A/N: I'm baaaaack! Short, short chapter and no guarantees that they will lengthen, but the story will be finished. Anyone who followed me here from my Avatar the Last Airbender fic Fragile knows my standard warning about grammar and punctuation: I have no beta and mechanics are not my strong point. Feel free to point out errors and I will endeavor to fix them. I hope you enjoy my version of Sirius leaving home. It is perhaps a little darker than you imagined it, but Sirius' family scares the pants off of me.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and copyrighted characters herein are the exclusive property of J.K. Rowling and whoever else owns the rights to this world. If I was making money off of this, I'd change my major from Chem/Bio to English and Creative writing, but who wants to major in starvation?

The train pulled into King's Cross station as Sirius and James put away the last of the exploding snap deck. Sirius winced as he felt the vibrations of the engines still. Summer had officially begun. Damn. The marauders hauled their trunks towards the door and James skipped excitedly forward into the waiting embrace of his family. They smiled warmly at Sirius as he disembarked, beckoning him forward and embracing him in turn.

James' father looked at his pocket watch after a few moments of exchanging greetings with the rest of the boys and declared it time to depart. Mrs. Potter simply pulled him closer for a final hug and Sirius held on for all he was worth.

"You will visit us this summer, won't you dear?"

Unlikely Sirius thought. "I'll see what I can do Mrs. Potter."

He waved glumly to James and Remus as their respective parents grasped them by the arms and vanished with a CRACK! Peter had already left with his mother shortly before. Another year of Hogwarts was behind him now, only two more to go. Two more wretched summers of enforced isolation, most of it spent under the Imperius being forced to listen to lectures about purity and propriety and the superiority of the wizarding race over all others.

He shuddered at the memory of the Christmas before last. Not only had been cursed to sit quietly through his father's rant, but he had also been forced to make nice with the visiting wizard who had said much the same things but in a far more reasonable tone of voice whilst petting his long, scaly familiar. Everything about the man screamed dangerous and Sirius had wanted nothing more than to cast the strongest Shield Charm he knew and dive behind the ornate couch and hide.

He twitched as Kreacher snapped into existence just behind him. The nasty little creature was glaring malevolently up at him as he lunged for the Black heir. Sirius had just enough time to draw breath before he was sucked into the elf's magic and found himself staring dizzily at the fireplace in the kitchen.

He tensed as he heard the scrape of a chair behind him. He whirled around to find his mother and father already sitting at the table, waiting for him.

"Welcome home, son."

Sirius did his best not to cringe as he turned to bow to his parents. Two summers. Just two summers.

Sirius gasped as his father's fist connected solidly with his ribs yet again. He tried to remain silent, Plenty of time to lick my wounds later. The irony of this thought made him smile…or, would have had he been able to move anything right now. His eyes watered as the blows from his father and the words shrieked by his mother continued to rain down. Why did I say those things where they could hear?

He could almost hear James' voice laughing at him, "No sense of self-preservation, Padfoot!" Well, he wasn't wrong. It had been such a stupid risk taking his enchanted mirror outside and talking to James -especially after he had been expressly forbidden from associating in any way with his three friends, the "blood-traitors," but he couldn't stand being cut off from them anymore.

His mother had heard him through the opened window and had attempted to shatter the mirror mid-conversations. But, of course, her curse had just reflected off the spelled surface. Pity the angle was wrong; she could have put herself out of my misery…

His father towered over his helpless form, breathing heavily. Still, Sirius made no sound. "If I hear you insult our bloodline or the Dark Lord again boy, you will regret it. Get up, you worthless DOG!" Fifteen years of terror had conditioned Sirius' body to obey that tone, but he found he could not raise himself from the floor.

Someone's bleeding he thought, hazily. I do hope they don't feel as bad as I do. I think I was bleeding before, wasn't I?

Sirius' thoughts were brought back to the present as his father let fly a vicious kick into Sirius' chest with a wet SNAP! Sirius curled reflexively around his injured side as far as the grating ribs would allow and lay panting on the sitting room floor, watching in horrified fascination as small flecks of red began to join the small puddles on the hardwood that had begun forming when his mother had made good use of her favorite household Cutting Charm.

Orion Black laughed cruelly and flicked his wand contemptuously at the battered form lying at his feet. Sirius flew through the air like a child's toy thrown in a fit of temper. He sailed over the stair landing and hit his bedroom door with a dull Thud! His initial momentum knocked the door open and sent him sprawling onto his floor. He was briefly aware of an explosion of pain and then the world went black.

Sirius woke to found himself in his bed, bandages swathing the worst of his cuts and his tender ribs. He recognized Kreacher's handiwork. Regulus must've put him up to it. Lord knew Kreacher wouldn't go to any lengths to keep Sirius alive voluntarily.

