Sirius looked at his packed bags and sighed. He grasped the ancient doorknob and hesitantly opened the front door of 12 Grimmauld Place. He glanced back, hoping that Kreacher wasn't snooping. If the nosy, insensitive house-elf saw that Sirius left, he would certainly tell his mother. But would even she care? No matter. They always had his little brother, Regulus, to place their hopes of glory and fame on. Sirius would fade into nothing but a distant memory in everybody's mind. Sure, he would probably be disowned, but he didn't care. He didn't care about not inheriting the gold or that old house. The coast was clear. He dashed out, refusing to look back.
Down the dark roads he went. He had always known his way around the roads inside and out, but today, he stumbled around, looking for a road that wasn't a dead-end. Questions started to creep into his mind. Where would he stay? After mere moments of pondering, the answer was perfectly obvious. He was going to stay at his best friend's house! James and his parents would let him stay for the summer. They were good people, most unlike his own parents. It would definitely be a better option than wandering the streets, but they lived miles and miles away. Exactly how would he get there? He rummaged through his bag and found his wand. He wasn't allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts, but it was nice to just be able to hold his wand. He raised his arm, as if to cast a spell at the sky.
The ground started to rumble. Sirius started losing his balance when a huge double-decker pulled up right in front of him. The door swung open, revealing a skinny fellow wearing a conductor's hat. Sirius struggled to hide his shock. He went through his pockets for gold that he pilfered from his parents. Maybe he would have enough money to get him a bed and a ride to the Potters' house!
"Welcome to the Knight Bus! My name is Steve Shunpike, and this is our driver, Ern," he drawled. Steve started to ramble about the bus fare, but Sirius wasn't paying any attention. If this was a wizard bus, then they could definitely take him to James' house without too much hassle! Sirius had just enough for the ride and a cup of hot chocolate. Steve grabbed the luggage while Sirius looked around the interior of the bus in awe. There were a number of beds lining the walls, amidst many passengers who looked violently ill.
"Hold on! This is gonna be a bumpy ride!" Ernie hollered. The hot chocolate Sirius was sipping suddenly splashed into his face as the bus jolted into gear. It dangerously swerved around Muggle cars and streetlamps. Sirius gripped the bed to avoid flying out of it. He started to regret leaving his luggage with the crazy conductor Steve. By now, his wand was probably broken and who knows what else. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea…
The bus abruptly screeched to a halt. Sirius, realizing this was his stop, eagerly leaped off of the bus. He took in his surroundings: street lamps, bushes, trees, and the little pieces of garbage that fluttered around the lawn. He mustered as much courage as he possibly could (not easy for anyone who just rode the Knight Bus!) and knocked on the Potters' front door.
For a minute or two, everything was silent. Had James given him the wrong address or had he simply misread it? He waited patiently when a light flickered on, and Sirius came face to face with James Potter. The shock on his best friend's face was unmistakable, which Sirius couldn't blame him for, as he just appeared out of nowhere with his bags and all of his belongings. Furthermore, Sirius hadn't even bothered to write to James.
"What in the name of Merlin's pants are you doing here?" James asked. Sirius had prepared an answer that he was explain to the Potters' but now, he suddenly forgot and stood there looking like an idiot. "Well, come inside!" Sirius did as he was told, still looking like an idiot. He sighed. This was one day in his life that he could never take back. "Be quiet. Let's break it into the folks slowly." Sirius nodded. The two tiptoed silently through the eerie hallways. The hall seemed to go on for forever, and Sirius' feet were already hurting.
"Ahem." The two boys turned around, guilty. There stood James' mother. A seemingly fake smile was plastered on her face. "Hello Sirius. What a surprise to see you here. Would you like anything to eat or drink?" Mrs. Potter was always hospitable, and that day was no different, even whenever she was clearly not pleased. Sirius politely said no. Mrs. Potter motioned for James to see her in the next room. The two Potters left Sirius alone in the hall to wonder about what they are talking about.
James, slouching, walked out of the room. "You can't stay," he stated simply, clearly disgruntled. "You have to leave in the morning."
"But I can't go back!" Sirius exclaims. A sly grin starts tugging at James' face.
"Maybe you don't have to." Sirius was befuddled by this statement, and that only made James' grin grow wider. A thoughtful and serious look replaced the grin, but Sirius was still confused. What does James mean? James sighed at Sirius' expression, then whispers an explanation.
