"Shut up!" snapped Regulus, peeking his head around the door and glaring at his brother.
"Sorry to interrupt your beauty sleep," Sirius whispered, "but I'm done with this family."
"You can't leave! I'll tell mother and you'll get blasted off the wall! People will never know you were once part of this esteemed pureblood family!"
"Good. I don't want anyone to know I was ever related to sick maniacs like you," retorted Sirius, dragging his huge trunk down the hallway and towards the staircase.
"You'll never be like us, running around with mudbloods and blood- traitors!" Regulus whispered after Sirius' retreating back.
With a surreptitious glance back at his brother's now closed door, Sirius whispered, "Wingardium Leviosa," to bring his trunk down the regal staircase. A particularly loud grunt sounded from his mother's bedroom. Sirius froze in his tracks, fearing a beating, or worse: being dragged back to his room. When nothing moved, he quietly tiptoed down the hallway and towards the great oak front door. A slight creak escaped the serpentine hinges as it swung inward, admitting the cool night air in. Before heading into the tiny Muggle block, he skirted around and grabbed his trusty Cleansweep.
After conjuring magical ropes and securing his trunk to his broom, Sirius swung his right leg over his broom and kicked hard off the ground. Up, up he soared, high above Grimauld Place, up near the clouds where he wouldn't be spotted. He made a mental map of the ground below; Godric's Hollow was forever away, a good three hours on his broom.
I wish I had my uncle's motorcycle, Sirius thought savagely. The motorcycle moved so fast, he would be there in minutes.
Around four in the morning, Sirius glanced down at the town of Godric's Hollow. His eyes swept the horizon, coming to rest on a lowly house perched on a hill. He could almost imagine James snoring in his bed, completely unaware his best friend was right outside.
Two thuds sounded when Sirius touched down, deadened by the mud and grass. He tiptoed across the lawn, grateful for the night as cover. The front door stood like a black giant, guarding his path. He rapped his knuckles against the wood. All was silent, then-
"Aaaaaahh!" Mrs. Potter's voice sounded from within. On the other side of the door, she came sprinting out of her room. "James, help! They've come! Oh, I wish your father were here!"
"I'm here, Mum," came James' voice, alert. He jumped down the stairs, two at a time, and ran to the door. "Show yourself," he demanded, jabbing his wand at the closed door.
Back outside, Sirius contemplated the situation. What could he do to prove he wasn't a Death Eater sent to kill them all? He racked his brain of all the ways to show himself without revealing all their terrible antics to Mrs. Potter. The idea came flying at him like a rogue bludger. He transformed into a big, black dog and barked one, two, three times at the closed door, praying James' mother thought it was a stray dog.
James paused, waiting with baited breath for the response, concentration strung on high. The only sound that came, however, was obnoxious barking. Perhaps from a big, black dog . . . ?
"Why?" James breathed while he fiddled with the lock at the heavy door.
"Oooh! Be careful, James!" Mrs. Potter whined, clinging to the stairs' railing and fearing what that wild dog could do to her child.
"It's OK, Mum. I'm pretty sure it's Sirius."
"Wait, what? Wha- how . . ." she spluttered, trying to make sense of this statement as James cracked the door open. How on earth did he get Sirius out of a stray dog's barking? All thoughts left, however, as she held her breath and prayed that her only son wasn't about to die.
James blinked down at the dog sitting on the porch through the tiny crack he had created. Before he even considered opening the door more, he mouthed, "Change. My mum doesn't know."
Sirius transformed back into human form and grabbed his trunk. A strong sense of adrenaline rose within him. He was aching to rush inside, but he also feared the awkward questions that were bound to come. Before he could formulate a plan, however, James was pulling Sirius in; Mrs. Potter was in a fluster, yet looking very relieved.
"Oh! Well, hello, Sirius dear. So unexpected!" She exclaimed, while in the back of her mind she wondered where the dog had gone to.
"Sorry, Mrs. Potter. May I spend the next couple of nights here?"
"Why, of course you can, dear. I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting you and the house is such a mess!"
A grin spread over Sirius' face, despite what had happened mere hours ago. He knew running away was a terrible idea, but he couldn't possibly see why when he was allowed in his best friend's house, even if for just a few days.
