This is a oneshot about the night Sirius ran away from home, and why he did it. Just a bit of Sirius-ness, hope you enjoy :)
It was a black, inky night with a warm, summer's breeze. There were no clouds blotting the skyline, allowing a silvery, crescent moon to gleam above, surrounded by its faithful sprinkling of stars. Far below, a large, old manor housed one sixteen year old boy, who was wandering around his room, alone and restless.
Sirius hadn't heard from his friends in several days; he'd sent his owl, Godfrey, out with letters for James, Remus and Peter on the very first day he'd arrived home for his summer holidays, but so far, Godfrey had not returned, and Sirius had heard nothing. And not only that, thought Sirius with a pang, he missed Godfrey. Godfrey was the only creature in the house who did not hate Sirius with a blinding passion.
Downstairs, Sirius knew that his mother and father were entertaining guests. "Prominent members of the Dark Lord's inner circle," his mother had said, her eyes glittering feverishly. "So you had better stay upstairs, boy," she had snapped.
Well, that suited Sirius just fine, he thought irritably, pacing up and down. He didn't want to be anywhere near people like … people like them.
His cousin Bellatrix had recently announced her engagement to Rodolphus Lestrange, the elder brother of a Slytherin in Sirius's year, and he had a feeling that his other cousin, Narcissa was not far behind with none other than Lucius Malfoy. Sirius scowled at the mere thought of Malfoy, a family notorious for their pure-blood beliefs. Just like mine, thought Sirius sourly, flinging himself down on his bed.
Sirius knew that a few fathers of some Slytherins he knew were downstairs too; Avery and Rosier both had sons in Sirius's year, and Relecto Lestrange was Rodolphus's father. Sirius knew Rodolphus had already become a member of Voldemort's group of Death Eaters, and he had a feeling that Bellatrix was more than willing to do the same. He knew Rodolphus's father was one of the very first Death Eaters, having been at school with Voldemort.
What are they talking about? Sirius thought, massaging his temples furiously. He knew it was something to do with Voldemort, obviously, but what? Were they planning an attack on something? Were they trying to recruit new members?
Forget this, thought Sirius suddenly, standing up. I'm going to find out …
He opened his door quietly, and crept silently down the large staircase, passing several House Elf heads on the wall as he went. He paused about half way down, leaning over the banister to try and catch a glimpse into the living room. No such luck; his mother had shut the door firmly.
Sirius pondered his options for a moment, and was then struck with a brainwave. Running a hand through his elegantly messy dark hair, he crept the whole way down the stairs, keeping his ears firmly alert to any sound whatsoever, and softly whispered, "Alohomora!" at the large, heavily bolted front door. One advantage of living in a wizarding household was that he could often get away with performing magic, as the Ministry did not know who had performed the spell and would merely attribute it to his parents.
His father had, of course, fortified the house with a few more spells than simply a locking charm, so Sirius muttered a few more things before the door swung slowly open with an ominous creak. Sirius hastily whispered "Silencio!" and then stood very still, listening for any indication that his father had noticed the door opening. Mouth slightly drier than usual, Sirius crept out the door and shut it softly behind him.
As he had thought, the living room window was slightly ajar; it was a warm summer's evening, after all. Silently, Sirius lowered himself to the ground, and then transformed into a large, sleek black dog.
Perfect, he thought. Not only would his parents find nothing odd about a stray dog, but as a dog, his sense of hearing was much more acute, meaning that he could hide further away.
Positioning himself behind a large, tangled bush, Sirius sat down and settled himself to listen.
His mother's voice floated out the window.
" … the others in his year?"
"Well, Rosier too has a son in seventh year,"
Sirius inclined his head slightly and could just make out a man he thought was called Avery speaking.
"And as you know Relectus's other son, Rodolphus's younger brother, is also in seventh year. Through these three we have gained an idea that two others, one Severus Snape and one Jonathan Wilkes, may be interested in the work of the Dark Lord."
"I see," murmured Walburga.
"When Regulus comes of age in a few years, the Dark Lord may also consider him."
"I am sure he would be most honoured," replied Walburga in carefully controlled tones of eagerness.
"The other one's of age, isn't he?" came a voice Sirius did not recognise. "Pity about him,"
Then came a voice Sirius definitely recognised; he gave a low growl.
"Rodolphous," said Bellatrix Black. "We do not mention the other one,"
"Oh. My apologies, Mrs. Black,"
"Don't worry about it," said Walburga stiffly.
"We certainly don't," said Sirius's father smoothly.
The sounds of tinkling laughter trickled out into the warm air. Sirius's mother got up; he could see her rummaging around in the cupboard for some more wine.
"Is he still in contact with the Potter brat?"
Sirius stiffened.
