength and allow your body to rest, I placed you to sleep temporarily."

She wasn't sure if he was listening to anything she was saying to him as Sirius didn't respond and he hadn't taken his eyes off of Charlus.

"I could wake him if you'd like?" she offered. "I can wake him up if you'd like to talk to him right now-"

"No!" Sirius blurted out. "I mean, no, just let him sleep. Please."

Letting out a sigh, Sirius ran a hand through his unruly hair before it fell into his lap. He looked back to the Healer before settling to sit back.

"I remember you," he said, " Maeve, you said? I remember you. Sorry about grabbing you the way I did back then. You can imagine, I wasn't in the best state of mind. I guess it still holds true even to this day. But you actually did what I asked of you, you saved him."

"As much as I would like to credit, Mr Black, I think it was Charlus who saved himself. I've never seen a patient fight so hard and coming back from the brink of death. And I believe he did that for you and his loved ones. Just seeing what he has managed to do in a short time, he truly carries a storm in his stride."

"When did he wake up?"

"Well, I guess it's just shy of two months," she said, " his recovery was slow in the beginning as to be expected. Six years in a coma, he needed to build his strength up again."

Six years, Sirius thought to himself. It had felt like an eternity in Azkaban, but only six years had passed. However, that was six years that was lost to the two of them. And while Sirius had been ready to give up, Charlus had never lost his will to fight. He swallowed hard, thinking about what he was about to do before Charlus and the others arrived at his cell. He started to cry when he thought about what would have happened if Charlus had arrived just a few minutes later.

Maeve frowned before pulling out a handkerchief and offering it to Sirius. "Mr Black-"

"I don't deserve him," Sirius said quietly. " I was preparing to kill myself when he showed up. He wakes up from a six-year coma, ready to fight. I couldn't bring myself to fight harder to get back to him."

Suddenly, Sirius found his hand being slapped lightly, bringing him to jerk his head up and look directly at Maeve in shock.

"I think I've been around Charlus enough to know that he would slap you for saying such things. You were kept in completely different conditions over the years. Charlus was lucky to be here while he recovered, you, on the other hand, had to suffer in Azkaban. From what Charlus told me he witnessed while there, it's a horrifying and inhumane place. You have shown your strength by holding on for as long as you did. Don't be so quick to put yourself down."

"Still, he saved my life," Sirius told her, " I don't even know where to begin when it comes to thank him for everything he did. Is it true, Peter took my place in Azkaban?"

"Yes," she nodded. "He was found guilty, although there was no need for the trial. He admitted to his crimes. You are a free man and things are only going to get better for the two of you from here on out. You'll still have your bad days as you recover, but that's okay because Charlus will be right there to get you through them. And of course, I will offer my assistance to the two of you and help in any way I can."

"Thank you, I'm not sure how to thank you enough," Sirius smiled, " but I'm sure we'll find a way to thank you for everything. But while we're on the topic of offering assistance, can you help me with something?"

"Of course."

As his blanket hit the floor, Charlus woke to feeling cold as he opened his eyes. He sat up to grab his blanket, stealing a quick glance in the direction of Sirius' bed, only to see that it was empty. Immediately, he was up on his feet, discarding his blanket to the side as he hurried over to make sure he was seeing things clearly.

"Sirius?! Sirius!"

His heart skipped a beat as panic surged through his chest. Maeve wasn't even int he room for him to question what was going on. For a second, the thought crossed his mind that he had dreamed everything that had happened recently. What if he was still at St Mungo's recovering and Sirius was still in Azkaban?

Running towards the door, Charlus yanked it open by the handle, fully prepared to run up and down the corridors until he found Maeve or Sirius or someone who could explain what was going on.

But he stopped instantly after opening the door as he found Sirius standing on the other side of the threshold. Maeve was standing behind him with a small grin on her lips before she bowed out to give the two some privacy.

The Sirius that stood before him was not the same Sirius that Charlus had carried out of Azkaban. His ratty hair had returned to his original full head of soft hair that was pushed back. His face was clear of any dirt, his lengthy facial hair had been trimmed, and when he smiled his rotted teeth were gone, replaced with a set of healthy white teeth. He looked exactly how Charlus remembered him before everything had gone to hell.

He was left speechless especially as Sirius reached out and grabbed his left hand. His fingers trailed over Charlus' wedding ring before lifting the hand to his lips. He placed a gentle kiss over the wedding ring before meeting Charlus' gaze again.

"I've missed you so much."