For lezonne's Duct Tape Competition on HPFC.

Color: Black

Prompt: write canon

Summary: Sirius decides his room could use some redecorating. His mother is not exactly thrilled.

Word count: 645

Black

"Sirius Black, open this door now!"

The pounding of an open palm against the solid wood of his bedroom door beat a persistent rhythm through the humidity that pervaded 12 Grimmauld Place, but Sirius ignored it. What he'd give for Lily Evans' record player right now, if only for the satisfaction of whatever response his mother would give to The Who or The Kinks or whoever Lily (and by extension James) was obsessed with this week.

There was a softer tapping noise amidst his mother's yelling-knocking combination. Sirius glanced over at the window. James's owl sat on the ledge, gazing with apparent disapproval at the unmade bed and the pile of dirty laundry that took up a large portion of the floor. Sirius moved to retrieve the envelope from its beak.

Sirius's mother had stopped the pounding and had resorted to screeching "Alohomora!" repeatedly, as if Sirius had thought that merely locking the door would keep the witch out. He had not achieved an O on his charms O.W.L. the previous spring for nothing and his door was currently sealed with no less than fourteen separate anti-unlocking charms. They wouldn't hold up forever, but they would last long enough to frustrate his mother and, hopefully, get him grounded for long enough to exempt him from his cousin Narcissa's engagement party.

Sirius tore through wax and poured the contents of James's letter onto his desk. A small slip of parchment fell out first.

Padfoot-

My parents say you're welcome to stay with us for the rest of the holidays if you'd like, so long as you don't get us arrested or in trouble with the Ministry. Don't know where she gets the idea that we'd ever do anything illegal.

So Floo over as soon as you're packed, yeah?

Oh, and I found these in some Muggle store outside King's Cross after term ended. Meant to send them to you a while ago. Your parents will love them.

Cheers

-Prongs

Sirius reached into the envelope to remove a pile of Muggle photographs – all of girls in bikinis. He smiled despite himself. James was right, his parents would be furious.

His mother was yelling again ("You are underage, young man, and don't you dare think for a second that I won't go telling the ministry about these charms if you don't remove them this instant!"), but without a moment's hesitation he grabbed his wand and focused on casting permanent sticking charms to the photographs.

He found some empty space on the wall between a few Gryffindor banners – his parents may not have been thrilled with his Hogwarts house, but they couldn't really justify complaining about the red and gold; his Uncle Cygnus had been sorted into Gryffindor and he'd still turned out perfectly loathable, after all – and stuck the photographs up on the wall.

His room had needed some redecorating, anyway.

"This is not the proper way for you to behave. I don't care if you're sixteen years old, you are still my son and I expect you to treat me with respect!" his mother was yelling, but Sirius pointed his wand at the already-packed trunk off his floor (Wingardium Leviosa) and threw open the door.

His mother looked ready to keep yelling, but the words seemed to fail her as she glanced around at the new photographs on his wall.

Then her voice was back, this time low and deadly serious: "Take those down this instant."

"Sorry, mum," Sirius said, sending the levitating trunk out in front of him. "Can't. I'm leaving for the Potters' now. See you at Christmas!"

Then he pushed past her and headed down the stairs to the fireplace.

"Give her and dad my love, will you?" He told an amused-looking Regulus. "I'll see you at school."

Then he reached for the jar of Floo powder and recited James's address in Godric's Hollow.

A/N: This is going to be a collection of semi-related, semi-unrelated one-shots. I'll update when I can. Reviews are much appreciated and happy December!