Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Harry Potter. All the characters and places in this fanfiction are property of J.K. Rowling.
'Sirius!' He heard his mother's voice, shouting for him to come downstairs.
He ignored it. His fat old prejudiced hag of a mother could wait. Prongs was far more important than his supposed 'family'.
He concentrated on the letter.
'Dear Padfoot,' it said.
How are your holidays so far? I bet they suck. With a family like yours, well, what do you expect? Come live with me until school starts again. Who gives about your stupid parents? You don't need them. And, as you said, if you need a clingy, whiny, idiot in your life, you can just call for Pete.
My mum, for one, can't wait until her favourite son comes home again. Stop flirting with my mum, you bastard!
Well, you flirt with McGonagall, so I'm not actually all that surprised, really.
JUST AS LONG AS YOU STAY AWAY FROM EVANS! I'M WARNING YOU, YOU CAN STRIP NAKED AND RUN THROUGH HOGWARTS AND HOGSMEADE FOR ALL I CARE, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT LOOKING AT EVANS!
Sirius barked a dog-like laugh. He had yet to read a letter of James' without the latter mentioning a certain red-haired, green-eyed fellow Gryffindor.
I can see you laughing, so imagine me glaring at you. Even though you'll only laugh harder. ANYWAYS, back onto the subject and let's stop talking about the fair maiden.
I'll mirror you when my parents get home. They should be back in a few days, and then you can come.
Alice Prewett, Evans's friend, wants us to come over for a New Year's party. She said she invited all the 6th and 7th year Gryffindors. So yay! It's only a few more days. And then you'll be free! Well, until the summer holidays.
Well, see you then!
Prongs
Fellow Marauder
Sirius smiled. At least he could still talk to Prongs and Moony. Pete didn't have an owl, but it didn't matter anyway. He wasn't the best person to talk to anyway.
'Sirius Black!' his mother called again. Sirius sighed. He put the letter down on his desk. He walked out as slowly as possibly.
'SIRIUS ORION BLACK!' Sirius slid down the banister, glaring at his family as they came into view. They were all seated at the dinner table, waiting.
'You ungrateful boy,' his mother sighed. 'Now hurry up and let us eat dinner.'
Sirius sat in silence, fuming. Any sight of his family and his blood pressure rose several notches. He stabbed his carrots and scratched the silver plate underneath.
His father looked up and glared. 'You're ruining the silver. Don't do that.'
'Just like a filthy muggle,' his mother added.
Sirius bit back the angry retort that was on his lips. He glared at his pumpkin pastry, wishing he could grind his mother's fat face into a pulp.
There was an icy silence.
Suddenly, his father asked, 'So, Reg, are you planning on going anywhere with your friends for New Year?'
'He has friends?!' Sirius muttered under his breath.
Regulus said, 'Yeah, maybe. Avery is throwing a party. Most of us Slytherins,' Sirius snorted loudly, 'are going. Nott, Lucius, Crabbe, Goyle, Rodolphus, Bella, Narcissa and Severus.'
Sirius barked a laugh. 'Who in their right mind would invite old Snivelly to a party? Do they WANT grease everywhere?'
Regulus looked down, clearly trying to avoid an argument.
But their mother blew up. 'How dare you offend a lovely pureblood Slytherin boy like him!'
Sirius sneered. 'Him? That slimy git? Lovely boy? And since when have Slytherins been lovely anyway?' And then to no-one in particular, he said, 'My mother has finally gone round the twist. Completely cuckoo, she is.'
'Enough, boy!' his father shouted, slapping the table.
Walburga turned an ugly shade of puce, shaking with anger. 'Don't even try to offend a friend of Regulus', you blood traitor! He hangs around with perfectly respectable company, thank you very much! Unlike you! That Potter boy, especially. An absolute blood traitor if I ever saw one! His parents, Auror's, trying to rid the land of the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord is doing the wizarding community a huge favour. Making the world a far better place. I don't see how that crackpot fool Dumbledore could let Mudblood filth into Hogwarts! I knew we should have enrolled you at Durmstrang,' she said to Regulus. 'These Headmasters have been steadily getting worse and worse! Phineas Nigellus, now that was an excellent Headmaster.'