"Oh…" Sirius realized. He definitely got what James was suggesting. He liked the idea, but at the same time, he didn't even know if it would even work. If it went wrong, he could probably never go anywhere near the Potters ever again.
"Maybe you could stay here until school begins again. Then you would never have to go back to your house and your family! We could grand adventures here in this old house, right under my parents' noses. We'll have a good time!" James proclaimed.
"But wait, how will we ever keep your parents from finding out that I'm staying? In case you haven't noticed, I need food, a place to sleep, a place to keep all of my luggage, and whenever school rolls around, we're going to have to find a way to sneak me into Diagon Alley without anyone noticing." Sirius pointed out. At this, James' face fell, but quickly a very wide grin replaced the frown. Sirius could even see the cogs of James' mind turning and working at some sort of insane plan.
"Well…" James thought out loud, "If we can't hide you here, we're going to have to let my parents agree to let you stay here. They're fairly reasonable people, so we can probably find a way to let you stay. It is only for this summer, right?"
Sirius knew that he would have to stay at the Potters' a lot longer than just one summer. He would never want to be back in the Black household, nor would he be allowed to go back. James won't have to know for now, he decided. Sirius nodded slightly in response to James' question. He felt bad lying to his best friend, but he really needed a place to stay.
That night, Sirius hid in James' closet. He felt like one of those monsters that Muggle children fear to find in their closets. So claustrophobic, and James could definitely clean up a little bit in here. He sure hoped that James knew what he was doing, but knowing James, he was probably just winging it and making things up along as they went. Sirius allowed his mind to sleep, letting a coma-like sleep consume him.
"Sirius," James shook Sirius awake. "Sirius. Are you awake? Sirius!" Sirius, who wasn't pleased with this particular way James woke him up, snapped his eyes open and blinked. James was carrying a load of Dungbombs, a Muggle slingshot (oh, how he missed magic!) and for some strange reason, two butterbeers.
"So, I was thinking," James started. "Maybe we could just launch these at my parents until they let you stay here. They hate the smell of Dungbombs more than anybody else we know, and my mom would've eventually give in. They never really liked your parents, and I guess that's the reason why they didn't let you stay here. But since your parents won't even notice that you're gone, she'll come to her senses."
"Wait…" Sirius wondered. "If you think your mother would've already said yes, then why are we still going with the Dungbombs?"
"Because it's fun!" James replied with a particularly devilish grin.
• • •
Sirius and James tiptoed silently. It was evening, and James' mother was having a cup of tea. "Ready?" James mouths. Sirius nods and gets the slingshot ready. He aims two yards away from James' mother. He closed his eyes and fired. A shriek blasted through the room, followed by a snicker on Sirius' left. Sirius opened his eyes with a smile and handed the slingshot to James. They each took turns until James' mother was furious.
"James!" she yelled.
"Yes, Mum?" James responds with an innocent look on his face.
"What is the meaning of this?" she yelled, despite the fact that James was standing only a few yards away from her.
"Will you let Sirius stay? I'll keep pelting these Dungbombs at you if you don't." James' mother sighed and nodded.
"Sirius can stay. Just get rid of this smell! Ugh! Why do little boys have to be so annoying? One moment, you're relaxing , the next moment Dungbombs are being flung in your face!" his mother whined. James and Sirius high-fived each other with giant grins and gleefully shouting until Sirius was coughing from the stench from the Dungbombs. They went inside to clean up. Sirius took the longest shower of his life, making sure that the Dungbomb smell was gone. Now he could sort of understand why Filch despised them and their antics.
"Hey, Sirius?" James woke Sirius up. "Sirius! Wake up!" Sirius opened one eye. "We still have some extra Dungbombs left," James announced. Sirius shut his eye and proceeded to go back to sleep. He had had enough of those Dungbombs. "Come on. Sirius. Wake up. Sirius!"
"Sirius! Sirius! Sirius? Sirius!" Harry got Sirius' attention. "You were talking about your family."
"Ah, yes. I got a little...distracted. Sorry," Sirius replied with a sigh. He had good times with James, and seeing him in Harry was a joyful sadness. James and Lily were long gone, and looking back on happy memories was bittersweet.