Sirius didn't know Mr Hamilton very well, but he was Philip's father, and Arcturus' friend, and that meant he was probably a good man, didn't it? Sirius could trust him – or at least Sirius wasn't in the frame of mind to distrust him, even if he'd rather have someone familiar there. If Mama were here she'd make it stop hurting, he was sure. Sirius' tears were drying now, but the redness in his cheeks was being replaced by a certain pallor, and he was starting to feel that funny dizzy feeling again.
Nonetheless, when Philip spoke, Sirius gave him a pained little smile. 'I'll be alright,' he said, much more bravely than he felt. 'Thank you, Philip.' He didn't say what for, but Philip would know.
A moment later, Arcturus came rushing back into the room. He took in the scene – Sirius lying there with the blanket over him, the others sitting calmly – and felt relieved. There was no need to panic. They were going to find a solution to all this. Going over to Sirius, he helped him to sit up a little, and then took from his pocket a small green bottle. A potion that would help with the pain without being too strong for a child, it seemed, or causing addiction. 'Here,' he said quietly. 'This will help, I promise.'
Sirius started to drink it down, almost greedily, and Arcturus had to pull the bottle back away from him. 'There, that's enough in one go,' he cautioned.
'It's not working!' Sirius instantly complained.
An anxious, sad look crossed Arcturus' face, but there, he was resolved to avoid that for Sirius' sake, and so he would. 'Give it a minute, Siri,' he said softly, and put one hand on his shoulder again. Arcturus' other hand, the close observer might have noticed, was beginning to tremble. What if it didn't work? There were other potions, but he didn't know what mixing them would do.
But then, sure enough, Sirius began to look relaxed, almost sleepy. 'Does it still hurt?' Arcturus asked.
The little boy shook his head. 'Not now,' he said, the words sounding a fraction too slow and slurred. 'It stopped.'
'Alright. Alright, that's good, Siri.' Arcturus stood up again. 'There's a potion that would heal his arm,' he told the other two. 'But I don't have it here.' And I don't know what to do now went unspoken, but at least now Sirius wasn't in pain and they had more time.