He groaned as he sat up. God, he hated this place and all it stood for. He performed a few simple healing charms. He had gotten rather good at them after running the last few moons with Remus. He removed the bandages and watched the cuts seal themselves. His ribs pained him sharply as they mended with an audible crack when the realigned.

He sat panting on the edge of the bed for a moment and then moved stiffly towards the stairs. Sirius was expected to be with the family at breakfast and had learned the hard way that a new beating laid on top of a day old one was twice as bad. He really did not want to give his father any excuses to lay into him again. Not that he's ever needed one before he thought bitterly.

He remembered a time when he thought this form of punishment for the slightest of infractions was the norm. His first detention at Hogwarts had certainly been an eye-opening experience. It was one of the reasons he had racked up so many of them in the following years. The staff's 'punishments' simply did not faze him. His complete disregard for the punishment had led to more and more daring pranks that had kept the Slytherins on edge for weeks.

With that grimly happy memory, he pushed open the doors to the dining room. He walked around the table and sank into his chair. He didn't think he'd be given anything to eat, but he didn't feel as if he could keep the food down anyway and so was not unduly bothered. He was proven right a few moments later as the rest of the Blacks, as well as the food, showed up. His plate was bare and the rest of the day looked just as bleak as his father began to express his approval of the recent slaughter of muggle-borns.

His throat tightened as his father began to gleefully read the list of murder victims. There were at least six names he recognized from school; two were girls in his year. A Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw – he had asked the Ravenclaw out last month but she had turned him down in favor of studying for finals...and now she was dead. Sirius could feel his temper starting to simmer as his mother joined the elder Black in his sentiments.

"The Dark Lord has the right idea!" His father pronounced. "It's about time we purebloods take back our proper place above these inferior half-breeds!"

This was dangerous territory. Sirius struggled valiantly but lost the fight to control his tongue. "Why should a bunch of inbred morons take over the world? What makes you or this Voldemort think that purebloods are better than anyone else? "

Dead silence rang through the room. Walburga Black have him an ugly look but Orion just smiled. Sirius knew he shouldn't have said anything. When his father smiled, he was at his most dangerous. "Sirius, you ask questions you already know the answer to." His whisper cut through the dining room like a whip crack as he fingered his wand lovingly. "I think it high time you learned the full meaning behind the answers you have been given. I am going to let you make a choice and for your sake it had better be the right one." His voice had not risen throughout his speech. "Join the Dark Lord, Sirius. Prove that you are not the worthless mudblood-lover your words have proclaimed you to be these last years!" His father's words reached a fevered pitch and spittle began to fly from his lips. Sirius shook his head in disgust and uttered one world with all the conviction he could muster.

"No."

"So be it," whispered Orion Black. Without warning he jabbed his wand at his eldest son and cried "CRUCIO!"

Sirius' body fell from the chair and began twitching uncontrollably. God, the pain! He couldn't think, every inch of skin was being flayed by dull knives, his eyes being squeezed into pulp as his teeth were shattered and his organs burned. Sirius screamed and screamed. He wanted to die. Orion Black did not raise his wand but watched as his son cried out and writhed upon the floor. A humane person would have stopped. But not Sirius' father, he just kept on smiling.

Tongues of flame shot through his blood and seared his mind. Everything was going dark. The curse lifted. "Is he dead?" breathed Regulus.

"I care not, he is no longer anything to me."

Sirius barely registered his father's words as his mother turned and blasted a hole into the family tapestry, right next to Regulus' name. Another spell sent his already weakened body flying outside into the gutter. Oblivion beckoned, but Sirius knew that if he succumbed right how, be probably wouldn't wake again. He tried to get up but found one leg broken by his recent flight and collapsed into a heap. One leg wasn't going to be enough to get him up and moving. Three might do the trick…

He released his mind as much as he was able to and allowed the sensation of melting flow over him. Where a battered teen once lay, now was a large but skinny black dog. Darkness encroaching on his vision and mind, Sirius limped off down the street, hobbling on his three legs. His first thought was to get to James, but he didn't know how to get there and it was too far to walk. Paired with thoughts of James came thoughts of his best mate's one true love – Lily. Lily lived in Mill Town, about 50 km away give or take. It would be close, Sirius wasn't sure if he could make it but she was his last hope. He didn't know anyone else close enough to get to that would be willing to help.

A/N: Well, that's the first chapter. Review if you think others would think it would be worth starting - remember people read what others think was good enough to leave a review on. Flames will be used to heat my dorm room! Thank you so much for reading!

galimeril ;D