"Unfortunately," said Walburga bitterly. "We had hoped that the recent series of attacks on muggleborns would make him see sense in the power of the Dark Lord … but apparently not."
There was murmur of sympathy.
"Don't worry about it, Auntie Walburga," said Bellatrix in what she clearly believed to be a soothing tone; it sounded more along the lines of malicious to Sirius. "Regulus is the one to concentrate on, forget about Sirius."
"Bella is right," agreed Orion smoothly. "Forget the boy."
"Oh believe me, I will have no trouble doing that," replied Walburga sourly. "But you cannot pretend that you did not have high hopes for the first born, Orion."
Orion was silent for a moment; Sirius could only see the back of his father's head. "Well," he declared finally in a cold tone. "We will simply refuse to acknowledge Sirius any longer."
Sirius paused, inclining his head.
"How so?" asked Walburga, sounding intrigued.
"It is simple. If anyone asks how many children we have, we say one; Regulus. We will not speak of Sirius, we will not acknowledge his presence, we will simply forget that he was ever born."
There was a murmur of agreement at this.
"I think it a fine idea, Uncle Orion," declared Bellatrix in a proud tone.
"Its hardly much more than what we do at the moment, but nonetheless …" said Walburga sneeringly. Then her face lit up. "I almost forgot!" she added softly, her dark eyes glittering. "I don't believe he is still in contact with the Potter brat …"
"What makes you say that?"
"Well," continued Walburga slowly, her face alight with a feverish malice. "I killed his owl."
Sirius froze.
"Ah, I'd wondered where that blasted thing had gotten too," commented Orion with a laugh. "What did you do with it?"
"Oh I buried it in the back garden," replied Walburga, waving a hand dismissively. "Or rather, I got Kreacher to do it for me. Now … more mead, anyone?"
Sirius stood very still, his heart beating fast. Godfrey? The old hag had murdered Godfrey? No … no Sirius would not believe it, not until …
He found himself running silently around the house to the tangled mess of thorns and bushes that was the back garden of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, where he put his nose to the ground and sniffed up and down the grass until he came across … a mound of freshly dug earth.
He had no intentions of digging it up; in any case, his canine sense of smell told him that his mother was telling the truth; this was Godfrey.
Sirius sat back heavily on his haunches, breathing very fast. His heart was pounding furiously, his head reeling.
My owl! He thought, outraged. Mine! A living thing! And she killed him!
Hatred as never before was coursing through Sirius, and it took every ounce of self restraint that he possessed to not race back into the living room and tear his mother limb from limb.
Well, he though furiously as he pounded back around the house to the front door, she's disowned me, hasn't she? They both have. She renounced me as her son and killed Godfrey, why on earth would I stay?
Changing back into his human self, Sirius opened the door silently and crept back up the stairs, trembling with rage. He slipped into his room and quickly began flinging things pell mell into his trunk. He was seething with anger as he looked around his bedroom; it was once filled with Quidditch posters of his favourite team, an attempt to brighten up an otherwise very dull and dank room, but upon returning for Christmas in his first year, Sirius had found the posters ripped down; for being made a Gryffindor, he had supposed.
He hated this room, this house, these people, that stupid elf … everything! And yet he had still stayed! For what? Because he had too? Because he had nowhere else to go? Because they were his family? Well, they weren't his family anymore, thought Sirius bitterly. They had decided that, and he did have some place to go; James's. James would take him in, and Sirius would never, ever have to come back and be trapped in this soul destroying house again.
He made to pick up Godfrey's empty cage, but caught himself in time, struck by a sudden sadness.
"Sorry, Godfrey," he whispered, putting the cage back on the dresser.
He pulled a piece of parchment out of his trunk, deciding to leave a farewell note. "Goodbye," was all he wrote, and he placed it inside Godfrey's empty cage.
Sirius padded silently back down the stairs, making his trunk hover in front of him as he did so. He hadn't bothered to lock the door again upon coming in, and he slipped back outside easily enough. He darted quickly up the drive way, keeping to the shadows, and paused on the edge of the road, watching as Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place rapidly began to shrink ... shrink ... shrink … and then it was gone.
He doubted that that would be the last time he would ever see his mother and father again, and he would have to see Regulus at Hogwarts, but he felt quite sure that that was the absolute last time he would ever be shut up in that awful house again.
Shivering slightly, and not from the warm summer's breeze, Sirius gripped his trunk tightly, and closed his eyes.
They had practiced apparition, and Sirius had, as with most other things, been quite good at it, but he had not been old enough to take the test. This was risky, especially with a trunk, but he had no other choice …
Sirius tried to envision the circle, and placed James's house in it.
"Deliberation," he whispered, eyes tightly shut. "Determination … something else …"
With a loud 'pop', Sirius disappeared.
Hope you enjoyed, reviews are always most welcome ;)