She would have went on, but Sirius had had enough. He stood up, kicking his chair back.
'SHUT UP, YOU OLD HAG!' he screamed at his mother. Yelling at him was all very well, but by insulting James and Dumbledore, his mother had crossed the line.
'Mudbloods and filth, filling the school! And Muggle Studies, a subject!' The woman went on, oblivious to her sons rage. 'Honestly! They should be teaching you how to torture and kill Muggles, and how much of a threat they pose to the wizarding community. Not how Muggles are just like us, how their world is just the same… CRAZY!'
Something inside Sirius snapped, and he reached up and slapped his mother across the face. The effect was instantaneous.
His mother gasped, grabbing her cheek. His father pulled out his wand, pointing it at Sirius. Regulus jumped back, cowering.
'Apologise!' their father spat.
'No!' Sirius shouted. 'I'm not going to apologise to a fat old hag like her, not when I slapped her for insulting Professor Dumbledore and James!'
'No? Did you say, boy?' asked his father in a dangerously soft tone.
'Yeah, I did! NO!' Sirius yelled, shaking with suppressed rage.
'Then suffer,' his father answered.
Suddenly, Sirius' body was on fire. He had never been in this much pain before. He fell to the ground, jerking. He had no control of his body, and couldn't tell if he was being tortured for seconds or for hours. He thrashed around on the ground, hoping desperately that it would stop soon.
As quickly as it had begun, it stopped.
He stood weakly, facing his family.
His father glared at him. 'Apologise. Or do you want another little taste if that?'
'No,' Sirius said shakily. 'I'm not going to apologise, especially not when you used torture methods like your precious Lord Voldermort.'
His mother, father and brother all hissed in surprise.
'Show some respect, boy,' his father whispered.
Sirius shook his head, and laughed a mirthless laugh. 'Respect? To a person who is trying to kill every other person around here? That ugly person with no nose? A person who is more evil than the entire Slytherin house at Hogwarts? Yeah, I don't think so.'
Gathering all of his Gryffindor courage, Sirius kicked his father in the balls.
Regulus gasped, his father staggered backwards, and their mother whipped out her wand.
'Crucio!' she said gleefully.
Sirius felt the pain, and suddenly he knew what to do.
'You know what?' he said loudly. His mother stopped cursing him to listen. 'I'm going. For good. I'm leaving you person to your Dark Magic and stupid torture methods. I'm going, and you're not going to stop me. I'm leaving!'
Both his parents raised their wands. But before they could do anything, a voice shouted, 'Petrificus Totalus! Petrificus Totalus!'
Sirius expected for the arms and legs to snap together, to be bound together.
But he wasn't. He turned slowly. His parents were frozen, a Body Bind Curse put on both of them.
'Reg?' he asked, shocked.
'Sirius?' his brother answered. 'Where are you going?'
'Home,' Sirius spat. '12 Grimmauld Place was never home for me. I'm going to the Potter Residence.'
Regulus nodded. 'The Body Bind Curse should hold for a few more minutes. Pack quickly. I'll explain to them.'
Sirius smiled gratefully, and then bounded up the stairs, taking them 3 at a time.
The next few minutes were a blur. Sirius cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on his trunk, and stuffed everything he could find into it. He grabbed his broom, and quickly cast a spell to make the trunk feather light.
He looked around his red and gold clad room for the last time, and then left, shutting the door behind him.
Dragging his things downstairs, he looked at Regulus, and pulled him into a one-armed hug. 'Take care, little brother,' he murmured. 'And thanks for everything. I'll see you at Hogwarts.'
There was some good left in his little brother. Sirius just hoped that Regulus would see sense before joining the Death Eaters.
His parents were stirring.
Sirius turned around, and stuck up his third finger. 'I'm going now. Disown me if you like, because this house was never home.'
Calmly he walked out of the house. Behind him, he heard the BANG as his mother tried to blast his name off the family tree. The last time she had attempted that with his cousin Andromeda, she had singed her own eyebrows. He hoped that it would happen again. Hopefully the Fireproof Charm wasn't good. The whole tapestry could burn for all he cared. Hell, the whole house could burn down and he wouldn't bat an eyelid. It just didn't matter to him.
After all, it wasn't home.