Written for Heroes Hunt (quote below)


"We accept the love we think we deserve."

-Perks of Being a Wallflower


I.

"Mother, no!" Sirius whines as his mother looms in the doorway.

His mother scowls. "Should have thought about that before you chose to be a wicked little boy," she barks. "You know what happens to boys who misbehave. You won't come out for a week."

Sirius sobs as the door closes and locks. He throws himself onto the bed, utterly defeated.

It's his fault. All his fault. If he had been a better son, his parents would love him more.

II.

His father's fingers dig into his arm, and he can feel the bruises left in their wake."I'll be damned if any son of mine is a Gryffindor," he rages.

"Father, no, please," Sirius screams, but his pleas fall upon deaf, apathetic ears.

The door locks, and Sirius is alone again. He draws his knees to his chest, hugging his legs. It's almost amazing that he is still so afraid of loneliness when he's spent so much time locked away.

It's his fault. All his fault. He should have begged the Sorting Hat harder to put him in Slytherin. He had tried, and it hadn't worked, and now he's alone again and unloved.

III.

"Where do you think you're going?" his father demands.

Sirius looks at his bags, then back at his parents. Once, he would have cowered under their withering glares. But he's stronger now. His friends love him. They have helped him to see that he deserves so much better than this cold neglect. "Not really feeling this place anymore," he says with a grin.

"Don't you dare," his mother warns. "We'll lock you up, and you can forget about returning to Hogwarts."

Sirius snorts and opens the door. It isn't his fault. He deserves freedom and warmth, and he will find it out there somehow.