Disclaimer: Don't own it.
Author's note: This like the story it precedes is dedicated to an old friend.

"THAT'S IT!" Sirius exclaimed, his trunk was in his hand and his wand in the other. The room around him was shaking, just a bit, as if a minor earthquake was occurring. Its point of origin was Sirius Black. He moved to the door of his room and thrust it open.

"Master Black is esc-"

"Kreacher, shut up." Sirius commanded roughly, shoving the house elf from his path. Sixteen year old Sirius black made it to the door of his house before encountering a member of his family. The elder Black brother shot back around the corner before his younger kin could spot him. He owed James Potter a debt that was for sure. In a flash his trunk had been opened and a small dagger withdrawn. Any who had looked upon it would believe Sirius was about to commit murder with the weapon, as his younger brother blocked his way out by dosing casually in the hall right in front of the door. However, a glow surrounded the blade, and then it seemed as if the light around him came to it, until all candles and lamps were reduced to darkness, and he could safely walk through the halls.

His wand was pocketed and his trunk shut. The dagger held out in front of him, Sirius slid gracefully past his younger brother, the edge of his trunk slamming against the wall at the most inopportune moment. Regulus jerked away as Sirius threw the door open. "Seeya little bro." He said through the darkness as the sunlight illuminated the hall. The dagger glowed bright gold in the darkness and then exploded in Sirius' grip.

Crap, it's gone and overloaded! I should have read the warning. The hall's candles and lamps lit back up displaying him for his brother to clearly see, and Sirius shot off. His hand was burning from the no-longer whole Light Attractor, but Sirius switched his trunk to that hand anyway, dragging it behind him. He retrieved his wand quickly and shot off.

From behind him he heard footsteps, his brother, and his mother by the sounds of the shrieks. He held out his wand for a whole three seconds when he reached the street before turning and raising it. "Don't make me!" Sirius hissed out, a look of severe displeasure on his face. The familiar rumbling in the distance told him he still had too much time to go. "I'll hex you both into last Friday!"

"Shut up, you foolish wench. Back into the house!" The bus was closer….

"I'm spending my sixteenth birthday with people who care! I'm done with this family!" Sirius replied, a growl much like those he sometimes gave off in his dog form escaping.

"Fine! Go then! I hereby disown you from our family and denounce you a blood traitor. And what do we do with blood traitors, Regulus?"

"Reducto!" The boy called in unison with Sirius rolling to his left, beside him Sirius felt the cement crack something awful, a semi-deep chasm was left where he had stood moments before. There it was, the Knight Bus. The vehicle pulled to a stop not two feet from him. The young conductor, Ern stepped out onto the steps and didn't even get a chance to read his usual statement before Sirius was rushing toward him, his stuff in tow. The boy heaved the luggage up and on the bus and started to jump up himself.

"N-Nice day, aye, Mr. Black?" The conductor commented, seeing the boy's family behind him, looking quiet angry. Mrs. Black seemed to be reaching for a wand.

"Nice day for you to get me out of here!" He said roughly as he landed on the step and began ascending. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his back; it felt as if all the skin on it was suddenly irritable, and burning. Then he realized that his shirt and cloak were both on fire. He ripped each off and cast them out onto the cement, a moan of pain escaping his lips as he thrust himself inside the bus with his luggage and landed on the ground beside the driver. "I'll pay you, I swear, just get us out of here!" He called to the fifty-something man as Ern got into the bus. They were off in an instant and Sirius was cast forward hitting the dash. It dug into his badly burnt back causing a bit of a scream to issue. When his eyes opened they landed on a small child, huddled close to his mother.

"S-Sorry, didn't mean to- to scare you." He said, biting his lip to quail the pain. He wouldn't cry, he'd felt worse. Sirius Black didn't do the weak little guy routine. It's just not me. He rummaged through his trunk and managed to grab his money bag from its depths. Steadying himself on the dash, he thrust two or three galleons –a definite overkill- into the conductor's hands and then reached in to find a shirt. He was ashamed when he moaned a bit as it slid over his injured skin.

"Whereabouts you headed, Black?" Grunted the driver.

"1313 Hippogriff lane, Godric's Hollow, as usual."

Sirius sighed as he sank onto a bed. He smiled softly, apologetically to the young child and then stood, wincing as he did and moved over to him. "Sorry to scare you, little guy, you alright?" The kid nodded, and then his eyes widened.

"You're the boy from the duel at King's Cross!" Sirius' eyes widened in return and then he finally smiled. "And, now I recognize you…." He started.

"I'm sorry about my family, Mrs. Augurn." Sirius said to the boy's mother, looking rather guilty. "I wish you'd not have had to have seen that."

The lady assured him it was quiet alright, and asked him straightforwardly if he had somewhere to go now, offering him boarding space. "Thank you, but no thanks, I'm afraid I've got a room somewhere else, have had it since Christmas."

He smiled gratefully, and returned to his seat –a bed at the front of the bus- a moment before the thing pulled to a stop, slinging an unwary Sirius over his bed onto the floor. This, of course, caused him more pain as he landed flat on his back. Cursing under his breath the boy stood and grabbed his luggage out from under the bed. He hauled it down the steps of the bus, and grunting from the pain hauled him down the long driveway leading to the Potter Manor. It wasn't exactly a Manor really, it was a normal sized- well maybe it was rather tall- house as the Potters didn't show off their money often, however he knew from experience that James' father had had a man expand the size of James' room for a Christmas gift last year. Still grunting from the pain in his back, Sirius knocked hard on the door.

James opened it. He stared for a moment at his friend's pained face, and then his smile grew wider. "Happy birthday mate." James said, and pulled his friend into a brotherly embrace, which of course, caused even MORE pain for our young friend. It seemed he couldn't catch a break. "Mum, we need to go get ourselves a cake and get hold of Pete and Remus." He called, down the hall. Alicia Potter emerged from down t he hall, a smiled on her wide face. Her blue eyes, that were like her son's and eerily reminded (as James' did) Sirius of Headmaster Dumbledore, lit up and she made as if to draw him into a hug and he winced.

She stopped looking shocked and worried at once and he opened one eye carefully, as if he had been in the darkness for a long time and was looking at the sun. "Sirius, what's wrong?" Alicia and James inquired in unison.

"Come on, Padfoot." James coaxed. "Show us your back."

With a doglike grin at James he complied, turning and raising the back of his shirt. "My word, James, You wait here, I'm getting your father. Sirius, off with that shirt, Michael will have to look at that." Sirius nodded and complied once more, gratefully tossing aside the shirt so that its fabric would no longer touch his pained back.

"Well Prongs?" Sirius asked, noticing the odd look James was giving him.

"Welcome home mate."