"It's OK, Mrs. Potter." Sirius said through his grin. He could feel an awkward moment arising and thought of a quick way to exit. "I'll just . . . go to James' room, then," Sirius awkwardly finished, dragging his trunk towards the stairway. James made to go after him, but Mrs. Potter exclaimed, "Oh! James, dear, will you help me tidy up the kitchen first?"
James begrudgingly trooped off to the kitchen, casting an envious glance at Sirius, who was heading off to James' bedroom. He glared at the almost spotless kitchen, wondering what his mother could possibly make him do.
She bustled in, her relief replaced with motherly worry. "James, dear . . ." she began, constantly glancing back at the stairway. "Why is Sirius here?"
"Whaddya mean? I'm his best mate!" James exclaimed, clearly offended at his mother's absurd question.
"Why, yes, of course, dear," Mrs. Potter reassured, "but it's the middle of the night. Now, why wouldn't he have just waited until morning to come?"
The beginning of doubt sprouted in James' mind. It just didn't add up; he knew his mother was on to something. "And how did he get here? He must've flown for, what, three hours?"
"Exactly. Therefore, I would like you to find out," his mother commanded, pulling out her wand and opening the fridge.
"But how?"
"You'll know how, dear. Trust me," she said, now sending the milk gliding across the room.
James glanced back at his worried mother, who was busily preparing food to keep from freaking out, as he walked out of the kitchen, across the entrance hall, and up the stairway. As he lumbered up the stairs, he decided to be straight-forward and blunt to Sirius.
The bedroom door swung open, and Sirius looked up. He was sprawled on the floor, trunk open next to him. In one hand he held his wand; his other was grasping a half- eaten chocolate frog. He stuffed the rest of the frog in his mouth and stood up. "What's—"
"Why are you here?" James snapped, knowing he was acting like a huge git and feeling slightly sick about it.
"What . . . Well, I'll just leave if you want me to!" Sirius growled, though fear was caught in his throat.
James ignored this statement. "And why did you bring your Hogwarts trunk? I thought you were just staying a couple of nights!"
"I- I-" Sirius stuttered, sounding like a panicked, cornered man.
But James ignored him again. Suddenly, comprehension spread across his face. "You ran away!"
"Er, well, technically I flew away," Sirius joked, knowing this was the best solution to the situation.
A smile flickered on James' lips. "Why didn't you just say so?" he said, all pretense of hatred gone.
Sirius glanced humbly at his friend. "I- I didn't want to invade. It's fine. I can go to Remus' house after, or maybe Peter's."
"You will do no such thing!" James declared. "I'll be right back."
He spun around the doorframe and hopped down the steps, two at a time. He sprinted into the kitchen, where he prayed his mother still was. Luckily, she was still there, magically stirring some oatmeal, though the sun hadn't even come up.
"Mum!" he panted, skidding to a halt.
Her eyes widened in fear. "James! What happened?! Are you OK?!"
"Yeah, Mum! But Sirius isn't! Mum, he ran away!"
"What?! Oh, of course! I should've realized! The poor dear!"
"So, Mum, can he stay here?"
"Well, I don't know, dear. Take on another child? But, well, the poor boy did come from . . . a different kind of family-" her nose wrinkled- "I guess he can stay. But he better behave better than you!" she threatened, though a smile swept across her face.
James' mouth opened into a comical O. He hugged his mother, whispered "Thanks a bunch," and dashed from the room.
Once he had gotten back to his room, which barely took ten seconds, he nearly collapsed onto Sirius, who had sat back down. "Sirius!" he gasped. "You- Mum- stay-" he muttered incoherently.
"Wait," Sirius said, confusion etched in his features. "Calm down and try again."
James took a deep breath and cried, "Mum said you can stay!"
"WHAT?!" Sirius shouted, though joy and relief were etched on his face.
Sirius lay down and started laughing. His relief was so huge that he didn't stop until Mrs. Potter called them down to breakfast, yet his grin never faded. Upon entering the kitchen, James' mother pulled him into a one- armed hug, and then gave him a bowl of porridge: his first meal from his new family.